StriveTogether Inc
StriveTogether is a Cincinnati, Ohio-based public charity and national network organization that connects and supports community partnerships working to improve outcomes for young people. In 2025, its Cradle to Career Network spanned 70 communities in 28 states and reached 13.8 million youth.
StriveTogether Inc at a glance
In short: StriveTogether Inc gave $18.0M across 28 grants in 2025 (avg $644K), top state Texas. 29% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $18,045,000
- +19.1% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 28
- +12.0% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $644,464
- +6.4% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $350,000
- Total assets
- $21,360,274
- +95.6% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 29% first-time grantees (8 of 28, 2025)
- Primary geography
- Texas (23% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990, 2025; updated September 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to StriveTogether Inc
- Review Cycle
- For the Pathways Impact Fund round described, letters of interest were due July 10, 2026; invited full applications are due September 4, 2026.
- Deadline
- For the Pathways Impact Fund round described, letters of interest were due July 10, 2026; invited full applications…
- Contact
Mailing address: 125 East 9Th St 2Nd Fl, Cincinnati, OH 45202
Phone: (513) 929-1150
Website: https://strivetogether.org
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Open Grants
1 open opportunity from StriveTogether Inc
Who StriveTogether Inc funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Seeding Success ($2.4M). Together the top 10 received $12.8M.
Grant Size Distribution
261 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was in the $250–500K range: 86 grants of 261 (33%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
StriveTogether describes its Cradle to Career Network as nationwide. In 2025, grant dollars were distributed across recipients in multiple states; the largest shares went to Texas (23%), Tennessee (13%), Ohio (9%), California (9%) and Kentucky (7%).
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 28 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is StriveTogether Inc open to new grantees?
29%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 8 of 28 grantees (29%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $630K; repeat grants $650K. How we count
Medians: $725K first-time, $250K repeat.
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990 filings (2020–2025). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $9.2M (2023) to $20.2M (2020). In 2025 it made 28 grants totaling $18.0M.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Seeding Success Memphis, TN | place matters grant & TN Policy Coalition | $2,400,000 |
| Learn to Earn Dayton Dayton, OH | Transform Impact Grant & Ohio Policy Coalition | $1,450,000 |
| E3 Alliance Austin, TX | Transform Impact Grant & Texas Policy Coalition | $1,275,000 |
| Partners for Rural Impact Inc Berea, KY | Transform Impact Grant & Kentucky Policy Coalition | $1,250,000 |
| Promise Partnership of Salt Lake Utah's Promise Salt Lake City, UT | Transform Impact Grant & Utah Policy Coalition | $1,250,000 |
| Commit Partnership Dallas, TX | Place matter grant & Texas Policy Coalition | $1,125,000 |
| Fund for Educational Excellence Baltimore, MD | Transform Impact Grant | $1,000,000 |
| Good Reason Houston Houston, TX | Transform Impact Grant | $1,000,000 |
| Impact Tulsa Tulsa, OK | Transform Impact Grant | $1,000,000 |
| Rocky MountainAdams County Youth Initiative Thornton, CO | Colorado Policy Coalition & Transform Impact Grant | $1,000,000 |
Ready to take the next step with StriveTogether Inc?
Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Net Investment Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $21,360,274 | $48,099,706 | $38,823,887 | $18,045,000 | 28 | $1,016,615 |
| 2024 | $10,920,758 | $30,313,803 | $33,416,723 | $15,147,000 | 25 | $867,552 |
| 2023 | $13,940,747 | $24,639,354 | $25,270,357 | $9,213,150 | 61 | $499,019 |
| 2022 | $14,912,469 | $24,548,359 | $25,982,410 | $10,861,000 | 73 | $120,910 |
| 2021 | $15,484,641 | $28,425,480 | $21,332,269 | $11,372,610 | 74 | $43,065 |
| 2020 | $8,381,463 | $30,982,246 | $28,643,603 | $20,189,910 | 65 | $42,865 |
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
StriveTogether’s mission is to partner with communities to ensure every child has every chance to succeed, regardless of race, ethnicity, poverty or circumstance. Its work aims to help young people meet seven life milestones from cradle to career and advance economic mobility.
Its Cradle to Career Network connects, champions and supports community partnerships. Other areas of work include policy and partnership, the Training Hub, and the Pathways Impact Fund. The Fund supports regional intermediaries working to connect education and workforce partners and scale high-quality career pathways.
