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The John J and Pauline Gerlach Foundation at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Public charity

The John J and Pauline Gerlach Foundation

The john j.

$1.9M
Granted FY2025still arriving
23
Grants FY2025still arriving
4
States reached
$650k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Philanthropy$6.8MHealth$2.2MArts & Culture$1.7MEducation$1.1MHuman Services$755kEmployment$730kFood & Nutrition$710kHousing & Shelter$700kOther$0
02FY2025 · 23 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • $10k–50k12 grants · $305k
  • $50k–250k10 grants · $895k
  • $250k+1 grant · $650k
$40,000
Median grant
4
States reached
$69M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION$650,000
BALLETMET$200,000
MID-OHIO FOODBANK DBA MID-OHIO FOOD COLLECTIVE$115,000
THE SALVATION ARMY - SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA DIVISION$100,000
AMERICAN NATIONAL RED CROSS$100,000
GOODWILL COLUMBUS$85,000
HOMELESS FAMILIES FOUNDATION DBA HOME FOR FAMILIES$75,000
SALVATION ARMY (CENTRAL OHIO)$60,000
HEINZERLING COMMUNITY$55,000
UNITED WAY OF CENTRAL OHIO INC$55,000
A KID AGAIN INC$50,000
AGORA CHRISTIAN SERVICES INC$40,000
OHIOHEALTH FOUNDATION INC$40,000
RECREATION UNLIMITED FOUNDATION$40,000
AMERICAN RED CROSS GREATER COLUMBUSCENTRAL-SOUTHERN OHIO REGION$40,000
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Its human-services grants (FY17–25, $1.8M) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%AMERICAN NATIONAL RED CROSS: $100k → 14%HOMELESS FAMILIES FOUNDATION: $100k → 15%HOMELESS FAMILIES FOUNDATION: $50k → 15%HOMELESS FAMILIES FOUNDATION: $50k → 15%HOMELESS FAMILIES FOUNDATION: $50k → 15%HOMELESS FAMILIES FOUNDATION: $40k → 15%HOMELESS FAMILIES FOUNDATION: $40k → 15%THE HOMELESS FAMILIES FOUNDATION: $40k → 15%HOMELESS FAMILIES FOUNDATION: $25k → 15%HOMELESS FAMILIES FOUNDATION: $10k → 15%A KID AGAIN INC: $50k → 15%A KID AGAIN INC: $30k → 15%A KID AGAIN INC: $25k → 15%KID AGAIN INC: $10k → 15%A KID AGAIN INC: $10k → 15%A KID AGAIN INC: $10k → 15%A KID AGAIN INC: $10k → 15%AMERICAN RED CROSS GREATER COLUMBUSCENTRAL-SOUTHERN OHIO REGION: $255k → 15%HOME FOR FAMILIES: $160k → 15%HOMELESS FAMILIES FOUNDATION DBA HOME FOR FAMILIES: $75k → 15%HOMELESS FAMILIES FOUNDATION: $60k → 15%AMERICAN RED CROSS CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN: $50k → 15%AMERICAN RED CROSS CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN: $50k → 15%AMERICAN RED CROSS GREATER COLUMBUSCENTRAL-SOUTHERN OHIO REGION: $40k → 15%AMERICAN RED CROSS CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN: $30k → 15%AMERICAN RED CROSS CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN: $25k → 15%AMERICAN RED CROSS CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN: $25k → 15%AMERICAN RED CROSS OHIO BUCKEYE REGION: $25k → 15%AMERICAN RED CROSS CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN: $25k → 15%AMERICAN RED CROSS OHIO BUCKEYE REGION: $25k → 15%AMERICAN RED CROSS OHIO BUCKEYE REGION: $25k → 15%AMERICAN RED CROSS OHIO BUCKEYE REGION: $25k → 15%AMERICAN RED CROSS CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN: $25k → 15%KID AGAIN INC: $10k → 15%KID AGAIN INC: $10k → 15%HEINZERLING COMMUNITY: $55k → 15%HEINZERLING COMMUNITY: $30k → 15%HEINZERLING COMMUNITY: $30k → 15%HEINZERLING COMMUNITY: $25k → 15%HEINZERLING COMMUNITY: $25k → 15%HEINZERLING COMMUNITY: $20k → 15%HEINZERLING COMMUNITY: $20k → 15%HEINZERLING COMMUNITY: $15k → 15%HEINZERLING FOUNDATION: $10k → 15%HEINZERLING COMMUNITY: $10k → 15%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

96%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$11M · 25 repeat orgs$455k to everyone else

25 repeat relationships: 21 still active in FY2025, 4 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

25
5

Total granted

$11M
$355k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+37%
+53%

Still filing today

84%
100%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 95% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $100k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
Arts & CultureEducationHuman ServicesAnimalsEmploymentPhilanthropyOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • OS
    OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION
    9× · 2017–2025 · $3.0M · revenue +36%
  • BM
    BALLET METROPOLITAN INC
    9× · 2017–2025 · $895k · revenue +43%
  • MF
    Mid-Ohio Foodbank
    9× · 2017–2025 · $825k · revenue +37%

Funded once

  • LA
    LIFECARE ALLIANCE
    one grant, 2023 · $250k · revenue +7%
  • VV
    VISTA VILLAGE INC
    one grant, 2024 · $50k · revenue -63%
  • HF
    HABITAT FOR HUMANITY - MIDOHIOgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $25k · revenue +93%
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce

Advancing a thriving central ohio commmunity by serving as a catalyst for all businesses to grow and flourish. our mission pillars are connections, government relations, strategic business solutions and talent/workforce.

