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Flow Foundation Inc at a glance

· Private foundation

Flow 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.

$1.5M
Granted FY2024still arriving
53
Grants FY2024still arriving
8
States reached
$353k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Education$2.9MCommunity Improvement$1.5MPhilanthropy$1.4MReligion$1.2MRecreation & Sports$943kArts & Culture$933kHuman Services$530kHealth$177kOther$0
02FY2024 · 53 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k33 grants · $105k
  • $10k–50k12 grants · $215k
  • $50k–250k6 grants · $536k
  • $250k+2 grants · $603k
$5,000
Median grant
8
States reached
$395k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Wake Forest University$352,666
Winston Starts$250,000
First Presbyterian Church$178,490
United Way of Forsyth County$127,375
In Medias Res Educational Foundation$70,000
Love Out Loud$60,000
Virginia Athletics Foundation$50,000
Crosby Scholars Community Partnership$50,000
YWCA of Winston Salem and Forsyth County$37,500
Friends of the Great Commission$30,000
Manna Food Bank$25,000
University of Virginia McIntire School of Commerce$25,000
Greater Winston-Salem Inc$17,500
Fellowship of Christian Athletes$15,000
Second Harvest Food Bank$15,000
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 (FY17–24, $521k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 89% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%THE REFUGE CENTER FOR COUNSELING: $25k → 4%THE REFUGE CENTER FOR COUNSELING: $25k → 4%THE REFUGE CENTER FOR COUNSELING: $5k → 4%Love Out Loud: $60k → 15%LOVE OUT LOUD: $46k → 15%SENIOR SERVICES: $32k → 15%SENIOR SERVICES: $32k → 15%LOVE OUT LOUD: $22k → 15%LOVE OUT LOUD: $15k → 15%LOVE OUT LOUD: $15k → 15%LOVE OUT LOUD: $10k → 15%SENIOR SERVICES: $9k → 15%LOVE OUT LOUD: $3k → 15%SENIOR SERVICES: $2k → 15%Senior Services: $2k → 15%SENIOR SERVICES: $2k → 15%SENIOR SERVICES: $2k → 15%SENIOR SERVICES: $2k → 15%ASSOCIATES IN CHRISTIAN COUNSELING: $2k → 15%ASSOCIATES IN CHRISTIAN COUNSELING: $2k → 15%ASSOCIATES IN CHRISTIAN COUNSELING: $2k → 15%ASSOCIATES IN CHRISTIAN COUNSELING: $2k → 15%ASSOCIATES IN CHRISTIAN COUNSELING: $2k → 15%ASSOCIATES IN CHRISTIAN COUNSELING: $2k → 15%YWCA of Winston Salem and Forsyth County: $38k → 15%YWCA OF WINSTON-SALEM AND FORSYTH COUNTY: $21k → 15%FLYWHEEL FOUNDATION: $20k → 15%YWCA OF WINSTON-SALEM AND FORSYTH COUNTY: $16k → 15%YWCA OF WINSTON-SALEM AND FORSYTH COUNTY: $13k → 15%YWCA OF WINSTON-SALEM AND FORSYTH COUNTY: $13k → 15%YWCA OF WINSTON-SALEM AND FORSYTH COUNTY: $13k → 15%YWCA OF WINSTON-SALEM AND FORSYTH COUNTY: $13k → 15%YWCA OF WINSTON-SALEM AND FORSYTH COUNTY: $10k → 15%FLYWHEEL FOUNDATION: $10k → 15%FLYWHEEL FOUNDATION: $10k → 15%GREENEST: $8k → 15%BETHESDA CENTER: $5k → 15%BETHESDA CENTER: $5k → 15%GreeNest: $3k → 15%Crisis Control Ministry: $3k → 15%GREENEST: $3k → 15%CRISIS CONTROL MINISTRY: $1k → 15%CRISIS CONTROL MINISTRY: $1k → 15%CRISIS CONTROL MINISTRY: $1k → 15%CRISIS CONTROL MINISTRY: $1k → 15%CRISIS CONTROL MINISTRY: $1k → 15%CRISIS CONTROL MINISTRY: $1k → 15%CRISIS CONTROL MINISTRY: $1k → 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

WA
IL
MA
CT
CO
MO
VA
TN
NC
LA
GA
TX
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.

