Skip to content
Freedom of Spirit Fund at a glance

· Private foundation

Freedom of Spirit Fund

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.

$200k
Granted FY2025still arriving
2
Grants FY2025still arriving
2
States reached
$100k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0183% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2025.

Education$645kHealth$352kArts & Culture$300kEnvironment$75kPhilanthropy$50kFood & Nutrition$25kReligion$25kOther$0
02FY2025 · 2 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$100,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$17k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Individual grant recipient$100,000
Individual grant recipient$100,000
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY20–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 98% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation: $25k → 5%Mayo Clinic: $100k → 9%Liturgical Press: $100k → 11%New York Public Radio: $25k → 17%Center For Courage and Renewal: $50k → 10%Christine Rosen: $100k → 14%Florida Oceanographic Society Inc: $25k → 10%Oholei Yosef Yitzchak Lubavitch: $20k → 8%Bronson Cancer Center: $25k → 12%University of Michigan Med School: $50k → 14%Nappanee Public Library: $25k → 13%Center For Citizenship Community: $50k → 14%Boomer Esiason Foundation: $2k → 8%Center of Courage and Renewal: $50k → 10%Zekelman Holocaust Center: $100k → 8%Kalazmazoo Abraham Lincoln Institute: $100k → 12%University of Michigan Regents: $50k → 14%Center of Courage and Renewal: $25k → 10%Zekelman Holocaust Center: $50k → 8%Western Michigan Univ: $250k → 12%Western Michigan Univ: $55k → 12%Western Michigan Univ: $50k → 12%Western Michigan Univ: $25k → 12%Western Michigan Univ Foundation: $20k → 12%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

MN
MI
NY
IN
OH
CA
MO
WV
MD
NM
NC
SC
DC
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.
04

Where the work is directed

The same grants placed two ways: where each recipient sits, and where its stated purpose sends the money.

About 6% of Freedom of Spirit Fund’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address.

Freedom of Spirit Fundlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address · 2.7% directed abroad (not shown)
How this is measured
Recipient view: each grant at its grantee’s ZIP, mapped to a county. Directed view: each grant at the county its stated purpose names, falling back to the recipient’s county when the purpose names no place; US grants only. A county shows only if it carries the top 95% of that view’s dollars. Purposes are read from the funder’s own 990 grant descriptions.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

41%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$730k · 4 repeat orgs$1.0M to everyone else

4 repeat relationships: 0 still active in FY2025, 4 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

4
21

Total granted

$730k
$842k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+13%
+21%

Still filing today

75%
48%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 0% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $200k went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24’25
EducationArts & CultureHealthPhilanthropyScience & TechOther
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

  • WM
    WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
    4× · 2021–2024 · $380k
  • HM
    HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL CENTER INC
    2× · 2022–2024 · $150k · revenue -28%
  • CENTER FOR COURAGE & RENEWAL
    3× · 2021–2024 · $125k · revenue +101%

Funded once

  • KA
    KALAMAZOO ABRAHAM LINCOLN INSTITUTE
    one grant, 2024 · $100k · 94% of their budget
  • CC
    Cleveland Clinic
    one grant, 2023 · $100k
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    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
Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Committed to exceptional healthcare quality for all and actively engaged with our community, einstein drives scientific discovery and educates compassionate leaders in health and science.

Education
2
University of New Haven

The University of New Haven is a student-centered comprehensive university with an emphasis on excellence in liberal arts and professional education. Our mission is to prepare our students to lead purposeful and fulfilling lives in a…

Education
3
Central Indiana Corporate Partnership Inc

Central indiana corporate partnership (cicp) is an alliance of indiana's business and research university leaders coming together to foster long-term prosperity for the region. cicp's mission is to transform the economy of indiana in order…

Community Improvement
4
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
5
Westminster College

The mission of westminster college is to help students develop competencies, commitments, and characteristics which have distinguished human beings at their best. see continuation on schedule o.the liberal arts tradition is the foundation…

Education
6
Stony Brook Ophthalmology University Faculty Practice Corporation

Provide clinical instruction to and supervision of medical school students, interns and residents and, incident thereto, rendering professional services.

Health
7
Stony Brook Internists University Faculty Practice Corporation

Provide clinical instruction to and supervision of medical school students, interns and residents and, incident thereto, rendering professional services.

