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Plinth

· Public charity

Abilene Christian University

Acu is a national leader in christian higher education, and the mission is to educate students for christian service and leadership throughout the world.

$90M
Granted FY2025still arriving
7
Grants FY2025still arriving
3
States reached
$250k
Largest
01What you fund
0199% classified

What you funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year — across FY20172025.

Human Services$491kReligion$389kPublic Safety & Disaster$141kHealth$101kRecreation & Sports$100kYouth Development$70kArts & Culture$46kCrime & Legal$30kOther$0
02FY2025 · 7 grants

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

The 7 grants below total $391,000 — the rows itemised in this filing. The $90,086,180 headline is the total grant expense reported on the return, so the remaining $89,695,180 is giving the schedule does not break out: grants under the $5,000 itemisation floor, grants to individuals, and grants reported on other schedules. Every figure below describes the itemised rows only.

By grant size · FY2025

  • $10k–50k5 grants · $91k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $50k
  • $250k+1 grant · $250k
$25,000
Median grant
3
States reached
$1.4B
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
FOCUS ON THE FAMILY$250,000
ABILENE YOUTH SPORTS AUTHORITY$50,000
WOODSEDGE COMMUNITY CHURCH$26,000
YOUTH VOICE$25,000
CHRISTIAN CAMPUS CENTER - UTA$20,000
LIVEBEYOND$10,000
EASTERN EUROPEAN MISSIONS$10,000
02The need
03

Do your dollars go where the need is?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, then read against the area’s typical level.

show:

Your human-services grants (FY17–24, $58k) land where the poverty rate runs at 17%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of your grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%Arms of Hope: $11k → 12%SAFE FAMILIES FOR CHILDREN ALLIANCE: $15k → 14%MINISTRY OF COUNSELING AND ENRICHMENT: $15k → 22%DISABILITY RESOURCES: $10k → 22%CHRISTIAN SERVICE CENTER: $7k → 16%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount

Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty linein the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP; grantee ZIP can differ from where services are delivered.

US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are actually delivered. Need from public data — U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA — shown as context about the area, never attributed to your giving.

03Your edge
repeat funding

Who you back again

Which organizations you funded more than once, and which you funded a single time. Each grantee is matched to its own filings.

70%of every dollar goes to organizations you’ve funded before.
$1.0M · 15 repeat orgs$435k to everyone else

15 repeat relationships — 5 still active in FY2025, 10 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

15
30

Total granted

$1.0M
$390k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

0%
+12%

Still filing today

47%
80%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 88% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $45k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
Human ServicesHealthReligionYouth DevelopmentPublic Safety & DisasterArts & CultureOther

First-time = a grantee’s first year in your filing window; renewed = funded in an earlier year too. As a portfolio matures the renewed share naturally climbs — once funded, an org stays “renewable” — so the signal is the years that buck it (a new-grantee intake wave). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as “new.” Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • NH
    NEW HORIZONS RANCH & CENTER INC
    3× · 2018–2024 · $30k · revenue +30%
  • HF
    HOUSES FOR HEALING INC
    2× · 2020–2024 · $30k · revenue +334%
  • TR
    TEXAS RAMP PROJECT
    2× · 2017–2018 · $16k · revenue +144%

Funded once

  • AH
    ABILENE HERITAGE SQUARE INCgraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $35k · revenue +131%
  • TP
    TEXAS PUBLIC POLICY FOUNDATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $25k · revenue +137%
  • MO
    MIGHTY OAKS FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2023 · $25k · revenue -29%

Repeat = funded in two or more distinct years; growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Your field

The map has a center of gravity: the average direction from the rest of the sector toward the organizations the foundation funds — the shape of its giving. Scoring every nonprofit along that direction surfaces the ones that look most like the portfolio. These are the closest matchesthat aren’t grantees — a resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Texas Reach Out Inc

Provides housing and spiritual development for Christians reintegrating into society upon exiting the criminal justice system.

Health
2
His Story Coaching and Counseling

Christian coaching, counseling, assessment and consulting services to the communities of Tarrant County, Texas.

Human Services
3
Faithworks of Abilene Inc

Our mission is to help the underemployed, through personal, career, academic and spiritual development, acquire the confidence and skills for gainful and long-term employment.