Grantees’ missions illustrate the types of organizations supported. Seeding Success describes itself as supporting a cradle-to-career education agenda in Shelby County. Learn to Earn Dayton says it transforms systems through data, partnerships and policy to foster learners’ success and economic mobility. E3 Alliance describes its work as transforming education systems through data and collaboration. Partners for Rural Impact says it works to accelerate educational outcomes and strengthen local capacity in rural communities. Other recipients include organizations focused on Baltimore City public schools, Houston schools and educational opportunity gaps in Marin County.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2025, StriveTogether reported 28 grants totaling $18,045,000. Awards ranged from $40,000 to $2,400,000, with a median of $350,000. The largest listed grants included $2,400,000 to Seeding Success for a place matters grant and TN Policy Coalition; $1,450,000 to Learn to Earn Dayton for a Transform Impact Grant and Ohio Policy Coalition; $1,275,000 to E3 Alliance for a Transform Impact Grant and Texas Policy Coalition; and $1,250,000 each to Partners for Rural Impact and Promise Partnership of Salt Lake Utah’s Promise for Transform Impact Grant and Kentucky Policy Coalition, and Transform Impact Grant and Utah Policy Coalition, respectively.
The Pathways Impact Fund offers a separate opportunity for eligible regional intermediaries: selected organizations may receive $900,000–$1.5 million over three years, with tailored support and participation in a national learning network. The opportunity is focused on scaling purposeful pathways with direct student impact. The listed round’s letter-of-interest period has closed; full applications are by invitation. StriveTogether states that grant applicants must submit an application and supporting documentation, and that grantees are asked for budget-to-actual reports, a narrative and documentation of impact.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Russell Booker as Board Chair, Tony Pipa as Board Vice Chair, Andi Phillips as Board Treasurer and Robert Blaine as Board Secretary. Directors listed include Connie Ballmer, David Williams, Michael McAfee, Richard Raya, Robert Watson and Samantha Mellerson.
StriveTogether Inc is led by Jennifer Blatz, Chief Executive Officer since 2023 (on filings since 2020); 11 of 24 officers listed in 2025 are compensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Jennifer Blatz
Chief Executive Officer
CEO → Chief Executive Officer, 2023
On filings since 2020
40 hrs/week
$317K (2020) → $446K (2025)
John Garcia - Start
Executive Director & Pathways Impact Fund
New on the 2025 filing
40 hrs/week
$179K (2025)
Russell Booker
Board Chair
Director → Board Chair, 2023
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Celine Ferejan - Start
Senior Director, Policy & Partnerships
New on the 2025 filing
40 hrs/week
$196K (2025)
Connie Ballmer
Director
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Sue Lehmann
Director
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
David Williams
Director
Director-Start → Director, 2023
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Michael McAfee
Director
Director-Start → Director, 2023
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Richard Raya
Director
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Robert Watson
Director - Start
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Samantha Mellerson
Director - Start
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Todd Williams
Director - Start
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Tomi Heirs
Director - Start
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Bridget Jancarz
Vice President & Network Impact
Chief of Staff → Vice President & Network Impact, 2023
On filings since 2020
40 hrs/week
$158K (2020) → $211K (2025)
Colin Groth
Chief Advancement Officer
Executive Vice President of Strategy & Development → Chief Advancement Officer, 2023
On filings since 2020
40 hrs/week
$200K (2020) → $279K (2025)
Josh Davis
Vice President, Policy & Partnerships
Vice President of Policy & Partnerships → Vice President, Policy & Partnerships, 2023
On filings since 2020
40 hrs/week
$203K (2020) → $224K (2025)
Jeri Duncan
Vice President, Finance & Operations
Senior Director, Finance & Administration → Senior Director, Finance & Administrator, 2024
Senior Director, Finance & Administrator → Vice President, Finance & Operations, 2025
On filings since 2023
40 hrs/week
$154K (2023) → $168K (2025)
Paris Woods
Chief Program Officer
On filings since 2024
40 hrs/week
$218K (2024) → $268K (2025)
Ashwina Kirpalani
Vice President, Insights & Analytics
New on the 2025 filing
40 hrs/week
$267K (2025)
Jennifer Wittner - Start
Chief Operations Officer
New on the 2025 filing
40 hrs/week
$145K (2025)
Tomas Bilbao
Vice President & Communications
New on the 2025 filing
40 hrs/week
$214K (2025)
Tony Pipa
Board Vice Chair
Director → Treasurer, 2021
Treasurer → Board Vice Chair, 2023
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Robert Blaine
Board Secretary
Director - Joined → Director, 2022
Director → Board Secretary, 2023
On filings since 2021
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Andi Phillips
Board Treasurer
Director-Start → Board Treasurer, 2023
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (26)
- Former: Andrew Freeze (2020–2024) — Senior Director, Development & Grants
- Former: Danae Davis (2020–2024) — Director
- Former: James Bell (2020–2024) — Director
