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· Public charity

Cherokee Preservation Foundation Inc

To protect and preserve our native culture.

$4.8M
Granted FY2023
29
Grants FY2023
2
States reached
$948k
Largest
01What you fund
01100% classified

What you funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year — across FY20172023.

Community Improvement$14MArts & Culture$11MEmployment$1.9MEnvironment$1.7MYouth Development$491kEducation$94kRecreation & Sports$10kFood & Nutrition$10kOther$0
02FY2023 · 29 grants

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

By grant size · FY2023

  • Under $10k4 grants · $23k
  • $10k–50k9 grants · $207k
  • $50k–250k8 grants · $979k
  • $250k+8 grants · $3.8M
$78,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$65M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
EBCI DIVISION OF COMMERCE$948,440
THE SEQUOYAH FUND INC$632,330
CHEROKEE BOYS CLUB$528,000
CHEROKEE HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION$418,395
EASTERN BAND OF CHEROKEE INDIANS$362,500
CHEROKEE BOYS CLUB$315,295
MUSEUM OF THE CHEROKEE INDIAN$291,000
CHEROKEE BOYS CLUB$280,830
WESTERN NC REGIONAL EDUCATION$171,007
CHEROKEE BOYS CLUB$159,500
CHEROKEE BOYS CLUB$149,835
NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY$135,089
COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF WNC$114,500
NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY$101,055
SNOWBIRD CHEROKEE TRADITION CORP$78,000
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:

Dollar for dollar, your grants (FY17–23) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 97% of your dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of your grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%NORTH CAROLINA SYMPHONY INC: $169k → 11%WESTERN REGION EDUCATION SRV ALL: $356k → 12%SOUTHWESTERN COMMNUITY COLLEGE-: $356k → 12%WESTERN REGION EDUCATION SERVICE: $342k → 12%WESTERN REGION EDUCATION SRV ALL: $199k → 12%EBCI DIVISION OF COMMERCE: $1.4M → 14%EBCI DIVISION OF COMMERCE: $1.4M → 14%EBCI DIVISION OF COMMERCE: $948k → 14%EBCI DIVISION OF COMMERCE: $883k → 14%EBCI DIVISION OF COMMERCE: $850k → 14%WESTERN NC REGIONAL EDUCATION: $171k → 12%EBCI DIVISION OF COMMERCE: $850k → 14%CHEROKEE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS: $721k → 14%CHEROKEE BOYS CLUB: $633k → 14%THE SEQUOYAH FUND INC: $632k → 14%CHEROKEE BOYS CLUB: $528k → 14%THE SEQUOYAH FUND INC: $525k → 14%CHEROKEE HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION: $514k → 14%THE SEQUOYAH FUND: $500k → 14%THE SEQUOYAH FUND INC: $500k → 14%THE SEQUOYAH FUND INC: $500k → 14%MUSEUM OF THE CHEROKEE INDIAN: $460k → 14%CHEROKEE HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION: $418k → 14%THE SEQUOYAH FUND: $400k → 14%CHEROKEE HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION: $392k → 14%EBCI KITUWAH PRESERVATION & EDUC: $378k → 14%MUSEUM OF CHEROKEE INDIAN: $373k → 14%CHEROKEE BOYS CLUB: $367k → 14%EASTERN BAND OF CHEROKEE INDIANS: $363k → 14%CHEROKEE BOYS CLUB: $328k → 14%CHEROKEE BOYS CLUB: $321k → 14%CHEROKEE BOYS CLUB: $315k → 14%CHEROKEE BOYS CLUB: $314k → 14%CHEROKEE BOYS CLUBRAY KINSLAND: $304k → 14%MUSEUM OF CHEROKEE INDIAN: $292k → 14%MUSEUM OF THE CHEROKEE INDIAN: $291k → 14%CHEROKEE BOYS CLUB: $285k → 14%CHEROKEE BOYS CLUB: $281k → 14%MUSEUM OF THE CHEROKEE INDIAN: $281k → 14%CHEROKEE HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION: $245k → 14%MUSEUM OF THE CHEROKEE INDIAN: $224k → 14%EBCIKITUAWAH PRESERVATION & EDU: $218k → 14%CHEROKEE BOYS CLUB: $208k → 14%CHEROKEE BOYS CLUB: $207k → 14%CHEROKEE BOYS CLUB: $162k → 14%CHEROKEE BOYS CLUBJONES-BOWMAN: $160k → 14%CHEROKEE BOYS CLUB: $160k → 14%CHEROKEE BOYS CLUB: $158k → 14%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.

