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Union Foundation at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Private foundation

Union Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$937k
Granted FY2024still arriving
67
Grants FY2024still arriving
3
States reached
$45k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02Its granteesRead
03Its fieldRead
04Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0198% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2025.

Arts & Culture$673kEducation$606kHealth$568kHuman Services$421kAnimals$233kYouth Development$205kEnvironment$158kFood & Nutrition$131kOther$0
02FY2024 · 67 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 67 grants below total $796,700, the rows itemized in this filing. The $936,525 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $139,825 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

  • Under $10k21 grants · $113k
  • $10k–50k46 grants · $684k
$10,000
Median grant
3
States reached
$18M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Trinitas Health Foundation$45,000
America's Grow-a-Row, Inc.$30,000
Paper Mill Playhouse$25,000
George Street Playhouse$21,000
Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child$20,000
King's Daughters Day School$20,000
YMCA of Eastern Union County$20,000
Oratory Preparatory School$20,000
St. Benedict's Preparatory School$20,000
New Jersey Ballet Company$17,500
Overlook Hospital Foundation$16,100
YWCA of Eastern Union County$16,000
Center for Hope Hospice, Inc.$15,000
Historical Society; Elizabeth, New Jersey, Inc.$15,000
St. Hubert's Animal Welfare Center$15,000
02Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

92%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$3.0M · 75 repeat orgs$244k to everyone else

75 repeat relationships: 67 still active in FY2024, 8 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

75
29

Total granted

$3.0M
$244k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+21%
+22%

Still filing today

76%
72%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

50%100%’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’21’22’23’24
Arts & CultureHuman ServicesHealthAnimalsEducationEnvironmentOther
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

  • Americas Grow-A-Row
    4× · 2021–2024 · $126k · revenue +113%
  • PM
    Paper Mill Playhouse
    4× · 2021–2024 · $100k · revenue +258%
  • GS
    GEORGE STREET PLAYHOUSEINC
    4× · 2021–2024 · $87k · revenue +38%

Funded once

  • PP
    PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF NORTHERN CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY INCgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $20k · revenue +49%
  • BB
    Bridgeway Behavioral Health Services
    one grant, 2021 · $20k · revenue +22%
  • JM
    JFK Medical Center Foundation
    one grant, 2021 · $15k
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.

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
Public Media Nj Inc

To bring quality public television programs and resources to communities throughout new jersey and its tri-state neighbors. its content, both on-air and online, aims to reflect the diverse

Arts & Culture
2
Unity Charter School

The unity charter school (ucs) was chartered by the new jersey department of education in january 1997 as the only charter school that had included a planning year prior to its opening. the charter school opened its doors to the first 60…

Education
3
The New Jersey Institute for Social Justice Inc

New jersey institute for social justice (the institute), a public charity, is a newark-based urban research and advocacy organization dedicated to the advancement of new jersey's urban areas and residents.

Human Services
4
New Jersey Citizen Action

To protect and expand the rights of citizens of the state of new jersey, and encourage active citizen involvement in campaigns promoting economic, social and racial equity.

—
5
New Jersey Center for Nonprofits Inc

To build the power of new jersey's nonprofit community to improve the quality of life for all people of our state.

Philanthropy
6
Marion P Thomas Charter School

The charter schools mission is to prepare newarks next generation of children to be intelectually, emotionally, socially and financially responsible citizens.

Education
7
The State Opera of New Jersey

Promote awareness of grand and lyric opera to the general public through performance, program literature, presentations and community outreach programs.

Arts & Culture
8
The New Jersey Historical Society

The new jersey historical society collects, preserves, teaches, and interprets new jersey history through our archives, research library, and educational programs. we do so in the belief that an understanding and appreciation of historical…

—
9
Stevens Cooperative School

Stevens cooperative school fosters curiosity, compassion and confidence in students who think deeply, act ethically and lead by example.