—
2
Columbus Association of Realtors

The columbus association of realtors is a local level, not-for-profit trade association. founded in 1908, columbus association of realtors is comprised of more than 9,100 real estate professionals engaged in residential sales and leasing,…

—
3
Central Indiana Corporate Partnership Inc

Central indiana corporate partnership (cicp) is an alliance of indiana's business and research university leaders coming together to foster long-term prosperity for the region. cicp's mission is to transform the economy of indiana in order…

Community Improvement
4
Cincinnati Museum Center

Cincinnati museum center inspires people of all ages to learn more about our world through science, regional history, and educational, engaging and meaningful experiences.

Arts & Culture
5
Ohio United Way

To strengthen the capacity of United Ways across Ohio and to advance the common good for Ohioans.

Philanthropy
6
Columbus Medical Association Foundation

The columbus medical association foundation, through the governance and oversight of its board of physicians and other experts, effects change within specific priority areas to improve the health and wellbeing of the residents and…

Health
7
Columbus Center for Human Services Inc

Inspiring life journeys

Human Services
8
Ohio State Bar Association

The ohio state bar association (the "association") is an unincorporated voluntary non-profit organization. the association was formed to promote justice and advance the interests of the legal profession.

—
9
Columbus Medical Association

We are physicians and other experts improving the health of caregivers, patients and communities.

—
10
Union Health System

To serve our communities by provding innovative and compassionate healthcare.

Health
11
Columbus Medical Association Foundation Unlimited

To provide health and wellness services without geographic restriction.

International
12
Ohio Business Roundtable

To harness the collective expertise of ohio's ceos to advocate for policies that improve ohio's economic competitiveness.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Columbus Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Columbus Association for the Performing Arts. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

27 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 27 of the 32 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
27/27
Grantees still filing
22/27
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

COLUMBUS FOUNDATION: $6,325,000 · PhilanthropyCOLUMBUS FOUNDATIONUNITED WAY OF CENTRAL OHIO INC: $495,000 · PhilanthropyUNITED WAY OF CENTRAL OHIO INCOHIO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $3,000,000 · EducationOHIO STATE UNIVERSIT…+3 more: $172,156 · Education+3 moreMid-Ohio Foodbank: $825,000 · OtherMid-Ohio FoodbankTHE SALVATION ARMY: $600,000 · OtherTHE SALVATION ARM…OHIOHEALTH CORPORATION: $297,000 · OtherOHIOHEALTH CORPOR…VOLUNTEERS OF AMERICA OHIO & INDIANA: $185,000 · OtherVOLUNTEERS OF AME…AGORA CHRISTIAN SERVICES INC: $180,000 · OtherAGORA CHRISTIAN S…THE SALVATION ARMY: $100,000 · OtherLIFECARE ALLIANCE: $250,000 · OtherLIFECARE ALLIANCE+7 more: $258,000 · Other+7 moreBALLET METROPOLITAN INC: $895,000 · Arts & CultureBALLET METROP…COLUMBUS MUSEUM OF ART: $725,000 · Arts & CultureCOLUMBUS MUSE…OHIO HISTORY CONNECTION: $205,000 · Arts & CultureOHIO HISTORY …COLUMBUS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: $135,000 · Arts & CultureCOLUMBUS SYMP…GREEN LAWN CEMETERY FOUNDATION INC: $115,000 · Arts & CultureGREEN LAWN CE…+1 more: $25,000 · Arts & CultureAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $725,000 · Human ServicesAmerican Na…THE HOMELESS FAMILIES FOUNDATION: $700,000 · Human ServicesTHE HOMELES…HEINZERLING COMMUNITY: $240,000 · Human ServicesHEINZERLING…A KID AGAIN INC: $165,000 · Human ServicesA KID AGAIN…GOODWILL INDUSTRIES OF CENTRAL OHIO INC: $675,000 · EmploymentRECREATION UNLIMITED FOUNDATION: $315,000 · Recreation & Sports
Philanthropy$6,820,000Education$3,172,156Other$2,695,000Arts & Culture$2,100,000Human Services$1,830,000Employment$675,000Recreation & Sports$315,000

