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Children First - America's Charities at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

Children First - America's Charities

To support the activities and purposes of other 501(c)(3) organizations that assist children, families, adults & communities by providing funds distribution services that further their exempt purposes.

$602k
Granted FY2021
12
Grants FY2021
6
States reached
$189k
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 2021.

Health$4.3MHuman Services$494kEducation$366kRecreation & Sports$273kFood & Nutrition$187kPhilanthropy$56kYouth Development$48kCrime & Legal$9kOther$0
02FY2021 · 12 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2021

  • Under $10k1 grant · $9k
  • $10k–50k7 grants · $215k
  • $50k–250k4 grants · $372k
$38,060
Median grant
6
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE CHARITIES INC$189,071
CHILDRENS HOUSE AT JOHNS HOPKINS HOSPITAL INC$70,210
CURESEARCH FOR CHILDRENS CANCER$59,052
NATIONAL BLACK CHILD DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE INC$53,304
SHARE OUR STRENGTH$49,993
READING IS FUNDAMENTAL INC$38,060
HOLE IN THE WALL GANG FUND INC$37,698
PREVENT CHILD ABUSE AMERICA$36,276
BELIEVE IN TOMORROW NATIONAL CHILDRENS FOUNDATION INC$23,355
I HAVE A DREAM FOUNDATION$20,010
STANDUP FOR KIDS$10,093
SESAME WORKSHOP$8,623
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 (FY17–21, $347k) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 31% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%FATHER FLANAGAN'S BOYS' HOME: $36k → 12%OPERATION WARM: $8k → 6%FATHER FLANAGAN'S BOYS' HOME: $29k → 12%FATHER FLANAGAN'S BOYS' HOME: $25k → 12%FATHER FLANAGAN'S BOYS' HOME: $19k → 12%NATIONAL BLACK CHILD DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE INC: $62k → 8%NATIONAL BLACK CHILD DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE INC: $53k → 8%NATIONAL BLACK CHILD DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE INC: $39k → 8%NATIONAL BLACK CHILD DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE INC: $38k → 8%NATIONAL BLACK CHILD DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE INC: $38k → 8%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.

Which US states its grants reach

IL
NY
PA
CT
CA
UT
CO
NE
MO
KY
MD
AZ
NC
DC
GA
FL
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.

96%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$5.5M · 16 repeat orgs$235k to everyone else

16 repeat relationships: 10 still active in FY2021, 6 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2021 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

16
11

Total granted

$5.5M
$203k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+40%
+42%

Still filing today

94%
100%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2021, 95% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $32k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21
HealthHuman ServicesEducationYouth DevelopmentRecreation & SportsCrime & LegalOther
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

  • MAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION OF AMERICA
    4× · 2017–2020 · $1.7M · revenue +38%
  • RM
    Ronald McDonald House Global
    5× · 2017–2021 · $1.2M · revenue +82%
  • CH
    CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
    4× · 2017–2020 · $373k · revenue +60%

Funded once

  • CM
    CHILDREN'S MIRACLE NETWORKgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $86k · revenue +31%
  • FO
    FELLOWSHIP OF CHRISTIAN ATHLETESgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $46k · revenue +120%
  • CL
    Childrens Leukemia Research Assn Inc
    one grant, 2017 · $11k · revenue -87%
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
Children's Hospital Corporation

Provider of pediatric healthcare, education, research & community service

Health
2
Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Inc

To make kids better today and healthier tomorrow.

Health
3
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

The children's hospital of philadelphia, the oldest hospital in the united states dedicated exclusively to pediatrics, strives to be the world leader in the advancement of health care for children by integrating excellent patient care,…

Health
4
Childfund Alliance

Childfund alliance is a global network of 11 child-focused development and humanitarian organizations working in more than 70 countries. we help nearly 30 million children and their families to overcome poverty and the underlying…

International
5
Safe Kids Worldwide

Safe kids worldwide is a global nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing childhood injuries.

Health
6
Children's Hospital Foundation

See schedule ochildren's hospital foundation dba children's national hospital foundation supports world class care and research for the nation's children. children's national hospital foundation serves as the fundraising arm for children's…

Health
7
The Children's Cancer Cause Inc

The mission of children's cancer cause is to champion policies and programs that improve the lives of children with cancer and survivors.

Health
8
Kids Home Care Inc

The corporation is organized for charitable, educational, and scientific purposes, and to provide pediatric home health care, alternate site and other pediatric services to pediatric patients. in addition, kids home care conducts health…

Health
9
Children's Physicians

Children's physicians delivers the highest quality pediatric primary care while supporting education and research.

Health
10
Children's Foundation of America

Children's foundation of america (the foundation) is a not-for-profit organization established to raise funds and provide support to children in need. the primary goal of the foundation is to identify and access resources to support foster…

Education
11
Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital Inc

Mission: johns hopkins all children's hospital (all children's), a member of johns hopkins medicine, strives to provide the highest quality care to improve the health of our entire community through innovation, collaboration, service…

Health
12
Cog Research Foundation Llc

Cog research foundation, llc is a california 501(c)(3) entity founded in 2024 and designed to become the federal grantee organization for the children's oncology group (cog). the cog, a member of the national cancer institute (nci)…

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Make-a-Wish Foundation of America; the most unlike its peers is Father Flanagan's Boys' Home. 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

29 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.