—
10
St Joseph's Health System Subordinate Group Return

We are committed to providing exceptional quality care which sustains and improves both individual and community health, with a special concern for those who are poor, vulnerable and underserved.

—
11
New Jersey Policy Perspective

New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP) is a nonpartisan think tank that drives policy change to advance economic, social, and racial justice through evidence-based, independent research, analysis, and strategic communications.

Arts & Culture
12
Independent Colleges and Universities of New Jersey a Nj Nonprofit Corporation

The mission of the independent colleges and universities of new jersey, a new jersey non-profit corporation is to advance the interests of new jersey's independent, non-profit, public mission institutions of higher education by promoting…

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Pg Chambers School; the most unlike its peers is The Historical Society Elizabeth Nj. 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

79 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

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 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 79 of the 105 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)
11
Early backer (in before they grew)
79/79
Grantees still filing
62/79
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child: $80,000 · OtherYMCA of Eastern Union County: $80,000 · OtherOratory Preparatory School: $80,000 · OtherST BENEDICTS PREPARATORY SCHOOL INC: $80,000 · OtherKing's Daughters Day School: $75,000 · OtherOverlook Hospital Foundation: $65,400 · OtherWestfield Area Y: $65,000 · OtherTHE KOINONIA ACADEMY: $59,000 · OtherHoly Redeemer HomeCare-NJ North: $55,000 · OtherSt. Hubert's Animal Welfare Center: $55,000 · OtherJEWISH FAMILY SERVICE AGENCY OF CENTRAL NJ: $55,000 · OtherJCC of Central New Jersey: $52,500 · OtherBoys & Girls Clubs of Union County Inc: $75,000 · Other+40 more: $665,315 · Other+40 morePaper Mill Playhouse: $100,000 · Arts & CulturePaper Mill PlayhouseGEORGE STREET PLAYHOUSEINC: $86,500 · Arts & CultureGEORGE STREET PLAYHOU…NEW JERSEY BALLET COMPANY INC: $72,500 · Arts & CultureNEW JERSEY BALLET COM…SHAKESPEARE THEATRE OF NEW JERSEY: $55,500 · Arts & CultureSHAKESPEARE THEATRE O…SOUTH ORANGE PERFORMING ARTS CENTERINC: $51,000 · Arts & CultureSOUTH ORANGE PERFORMI…The Historical Society Elizabeth NJ: $42,500 · Arts & CultureThe Historical Societ…THE MORRIS MUSEUM INC: $40,800 · Arts & CultureTHE MORRIS MUSEUM INCNEW JERSEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: $32,000 · Arts & CultureTHE NEWARK MUSEUM ASSOCIATION: $30,000 · Arts & Culture+8 more: $89,400 · Arts & Culture+8 moreAmericas Grow-A-Row: $126,000 · Human ServicesAmericas Gro…CENTER FOR HOPE HOSPICE INC: $45,000 · Human ServicesCENTER FOR H…ST JOSEPH SOCIAL SERVICE CENTER: $42,600 · Human ServicesST JOSEPH SO…CHESHIRE HOME INC: $40,000 · Human ServicesCHESHIRE HOM…Community Hope Inc: $30,000 · Human ServicesCommunity Ho…THE CENTER FOR GREAT EXPECTATIONS INC: $28,500 · Human ServicesTHE CENTER F…180 TURNING LIVES AROUND: $16,500 · Human Services+5 more: $40,000 · Human Services+5 moreTRINITAS FOUNDATION: $170,000 · HealthTRINITAS …CHILDREN'S SPECIALIZED HOSPITAL FOUNDATION INC: $50,000 · HealthCHILDREN'…PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF NORTHERN CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY INC: $20,000 · HealthPLANNED P…Bridgeway Behavioral Health Services: $20,000 · HealthBridgeway…GOOD GRIEF INC: $12,600 · Health+1 more: $3,000 · HealthTHE RAPTOR TRUST: $57,000 · AnimalsWOODFORD CEDAR RUN WILDLIFE REFUGE: $40,000 · AnimalsZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF NEW JERSEY INC: $32,500 · AnimalsMT PLEASANT ANIMAL SHELTER INC: $20,000 · AnimalsASSOCIATED HUMANE SOCIETIES INC: $10,000 · AnimalsWOODLANDS WILDLIFE REFUGE INC: $10,000 · AnimalsMIDLAND FOUNDATION: $40,000 · EducationSAGE ELDERCARE: $37,500 · EducationTHE WARDLAW-HARTRIDGE SCHOOL: $25,000 · EducationPrinceton-Blairstown Center Inc: $20,000 · EducationTHE MATHENY SCHOOL AND HOSPITAL INC: $20,000 · EducationSAINT PETER'S UNIVERSITY: $5,000 · EducationNEW JERSEY CONSERVATION FOUNDATION: $40,000 · EnvironmentTHE LAND CONSERVANCY OF NEW JERSEY: $30,000 · EnvironmentRARITAN HEADWATERS ASSOCIATION: $29,700 · EnvironmentGREENWOOD GARDENS: $18,300 · EnvironmentNew Jersey Audubon Society: $8,000 · Environment
Other$1,542,215Arts & Culture$600,200Human Services$368,600Health$275,600Animals$169,500Education$147,500Environment$126,000