99%of every dollar goes to organizations you’ve funded before.
$28M · 26 repeat orgs$413k to everyone else

And the relationships you keep tend to grow: grantees you re-up on have seen median revenue of +28% since the first grant, against +25% for the ones you funded once.

26 repeat relationships — 11 still active in FY2023, 15 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2023 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

26
16

Total granted

$28M
$315k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+28%
+25%

Still filing today

62%
63%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2023, 98% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $98k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’22’23
Arts & CultureEnvironmentCommunity ImprovementEducationRecreation & SportsPhilanthropyOther

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

  • TS
    THE SEQUOYAH FUND INC
    8× · 2017–2024 · $3.1M · revenue +480% · 52% of their budget
  • CH
    CHEROKEE HISTORICAL ASSOICIATION INC
    7× · 2017–2024 · $2.3M · revenue +24% · 89% of their budget
  • MO
    Museum of the Cherokee People
    8× · 2017–2024 · $2.1M · revenue +1%

Funded once

  • BR
    BLUE RIDGE NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA
    2× · 2020–2021 · $67k
  • TO
    TRAIL OF TEARS ASSOCIATION
    one grant, 2020 · $52k
  • BC
    BRENT CREEK INSTITUTE
    one grant, 2017 · $41k

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
Catawba Lands Conservancy

As a nationally accredited land trust, we conserve and manage land for public benefit in North Carolinas Southern Piedmont. We have conserved 235 properties, totaling 17,786 acres of land. We also facilitate the creation of a 1600 mile…

Environment
2
Three Rivers Land Trust Inc

Protect and conserve land, natural areas, rural landscapes, family farms and historic places within north carolina's heartland

Environment
3
Blue Ridge Resource Conserv and Devel

Blue ridge rc&d works with partners to conserve natural resources, foster environmental stewardship, and support sustainable community development in northwest north carolina.

Environment
4
Blue Ridge National Heritage Area Inc

Preserving, interpreting, and developing the heritage resources of the North Carolina mountains.

Environment
5
Conservation Trust for North Carolina

Ctnc conserves land in ways that inspire and enable people to build resilient, just communities. we carry out our mission in collaboration with other conservation organizations and the communities we serve. our goal is to lessen the…

Environment
6
South Carolina National Heritage Corridor

The organization's primary mission is a grassroots initiative that advances sustainable development of natural, cultural and historic resources for enhanced quality of life and economic revitalization of communities in south carolina.

Arts & Culture
7
Friends of the Cherokee National Forest

To conserve, protect, and promote the outstanding natural beauty and ecological vitality of the Cherokee National Forest for current and future generations through strong partnerships with the Cherokee National Forest, volunteers, donors,…

Public Benefit
8
The Carolina Trust
Philanthropy
9
North Carolina Conservation Network

The north carolina conservation network supports, trains, and coordinates diverse groups and directly advocates to achieve equitable and sustainable solutions for our environment.

Environment
10
Atlantic Coast Conservancy Inc

The mission of the atlantic coast conservancy is to provide 21st century solutions and sound scientific applications for conservation of critical natural resources in the face of a changing climate, focusing on the southeasthern united…

Environment
11
Mountain Conservation Trust of Georgia Inc

To promote permanent conservation of the natural resources and scenic beauty of the mountains and foothills of north georgia through land protection, collaborative partnerships and education.

Environment
12
Southwestern N Carolina Resource Conservation & Dev Council Inc

Conservation and development of natural resources.

Environment

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Cherokee Preservation Foundation Inc and the most unlike its peers is Freshwaters Illustrated Inc. 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 31 years old; the field is 17. You back the established end — and your money leans older still.

