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Plinth
Foundation DossiersMostly funded, not a grantmaker — see who funds it →
Plinth

· Public charity

The Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges

To solicit contributions from the corporate community and private foundations on behalf of 33 member-college/universities that serve nearly 80,000 students.

$3.2M
Granted FY2025still arriving
90
Grants FY2025still arriving
19
States reached
$185k
Largest
01What you fundRead
02The needRead
03Your edgeRead
04Your fieldRead
01What you fund
0184% classified

What you funded, over time

Every grant clustered by its grantee’s IRS cause code (NTEE), by year — across FY2017–2025.

Education$18MCommunity Improvement$11kRecreation & Sports$10kOther$3.3M
02FY2025 · 90 grants

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

The 90 grants below total $2,761,061 — the rows itemised in this filing. The $3,181,335 headline is the total grant expense reported on the return, so the remaining $420,274 is giving the schedule does not break out: grants under the $5,000 itemisation floor, grants to individuals, and grants reported on other schedules. Every figure below describes the itemised rows only.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k39 grants · $259k
  • $10k–50k32 grants · $840k
  • $50k–250k19 grants · $1.7M
$10,846
Median grant
19
States reached
$8.8M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
KENYON COLLEGE$185,371
DENISON UNIVERSITY$179,560
OBERLIN COLLEGE$147,117
THE COLLEGE OF WOOSTER$120,035
OTTERBEIN UNIVERSITY$95,536
FRANKLIN UNIVERSITY$92,822
CEDARVILLE UNIVERSITY$90,971
PURDUE UNIVERSITY$83,831
LAKE ERIE COLLEGE$77,311
JOHN CARROLL UNIVERSITY$69,497
OHIO NORTHERN UNIVERSITY$67,630
BALDWIN WALLACE UNIVERSITY$66,004
UNIVERSITY OF MOUNT UNION$60,846
UNIVERSITY OF FINDLAY$57,312
TIFFIN UNIVERSITY$56,653
02The need
03

Do your dollars go where the need is?

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

show:

Dollar for dollar, your grants (FY17–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 81% of your dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of your grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%PURDUE UNIVERSITY: $85k → 19%UNIVERSITY OF FINDLAY: $86k → 9%CEDARVILLE UNIVERSITY: $103k → 9%THE COLLEGE OF WOOSTER: $120k → 10%DENISON UNIVERSITY: $180k → 10%ASHLAND UNIVERSITY: $95k → 11%KENYON COLLEGE: $185k → 12%UNIVERSITY OF MOUNT UNION: $79k → 13%UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON: $169k → 14%OHIO NORTHERN UNIVERSITY: $78k → 15%BALDWIN-WALLACE UNIVERSITY: $93k → 17%UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN INDIANA: $105k → 15%PURDUE UNIVERSITY: $84k → 19%UNIVERSITY OF FINDLAY: $86k → 9%CEDARVILLE UNIVERSITY: $93k → 9%DENISON UNIVERSITY: $80k → 10%ASHLAND UNIVERSITY: $87k → 11%UNIVERSITY OF MOUNT UNION: $79k → 13%UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON: $161k → 14%BALDWIN-WALLACE UNIVERSITY: $90k → 17%UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN INDIANA: $93k → 15%UNIVERSITY OF FINDLAY: $86k → 9%CEDARVILLE UNIVERSITY: $91k → 9%DENISON UNIVERSITY: $79k → 10%ASHLAND UNIVERSITY: $86k → 11%OBERLIN COLLEGE: $147k → 13%FRANKLIN UNIVERSITY: $93k → 15%BALDWIN-WALLACE UNIVERSITY: $88k → 17%UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN INDIANA: $81k → 15%CEDARVILLE UNIVERSITY: $91k → 9%DENISON UNIVERSITY: $78k → 10%ASHLAND UNIVERSITY: $82k → 11%OBERLIN COLLEGE: $85k → 13%FRANKLIN UNIVERSITY: $79k → 15%CEDARVILLE UNIVERSITY: $89k → 9%OBERLIN COLLEGE: $84k → 13%CEDARVILLE UNIVERSITY: $83k → 9%OBERLIN COLLEGE: $82k → 13%JOHN CARROLL UNIVERSITY: $89k → 17%JOHN CARROLL UNIVERSITY: $88k → 17%JOHN CARROLL UNIVERSITY: $88k → 17%CAPITAL UNIVERSITY: $86k → 15%CAPITAL UNIVERSITY: $84k → 15%CAPITAL UNIVERSITY: $82k → 15%OTTERBEIN UNIVERSITY: $96k → 15%OTTERBEIN UNIVERSITY: $84k → 15%OTTERBEIN UNIVERSITY: $79k → 15%OTTERBEIN UNIVERSITY: $79k → 15%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount

Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty linein the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP; grantee ZIP can differ from where services are delivered.

