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· Private foundation

Brinkley Family Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$395k
Granted FY2024still arriving
11
Grants FY2024still arriving
2
States reached
$175k
Largest
01What it funds
0194% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Recreation & Sports$1.9MEducation$1.8MYouth Development$168kReligion$150kHuman Services$100kArts & Culture$69kHousing & Shelter$30kCommunity Improvement$13kOther$0
02FY2024 · 11 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k3 grants · $7k
  • $10k–50k6 grants · $81k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $307k
$10,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$332k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
GARDNER WEBB UNIVERSITY$175,000
KINGS MOUNTAIN TOUCHDOWN CLUB$132,000
CLEVELAND COUNTY SCHOOLS$28,525
ROTARY CLUB OF VALDESE$12,500
4 PAWS FOR ABILITY$10,000
NORTHVIEW CHURCH$10,000
Individual grant recipient$10,000
THE OPTIMIST CLUB OF KINGS MOUNTAIN$10,000
COMMUNITY MATH ACADEMY$5,000
CLEVELAND COMMUNITY COLLEGE$1,000
MOFFITT FAMILY FOUNDATION$1,000
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

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

show:

Its human-services grants (FY17–24, $14k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 29% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%4 PAWS FOR ABILITY: $10k → 9%Hospice of Cleveland County: $1k → 17%Hospice of Cleveland County: $1k → 17%Hospice of Cleveland County: $1k → 17%Hospice of Cleveland County: $1k → 17%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
04

Where the work is directed

The same grants placed two ways: where each recipient sits, and where its stated purpose sends the money.

About 13% of Brinkley Family Foundation’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address. By recipient address, 100% of the giving stays in NC; by stated purpose, 97%.

Brinkley Family Foundationlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address
How this is measured
Recipient view: each grant at its grantee’s ZIP, mapped to a county. Directed view: each grant at the county its stated purpose names, falling back to the recipient’s county when the purpose names no place; US grants only. A county shows only if it carries the top 95% of that view’s dollars. Purposes are read from the funder’s own 990 grant descriptions.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

97%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$4.2M · 24 repeat orgs$141k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +67% since the first grant, against +13% for those funded once.

24 repeat relationships: 6 still active in FY2024, 18 since wound down; 5 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

24
18

Total granted

$4.2M
$97k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+67%
+13%

Still filing today

46%
28%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 89% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $44k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
EducationHuman ServicesYouth DevelopmentPublic BenefitRecreation & SportsReligionOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). 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

  • GU
    GARDNER-WEBB UNIVERSITY
    7× · 2017–2024 · $920k · revenue +15%
  • CC
    Cleveland County Schools Educational Foundation Inc
    5× · 2017–2021 · $415k · revenue +234% · 67% of their budget
  • WC
    WESTERN CAROLINA UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION
    7× · 2017–2023 · $332k · revenue +129%

Funded once

  • TO
    Town of Valdese Parks and Recreation Department
    one grant, 2021 · $50k
  • PB
    PISGAH BOOSTER CLUB
    one grant, 2022 · $10k
  • CC
    Cleveland County Abuse Prevention Council Inc
    one grant, 2018 · $10k · revenue -15%
How this is measured

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

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Charlotte Community Health Clinic Inc

Provide the highest quality, patient-centered health care services for low-income and other underserved individuals.

Health
2
Carolinas Center for Medical Excellence Found ation
Health
3
The Crooked Creek Township Vfd

To provide fire protection to the crooked creek community of mcdowell county north carolina

Public Safety & Disaster
4
North Carolina Community Health Center Assoc Inc

To promote community based primary health care systems in medically underserved areas.

Health
5
Yadkin Valley Chamber of Commerce

The Yadkin Valley Chamber of Commerce is an organization that promotes a positive business environment, community betterment and supports economic development

—
6
North Carolina Sports Legacy Foundation Fka Promote the Youth Foundation
Philanthropy
7
Carolina Collaborative Prep

Carolina collaborative prep (ccp) is a non-profit academic center that serves students in grades 3-12 with learning differences, empowering them to thrive in school and in life.

Education
8
Apta North Carolina

The mission of the american physical therapy association - north carolina (apta nc) is to improve the health, function and quality of life of individuals by representing, promoting and advancing the profession and best pracitce of physical…

—
9
Charlotte Medical Dental and Pharmaceutical Association
Health
10
Alamance Community College Foundation

The Alamance Community College Foundation exists to aid students with a demonstrated financial need in reaching their educational goals, while supporting the mission of ACC.

—
11
United Way of Cleveland County Inc

The United Way of Cleveland County helps people by uniting resources and programs to responsibly meet the needs of our community.

