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The Joseph M Ruffin Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Joseph M Ruffin 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.

$494k
Granted FY2025still arriving
16
Grants FY2025still arriving
2
States reached
$80k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0193% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Youth Development$164kHuman Services$160kArts & Culture$159kHealth$145kAnimals$97kHousing & Shelter$57kPublic Safety & Disaster$51kReligion$47kOther$0
02FY2025 · 16 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • $10k–50k14 grants · $354k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $140k
$25,500
Median grant
2
States reached
$12M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CHILDREN'S HOME SOCIETY OF VA$80,000
BSMH FOUNDATION$60,000
RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE CHARITIES OF RICHMOND$45,000
Individual grant recipient$45,000
FULL CIRCLE GRIEF CENTER$45,000
RAL ART LEAGUE$38,000
TRI-HOPE MINISTRIES$25,700
SONS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION RICHARD LEE CHAPTER$25,500
Individual grant recipient$22,700
COVER ONE FOUNDATION$20,800
VIRGINIA LIVING MUSEUM$20,000
CHARACTER WORKS INC$15,000
BOYS TO MEN MENORTING NETWORK OF VA$15,000
OPERATION CATNIP OF RICHMOND$13,500
SPUR N UP HOPE INC$12,800
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, $67k) land where the poverty rate runs at 7%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 21% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%SIGNS FOR FUN: $4k → 6%FULL CIRCLE GRIEF CENTER: $45k → 6%VETERANS & ATHLETES UNITED INC: $4k → 7%ST JOSEPHS VILLA: $10k → 9%PETER PAUL DEV CENTER: $4k → 9%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.

30%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$310k · 7 repeat orgs$737k to everyone else

7 repeat relationships: 5 still active in FY2025, 2 since wound down; 11 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

7
42

Total granted

$310k
$361k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+34%
+51%

Still filing today

86%
67%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 24% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $376k 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
AnimalsHuman ServicesYouth DevelopmentHealthEducationArts & CultureOther
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

  • RM
    RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE CHARITIES OF RICHMOND
    2× · 2021–2025 · $57k · revenue +207%
  • CI
    CharacterWorks Inc
    3× · 2022–2025 · $56k · revenue +61%
  • JL
    Jacob's Ladder Inc
    3× · 2018–2024 · $51k · revenue +34%

Funded once

  • TV
    TUCKAHOE VOLUNTEER RESCUE SQUAD INC
    one grant, 2024 · $51k · revenue 0%
  • HF
    HOUSING FAMILIES FIRSTgraduated
    one grant, 2024 · $50k · revenue +44%
  • CA
    CAPITAL AREA RESCUE EFFORT
    one grant, 2022 · $16k
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
Henrico Humane Society Inc

The mission of Henrico Humane Society is to address the enormous population of homeless animals in the greater Richmond, Virginia area by providing care, shelter, and medical services until permanent homes can be found.

Animals
2
Mountain View Humane

The mission of mountain view humane is to end pet overpopulation in southwest virginia and southern west virginia by providing safe, affordable spay/neuter services and vaccine clinics for the community.

Animals
3
Rockbridge Recovery

Rockbridge Recovery supports individuals, families, and communities touched by addictive behaviors through support from peers, prevention, and education.

Health
4
Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center of Roanoke Inc

SWVA Wildlife Center's mission is to conserve Virginia's wildlife through rehabilitation and release while teaching care and respect of native species. We advocate for the protection of wildlife and wild places to ensure these magnificent…

Animals
5
Southside Spca

The Southside SPCA is a donor-supported organization that provides shelter, medical treatment, spay/neuter and adoption services to over 36,000 puppies, kittens, cats and dogs since 1975. The organization is a no-kill shelter operating…

Animals
6
Fredericksburg Regional Spca

Empower our community to join us in ending animal suffering through leadership and action, engagement and learning, compassionate care and adoption, affordable veterinary medicine and resources, and by having the conversation about what it…