Which US states your grants reach

ME
VT
NH
ND
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
WY
IA
IN
OH
PA
CT
RI
CA
CO
NE
MO
KY
VA
MD
AZ
TN
NC
SC
DC
HI
LA
MS
AL
TX
FL

US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are actually delivered. Need from public data — U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA — shown as context about the area, never attributed to your giving.

03Your edge
repeat funding

Who you back again

Which organizations you funded more than once, and which you funded a single time. Each grantee is matched to its own filings.

97%of every dollar goes to organizations you’ve funded before.
$20M · 94 repeat orgs$704k to everyone else

And the relationships you keep tend to grow: grantees you re-up on have seen median revenue of +20% since the first grant, against +17% for the ones you funded once.

94 repeat relationships — 65 still active in FY2025, 29 since wound down; 19 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

94
97

Total granted

$20M
$543k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+20%
+17%

Still filing today

62%
56%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 94% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $161k 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
EducationRecreation & SportsOther

First-time = a grantee’s first year in your filing window; renewed = funded in an earlier year too. As a portfolio matures the renewed share naturally climbs — once funded, an org stays “renewable” — so the signal is the years that buck it (a new-grantee intake wave). 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

  • CU
    Cedarville University
    9× · 2017–2025 · $756k · revenue +90%
  • Oberlin College
    9× · 2017–2025 · $715k · revenue +41%
  • DU
    DENISON UNIVERSITY
    9× · 2017–2025 · $711k · revenue +39%

Funded once

  • UU
    URBANA UNIVERSITY
    one grant, 2017 · $58k
  • BU
    BRATTLEBORO UNION HIGH SCHOOL
    one grant, 2022 · $26k
  • YS
    YOUNGSTOWN STATE UNIVERSITY ASSOCIATION OF PROFESSIONAL STAFF
    one grant, 2023 · $24k

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

04Your field

The map has a center of gravity: the average direction from the rest of the sector toward the organizations the foundation funds — the shape of its giving. Scoring every nonprofit along that direction surfaces the ones that look most like the portfolio. These are the closest matchesthat aren’t grantees — 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
Trinity University

Trinity university is an independent co-educational university whose mission is excellence in the interrelated areas of teaching, research and services.

Education
3
Benedictine University

Benedictine University is an inclusive academic community dedicated to teaching and learning, scholarship and service, truth and justice, as inspired by the Catholic intellectual tradition, the social teaching of the Church, and the…

Education
4
Boston Architectural College

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

—
5
Xavier University

Xavier is a jesuit catholic university rooted in the liberal arts tradition. our mission is to educate each student intellectually, morally, and spiritually. we create learning opportunities through rigorous academic and professional…

Education
6
Albright College

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

Education
7
Roger Williams University

At Roger Williams University, students are prepared to be thinkers and doers ready to solve challenging problems with innovative solutions. RWU offers robust offerings of undergraduate, graduate and professional programs across eight…

Education
8
Wake Forest University

Wake Forest University, a 501(c)(3) institution of higher education, is dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in the liberal arts and in graduate and professional education. The organization is comprised of seven constituent parts: Wake…

Education
9
Wilson College

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

Education
10
Delaware Valley University

See schedule o.we are inspired by the ideals of our founder who, in 1896, emphasized respect for all people and ideas, who honored knowledge with practice, progress and the common good. our historical commitment to experiential learning…

—
11
LaGrange College

Education - lagrange college challenges the minds and inspires the souls of its students. founded in 1831 and committed to its relationship with the united methodist church and its wesleyan and liberal arts traditions, the college supports…

Education
12
Manhattanville University

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

Education

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Muskingum University and the most unlike its peers is Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.

Your grantees are a median of 78 years old; the field is 19. You back the established end — and your money leans older still.

THE FIELDby orgYOUR GRANTEESby number18%0%<5yr12%1%5–10yr21%5%10–20yr14%5%20–35yr16%9%35–55yr20%81%55yr+
THE FIELDby orgYOUR MONEYby value18%0%<5yr12%0%5–10yr21%4%10–20yr14%1%20–35yr16%7%35–55yr20%88%55yr+

The field is 18% startups (under 5 years old) — 0% of your grantees by number, and just 0% of your money.

