Funding search · EIN 310669700 · Cincinnati, OH

The Greater Cincinnati Foundation

Name: The Greater Cincinnati Foundation grants, 2022–2024
Creator: PaperOrbit
License: https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/exempt-organization-public-disclosure-and-availability-requirements

A grantmaking public charity (files IRS Form 990, Schedule I). Charities like this often run real grant programs with application cycles.

5,367
grants reported: $616.8M
total given: 2022–2024
filing years: $20,000
median grant

Based on grants this organization reported to the IRS for tax years 2022–2024. This is what they filed, not a complete record of their giving, and recent years may be incomplete because filings lag.

What they fund

programatic

Funder website ↗Full IRS filings ↗How this is built Report an error

Funding pattern

What this funder pays for, at what size, and how to position adjacent work. Read from their filings, with every number checked against the record.

Where the money goes

Global land, forest and water conservation (Nature Conservancy, Conservation International)
Plastic waste, recycling and reforestation initiatives (Alliance to End Plastic Waste, Recycling Partnership, Arbor Day)
International relief and child welfare (World Vision, Save the Children, CARE, ChildFund)
Greater Cincinnati safety net: United Way, food bank, homelessness, Red Cross
Cincinnati arts and cultural anchors: Museum Center, ArtsWave, Symphony, Freedom Center, Zoo
Scholarships and K-12/higher education access, including Catholic schools

Typical grant

The median grant is $20,000 and half of everything falls between $10,000 and $51,000, so the ordinary check is small and program-specific. The seven- and eight-figure awards go to a short list of national environmental and international relief organizations plus Cincinnati anchor institutions, and they distort the totals badly: two grants alone account for roughly $92 million. With 5,367 grants going to 2,289 recipients across three years, repeat funding is the norm rather than the exception, averaging more than two grants per organization.

Their words

Phrases from their own grant descriptions, worth speaking back to them.

“"PROGRAMATIC SUPPORT" is the purpose stated on every single grant in the file, with no variation”
“"Foundation" and "Fund" dominate the largest recipients, signaling intermediary and pass-through giving”
“"Alliance to End Plastic Waste", "The Recycling Partnership", "Bonneville Environmental" mark the circular-economy cluster”
“"Strategies to End Homelessness", "Accelerate Great Schools", "Cincinnati Scholarship Foundation" mark the local systems-change cluster”
“"Greater Cincinnati" and "Cincinnati Tri-State" appear in the names of the largest local grantees”

Positioning adjacent work

Tie work to their conservation and plastic-waste cluster, or to Cincinnati safety-net delivery. Those two poles hold the money.
Ask $20,000 to $50,000 for a first request. Six figures goes to organizations already in the file.
Frame the request as program support for a defined activity, not general operating or endowment.
Site the work in Hamilton County or Northern Kentucky and name the local partner explicitly.

Worth knowing: This is a community foundation, so most of what shows up on the 990-PF is donor-advised and donor-designated giving rather than discretionary board dollars, and the giant environmental and international grants almost certainly reflect one or two very large corporate or family funds rather than an open strategy. Ohio takes 2,674 of the grants and Kentucky another 316; the Florida and New York clusters track donors' other addresses, not a stated geographic priority. Note also that every grant in the extract appears twice, so treat the $617 million total as roughly double the real figure.

Top recipients

Repeat recipients are the strongest signal of whether a funder has an open door or quietly re-funds the same organizations.

Nature Conservancy Inc National4 grants · $104.4M
Conservation International Foundation4 grants · $46.6M
United Way of Greater Cincinnati4 grants · $16.7M
Bonneville Environmental Foundation4 grants · $13.3M
World Vision4 grants · $12.8M
Alliance To End Plastic Waste4 grants · $10.5M
University of Cincinnati Foundation4 grants · $8.6M
Charities Aid Foundation of America2 grants · $8.4M
Save the Children Federation4 grants · $8.2M
Cincinnati Museum Center4 grants · $6.8M

Giving over time

$106.5M

2022

$141.5M

2023

$368.8M

2024

Grant history

The 100 largest of 5,367 grants.