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetCOLUMBUS FOUNDATION: $6,325,000 over 6y, 2.0% of budgetOHIO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $3,000,000 over 9y, 0.2% of budgetBALLET METROPOLITAN INC: $895,000 over 9y, 2.0% of budgetMid-Ohio Foodbank: $825,000 over 9y, 0.3% of budgetCOLUMBUS MUSEUM OF ART: $725,000 over 9y, 2.0% of budgetAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $725,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetTHE HOMELESS FAMILIES FOUNDATION: $700,000 over 9y, 2.7% of budgetGOODWILL INDUSTRIES OF CENTRAL OHIO INC: $675,000 over 9y, 0.3% of budgetUNITED WAY OF CENTRAL OHIO INC: $495,000 over 9y, 0.2% of budgetRECREATION UNLIMITED FOUNDATION: $315,000 over 9y, 1.3% of budgetLIFECARE ALLIANCE: $250,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetHEINZERLING COMMUNITY: $240,000 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetOHIO HISTORY CONNECTION: $205,000 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetA KID AGAIN INC: $165,000 over 7y, 1.0% of budgetCOLUMBUS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: $135,000 over 9y, 0.2% of budgetGREEN LAWN CEMETERY FOUNDATION INC: $115,000 over 9y, 7.6% of budgetKIPP COLUMBUS: $90,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetCOLUMBUS ZOOLOGICAL PARK ASSOCIATION: $69,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetINTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR THE PRESERVATION OF WILD ANIMALS INC: $69,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetCAPITAL UNIVERSITY: $52,156 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetVISTA VILLAGE INC: $50,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetCOLUMBUS COLLEGE OF ART & DESIGN: $30,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetHABITAT FOR HUMANITY - MIDOHIO: $25,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetCOLUMBUS ASSOCIATION FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCENTRAL COMMUNITY HOUSE: $20,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetBest Buddies International Inc: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSIMON KENTON COUNCIL BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

  • Who funds COLUMBUS FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds BALLET METROPOLITAN INC ↗
  • Who funds Mid-Ohio Foodbank ↗
  • Who funds COLUMBUS MUSEUM OF ART ↗
  • Who funds American National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches ↗
  • Who funds THE HOMELESS FAMILIES FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds GOODWILL INDUSTRIES OF CENTRAL OHIO INC ↗
  • Who funds UNITED WAY OF CENTRAL OHIO INC ↗
  • Who funds RECREATION UNLIMITED FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds LIFECARE ALLIANCE ↗
  • Who funds HEINZERLING COMMUNITY ↗
  • Who funds OHIO HISTORY CONNECTION ↗
  • Who funds A KID AGAIN INC ↗
  • Who funds COLUMBUS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ↗
  • Who funds GREEN LAWN CEMETERY FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds KIPP COLUMBUS ↗
  • Who funds COLUMBUS ZOOLOGICAL PARK ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR THE PRESERVATION OF WILD ANIMALS INC ↗
  • Who funds CAPITAL UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds VISTA VILLAGE INC ↗
  • Who funds COLUMBUS COLLEGE OF ART & DESIGN ↗
  • Who funds HABITAT FOR HUMANITY - MIDOHIO ↗
  • Who funds COLUMBUS ASSOCIATION FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS ↗
  • Who funds CENTRAL COMMUNITY HOUSE ↗
  • Who funds Best Buddies International Inc ↗
  • Who funds SIMON KENTON COUNCIL BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA ↗

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Columbus FoundationHarry C Moores Founda…L Brands FoundationIngram-White Castle F…American Electric Pow…United Way of Central…The Reinberger Founda…Cardinal Health Found…Battelle Memorial Ins…Columbus Jewish Found…Jpmorgan Chase Founda…Encova Foundation of …
Columbus FoundationOH36× affinity17 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Columbus Foundation · Harry C Moores Foundation · L Brands Foundation · Ingram-White Castle Foundation · American Electric Power Foundation · United Way of Central Ohio Inc · The Reinberger Foundation · Cardinal Health Foundation · Battelle Memorial Institute · Columbus Jewish Foundation · Jpmorgan Chase Foundation · Encova Foundation of Ohio

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization The John J and Pauline Gerlach Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The John J and Pauline Gerlach Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%6%13%19%25%share of the org’s income from government →median 4%
  • Best Buddies International Inc: 4% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
11report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–25%
typical government reliance, FY20–25
How this is measured
Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.
05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to The John J and Pauline Gerlach Foundation?

Find your warmest path to The John J and Pauline Gerlach Foundation through trustees and officers whose names appear on both boards. Search for your organization and Plinth traces the shortest route it can evidence.

Each link is a name appearing on two organizations’ public IRS 990 filings, matched on that name and, where the filings support it, on location. A same-state match has geographic support, which is a second matching feature rather than confirmation that the two are one person; a cross-state one is the likeliest to be two people who share a name. Every hop shows its tier, low-confidence and distant paths are held back rather than guessed, and it is worth confirming the person before you use the introduction.

On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 32 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

How this is measured
Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

Generated from the IRS Form 990 e-file return for fiscal year 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on John J and Pauline Gerlach’s filings →

More from the funding graph

The unnamed billions
grants reported with no recipient in the public record
The regranting layer
51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
The DAF merry-go-round
$9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
The endowment market
who holds foundation money, and what just moved
The camps
funders cluster by geography, not ideology
By state
where grant money is based, and what stays home