Philanthropy
12
Carolina College of Biblical Studies

Carolina college of biblical studies exists to disciple christ-followers, through biblical higher education, for a lifetime of effective servant leadership.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Hospice of Cleveland County Inc; the most unlike its peers is Bethlehem Volunteer Fire Department Inc. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
05the grantee network

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

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 17 of the 47 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

3
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
6
Early backer (in before they grew)
17/17
Grantees still filing
13/17
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

KINGS MOUNTAIN TOUCHDOWN CLUB INC: $1,855,774 · EducationKINGS MOUNTAIN TOUCHDOWN CLUB INCGARDNER-WEBB UNIVERSITY: $919,767 · EducationGARDNER-WEBB UNIVERSITYWESTERN CAROLINA UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $332,000 · EducationWESTERN CAROLINA UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION+2 more: $13,800 · EducationCleveland County Schools Educational Foundation Inc: $415,248 · OtherCleveland County Schools E…Cleveland County Fellowship of Christian Atheletes: $115,000 · OtherCleveland County Fellowshi…CLEVELAND COUNTY SCHOOLS: $102,019 · OtherCLEVELAND COUNTY SCHOOLSKings Mountain Life Enrichment Center: $78,000 · OtherKings Mountain Life Enrich…Kings Mountain Historical Museum: $59,500 · OtherKings Mountain Historical …Town of Valdese Parks and Recreation Department: $50,000 · OtherBoy Scouts of America Piedmont Council: $35,000 · Other+29 more: $146,748 · Other+29 moreKings Mountain Elite Club: $132,500 · Youth DevelopmentPURPLE HEART HOMES INC: $30,000 · Public BenefitCleveland County Family YMCA Inc: $19,000 · Recreation & Sports4 PAWS FOR ABILITY INC: $10,000 · Human ServicesHOSPICE OF CLEVELAND COUNTY INC: $4,000 · Human ServicesCleveland County Abuse Prevention Council Inc: $10,000 · Crime & Legal
Education$3,121,341Other$1,001,515Youth Development$132,500Public Benefit$30,000Recreation & Sports$19,000Human Services$14,000Crime & Legal$10,000

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetKINGS MOUNTAIN TOUCHDOWN CLUB INC: $1,855,774 over 8y, 56% of budgetGARDNER-WEBB UNIVERSITY: $919,767 over 7y, 0.3% of budgetCleveland County Schools Educational Foundation Inc: $415,248 over 5y, 67% of budgetWESTERN CAROLINA UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $332,000 over 7y, 1.3% of budgetKings Mountain Elite Club: $132,500 over 7y, 44% of budgetPURPLE HEART HOMES INC: $30,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetCleveland County Family YMCA Inc: $19,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetCOMMUNITY MATH ACADEMY INC: $12,800 over 5y, 2.7% of budgetCleveland County Abuse Prevention Council Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budget4 PAWS FOR ABILITY INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetKings Mountain Little Theatre Inc: $8,000 over 5y, 1.2% of budgetSPECIAL OLYMPICS NORTH CAROLINA INC: $6,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetHOSPICE OF CLEVELAND COUNTY INC: $4,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCleveland Community College Foundation: $1,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetALZHEIMER'S DISEASE & RELATED DISORDERS ASSOCIATION INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBAPTIST CHILDREN'S HOMES OF NORTH CAROLINA INCORPORATED: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBethlehem Volunteer Fire Department Inc: $500 over 1y, 0.1% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

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

  • Who funds KINGS MOUNTAIN TOUCHDOWN CLUB INC ↗
  • Who funds GARDNER-WEBB UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds Cleveland County Schools Educational Foundation Inc ↗
  • Who funds WESTERN CAROLINA UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Kings Mountain Elite Club ↗
  • Who funds PURPLE HEART HOMES INC ↗
  • Who funds Cleveland County Family YMCA Inc ↗
  • Who funds COMMUNITY MATH ACADEMY INC ↗
  • Who funds Cleveland County Abuse Prevention Council Inc ↗
  • Who funds 4 PAWS FOR ABILITY INC ↗
  • Who funds Kings Mountain Little Theatre Inc ↗
  • Who funds SPECIAL OLYMPICS NORTH CAROLINA INC ↗
  • Who funds HOSPICE OF CLEVELAND COUNTY INC ↗
  • Who funds Cleveland Community College Foundation ↗
  • Who funds ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE & RELATED DISORDERS ASSOCIATION INC ↗

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Albemarle FoundationNC23.2× affinity9 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Albemarle Foundation · Duke Energy Foundation · Foundation for the Carolinas · The Paul and Margaret Porter Charitable Foundation · The Neisler Foundation TUA · Dover Foundation Inc · Charities Aid Foundation America · Natl Christian Charitable Fdn Inc · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Amazonsmile Foundation

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Brinkley Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Brinkley Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%5%19%42%75%funder's share of their income ↑0%3%5%8%10%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    6report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–10%
    typical government reliance, FY20–25
    How this is measured
    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 a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than 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 to 24 months.
    05Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to Brinkley Family Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Brinkley Family Foundation through trustees and officers whose names appear on both boards. Search for your organization and Plinth traces the shortest route it can evidence.

    Each link is a name appearing on two organizations’ public IRS 990 filings, matched on that name and, where the filings support it, on location. A same-state match has geographic support, which is a second matching feature rather than confirmation that the two are one person; a cross-state one is the likeliest to be two people who share a name. Every hop shows its tier, low-confidence and distant paths are held back rather than guessed, and it is worth confirming the person before you use the introduction.

    On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 47 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

    How this is measured
    Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its 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.

    Generated from the IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

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