Skip to content

· Private foundation

The Walter & Jean Kalberer Foundation

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.

$561k
Granted FY2024still arriving
17
Grants FY2024still arriving
3
States reached
$258k
Largest
01What it funds
0199% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Arts & Culture$3.5MRecreation & Sports$562kReligion$512kEnvironment$144kEducation$75kAnimals$30kPublic Benefit$20kCrime & Legal$5kOther$0
02FY2024 · 17 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k10 grants · $41k
  • $10k–50k4 grants · $50k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $212k
  • $250k+1 grant · $258k
$5,000
Median grant
3
States reached
$2.8M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CHURCH OF THE WESTERN RESERVE$258,159
CLEVELAND PLAYHOUSE$111,014
PIANO CLEVELAND$101,014
THE MALTZ MUSEUM$15,000
HOLDEN FORESTS & GARDENS$15,000
CLEVELAND ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY$10,000
PEO FOUNDATION$10,000
CLEVELAND INSTITUTE OF ART$6,000
UNIVERSITY CIRCLE INC$5,000
CLEVELAND SCHOOL OF THE ARTS$5,000
NEAR WEST THEATER$5,000
FRIENDS OF BREAKTHROUGH SCHOOLS$5,000
CENTER FOR ARTS-INSPIRED LEARNING$5,000
SANIBEL CONGREGATIONAL UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST$4,500
CLEVELAND METROPARKS$2,500
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 17%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 99% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%NATIONAL ABOLITION MUSEUM: $10k → 11%PEO FOUNDATION: $10k → 10%HOLDEN FORESTS & GARDENS: $15k → 9%CLEVELAND METROPOLITAN ZOO: $508k → 17%HOLDEN FORESTS & GARDENS: $15k → 9%CLEVELAND ZOOLOGICAL: $398k → 17%CLEVELAND ZOOLOGICAL: $162k → 17%HOLDEN ARBORETUM: $101k → 17%CLEVELAND ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $10k → 17%IDEASTREAM: $64k → 17%CLEVELAND ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $10k → 17%IDEASTREAM: $58k → 17%CLEVELAND ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $10k → 17%IDEASTREAM PUBLIC MEDIA: $30k → 17%CLEVELAND PLAYHOUSE: $500k → 17%CLEVELAND PLAYHOUSE: $121k → 17%CLEVELAND PLAYHOUSE: $111k → 17%CLEVELAND PLAYHOUSE: $102k → 17%CLEVELAND PLAYHOUSE: $101k → 17%CHURCH OF THE WESTERN RESERVE: $258k → 17%CLEVELAND PLAYHOUSE: $100k → 17%CHURCH OF THE WESTERN RESERVE: $249k → 17%CLEVELAND PLAYHOUSE: $50k → 17%PIANO CLEVELAND: $101k → 17%CLEVELAND PLAYHOUSE: $45k → 17%THE MALTZ MUSEUM: $15k → 17%FRIENDS OF BREAKTHROUGH SCHOOLS: $11k → 17%THE MALTZ MUSEUM: $10k → 17%VILLAGE OF GATES MILLS: $20k → 17%HAWKEN SCHOOL: $15k → 17%CWRU: $803k → 17%CWRU: $500k → 17%CWRU: $215k → 17%MUSICAL ARTS ASSCIATION: $121k → 17%THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA: $101k → 17%MUSICAL ARTS ASSCIATION: $101k → 17%CWRU: $100k → 17%CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY: $31k → 17%MUSICAL ARTS ASSCIATION: $26k → 17%CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART: $20k → 17%CLEVELAND BOTANICAL GARDENS: $11k → 17%CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY: $10k → 17%CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART: $10k → 17%CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY: $10k → 17%CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW: $10k → 17%CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART: $10k → 17%CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART: $7k → 17%CLEVELAND INSTITUTE OF ART: $6k → 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.
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.

