Patricia and Mark Joseph Shelter
Baltimore, MD · EIN 52-1738992. Reported 181 grants totalling $12.8M to 71 organizations across tax years 2021-2025, 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. 71 distinct organizations, with 21% 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. 76% of one year's grantees are funded again the next, across 4 year-to-year transitions. That is well above the 56% median for grantmaking charities, and above the 67% median for private foundations. It describes the organizations it already funds, not whether it would consider a new one.
How big are its grants?
The median reported grant is $15,750. 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 | $2,680,650 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Thread Inc | Baltimore, MD | $2,000,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Baltimore School for the Arts Fdn Inc | Baltimore, MD | $1,241,200 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Inc | Baltimore, MD | $1,235,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Associated Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore Inc | Baltimore, MD | $630,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Teach for America Inc | New York, NY | $475,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Brown University of Providence | Providence, RI | $382,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| University of Baltimore Foundation Inc | Baltimore, MD | $311,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Center for Urban Families Inc | Baltimore, MD | $300,000 | 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 |
| The Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism | Baltimore, MD | $225,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Enoch Pratt Free Library of Baltimore City | Baltimore, MD | $165,150 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| KIPP Baltimore Inc | Baltimore, MD | $165,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Living Classrooms Foundation Inc | Baltimore, MD | $160,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| J Street Education Fund Inc | Washington, DC | $135,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Johns Hopkins University | Baltimore, MD | $131,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| St Stephen S and St Agnes School Foundation | Alexandria, VA | $130,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| The United Way of Central Maryland Inc | Baltimore, MD | $125,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Baltimore Public Media Corporation | Baltimore, MD | $107,500 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| The Seed School of Maryland Inc | Baltimore, MD | $99,650 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Taki Concordia Conducting Fellowship Inc | Baltimore, MD | $80,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Maryland Food Bank Inc | Baltimore, MD | $77,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Greater Baltimore Committee Inc | Baltimore, MD | $74,760 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Baltimore Chamber Orchestra Inc | Towson, MD | $73,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Baltimore Community Foundation Inc | Baltimore, MD | $71,900 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Fund for Educational Excellence Inc | Baltimore, MD | $70,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Arts Every Day Inc | Baltimore, MD | $67,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| National Mentoring Partnership Incorporated | Boston, MA | $66,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Associated Black Charities Inc | Baltimore, MD | $64,750 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Higher Achievement Program Inc | Washington, DC | $62,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Beth Am Synagogue | Baltimore, MD | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Roland Park Community Foundation Inc | Baltimore, MD | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Sarbanes Center | Towson, MD | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| The Brotherhood Sister Sol Inc | New York, NY | $50,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Maryland Philanthropy Network Inc | Baltimore, MD | $46,350 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Baltimore Corps Inc | Baltimore, MD | $45,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Collegebound Foundation Inc | Baltimore, MD | $45,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Springboard Collaborative | Philadelphia, PA | $44,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| American Cancer Society Inc | Atlanta, GA | $40,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Adelante Latina Inc | Baltimore, MD | $38,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Arts Education in Maryland Schools Alliance Inc | Baltimore, MD | $37,500 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Literacy Lab | Washington, DC | $35,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Project Pneuma Inc | Baltimore, MD | $35,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Court Appointed Special Advocate Program of Baltimore | Baltimore, MD | $30,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Public Allies Inc | Milwaukee, WI | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Brooklyn Public Library | Brooklyn, NY | $28,500 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Improving Education Inc | Baltimore, MD | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Towson University Foundation Inc | Towson, MD | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Wide Angle Youth Media Inc | Baltimore, MD | $22,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Blood Cancer United Inc | Rye Brook, NY | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Cylburn Arboretum Friends Inc | Baltimore, MD | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Imentor Incorporated | New York, NY | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| South Baltimore Learning Corp Inc | Baltimore, MD | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| 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 |
| Beloved Community Services Corporation | Baltimore, MD | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Chesapeake Bay Outward Bound School Inc | Baltimore, MD | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| 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 |
| The Producers Club of Maryland Inc | Baltimore, MD | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| The Womens Law Center of Maryland Inc | Towson, MD | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| United States Capitol Historical Society | Washington, DC | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| 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 |
41 of 71 (58%) received money in more than one year over the 5 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 the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 59 of 71 recipients we could match to a registered organization. The categories are the IRS's, not ours -- 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 |
| 2025 | 42 | $1,380,110 | $19,000 |
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
88% 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 a sign of overlapping priorities and nothing more: they do not show that any of these funders would consider a new organization. Each page says what its filings show.
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 $15,750 -- 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 5 returns (tax years 2021-2025). Grant figures are from its returns. Recipient classifications, the concentration and retention figures and the funders that support the same organizations are our own calculations from them, described in how we build this.
On its most recent return it told the IRS it made grants to 41 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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