Closures · last 5 years

The orgs you fund almost never close — 0.0% lost their exemption, against 11% of the field you don’t fund.

orgs you fund
0.0%0/209
the rest of the field
11%
8,037/74,097

Age = years since IRS exemption (a founding proxy). “Closed” = auto-revocation for 3 years of non-filing — a floor on closure, not proof, and bigger established orgs lapse least. Association, not causation.

04the grantee network

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

Each one resolved to its own IRS returns and tracked year by year — your grant beside their revenue from every source. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

Counted here: distinct organizations you funded across 2017–2025, not grant rows in a single year — so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 130 of the 214 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile; the rest are funded organizations whose filings we could not track year by year.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
0
Early backer (in before they grew)
130/130
Grantees still filing
90/130
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

Cedarville University — $756,119 · EducationOberlin College — $714,974 · EducationDENISON UNIVERSITY — $710,695 · EducationBaldwin Wallace University — $658,895 · EducationKENYON COLLEGE — $639,180 · EducationJohn Carroll University — $631,374 · EducationASHLAND UNIVERSITY — $621,542 · EducationOtterbein University — $611,413 · EducationThe University of Findlay — $609,725 · EducationTHE COLLEGE OF WOOSTER — $598,063 · Education+100 more — $11,024,042 · Education+100 moreFRANKLIN UNIVERSITY — $619,428 · OtherFRANKLIN UNIVERSI…TRUSTEES OF PURDUE UNIVERSITY — $362,010 · OtherTRUSTEES OF PURDU…University of Southern Indiana — $355,839 · OtherUniversity of Sou…Indiana University School of Medicine — $213,627 · OtherIndiana Universit…THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS — $163,200 · OtherTHE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY — $111,866 · OtherYOUNGSTOWN STATE UNIVERSITY — $111,599 · Other+81 more — $1,380,215 · Other+81 moreBROWN UNIVERSITY — $11,368 · Community ImprovementNorthwestern University — $10,166 · Recreation & Sports
Education$17,576,022Other$3,317,784Community Improvement$11,368Recreation & Sports$10,166

Showing your 200 largest grantees by grant value.

Each org by its size and your share of it — top-left is where you’re load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ your share of their budgetCedarville University — $756,119 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetOberlin College — $714,974 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetDENISON UNIVERSITY — $710,695 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetBaldwin Wallace University — $658,895 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetKENYON COLLEGE — $639,180 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetJohn Carroll University — $631,374 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetASHLAND UNIVERSITY — $621,542 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetFRANKLIN UNIVERSITY — $619,428 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetOtterbein University — $611,413 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetThe University of Findlay — $609,725 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetTHE COLLEGE OF WOOSTER — $598,063 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetCAPITAL UNIVERSITY — $585,051 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetUniversity of Mount Union — $580,924 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetOhio Northern University — $566,135 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetFRANCISCAN UNIVERSITY OF STEUBENVILLE — $506,124 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetWalsh University Inc — $496,407 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetTHE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF WITTENBERG COLLEGE — $479,519 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetMount Vernon Nazarene University — $476,349 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetMUSKINGUM UNIVERSITY — $471,490 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetWilmington College — $460,762 over 9y, 0.2% of budgetOHIO DOMINICAN UNIVERSITY — $441,455 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetOHIO WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY — $434,853 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetMarietta College — $434,050 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetHeidelberg University — $431,794 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetLAKE ERIE COLLEGE — $425,943 over 9y, 0.2% of budgetMALONE UNIVERSITY — $418,482 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetHIRAM COLLEGE — $408,752 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetLOURDES UNIVERSITY — $403,047 over 9y, 0.2% of budgetBluffton University — $380,623 over 9y, 0.2% of budgetNOTRE DAME COLLEGE — $379,361 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetDEFIANCE COLLEGE — $370,765 over 9y, 0.3% of budgetURSULINE COLLEGE — $363,057 over 9y, 0.2% of budgetUniversity of Dayton — $354,658 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetTiffin University — $304,758 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF EVANSVILLE — $79,700 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetButler University — $44,463 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetUniversity of Notre Dame du Lac — $35,211 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetMURRAY STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC — $34,344 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetDOMINICAN UNIVERSITY — $32,250 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetBARD COLLEGE — $25,845 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMILWAUKEE SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING — $25,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetThe George Washington University — $25,088 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetOHIO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION — $24,431 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE UNIVERSITY OF TOLEDO FOUNDATION — $23,350 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE TRUSTEES OF MOUNT HOLYOKE COLLEGE — $21,476 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST FOUNDATION INC — $21,346 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetCOLLEGE OF THE ATLANTIC — $17,037 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetIllinois Institute of Technology — $17,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budget
Go grantee by grantee — a decade per org, and how each moved after you funded them