86%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$4.6M · 20 repeat orgs$778k to everyone else

20 repeat relationships: 12 still active in FY2024, 8 since wound down; 5 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

20
7

Total granted

$4.6M
$658k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+31%
+63%

Still filing today

70%
29%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 79% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $120k 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
EducationArts & CultureEnvironmentAnimalsCommunity ImprovementYouth DevelopmentOther
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

  • TC
    THE CLEVELAND PLAY HOUSE
    7× · 2017–2024 · $1.1M · revenue +27%
  • TM
    The Musical Arts Association
    4× · 2018–2023 · $348k · revenue +27%
  • I
    IDEASTREAM
    3× · 2018–2023 · $152k · revenue +22%

Funded once

  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2021 · $508k
  • TH
    THE HOLDEN ARBORETUM
    one grant, 2019 · $101k · revenue +7%
  • VO
    VILLAGE OF GATES MILLS
    one grant, 2019 · $20k
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
The Central European University

Ceu is committed to promoting the values of open society and self-reflective critical thinking. it aims at excellence in the mastery of established knowledge, courage to pursue the creation of new knowledge in the humanities, the social…

International
2
Cincinnati Museum Center

Cincinnati museum center inspires people of all ages to learn more about our world through science, regional history, and educational, engaging and meaningful experiences.

Arts & Culture
3
Cleveland Arts Prize

The cleveland arts prize identifies, rewards, publicly honors and promotes those creative artists whose original work and accomplishments have set a standard of excellence to which other artists can aspire. additionally, the cleveland arts…

Arts & Culture
4
Cleveland Pops Orchestra

The cleveland pops orchestra, led by conductor carl topilow, performs the highest quality symphonic pops music to entertain and enrich a wide and diverse audience and provides educational programs to develop an enduring appreciation of…

Arts & Culture
5
Cleveland Arts Education Consortium

Cleveland arts education consortiums mission is to promote and strengthen arts education in northeast ohio and advocate on behalf of arts learning for people of all ages and circumstances.

Arts & Culture
6
Point Park University

Provides innovative education in a dynamic urban setting. dedicated to academic excellence and community engagement,we prepare students of diverse backgrounds with the knowledge, skill,and experience to lead meaningful lives as informed…

—
7
Western Reserve Historical Society

Western reserve historical society preserves and uses its collections, historic sites, and museums to inspire people to discover the american experience by exploring the tangible history of northeast ohio.

Arts & Culture
8
DePauw University

Depauw university develops leaders the world needs through an uncommon commitment to the liberal arts. depauw's diverse and inclusive learning and living experience, distinctive in its rigorous intellectual engagement and its global and…

Education
9
Trustees of Clark University

Clark university's mission is to educate undergraduate and graduate students to be imaginative and contributing citizens of the world, and to advance the frontiers of knowledge and understanding through rigorous scholarship and creative…

Education
10
Carnegie Mellon University

To create a transformative educational experience for students focused on deep disciplinary knowledge; problem solving; leadership, communication and interpersonal skills; and personal health and well-being. to cultivate a transformative…

—
11
The Cleveland Modern Dance Association

To be a national model for how a presenting organization serves its community, leveraging the worlds best modern and contemporary dance to inspire and educate audiences, local dancers, and community members.

—
12
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum Inc

Born from the collision of rhythm & blues, country, and gospel, rock & roll is a spirit that is inclusive and ever-changing. the rock & roll hall of fame celebrates the sound of youth culture and honors the artists whose music connects us…

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Cleveland Institute of Art; the most unlike its peers is Friends of Breakthrough Schools. 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

19 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. 19 of the 32 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)
0
Early backer (in before they grew)
19/19
Grantees still filing
14/19
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