Animals
7
Sfc Virginia

Sfc virginia is a foster-based animal rescue group in fredericksburg, va. founded in june 2019 with a focus on saving dogs and cats from rural and otherwise underserved shelters in the state, we strive to provide quality medical care…

Animals
8
Rappcats

RappCats Adoption Center, a cage-less, no kill facility is the only Virginia approved cat shelter in Rappahannock County. We work closely with the community to reduce cat overpopulation through our spay and neuter program, which provides…

Animals
9
Good Shepherd Episcopal School

The mission of Good Shepherd Episcopal School is to inspire each child to achieve academic excellence within a diverse, nurturing community that builds character and fosters respect for one another and our shared environment, locally and…

Education
10
Virginia German Shepherd Rescue Inc

Virginia german shepherd rescue is an all volunteer organization dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation and re-homing of the german shepherd dog (and sometimes other breeds/mixes). the rescue provide a safe haven for german shepherds who…

Animals
11
The Roanoke Valley Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

The Roanoke Valley SPCA is a community resource that provides pet adoption, retention, and education services in Virginia's Blue Ridge.

Animals
12
Portsmouth Humane Society Inc

Provide shelter, care, and treatment to homeless animals in the city of portsmouth community through permanent adoptions, spay/neuter programs, and community education.

Animals
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Richmond Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals; the most unlike its peers is Signs of Fun. 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

40 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

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 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 40 of the 60 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)
17
Early backer (in before they grew)
39/40
Grantees still filing
30/40
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

CHILDREN'S HOME SOCIETY OF VA: $80,000 · OtherCHILDREN'S HOME SOCIETY OF VATUCKAHOE VOLUNTEER RESCUE SQUAD INC: $51,250 · OtherTUCKAHOE VOLUNTEER RESCUE SQUAD INCTRI-HOPE MINISTRIES: $47,000 · OtherTRI-HOPE MINISTRIESIndividual grant recipient: $45,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientRAL ART LEAGUE: $38,000 · OtherRAL ART LEAGUERAPPAHANNOCK FOUNDATION INC: $36,300 · OtherRAPPAHANNOCK FOUNDATION INCSONS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION RICHARD LEE CHAPTER: $25,500 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $22,700 · OtherCOVER ONE FOUNDATION: $20,800 · OtherHOUSING FAMILIES FIRST: $50,000 · OtherHOUSING FAMILIES FIRST+27 more: $163,235 · Other+27 moreCharacterWorks Inc: $56,300 · Youth DevelopmentCharacterWorks I…Jacob's Ladder Inc: $51,100 · Youth DevelopmentJacob's Ladder I…SPUR N UP HOPE INC: $26,050 · Youth DevelopmentSPUR N UP HOPE I…BOYS TO MEN MENTORING NETWORK OF VIRGINIA INC: $15,000 · Youth DevelopmentBOYS TO MEN MENT…RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE CHARITIES OF RICHMOND: $57,200 · HealthRONALD MC…GoochlandCares: $15,300 · HealthGoochland…2 END THE STIGMA INC: $10,000 · Health2 END THE…JOURNEY HOUSE FOUNDATION INC: $5,000 · HealthJOURNEY H…FULL CIRCLE GRIEF CENTER: $45,000 · Human ServicesST JOSEPH'S VILLA: $9,800 · Human ServicesPETER PAUL DEVELOPMENT CENTER INC: $4,235 · Human ServicesSIGNS OF FUN: $4,000 · Human ServicesVETERANS AND ATHLETES UNITED INC: $3,575 · Human ServicesBon Secours Mercy Health Foundation: $60,000 · ReligionRICHMOND ANIMAL LEAGUE INC: $15,300 · AnimalsOPERATION CATNIP OF RICHMOND INC: $13,500 · AnimalsPREVENT A LITTER VETERINARY HOSPITAL: $9,000 · AnimalsLancova Partners for Pets Inc: $6,250 · AnimalsRICHMOND RUFF HOUSE: $5,000 · AnimalsRICHMOND SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS: $4,235 · AnimalsVIRGINIA LIVING MUSEUM INC: $36,300 · Arts & CultureSOUNDSCAPES INC: $11,250 · Arts & CultureArt For The Journey: $3,900 · Arts & Culture
Other$579,785Youth Development$148,450Health$87,500Human Services$66,610Religion$60,000Animals$53,285Arts & Culture$51,450

