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Williams Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Williams Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$1.5M
Granted FY2025still arriving
43
Grants FY2025still arriving
2
States reached
$170k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0197% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Education$1.4MHealth$858kHuman Services$827kArts & Culture$818kReligion$328kYouth Development$322kRecreation & Sports$321kFood & Nutrition$289kOther$0
02FY2025 · 43 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k12 grants · $44k
  • $10k–50k17 grants · $390k
  • $50k–250k14 grants · $1.0M
$25,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$13M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB$170,000
THE CHRIST HOSPITAL$100,000
CINCINNATI CANCER ADVISORS$100,000
Individual grant recipient$88,000
CHILDREN'S HOME OF CINCINNATI DBA BEST POINT$75,000
PROKIDS$75,000
CISE$66,500
SUMMIT COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL$61,000
ST XAVIER HIGH SCHOOL$60,000
KEEP CINCINNATI BEAUTIFUL$50,000
LINDNER CENTER OF HOPE$50,000
BLUE LINE FOUNDATION$50,000
Individual grant recipient$50,000
TAFT MUSEUM OF ART$50,000
TALBERT HOUSE$45,000
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 (FY17–25, $744k) land where the poverty rate runs at 16%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 99% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%CHOSEN & DEARLY LOVED FOUNDATION: $3k → 9%CHOSEN & DEARLY LOVED FOUNDATION: $3k → 9%CHOSEN & DEARLY LOVED FOUNDATION: $3k → 9%ONESOURCE: $1k → 16%TALBERT HOUSE: $45k → 16%TALBERT HOUSE: $37k → 16%TALBERT HOUSE: $30k → 16%FIRST STEP HOME: $30k → 16%Lighthouse Youth Services: $25k → 16%LIGHTHOUSE YOUTH SERVICES: $25k → 16%TALBERT HOUSE: $23k → 16%FIRST STEP HOME: $18k → 16%FIRST STEP HOME: $15k → 16%FIRST STEP HOME: $10k → 16%FIRST STEP HOME: $8k → 16%ST MARGARET HALL: $5k → 16%FIRST STEP HOME: $5k → 16%ST MARGARET HALL: $4k → 16%ST MARGARET HALL: $4k → 16%ST MARGARET HALL: $3k → 16%THE CHILDREN'S HOME: $78k → 16%THE CHILDREN'S HOME: $65k → 16%CHILDREN'S HOME: $60k → 16%THE CHILDREN'S HOME: $58k → 16%THE CHILDREN'S HOME: $33k → 16%PREGNANCY CENTER EAST: $30k → 16%BEST POINT EDUCATION AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH: $10k → 16%CHILDREN'S HOME: $8k → 16%CINCINNATI SQUASH ACADEMY: $500 → 16%LADD: $8k → 16%LIVING ARRANGMENT FOR THE DEVELOPMENTALLY DISABLED: $5k → 16%EVERY CHILD SUCCEEDS: $3k → 16%LIVING ARRANGEMENT FOR THE DEVELOPMENTAL DISABLED: $1k → 16%LADD: $1k → 16%STEPPING STONES: $10k → 16%STEPPING STONES: $10k → 16%COMMUNITY MATTERS CINCINNATI INC: $25k → 16%COMMUNITY MATTERS CINCINNATI INC: $10k → 16%BEECH ACRES PARENTING CENTER: $5k → 16%PREGNANCY CENTER EAST: $5k → 16%PREGNANCY CENTER EAST: $5k → 16%YMCA OF GREATER CINCINNATI: $7k → 16%YMCA OF GREATER CINCINNATI: $6k → 16%YMCA OF GREATER CINCINNATI: $4k → 16%YMCA OF GREATER CINCINNATI: $3k → 16%YMCA OF GREATER CINCINNATI: $3k → 16%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

WA
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
IN
OH
PA
CT
CO
KY
VA
TN
NC
SC
DC
AL
GA
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.

85%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$6.6M · 87 repeat orgs$1.2M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +21% since the first grant, against +9% for those funded once.

87 repeat relationships: 30 still active in FY2025, 57 since wound down; 13 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

87
79

Total granted

$6.6M
$958k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+21%
+9%

Still filing today

61%
43%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 83% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $253k 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
HealthArts & CultureHuman ServicesEducationCivil RightsRecreation & SportsOther
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

  • XU
    XAVIER UNIVERSITY
    5× · 2017–2021 · $950k · revenue +24%
  • TC
    The Children's Home of Cincinnati Ohio
    6× · 2018–2023 · $310k · revenue +44%
  • P
    ProKids
    6× · 2018–2025 · $203k · revenue +236%

Funded once

  • CT
    CHILDREN'S THEATRE
    one grant, 2022 · $100k
  • TU
    THE UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2022 · $100k · revenue +3%
  • BG
    BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF GREATER CINCINNATIgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $58k · revenue +324%
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 Usa Regional Chamber Foundation

To develop and promote economic development, talent initiatives and the unique offerings in the cincinnati region.