Education
4
First Baptist Denton Ministry Center

The mission of First Refuge Ministries is to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ by offering essential services to those in need within our community. Our belief is that every person has worth and value since they are created by God. Our goal…

Health
5
Family Promise of Bryan-College Station

To assist homeless families in securing stable housing

Housing & Shelter
6
Concho Valley Biblical Counseling Center

To assist people through life's struggles by spiritually guiding individuals by encouraging, offering biblical counseling and educating individuals with tools and skills to cope with life's difficult situations. it is the desire of the…

Health
7
Texas Defender Service

See Schedule OTDS fights for the end of mass incarceration and excessive punishment in Texas through direct representation, policy reform, and public education. TDS stands up for the dignity and humanity of people harmed by mass…

Civil Rights
8
Family Abuse Center Inc

The family abuse center exists to eliminate domestic violence in central texas by sheltering victims of domestic violence and by preventing abuse from occurring through intervention and education.

Human Services
9
A Bridge to Opportunity Inc

To operate a 30 unit permanent and temporary housing facility known as Destiny Village for rental to low income individuals and families who are survivors of domestic violence and or sexual assault

Housing & Shelter
10
Abigail's Place

Committed to supporting displaced single mothers in Fort Bend County by providing housing assistance and wraparound services.

Housing & Shelter
11
El Paso Area Christian Counseling Service

Counseling Services offering hope, healing, and restoration to hurting people, marriages, and families using respected therapy practices and solid biblical principles.

Human Services
12
UnBound North Texas

Unbound North Texas exists to support survivors and resource the community to fight human trafficking through Survivor Advocacy, a 24/7 Drop-In Center, and Prevention and Awareness.

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Texas Public Policy Foundation and the most unlike its peers is Mlb-Mlbpa Youth Development Foundation. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.

Your grantees are a median of 32 years old; the field is 14. You back the established end — and your money leans older still.

THE FIELDby orgYOUR GRANTEESby number23%3%<5yr15%15%5–10yr20%15%10–20yr18%24%20–35yr11%32%35–55yr12%12%55yr+
THE FIELDby orgYOUR MONEYby value23%2%<5yr15%6%5–10yr20%12%10–20yr18%25%20–35yr11%51%35–55yr12%4%55yr+

The field is 23% startups (under 5 years old) — 3% of your grantees by number, and just 2% of your money.

Closures · last 5 years

The orgs you fund almost never close 2% lost their exemption, against 14% of the field you don’t fund.

orgs you fund
2%1/47
the rest of the field
14%
7,238/51,322

Age = years since IRS exemption (a founding proxy). “Closed” = auto-revocation for 3 years of non-filing — a floor on closure, not proof, and bigger established orgs lapse least. Association, not causation.

04the grantee network

33 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each one resolved to its own IRS returns and tracked year by year — your grant beside their revenue from every source. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

Counted here: distinct organizations you funded across 20172025, not grant rows in a single year — so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 33 of the 47 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile; the rest are funded organizations whose filings we could not track year by year.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
7
Early backer (in before they grew)
33/33
Grantees still filing
16/33
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

FOCUS ON THE FAMILY — $368,000 · OtherFOCUS ON THE FAMILYPRESTON ROAD CHURCH OF CHRIST — $90,000 · OtherPRESTON ROAD CHURCH OF CHRISTEASTERN EUROPEAN MISSION — $60,000 · OtherEASTERN EUROPEAN MISSIONWOODSEDGE COMMUNITY CHURCH — $58,500 · OtherWOODSEDGE COMMUNITY CHURCHHILLCREST CHURCH OF CHRIST — $32,778 · OtherSOUTHERN HILLS CHURCH OF CHRIST — $31,590 · Other+22 more — $302,491 · Other+22 moreABILENE YOUTH SPORTS AUTHORITY — $100,000 · Youth DevelopmentABILENE YO…YOUTH VOICE INC — $25,000 · Youth DevelopmentYOUTH VOIC…BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS LONE STAR — $11,782 · Youth DevelopmentBIG BROTHE…MOBILE MEDICAL DISASTER RELIEF INC — $120,000 · InternationalMOBILE ME…Regional Crime Victim Crisis Center — $20,000 · Human ServicesFirst Baptist Mission Action Inc — $15,000 · Human ServicesSAFE FAMILIES FOR CHILDREN ALLIANCE — $15,000 · Human ServicesARMS OF HOPE — $10,600 · Human ServicesDisability Resources Inc — $10,000 · Human ServicesChristian Service Center of Abilene — $7,429 · Human ServicesHOUSES FOR HEALING INC — $30,000 · HealthMIGHTY OAKS FOUNDATION — $25,000 · HealthAbilene Restoration Ministries dba Nehemiah Abilene — $15,000 · HealthABILENE RECOVERY COUNCIL INC — $7,571 · HealthReflective Life Ministries — $30,000 · ReligionChristian Campus Center at UTA Inc — $20,000 · ReligionUPWORDS INC — $5,000 · ReligionABILENE HERITAGE SQUARE INC — $35,000 · Arts & CultureSVG SPORTS BROADCASTING FUND — $11,000 · Arts & Culture
Other$943,359Youth Development$136,782International$120,000Human Services$78,029Health$77,571Religion$55,000Arts & Culture$46,000