THE FIELDby orgYOUR GRANTEESby number21%0%<5yr14%3%5–10yr18%20%10–20yr14%40%20–35yr11%13%35–55yr22%23%55yr+
THE FIELDby orgYOUR MONEYby value21%0%<5yr14%2%5–10yr18%20%10–20yr14%5%20–35yr11%5%35–55yr22%68%55yr+

The field is 21% startups (under 5 years old) — 0% of your grantees by number, and just 0% of your money.

Closures · last 5 years

The orgs you fund almost never close 2% lost their exemption, against 10% of the field you don’t fund.

orgs you fund
2%1/45
the rest of the field
10%
236/2,390

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

31 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. 31 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.

5
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
9
Early backer (in before they grew)
30/31
Grantees still filing
24/31
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

CHEROKEE BOYS CLUB INC — $7,998,673 · OtherCHEROKEE BOYS CLUB INCEBCI DIVISION OF COMMERCE — $7,784,663 · OtherEBCI DIVISION OF COMMERCESOUTHWESTERN COMMISSION — $1,312,724 · OtherSOUTHWESTERN COMMISSIONNC STATE UNIVERSITY — $749,495 · Other+21 more — $1,375,205 · Other+21 moreCHEROKEE HISTORICAL ASSOICIATION INC — $2,296,833 · Arts & CultureCHEROKEE HISTORICAL …Museum of the Cherokee People — $2,066,918 · Arts & CultureMuseum of the Cherok…SNOWBIRD CHEROKEE TRADITIONS CORPORATION — $320,985 · Arts & CultureSNOWBIRD CHEROKEE TR…NORTH CAROLINA SYMPHONY SOCIETY INC — $263,599 · Arts & CultureCHEROKEE TALENTS INC — $203,507 · Arts & Culture+3 more — $42,267 · Arts & CultureTHE SEQUOYAH FUND INC — $3,127,832 · Community ImprovementTHE SEQUOYAH…+2 more — $104,445 · Community ImprovementMainspring Conservation Trust Inc — $565,096 · EnvironmentCHATTOOGA CONSERVANCY — $37,500 · Environment+3 more — $27,844 · EnvironmentTHE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA INC — $428,970 · Philanthropy+1 more — $1,550 · PhilanthropyWESTERN NORTH CAROLINA REGIONAL — $379,459 · EducationThe Center For Native Health Inc — $20,000 · EducationBUNCOMBE COUNTY PARTNERSHIP FOR CHILDREN INC — $20,000 · EducationFRIENDS OF GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK — $163,900 · Recreation & Sports
Other$19,220,760Arts & Culture$5,194,109Community Improvement$3,232,277Environment$630,440Philanthropy$430,520Education$419,459Recreation & Sports$163,900