Health
8
Stony Brook Urology University Faculty Practice Corporation

Provide clinical instruction to and supervision of medical school students, interns and residents and, incident thereto, rendering professional services.

Health
9
Augustana College

Rooted in the liberal arts & sciences & lutheran expression of the christian faith, & is committed to offering a challenging education that develops qualities of mind, spirit, & body necessary for a rewarding life of leadership & service…

Education
10
The George Washington University

The mission of the george washington university (gw) is to educate individuals in liberal arts, languages, sciences, learned professions, and other courses and subjects of study, and to conduct scholarly research and publish the findings…

Education
11
Trustees for Harvard University

To facilitate harvard university's scientific, literary, and educational activities in washington, dc.

Education
12
Columbia College Chicago

The organization's mission is to educate students for creative occupations in diverse fields of arts and media.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Center for Courage & Renewal; the most unlike its peers is Center for Citizenship Community. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
05the 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 28 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)
3
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

WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY: $380,000 · OtherWESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITYIndividual grant recipient: $100,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientCleveland Clinic: $100,000 · OtherCleveland ClinicIndividual grant recipient: $100,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientIndividual grant recipient: $50,000 · OtherREGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: $50,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $50,000 · OtherUniversity of Michigan Med School: $50,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $50,000 · OtherDr Mark Stefan Kaminski: $50,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $50,000 · Other+3 more: $75,000 · Other+3 moreHOLOCAUST MEMORIAL CENTER INC: $150,000 · Arts & CultureHOLOCAUST MEMORIAL…KALAMAZOO ABRAHAM LINCOLN INSTITUTE: $100,009 · Arts & CultureKALAMAZOO ABRAHAM …NEW YORK PUBLIC RADIO: $25,000 · Arts & CultureNEW YORK PUBLIC RA…CENTER FOR ACTION AND CONTEMPLATION: $25,000 · Arts & CultureCENTER FOR ACTION …CENTER FOR COURAGE & RENEWAL: $125,000 · EducationCENTER FOR …WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $25,000 · EducationWEST VIRGIN…WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $20,000 · EducationWESTERN MIC…Oholei Yosef Yitzchak Lubavitch: $20,000 · EducationOholei Yose…MAYO CLINIC: $100,000 · HealthMAYO CLIN…HENRY FORD HEALTH ST JOHN FOUNDATION: $25,000 · HealthHENRY FOR…HAZELDEN BETTY FORD FOUNDATION: $25,000 · HealthHAZELDEN …+1 more: $2,000 · HealthFLORIDA OCEANOGRAPHIC SOCIETY INC: $75,025 · Science & TechCENTER FOR CITIZENSHIP COMMUNITY: $50,000 · Philanthropy
Other$1,105,000Arts & Culture$300,009Education$190,000Health$152,000Science & Tech$75,025Philanthropy$50,000

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 budgetHOLOCAUST MEMORIAL CENTER INC: $150,000 over 2y, 1.4% of budgetCENTER FOR COURAGE & RENEWAL: $125,000 over 3y, 5.6% of budgetKALAMAZOO ABRAHAM LINCOLN INSTITUTE: $100,009 over 1y, 94% of budgetMAYO CLINIC: $100,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFLORIDA OCEANOGRAPHIC SOCIETY INC: $75,025 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetCENTER FOR CITIZENSHIP COMMUNITY: $50,000 over 1y, 45% of budgetWEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHENRY FORD HEALTH ST JOHN FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetNEW YORK PUBLIC RADIO: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHAZELDEN BETTY FORD FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCENTER FOR ACTION AND CONTEMPLATION: $25,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetWESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $20,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetOholei Yosef Yitzchak Lubavitch: $20,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetBOOMER ESIASON FOUNDATION: $2,000 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 set of overlaps that mostly run through this funder rather than between each other.

Amazonsmile Foundation
Amazonsmile FoundationWA2.7× affinity4 shared granteesties to 0 of 0Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: 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 Freedom of Spirit Fund funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Freedom of Spirit Fund. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%5%10%15%20%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • Florida Oceanographic Society Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–20%
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 Freedom of Spirit Fund?

Find your warmest path to Freedom of Spirit Fund 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 28 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 Freedom of Spirit’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