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

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
5
Early backer (in before they grew)
28/29
Grantees still filing
21/29
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

MAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION OF AMERICA: $1,654,728 · OtherMAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION OF AMERICAGIVE KIDS THE WORLD INC: $317,193 · OtherGIVE KIDS THE WORLD INCTHE CHILDREN'S HOUSE AT JOHNS HOPKINS HOSPITAL INC: $214,628 · OtherTHE CHILDREN'S HOUSE AT JOHNS HOPKINS HOSPITAL INCSHARE OUR STRENGTH: $186,916 · OtherSHARE OUR STRENGTHPREVENT CHILD ABUSE AMERICA: $147,235 · OtherPREVENT CHILD ABUSE AMERICA+9 more: $234,436 · Other+9 moreRonald McDonald House Global: $1,188,552 · HealthRonald McDonald House GlobalCHILDREN'S HOSPITAL: $372,805 · HealthCHILDREN'S HOSPITALCURESEARCH FOR CHILDREN'S CANCER: $333,727 · HealthCURESEARCH FOR CHILDREN'S CANCER+2 more: $58,203 · HealthNATIONAL BLACK CHILD DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE: $231,474 · Human ServicesFather Flanagan's Boys' Home: $107,748 · Human Services+1 more: $7,629 · Human ServicesREADING IS FUNDAMENTAL INC: $214,803 · EducationTeach for America Inc: $8,924 · Education+1 more: $7,507 · EducationHOLE IN THE WALL GANG FUND INC: $226,761 · Recreation & SportsI HAVE A DREAM FOUNDATION: $135,025 · Crime & LegalFELLOWSHIP OF CHRISTIAN ATHLETES: $46,342 · Youth DevelopmentJUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT USA: $5,507 · Youth Development
Other$2,755,136Health$1,953,287Human Services$346,851Education$231,234Recreation & Sports$226,761Crime & Legal$135,025Youth Development$51,849

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 budgetMAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION OF AMERICA: $1,654,728 over 4y, 0.7% of budgetRonald McDonald House Global: $1,188,552 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetCHILDREN'S HOSPITAL: $372,805 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCURESEARCH FOR CHILDREN'S CANCER: $333,727 over 5y, 2.5% of budgetGIVE KIDS THE WORLD INC: $317,193 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetNATIONAL BLACK CHILD DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE: $231,474 over 5y, 2.5% of budgetHOLE IN THE WALL GANG FUND INC: $226,761 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetREADING IS FUNDAMENTAL INC: $214,803 over 5y, 1.1% of budgetTHE CHILDREN'S HOUSE AT JOHNS HOPKINS HOSPITAL INC: $214,628 over 4y, 16% of budgetSHARE OUR STRENGTH: $186,916 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetPREVENT CHILD ABUSE AMERICA: $147,235 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetI HAVE A DREAM FOUNDATION: $135,025 over 5y, 2.1% of budgetFather Flanagan's Boys' Home: $107,748 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCHILDREN'S MIRACLE NETWORK: $86,288 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCHILDREN FIRST - AMERICA'S CHARITIES: $56,190 over 3y, 1.3% of budgetFELLOWSHIP OF CHRISTIAN ATHLETES: $46,342 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetStandUp for Kids: $42,592 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetFIRST CANDLE INC: $34,848 over 3y, 3.3% of budgetBELIEVE IN TOMORROW NATIONAL CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION: $23,355 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetChildrens Leukemia Research Assn Inc: $10,900 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetTeach for America Inc: $8,924 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSESAME WORKSHOP: $8,623 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE DREAM FACTORY INC - HEADQUARTERS: $7,899 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetOperation Warm Inc: $7,629 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTIGER WOODS FOUNDATION INC: $7,507 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSTARLIGHT CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION: $6,706 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCHILDREN'S RIGHTS INC: $6,235 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetJUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT USA: $5,507 over 1y, 0.0% 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.

America's CharitiesJpmorgan Chase Founda…Annie E Casey Foundat…The Goldman Sachs Cha…American Express Foun…The Pfizer Foundation…Network for GoodNational Philanthropi…American Online Givin…The Bank of America C…Vanguard Charitable E…The Blackbaud Giving …
America's CharitiesVA15.2× affinity5 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: America's Charities · Jpmorgan Chase Foundation · Annie E Casey Foundation Inc · The Goldman Sachs Charitable Gift Fund · American Express Foundation · The Pfizer Foundation Inc · Network for Good · National Philanthropic Trust · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · The Blackbaud Giving Fund

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 Children First - America's Charities funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Children First - America's Charities. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 50%1%5%11%20%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 46%
  • First Candle Inc: 46% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
5get no government money at all
3report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
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 Children First - America's Charities?

Find your warmest path to Children First - America's Charities 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 29 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 e-file return for fiscal year 2021, released 2021. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2022) is on record and reports no grant expense, so the figures above are from FY2021, the most recent year this funder made grants.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Children First - America's Charities’ 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