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The Ward Oaks Foundation Inc at a glance

· Public charity

The Ward Oaks Foundation Inc

To also help the environment by promoting the use of renewable energy sources, to invest in research and development of renewable energy sources, to encourage and promote the cost effective financing and operating of renewable energy facilities in order to reduce the cost of building and operating such facilities and to reduce the cost…

$205k
Granted FY2024still arriving
3
Grants FY2024still arriving
2
States reached
$150k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Religion$1.0MRecreation & Sports$142kArts & Culture$117kHousing & Shelter$50kYouth Development$47kEducation$35kEnvironment$30kHuman Services$25kOther$0
02FY2024 · 3 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 3 grants below total $170,000, the rows itemized in this filing. The $205,300 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $35,300 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 · FY2024

  • $10k–50k2 grants · $20k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $150k
$10,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$4.1M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
MCDONOGH SCHOOL INC$150,000
COMMUNITY ORGANIZING ALLIANCE$10,000
PORTLAND COMMUNITY SQUASH$10,000
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 (FY17–19, $15k) land where the poverty rate runs at 19%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%CATHOLIC CHARITIES: $5k → 19%CATHOLIC CHARITIES: $5k → 19%CATHOLIC CHARITIES: $5k → 19%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

ME
NY
MA
PA
CA
UT
CO
MD
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.

85%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.3M · 8 repeat orgs$230k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +61% since the first grant, against +16% for those funded once.

8 repeat relationships: 2 still active in FY2024, 6 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

8
13

Total granted

$1.3M
$220k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+61%
+16%

Still filing today

100%
69%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 94% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $10k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’21’22’23’24
EducationArts & CultureRecreation & SportsHuman ServicesEnvironmentPhilanthropyOther
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

  • PT
    PILGRIM TRACT SOCIETY INC
    7× · 2017–2024 · $1.0M · revenue +61% · 45% of their budget
  • PA
    PARKS AND PEOPLE INC
    4× · 2017–2022 · $60k · revenue +10%
  • EW
    ELITE WOMEN OF EXCELLENCE
    3× · 2019–2023 · $47k · revenue +113%

Funded once

  • RP
    ROLAND PARK COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INCgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $50k · revenue +132% · 30% of their budget
  • WO
    Ward Oaks Foundation Inc
    one grant, 2018 · $50k
  • UC
    Upper Chesapeake Health Foundation Incgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $25k · revenue +29%
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
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The mission of mit is to advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century.

Education
2
The George Washington University

The mission of the george washington university (gw) is to educate individuals in liberal arts, languages, sciences, learned professions, and other courses and subjects of study, and to conduct scholarly research and publish the findings…

Education
3
President and Trustees of Bates College

Bates is a college of the liberal arts and sciences, and is a coeducational, nonsectarian, residential college with special commitments to academic rigor, and to assuring in all of its efforts the dignity of each individual, and access to…

Education
4
Williams College

Williams College strives to achieve educational excellence by fostering a community of learning in collaboration with students, faculty, staff, devoted alumni and parents.

Education
5
Goucher College

Goucher College provides an innovative liberal arts education that prepares students with a broad, humane perspective for a life of inquiry, creativity, and critical and analytical thinking. The College's vision is to become a top-100…

Education
6
Maryland Institute

Degree granting college-maryland institute college of art is a private college dedicated to the education of professional artists and the further advancement of art in the community.

Education
7
Columbia College Chicago

The organization's mission is to educate students for creative occupations in diverse fields of arts and media.

Education
8
Stages

Stages makes plays and tells stories that invite everyone to live more deeply and love more boldly.

Arts & Culture
9
Boston Architectural College

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

—
10
Rollins College

Education and Public Service Mission: Rollins College educates students for global citizenship and responsible leadership, empowering graduates to pursue meaningful lives and productive careers. We are committed to liberal arts ethos and…

Education
11
Wilson College

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

Education
12
Minnesota Council on Foundations

MCF is a vibrant philanthropic community connecting, strengthening and mobilizing the power of philanthropy to advance prosperity and equity.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Georgia Tech Foundation Inc; the most unlike its peers is Mathari Childrens Fund Inc. 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

22 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. 22 of the 23 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.

