Skip to content
Plinth

· Public charity

Educational Funding of the South Inc

See schedule o financial literacy services, and need-based scholarships

$104k
Granted FY2021
4
Grants FY2021
1
States reached
$7k
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 FY20182021.

Education$642k
02FY2021 · 4 grants

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

The 4 grants below total $27,000 — the rows itemised in this filing. The $104,000 headline is the total grant expense reported on the return, so the remaining $77,000 is giving the schedule does not break out: grants under the $5,000 itemisation floor, grants to individuals, and grants reported on other schedules. Every figure below describes the itemised rows only.

$7,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Lipscomb University$7,000
Belmont University$7,000
Vanderbilt University$7,000
University of Memphis$6,000
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 (FY18–21) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 80% of your dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of your grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%Williamson College: $7k → 4%Cumberland University: $7k → 7%Middle Tennessee State University: $10k → 9%Maryville College: $7k → 10%Carson-Newman University: $7k → 11%University of the South: $7k → 13%Belmont University: $14k → 14%East Tennessee State University: $10k → 14%Union University: $7k → 15%Freed-Hardeman University: $7k → 15%King University: $7k → 15%Martin Methodist College: $7k → 16%University of Memphis: $12k → 17%Tusculum University: $11k → 17%Milligan College: $7k → 18%Williamson College: $7k → 4%Cumberland University: $7k → 7%Middle Tennessee State University: $10k → 9%Maryville College: $7k → 10%Carson-Newman University: $7k → 11%University of the South: $7k → 13%Lipscomb University: $14k → 14%East Tennessee State University: $10k → 14%Union University: $7k → 15%Freed-Hardeman University: $7k → 15%King University: $7k → 15%Martin Methodist College: $7k → 16%University of Memphis: $12k → 17%Tusculum University: $7k → 17%Milligan College: $7k → 18%Williamson College: $7k → 4%Cumberland University: $7k → 7%Middle Tennessee State University: $10k → 9%Maryville College: $7k → 10%Carson-Newman University: $7k → 11%University of the South: $7k → 13%Belmont University: $14k → 14%East Tennessee State University: $10k → 14%Union University: $7k → 15%Freed-Hardeman University: $7k → 15%King University: $7k → 15%Lipscomb University: $14k → 14%Belmont University: $14k → 14%Lipscomb University: $14k → 14%Tennessee State University: $8k → 14%Vanderbilt University: $21k → 14%Vanderbilt University: $14k → 14%Vanderbilt University: $14k → 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.

98%of every dollar goes to organizations you’ve funded before.
$627k · 24 repeat orgs$15k to everyone else

24 repeat relationships — 4 still active in FY2021, 20 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

24
2

Total granted

$627k
$15k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+33%
+164%

Still filing today

83%
50%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2021, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

50%100%’18’19’20’21
RenewedFirst-time

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

  • Vanderbilt University
    4× · 2018–2021 · $56k · revenue +65%
  • LU
    LIPSCOMB UNIVERSITY
    4× · 2018–2021 · $49k · revenue +33%
  • BU
    Belmont University
    4× · 2018–2021 · $49k · revenue +71%

Funded once

  • TS
    Tennessee State University
    one grant, 2019 · $8k
  • AP
    AUSTIN PEAY STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2018 · $8k · revenue +164%

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
Belhaven University

Belhaven university prepares students academically and spiritually to serve jesus christ in their careers, in human relationships, and in the world of ideas.

Education
2
Regent University

Regent University serves as a center of Christian thought and action to provide excellent education through a Biblical perspective and global context equipping Christian leaders to change the world.

3
Greenville College

Greenville college d/b/a greenville university empowers students for lives of character and service through a transforming christ-centered education in the liberal arts, sciences, and professional studies.

Education
4
Houston Christian University

The mission of houston christian university is to provide a learning experience that instills in students a passion for academic, spiritual, and professional excellence as a result of our central confession, "jesus christ is lord."

5
John Brown University

John brown university (jbu) provides christ-centered education that prepares students to honor god and serve others by developing their intellectual, spiritual, and professional lives. (continued on schedule o)jbu serves traditional…

Education
6
University of the Ozarks

True to our christian heritage, we prepare students from diverse religious, cultural, educational and economic backgrounds to live life fully.

Education
7
LaGrange College

Education - lagrange college challenges the minds and inspires the souls of its students. founded in 1831 and committed to its relationship with the united methodist church and its wesleyan and liberal arts traditions, the college supports…

Education
8
Spartanburg Methodist College

SMC Delivers an exceptional education that fuses the empowerment of the liberal arts with crucial career skills. Our mission is to equip our students with the knowledge, skills, virtues, and mindset needed to thrive personally, create…

Education
9
Roberts Wesleyan University

As new york's leading university for character education, rwu is a community of learners committed to historic christianity which seeks to prepare thoughtful, spiritually mature, service-oriented people who will transform society.

