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Clifton Foundation Inc at a glance

· Private foundation

Clifton Foundation Inc

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.

$350k
Granted FY2024still arriving
50
Grants FY2024still arriving
6
States reached
$126k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0193% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2024.

Education$548kArts & Culture$510kEnvironment$200kHealth$110kRecreation & Sports$76kCommunity Improvement$51kYouth Development$20kCivil Rights$20kOther$0
02FY2024 · 50 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k42 grants · $84k
  • $10k–50k7 grants · $140k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $126k
$1,500
Median grant
6
States reached
$9.1M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
KENTUCKY COLLEGE OF ART & DESIGN AT SPALDING UNIVERSITY ATTN MEGHAN GREENW$126,000
WHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART$36,285
LOUISVILLE ORCHESTRA$30,000
THE NATURE CONSERVANCY OF KENTUCKY$22,500
PLANNED PARENTHOOD$20,000
LOUISVILLE BALLET$11,000
FAULKNER MORGAN ARCHIVE INC$10,000
BLUEGRASS LAND CONSERVANCY$10,000
WATERFRONT BOTANICAL GARDENS$9,000
CREATIVE CAPITAL$9,000
RIVER FIELDS INC$5,500
OLD ISLAND RESTORATION FOUNDATION$5,000
KENTUCKY RESOURCES COUNCIL INC$5,000
ACLU KY FOUNDATION REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM PROJECT$5,000
ST FRANCIS SCHOOL$5,000
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 (FY20–24, $50k) land where the poverty rate runs at 17%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 98% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%CREATIVE CAPITAL: $20k → 17%CREATIVE CAPITAL: $10k → 17%CREATIVE CAPITAL: $9k → 17%PAYNE HOLLOW ON THE OHIO: $1k → 4%HOSPARUS HEALTH: $10k → 15%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

VT
MN
NY
OH
NJ
CA
CO
KY
VA
KS
DC
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.

87%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.4M · 57 repeat orgs$197k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +47% since the first grant, against +17% for those funded once.

57 repeat relationships: 43 still active in FY2024, 14 since wound down; 6 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

57
27

Total granted

$1.4M
$184k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+47%
+17%

Still filing today

60%
52%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 96% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $14k went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24
Arts & CultureEnvironmentHuman ServicesRecreation & SportsFood & NutritionEducationOther
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

  • TL
    THE LOUISVILLE ORCHESTRA INC
    2× · 2022–2024 · $130k · revenue +42%
  • WM
    WHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART
    5× · 2020–2024 · $83k · revenue +69%
  • SA
    SPEED ART MUSEUM
    4× · 2020–2023 · $55k · revenue +224%

Funded once

  • SC
    SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EQUESTRIAN SPORTSgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $75k · revenue +135%
  • PP
    PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA ATTN ONLINE SERVICES
    one grant, 2020 · $30k
  • HS
    HINDMAN SETTLEMENT SCHOOL INCgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $25k · revenue +79%
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
Kentucky Center for Economic Policy Inc

To improve the quality of life for all kentuckians through research, education and advocacy on important policy issues facing the commonwealth.

Public Benefit
2
Louisville Preservation Fund Inc Co Community Foundation of Louisville

The louisville preservation fund,inc. revitalizes historic places through direct real estate action and partnerships to enhance community and promote economic development.

Community Improvement
3
The Land Trust for Tennessee Inc

To conserve the unique character of tennessee's natural and historic landscapes and sites for future generations.

Environment
4
Cincinnati Preservation Association

To empower and educate people to value, preserve and save greater cincinnati's historic buildings, communities, landscapes and stories.

Arts & Culture
5
Kentucky College of Art Design

The kentucky college of art and design opens the door to a creative and productive life through an undergraduate education in the contemporary arts.

Education
6
Western Kentucky Botanical Gardens Inc

The mission is to provide education to the local population on the wonders of our environment.

Environment
7
Treeslouisville Inc

Our mission is to improve the health and quality of life for louisville's current and future generations through a robust, equitable and diverse tree canopy.

