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The Joseph and Mollie Mendes Charitable Fund at a glance

· Private foundation

The Joseph and Mollie Mendes Charitable Fund

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$4k
Granted FY2024still arriving
7
Grants FY2024still arriving
2
States reached
$1k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0192% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Education$222kHuman Services$24kPhilanthropy$21kReligion$14kHealth$9kFood & Nutrition$9kYouth Development$4kPublic Safety & Disaster$2kOther$0
02FY2024 · 7 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$500
Median grant
2
States reached
$347k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
LAKE ERIE INK$1,000
CITY MISSION$1,000
GREATER CLEVELAND FOOD BANK$1,000
RUFFING MONTESSORI SCHOOL$500
GUIDING EYES FOR THE BLIND$100
REACHING HEIGHTS$100
RED OAK CAMP$100
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 (FY17–24, $4k) land where the poverty rate runs at 16%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 94% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%GUIDING EYES FOR THE BLIND: $100 → 9%ADOPTION NETWORK CLEVELAND: $100 → 17%GUIDING EYES FOR THE BLIND: $50 → 9%GUIDING EYES FOR THE BLIND: $25 → 9%GUIDING EYES FOR THE BLIND: $25 → 9%THE GATHERING PLACE: $500 → 17%THE GATHERING PLACE: $500 → 17%THE GATHERING PLACE: $100 → 17%YMCA OF GREATER CLEVELAND: $2k → 17%NORTHEAST OHIO SPCA: $100 → 17%NORTHEAST OHIO SPCA: $100 → 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
NV
IA
OH
CA
CO
VA
GA
TX
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.

88%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$261k · 21 repeat orgs$36k to everyone else

21 repeat relationships: 6 still active in FY2024, 15 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

21
24

Total granted

$261k
$36k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+18%
+40%

Still filing today

52%
46%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 97% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $100 went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
Human ServicesEducationYouth DevelopmentHealthAnimalsFood & NutritionOther
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

  • GC
    GREATER CLEVELAND FOOD BANK INC
    7× · 2017–2024 · $7k · revenue +10%
  • RH
    REACHING HEIGHTS
    6× · 2017–2024 · $5k · revenue +32%
  • LE
    LAKE ERIE INK
    6× · 2018–2024 · $4k · revenue +99%

Funded once

  • CH
    CLEVELAND HEIGHTS HIGH SCHOOL
    one grant, 2018 · $14k
  • AA
    ALZHEIMER'S ASSOCIATION
    one grant, 2019 · $5k
  • AD
    ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE & RELATED DISORDERS ASSOCIATION INCgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $2k · revenue +40%
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
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
3
University Hospital & Clinics Inc

The organization provides medical care to improve, maintain, and restore the health of the people in the communities we serve.

Health
4
American Academy of Neurology

The Academy's mission is to enhance member career fulfillment and promote brain health for all.

Community Improvement
5
Albright College

As a diverse community of learners, we cultivate integrity, curiosity, connection and resilience.

Education
6
Ohio Bankers League

Provide comprehensive services that benefit the financial institution industry in ohio.

Community Improvement
7
Neurology Associates of Stony Brook University Faculty Practice Corp

Provide clinical instruction to and supervision of medical school students, interns and residents and, incident thereto, rendering professional services.

Health
8
Highmark Health

As the parent entity of a blended health organization, highmark health seeks to improve the health and well-being of the people and communities it serves by providing affordable, accessible and high-quality healthcare.

Health
9
Capital University

Capital university transforms lives by empowering an inclusive community of learners through engaging academic, co-curricular, and professional experiences.

Education
10
Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Committed to exceptional healthcare quality for all and actively engaged with our community, einstein drives scientific discovery and educates compassionate leaders in health and science.

Education
11
Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States Inc

The fsmb serves as the voice for state medical boards, supporting them through education, assessment, research and advocacy while providing services and initiatives that promote patient safety, quality health care and regulatory best…

Health
12
Acadia General Hospital Inc

The organization provides medical care to improve, maintain, and restore the health of the people in the communities we serve.

