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Ellison S and Noel P McKissick Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Ellison S and Noel P McKissick Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$864k
Granted FY2025still arriving
25
Grants FY2025still arriving
6
States reached
$160k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0198% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Education$3.1MHuman Services$979kPhilanthropy$960kReligion$881kArts & Culture$694kHealth$488kYouth Development$149kFood & Nutrition$135kOther$0
02FY2025 · 25 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k13 grants · $46k
  • $10k–50k4 grants · $65k
  • $50k–250k8 grants · $753k
$5,000
Median grant
6
States reached
$15M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
ANNA JULIA COOPER EPISCOPAL SCHOOL$160,000
CHRIST CHURCH EPISCOPAL$142,675
YMCA EASLEY PICKENS POWDERSVILLE$140,000
NEIGHBORHOOD CANCER CONNECTIONS$75,000
UNITED WAY OF PICKENS COUNTY$75,000
UPSTATE WARRIOR SOLUTION$60,000
ST FRANCIS FOUNDATION$50,000
BROOKGREEN GARDENS$50,000
DABO'S ALL IN TEAM FOUNDATION$25,000
MEYER CENTER FOR SPECIAL CHILDREN$20,000
JASMINE ROAD INC$10,000
SAMARITAN'S PURSE$10,000
BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS SNOHOMISH COUNTY$5,000
BLACK MOUNTAIN HOME FOR CHILDREN$5,000
PROTEZ FOUNDATION$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 (FY17–25, $406k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%BLACK MOUNTAIN HOME FOR CHILDREN: $5k → 12%PETER PAUL DEVELOPMENT CENTER: $20k → 9%PETER PAUL DEVELOPMENT CENTER: $10k → 9%PETER PAUL DEVELOPMENT CENTER: $5k → 9%PETER PAUL DEVELOPMENT CENTER: $5k → 9%PETER PAUL DEVELOPMENT CENTER: $5k → 9%UPSTATE WARRIOR SOLUTION: $110k → 10%UPSTATE WARRIOR SOLUTION: $60k → 10%UPSTATE WARRIOR SOLUTION: $60k → 10%UPSTATE WARRIOR SOLUTION: $60k → 10%UPSTATE WARRIOR SOLUTION: $15k → 10%UPSTATE WARRIOR SOLUTION: $10k → 10%UPSTATE WARRIOR SOLUTION: $10k → 10%UPSTATE WARRIOR SOLUTION: $10k → 10%UPSTATE WARRIOR SOLUTION: $5k → 10%YMCA OF GREENVILLE: $10k → 10%URBAN LEAGUE OF THE UPSTATE: $3k → 10%LEO SANTA: $2k → 10%YMCA GREENVILLE: $2k → 10%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

WA
MN
PA
CA
CO
VA
MD
AR
NC
SC
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.
$7.3M · 51 repeat orgs$302k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +60% since the first grant, against +46% for those funded once.

51 repeat relationships: 19 still active in FY2025, 32 since wound down; 6 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

51
27

Total granted

$7.3M
$277k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+60%
+46%

Still filing today

65%
41%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 97% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $25k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
EducationHuman ServicesArts & CultureEnvironmentAnimalsInternationalOther
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

  • CU
    CLEMSON UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION
    6× · 2017–2022 · $2.1M · revenue +143%
  • AJ
    ANNA JULIA COOPER SCHOOL
    8× · 2017–2025 · $770k · revenue +469%
  • UW
    UNITED WAY OF PICKENS COUNTY
    6× · 2017–2025 · $550k · revenue +23%

Funded once

  • CF
    CLEMSON FOREVER FUND
    one grant, 2023 · $50k
  • UP
    UNITY PARK FUND - COMMUNITY FOUNDATION GREENVILLE
    one grant, 2020 · $50k
  • US
    UC SAN DIEGO FOUNDATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2018 · $25k · revenue +28%
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
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
2
Barton College

Founded in 1902, barton college is a four-year, private, liberal arts college located in wilson, n.c. the barton experience focuses on academic excellence within a wide range of professional and liberal arts programs leading to…

Education
3
Carolina Art Association Dba Gibbes Museum of Art

The mission of the gibbes museum of art is to enhance lives through art by engaging people of every background and experience with art and artists of enduring quality; collect and preserve the art that touches charleston; and provide…

Arts & Culture
4
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
5
Sc Chamber of Commerce

Enhancing the quality of life for all south carolinians, achieving global competiteveness and ultimately increasing prosperity for sc citizens.