Education
10
Gardner-Webb University

The university statement of values consists of christian heritage, baptist heritage, academic excellence, liberal arts, teamwork, a student-centered focus, community engagement and diversity.

Education
11
Asbury College

Asbury university equips students, through academic excellence and spiritual vitality, for lifelong learning, leadership, and service to the professions, society, the family and the church, preparing them to engage their cultures and…

Education
12
East Texas Baptist University

East texas baptist university (etbu) was founded in 1912 as a fully accredited institution of higher education. affiliated with the baptist general convention of texas, etbu educates students by integrating biblical faith and learning to…

Education

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Union University and the most unlike its peers is Austin Peay State University Foundation. 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

21 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. 21 of the 26 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.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
0
Early backer (in before they grew)
21/21
Grantees still filing
15/21
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

Vanderbilt University — $56,000 · EducationVanderbilt UniversityBelmont University — $49,000 · EducationBelmont UniversityBAPTIST MEMORIAL COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES INC — $21,000 · EducationKING UNIVERSITY — $21,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH — $21,000 · EducationMARTIN METHODIST FOUNDATION (FORMERLY MARTIN METHODIST COLLEGE) — $21,000 · EducationCARSON-NEWMAN UNIVERSITY — $21,000 · EducationMARYVILLE COLLEGE — $21,000 · EducationMILLIGAN UNIVERSITY — $21,000 · EducationUNION UNIVERSITY — $21,000 · EducationFREED-HARDEMAN UNIVERSITY — $21,000 · EducationRhodes College — $21,000 · EducationTREVECCA NAZARENE UNIVERSITY — $21,000 · EducationWILLIAMSON CHRISTIAN COLLEGE — $21,000 · EducationCHRISTIAN BROTHERS UNIVERSITY — $21,000 · EducationJOHNSON UNIVERSITY — $21,000 · EducationTUSCULUM UNIVERSITY — $17,500 · Education+1 more — $7,500 · EducationLIPSCOMB UNIVERSITY — $49,000 · OtherLIPSCOMB UNIVERSITYUniversity of Memphis — $36,000 · OtherUniversity of MemphisTHE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE — $30,000 · OtherTHE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEEMIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY — $30,000 · OtherMIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITYEAST TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY — $30,000 · OtherEAST TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITYCUMBERLAND UNIVERSITY — $21,000 · OtherCUMBERLAND UNIVERSITYMEMPHIS COLLEGE OF ART — $14,000 · OtherMEMPHIS COLLEGE OF ARTTennessee State University — $7,500 · Other
Education$424,000Other$217,500

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

25%50%75%100%$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ your share of their budgetVanderbilt University — $56,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetLIPSCOMB UNIVERSITY — $49,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetBelmont University — $49,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetBAPTIST MEMORIAL COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES INC — $21,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetKING UNIVERSITY — $21,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH — $21,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMARTIN METHODIST FOUNDATION (FORMERLY MARTIN METHODIST COLLEGE) — $21,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCARSON-NEWMAN UNIVERSITY — $21,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMARYVILLE COLLEGE — $21,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMILLIGAN UNIVERSITY — $21,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCUMBERLAND UNIVERSITY — $21,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetUNION UNIVERSITY — $21,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetFREED-HARDEMAN UNIVERSITY — $21,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetRhodes College — $21,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTREVECCA NAZARENE UNIVERSITY — $21,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetWILLIAMSON CHRISTIAN COLLEGE — $21,000 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetCHRISTIAN BROTHERS UNIVERSITY — $21,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetJOHNSON UNIVERSITY — $21,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTUSCULUM UNIVERSITY — $17,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMEMPHIS COLLEGE OF ART — $14,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetAUSTIN PEAY STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION — $7,500 over 1y, 0.1% 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.

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 Middle Tennessee IncTN32.2× affinity15 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee Inc · Folds of Honor Foundation · National Collegiate Athletic Association · Tulsa Community Foundation · Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation Inc · Council of Independent Colleges · East Tennessee Foundation · Community Foundation of Greater Memphis Inc · The Columbus Phipps Foundation · Ibm International Foundation · Vanderbilt University · Violet Hampton Tuw #2

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 Educational Funding of the South 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.

2025
202122232425
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%your share of their income ↑0%13%25%38%50%share of the org’s income from government
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    7report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–50%
    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 Educational Funding of the South Inc?

    Find your warmest path to Educational Funding of the South 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 26 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 2021, released 2021. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    More from the funding graph