The Hermes Foundation
The Hermes Foundation is a private foundation based in Shaker Heights, Ohio. It provides cash grants to public charities; its 2025 grants included organizations working in arts and culture, public media, food assistance, legal advocacy, education, and health and human services.
The Hermes Foundation at a glance
In short: The Hermes Foundation gave $76K across 27 grants in 2025 (avg $3K), mostly in Ohio. 52% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $75,800
- +55.2% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 27
- +68.8% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $2,807
- -8.0% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $1,200
- Total assets
- $830,794
- -7.5% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 52% first-time grantees (14 of 27, 2025)
- Primary geography
- Ohio (78% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990-PF, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated September 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to The Hermes Foundation
- How to Apply
-
Contact Eric J Nilson. There is no prescribed form, and the foundation lists no deadlines or restrictions on awards. It does not restrict giving to preselected organizations.
- Contact
Application contact: Eric J Nilson
Mailing address: 2886 West Park Blvd, Shaker Heights, OH 44120
Phone: (216) 751-1100
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who The Hermes Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Cleveland Museum of Art ($29K). Together the top 10 received $62K.
Grant Size Distribution
87 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 87 grants of 87 (100%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2025, 78% of grant dollars went to recipients in Ohio, 13% to New York, 4% to Illinois, 3% to California, and 2% to Colorado.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 27 itemized grants.
Cities
Is The Hermes Foundation open to new grantees?
52%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 14 of 27 grantees (52%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $2K; repeat grants $4K. How we count
Medians: $1K first-time, $2K repeat.
- 26% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving grew 224% from 2022 to 2025. Method
- In 2025 it paid out 125% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF 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 $23K (2022) to $76K (2025). In 2025 it made 27 grants totaling $76K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Museum of Art Cleveland, OH | Charitable | $29,000 |
| St Paul's Cleveland Heights Cleveland Heights, OH | Charitable | $7,500 |
| Lambda Legal New York, NY | Charitable | $5,000 |
| Literary Cleveland Cleveland, OH | Charitable | $5,000 |
| Med Global Rolling Meadows, IL | Charitable | $3,000 |
| Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless Cleveland, OH | Charitable | $3,000 |
| WCPN Public Radio Cleveland, OH | Charitable | $3,000 |
| Greater Cleveland Food Bank Cleveland, OH | Charitable | $2,500 |
| GLBT Historical Society San Francisco, CA | Charitable | $2,000 |
| ACLU Foundation New York, NY | Charitable | $2,000 |
Ready to take the next step with The Hermes Foundation?
Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Qualifying Distributions | Net Investment Income | Distributable Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $830,794 | $24,095 | $91,495 | $75,800 | 27 | $75,800 | $16,295 | $60,643 |
| 2024 | $898,416 | $127,622 | $62,323 | $48,850 | 16 | $48,850 | $15,910 | $63,383 |
| 2023 | $832,715 | $103,224 | $50,348 | $39,250 | 14 | $39,250 | $2,487 | $47,172 |
| 2022 | $780,626 | $26,597 | $36,939 | $23,425 | 14 | $23,425 | $20,822 | $46,612 |
| 2021 | $790,588 | $90,421 | $45,113 | $31,370 | 16 | $31,370 | $81,361 | $36,690 |
| 2020 | $745,282 | $11,884 | $43,470 | $31,990 | 14 | — | $253 | $43,328 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, The Hermes Foundation reported a distributable amount of $61K for 2025 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
No mission statement is provided. The foundation says it conducts no activities beyond providing cash grants to public charities. Its 2025 recipients included the Cleveland Museum of Art, whose mission includes bringing the pleasure and meaning of art to a broad audience, and Literary Cleveland, which assists writers and readers and promotes literature and diverse voices in Northeast Ohio. Other examples include the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, which works to ensure people in its communities have nutritious food, and IdeaStream, which provides public broadcasting, journalism, stories, and entertainment in Northeast Ohio.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2025, the foundation reported 27 grants totaling $75,800. Grant amounts ranged from $100 to $29,000, with a median of $1,200. The foundation stated that it paid grants to 24 charities that year.
The largest reported 2025 grants included $29,000 to the Cleveland Museum of Art, $7,500 to St. Paul’s Cleveland Heights, $5,000 each to Lambda Legal and Literary Cleveland, and $3,000 each to MED Global, the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless, and WCPN Public Radio.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Eric J Nilson and Jeffrey Mostade as trustees.
The Hermes Foundation's 2025 filing lists 2 officers; none of the 2 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Eric J. Nilson
Trustee
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Jeffrey Mostade
Trustee
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
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.
Frequently asked questions about The Hermes Foundation
How much does The Hermes Foundation give each year?
The Hermes Foundation gave $76K across 27 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $49K across 16 grants.
What is The Hermes Foundation's typical grant size?
The Hermes Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $1,200, and its average grant was $2,807, across 27 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from The Hermes Foundation that year got $2K on average.
Where does The Hermes Foundation give grants?
The Hermes Foundation gives mostly in Ohio: 78% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest state was New York (13%). The most frequent recipient cities were Cleveland, OH (11 grants), New York, NY (4 grants) and Shaker Heights, OH (2 grants).
Does The Hermes Foundation give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 27 grants with a stated purpose on The Hermes Foundation's 2025 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Charitable" (27 grants).
Who are The Hermes Foundation's largest grantees?
The Hermes Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Cleveland Museum of Art ($29,000), St Paul's Cleveland Heights ($7,500) and Lambda Legal ($5,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 55% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is The Hermes Foundation?
The Hermes Foundation reported $831K in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $76K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $61K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does The Hermes Foundation fund?
No mission statement is provided. The foundation says it conducts no activities beyond providing cash grants to public charities. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from The Hermes Foundation?
Contact Eric J Nilson. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is The Hermes Foundation's EIN?
The Hermes Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 34-6930405. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Data update history
(6)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS May 8, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS May 5, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS May 9, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS May 13, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS May 12, 2025)
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 7, 2026)
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in The Hermes Foundation's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). The Hermes Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 14, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/the-hermes-foundation-morg_9613deb0c7144b09ab26585bb067cebc
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_346930405_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{The Hermes Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/the-hermes-foundation-morg_9613deb0c7144b09ab26585bb067cebc},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-14. 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 The Hermes Foundation'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.
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