Michael and Deborah Ratner Salzberg
Shaker Heights, OH · EIN 20-8004524. Reported 171 grants totalling $2,644,268 to 80 recipients across tax years 2021-2025. This foundation told the IRS it does not accept unsolicited requests: it contributes only to organizations it selects itself.
Does this foundation accept applications?
No -- on its own tax return. Form 990-PF asks every private foundation to check a box if it "only makes contributions to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds". Michael and Deborah Ratner Salzberg checked it on its most recent filing, as 78% of the 91,758 foundations in our data that made a grant and answered did. An unsolicited request is unlikely to go anywhere.
Organizations it funds that make grants of their own
3 of the organizations Michael and Deborah Ratner Salzberg funded make grants themselves, and it reported 11 grants totalling $1,150,400 to them. That is 51% of the $2,240,423 of its giving we could match to a registered organization. Each is classified by the IRS as a philanthropy or grantmaking organization, reported grants to at least 25 organizations of its own, and has at least 10 funders behind it.
All of them file Form 990, which never asks whether an organization funds only groups it picks, so there is no answer on record either way.
What that does not mean. It does not mean an application to any of them reaches this foundation's money. A private foundation's grant to a community foundation or a federated campaign is often a donor-advised fund or a gift designated for a purpose the foundation chose, and has nothing to do with any open programme the receiving organization runs. Its return's purpose text sometimes names a family fund or a designated purpose, which is the plainest case of money no applicant can reach; where it names none, neither return says which. The list is who this foundation paid that also makes grants. Whether any of them would fund you is a question for its own page.
| Grantmaker | Kind | State | Received | Grants | Years | Last | Only funds organizations it picks? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Jewish Federation of Greater | federated giving programme | Maryland | $995,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 | Its form does not ask |
| Jewish Federation of Cleveland | federated giving programme | Ohio | $150,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 | Its form does not ask |
| Greater Washington Community Foundation | community foundation | District of Columbia | $5,400 | 3 | 3 | 2025 | Its form does not ask |
A floor, not a full list. A grantmaker appears here only where this foundation's return named it clearly enough for us to match the name to an EIN, which we manage for about two thirds of 990-PF grant rows, and only where that grantmaker has a page on this site. There may be more. Dollars here are summed by EIN across every spelling on its returns, so a figure can differ from the matching row in the full list below, which groups names as written. And the IRS classification cannot tell a grantmaker from a funders' association or a donor-advised fund sponsor, so a payment to one of these may be dues or an account rather than support for a grants programme.
How big are its grants?
The median grant is $5,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $2,500 and $10,000; the smallest was $500 and the largest $250,000.
Every organization it funded
This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Recipients are grouped by name and state as they were written on the returns, so an organization entered under two different names appears twice. Years funded is the number of separate tax years in which that name received money.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jewish Federation of Greater Washington | North Bethesda, MD | $995,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Edlavitch Jewish Community Center of Washington DC | Washington, DC | $184,800 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| National Archives Foundation | Washington, DC | $170,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Jewish Federation of Cleveland | Cleveland, OH | $150,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Federal City Council | Washington, DC | $115,000 | 5 | 4 | 2025 |
| John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts | Washington, DC | $103,389 | 5 | 4 | 2024 |
| District of Columbia Jewish Community Center | Washington, DC | $80,000 | 2 | 1 | 2021 |
| University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia, PA | $60,000 | 6 | 5 | 2025 |
| Museum of Language Arts - Planet World | Washington, DC | $58,334 | 2 | 1 | 2021 |
| Natl Symphony Orchestra Assoc of Washington DC | Washington, DC | $51,596 | 2 | 1 | 2025 |
| Museum of Language Arts - Planet Word | Washington, DC | $50,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| US Holocaust Memorial Museum | Washington, DC | $47,188 | 5 | 4 | 2024 |
| Capital Jewish Museum | Washington, DC | $44,414 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| National Symphony Orchestra | Washington, DC | $42,500 | 2 | 1 | 2024 |
| Junior Achievement of Greater Washington | Washington, DC | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Medstar Health | Columbia, MD | $30,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Kenyon College | Gambier, OH | $25,000 | 4 | 3 | 2025 |
| Washington Ballet | Washington, DC | $20,720 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| City Kids Wilderness Project | Washington, DC | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Independence Initiative Inc | Washington, DC | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Ohr Kodesh Congregation | Chevy Chase, MD | $18,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Washington Housing Conservancy | Washington, DC | $17,500 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Fjc - Foundation of Donor Advised Funds | New York, NY | $15,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Ujaf of Greater Washington | North Bethesda, MD | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Martha's Table Inc | Washington, DC | $12,750 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Foundation for the National Archives | College Park, MD | $12,500 | 2 | 1 | 2021 |
| Brooklyn Community Housing & Services | Brooklyn, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Chabad of Rockville | Rockville, MD | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Jewbelong | New York, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Jewbelong | Upper Montclair, NJ | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Mary's Center for Maternal & Child Care | Washington, DC | $10,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Sibley Memorial Hospital Foundation | Washington, DC | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Edens Community Enrichment Foundation | Washington, DC | $9,200 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Jcrc of Greater Washington | North Bethesda, MD | $8,200 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| At the Well | Washington, DC | $7,500 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| N Street Village | Washington, DC | $7,500 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Washington University | St Louis, MO | $7,500 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Save a Child's Heart Foundation Inc | Potomac, MD | $7,200 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Yeshiva of Greater Washington | Silver Spring, MD | $7,200 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Washington Performing Arts Society | Washington, DC | $6,435 | 2 | 1 | 2025 |