Each org by its size and your share of it — top-left is where you’re load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ your share of their budgetMOBILE MEDICAL DISASTER RELIEF INC — $120,000 over 6y, 2.7% of budgetABILENE YOUTH SPORTS AUTHORITY — $100,000 over 2y, 3.6% of budgetABILENE HERITAGE SQUARE INC — $35,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetNEW HORIZONS RANCH & CENTER INC — $30,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetReflective Life Ministries — $30,000 over 2y, 11% of budgetHOUSES FOR HEALING INC — $30,000 over 2y, 7.9% of budgetTEXAS PUBLIC POLICY FOUNDATION — $25,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetMIGHTY OAKS FOUNDATION — $25,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetMLB-MLBPA Youth Development Foundation — $25,000 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetChristian Campus Center at UTA Inc — $20,000 over 1y, 4.7% of budgetRegional Crime Victim Crisis Center — $20,000 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetCancer Services Network Inc — $15,000 over 1y, 3.1% of budgetFirst Baptist Mission Action Inc — $15,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetSAFE FAMILIES FOR CHILDREN ALLIANCE — $15,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetPregnancy Resources of Abilene Inc — $15,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetAbilene Restoration Ministries dba Nehemiah Abilene — $15,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetBIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS LONE STAR — $11,782 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetABILENE PALM HOUSE INC — $11,000 over 1y, 7.0% of budgetSVG SPORTS BROADCASTING FUND — $11,000 over 1y, 2.6% of budgetTHE TSTC FOUNDATION — $11,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetARMS OF HOPE — $10,600 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetUNITED RESCUE ALLIANCE INC — $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetBIG COUNTRY COURT APPOINTED SPECIAL ADVOCATES INC — $10,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetTEXOMA YOUTH CAMP INC — $8,500 over 1y, 9.8% of budgetABILENE RECOVERY COUNCIL INC — $7,571 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetChristian Service Center of Abilene — $7,429 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetUNITED WAY OF ABILENE INC — $5,963 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetNOAH PROJECT INC — $5,176 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetUPWORDS INC — $5,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budget
Go grantee by grantee — a decade per org, and how each moved after you funded them

A decade per grantee — revenue shaded, your grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

The grantmakers whose grantees overlap with yours far more than size alone predicts. Each orbits closer the stronger the alignment; the arcs between them show where they also fund each other. Here it reads as a tightly interlocked camp — most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Community Foundation of AbileneTX53.7× affinity24 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Community Foundation of Abilene · The Legett Foundation · Barber Foundation · Kickapoo Springs Foundation · Shelton Family Foundation · Dian Graves Owen Foundation · Greathouse Foundation · The Karakin Foundation · United Way of Abilene Inc · Food Bank of West Central Texas · American Electric Power Foundation · Directors Foundation

Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. A research starting point: overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

Government reliance of your grantees

Every dot is one organization Abilene Christian University funds. Left–right is the share of its income from government; up–down is the share from you. Bigger dots raise more. Filter to federal or a single department — and drag the year to watch it move.

2024
202122232425
no gov · 00%1%4%8%15%your share of their income ↑0%19%38%56%75%share of the org’s income from government
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    10report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–75%
    typical government reliance, FY2025

    Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending — grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that your grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first — a floor, not a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12–24 months.

    On method. Every financial figure here is read directly from IRS e-file XML — your own 990/990-PF and the multi-year returns of the 47 grantees we resolved across every year we hold, several hundred filings in all (a different count from the grant rows on the cover, which are one fiscal year)— each linked to its source. Grantee achievements and outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III); we read these as association with sustained funding — the foundation is one of several forces — suppress low-confidence name matches rather than guess, and say so where a figure rests on a single grant or filing. Not everything on this page is a filed figure, and the difference matters. Filed is what you reported on your return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears. How we build these →

    Generated from your IRS Form 990 e-file return for fiscal year 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    More from the funding graph