Community Improvement
8
Kentucky Harvest Inc

Kentucky harvest's purpose is to end local hunger by connecting with food donors and engaging volunteers to rescue excess food and move it from those who have it to those in need.

Food & Nutrition
9
Kentucky Coalition Inc

To support grassroots organizing, leadership development & public education around important public policy. ky coalition seeks to promote active citizen participation in the democratic process.

Public Benefit
10
Kmac Museum

Kmac is louisvilles premier contemporary art museum in downtown louisville on museum row. through exhibitions, education, and outreach, kmac works to connect people to art and creative practice.

Arts & Culture
11
Commerce Lexington Inc

To represent our members, creating the environment and opportunity for economic prosperity and quality living in central kentucky.

—
12
Legacy Greenscapes Inc

Legacy greenscapes, inc. mission is to provide continuing leadership and financial support to preserve legacy of and promote greenscapes located in the city of winchester, clark county, ky.

Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Leadership Kentucky Foundation Inc; the most unlike its peers is Masters School. 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

56 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. 56 of the 91 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)
17
Early backer (in before they grew)
55/56
Grantees still filing
42/56
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

KENTUCKY COLLEGE OF ART & DESIGN AT SPALDING UNIVERSITY ATTN MEGHAN GREENW: $489,650 · OtherKENTUCKY COLLEGE OF ART & DESIGN AT SPALDING UNIVERSITY ATTN MEGHAN…THE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $112,500 · OtherTHE NATURE CONSERVANCYUSET FOUNDATION: $100,000 · OtherUSET FOUNDATIONCOMMUNITY FOUNDATOIN OF LOUISVILLE WATERFRONT PLAZA: $51,000 · OtherPLANNED PARENTHOOD: $50,000 · Other+48 more: $196,295 · Other+48 moreTHE LOUISVILLE ORCHESTRA INC: $130,000 · Arts & CultureTHE LOUISVILLE ORCHESTRA IN…WHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART: $82,785 · Arts & CultureWHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN …SPEED ART MUSEUM: $55,000 · Arts & CultureSPEED ART MUSEUMFUND FOR THE ARTS INC: $40,000 · Arts & CultureFUND FOR THE ARTS INCKENTUCKY DANCE COUNCIL INC DBA LOUISVILLE BALLET: $31,000 · Arts & CultureKENTUCKY DANCE COUNCIL INC …MUHAMMAD ALI MUSEUM AND EDUCATION CENTER: $25,000 · Arts & CultureMUHAMMAD ALI MUSEUM AND EDU…+11 more: $42,150 · Arts & Culture+11 moreSOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EQUESTRIAN SPORTS: $75,000 · Recreation & SportsTHE FILSON HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC: $9,000 · Recreation & SportsLOUISVILLE CENTRAL COMMUNITY CENTERINC: $5,000 · Recreation & Sports+1 more: $100 · Recreation & SportsBLUEGRASS LAND CONSERVANCY INC: $22,000 · EnvironmentWATERFRONT BOTANICAL GARDENS INC: $18,000 · EnvironmentKENTUCKY RESOURCES COUNCIL INC: $15,000 · EnvironmentRIVER FIELDS INC: $10,700 · EnvironmentISAAC W BERNHEIM FOUNDATION: $9,500 · Environment+3 more: $1,750 · EnvironmentCREATIVE CAPITAL FOUNDATION: $39,000 · Human ServicesHOSPARUS INC HOSPARUS HEALTH: $10,000 · Human ServicesTHE CENTER FOR WOMEN AND FAMILIES INC: $4,500 · Human Services+2 more: $2,000 · Human ServicesHINDMAN SETTLEMENT SCHOOL INC: $25,000 · EducationTHE BERRY CENTER INC: $4,000 · Education+1 more: $200 · EducationKENTUCKY 4H FOUNDATION INC: $20,000 · Youth Development
Other$999,445Arts & Culture$405,935Recreation & Sports$89,100Environment$76,950Human Services$55,500Education$29,200Youth Development$20,000

