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The Jonathan and Meg Ratner Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Jonathan and Meg Ratner Family Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$2k
Granted FY2025still arriving
1
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$2k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
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 2025.

Animals$151kEducation$43kHealth$8kHousing & Shelter$5kArts & Culture$4kReligion$3kPhilanthropy$2kHuman Services$1kOther$0
02FY2025 · 1 grant

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$1,500
Median grant
1
States reached
$333k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
PASADENA HUMANE SOCIETY$1,500
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 (FY17–21, $2k) land where the poverty rate runs at 17%, 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%BROOKLYN COMMUNITY HOUSING & SERVICES: $250 → 20%FOSTERING HOPE: $1k → 17%FOSTERING HOPE: $250 → 17%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.

Which US states its grants reach

IL
NY
MA
OH
CA
CO
DC
HI
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.

91%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$197k · 13 repeat orgs$19k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +34% since the first grant, against 0% for those funded once.

13 repeat relationships: 0 still active in FY2025, 13 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

13
14

Total granted

$197k
$17k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+34%
0%

Still filing today

92%
71%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 0% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $2k 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
EducationAnimalsHealthHuman ServicesPhilanthropySocial ScienceOther
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

  • CZ
    CLEVELAND ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY
    5× · 2017–2022 · $85k · revenue +72%
  • HW
    Humane World for Animals Inc
    2× · 2017–2018 · $35k · revenue +46%
  • TC
    THE CLEVELAND ANIMAL PROTECTIVE LEAGUE
    3× · 2019–2021 · $29k · revenue +16%

Funded once

  • PP
    PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF GREATER OHIO
    one grant, 2024 · $3k · revenue 0%
  • AS
    AGNON SCHOOLJOSEPH & FLORENCE MANDEL JDS
    one grant, 2019 · $3k
  • AE
    ANSHE EMETH BETH TEFILO CONGREGATION
    one grant, 2017 · $3k
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
University of New Haven

The University of New Haven is a student-centered comprehensive university with an emphasis on excellence in liberal arts and professional education. Our mission is to prepare our students to lead purposeful and fulfilling lives in a…

Education
2
University of Hartford

Dedicated to learning, personal growth, knowledge creation, and the betterment of society. the university engages students in aquiring the knowledge, skills, and values necessary to thrive in and contribute to a pluralistic, complex world.

Education
3
The Philadelphia School

The philadelphia school educates children for a future that is impossible to know but not impossible to shape. learn here. go anywhere.

—
4
Chapel Hill-Chauncy Hall School

We engage a diverse community of learners in a collaborative educational experience, preparing them for college success and a lifetime of meaningful engagement with the broader world.

—
5
Boston Architectural College

The bac is committed to provide excellence in design education grounded in practice and accessible to diverse communities.

—
6
Augustana College

Rooted in the liberal arts & sciences & lutheran expression of the christian faith, & is committed to offering a challenging education that develops qualities of mind, spirit, & body necessary for a rewarding life of leadership & service…

Education
7
Sarah Lawrence College

At sarah lawrence college, our mission is to graduate citizens of the world who are diverse in every definition of the word, who take intellectual and creative risks, and who are able to focus exceptional intellectual discipline (continued…

Education
8
Lehigh University

The university's goal in the coming decade is to advance learning through the integration of teaching, research and service to others. the core of this goal is to prepare graduates to engage with the world and lead lives of meaning. to do…

Education
9
Manhattanville University

To educate students to be ethical and socially responsible leaders in a global community.

Education
10
Wilson College

Wilson college empowers students to be confident and critical thinkers, creative visionaries, effective communicators, honorable leaders, and agents of justice.

Education
11
Furman University

The primary mission of furman as a liberal arts institution is to provide a distinctive education in fine arts, humanities, social sciences, mathematics and the sciences, as well as selected professional disciplines.

