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Caritas Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Caritas Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$147k
Granted FY2025still arriving
13
Grants FY2025still arriving
3
States reached
$50k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Education$240kReligion$121kArts & Culture$106kPhilanthropy$100kHealth$45kHuman Services$10kHousing & Shelter$4kFood & Nutrition$2k
02FY2025 · 13 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k7 grants · $27k
  • $10k–50k5 grants · $70k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $50k
$7,000
Median grant
3
States reached
$2.4M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CHEEKWOOD$50,000
PENCIL FOUNDATION$25,000
OAK HILL SCHOOL$12,500
UNITED WAY OF GREATER NASHVILLE$12,500
THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION$10,000
NASHVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION$10,000
ST JOHN'S SCHOOL$7,000
ST GEORGE'S EPISCOPAL CHRUCH$7,000
DWTX$5,000
HERITAGE SOCIETY$3,000
NASHVILLE FOOD PROJECT$2,000
SYMPHONY CAMPAIGN$2,000
MUSICAMBIA INC$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 (FY17–23, $14k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 13%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 13%ROOFTOP NASHVILLE: $4k → 14%ST LUKE'S COMMUNITY HOUSE: $5k → 14%ST LUKE'S COMMUNITY HOUSE: $5k → 14%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.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

87%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$548k · 13 repeat orgs$80k to everyone else

13 repeat relationships: 8 still active in FY2025, 5 since wound down; 5 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

13
7

Total granted

$548k
$57k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+12%
+68%

Still filing today

77%
71%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 85% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $23k 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
EducationHuman ServicesArts & CultureHealthPhilanthropyFood & NutritionOther
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

  • MB
    MONTGOMERY BELL ACADEMY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NASHVILLE
    4× · 2021–2024 · $105k · revenue +11%
  • CB
    CHEEKWOOD BOTANICAL GARDEN AND MUSEUM OF ART
    4× · 2022–2025 · $66k · revenue +90%
  • NP
    NASHVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION
    4× · 2022–2025 · $40k · revenue +205%

Funded once

  • LF
    LIVELIKELOU FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2022 · $25k · revenue -46%
  • ES
    EPISCOPAL SCHOOL OF NASHVILLEgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $10k · revenue +68%
  • HA
    HYDROCEPHALUS ASSOCIATION
    one grant, 2023 · $5k · revenue -2%
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
Nashville Public Radio

Nashville public radio's mission is to be the most trusted & independent nashville voice, connecting our communities through non-partisan journalism, compelling storytelling, civil conversation and music discovery.

Arts & Culture
2
Heritage Hall School Inc

To inspire in each child the curiosity to learn, the self-confidence to lead and the compassion to serve.

Education
3
St Luke's School

A coeducational episcopal day school, preschool through eighth grade, for students of all faiths.

Education
4
Presbyterian School

Family, School, and Church united in the education and support of each child - this is the founding premise upon which Presbyterian School nurtures and challenges its students. The school provides an educational program of the highest…

Education
5
Austin Trinity School

Trinity episcopal school (trinity) is a not-for-profit independent school whose mission is to provide an enriched academic curriculum in a christian environment. trinity is not affiliated with or sponsored by any parish. we will nurture…

Education
6
The Philadelphia School

The philadelphia school educates children for a future that is impossible to know but not impossible to shape. learn here. go anywhere.

—
7
Lead Public Schools Inc

Lead public schools exists to prepare all our students with the knowledge and skills to succeed in college and in life.

Education
8
Kings Academy Nashville

King's academy is a pre-k-8th grade independent christian school in nashville, tennessee, providing a classically inspired education to a racially and socioeconomically balanced student body.

Education
9
St Luke's Foundation Inc

An exceptional education that inspires a deep love of learning, a strong moral compass, the commitment to serve, and the confidence to lead.