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 budgetTHE LOUISVILLE ORCHESTRA INC: $130,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $112,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetWHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART: $82,785 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetSOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EQUESTRIAN SPORTS: $75,000 over 1y, 7.8% of budgetSPEED ART MUSEUM: $55,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetFUND FOR THE ARTS INC: $40,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetCREATIVE CAPITAL FOUNDATION: $39,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetKENTUCKY DANCE COUNCIL INC DBA LOUISVILLE BALLET: $31,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetFRANCIS PARKER SCHOOL OF LOUISVILLE INC ST FRANCIS HIGH SCHOOL INC: $30,100 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetMUHAMMAD ALI MUSEUM AND EDUCATION CENTER: $25,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetHINDMAN SETTLEMENT SCHOOL INC: $25,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetBLUEGRASS LAND CONSERVANCY INC: $22,000 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetKENTUCKY 4H FOUNDATION INC: $20,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetWATERFRONT BOTANICAL GARDENS INC: $18,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetKENTUCKY RESOURCES COUNCIL INC: $15,000 over 3y, 1.8% of budgetTHE HEALING PLACE INC: $14,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetRIVER FIELDS INC: $10,700 over 3y, 1.4% of budgetLOUISVILLE STORY PROGRAM: $10,000 over 1y, 3.9% of budgetHOSPARUS INC HOSPARUS HEALTH: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFAULKNER MORGAN ARCHIVE: $10,000 over 1y, 3.1% of budgetISAAC W BERNHEIM FOUNDATION: $9,500 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetAMERICAN FARMLAND TRUST: $9,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE FILSON HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC: $9,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetOLD ISLAND RESTORATION FOUNDATION: $7,500 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetKENTUCKY PUBLIC RADIO INC: $7,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetOLDHAM COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC: $6,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetLOUISVILLE CENTRAL COMMUNITY CENTERINC: $5,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetTHE MORTON CENTER INC: $4,500 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetTHE CENTER FOR WOMEN AND FAMILIES INC: $4,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetFOODCHAIN INC: $4,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetTHE BERRY CENTER INC: $4,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCATHOLIC CHARITIES OF THE DIOCESE OF COVINGTON INC: $3,200 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetPEOPLE FOR THE AMERICAN WAY FOUNDATION: $3,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetACTORS THEATRE OF LOUISVILLE INC: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHildegard House Incorporated: $2,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetCOMMONWEALTH THEATRE CENTER INC: $2,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetKENTUCKY DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHIC PROJECT INC: $1,750 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetLouisville Visual Art Inc: $1,500 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetMASTERS SCHOOL: $1,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetLouisville Grows Incorporated: $1,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetSundance Institute: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetA FUND INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetPAYNE HOLLOW ON THE OHIO: $1,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetPARKS ALLIANCE OF LOUISVILLE INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Land Institute: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCENTER FOR INTERFAITH RELATIONS: $700 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCREASEY MAHAN NATURE PRESERVE INC: $650 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetLEADERSHIP KENTUCKY FOUNDATION INC: $600 over 2y, 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.

The Community Foundat…Snowy Owl Foundation …W L Lyons Brown Found…Owsley Brown II Famil…The Community Foundat…Sociable Weaver Found…The Gheens Foundation…LG&E and Ku Foundatio…Ina B Bond Ashbourne …Brown-Forman Foundati…Republic Bank Foundat…The Norton Foundation…
The Community Foundation of Louisville IncKY63.1× affinity31 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Community Foundation of Louisville Inc · Snowy Owl Foundation Inc · W L Lyons Brown Foundation · Owsley Brown II Family Foundation Inc · The Community Foundation of Louisville Depository Inc · Sociable Weaver Foundation Inc · The Gheens Foundation Inc · LG&E and Ku Foundation Inc · Ina B Bond Ashbourne Charitable Fund Inc · Brown-Forman Foundation · Republic Bank Foundation Inc · The Norton Foundation Inc

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 Clifton Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Clifton Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    2get no government money at all
    16report 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 Clifton Foundation Inc?

    Find your warmest path to Clifton 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 from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 91 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

    Play a game based on Clifton’s 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