Education
12
Manhattan University

Manhattan university is an independent catholic instituion of higher learning that embraces qualified men and women of all faiths, cultures, and traditions. the mission of manhattan university is to provide a contemporary, person-centered…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Make-a-Wish Foundation of Oh Ky & in; the most unlike its peers is Humane World for Animals Inc. 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

24 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. 24 of the 29 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)
1
Early backer (in before they grew)
24/24
Grantees still filing
16/24
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

CLEVELAND ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $84,500 · AnimalsCLEVELAND ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETYHumane World for Animals Inc: $35,000 · AnimalsHumane World for Animals IncTHE CLEVELAND ANIMAL PROTECTIVE LEAGUE: $28,500 · AnimalsTHE CLEVELAND ANIMAL PROTECTIVE LEAGUE+2 more: $2,500 · AnimalsJOSEPH & FLORENCE MANDEL JEWISH DAY SCHOOL: $9,000 · EducationJOSEPH & FLORENCE MA…UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO FOUNDATION: $6,500 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF COLORA…HAWKEN SCHOOL: $6,250 · EducationHAWKEN SCHOOLAMERICANS FOR OXFORD INC: $5,200 · EducationAMERICANS FOR OXFORD…LAUREL SCHOOL: $4,500 · EducationLAUREL SCHOOLCENTER FOR ARTS-INSPIRED LEARNING: $3,500 · EducationCENTER FOR ARTS-INSP…OPEN BOOKS LTD: $3,000 · EducationOPEN BOOKS LTD+1 more: $500 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF COLORADO: $9,000 · OtherAGNON SCHOOLJOSEPH & FLORENCE MANDEL JDS: $3,000 · OtherANSHE EMETH BETH TEFILO CONGREGATION: $2,536 · OtherLAWRENCE SCHOOL: $1,000 · OtherUNIVERSITY HOSPITALS CLEVELAND MEDICAL CENTER: $1,000 · Other+1 more: $250 · OtherPLANNED PARENTHOOD OF GREATER OHIO: $3,000 · HealthMAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION OF OH KY & IN: $2,500 · HealthHOPE FOR HENRY FOUNDATION: $1,000 · HealthFOSTERING HOPE: $1,250 · Human ServicesBROOKLYN COMMUNITY HOUSING AND SERVICES: $250 · Human ServicesUNITED WAY OF GREATER CLEVELAND: $500 · PhilanthropySwim Across America Inc: $500 · PhilanthropyTHE CLEVELAND FOUNDATION: $500 · PhilanthropyPHYSICIANS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS INC: $1,000 · InternationalTHE ULI FOUNDATION: $100 · Social Science
Animals$150,500Education$38,450Other$16,786Health$6,500Human Services$1,500Philanthropy$1,500International$1,000Social Science$100

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

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetCLEVELAND ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $84,500 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetHumane World for Animals Inc: $35,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE CLEVELAND ANIMAL PROTECTIVE LEAGUE: $28,500 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetJOSEPH & FLORENCE MANDEL JEWISH DAY SCHOOL: $9,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF COLORADO FOUNDATION: $6,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetHAWKEN SCHOOL: $6,250 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICANS FOR OXFORD INC: $5,200 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetLAUREL SCHOOL: $4,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCENTER FOR ARTS-INSPIRED LEARNING: $3,500 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD OF GREATER OHIO: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetOPEN BOOKS LTD: $3,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION OF OH KY & IN: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFOSTERING HOPE: $1,250 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetHOPE FOR HENRY FOUNDATION: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMAUI HUMANE SOCIETY: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLAWRENCE SCHOOL: $1,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPHYSICIANS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUNITED WAY OF GREATER CLEVELAND: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSwim Across America Inc: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE CLEVELAND FOUNDATION: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHATHAWAY BROWN SCHOOL: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBROOKLYN COMMUNITY HOUSING AND SERVICES: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE ULI FOUNDATION: $100 over 1y, 0.0% 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.

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.

Jewish Federation of …The Cleveland Foundat…The Horowitz Ratner F…James and Susan Ratne…The Bank of America C…Vanguard Charitable E…The Blackbaud Giving …National Philanthropi…Donor Advised Charita…American Online Givin…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Jewish Federation of ClevelandOH17.7× affinity6 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Jewish Federation of Cleveland · The Cleveland Foundation · The Horowitz Ratner Family Foundation · James and Susan Ratner Family Foundation · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · National Philanthropic Trust · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile Foundation

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 Jonathan and Meg Ratner Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Jonathan and Meg Ratner Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%3%5%8%10%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    9report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–10%
    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.

    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 29 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-PF 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 Jonathan and Meg Ratner Family’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