—
6
South Carolina Business & Industry Political Education Committee

Promoting and protecting the free private and competitive enterprise system through research and education.

—
7
Upstate Sc Alliance Inc

To market the upstate sc region to attract business investment. to support economic development efforts of the upstate alliance investors. to build cohesive relationships among the region's private and public sectors.

Community Improvement
8
North Greenville University

North greenville university exists to glorify god by cultivating graduates who are equipped to serve as transformational leaders for church and society.

Education
9
Greensboro College

Greensboro College provides a liberal arts education grounded in the traditions of the United Methodist Church and fosters the intellectual, social, and spiritual development of all students while supporting their individual needs.

Education
10
Columbia College

Columbia college improves lives by providing quality education to both traditional and nontraditional students, helping them achieve their true potential.

Education
11
Columbia College

Columbia college provides educational opportunities that develop students' capacity for critical thought and expression, life-long learning, acceptance of personal responsibilty, and commitment to service and social justice.

Education
12
Foundation for the Carolinas

Inspiring philanthropy and strengthening our region through innovative community initiatives and quality services to donors and constituents.

Philanthropy
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Clemson University Foundation; 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

50 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

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 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 50 of the 85 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.

2
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
19
Early backer (in before they grew)
50/50
Grantees still filing
40/50
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

YMCA EASLEY PICKENS POWDERSVILLE: $560,000 · OtherYMCA EASLEY PICKENS POWDERSVILLEUNITED WAY OF PICKENS COUNTY: $550,000 · OtherUNITED WAY OF PICKENS COUNTYST FRANCIS FOUNDATION: $401,500 · OtherST FRANCIS FOUNDATIONCHRIST CHURCH: $362,008 · OtherCHRIST CHURCHNEIGHBORHOOD CANCER CONNECTION: $195,000 · OtherNEIGHBORHOOD CANCER CONNECTIONPICKENS COUNTY MEALS ON WHEELS INC: $122,721 · Other+51 more: $1,094,116 · Other+51 moreCLEMSON UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $2,056,784 · EducationCLEMSON UNIVERSITY FOUNDATIONANNA JULIA COOPER SCHOOL: $770,000 · EducationANNA JULIA COOPER SCHOOL+6 more: $76,000 · EducationINTERNATIONAL AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUM: $250,000 · Arts & CultureTRYON FINE ARTS CENTER INC: $120,000 · Arts & CultureSOUTH CAROLINA CHILDREN'S THEATRE: $100,000 · Arts & CultureTHE MUSEUM ASSOCIATION INC: $25,000 · Arts & Culture+1 more: $1,500 · Arts & CultureUPSTATE WARRIOR SOLUTION INC: $340,000 · Human ServicesPETER PAUL DEVELOPMENT CENTER INC: $45,000 · Human Services+4 more: $21,000 · Human ServicesCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF GREENVILLE INC: $206,000 · PhilanthropyDABO'S ALL IN TEAM FOUNDATION: $150,000 · PhilanthropyBROOKGREEN GARDENS: $150,000 · EnvironmentTALL TIMBERS FOUNDATION INC: $17,500 · EnvironmentTeam River Runner Incorporated: $10,000 · Environment+1 more: $5,000 · EnvironmentOPERATION SMILE INC: $120,000 · InternationalFREEDOM ALLIANCE: $10,000 · InternationalJUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF GREATER SOUTH CAROLINA INC: $6,000 · International
Other$3,285,345Education$2,902,784Arts & Culture$496,500Human Services$406,000Philanthropy$356,000Environment$182,500International$136,000