| Edens Community Enrichment Foundation | Columbia, SC | $5,600 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Greater Washington Community Foundation | Washington, DC | $5,400 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Seeds of Peace | New York, NY | $5,400 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Yad Yehuda of Greater Washington | Silver Springs, MD | $5,400 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Brooklyn Public Library | Brooklyn, NY | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| City Kids | Washington, DC | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| DC Policy Center | Washington, DC | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Eden Inc | Washington, DC | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Fjc - Foundation of Philanthropic Funds | New York, NY | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| George Washington University | Washington, DC | $5,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Hillel - Foundation for Jewish Campus Life | Washington, DC | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Israel Policy Forum Inc | New York, NY | $5,000 | 2 | 1 | 2023 |
| National Museum of Women in the Arts Inc | Washington, DC | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Park Synagogue | Pepper Pike, OH | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| The Ciesla Foundation Inc | Washington, DC | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Washington Adventist Hospital Foundation | Gaithersburg, MD | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Natonal Museum of American Jewish History | Philadelphia, PA | $4,700 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Wendt Center for Loss & Healing | Washington, DC | $4,500 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts | Vienna, VA | $4,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Maret School | Washington, DC | $3,600 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| St Judes Children Research Hospital | Memphis, TN | $3,600 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad Inc | Bethesda, MD | $3,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Jubilee Housing | Washington, DC | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| The Seed Foundation | Washington, DC | $3,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Urban Land Institute | Washington, DC | $2,660 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation | New York, NY | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Ohr David Outreach | Cedarhurst, NY | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Aajlj-American Assoc of Jewish Lawyers & Jurists | Washington, DC | $2,315 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Tikvah Fund | New York, NY | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Colgate University | Hamilton, NY | $1,800 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| President and Fellows of Harvard College | Cambridge, MA | $1,800 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Musical Arts Association | Cleveland, OH | $1,367 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| All Faiths Foodbank | Sarasota, FL | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| DC History Center | Washington, DC | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| New Orleans Musicians' Assistance Foundation | New Orleans, LA | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Uli Foundation | Washington, DC | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| William Wendt Center for Loss & Healing | Washington, DC | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Planet Word Museum | Washington, DC | $700 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Cleveland Food Bank Inc | Cleveland, OH | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Hebrew Free Loan Association | Beachwood, OH | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
34 of 80 (42%) received money in more than one year over the 5 years we hold.
Measured the way we measure every foundation -- what share of one year's grantees are funded again the next -- this one retains 60%, across 4 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is about typical. This measures how often it paid the same organizations again. It says nothing about whether it would consider a new one, and this foundation told the IRS it does not.
What the money was for
Taken verbatim from the purpose field of its filings. This is the closest thing to a statement of what this foundation cares about, in its own words.
- Jewish Federation of Greater Washington
ANNUAL FUND FOR $95K AND GALA FOR $100K. 100% CONTRIBUTION, NO GOODS OR SERVICES RECEIVED - Edlavitch Jewish Community Center of Washington DC
CAPITAL CAMPAIGN, 2022 SPRING GALA, ENTRYPOINT DC - Jewish Federation of Cleveland
CAMPAIGN FOR JEWISH NEEDS - National Archives Foundation
WE THE PEOPLE CAPITAL CAMPAIGN - Natl Symphony Orchestra Assoc of Washington DC
ANNUAL FUND-$35,000 AND THE NOSEDA ERA FUND-$12,500 - John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
$25,000 FOR ANNUAL FUND AND $12,500 FOR NOSEDA ERA FUND
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 103 grants where we could match the recipient to a registered organization. The categories are the IRS's. The match, made from the name and address on the return, is ours.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 35 | $635,385 | $9,000 |
| 2022 | 24 | $453,740 | $4,850 |
| 2023 | 32 | $418,895 | $3,640 |
| 2024 | 39 | $560,957 | $5,000 |
| 2025 | 41 | $575,291 | $3,600 |
Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- filings arrive about a year late, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a foundation winding down.
Where its money goes
45% of its giving went to organizations in District of Columbia.
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Funders that support the same organizations
These funders gave to organizations this one also funded -- some private foundations, some community foundations and other grantmaking charities. Shared grantees are a sign of overlapping priorities and nothing more. Unlike this foundation, none of them is on record as funding only organizations it picks, and each page says what its filings show.
Related guides
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from Michael and Deborah Ratner Salzberg's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 5 returns (tax years 2021-2025). Grant figures are from its returns. Matching recipients to registered organizations, their IRS classifications, the retention rate and the funders that support the same organizations are our own calculations, described in how we build this.
Address of record on the latest return: 3401 Tuttle Road 350, Shaker Heights, OH, 44122. This is the address the foundation gave the IRS.
EIN 20-8004524 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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