93%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$9.0M · 76 repeat orgs$659k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +32% since the first grant, against +25% for those funded once.

76 repeat relationships: 39 still active in FY2024, 37 since wound down; 13 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

76
23

Total granted

$9.0M
$406k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+32%
+25%

Still filing today

55%
48%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 83% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $253k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
EducationHuman ServicesReligionArts & CultureYouth DevelopmentHousing & ShelterOther
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

  • WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY
    6× · 2017–2024 · $1.1M · revenue +30%
  • WS
    WINSTON STARTS
    4× · 2017–2024 · $530k · revenue +221%
  • IM
    IN MEDIAS RES
    7× · 2017–2023 · $490k · revenue +154%

Funded once

  • NI
    NC Innovation Fund
    one grant, 2023 · $100k
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2023 · $50k
  • WS
    WINSTON SALEM STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION - WINSTON SALEM RISE
    one grant, 2022 · $50k
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
Greater Winston-Salem Development Corp

To recruit new businesses to winston-salem and forsyth county in order to facilitate growth and economic diversification in the area.

Community Improvement
2
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
3
Southern Wesleyan University

Southern wesleyan university is a christ-centered, student-focused learning community devoted to transforming lives by challenging students to be dedicated scholars and servant-leaders who impact the world for christ.

Education
4
For Charlotte Inc

To unite the Church to transform the city through the power of the Gospel.

Religion
5
Northeastern Seminary

Northeastern seminary strives to be a vibrant source for christian theological formation whose students are formed in a biblical vision of gracious christianity and impact wholeness to the world in an expansive array of vocations and…

Education
6
Winston Salem Center for Education and the Arts

The mission of winston-salem center for education and the arts is to enrich the winston-salem community by providing operating space and nurturing non-profit organizations that offer intellectual and spiritual growth through education and…

Community Improvement
7
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
8
Winston Salem Christian School

To cultivate curious, collaborative, and creative thinkers in a christ-centered community.

Education
9
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
10
Wake Forest Christian Study Center

To be a hub of Christian life and spiritual formation for Wake Forest University students, faculty, staff, and its broader community.

Religion
11
Wofford College

The purpose of wofford college is to function as a liberal arts institution of superior quality. its chief concern is the development of an intellectual, spiritual, and aesthetic atmosphere in which serious and inquiring minds of students…

—
12
Carolina College of Biblical Studies

Carolina college of biblical studies exists to disciple christ-followers, through biblical higher education, for a lifetime of effective servant leadership.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Greater Winston-Salem Inc; the most unlike its peers is The Care Project. 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

65 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. 65 of the 114 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)
14
Early backer (in before they grew)
61/65
Grantees still filing
40/65
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

