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Thomas R Gross Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Thomas R Gross Family Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$164k
Granted FY2025still arriving
8
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$100k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0187% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Education$430kArts & Culture$237kHuman Services$190kHealth$158kHousing & Shelter$51kYouth Development$12kFood & Nutrition$11kCrime & Legal$11kOther$0
02FY2025 · 8 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k4 grants · $19k
  • $10k–50k3 grants · $45k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $100k
$10,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$3.0M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
COLUMBUS CLASSICAL ACADEMY$100,000
Individual grant recipient$20,000
VISTA VILLAGE$15,000
COLUMBUS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA$10,000
PELOTONIA$8,500
COLUMBUS ASSOC FOR PERFORMING ARTS$5,000
HEINZERLING FOUNDATION$3,500
FRANKLIN PARK CONSERVATORY$2,206
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, $110k) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 13%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 13%REEB AVENUE CENTER: $15k → 15%REEB AVENUE CENTER: $13k → 15%YMCA OF CENTRAL OHIO: $10k → 15%YMCA OF CENTRAL OHIO: $10k → 15%REEB AVENUE CENTER: $10k → 15%YMCA OF CENTRAL OHIO: $5k → 15%YMCA OF CENTRAL OHIO: $5k → 15%FESTA: $10k → 15%ST STEPHEN'S COMMUNITY HOUSE: $2k → 15%HEINZERLING FOUNDATION: $5k → 15%HEINZERLING FOUNDATION: $5k → 15%HEINZERLING FOUNDATION: $5k → 15%HEINZERLING FOUNDATION: $5k → 15%HEINZERLING FOUNDATION: $4k → 15%HEINZERLING FOUNDATION: $4k → 15%HEINZERLING FOUNDATION: $4k → 15%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.

91%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.2M · 24 repeat orgs$117k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +49% since the first grant, against +29% for those funded once.

24 repeat relationships: 8 still active in FY2025, 16 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

24
24

Total granted

$1.2M
$117k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+49%
+29%

Still filing today

54%
67%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 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
Arts & CultureHuman ServicesEducationRecreation & SportsCrime & LegalEnvironmentOther
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

  • CC
    COLUMBUS CLASSICAL ACADEMY
    4× · 2022–2025 · $380k · revenue +6%
  • CS
    COLUMBUS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
    8× · 2017–2025 · $70k · revenue +85%
  • P
    PELOTONIA
    6× · 2017–2025 · $36k · revenue +217%

Funded once

  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2017 · $25k
  • TC
    THE COLUMBUS ACADEMYgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $20k · revenue +48%
  • SO
    SERVING OUR NEIGHBORS MINISTRIES INCgraduated
    one grant, 2019 · $10k · revenue +206%
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
Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce

Advancing a thriving central ohio commmunity by serving as a catalyst for all businesses to grow and flourish. our mission pillars are connections, government relations, strategic business solutions and talent/workforce.

—
2
Columbus Cultural Youth Orchestra
Arts & Culture
3
Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra

Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra (CCO) creates intimate, transformative experiences that connect the musically curious.

Arts & Culture
4
Cincinnati Observatory Center

The mission of the cincinnati observatory is to maintain the integrity and heritage of an historic 19th century observatory and to educate, engage, and inspire our community about astronomy and science.

Arts & Culture
5
Columbus Zoological Park Association

Empowering people. saving wildlife.

Animals
6
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
7
Columbus Association of Realtors

The columbus association of realtors is a local level, not-for-profit trade association. founded in 1908, columbus association of realtors is comprised of more than 9,100 real estate professionals engaged in residential sales and leasing,…

—
8
Columbus Learning Center Management Corp D/B/a Community Education Coalition

The community education coalition (cec) is a partnership of education, business, and community stakeholders focused on aligning and integrating our community learning system, economic development, and quality of life.

Education
9
Greater Columbus Arts Council

Mission: to champion and elevate the arts and cultural expression of greater columbus.vision: power of art realized. people engaged. city energized.

Arts & Culture
10
Cots

Cots is a group of physicians, healthcare professionals, and other experts working together to improve the health and safety of our communities.

Health
11
Ohio State Bar Association

The ohio state bar association (the "association") is an unincorporated voluntary non-profit organization. the association was formed to promote justice and advance the interests of the legal profession.