Education
10
Capitol Hill Day School

Capitol Hill Day School is a co-educational independent school serving students from pre-kindergarten through 8th grade. Capitol Hill Day School deeply engages a diverse community of students in connecting the classroom with the larger…

Education
11
Rumsey Hall School Inc

Rumsey hall school is committed to the whole child approach to education and believes that teaching academics and teaching an attitude of mind are of equal importance. the school emphasizes effort as a criterion for success and is…

Education
12
Lehigh University

The university's goal in the coming decade is to advance learning through the integration of teaching, research and service to others. the core of this goal is to prepare graduates to engage with the world and lead lives of meaning. to do…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is St Luke's Community House Inc; the most unlike its peers is People Against Leigh Syndrome. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

19 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. 19 of the 25 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.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
18/19
Grantees still filing
11/19
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

ST GEORGE'S EPISCOPAL CHRUCH: $110,000 · OtherST GEORGE'S EPISCOPAL CHRUCHTHE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $72,000 · OtherTHE COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONSt John's School: $22,000 · OtherSt John's SchoolThe Heritage Society: $18,000 · OtherThe Heritage SocietyOAK HILL SCHOOL: $12,500 · Other+7 more: $27,000 · Other+7 moreMONTGOMERY BELL ACADEMY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NASHVILLE: $105,000 · EducationMONTGOMERY BELL ACADEMY OF THE UNIVERSITY…PENCIL FOUNDATION: $50,000 · EducationPENCIL FOUNDATIONNASHVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION: $40,000 · EducationNASHVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATIONLIVELIKELOU FOUNDATION: $25,000 · EducationLIVELIKELOU FOUNDATIONEPISCOPAL SCHOOL OF NASHVILLE: $10,000 · EducationCHEEKWOOD BOTANICAL GARDEN AND MUSEUM OF ART: $66,000 · Arts & CultureCHEEKWOOD BOTA…STRATFORD HALL: $14,000 · Arts & CultureSTRATFORD HALLUNITED WAY OF MIDDLE TENNESSEE INC: $25,000 · PhilanthropyFAITH FAMILY MEDICAL CENTER INC: $10,000 · HealthHYDROCEPHALUS ASSOCIATION: $5,000 · HealthST LUKE'S COMMUNITY HOUSE INC: $10,000 · Human ServicesROOFTOP FOUNDATION: $4,002 · Human ServicesNASHVILLE FOOD PROJECT INC: $2,000 · Food & Nutrition
Other$261,500Education$230,000Arts & Culture$80,000Philanthropy$25,000Health$15,000Human Services$14,002Food & Nutrition$2,000

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 budgetMONTGOMERY BELL ACADEMY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NASHVILLE: $105,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetCHEEKWOOD BOTANICAL GARDEN AND MUSEUM OF ART: $66,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetPENCIL FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetNASHVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION: $40,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetUNITED WAY OF MIDDLE TENNESSEE INC: $25,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetLIVELIKELOU FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetSt John's School: $22,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetThe Heritage Society: $18,000 over 3y, 1.0% of budgetSTRATFORD HALL: $14,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetOAK HILL SCHOOL: $12,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetFAITH FAMILY MEDICAL CENTER INC: $10,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetEPISCOPAL SCHOOL OF NASHVILLE: $10,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetST LUKE'S COMMUNITY HOUSE INC: $10,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetHYDROCEPHALUS ASSOCIATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetROOFTOP FOUNDATION: $4,002 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetNASHVILLE FOOD PROJECT INC: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMUSICAMBIA INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.2% 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.

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.

Enchiridion FoundationThe Community Foundat…The Frist FoundationMemorial Foundation I…Hca Healthcare Founda…M Stratton Foster Cha…Milton and Denice Joh…Boulevard Bolt IncThe West End Home Fou…The Steven & Laurie E…Joe C Davis FoundationDorothy Cate and Thom…
Enchiridion FoundationTN17.9× affinity6 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Enchiridion Foundation · The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee Inc · The Frist Foundation · Memorial Foundation Inc · Hca Healthcare Foundation · M Stratton Foster Charitable Foundation · Milton and Denice Johnson Family Foundation · Boulevard Bolt Inc · The West End Home Foundation · The Steven & Laurie Eskind Family Foundation · Joe C Davis Foundation · Dorothy Cate and Thomas F Frist 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 Caritas Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Caritas Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%5%10%15%20%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    1get no government money at all
    5report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–20%
    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 Caritas Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Caritas 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 25 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 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Caritas’ filings →

    More from the funding graph

    The unnamed billions
    grants reported with no recipient in the public record
    The regranting layer
    51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
    The DAF merry-go-round
    $9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
    The endowment market
    who holds foundation money, and what just moved
    The camps
    funders cluster by geography, not ideology
    By state
    where grant money is based, and what stays home