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 budgetTRINITAS FOUNDATION: $170,000 over 4y, 1.6% of budgetAmericas Grow-A-Row: $126,000 over 4y, 1.5% of budgetPaper Mill Playhouse: $100,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetGEORGE STREET PLAYHOUSEINC: $86,500 over 4y, 0.6% of budgetBoys & Girls Clubs of Union County Inc: $75,000 over 4y, 1.0% of budgetNEW JERSEY BALLET COMPANY INC: $72,500 over 4y, 2.0% of budgetTHE KOINONIA ACADEMY: $59,000 over 4y, 1.1% of budgetTHE RAPTOR TRUST: $57,000 over 4y, 1.0% of budgetSHAKESPEARE THEATRE OF NEW JERSEY: $55,500 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetJEWISH FAMILY SERVICE AGENCY OF CENTRAL NJ: $55,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetJCC of Central New Jersey: $52,500 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetSOUTH ORANGE PERFORMING ARTS CENTERINC: $51,000 over 4y, 1.0% of budgetCHILDREN'S SPECIALIZED HOSPITAL FOUNDATION INC: $50,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetCENTER FOR HOPE HOSPICE INC: $45,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetST JOSEPH SOCIAL SERVICE CENTER: $42,600 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetThe Historical Society Elizabeth NJ: $42,500 over 3y, 18% of budgetTHE MORRIS MUSEUM INC: $40,800 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetMIDLAND FOUNDATION: $40,000 over 4y, 1.5% of budgetWOODFORD CEDAR RUN WILDLIFE REFUGE: $40,000 over 4y, 0.7% of budgetNEW JERSEY CONSERVATION FOUNDATION: $40,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetUNITED WAY OF GREATER UNION COUNTY % JULIENNE CHERRY: $40,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetCHESHIRE HOME INC: $40,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetSAGE ELDERCARE: $37,500 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetVISUAL ARTS CENTER OF NEW JERSEY: $34,200 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetJOSEPH H FIRTH YOUTH CENTER: $33,300 over 4y, 0.9% of budgetZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF NEW JERSEY INC: $32,500 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetNEW JERSEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: $32,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetYWCA OF EASTERN UNION COUNTY INC: $32,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetCommunity Hope Inc: $30,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetTHE LAND CONSERVANCY OF NEW JERSEY: $30,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetTHE NEWARK MUSEUM ASSOCIATION: $30,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetSUMMIT SPEECH SCHOOL: $30,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetRARITAN HEADWATERS ASSOCIATION: $29,700 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetTHE CENTER FOR GREAT EXPECTATIONS INC: $28,500 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetOUR HOUSE FOUNDATION INC: $27,500 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetYMCA CAMP RALPH S MASON: $27,500 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetTHE WARDLAW-HARTRIDGE SCHOOL: $25,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetPG CHAMBERS SCHOOL: $21,900 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetHOMESHARING INC: $21,600 over 3y, 2.9% of budgetTHE WHARTON INSTITUTE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS INC: $21,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD OF NORTHERN CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY INC: $20,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetBridgeway Behavioral Health Services: $20,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetPrinceton Area Community Foundation Inc: $20,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetPrinceton-Blairstown Center Inc: $20,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetWESTFIELD COOPERATIVE NURSERY SCHOOL: $20,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetFAR BROOK SCHOOL: $20,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetLiberty Hall Museum Inc: $20,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetMT PLEASANT ANIMAL SHELTER INC: $20,000 over 2y, 0.8% 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 TRINITAS FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Americas Grow-A-Row ↗
  • Who funds Paper Mill Playhouse ↗
  • Who funds GEORGE STREET PLAYHOUSEINC ↗
  • Who funds Boys & Girls Clubs of Union County Inc ↗
  • Who funds NEW JERSEY BALLET COMPANY INC ↗
  • Who funds THE KOINONIA ACADEMY ↗
  • Who funds THE RAPTOR TRUST ↗
  • Who funds SHAKESPEARE THEATRE OF NEW JERSEY ↗
  • Who funds JEWISH FAMILY SERVICE AGENCY OF CENTRAL NJ ↗
  • Who funds JCC of Central New Jersey ↗
  • Who funds SOUTH ORANGE PERFORMING ARTS CENTERINC ↗
  • Who funds CHILDREN'S SPECIALIZED HOSPITAL FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds CENTER FOR HOPE HOSPICE INC ↗
  • Who funds ST JOSEPH SOCIAL SERVICE CENTER ↗
  • Who funds The Historical Society Elizabeth NJ ↗
  • Who funds THE MORRIS MUSEUM INC ↗
  • Who funds MIDLAND FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds WOODFORD CEDAR RUN WILDLIFE REFUGE ↗
  • Who funds NEW JERSEY CONSERVATION FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds UNITED WAY OF GREATER UNION COUNTY % JULIENNE CHERRY ↗
  • Who funds CHESHIRE HOME INC ↗
  • Who funds SAGE ELDERCARE ↗
  • Who funds VISUAL ARTS CENTER OF NEW JERSEY ↗
  • Who funds JOSEPH H FIRTH YOUTH CENTER ↗
  • Who funds ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF NEW JERSEY INC ↗
  • Who funds NEW JERSEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ↗
  • Who funds YWCA OF EASTERN UNION COUNTY INC ↗
  • Who funds Community Hope Inc ↗

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.

Ej Grassmann TrustThe Hyde and Watson F…Investors Foundation …Community Foundation …Bristol-Myers Squibb …Citizens Philanthropi…Pseg Foundation IncColumbia Bank Foundat…The Provident Bank Fo…George a Ohl Jr TrustGeraldine R Dodge Fou…Turrell Fund
Ej Grassmann TrustNJ140.7× affinity66 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Ej Grassmann Trust · The Hyde and Watson Foundation · Investors Foundation Inc · Community Foundation of New Jersey · Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation Inc · Citizens Philanthropic Foundation Inc · Pseg Foundation Inc · Columbia Bank Foundation · The Provident Bank Foundation · George a Ohl Jr Trust · Geraldine R Dodge Foundation Inc · Turrell Fund

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.
04Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Union Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Union 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 105 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.

Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2025) is on record and reports $917k of grant expense with no grantee named in the published copy. A private foundation itemizes every grant it makes, so a return carrying none has filed its list as an attachment that the public copy does not include. The figures above are therefore from FY2024, the most recent year this funder’s grantee list reached the public record.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Union’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