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Lake Erie Ink; the most unlike its peers is Faye Kaplan Charitable Foundation. 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 47 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.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
5
Early backer (in before they grew)
24/27
Grantees still filing
24/27
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

FRIENDS OF CAMP ROOSEVELT FIREBIRD: $165,000 · OtherFRIENDS OF CAMP ROOSEVELT FIREBIRDCUYAHOGA COMMUNITY COLLEGE: $22,454 · OtherCUYAHOGA COMMUNITY COLLEGECHAGRIN FALLS PARK COMMUNITY CENTER: $17,100 · OtherCHAGRIN FALLS PARK COMMUNITY CENTERTEMPLE TIFERETH ISRAEL: $14,048 · OtherCLEVELAND HEIGHTS HIGH SCHOOL: $14,000 · Other+25 more: $32,950 · Other+25 moreJEWISH FEDERATION OF CLEVELAND: $20,000 · Philanthropy+1 more: $100 · PhilanthropyREACHING HEIGHTS: $4,800 · EducationURSULINE COLLEGE: $2,000 · EducationRUFFING MONTESSORI SCHOOL: $1,750 · EducationThe University of Findlay: $1,000 · EducationCASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY: $1,000 · EducationGREATER CLEVELAND FOOD BANK INC: $7,000 · Food & NutritionAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $2,250 · Human ServicesYOUNG MENS CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF CLEVELAND: $2,000 · Human ServicesTHE GATHERING PLACE: $1,100 · Human ServicesNORTHEAST OHIO SPCA INC: $200 · Human ServicesGUIDING EYES FOR THE BLIND INC: $200 · Human Services+1 more: $100 · Human ServicesLAKE ERIE INK: $4,100 · Youth DevelopmentIDEASTREAM: $300 · Youth DevelopmentJEWISH FAMILY SERVICE ASSOCIATION OF CLEVELAND OHIO: $3,100 · Religion
Other$265,552Philanthropy$20,100Education$10,550Food & Nutrition$7,000Human Services$5,850Youth Development$4,400Religion$3,100

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

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetFRIENDS OF CAMP ROOSEVELT FIREBIRD: $165,000 over 4y, 41% of budgetJEWISH FEDERATION OF CLEVELAND: $20,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetGREATER CLEVELAND FOOD BANK INC: $7,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetREACHING HEIGHTS: $4,800 over 6y, 1.3% of budgetLAKE ERIE INK: $4,100 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetJEWISH FAMILY SERVICE ASSOCIATION OF CLEVELAND OHIO: $3,100 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $2,250 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetALZHEIMER'S DISEASE & RELATED DISORDERS ASSOCIATION INC: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetURSULINE COLLEGE: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetYOUNG MENS CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF CLEVELAND: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetRUFFING MONTESSORI SCHOOL: $1,750 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetTHE GATHERING PLACE: $1,100 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetThe University of Findlay: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHABITAT FOR HUMANITY INC: $700 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetSMILE TRAIN INC: $600 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetHumane Network: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCitizens Academy: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetIDEASTREAM: $300 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetNORTHEAST OHIO SPCA INC: $200 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican Heart Association Inc: $200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGUIDING EYES FOR THE BLIND INC: $200 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFAYE KAPLAN CHARITABLE FOUNDATION: $100 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetADOPTION NETWORK CLEVELAND: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetRED OAK CAMP INC: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBay Nature Institute dba Bay Nature Bay Nature Magazine: $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.

  • Who funds FRIENDS OF CAMP ROOSEVELT FIREBIRD ↗
  • Who funds JEWISH FEDERATION OF CLEVELAND ↗
  • Who funds GREATER CLEVELAND FOOD BANK INC ↗
  • Who funds REACHING HEIGHTS ↗
  • Who funds LAKE ERIE INK ↗
  • Who funds JEWISH FAMILY SERVICE ASSOCIATION OF CLEVELAND OHIO ↗
  • Who funds American National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches ↗
  • Who funds ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE & RELATED DISORDERS ASSOCIATION INC ↗
  • Who funds URSULINE COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds YOUNG MENS CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF CLEVELAND ↗
  • Who funds RUFFING MONTESSORI SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds THE GATHERING PLACE ↗
  • Who funds The University of Findlay ↗
  • Who funds CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds HABITAT FOR HUMANITY INC ↗
  • Who funds SMILE TRAIN INC ↗
  • Who funds Humane Network ↗
  • Who funds Citizens Academy ↗
  • Who funds IDEASTREAM ↗
  • Who funds NORTHEAST OHIO SPCA INC ↗
  • Who funds American Heart Association Inc ↗
  • Who funds GUIDING EYES FOR THE BLIND INC ↗

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.

The Cleveland Foundat…Faye Kaplan Charitabl…The Helen F & Louis S…The Bank of America C…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
The Cleveland FoundationOH19.1× affinity7 shared granteesties to 6 of 6Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Cleveland Foundation · Faye Kaplan Charitable Foundation · The Helen F & Louis Stolier Family Foundation · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving 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 Joseph and Mollie Mendes Charitable Fund funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Joseph and Mollie Mendes Charitable Fund. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%3%13%28%50%funder's share of their income ↑0%6%13%19%25%share of the org’s 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 Joseph and Mollie Mendes Charitable Fund?

    Find your warmest path to The Joseph and Mollie Mendes Charitable Fund 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 47 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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Joseph and Mollie Mendes’ 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