Patricia and Mark Joseph Shelter
Baltimore, MD · EIN 52-1738992. Reported 139 grants totalling $11.5M to 64 organizations across tax years 2021-2024, on Form 990 Schedule I.
Does this grantmaker accept applications?
Its tax return does not say, and we will not guess. Private foundations file Form 990-PF, which asks outright whether they fund only organizations they select themselves -- 78% say yes, and that one answer is what lets the rest of this site tell you which foundations are worth approaching. Grantmaking charities like this one file a regular Form 990 instead, and the IRS never puts the question to them. Anyone claiming to know the answer from the filing is inventing it.
Three things in the filing do bear on it:
- What kind of organization it is. For Patricia and Mark Joseph Shelter, the IRS classifies it under housing & shelter rather than as a grantmaker (NTEE L210) -- it is an operating charity that also makes grants.
- How spread out its giving is. 64 distinct organizations, with 23% of the dollars going to the largest single recipient. That is genuinely spread out -- the mark of a funder making many independent decisions rather than underwriting one institution.
- How much its list changes. 75% of one year's grantees are funded again the next, across 3 year-to-year transitions. That is well above the 57% median for grantmaking charities, and above the 67% private foundations manage. This list is close to settled, so a newcomer has to displace someone rather than fill a gap.
How big are its grants?
The median reported grant is $15,000. Half of what it reported fell between $10,000 and $50,000; the smallest was $5,500 and the largest $2,000,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong organization.
Every organization it funded
This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Recipients are grouped by the EIN the filer reported, not by name, so an organization that was typed differently in two years appears once rather than twice.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Museum of Art Inc | Baltimore, MD | $2,620,650 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Thread Inc | Baltimore, MD | $2,000,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Baltimore School for the Arts Fdn Inc | Baltimore, MD | $1,196,200 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Inc | Baltimore, MD | $1,185,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Associated Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore Inc | Baltimore, MD | $530,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Teach for America Inc | New York, NY | $400,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| University of Baltimore Foundation Inc | Baltimore, MD | $311,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Center for Urban Families Inc | Baltimore, MD | $300,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Brown University of Providence | Providence, RI | $282,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Foundation for the Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women | Baltimore, MD | $240,200 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Success for All Foundation Inc | Baltimore, MD | $225,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Living Classrooms Foundation Inc | Baltimore, MD | $160,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| KIPP Baltimore Inc | Baltimore, MD | $130,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| The Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism | Baltimore, MD | $125,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| St Stephen S and St Agnes School Foundation | Alexandria, VA | $120,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| The United Way of Central Maryland Inc | Baltimore, MD | $115,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| J Street Education Fund Inc | Washington, DC | $105,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Enoch Pratt Free Library of Baltimore City | Baltimore, MD | $95,150 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Johns Hopkins University | Baltimore, MD | $81,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Baltimore Community Foundation Inc | Baltimore, MD | $65,700 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Maryland Food Bank Inc | Baltimore, MD | $62,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| National Mentoring Partnership Incorporated | Boston, MA | $60,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Greater Baltimore Committee Inc | Baltimore, MD | $59,760 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| The Seed School of Maryland Inc | Baltimore, MD | $59,650 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Baltimore Chamber Orchestra Inc | Towson, MD | $55,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Associated Black Charities Inc | Baltimore, MD | $50,750 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Roland Park Community Foundation Inc | Baltimore, MD | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Taki Concordia Conducting Fellowship Inc | Baltimore, MD | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Baltimore Corps Inc | Baltimore, MD | $45,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Higher Achievement Program Inc | Washington, DC | $45,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Fund for Educational Excellence Inc | Baltimore, MD | $40,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Adelante Latina Inc | Baltimore, MD | $38,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Maryland Philanthropy Network Inc | Baltimore, MD | $37,440 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| The Brotherhood Sister Sol Inc | New York, NY | $35,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Springboard Collaborative | Philadelphia, PA | $32,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| American Cancer Society Inc | Atlanta, GA | $30,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Public Allies Inc | Milwaukee, WI | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Arts Every Day Inc | Baltimore, MD | $29,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Arts