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

  • Who funds Cedarville University ↗
  • Who funds Oberlin College ↗
  • Who funds DENISON UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds Baldwin Wallace University ↗
  • Who funds KENYON COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds John Carroll University ↗
  • Who funds ASHLAND UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds FRANKLIN UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds Otterbein University ↗
  • Who funds The University of Findlay ↗
  • Who funds THE COLLEGE OF WOOSTER ↗
  • Who funds CAPITAL UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds University of Mount Union ↗
  • Who funds Ohio Northern University ↗
  • Who funds FRANCISCAN UNIVERSITY OF STEUBENVILLE ↗
  • Who funds Walsh University Inc ↗
  • Who funds THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF WITTENBERG COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds Mount Vernon Nazarene University ↗
  • Who funds MUSKINGUM UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds Wilmington College ↗
  • Who funds OHIO DOMINICAN UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds OHIO WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds Marietta College ↗
  • Who funds Heidelberg University ↗
  • Who funds LAKE ERIE COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds MALONE UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds HIRAM COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds LOURDES UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds Bluffton University ↗
  • Who funds NOTRE DAME COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds DEFIANCE COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds URSULINE COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds University of Dayton ↗
  • Who funds Tiffin University ↗

The grantmakers whose grantees overlap with yours far more than size alone predicts. Each orbits closer the stronger the alignment; the arcs between them show where they also fund each other. Here it reads as a tightly interlocked camp — most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

National Collegiate A…Folds of Honor Founda…Council of Independen…Tulsa Community Found…Columbus FoundationThe Community Foundat…American Chemical Soc…The Dayton FoundationJohn B & Brownie Youn…Community Foundations…I Know I CanIbm International Fou…
National Collegiate Athletic AssociationIN72.5× affinity36 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: National Collegiate Athletic Association · Folds of Honor Foundation · Council of Independent Colleges · Tulsa Community Foundation · Columbus Foundation · The Community Foundation of Louisville Inc · American Chemical Society · The Dayton Foundation · John B & Brownie Young Memorial Fund · Community Foundations Inc · I Know I Can · Ibm International Foundation

Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. A research starting point: overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

Government reliance of your grantees

Every dot is one organization The Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges funds. Left–right is the share of its income from government; up–down is the share from you. Bigger dots raise more. Filter to federal or a single department — and drag the year to watch it move.

2025
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%0%1%3%5%your share of their income ↑0%23%45%68%90%share of the org’s income from government →median 1%
  • Trustees of Tufts College — 11% of income from government
  • Johns Hopkins University — 11% of income from government
  • Worcester Polytechnic Institute — 6% of income from government
  • Trustees of Boston College — 2% of income from government
  • Nova Southeastern University Inc — 2% of income from government
  • Wesleyan University — 1% of income from government
  • Assumption University — 1% of income from government
  • The Trustees of the Smith College — 0% of income from government
  • The Trustees of Mount Holyoke College — 0% of income from government
  • Western New England University — 0% of income from government
  • Springfield College — 0% of income from government
  • Berklee College of Music Inc — 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
31report 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

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 your grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first — a floor, not 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 12–24 months.

On method. Every financial figure here is read directly from IRS e-file XML — your own 990/990-PF and the multi-year returns of the 214 grantees we resolved across every year we hold, several hundred filings in all (a different count from the grant rows on the cover, which are one fiscal year)— each linked to its source. Grantee achievements and outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III); we read these as association with sustained funding — the foundation is one of several forces — suppress low-confidence name matches rather than guess, and say so where a figure rests on a single grant or filing. Not everything on this page is a filed figure, and the difference matters. Filed is what you reported on your 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. How we build these →

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

Source object · view filing

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 camps
funders cluster by geography, not ideology
By state
where grant money is based, and what stays home
State money flows
the interactive map of money crossing state lines