$46.1M
Nature Conservancy Inc National · Arlington, VA · 2024
Programatic support
$46.1M
Nature Conservancy Inc National · Arlington, VA · 2024
Programatic support
$14.9M
Conservation International Foundation · Washington, DC · 2023
Programatic support
$12.1M
Nature Conservancy Inc National · Arlington, VA · 2023
Programatic support
$11.0M
Conservation International Foundation · Washington, DC · 2024
Programatic support
$11.0M
Conservation International Foundation · Washington, DC · 2024
Programatic support
$9.7M
Conservation International Foundation · Washington, DC · 2022
General purpose
$5.4M
Schwab Fund for Charitable Giving · Orlando, FL · 2023
Programatic support
$5.0M
Bonneville Environmental Foundation · Portland, OR · 2023
Programatic support
$4.2M
United Way of Greater Cincinnati · Cincinnati, OH · 2023
Programatic support
$4.2M
Charities Aid Foundation of America · Alexandria, VA · 2024
Programatic support
$4.2M
Charities Aid Foundation of America · Alexandria, VA · 2024
Programatic support
$4.2M
United Way of Greater Cincinnati · Cincinnati, OH · 2022
General purpose
$4.1M
Sycamore Community Schools · Cincinnati, OH · 2023
Programatic support
$4.1M
United Way of Greater Cincinnati · Cincinnati, OH · 2024
Programatic support
$4.1M
United Way of Greater Cincinnati · Cincinnati, OH · 2024
Programatic support
$4.1M
Bonneville Environmental Foundation · Portland, OR · 2024
Programatic support
$4.1M
Bonneville Environmental Foundation · Portland, OR · 2024
Programatic support
$3.8M
World Vision · Federal Way, WA · 2022
General purpose
$3.2M
World Vision · Federal Way, WA · 2024
Programatic support
$3.2M
World Vision · Federal Way, WA · 2024
Programatic support
$3.1M
Royalmont Academy · Mason, OH · 2024
Programatic support
$3.1M
Royalmont Academy · Mason, OH · 2024
Programatic support
$3.0M
Alliance To End Plastic Waste · Washington, DC · 2024
Programatic support
$3.0M
Alliance To End Plastic Waste · Washington, DC · 2024
Programatic support
$3.0M
Alliance To End Plastic Waste · Washington, DC · 2023
Programatic support
$2.6M
World Vision · Federal Way, WA · 2023
Programatic support
$2.4M
Save the Children Federation · Fairfield, CT · 2024
Programatic support
$2.4M
Save the Children Federation · Fairfield, CT · 2024
Programatic support
$2.3M
University of Cincinnati Foundation · Cincinnati, OH · 2022
General purpose
$2.2M
Save the Children Federation · Fairfield, CT · 2023
Programatic support
$2.1M
University of Cincinnati Foundation · Cincinnati, OH · 2024
Programatic support
$2.1M
University of Cincinnati Foundation · Cincinnati, OH · 2024
Programatic support
$2.1M
University of Cincinnati Foundation · Cincinnati, OH · 2023
Programatic support
$2.1M
Cincinnati Museum Center · Cincinnati, OH · 2024
Programatic support
$2.1M
Cincinnati Museum Center · Cincinnati, OH · 2024
Programatic support
$1.7M
Cincinnati Art Museum · Cincinnati, OH · 2023
Programatic support
$1.7M
Cincinnati Art Museum · Cincinnati, OH · 2022
General purpose
$1.6M
Freestore Foodbank · Cincinnati, OH · 2022
General purpose
$1.6M
Freestore Foodbank · Cincinnati, OH · 2023
Programatic support
$1.6M
Care USA · Merrifield, VA · 2024
Programatic support
$1.6M
Care USA · Merrifield, VA · 2024
Programatic support
$1.6M
Sycamore Community Public Charities · Cincinnati, OH · 2024
Programatic support
$1.6M
Sycamore Community Public Charities · Cincinnati, OH · 2024
Programatic support
$1.5M
World Wildlife Fund · Washington, DC · 2024
Programatic support
$1.5M
World Wildlife Fund · Washington, DC · 2024
Programatic support
$1.5M
Alliance To End Plastic Waste · Washington, DC · 2022
General purpose
$1.5M
Cincinnati Museum Center · Cincinnati, OH · 2023
Programatic support
$1.4M
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center · Cincinnati, OH · 2024
Programatic support
$1.4M
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center · Cincinnati, OH · 2024
Programatic support
$1.4M
National Arbor Day Foundation · Lincoln, NE · 2024
Programatic support
$1.4M
National Arbor Day Foundation · Lincoln, NE · 2024
Programatic support
$1.4M
Cincinnati Scholarship Foundation · Cincinnati, OH · 2023
Programatic support
$1.4M
The Recycling Partnership · Washington, DC · 2023
Programatic support
$1.3M
Artswave · Cincinnati, OH · 2023
Programatic support
$1.3M
Artswave · Cincinnati, OH · 2022
General purpose