Education in Maryland Schools Alliance Inc | Baltimore, MD | $27,500 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Improving Education Inc | Baltimore, MD | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Project Pneuma Inc | Baltimore, MD | $25,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Wide Angle Youth Media Inc | Baltimore, MD | $22,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Blood Cancer United Inc | Rye Brook, NY | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Court Appointed Special Advocate Program of Baltimore | Baltimore, MD | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Cylburn Arboretum Friends Inc | Baltimore, MD | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Imentor Incorporated | New York, NY | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Literacy Lab | Washington, DC | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Elijah Cummings Youth Program in Israel Inc | Baltimore, MD | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Gilchrist Hospice Care Inc | Hunt Valley, MD | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Mentoring Mentors Inc | Baltimore, MD | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Modern Classrooms Project Inc | Washington, DC | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Brooklyn Public Library | Brooklyn, NY | $13,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Beloved Community Services Corporation | Baltimore, MD | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Collegebound Foundation Inc | Baltimore, MD | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Community Law in Action Inc | Baltimore, MD | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Jeremiah Program | Minneapolis, MN | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| The American Visionary Art Museum Inc | Baltimore, MD | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| United States Capitol Historical Society | Washington, DC | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Baltimore Public Media Corporation | Baltimore, MD | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Enterprise Community Partners Inc | Columbia, MD | $7,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Live Baltimore Home Center Inc | Baltimore, MD | $7,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Boy Scouts of America | Baltimore, MD | $6,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Center Stage Associates Inc | Baltimore, MD | $5,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Planned Parenthood Federation of | New York, NY | $5,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
35 of 64 (55%) received money in more than one year over the 4 years we hold. Remember the $5,000 floor: an organization funded every year at $3,000 shows up here as never funded at all.
What the money was for
Taken verbatim from the purpose column of its filings, largest first. This is the closest thing to a statement of what it funds, in its own words.
- Baltimore Museum of Art
BMA GALA, ANNUAL FUND, TABLE SPONSOR BMA BALL - Enoch Pratt Free Library
FOUNDER'S CIRCLE PRATT SOCIETY - Associated Black Charities
2024 GALA, GIVING TUESDAY - Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women
BALTIMORE LEADERSHIP SCHOOL (EM)POWER - Gilchrist Hospice Care Inc
2022 GILCHRIST BALL SPONSORSHIP - The Seed School of Maryland
RECEPTION AND DINNER SPONSORSHIP
What kind of organizations it funds
By each recipient's own IRS classification, for the 54 of 64 recipients we could match to a registered organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses -- Schedule I reports the recipient's EIN, so this is a lookup rather than a name match.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants reported | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 31 | $2,036,400 | $20,000 |
| 2022 | 28 | $2,335,390 | $22,500 |
| 2023 | 41 | $4,532,030 | $15,000 |
| 2024 | 39 | $2,564,180 | $15,000 |
Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- Form 990 arrives about a year after the year it covers, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a grantmaker winding down.
Where its money goes
89% of its giving went to organizations in Maryland. Community foundations and federated funds are usually the most geographically bounded funders there are -- being outside the footprint is normally disqualifying in a way that a weak programme fit is not.
Down to the city
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Funders that support the same organizations
These grantmakers and private foundations gave to organizations this one also funded. Shared grantees are the strongest signal available that two funders have overlapping priorities -- and a funder already backing your peers is a far warmer prospect than one that merely lists your cause.
How to approach this grantmaker
- Look for a published programme first. Unlike most private foundations, organizations of this kind often do run open, deadlined grant cycles with written guidelines. Its own website is the authority on that; this page is the authority on who it has actually paid.
- Check you are its size. The median reported grant is $15,000 -- and because grants under $5,000 need not be reported, it very likely writes smaller cheques than this page can see.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving concentrates in Maryland.
- Read the recipient list for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer and a cheap one to get.
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from Patricia and Mark Joseph Shelter's own Form 990 Schedule I filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2021-2024). Nothing here is scraped, inferred or estimated.
On its most recent return it told the IRS it made grants to 39 section 501(c)(3) organizations and 1 other organizations. That is the filer's own count for one year; the totals above cover every year we hold.
Address of record on the latest return: 2 Hamill Road 339, Baltimore, MD, 21210.
EIN 52-1738992 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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