—
12
Columbus Early Learning Centers

Columbus early learning centers (celc) has over 130 years of history providing high quality, affordable early learning and childcare in central ohio. this rich history places celc amongst the oldest early childcare programs in the country.…

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is St Stephen Community Services Inc; the most unlike its peers is Tylers Light 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

32 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. 32 of the 48 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)
6
Early backer (in before they grew)
29/32
Grantees still filing
21/32
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Individual grant recipient: $190,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientSALVATION ARMY: $85,000 · OtherSALVATION ARMYCSCC CAMERON MITCHELL HALL: $84,000 · OtherCSCC CAMERON MITCHELL HALLOHIOHEALTH CORPORATION: $62,500 · OtherOHIOHEALTH CORPORATIONUA SCHOOLS: $30,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $25,000 · OtherTHE BUCKEYE RANCH FOUNDATION INC: $25,000 · Other+22 more: $140,247 · Other+22 moreCOLUMBUS CLASSICAL ACADEMY: $380,000 · EducationCOLUMBUS CLASSICAL ACADEMYPELOTONIA: $35,800 · EducationPELOTONIATHE COLUMBUS ACADEMY: $20,000 · EducationCOLUMBUS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: $70,000 · Arts & CultureCOLUMBUS S…COLUMBUS ASSOCIATION FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS: $30,000 · Arts & CultureCOLUMBUS A…COLUMBUS MUSEUM OF ART: $16,000 · Arts & CultureCOLUMBUS M…THE HARMON MUSEUM: $6,000 · Arts & Culture+4 more: $9,000 · Arts & Culture+4 moreREEB AVENUE CENTER: $37,500 · Human ServicesREEB AVEN…HEINZERLING COMMUNITY: $31,000 · Human ServicesHEINZERLI…YOUNG MENS CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF CENTRAL OHIO: $29,500 · Human ServicesYOUNG MEN…SERVING OUR NEIGHBORS MINISTRIES INC: $10,000 · Human ServicesSERVING O…+1 more: $1,500 · Human ServicesVISTA VILLAGE INC: $30,000 · Housing & ShelterSOAP PROJECT SAVE OUR ADOLESCENTS FROM PROSTITUTION: $9,000 · Crime & LegalTYLERS LIGHT INC: $5,000 · Health
Other$641,747Education$435,800Arts & Culture$131,000Human Services$109,500Housing & Shelter$30,000Crime & Legal$9,000Health$5,000

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 budgetCOLUMBUS CLASSICAL ACADEMY: $380,000 over 4y, 5.0% of budgetCOLUMBUS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: $70,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetREEB AVENUE CENTER: $37,500 over 3y, 1.5% of budgetPELOTONIA: $35,800 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetHEINZERLING COMMUNITY: $31,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetVISTA VILLAGE INC: $30,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetCOLUMBUS ASSOCIATION FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS: $30,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetYOUNG MENS CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF CENTRAL OHIO: $29,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetTHE BUCKEYE RANCH FOUNDATION INC: $25,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetCOMMUNITY SHELTER BOARD: $20,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE COLUMBUS ACADEMY: $20,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCOLUMBUS MUSEUM OF ART: $16,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetMid-Ohio Foodbank: $11,491 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSERVING OUR NEIGHBORS MINISTRIES INC: $10,000 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetSOAP PROJECT SAVE OUR ADOLESCENTS FROM PROSTITUTION: $9,000 over 2y, 5.8% of budgetMELISSA'S HOUSE: $7,000 over 3y, 2.9% of budgetTHE HARMON MUSEUM: $6,000 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetLINCOLN THEATRE ASSOCIATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetBIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS OF CENTRAL OHIO INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetFriends of the Topiary Park Inc: $5,000 over 3y, 7.6% of budgetCOLUMBUS LOCAL ORGANIZING COMMITTEE: $2,500 over 1y, 3.6% of budgetOHIO HISTORY CONNECTION: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMOUND CITY LITTLE LEAGUE INC: $2,500 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetFRANKLIN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY DBA COSI COLUMBUS: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCITIZENS FOR SELF-GOVERNANCE: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetLIFEWISE INC: $2,101 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLAW ENFORCEMENT FOUNDATION INC: $2,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetST STEPHEN COMMUNITY SERVICES INC: $1,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHomes on The Hill Community Development Corp: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCOMMUNITY ARTS PROJECT INC: $1,000 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.

Columbus FoundationHarry C Moores Founda…L Brands FoundationUnited Way of Central…Encova Foundation of …Ingram-White Castle F…American Electric Pow…Cardinal Health Found…Columbus Jewish Found…Siemer Family Foundat…Nisource Charitable F…Meuse Family Foundati…
Columbus FoundationOH44.6× affinity23 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Columbus Foundation · Harry C Moores Foundation · L Brands Foundation · United Way of Central Ohio Inc · Encova Foundation of Ohio · Ingram-White Castle Foundation · American Electric Power Foundation · Cardinal Health Foundation · Columbus Jewish Foundation · Siemer Family Foundation · Nisource Charitable Foundation · Meuse 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 Thomas R Gross Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Thomas R Gross Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%3%6%10%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
    15report 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 Thomas R Gross Family Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Thomas R Gross Family 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 48 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 Thomas R Gross Family’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