Community Improvement
2
The Contemporary Arts Center

The CAC is a lab for understanding ourselves, others, and the world around us through the experience and creation of all contemporary art forms.

Arts & Culture
3
Cintrifuse

To empower Cincinnati entrepreneurs to launch bold, scalable startups; and we work to improve the odds of those startups growing into transformational companies.

Community Improvement
4
Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra

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

Arts & Culture
5
Cincinnati Public Radio Inc

Cincinnati Public Radio is the trusted, independent source of journalism, music and culture empowering a vibrant, engaged and informed community.

Arts & Culture
6
Legal Aid Society of Cincinnati

To resolve serious legal problems of low income people, to promote economic and family stability, and reduce poverty through effective legal assistance.

—
7
Children's Hospital Medical Center

Cincinnati children's hospital medical center will be the leader in improving child health. cincinnati children's will provide child health and transform delivery of care through fully integrated, globally recognized research, education,…

Health
8
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
9
Cincinnati Development Fund

To strengthen underserved neighborhoods and improve lives through innovative financing.

Housing & Shelter
10
The Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati
Philanthropy
11
Cincinnati Union Bethel

Empowering women to break the cycles of poverty, addiction, and human trafficking.

Human Services
12
Cincinnati Bar Association

To promote professional excellence, foster justice, serve our members and educate the public.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Greater Cincinnati Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Character & Courage Foundation. 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

102 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. 102 of the 182 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)
22
Early backer (in before they grew)
99/102
Grantees still filing
66/102
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

CINCINNATI CANCER ADVISORS: $300,000 · OtherCINCINNATI CANCER ADVISORSIndividual grant recipient: $268,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientCISE FUND: $222,000 · OtherReds Hall of Fame: $200,000 · OtherBOYS AND GIRLS CLUB: $198,610 · OtherBOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF GREATER: $154,750 · Other+109 more: $2,874,913 · Other+109 moreXAVIER UNIVERSITY: $950,000 · EducationXAVIER UNIVERSIT…GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: $75,500 · EducationGEORGETOWN UNIVE…+9 more: $91,780 · Education+9 moreThe Children's Home of Cincinnati Ohio: $310,000 · Human ServicesThe Childr…TALBERT HOUSE: $134,500 · Human ServicesTALBERT HO…THE FIRST STEP HOME INC: $85,500 · Human ServicesTHE FIRST …LIGHTHOUSE YOUTH SERVICES: $50,000 · Human ServicesLIGHTHOUSE…PREGNANCY CENTER PLUS INC: $40,000 · Human ServicesPREGNANCY …Community Matters Cincinnati Inc: $35,000 · Human Services+9 more: $89,000 · Human Services+9 moreTAFT MUSEUM OF ART: $208,000 · Arts & CultureTAFT MUSEU…Cincinnati Institute of Fine Arts: $142,500 · Arts & CultureCincinnati…The Children's Theatre of Cincinnati: $105,580 · Arts & CultureThe Childr…CINCINNATI MUSEUM ASSOCIATION: $95,000 · Arts & CultureCINCINNATI…The Cincinnati Ballet Company Inc: $60,000 · Arts & CultureThe Cincin…AMERICA'S RIVER ROOTS EXPERIENCE: $25,000 · Arts & Culture+9 more: $55,250 · Arts & Culture+9 moreBEECHWOOD HOME: $111,000 · HealthThe Christ Hospital: $110,000 · HealthInternational Rett Syndrome Foundation: $50,000 · HealthThe Karen Wellington Memorial Foundation: $37,500 · HealthTHE DRAGONFLY FOUNDATION: $25,000 · HealthGOOD SAMARITAN HOSPITAL FOUNDATION OF CINCINNATI INC: $20,000 · HealthMelanoma Know More: $20,000 · HealthMAY WE HELP INC: $15,000 · Health+9 more: $30,750 · HealthCISE: $163,000 · ReligionBLOC MINISTRIES INC: $95,000 · ReligionENNIS TAIT MINISTRIES INC: $93,000 · ReligionCATHOLIC LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE: $50,000 · ReligionProKids: $202,500 · Civil RightsOHIO JUSTICE AND POLICY CENTER: $17,500 · Civil RightsAMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE: $15,000 · Civil Rights+2 more: $5,000 · Civil Rights
Other$4,218,273Education$1,117,280Human Services$744,000Arts & Culture$691,330Health$419,250Religion$401,000Civil Rights$240,000