2
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
5
Early backer (in before they grew)
20/22
Grantees still filing
14/22
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

PILGRIM TRACT SOCIETY INC: $1,028,500 · ReligionPILGRIM TRACT SOCIETY INCCENTER STAGE ASSOCIATES INC: $96,956 · Arts & CultureNEW YORK THEATRE WORKSHOP INC: $15,000 · Arts & CultureSundance Institute: $5,000 · Arts & CulturePARKS AND PEOPLE INC: $60,000 · Recreation & SportsPortland Community Squash: $31,800 · Recreation & SportsWard Oaks Foundation Inc: $50,000 · OtherWard Oaks …CA SUSTAINABILITY & RESILIENCY CONSORTIUM: $20,000 · OtherCA SUSTAIN…ELEPHANT ENERGY INC: $10,000 · OtherELEPHANT E…MICHAEL PATRICK ZITO FOUNDATION INC: $10,000 · OtherMICHAEL PA…Upper Chesapeake Health Foundation Inc: $25,000 · OtherUpper Ches…CANDID: $10,000 · OtherCANDIDCHESAPEAKE CHARITIES INC: $6,400 · OtherSHALOM AUSTIN: $5,000 · OtherMATHARI CHILDRENS FUND INC: $10,000 · OtherMATHARI CH…ELITE WOMEN OF EXCELLENCE: $46,500 · Human ServicesASSOCIATED CATHOLIC CHARITIES INC: $15,000 · Human ServicesROLAND PARK COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $50,000 · EnvironmentMAINE CONSERVATION ALLIANCE: $10,000 · EnvironmentGENESIS INNOVATION ACADEMY INC: $10,000 · EducationGEORGIA TECH FOUNDATION INC: $10,000 · EducationLAFAYETTE COLLEGE: $10,000 · EducationWASHINGTON COLLEGE: $5,000 · Education
Religion$1,028,500Arts & Culture$116,956Recreation & Sports$91,800Other$146,400Human Services$61,500Environment$60,000Education$35,000

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 budgetPILGRIM TRACT SOCIETY INC: $1,028,500 over 7y, 45% of budgetCENTER STAGE ASSOCIATES INC: $96,956 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetPARKS AND PEOPLE INC: $60,000 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetROLAND PARK COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $50,000 over 1y, 30% of budgetELITE WOMEN OF EXCELLENCE: $46,500 over 3y, 13% of budgetPortland Community Squash: $31,800 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetUpper Chesapeake Health Foundation Inc: $25,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetNEW YORK THEATRE WORKSHOP INC: $15,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetASSOCIATED CATHOLIC CHARITIES INC: $15,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMATHARI CHILDRENS FUND INC: $10,000 over 1y, 16% of budgetGENESIS INNOVATION ACADEMY INC: $10,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetMAINE CONSERVATION ALLIANCE: $10,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetELEPHANT ENERGY INC: $10,000 over 1y, 6.6% of budgetGEORGIA TECH FOUNDATION INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLAFAYETTE COLLEGE: $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCANDID: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCHESAPEAKE CHARITIES INC: $6,400 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetWASHINGTON COLLEGE: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSundance Institute: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSHALOM AUSTIN: $5,000 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.

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.

T Rowe Price Program …Raymond James Charita…The Blackbaud Giving …American Endowment Fo…The Bank of America C…National Philanthropi…Vanguard Charitable E…American Online Givin…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
T Rowe Price Program for Charitable Giving IncMD11.9× affinity4 shared granteesties to 10 of 10Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: T Rowe Price Program for Charitable Giving Inc · Raymond James Charitable Endowment Fund · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · American Endowment Foundation · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · American Online Giving 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 Ward Oaks Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Ward Oaks Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 30%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%13%25%38%50%share of the org’s income from government →median 10%
  • Parks and People Inc: 43% of income from government
  • Associated Catholic Charities Inc: 10% of income from government
  • Center Stage Associates Inc: 7% of income from government
  • Washington College: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
3get 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
⤢ 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.

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 23 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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

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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