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 budgetCLEMSON UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $2,056,784 over 6y, 0.9% of budgetANNA JULIA COOPER SCHOOL: $770,000 over 8y, 2.7% of budgetUNITED WAY OF PICKENS COUNTY: $550,000 over 6y, 14% of budgetUPSTATE WARRIOR SOLUTION INC: $340,000 over 9y, 2.5% of budgetINTERNATIONAL AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUM: $250,000 over 5y, 0.9% of budgetCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF GREENVILLE INC: $206,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetNEIGHBORHOOD CANCER CONNECTION: $195,000 over 4y, 4.5% of budgetBROOKGREEN GARDENS: $150,000 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetDABO'S ALL IN TEAM FOUNDATION: $150,000 over 6y, 2.2% of budgetPICKENS COUNTY MEALS ON WHEELS INC: $122,721 over 3y, 6.9% of budgetTRYON FINE ARTS CENTER INC: $120,000 over 7y, 3.2% of budgetOPERATION SMILE INC: $120,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetSOUTH CAROLINA CHILDREN'S THEATRE: $100,000 over 5y, 1.8% of budgetMEYER CENTER FOR SPECIAL CHILDREN: $100,000 over 4y, 0.6% of budgetFULLER CENTER FOR HOUSING OF MCCORMICK SC INC: $75,000 over 3y, 25% of budgetJASMINE ROAD INC: $60,000 over 5y, 2.5% of budgetPETER PAUL DEVELOPMENT CENTER INC: $45,000 over 5y, 0.8% of budgetCHARITY BALL BOARD OF GREENVILLE: $37,500 over 2y, 85% of budgetAmerican Heart Association Inc: $25,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetTHE MUSEUM ASSOCIATION INC: $25,000 over 5y, 1.1% of budgetUC SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTALL TIMBERS FOUNDATION INC: $17,500 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetBOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF THE SANDHILLS INC: $15,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetQueens University of Charlotte: $12,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetYMCA OF GREENVILLE: $11,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTHE ORIGINAL SIX FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetTeam River Runner Incorporated: $10,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetDANNY & RONS RESCUE: $10,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetFREEDOM ALLIANCE: $10,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetDARE COUNTY BOAT BUILDERS FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 2y, 3.2% of budgetTHE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFoothills Humane Society Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetJUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF GREATER SOUTH CAROLINA INC: $6,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetBLACK MOUNTAIN HOME FOR CHILDREN YOUTH AND FAMILIES INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetConserving Carolina: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE BARBARA STONE FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 2.5% of budgetBLUE RIDGE COUNCIL INC BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA: $4,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTHE BILLFISH FOUNDATION INC: $3,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetURBAN LEAGUE OF THE UPSTATE: $2,500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetYOUNG MENS CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION of Greater Spartanburg: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLEAD UPSTATE INC: $2,000 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetGREENVILLE ARTS FESTIVAL: $1,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetThe Bold Foundation Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% 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.

  • Who funds CLEMSON UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds ANNA JULIA COOPER SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds UNITED WAY OF PICKENS COUNTY ↗
  • Who funds UPSTATE WARRIOR SOLUTION INC ↗
  • Who funds INTERNATIONAL AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUM ↗
  • Who funds COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF GREENVILLE INC ↗
  • Who funds NEIGHBORHOOD CANCER CONNECTION ↗
  • Who funds BROOKGREEN GARDENS ↗
  • Who funds DABO'S ALL IN TEAM FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds PICKENS COUNTY MEALS ON WHEELS INC ↗
  • Who funds TRYON FINE ARTS CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds OPERATION SMILE INC ↗
  • Who funds SOUTH CAROLINA CHILDREN'S THEATRE ↗
  • Who funds MEYER CENTER FOR SPECIAL CHILDREN ↗
  • Who funds FULLER CENTER FOR HOUSING OF MCCORMICK SC INC ↗
  • Who funds JASMINE ROAD INC ↗
  • Who funds PETER PAUL DEVELOPMENT CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds CHARITY BALL BOARD OF GREENVILLE ↗
  • Who funds American Heart Association Inc ↗
  • Who funds THE MUSEUM ASSOCIATION INC ↗
  • Who funds UC SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds SOUTHERN WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds TALL TIMBERS FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds GOOCHLAND PET LOVERS ↗
  • Who funds BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF THE SANDHILLS INC ↗

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.

St Francis Hospital I…Daniel-Mickel Foundat…Duke Energy FoundationAWT Family FoundationCharles Timmons Found…Scsymmes FoundationDabo's All in Team Fo…United Community Bank…John I Smith Charitie…Jean T and Heyward G …Bill and Connie Timmo…United Way of Greenvi…
St Francis Hospital IncSC28.4× affinity11 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: St Francis Hospital Inc · Daniel-Mickel Foundation · Duke Energy Foundation · AWT Family Foundation · Charles Timmons Foundation · Scsymmes Foundation · Dabo's All in Team Foundation · United Community Bank Foundation · John I Smith Charities Inc · Jean T and Heyward G Pelham Foundation · Bill and Connie Timmons Foundation · United Way of Greenville County 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 Ellison S and Noel P McKissick Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Ellison S and Noel P McKissick Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%23%45%68%90%share of the org’s income from government →median 19%
  • Team River Runner Incorporated: 19% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
2get no government money at all
12report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–90%
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.

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 85 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 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Ellison S and Noel P McKissick’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