Skip to content
William G & Jane Helms Charitable Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

William G & Jane Helms Charitable Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$108k
Granted FY2025still arriving
16
Grants FY2025still arriving
2
States reached
$17k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0193% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Arts & Culture$145kAnimals$105kPhilanthropy$76kEducation$52kFood & Nutrition$18kReligion$12kEnvironment$11kHuman Services$10kOther$0
02FY2025 · 16 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k10 grants · $40k
  • $10k–50k6 grants · $68k
$5,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$850k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
UCAN NONPROFIT PET CARE CLINIC$17,000
SAVE THE ANIMALS FOUNDATION$11,000
FREE STORE FOODBANK$10,000
GREATER CINCINNATI TELEVISION EDUCA$10,000
Individual grant recipient$10,000
WACC FOUNDATION$10,000
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY$5,000
CONTEMPORARY ATRS CENTER$5,000
CINCINNATI PUBLIC RADIO$5,000
NEWPATH CHURCH MC FOUNDATION$5,000
TAFT MUSEUM$5,000
TOYS FOR TOTS$5,000
CINCINNATI ZOO & BOTANICAL GARDEN$5,000
WAVE POOL$3,000
NKU FOUNDATION$1,250
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 (FY17–23, $1k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $1k → 14%WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT: $100 → 14%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

MI
NY
OR
OH
CO
NE
KY
VA
NM
SC
DC
TX
FL
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.

66%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$314k · 24 repeat orgs$164k to everyone else

24 repeat relationships: 9 still active in FY2025, 15 since wound down; 7 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

24
38

Total granted

$314k
$107k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+51%
+65%

Still filing today

54%
37%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 47% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $57k 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 & CultureAnimalsEducationEnvironmentHuman ServicesFood & NutritionOther
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

  • ZS
    ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF CINCINNATI
    9× · 2017–2025 · $65k · revenue +41%
  • AA
    ART ACADEMY OF CINCINNATI
    3× · 2017–2023 · $21k · revenue +55%
  • NK
    NORTHERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC
    4× · 2018–2025 · $13k · revenue +145%

Funded once

  • CI
    Cincinnati Institute of Fine Arts
    one grant, 2020 · $34k · revenue +2%
  • O
    ORSNCO
    one grant, 2024 · $25k
  • CC
    CLEREMONT COUNTY ANIMAL CLINIC
    one grant, 2018 · $10k
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
Cincinnati Arts Association

The Cincinnati Arts Association (CAA), a not-for-profit, was founded in 1990 to serve as a manager, presenter and educator. CAA's mission is to present a broad range of high quality performing and visual arts programs, develop diverse…

Arts & Culture
2
Museum of Arts and Design

To collect, display and interpret objects in craft art and design.

Arts & Culture
3
Fort Wayne Museum of Art Inc

The fort wayne museum of art will collect, preserve and present american and related art to engage and educate broad and diverse audiences throughout the region and add value to their lives.

Arts & Culture
4
Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra

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

Arts & Culture
5
Cincinnati Zoo Foundation Inc

Perform fundraising functions, provide financial support, carryout the purpose and otherwise operating for the benefit of the zoological society of cincinnati.

Animals
6
Cincinnati Preservation Association

To empower and educate people to value, preserve and save greater cincinnati's historic buildings, communities, landscapes and stories.

Arts & Culture
7
Columbus Zoological Park Association

Empowering people. saving wildlife.

Animals
8
Columbus Museum of Art

Cma is dedicated to creating its mission of providing "great experiences with great art for everyone".

Arts & Culture
9
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
10
The Dayton Art Institute

The dayton art institute is committed to enriching the community by creating meaningful experiences with art that are available to all.

Arts & Culture
11
Cleveland Museum of Art

The mission of the cleveland museum of art (cma) is to fulfill its dual roles as one of the world's most distinguished comprehensive art museums and as one of northeastern ohio's principal civic and cultural institutions. the museum,…

Arts & Culture
12
Cincinnati Usa Regional Chamber

To grow the vibrancy and economic prosperity of the cincinnati region.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Cincinnati Museum Association; the most unlike its peers is Clermont County Humane Society. 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

31 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. 31 of the 69 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)
8
Early backer (in before they grew)
31/31
Grantees still filing
23/31
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