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 budgetRONALD MCDONALD HOUSE CHARITIES OF RICHMOND: $57,200 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetCharacterWorks Inc: $56,300 over 3y, 2.5% of budgetTUCKAHOE VOLUNTEER RESCUE SQUAD INC: $51,250 over 1y, 5.0% of budgetJacob's Ladder Inc: $51,100 over 3y, 8.2% of budgetHOUSING FAMILIES FIRST: $50,000 over 1y, 2.3% of budgetRAPPAHANNOCK FOUNDATION INC: $36,300 over 2y, 6.2% of budgetVIRGINIA LIVING MUSEUM INC: $36,300 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetSPUR N UP HOPE INC: $26,050 over 2y, 15% of budgetGoochlandCares: $15,300 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetRICHMOND ANIMAL LEAGUE INC: $15,300 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetBOYS TO MEN MENTORING NETWORK OF VIRGINIA INC: $15,000 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetOPERATION CATNIP OF RICHMOND INC: $13,500 over 1y, 12% of budgetFEED MORE INC: $12,200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSOUNDSCAPES INC: $11,250 over 1y, 0.8% of budget2 END THE STIGMA INC: $10,000 over 1y, 5.7% of budgetST JOSEPH'S VILLA: $9,800 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPREVENT A LITTER VETERINARY HOSPITAL: $9,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetHEALTHY HARVEST FOOD BANK INC: $8,300 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetHANDS ACROSS MATHEWS INTERFAITH: $7,000 over 1y, 3.8% of budgetLancova Partners for Pets Inc: $6,250 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetANNA JULIA COOPER SCHOOL: $5,370 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetJOURNEY HOUSE FOUNDATION INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetRICHMOND SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS: $4,235 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetPETER PAUL DEVELOPMENT CENTER INC: $4,235 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetELK HILL FARM INC: $4,235 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLEWIS GINTER BOTANICAL GARDEN INC: $4,235 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSMITH POINT SEA RESCUE: $4,235 over 1y, 2.6% of budgetJAMES RIVER ASSOCIATION: $4,235 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetSIGNS OF FUN: $4,000 over 1y, 19% of budgetCAPITAL TREES: $3,900 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetREAD TO THEM INC: $3,900 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetArt For The Journey: $3,900 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetRIVERSIDE SCHOOL INC: $3,900 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetThe Gray Haven Project Inc: $3,150 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetGREATER RICHMOND SCAN - STOP CHILD ABUSE NOW INC: $2,150 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.

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 Community Foundat…Dominion Energy Chari…The Mary Morton Parso…Herndon FoundationRichard S Reynolds Fo…Shelton H Short Jr Tr…Townebank FoundationCarmax FoundationThe Randolph and Susa…Robins FoundationPga Tour Charities IncBon Secours - Richmon…
The Community Foundation IncVA58.1× affinity28 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Community Foundation Inc · Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation · The Mary Morton Parsons Foundation · Herndon Foundation · Richard S Reynolds Foundation · Shelton H Short Jr Trust · Townebank Foundation · Carmax Foundation · The Randolph and Susan Reynolds Foundation · Robins Foundation · Pga Tour Charities Inc · Bon Secours - Richmond Health System Inc

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 M Ruffin Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Joseph M Ruffin Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%5%11%20%funder's share of their income ↑0%23%45%68%90%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    12report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–90%
    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 M Ruffin Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to The Joseph M Ruffin 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 60 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 Joseph M Ruffin’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