$1.3M
Jewish Federation of Cincinnati · Cincinnati, OH · 2023
Programatic support
$1.3M
Cincinnati Scholarship Foundation · Cincinnati, OH · 2024
Programatic support
$1.3M
Cincinnati Scholarship Foundation · Cincinnati, OH · 2024
Programatic support
$1.3M
Artswave · Cincinnati, OH · 2024
Programatic support
$1.3M
Artswave · Cincinnati, OH · 2024
Programatic support
$1.3M
Hispanic Scholarship Fund · Gardena, CA · 2024
Programatic support
$1.3M
Hispanic Scholarship Fund · Gardena, CA · 2024
Programatic support
$1.2M
Cincinnati Scholarship Foundation · Cincinnati, OH · 2022
General purpose
$1.2M
Hairuwear · Lenexa, KS · 2022
General purpose
$1.2M
The Recycling Partnership · Washington, DC · 2024
Programatic support
$1.2M
The Recycling Partnership · Washington, DC · 2024
Programatic support
$1.1M
Save the Children Federation · Fairfield, CT · 2022
General purpose
$1.1M
Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden · Cincinnati, OH · 2024
Programatic support
$1.1M
Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden · Cincinnati, OH · 2024
Programatic support
$1.1M
Cincinnati Museum Center · Cincinnati, OH · 2022
General purpose
$1.1M
Accelerate Great Schools · Cincinnati, OH · 2024
Programatic support
$1.1M
Accelerate Great Schools · Cincinnati, OH · 2024
Programatic support
$1.1M
Accelerate Great Schools · Cincinnati, OH · 2023
Programatic support
$1.1M
Accelerate Great Schools · Cincinnati, OH · 2022
General purpose
$1.1M
Local Initiatives Support Corporation · New York, NY · 2022
General purpose
$1.0M
Ohio Valley Voices · Loveland, OH · 2023
Programatic support
$1.0M
Care USA · Merrifield, VA · 2023
Programatic support
$1.0M
Hispanic Scholarship Fund · Gardena, CA · 2022
General purpose
$1.0M
Indian Hill Foundation · Cincinnati, OH · 2024
Programatic support
$1.0M
Indian Hill Foundation · Cincinnati, OH · 2024
Programatic support
$1.0M
Strategies To End Homelessness · Cincinnati, OH · 2024
Programatic support
$1.0M
Strategies To End Homelessness · Cincinnati, OH · 2024
Programatic support
$1.0M
Catalyst · New York, NY · 2023
Programatic support
$974,221
Childfund International · Richmond, VA · 2023
Programatic support
$960,000
Centerlink · Ft Lauderdale, FL · 2024
Programatic support
$960,000
Centerlink · Ft Lauderdale, FL · 2024
Programatic support
$951,152
Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park · Cincinnati, OH · 2022
General purpose
$945,000
City of Cincinnati · Cincinnati, OH · 2023
Programatic support
$928,000
Chaminade High School · Mineola, NY · 2022
General purpose
$920,873
City of Cincinnati · Cincinnati, OH · 2022
General purpose
$904,842
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra · Cincinnati, OH · 2023
Programatic support
$900,874
Matthew 25 Ministries · Cincinnati, OH · 2022
General purpose
$900,000
Ruah Woods · Cincinnati, OH · 2024
Programatic support
$900,000
Ruah Woods · Cincinnati, OH · 2024
Programatic support
$882,000
Boys & Girls Club of Sarasota & Desoto Counties Foundation · Sarasota, FL · 2024
Programatic support
$882,000
Boys & Girls Club of Sarasota & Desoto Counties Foundation · Sarasota, FL · 2024
Programatic support
$860,000
Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber Fdn · Cincinnati, OH · 2023
Programatic support
$859,827
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra · Cincinnati, OH · 2024
Programatic support
$859,827
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra · Cincinnati, OH · 2024
Programatic support

View all 5,367 grants →

Who else funds this kind of work

Same state

Columbus Foundation5,344 grants · $841.8M
Jobsohio1,291 grants · $800.4M

Similar purposes

Womens Way115 grants · $1.5M
International Brotherhood of69 grants · $10.8M
United Way of King County926 grants · $150.0M

Similar grant size

Ohio Child Care Resource and Referral16,278 grants · $1.08B
Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund19,135 grants · $6.79B
Paypal Charitable Giving Fund32,081 grants · $1.40B

Grants already paid are the record; PaperOrbit reads your paper and finds the funders whose record matches it — then explains why.

Search funders like this one

Source: IRS Form 990, Schedule I, as filed by this organization. These are grants already paid. Grants paid directly to individuals are reported to the IRS only as totals, so they do not appear as named lines here.