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Fenton Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Fenton Family 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.

$222k
Granted FY2025still arriving
16
Grants FY2025still arriving
4
States reached
$200k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0188% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2019 to 2024.

Animals$130kHuman Services$65kArts & Culture$40kReligion$8kHealth$6kHousing & Shelter$2kYouth Development$1kEducation$1kOther$0
02FY2025 · 16 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k14 grants · $12k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $10k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $200k
$1,000
Median grant
4
States reached
$950k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
MICHIGAN ANIMAL RESCUE LEAGUE$200,000
MI THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE$10,400
THE NATIONAL MS SOCIETY$2,500
FISHER THEATER$1,900
WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT$1,000
MICHIGAN STAGE$1,000
DETROIT RESCUE MISSION MINISTRIES$1,000
AMERICAN BRAIN TUMOR ASSOCIATION$1,000
THE SALVATION ARMY$1,000
GLEANERS COMMUNITY FOOD BANK$1,000
GMHC$529
DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA$367
WALLOON LAKE ASSOCIATION & CONSERVANCY$125
GREENWOOD CEMETERY$100
LITTLE TRAVERSE CONSERVANCY$100
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 (FY19–25, $67k) land where the poverty rate runs at 21%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 98% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT: $1k → 14%MITTENS FOR DETROIT: $200 → 8%JOAN ROSE FOUNDATION: $1k → 8%CHRIST CHILD HOUSE: $40k → 21%CHRIST CHILD HOUSE: $20k → 21%CHRIST CHILD HOUSE: $5k → 21%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.
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.
$465k · 16 repeat orgs$20k to everyone else

16 repeat relationships: 9 still active in FY2025, 7 since wound down; 7 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

16
23

Total granted

$465k
$14k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+17%
+22%

Still filing today

44%
52%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 97% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $6k went to new ones.

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

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

’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
Arts & CultureHuman ServicesHealthPhilanthropyEnvironmentFood & NutritionOther
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

  • TC
    THE CHRIST CHILD SOCIETY OF DETROIT
    3× · 2020–2024 · $65k · revenue +187%
  • American Brain Tumor Association
    5× · 2021–2025 · $5k · revenue +19%
  • DR
    Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries
    3× · 2019–2025 · $2k · revenue +23%

Funded once

  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2023 · $2k
  • RI
    REVS INSTITUTE INC
    one grant, 2024 · $2k · revenue 0%
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2022 · $1k
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
Michigan Enviromental Council

Informing and educating the public and decision makers about environmental issues.

Environment
2
Detroit Regional Chamber

The chamber is the voice for business and works to power the economy for southeast michigan through public policy, advocacy and leading regional economic development and talent initiatives.

—
3
Coalition to Protect Michigan Resources

The coalition to protect michigan resources's mission is to be a strong voice for the equitable co-management of michigan's fisheries, with both the great lakes and inland lakes and streams, to insure that conservation principles remain in…

Environment
4
The Michigan Glass Project
Public Benefit
5
About Face Detroit
—
6
Detroit Athletic Club

To create life-enriching experiences that build meaningful relations, foster personal and professional growth, and celebrate culture in the heart of detroit.

—
7
Land Conservancy of West Michigan

Our mission is conserving West Michigans ecologically critical land. We protect land by creating public nature preserves, providing support to communities and local governments in creating natural areas, and helping private landowners…

Environment
8
Business Leaders for Michigan

Business leaders for michigan is a nonprofit, nonpartisan statewide organization driven by ceos from the state's leading employers, all working toward a shared goal: making michigan a top 10 state for jobs, talent and a thriving economy.…

—
9
The Greater Detroit Health Transition Company

Gdahc mission: together with our partners, we empower and improve the health and economic vitality of individuals, organizations and communities by catalyzing the power of collaboration. gdahc vision: healthy people. healthy community.…

—
10
Business Leaders for Michigan Foundation

Business leaders for michigan is a nonprofit, nonpartisan statewide organization driven by ceos from the state's leading employers, all working toward a shared goal: making michigan a top 10 state for jobs, talent and a thriving economy.…

Community Improvement
11
Michigan Club Squash
Recreation & Sports
12
Detroit Donates Inc
Housing & Shelter
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries; the most unlike its peers is Mcnish Family 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

24 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. 24 of the 46 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)
6
Early backer (in before they grew)
24/24
Grantees still filing
14/24
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

MICHIGAN ANIMAL RESCUE LEAGUE: $329,775 · AnimalsMICHIGAN ANIMAL RESCUE LEAGUEMI THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE: $36,550 · OtherMI THANKSGIVING DA…MICHIGAN STAGE: $6,000 · OtherMICHIGAN STAGESTVINCENT DE PAUL: $5,500 · OtherSTVINCENT DE PAULFISHER THEATER: $5,308 · OtherFISHER THEATERAmerican Brain Tumor Association: $4,545 · OtherAmerican Brain Tum…+27 more: $19,447 · Other+27 moreTHE CHRIST CHILD SOCIETY OF DETROIT: $65,000 · Human ServicesTHE CHRIST CHIL…+3 more: $2,200 · Human ServicesDETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC: $4,419 · Arts & CultureDETROIT YACHT CLUB FOUNDATION: $1,000 · Arts & CultureTHE DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS: $240 · Arts & Culture+1 more: $100 · Arts & CultureDetroit Rescue Mission Ministries: $1,500 · HealthGAY MEN'S HEALTH CRISIS INC: $529 · HealthREVS INSTITUTE INC: $1,572 · EducationGLEANERS COMMUNITY FOOD BANK OF SOUTHEASTERN MICHIGAN: $1,000 · Food & NutritionWALLOON LAKE ASSOCIATION AND CONSERVANCY: $125 · Food & Nutrition
Animals$329,775Other$77,350Human Services$67,200Arts & Culture$5,759Health$2,029Education$1,572Food & Nutrition$1,125

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 budgetMICHIGAN ANIMAL RESCUE LEAGUE: $329,775 over 7y, 1.7% of budgetTHE CHRIST CHILD SOCIETY OF DETROIT: $65,000 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetAmerican Brain Tumor Association: $4,545 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetDETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC: $4,419 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetREVS INSTITUTE INC: $1,572 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetDetroit Rescue Mission Ministries: $1,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE MICHIGAN WOMEN'S FOUNDATION: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGLEANERS COMMUNITY FOOD BANK OF SOUTHEASTERN MICHIGAN: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetDETROIT YACHT CLUB FOUNDATION: $1,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetYOUNG LIFE: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLittle Traverse Conservancy Inc: $600 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMCNISH FAMILY FOUNDATION: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS: $240 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTIP OF THE MITT WATERSHED COUNCIL: $200 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE EINSTEIN METHOD FKA EINSTEIN EDUCATION ECOSYSTEM INC: $200 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetMITTENS FOR DETROIT INC: $200 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetOne 17 International Inc: $123 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetDETROIT YACHT CLUB: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetDetroit Historical Society: $100 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.

Rochelle Rosenthal Fo…DTE Energy FoundationCommunity Foundation …Jpmorgan Chase Founda…Network for GoodThe Bank of America C…Natl Christian Charit…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Rochelle Rosenthal Forester and Randolph L Forester FoundationMI13.6× affinity4 shared granteesties to 9 of 9Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Rochelle Rosenthal Forester and Randolph L Forester Foundation · DTE Energy Foundation · Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan · Jpmorgan Chase Foundation · Network for Good · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Natl Christian Charitable Fdn Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile 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 Fenton Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Fenton Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%10%20%30%40%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • Revs Institute Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
1report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–40%
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 46 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 Fenton Family’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