Ohio · Nonprofit
BELIEVE IN DREAMS
BELIEVE IN DREAMS (Ohio) receives grants from 24 organizations whose IRS filings report $529,613 to it, the largest being FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ($189,480). 10 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 62% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2024
- $490k
- Funders on record
- 24
- Grants received
- $530k
- Net assets
- $64k
What Believe in Dreams does
Mission
Believe in Dreams mission is to fulfill dreams of economically disadvantaged youth who have survived non-medical trauma by providing access to enriching opportunities, connection to community and hope for the future. We continue to increase our dream fulfillment capacity and have grown our program dream delivery by an average of 60% each year. We provide access to opportunities for an underserved population of children who are often left in the shadows and forgotten by our community. As we streamline our processes, more resources and revenue will be going towards dream programming every year. We collect data on the impact of a dream and are very proud to report that over 75% of participants shared that their dream experience 'very much' removed a barrier to acheiving a goal previously unattainable. Over 90% of participants shared that their dream experience 'very much' impacted their motivation. We are a lean, local organization, with just 5 paid staff. We planfully utilize the time and expertise of skilled volunteers and university student interns. Our goal is to make an impact in northeast ohio by linking under-resourced youth to local opportunities that will bring them joy,…
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Dreams program: children are nominated by professional adults they work with (counselors, social workers, teachers, etc.) who have observed the child's positive qualities and resilience. A dream coordinator is assigned to coordinate an individualized experience based on the specific dreams of each youth. Examples of dream experiences include, but are not limited to: sporting events, lessons, classes, activities, memberships, amusement parks, career shadowing, material items of a hobby or interest, attending a major event or visiting somewhere for the first time (within northeast ohio), meeting or shadowing someone who inspires, or coverage of costs to remove barriers from achieving a goal previously unattainable. We are committed to trauma informed practices and customize each dream experience to help increase capacity for resilience and post traumatic growth.
$482,114 spentof which $196,562 as grants100% of program spendingKeep dreaming alumni activities (part of dreams program): dreamer alumni families are included in annual community alumni events to maintain connection and assist with community building and natural support system networking. They are also offered ongoing needs assessment and resource linkage upon request, as well as pop up enrichment opportunities, on a first come first serve basis, donated last minute by dream grantors. Alumni families are also invited to participate on our alumni parent advisory board.
Dream big! Choosing greatness seminar Believe in Dreams founder john dijulius iii is a keynote speaker, internationally recognized customer experience consultant and best-selling author of three books. John wants to bring his experience and expertise in motivating others to dream big to our youth. This complimentary seminar, sponsored by Believe in Dreams, is designed for middle and high school students with the objective of sharing the simple, yet effective habits of overachievers. The seminar gives youth the foundation and motivation to dream big and accomplish those dreams.
The 3 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $482,114.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2017 to 2018, from $71k to $176k (+147%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2020 16% · 2021 11% · 2023 19%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
73% of BELIEVE IN DREAMS’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (87% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 3 of the last 8 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Chief executive
Katie Eichenauer
Executive director
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 3 funders to 12 funders, grant income rose $1k → $116k.
7 of 24 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 62% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of BELIEVE IN DREAMS’s funders (the co-funder graph). Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
BELIEVE IN DREAMS leans on a few funders — its largest provides 36% of grant income and the top three 65%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
74% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund BELIEVE IN DREAMS.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 80% · 2018 45% · 2019 51% · 2020 44% · 2021 40% · 2022 36% · 2023 32% — diversifying over time.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
50% of BELIEVE IN DREAMS's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 42% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
62% of BELIEVE IN DREAMS's grant income arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors, whose addresses record where the money is held rather than where the donor is. Of the $201k that is directly attributable, 87% of it comes from Ohio funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $328k arriving through sponsors registered in 5 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
BELIEVE IN DREAMS has grown faster than half of the 7,117 philanthropy nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 7,117 philanthropy nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2024
Organizations like BELIEVE IN DREAMS
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In Ohio
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
82% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
72%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for BELIEVE IN DREAMS: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds BELIEVE IN DREAMS?
- BELIEVE IN DREAMS (Ohio) receives grants from 24 organizations whose IRS filings report $529,613 to it, the largest being FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ($189,480). 10 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 62% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does BELIEVE IN DREAMS have?
- IRS filings report 24 organizations giving $529,613 in grants to BELIEVE IN DREAMS, 10 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of BELIEVE IN DREAMS?
- FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND is the largest funder on record, with $189,480 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like BELIEVE IN DREAMS find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Ohio. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
Play a game about who funds Believe in Dreams →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2017–2024), and the filings of 24 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing