Skip to content

· Private foundation

Constructive Management Foundation

Its FY2022 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$8k
Granted FY2021
11
Grants FY2021
8
States reached
$3k
Largest

Read this first · the figures below need context

99% of Constructive Management Foundation’s FY2022 grant dollars went to Donors Trust Inc, not to grantees.

Its money now reaches organizations through that sponsor, which does not report who recommended each grant. FY2022 names 5 organizations directly, so a portfolio cannot be read from it. Everything below is therefore FY2021, the last year Constructive Management Foundation named its own grantees at scale: 8 organizations, $8k. It is dated, not current.

Organizations named directly on the return

12
’17
5
’18
14
’19
12
’20
8
’21
5
’22

Amber years are those where most dollars went to a sponsor.

01What it funds
0196% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2022.

Philanthropy$445kEducation$33kCivil Rights$12kReligion$10kArts & Culture$7kSocial Science$5kYouth Development$4kPublic Benefit$3kOther$0
02FY2021 · 11 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$500
Median grant
8
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
St Eugene Catholic Church$2,500
The Buckeye Institute$2,000
Foundation for Economic Education$1,000
State Policy Network$1,000
American Insititute of Economic Res$500
Upper Midwest Law Center$500
US Holocaust Memorial Museum$200
The NC Arboretum Society$125
Brother Wolf Animal Rescue$115
Charity Water$80
Asheville Jewish Community Center$60
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 (FY20–21, $180) land where the poverty rate runs at 17%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%Charity Water: $100 → 17%Charity Water: $80 → 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.

Which US states its grants reach

MN
WI
MI
NY
MA
OH
PA
CT
CA
KY
VA
AZ
NM
NC
DC
GA
TX
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.

67%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$63k · 19 repeat orgs$32k to everyone else

19 repeat relationships: 8 still active in FY2021, 11 since wound down; 10 grantees were first funded in FY2021 (too recent to call). Read against FY2021, the last year this funder named its own grantees directly; its giving has since run through a sponsor, which reports no donor behind each grant.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

19
25

Total granted

$63k
$24k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+49%
+53%

Still filing today

68%
60%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2022, 29% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $4k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22
Arts & CultureEducationAnimalsReligionPublic BenefitEnvironmentOther
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

  • SP
    STATE POLICY NETWORK
    4× · 2017–2021 · $11k · revenue +90%
  • RC
    Rainbow Community School
    2× · 2018–2019 · $6k · revenue +42%
  • OD
    Open Doors of Asheville Inc
    3× · 2017–2019 · $5k · revenue +364%

Funded once

  • CD
    Carolina Day School Incgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $18k · revenue +53%
  • CI
    CATO INSTITUTEgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $1k · revenue +70%
  • UO
    Univ of N Carolina at Asheville
    one grant, 2020 · $510
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
Washington and Lee University

Mission statement of washington and lee university: washington and lee university provides a liberal arts education that develops students' capacity to think freely, critically, and humanely and to conduct themselves with honor, integrity,…

Education
2
Open Markets Institute

The open markets institute works to help people relearn how to use competition policy to build stronger democracies, more just and equitable societies, more innovative and sustainable economies, and a more secure and peaceful world.

Education
3
Wake Forest University

Wake Forest University, a 501(c)(3) institution of higher education, is dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in the liberal arts and in graduate and professional education. The organization is comprised of seven constituent parts: Wake…

Education
4
Pew Research Center

Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan "fact tank" that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. Pew Research Center generates a foundation of facts that enriches the public dialogue and…

Social Science
5
R Street Institute

The r street institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, public-policy research organization ("think tank"). our mission is to engage in policy research and outreach to promote free markets and limited, effective government. (continued on…

Education
6
American Academy of Sciences and Letters Inc

The American Academy of Sciences and Letters (AASL) promotes scholarship and honors outstanding achievement in the arts, sciences, and learned professions. It encourages the fruitful exchange of ideas within academia and society at large…

Education
7
Boston Architectural College

The bac is committed to provide excellence in design education grounded in practice and accessible to diverse communities.

—
8
Furman University

The primary mission of furman as a liberal arts institution is to provide a distinctive education in fine arts, humanities, social sciences, mathematics and the sciences, as well as selected professional disciplines.

Education
9
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research

The american enterprise institute is a community of scholars and supporters committed to expanding liberty, increasing individual opportunity, and strengthening free enterprise. aei pursues these ideals through independent thinking and the…

Social Science
10
Wilson College

Wilson college empowers students to be confident and critical thinkers, creative visionaries, effective communicators, honorable leaders, and agents of justice.

Education
11
American Constitution Society for Law & Policy

The american constitution society for law and policy (acs) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, non-partisan legal organization. through a diverse nationwide network of progressive lawyers, law students, judges, scholars, advocates, and many others,…

Education
12
Foreign Policy Research Institute

The foreign policy research institute (frpi) is dedicated to producing the highest quality scholarship and nonpartisan policy analysis focused on crucial foreign policy and national security challenges facing the united states. we educate…

International
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The John Locke Foundation Inc; the most unlike its peers is Samaritan's Purse. 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

38 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. 38 of the 58 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)
8
Early backer (in before they grew)
36/38
Grantees still filing
25/38
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Donors Trust Inc: $429,580 · PhilanthropyDonors Trust IncUNCA Foundation: $15,000 · OtherSt Eugene Catholic Church: $4,000 · OtherBoys and Girls Club: $3,500 · OtherThe Buckeye Institute: $2,000 · OtherAmerican Insititute of Economic Res: $1,500 · OtherThe NC Arboretum Society: $1,375 · OtherASHEVILLE HUMANE SOCIETY INC: $1,700 · Other+29 more: $11,058 · OtherCarolina Day School Inc: $17,500 · EducationRainbow Community School: $6,000 · EducationOpen Doors of Asheville Inc: $4,640 · EducationHILLSDALE COLLEGE: $2,100 · Education+4 more: $850 · EducationSTATE POLICY NETWORK: $11,000 · Civil RightsAsheville Art Museum Association Inc: $1,600 · Arts & CulturePreservation Society of Asheville & Buncombe County Inc: $1,434 · Arts & CulturePreserving a Picturesque America Inc: $1,284 · Arts & CulturePenland School Of Craft: $1,250 · Arts & CultureThe United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: $650 · Arts & CultureLEAF GLOBAL ARTS: $250 · Arts & Culture+2 more: $200 · Arts & CultureJEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER OF ASHEVILLE INC: $5,560 · ReligionSAMARITAN'S PURSE: $500 · ReligionUPPER MIDWEST LAW CENTER: $1,850 · Crime & LegalLITIGATORS FOR LIBERTY NETWORK: $500 · Crime & Legal
Philanthropy$429,580Other$40,133Education$31,090Civil Rights$11,000Arts & Culture$6,668Religion$6,060Crime & Legal$2,350

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

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetDonors Trust Inc: $429,580 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCarolina Day School Inc: $17,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSTATE POLICY NETWORK: $11,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetJEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER OF ASHEVILLE INC: $5,560 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetOpen Doors of Asheville Inc: $4,640 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetHILLSDALE COLLEGE: $2,100 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetThe Buckeye Institute: $2,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetUPPER MIDWEST LAW CENTER: $1,850 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetASHEVILLE HUMANE SOCIETY INC: $1,700 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetAsheville Art Museum Association Inc: $1,600 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPreservation Society of Asheville & Buncombe County Inc: $1,434 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetPreserving a Picturesque America Inc: $1,284 over 1y, 2.0% of budgetPenland School Of Craft: $1,250 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE JOHN LOCKE FOUNDATION INC: $1,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFoundation for Economic Education Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCATO INSTITUTE: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: $650 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetSAMARITAN'S PURSE: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLITIGATORS FOR LIBERTY NETWORK: $500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetLUCY BURNS INSTITUTE INC: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBUCKLEY INSTITUTE INC: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMANNA FOOD BANK INC: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHOUSTON HUMANE SOCIETY: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLEAF GLOBAL ARTS: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE REASON FOUNDATION: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBLUE RIDGE PARKWAY FOUNDATION: $200 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWNC Jewish Federation: $200 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCHARITY GLOBAL INC: $180 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFriends of the WNC Nature Center Inc: $125 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBrother Wolf Animal Rescue Inc: $115 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetDAVID HOROWITZ FREEDOM CENTER: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetEXPLORING JOARA FOUNDATION INC: $100 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetNETWORK FOR GOOD: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetASHEVILLE COMMUNITY THEATRE INC: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCHRIST SCHOOL INC: $50 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWIKIMEDIA FOUNDATION INC: $50 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.

The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina IncNC25.3× affinity10 shared granteesties to 8 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 · The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation Inc · Bradley Impact Fund Inc · Donors Trust Inc · Foundation for the Carolinas · The Frances & William H Beattie Fdn · Richard Eckerd Foundation Inc · The Goodman Foundation Inc · Sarah Scaife Foundation Incorporated · Charles Koch Institute · John William Pope 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 Constructive Management Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Constructive Management 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%8%15%22%30%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    1get 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 · 0–30%
    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 Constructive Management Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Constructive Management 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 58 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 2021, released 2021. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Constructive Management’s filings →

    More from the funding graph