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 budgetXAVIER UNIVERSITY: $950,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetThe Children's Home of Cincinnati Ohio: $310,000 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetTAFT MUSEUM OF ART: $208,000 over 5y, 0.7% of budgetProKids: $202,500 over 6y, 0.8% of budgetCISE: $163,000 over 4y, 1.0% of budgetCincinnati Institute of Fine Arts: $142,500 over 7y, 0.3% of budgetFREESTORE FOODBANK INC: $136,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetTALBERT HOUSE: $134,500 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetMatthew 25 Ministries Inc: $116,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetBEECHWOOD HOME: $111,000 over 6y, 0.4% of budgetThe Christ Hospital: $110,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetThe Children's Theatre of Cincinnati: $105,580 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetTHE UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI FOUNDATION: $100,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCINCINNATI MUSEUM ASSOCIATION: $95,000 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetBLOC MINISTRIES INC: $95,000 over 4y, 0.9% of budgetENNIS TAIT MINISTRIES INC: $93,000 over 4y, 21% of budgetTHE FIRST STEP HOME INC: $85,500 over 6y, 0.5% of budgetGEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: $75,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCAMPING AND EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $71,250 over 6y, 0.6% of budgetCINCINNATI USA REGIONAL CHAMBER: $70,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetThe Cincinnati Ballet Company Inc: $60,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetBOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF GREATER CINCINNATI: $57,500 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetLA SOUPE INC: $51,500 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetCATHOLIC LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE: $50,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetKeep Cincinnati Beautiful Inc: $50,000 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetInternational Rett Syndrome Foundation: $50,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetEaster Seals Tristate: $50,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetLIGHTHOUSE YOUTH SERVICES: $50,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetPREGNANCY CENTER PLUS INC: $40,000 over 3y, 2.1% of budgetCINCINNATI CENTER CITY DEVELOPMENT CORP: $40,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetThe Karen Wellington Memorial Foundation: $37,500 over 6y, 1.3% of budgetCommunity Matters Cincinnati Inc: $35,000 over 2y, 1.4% of budget4C For Children Inc: $30,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetINDIAN HILL FOUNDATION: $26,000 over 2y, 1.7% of budgetCINCINNATI GOLDEN GLOVES FOR YOUTH: $25,000 over 1y, 6.9% of budgetLevel Up Cincinnati: $25,000 over 1y, 11% of budgetTHE DRAGONFLY FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetAMERICA'S RIVER ROOTS EXPERIENCE: $25,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetYWCA of Greater Cincinnati: $22,500 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetGOOD SAMARITAN HOSPITAL FOUNDATION OF CINCINNATI INC: $20,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetTHE CINCINNATI REDS COMMUNITY FUND: $20,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetMelanoma Know More: $20,000 over 4y, 3.3% of budgetHOSPICE OF CINCINNATI INCORPORATED: $20,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSTEPPING STONES INC: $20,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetTHE CHATFIELD EDGE: $18,500 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetOHIO JUSTICE AND POLICY CENTER: $17,500 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetTri-State Trails dba CROWN Cincinnati: $15,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetMAY WE HELP INC: $15,000 over 2y, 2.0% 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 XAVIER UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds The Children's Home of Cincinnati Ohio ↗
  • Who funds TAFT MUSEUM OF ART ↗
  • Who funds ProKids ↗
  • Who funds CISE ↗
  • Who funds Cincinnati Institute of Fine Arts ↗
  • Who funds FREESTORE FOODBANK INC ↗
  • Who funds TALBERT HOUSE ↗
  • Who funds Matthew 25 Ministries Inc ↗
  • Who funds BEECHWOOD HOME ↗
  • Who funds The Christ Hospital ↗
  • Who funds The Children's Theatre of Cincinnati ↗
  • Who funds THE UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds CINCINNATI MUSEUM ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds BLOC MINISTRIES INC ↗
  • Who funds ENNIS TAIT MINISTRIES INC ↗
  • Who funds THE FIRST STEP HOME INC ↗
  • Who funds GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds CAMPING AND EDUCATION FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds CINCINNATI USA REGIONAL CHAMBER ↗
  • Who funds The Cincinnati Ballet Company Inc ↗
  • Who funds BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF GREATER CINCINNATI ↗

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.

The Greater Cincinnat…Johnson Charitable Gi…Carol Ann and Ralph V…Robert H & Susan F Ca…Marge & Charles J Sch…Farmer Family Foundat…The Thomas J Emery Me…Louise Taft Semple Fo…John a Schroth Family…Hcs FoundationThe James J and Joan …Sutphin Family Founda…
The Greater Cincinnati FoundationOH86.4× affinity52 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Greater Cincinnati Foundation · Johnson Charitable Gift Fund · Carol Ann and Ralph V Haile Jr Foundation · Robert H & Susan F Castellini Foundation · Marge & Charles J Schott Foundation · Farmer Family Foundation · The Thomas J Emery Memorial · Louise Taft Semple Foundation · John a Schroth Family Char Tr · Hcs Foundation · The James J and Joan a Gardner Family Foundation · Sutphin Family Foundation Ica

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 Williams Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Williams Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%2%6%14%25%funder's share of their income ↑0%10%20%30%40%share of the org’s income from government →median 1%
  • The Filmmakers Collaborative Inc: 1% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
2get no government money at all
25report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–40%
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 Williams Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Williams 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 182 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 Williams’ 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