WACC FOUNDATION: $50,931 · OtherWACC FOUNDATIONORSNCO: $25,000 · OtherORSNCOUCAN NONPROFIT PET CARE CLINIC: $17,000 · OtherUCAN NONPROFIT PET CARE CLINICTAFT MUSEUM: $15,700 · OtherTAFT MUSEUMCLEREMONT COUNTY ANIMAL CLINIC: $10,000 · OtherNEWPATH CHURCH MC FOUNDATION: $10,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $10,000 · OtherGREATER CINCINNATI TELEVISION EDUCA: $10,000 · OtherFAMILY PROMISES N KY: $8,000 · OtherCINCINNATI ART CENTER: $7,750 · OtherMARIEMONT PRESERVATION FOUNDATION: $7,500 · Other+36 more: $50,400 · Other+36 moreCincinnati Institute of Fine Arts: $33,500 · Arts & CultureCincinnati Institute of Fi…CINCINNATI MUSEUM ASSOCIATION: $27,500 · Arts & CultureCINCINNATI MUSEUM ASSOCIAT…CINCINNATI MUSEUM CENTER: $13,000 · Arts & CultureCINCINNATI MUSEUM CENTERCincinnati Public Radio Inc: $11,200 · Arts & CultureCincinnati Public Radio In…TAFT MUSEUM OF ART: $8,100 · Arts & CultureTAFT MUSEUM OF ARTATADA FOUNDATION INC: $7,500 · Arts & CultureATADA FOUNDATION INCThe Contemporary Arts Center: $5,000 · Arts & Culture+3 more: $5,000 · Arts & CultureZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF CINCINNATI: $64,600 · AnimalsZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY…SAVE THE ANIMALS FOUNDATION: $11,000 · AnimalsSAVE THE ANIMALS F…+1 more: $1,000 · AnimalsART ACADEMY OF CINCINNATI: $21,000 · EducationNORTHERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $13,250 · EducationThe Mercantile Library: $2,000 · EducationFREESTORE FOODBANK INC: $16,000 · Food & NutritionFEEDING KENTUCKY INC: $1,000 · Food & NutritionTHE EXPLORERS CLUB: $7,500 · Science & TechCINCINNATI NATURE CENTER: $6,500 · EnvironmentWORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $500 · Environment+1 more: $100 · Environment
Other$222,281Arts & Culture$110,800Animals$76,600Education$36,250Food & Nutrition$17,000Science & Tech$7,500Environment$7,100

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 budgetZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF CINCINNATI: $64,600 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetCincinnati Institute of Fine Arts: $33,500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCINCINNATI MUSEUM ASSOCIATION: $27,500 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetART ACADEMY OF CINCINNATI: $21,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetFREESTORE FOODBANK INC: $16,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetNORTHERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $13,250 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetCINCINNATI MUSEUM CENTER: $13,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetCincinnati Public Radio Inc: $11,200 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetSAVE THE ANIMALS FOUNDATION: $11,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetTAFT MUSEUM OF ART: $8,100 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetMARIEMONT PRESERVATION FOUNDATION: $7,500 over 2y, 2.2% of budgetATADA FOUNDATION INC: $7,500 over 2y, 20% of budgetTHE EXPLORERS CLUB: $7,500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCINCINNATI NATURE CENTER: $6,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetThe Karen Wellington Memorial Foundation: $4,500 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetWave Pool Corp: $3,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetThe Mercantile Library: $2,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetProKids: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCLERMONT COUNTY HUMANE SOCIETY: $1,000 over 1y, 8.1% of budgetAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFEEDING KENTUCKY INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCINCINNATI ACADEMY OF PERFORMING ARTS: $1,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetOVER-THE-RHINE MUSEUM: $1,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetLEARNING GROVE INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCITY GOSPEL MISSION AND AFFILIATES: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican Heart Association Inc: $350 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL ARBOR DAY FOUNDATION: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT INC: $100 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.

  • Who funds ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF CINCINNATI ↗
  • Who funds Cincinnati Institute of Fine Arts ↗
  • Who funds CINCINNATI MUSEUM ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds ART ACADEMY OF CINCINNATI ↗
  • Who funds FREESTORE FOODBANK INC ↗
  • Who funds NORTHERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds CINCINNATI MUSEUM CENTER ↗
  • Who funds Cincinnati Public Radio Inc ↗
  • Who funds SAVE THE ANIMALS FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds TAFT MUSEUM OF ART ↗
  • Who funds MARIEMONT PRESERVATION FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds ATADA FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds THE EXPLORERS CLUB ↗
  • Who funds CINCINNATI NATURE CENTER ↗
  • Who funds The Contemporary Arts Center ↗
  • Who funds The Karen Wellington Memorial Foundation ↗
  • Who funds Wave Pool Corp ↗
  • Who funds The Mercantile Library ↗
  • Who funds ProKids ↗
  • Who funds CLERMONT COUNTY HUMANE SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds American National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches ↗

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.

Carol Ann and Ralph V…J Frederick & Helen B…Louise Taft Semple Fo…The Greater Cincinnat…Thomas R Schiff Found…Earthward Bound Found…The Thomas J Emery Me…Duke Energy FoundationJohn a Schroth Family…Johnson Charitable Gi…Ge Aerospace Foundati…Ohio Valley Foundatio…
Carol Ann and Ralph V Haile Jr FoundationOH21.9× affinity8 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Carol Ann and Ralph V Haile Jr Foundation · J Frederick & Helen B Vogel Trust · Louise Taft Semple Foundation · The Greater Cincinnati Foundation · Thomas R Schiff Foundation · Earthward Bound Foundation · The Thomas J Emery Memorial · Duke Energy Foundation · John a Schroth Family Char Tr · Johnson Charitable Gift Fund · Ge Aerospace Foundation · Ohio Valley Foundation Fifth Third Bank

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 William G & Jane Helms Charitable Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from William G & Jane Helms Charitable Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%5%11%20%funder's share of their income ↑0%19%38%56%75%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • Wounded Warrior Project Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
12report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–75%
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 69 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 William G & Jane Helms’ 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