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Fred Says at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Private foundation

Fred Says

FRED SAYS RAISES CONTRIBUTIONS THROUGH E-CARDS AND SPONSORSHIPS TO SUPPORT HIV+ YOUTH THROUGH DONATIONS TO PHYSICIANS EVALUATED HIV INITIATIVES.

$82k
Granted FY2025still arriving
5
Grants FY2025still arriving
3
States reached
$25k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2022 to 2025.

Health$370kYouth Development$147kCivil Rights$61kEducation$50kHuman Services$40k
02FY2025 · 5 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$16,600
Median grant
3
States reached
$1.1M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
MAGIC CITY ACCEPTANCE ACADEMY$25,000
CENTER ON HALSTED$20,000
GENDERCOOL$16,600
ADVOCATES FOR YOUTH$10,000
TEST POSITIVE AWARE NETWORK$10,000
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 (FY23–25, $50k) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 80% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%ONE ROOF CHICAGO: $10k → 12%CENTER ON HALSTED: $20k → 14%CENTER ON HALSTED: $20k → 14%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.

51%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$337k · 8 repeat orgs$330k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +28% since the first grant, against +4% for those funded once.

8 repeat relationships: 5 still active in FY2025, 3 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

8
11

Total granted

$337k
$330k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+28%
+4%

Still filing today

75%
73%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

50%100%’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’22’23’24’25
HealthHuman ServicesEducationCivil RightsYouth DevelopmentOther
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

  • MC
    Magic City Acceptance Academy Charter Sc
    3× · 2023–2025 · $70k · revenue +37%
  • TC
    THE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA FOUNDATION
    2× · 2022–2023 · $43k · revenue +70%
  • HR
    HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN INC
    2× · 2023–2024 · $41k · revenue +0%

Funded once

  • TN
    TPA NETWORK INCORPORATED
    one grant, 2023 · $70k · revenue -32%
  • Ann & Robert H Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago
    one grant, 2023 · $60k · revenue +4%
  • HB
    Howard Brown Health Center
    one grant, 2022 · $50k · revenue +7%
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
Lesbian and Gay Community Services Center Inc

EMPOWERING LGBT PEOPLE, BUILDING STRONG COMMUNITY. NEW YORK CITY'S LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, & TRANSGENDER COMMUNITY CENTER EMPOWERS PEOPLE TO LEAD HEALTHY, SUCCESSFUL LIVES. The Center celebrates our community and advocates for justice and…

Human Services
2
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

The children's hospital of philadelphia, the oldest hospital in the united states dedicated exclusively to pediatrics, strives to be the world leader in the advancement of health care for children by integrating excellent patient care,…

Health
3
Children's Hospital Corporation

Provider of pediatric healthcare, education, research & community service

Health
4
Center for Comprehensive Health Practice Inc

The center for comprehensive health practice, inc. provides accessible, community-based treatment that integrates primary healthcare with substance use and behavioral health services for all children, adolescents, adults, and families…

Health
5
Chicago House & Social Service Agency

Provides housing and support services to individuals and families impacted by hiv/aids

Health
6
Legacy Community Health Services Inc

The mission of legacy community health services is, "driving healthy change in our communities." our vision is, "connecting our communities to health every day, in every way."

Health
7
Mazzoni Center

The mission of mazzoni center is to "provide quality comprehensive health and wellness services in an lgbtq-focused environment, while preserving the dignity and improving the quality of life of the individuals we serve."

—
8
University of Chicago Medical Center

Our mission at the university of chicago medicine is to provide superior health care through rigorous research, innovative education, and comprehensive care and healing. in partnership with our colleagues, we pursue life-changing…

Health
9
Apla Health & Wellness

Apla health restores dignity and trust within underserved communities by providing world-class lgbtq+ empowering healthcare, hiv specialty care, food, housing and other essential support services.

Health
10
Rainbow Health Minnesota

To work for equitable health care access and outcomes for people who experience injustice at the intersection of health status and identity.

Health
11
Legal Council for Health Justice

Legal Council for Health Justice uses the power of law to secure dignity, opportunity, and well-being for people living with illness or disability. All programs combine direct service, public policy, and education/outreach.

—
12
Whitman-Walker Clinic Inc

Health center with comprehensive community-based medical, behavioral, dental and various navigation, outreach, engagement and education supports for underserved communities and specific expertise in lgbtq and hiv care.

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Center on Halsted; the most unlike its peers is One Roof Inc. 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

14 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. 14 of the 19 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)
0
Early backer (in before they grew)
14/14
Grantees still filing
9/14
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

TPA NETWORK INCORPORATED: $70,000 · OtherTPA NETWORK INCORPORATEDADVOCATES FOR YOUTH: $50,000 · OtherADVOCATES FOR YOUTHHoward Brown Health Center: $50,000 · OtherHoward Brown Health CenterLURIE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL: $40,000 · OtherLURIE CHILDREN'S HOSPITALGENDERCOOL: $31,600 · OtherGENDERCOOLTEST POSITIVE AWARE NETWORK: $30,000 · OtherTEST POSITIVE AWARE NETWORKLOS ANGELES LGBT CENTER: $30,000 · OtherLOS ANGELES LGBT CENTERDESMOND TUTU HEALTH FOUNDATION: $25,000 · OtherDESMOND TUTU HEALTH FOUNDATION+1 more: $5,000 · OtherAnn & Robert H Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago: $60,000 · HealthAnn & Robert H Lurie Childr…THE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA FOUNDATION: $42,500 · HealthTHE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF …Birmingham AIDS Outreach Inc: $32,500 · HealthBirmingham AIDS Outreach In…COMMUNITY HEALTH PROJECT INC: $12,500 · HealthCOMMUNITY HEALTH PROJECT IN…Children's Hospital Los Angeles: $12,500 · HealthChildren's Hospital Los Ang…Magic City Acceptance Academy Charter Sc: $70,000 · EducationMagic City …Center on Halsted: $40,000 · Human ServicesONE ROOF INC: $10,000 · Human ServicesHUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN INC: $40,833 · Civil RightsYOUTH OUTLOOK: $15,000 · Youth Development
Other$331,600Health$160,000Education$70,000Human Services$50,000Civil Rights$40,833Youth Development$15,000

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 budgetTPA NETWORK INCORPORATED: $70,000 over 1y, 3.2% of budgetMagic City Acceptance Academy Charter Sc: $70,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetAnn & Robert H Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago: $60,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetADVOCATES FOR YOUTH: $50,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetHoward Brown Health Center: $50,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA FOUNDATION: $42,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetHUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN INC: $40,833 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCenter on Halsted: $40,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetBirmingham AIDS Outreach Inc: $32,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetLOS ANGELES LGBT CENTER: $30,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetYOUTH OUTLOOK: $15,000 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetCOMMUNITY HEALTH PROJECT INC: $12,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetChildren's Hospital Los Angeles: $12,500 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.

Broadway Caresequity …Paypal Charitable Giv…Network for GoodAmerican Online Givin…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Broadway Caresequity Fights AIDS IncNY13.5× affinity4 shared granteesties to 5 of 5Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Broadway Caresequity Fights AIDS Inc · Paypal Charitable Giving Fund · Network for Good · American Online Giving Foundation 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 Fred Says funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Fred Says. 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 →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    4report 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.
    05Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to Fred Says?

    Find your warmest path to Fred Says 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 19 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 Fred Says’ 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