UNITED WAY OF FORSYTH COUNTY INC: $996,125 · OtherUNITED WAY OF FORSYTH COUNTY INCWAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY - HAROLD POLLARD CENTER: $560,000 · OtherWAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY - HAROLD POLLARD CENTERFirst Presbyterian Church: $344,130 · OtherFirst Presbyterian ChurchWAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY - FARRELL HALL: $310,000 · OtherWAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY - FARRELL HALLWAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY - CHARACTER PROJECT: $300,000 · OtherWAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY - CHARACTER PROJECTREGENT COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $290,000 · OtherWAKE FOREST CENTER FOR PRIVATE BUSINESS: $269,333 · OtherRJR HIGH SCHOOL - WINSTON-SALEMFORSYTH COUNTY SCHOOLS: $208,500 · Other+68 more: $2,319,638 · Other+68 moreWAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY: $1,132,666 · EducationWAKE FOREST UNIVERSITYIN MEDIAS RES: $490,000 · EducationIN MEDIAS RESThe Summit School Incorporated: $196,000 · EducationThe Summit School Incorpor…UNIVERSITY CHRISTIAN MINISTRIES INC: $162,500 · EducationUNIVERSITY CHRISTIAN MINIS…SALEM ACADEMY AND COLLEGE: $125,000 · EducationSALEM ACADEMY AND COLLEGE+10 more: $223,000 · Education+10 moreLOVE OUT LOUD: $170,138 · Human ServicesYOUNG WOMEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF WINSTON-SALEM AND FORSYTH COUNTY: $134,424 · Human ServicesPORTERS CALL: $128,229 · Human ServicesSENIOR SERVICES INC: $79,500 · Human ServicesTHE REFUGE CENTER FOR COUNSELING INC: $55,000 · Human ServicesFLYWHEEL FOUNDATION: $40,000 · Human Services+4 more: $41,500 · Human ServicesWINSTON STARTS: $530,000 · Community Improvement+1 more: $10,000 · Community ImprovementThe Winston-Salem Foundation: $434,000 · Philanthropy+1 more: $5,000 · PhilanthropyTELEMACHUS FOUNDATION INC: $80,000 · ReligionTHEOLOGY OF WORK PROJECT INC: $50,000 · ReligionMISSION EMANUEL: $40,000 · ReligionFriends of the Great Commission: $30,000 · ReligionTHE NEW CITY COMMONS FOUNDATION: $27,540 · ReligionEast-West Ministries International: $25,000 · ReligionUNION BAPTIST CHURCH: $16,500 · ReligionNATIONAL CYCLING CENTER INC: $225,000 · Recreation & SportsTHE TAYLOR GROUP FOUNDATION INC: $10,000 · Recreation & Sports
Other$5,597,726Education$2,329,166Human Services$648,791Community Improvement$540,000Philanthropy$439,000Religion$269,040Recreation & Sports$235,000

