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The RL Mace Universal Design Institute at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Public charity

The RL Mace Universal Design Institute

The mission of Universal Design Institute is to make the built environment easier to use and safer to live in for everyone at all ages and stages of life.

$294k
Granted FY2017
12
Grants FY2017
4
States reached
$44k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its fieldRead
04Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
01FY2017 · 12 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 12 grants below total $286,864, the rows itemized in this filing. The $294,217 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $7,353 is giving the schedule does not break out (grants under the $5,000 itemization floor, grants to individuals, grants on other schedules). Every figure below describes the itemized rows only.

By grant size · FY2017

  • Under $10k3 grants · $24k
  • $10k–50k9 grants · $263k
$20,500
Median grant
4
States reached
$28k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Meals on Wheels Central TX$43,500
Lumber River Development Corp$40,229
Mountain Housing Opportunitie$36,312
Disability Achievement Center$35,117
Habitat for Humanity-Orlando$32,050
Regional Partners Network$20,500
RISE Center$20,277
Disability Resource Center FL$19,965
Georgia Habitat for Humanity$14,800
Council on Aging of Buncombe$9,766
Habitat for Humanity- El Paso$7,234
Rebuilding Together of the Tr$7,114
02The need
02

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 (FY17–17, $65k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%RISE Center: $20k → 19%Disability Achievement Center: $35k → 12%Council on Aging of Buncombe: $10k → 12%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 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
Habitat for Humanity of Montgomery County Tn Inc

Habitat for humanity works in partnership with god and people everywhere from all walks of life to develop communities with god's people in need by building houses so that there are safe and decent houses in decent communities in which…

Housing & Shelter
2
Habitat Community Housing Development Inc

Development of affordable housing

—
3
Housing Options & Planning Enterprises Inc

HOUSING COUNSELING SERVICES - Our Housing Counseling Program supports delivery of a wide variety of housing counseling services to homebuyers, homeowners, and low-to moderate-income renters. The primary objectives of the program are to…

Human Services
4
Habitat for Humanity International Inc

Seeking to put Gods love into action Habitat for Humanity brings people together to build homes communities and hope to realize our vision of a world where everyone has a decent place to live. Greater Mount Airy Area Habitat for Humanity…

—
5
Housing Opportunities Made Economical Inc

To provide accessible housing for people with disabilities.

Housing & Shelter
6
Habitat for Humanity of Gaston County Inc

To build decent affordable housing in partnership with families in need and our communities. To make adequate housing a matter of conscience and action for everyone.

—
7
Habitat for Humanity of the San Juans

Provide affordable housing to the disadvantaged

Housing & Shelter
8
Habitat for Humanity of Sumner Coun

Seeking to put god's love into action, habitat for humanity brings people together to build homes, communities and hope to relive our vision of a world where everyone has a decent place to live. habitat for humanity of sumner county…

—
9
Lowell Area Housing Inc Dba Schneider Manor
—
10
Coalition for Housing Accessibility Needs

Disabled affordable,accessible housing

Housing & Shelter
11
Macon Area Habitat for Humanity

Seeking to put god's love into action, habitat for humanity brings people together to build homes, communities and hope to realize our vision of a world where everyone has a decent place to live. macon area habitat for humanity adheres to…

Housing & Shelter
12
Helping Hands for the Elderly & Handicapped Society Corporation

Help elderly and handicapped persons maintain their homes property

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Habitat for Humanity Greater Orlando and Osceola County Inc; the most unlike its peers is Disability Resource Center Inc. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
03the grantee network

10 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. 10 of the 12 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)
5
Early backer (in before they grew)
10/10
Grantees still filing
7/10
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Lumber River Development Corp: $40,229 · OtherLumber River Development CorpHabitat for Humanity Greater Orlando and Osceola County Inc: $32,050 · OtherHabitat for Humanity Greater Orlando and Osce…REGIONAL PARTNERS NETWORK INC: $20,500 · OtherREGIONAL PARTNERS NETWORK INCHABITAT FOR HUMANITY OF GEORGIA INC: $14,800 · OtherHABITAT FOR HUMANITY OF GEORGIA INCHABITAT FOR HUMANITY OF EL PASO INC: $7,234 · OtherHABITAT FOR HUMANITY OF EL PASO INCCARING AND SHARING CENTER FOR INDEPENDENT LIVING INC: $35,117 · Human ServicesCARING AND SHARING CENTER…RISE: $20,277 · Human ServicesRISECOUNCIL ON AGING OF BUNCOMBE COUNTY INC: $9,766 · Human ServicesCOUNCIL ON AGING OF BUNCO…MOUNTAIN HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES INC: $36,312 · Housing & ShelterMOUNTAIN HOUSING OPPORTUN…DISABILITY RESOURCE CENTER INC: $19,965 · Housing & ShelterDISABILITY RESOURCE CENTE…PRESERVING HOME INC: $7,114 · Housing & ShelterPRESERVING HOME INCMEALS ON WHEELS AND MORE INC: $43,500 · Food & NutritionMEALS ON WHEELS A…
Other$114,813Human Services$65,160Housing & Shelter$63,391Food & Nutrition$43,500

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

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetMEALS ON WHEELS AND MORE INC: $43,500 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetMOUNTAIN HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES INC: $36,312 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetHabitat for Humanity Greater Orlando and Osceola County Inc: $32,050 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetRISE: $20,277 over 1y, 3.3% of budgetDISABILITY RESOURCE CENTER INC: $19,965 over 1y, 4.8% of budgetHABITAT FOR HUMANITY OF GEORGIA INC: $14,800 over 1y, 11% of budgetCOUNCIL ON AGING OF BUNCOMBE COUNTY INC: $9,766 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetHABITAT FOR HUMANITY OF EL PASO INC: $7,234 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetPRESERVING HOME INC: $7,114 over 1y, 0.6% 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 Bank of America C…American Online Givin…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
The Bank of America Charitable Foundation IncNC9.6× affinity7 shared granteesties to 3 of 3Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Bank of America Charitable Foundation 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 RL Mace Universal Design Institute funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The RL Mace Universal Design Institute. 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%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 23%
  • Disability Resource Center Inc: 38% of income from government
  • Caring and Sharing Center for Independent Living Inc: 23% of income from government
  • Habitat for Humanity Greater Orlando and Osceola County Inc: 1% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
4report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
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.
04Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to The RL Mace Universal Design Institute?

Find your warmest path to The RL Mace Universal Design Institute 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 12 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 2017, released 2017. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2025) is on record and reports $5k of grant expense, but none of it to a named recipient. On a Form 990 that can mean grants abroad, filed by region only (Schedule F), grants under $5,000, which are not itemized, or a schedule referenced as an attachment the e-file does not carry. The figures above are therefore from FY2017, the most recent year this funder named its grantees.

Source object · view filing

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More from the funding graph

The unnamed billions
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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