CWRU: $1,618,154 · OtherCWRUIndividual grant recipient: $559,904 · OtherIndividual grant recipientIndividual grant recipient: $508,108 · OtherIndividual grant recipientCHURCH OF THE WESTERN RESERVE: $507,438 · OtherCHURCH OF THE WESTERN RESERVE+10 more: $216,351 · Other+10 moreTHE CLEVELAND PLAY HOUSE: $1,132,340 · Arts & CultureTHE CLEVELAND PLAY HOUSEThe Musical Arts Association: $348,391 · Arts & CultureThe Musical Arts Association+3 more: $89,651 · Arts & Culture+3 moreIDEASTREAM: $152,021 · Youth DevelopmentCASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY: $30,285 · EducationTHE CLEVELAND INSTITUTE OF ART: $25,000 · EducationHAWKEN SCHOOL: $18,237 · EducationFRIENDS OF BREAKTHROUGH SCHOOLS: $16,000 · EducationCENTER FOR ARTS-INSPIRED LEARNING: $10,000 · EducationPEO Foundation: $10,000 · EducationCLEVELAND INSTITUTE OF MUSIC: $9,000 · EducationTHE HOLDEN ARBORETUM: $100,520 · EnvironmentCLEVELAND BOTANICAL GARDEN: $11,084 · Environment+1 more: $2,000 · EnvironmentCLEVELAND ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $30,000 · AnimalsUNIVERSITY CIRCLE INCORPORATED: $10,000 · Community Improvement
Other$3,409,955Arts & Culture$1,570,382Youth Development$152,021Education$118,522Environment$113,604Animals$30,000Community Improvement$10,000

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 budgetTHE CLEVELAND PLAY HOUSE: $1,132,340 over 7y, 4.9% of budgetThe Musical Arts Association: $348,391 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetIDEASTREAM: $152,021 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetPIANO INTERNATIONAL ASSOC OF NORTHERN OH: $101,014 over 1y, 4.2% of budgetTHE HOLDEN ARBORETUM: $100,520 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetCLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART: $46,689 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCLEVELAND MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY: $32,962 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY: $30,285 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCLEVELAND ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $30,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetTHE CLEVELAND INSTITUTE OF ART: $25,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetHAWKEN SCHOOL: $18,237 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFRIENDS OF BREAKTHROUGH SCHOOLS: $16,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCLEVELAND BOTANICAL GARDEN: $11,084 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetNEAR WEST THEATRE INC: $10,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetUNIVERSITY CIRCLE INCORPORATED: $10,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCENTER FOR ARTS-INSPIRED LEARNING: $10,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetPEO Foundation: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCLEVELAND INSTITUTE OF MUSIC: $9,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetGates Mills Land Conservancy: $2,000 over 1y, 0.9% 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 THE CLEVELAND PLAY HOUSE ↗
  • Who funds The Musical Arts Association ↗
  • Who funds IDEASTREAM ↗
  • Who funds PIANO INTERNATIONAL ASSOC OF NORTHERN OH ↗
  • Who funds THE HOLDEN ARBORETUM ↗
  • Who funds CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART ↗
  • Who funds CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ↗
  • Who funds CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds CLEVELAND ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds THE CLEVELAND INSTITUTE OF ART ↗
  • Who funds HAWKEN SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds FRIENDS OF BREAKTHROUGH SCHOOLS ↗
  • Who funds CLEVELAND BOTANICAL GARDEN ↗
  • Who funds NEAR WEST THEATRE INC ↗
  • Who funds UNIVERSITY CIRCLE INCORPORATED ↗
  • Who funds CENTER FOR ARTS-INSPIRED LEARNING ↗
  • Who funds PEO Foundation ↗
  • Who funds CLEVELAND INSTITUTE OF MUSIC ↗
  • Who funds Gates Mills Land Conservancy ↗

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.

John P Murphy FoundationOH22.1× affinity8 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: John P Murphy Foundation · The Albert B & Audrey G Ratner Family Foundation · The Gries Family Foundation · Kulas Foundation · Emma R Fox Char Trust Mut Fds · The George Gund Foundation · The Cleveland Foundation · Jane and Jon Outcalt Foundation · The Louise H & David S Ingalls Fdn · Giant Eagle Foundation · Martha Holden Jennings Foundation · The Char and Chuck Fowler Family 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 Walter & Jean Kalberer Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Walter & Jean Kalberer 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%13%25%38%50%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 · 0–50%
    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 Walter & Jean Kalberer Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to The Walter & Jean Kalberer 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 32 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 Walter & Jean Kalberer’s filings →

    More from the funding graph