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 budgetWAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY: $1,132,666 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetUNITED WAY OF FORSYTH COUNTY INC: $996,125 over 8y, 1.4% of budgetWINSTON STARTS: $530,000 over 4y, 18% of budgetIN MEDIAS RES: $490,000 over 7y, 5.0% of budgetThe Winston-Salem Foundation: $434,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetREGENT COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $290,000 over 7y, 7.8% of budgetNATIONAL CYCLING CENTER INC: $225,000 over 4y, 22% of budgetThe Summit School Incorporated: $196,000 over 8y, 0.5% of budgetLOVE OUT LOUD: $170,138 over 7y, 5.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY CHRISTIAN MINISTRIES INC: $162,500 over 4y, 4.1% of budgetYOUNG WOMEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF WINSTON-SALEM AND FORSYTH COUNTY: $134,424 over 8y, 1.6% of budgetPORTERS CALL: $128,229 over 8y, 3.6% of budgetSALEM ACADEMY AND COLLEGE: $125,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetFELLOWSHIP OF CHRISTIAN ATHLETES: $85,500 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetTELEMACHUS FOUNDATION INC: $80,000 over 8y, 7.6% of budgetSENIOR SERVICES INC: $79,500 over 8y, 0.2% of budgetHopeWay Foundation: $60,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetTHE REFUGE CENTER FOR COUNSELING INC: $55,000 over 3y, 2.5% of budgetYOUNG LIFE: $54,900 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetREYNOLDA HOUSE INC: $52,950 over 7y, 0.7% of budgetGREATER WINSTON-SALEM INC: $52,500 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetTHE ARTS COUNCIL INC: $50,000 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetVIRGINIA STUDENT AID FOUNDATION INC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCROSBY SCHOLARS COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP: $50,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetABC OF NC FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 5y, 1.5% of budgetTHEOLOGY OF WORK PROJECT INC: $50,000 over 2y, 5.5% of budgetFLYWHEEL FOUNDATION: $40,000 over 3y, 6.2% of budgetMISSION EMANUEL: $40,000 over 8y, 0.4% of budgetWINSTON-SALEM STREET SCHOOL: $35,000 over 8y, 1.1% of budgetNORTH CAROLINA BUSINESS LEADERS FOR EDUC: $32,500 over 3y, 1.4% of budgetHABITAT FOR HUMANITY OF FORSYTH COUNTY INC: $30,500 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetFriends of the Great Commission: $30,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetTHE NEW CITY COMMONS FOUNDATION: $27,540 over 1y, 4.9% of budgetMANNA FOOD BANK INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetEast-West Ministries International: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetNORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $20,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAuthoring Action: $20,000 over 8y, 1.1% of budgetCHRIS PAUL FAMILY FOUNDATION INC: $20,000 over 4y, 2.3% of budgetPIEDMONT CRAFTSMEN INC: $19,750 over 8y, 0.9% of budgetSECCA Foundation: $18,500 over 8y, 0.6% of budgetWINSTON-SALEM POLICE FOUNDATION INC: $16,667 over 2y, 8.4% of budgetAMANI CHILDRENS FOUNDATION: $16,500 over 8y, 0.6% of budgetLatino Community Services: $15,000 over 6y, 3.6% of budgetCENTER FOR RELIGIOUS HUMANISM: $15,000 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetGREENEST: $12,500 over 3y, 1.0% of budgetNATIONAL SPORTS MEDIA ASSOCIATION INC: $10,000 over 1y, 4.8% of budgetTHE TAYLOR GROUP FOUNDATION INC: $10,000 over 2y, 1.4% of budgetGoler Community Development Corporation: $10,000 over 1y, 1.3% 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 WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds UNITED WAY OF FORSYTH COUNTY INC ↗
  • Who funds WINSTON STARTS ↗
  • Who funds IN MEDIAS RES ↗
  • Who funds The Winston-Salem Foundation ↗
  • Who funds REGENT COLLEGE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL CYCLING CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds The Summit School Incorporated ↗
  • Who funds LOVE OUT LOUD ↗
  • Who funds UNIVERSITY CHRISTIAN MINISTRIES INC ↗
  • Who funds YOUNG WOMEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF WINSTON-SALEM AND FORSYTH COUNTY ↗
  • Who funds PORTERS CALL ↗
  • Who funds SALEM ACADEMY AND COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds FELLOWSHIP OF CHRISTIAN ATHLETES ↗
  • Who funds TELEMACHUS FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds SENIOR SERVICES INC ↗
  • Who funds HopeWay Foundation ↗
  • Who funds THE REFUGE CENTER FOR COUNSELING INC ↗
  • Who funds YOUNG LIFE ↗
  • Who funds REYNOLDA HOUSE 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.

The Winston-Salem Fou…Reynolds American Fou…Forsyth Memorial Hosp…Strickland Family Fou…Ta John W and Anna H …North Carolina Baptis…Reynolds Foundation 1…The Cannon Foundation…Z Smith Reynolds Foun…Triangle Community Fo…Richard Wood Averill …Twin City Development…
The Winston-Salem FoundationNC63.7× affinity34 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Winston-Salem Foundation · Reynolds American Foundation · Forsyth Memorial Hospital Inc · Strickland Family Foundation Cynthia a S Graham · Ta John W and Anna H Hanes Foundation · North Carolina Baptist Hospital · Reynolds Foundation 186-8803582 · The Cannon Foundation Inc · Z Smith Reynolds Foundation Inc · Triangle Community Foundation Inc · Richard Wood Averill Charitable Trust aka Richard Wood Averill Foundation · Twin City Development 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 Flow Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Flow Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 30%2%6%14%25%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
    3get no government money at all
    20report 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.

    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 114 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 Flow’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