- Former: Lisa Hamilton (2020–2024) — Director
- Former: Tom Fry (2020–2024) — Director
- Former: Brandon Crowley (2022–2024) — Senior Director, Technology & Systems
- Former: Helen Black (2022–2024) — Vice President & Training
- Former: Vanessa Carlo-Miranda (2022–2024) — COO
- Former: Ashwina Kirpani (2023–2024) — Vice President, Insights & Analytics
- Former: Cara-Aimee Long Corra (2024) — Director, Operations, Policy & P'ships
- Former: Gina Trieste - Exit (2024) — Vice President & People Experience
- Former: Monroe Nichols (2024) — Director & State Infrastructure
- Former: Alexandra Canlos-Castillo (2020–2023) — Interim Vice President & Equitable Results
- Former: Kelly Anchrum (2020–2023) — Vice President, Marketing & Communications
- Former: Tanisha Pleasant (2022–2023) — Senior Director & Network Impact
- Former: Amanda Lawrence (2023) — Senior Director, Business & Partnership
- Former: Parvathi Santhosh-Kumar (2020–2022) — Vice President of Equitable Results
- Former: Sagar Desai (2021–2022) — Managing Director of Innovation
- Former: Simon Tam (2022) — Senior Director of Marketing & Communications
- Former: Cheryl Broadnax (2020–2021) — Senior Director of District
- Former: Rikita Sharma Kurup (2020–2021) — Senior Director of Learning & Activation
- Former: Roberto Rodriguez (2020–2021) — Director-Left
- Former: Brittany Speed - Left (2021) — Vice President of Finance & Administration
- Former: Brittany Speed (2020) — Vice President of Finance
- Former: Kevin Sansberry (2020) — Vice President of People
- Former: Nancy Zimpher (2020) — Board Chair-Exit
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2020–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Compensation Overview
From 2025 IRS filing
The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $446K, to Jennifer Blatz (Chief Executive Officer). 11 officers or directors reported compensation on that filing.
Frequently asked questions about StriveTogether Inc
How much does StriveTogether Inc give each year?
StriveTogether Inc gave $18.0M across 28 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. In 2024 it gave $15.1M across 25 grants.
What is StriveTogether Inc's typical grant size?
StriveTogether Inc's median grant in 2025 was $350,000, and its average grant was $644,464, across 28 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Organizations receiving their first grant from StriveTogether Inc that year got $630K on average.
Where does StriveTogether Inc give grants?
StriveTogether Inc's top state is Texas, with 23% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990. The next largest states were Tennessee (13%) and Ohio (9%).
Does StriveTogether Inc give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 28 grants with a stated purpose on StriveTogether Inc's 2025 IRS Form 990 were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Accelerate Impact" (8 grants) and "Transform Impact Grant" (3 grants).
Who are StriveTogether Inc's largest grantees?
StriveTogether Inc's largest 2025 grantees include Seeding Success ($2,400,000), Learn to Earn Dayton ($1,450,000) and E3 Alliance ($1,275,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. Together they received 28% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is StriveTogether Inc?
StriveTogether Inc reported $21.4M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Its revenue that year was $48.1M.
What does StriveTogether Inc fund?
StriveTogether’s mission is to partner with communities to ensure every child has every chance to succeed, regardless of race, ethnicity, poverty or circumstance. Its work aims to help young people meet seven life milestones from cradle to career and advance economic mobility. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from StriveTogether Inc?
StriveTogether Inc has no public application process in the sources Grantable reviewed. Check strivetogether.org for current guidelines, or contact the foundation directly before submitting a request.
What is StriveTogether Inc's EIN?
StriveTogether Inc's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 81-3380647. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990 filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Data update history
(7)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS May 13, 2021)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS May 13, 2022)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS May 12, 2023)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS May 10, 2024)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS May 13, 2025)
- Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 12, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). StriveTogether Inc funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 11, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/strivetogether-inc-morg_356591dd32de40a4a854246dc1d84da1
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_813380647_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{StriveTogether Inc funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/strivetogether-inc-morg_356591dd32de40a4a854246dc1d84da1},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-11. Data licensed CC BY 4.0}
}The figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0: reuse them with credit to Grantable and a link. Download the data.
Figures come from StriveTogether Inc's IRS filings (methodology). AI-written summaries, news items and logos are not covered by the open licence. Spot an error? Email hello@grantable.co.
StriveTogether Inc down — hundreds of funders to go?