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

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ your share of their budgetTHE SEQUOYAH FUND INC — $3,127,832 over 8y, 52% of budgetCHEROKEE HISTORICAL ASSOICIATION INC — $2,296,833 over 7y, 89% of budgetMuseum of the Cherokee People — $2,066,918 over 8y, 22% of budgetMainspring Conservation Trust Inc — $565,096 over 6y, 6.7% of budgetTHE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA INC — $428,970 over 6y, 0.4% of budgetAMERICAN INDIAN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING SOCIETY — $410,868 over 6y, 2.1% of budgetWESTERN NORTH CAROLINA REGIONAL — $379,459 over 5y, 13% of budgetSNOWBIRD CHEROKEE TRADITIONS CORPORATION — $320,985 over 8y, 30% of budgetNORTH CAROLINA SYMPHONY SOCIETY INC — $263,599 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetCHEROKEE TALENTS INC — $203,507 over 3y, 100% of budgetNORTH CAROLINA INTERNATIONAL FOLK FESTIVAL INC — $184,800 over 8y, 25% of budgetFRIENDS OF GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK — $163,900 over 2y, 2.6% of budgetNIKWASI INITIATIVE — $79,255 over 5y, 15% of budgetCHEROKEE YOUTH CENTER BOYS & GIRLS CLUB — $40,000 over 2y, 1.3% of budgetCHEROKEE INDIAN HOSPITAL FOUNDATION — $39,630 over 2y, 22% of budgetCHATTOOGA CONSERVANCY — $37,500 over 7y, 5.9% of budgetRiverLink Inc — $20,500 over 2y, 1.4% of budgetThe Center For Native Health Inc — $20,000 over 2y, 3.5% of budgetBUNCOMBE COUNTY PARTNERSHIP FOR CHILDREN INC — $20,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetTHE CENTER FOR CRAFT CREATIVITY & DESIGN INC — $19,634 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetHighlands Biological Foundation Inc — $19,000 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetDEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION OF THE NCCAT INC — $15,846 over 2y, 3.5% of budgetAsheville Art Museum Association Inc — $15,440 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetFRESHWATERS ILLUSTRATED INC — $12,478 over 2y, 5.2% of budgetMANNA FOOD BANK INC — $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetConserving Carolina — $8,146 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetHAYWOOD WATERWAYS ASSOCIATION INC — $7,220 over 3y, 1.6% of budgetThe American Legion — $4,884 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCHEROKEE PRESERVATION FOUNDATION INC — $1,550 over 1y, 0.0% 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.

  • Who funds THE SEQUOYAH FUND INC
  • Who funds CHEROKEE HISTORICAL ASSOICIATION INC
  • Who funds Museum of the Cherokee People
  • Who funds Mainspring Conservation Trust Inc
  • Who funds THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA INC
  • Who funds AMERICAN INDIAN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING SOCIETY
  • Who funds WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA REGIONAL
  • Who funds SNOWBIRD CHEROKEE TRADITIONS CORPORATION
  • Who funds NORTH CAROLINA SYMPHONY SOCIETY INC
  • Who funds CHEROKEE TALENTS INC
  • Who funds NORTH CAROLINA INTERNATIONAL FOLK FESTIVAL INC
  • Who funds FRIENDS OF GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK
  • Who funds NIKWASI INITIATIVE
  • Who funds CHEROKEE YOUTH CENTER BOYS & GIRLS CLUB
  • Who funds CHEROKEE INDIAN HOSPITAL FOUNDATION
  • Who funds CHATTOOGA CONSERVANCY
  • Who funds GRAHAM REVITALIZATION ECONOMIC ACTION TEAM - GREAT
  • Who funds RiverLink Inc
  • Who funds The Center For Native Health Inc
  • Who funds BUNCOMBE COUNTY PARTNERSHIP FOR CHILDREN INC
  • Who funds THE CENTER FOR CRAFT CREATIVITY & DESIGN INC
  • Who funds Highlands Biological Foundation Inc
  • Who funds DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION OF THE NCCAT INC
  • Who funds Asheville Art Museum Association Inc
  • Who funds FRESHWATERS ILLUSTRATED INC

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.

The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina IncNC39.9× affinity18 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina Inc · Dogwood Health Trust · Foundation for the Carolinas · Wnc Bridge Foundation · North Carolina Community Foundation · Nantahala Health Foundation · Atlanta Braves Foundation · Z Smith Reynolds Foundation Inc · The Cannon Foundation Inc · Duke Energy Foundation · Raymond James Charitable Endowment Fund · American Endowment 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 Cherokee Preservation Foundation Inc 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%6%25%56%100%your share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from governmentmedian 59%
  • Trail of Tears Association Inc59% of income from government
  • Freshwaters Illustrated Inc11% of 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)
1rely on government for over half their income
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.

05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Cherokee Preservation Foundation Inc?

Find your warmest path to Cherokee Preservation Foundation Inc 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 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 2023, released 2023. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2024) is on record and reports $5.5M of grant expense, but none of it to a named recipient. On a Form 990 that can mean grants abroad, filed by region only (Schedule F), grants under $5,000, which are not itemized, or a schedule referenced as an attachment the e-file does not carry. The figures above are therefore from FY2023, the most recent year this funder named its grantees.

Source object · view filing

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