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· Private foundation

George R Johnson Family Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$1.9M
Granted FY2025still arriving
76
Grants FY2025still arriving
3
States reached
$180k
Largest
01What it funds
0195% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Youth Development$2.8MHuman Services$2.3MEducation$2.3MHealth$1.4MArts & Culture$1.2MPhilanthropy$1.1MHousing & Shelter$717kRecreation & Sports$517kOther$0
02FY2025 · 76 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k14 grants · $82k
  • $10k–50k51 grants · $886k
  • $50k–250k11 grants · $935k
$15,000
Median grant
3
States reached
$25M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF OCOEE REGION$180,000
LEE UNIVERSITY$100,000
MUSEUM CENTER AT 5IVE POINTS$100,000
YMCA$100,000
UNIVERSITY OF CHATTANOOGA FOUNDATIO$100,000
TENNESSEE WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY$75,000
HOLSTON HOME FOR CHILDREN$75,000
TRI-COUNTY CENTER$55,000
CHAMBLISS CENTER FOR CHILDREN$50,000
PARTNERSHIP FOR FAMILIESCHILDREN$50,000
LIFE BRIDGES$50,000
UNITED WAY OF GREATER CHATT$40,000
THE CARING PLACE$40,000
YMCA$35,000
THE HOPE CENTER INC$30,000
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, $1.1M) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 56% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%PEOPLE HELPING PEOPLE: $10k → 15%HOLSTON HOME FOR CHILDREN: $75k → 17%HOLSTON HOME FOR CHILDREN: $75k → 17%LAPAZ CHATTANOOGA: $30k → 12%TROUSDALE SCHOOL: $15k → 13%NORTHSIDE NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE: $15k → 14%TROUSDALE SCHOOL: $15k → 13%NORTHSIDE NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE: $15k → 14%LAPAZ CHATTANOOGA: $20k → 12%TROUSDALE SCHOOL: $10k → 13%NORTHSIDE NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE: $15k → 14%CHILD ADVOCACY CENTER: $25k → 10%TROUSDALE SCHOOL: $10k → 13%TROUSDALE SCHOOL: $10k → 13%NORTHSIDE NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE: $15k → 14%TROUSDALE SCHOOL: $10k → 13%NORTHSIDE NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE: $10k → 14%TROUSDALE SCHOOL: $10k → 13%NORTHSIDE NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE: $10k → 14%TROUSDALE SCHOOL: $10k → 13%LAPAZ CHATTANOOGA: $10k → 12%CASA CORRIDOR OF EAST TENNESSEE: $20k → 15%TROUSDALE SCHOOL: $10k → 13%NORTHSIDE NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE: $10k → 14%CASA CORRIDOR OF EAST TENNESSEE: $20k → 15%NORTHSIDE NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE: $10k → 14%CASA CORRIDOR OF EAST TENNESSEE: $20k → 15%LAPAZ CHATTANOOGA: $10k → 12%CASA CORRIDOR OF EAST TENNESSEE: $20k → 15%NORTHSIDE NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE: $10k → 14%CASA CORRIDOR OF EAST TENNESSEE: $15k → 15%CASA CORRIDOR OF EAST TENNESSEE: $15k → 15%CASA CORRIDOR OF EAST TENNESSEE: $15k → 15%CASA CORRIDOR OF EAST TENNESSEE: $15k → 15%CASA CORRIDOR OF EAST TENNESSEE: $12k → 15%LIFE BRIDGES: $50k → 13%HOSPICE OF CHATTANOOGA: $50k → 12%BETHEL BIBLE VILLAGE: $45k → 12%BETHEL BIBLE VILLAGE: $30k → 12%BETHEL BIBLE VILLAGE: $30k → 12%BETHEL BIBLE VILLAGE: $30k → 12%BETHEL BIBLE VILLAGE: $30k → 12%BETHEL BIBLE VILLAGE: $30k → 12%BETHEL BIBLE VILLAGE: $25k → 12%BETHEL BIBLE VILLAGE: $20k → 12%BETHEL BIBLE VILLAGE: $20k → 12%AIM CENTER: $25k → 12%AIM CENTER: $22k → 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.
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.

88%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$13M · 118 repeat orgs$1.7M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +30% since the first grant, against +29% for those funded once.

118 repeat relationships: 62 still active in FY2025, 56 since wound down; 12 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

118
77

Total granted

$13M
$1.6M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+30%
+29%

Still filing today

43%
27%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 91% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $169k 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
Human ServicesArts & CultureEducationHealthPhilanthropyHousing & 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

  • TW
    TENNESSEE WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY
    8× · 2017–2025 · $550k · revenue +49%
  • LU
    LEE UNIVERSITY
    3× · 2021–2025 · $400k · revenue +3%
  • TC
    THE CARING PLACE
    8× · 2017–2025 · $350k · revenue +326%

Funded once

  • SH
    SISKIN HOSPITAL FOR REHABILITATION
    one grant, 2022 · $100k
  • BG
    BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS - GORDMURRWHIT
    one grant, 2021 · $83k
  • BG
    BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF NW GEORGIA
    one grant, 2019 · $80k
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
Chattanooga Regional Homeless Coalition Inc

To advocate for people who are homless or near homeless, strategically planning for housing and services in the community, maximizing resources and collaboarating with community partners to implement housing and services within the…

Community Improvement
2
Family Promise of Greater Chattanooga Inc

Family promise of greater chattanooga's mission is to provide help for homeless families with children be housed and self-sufficient.

Human Services
3
Casa of the Tennessee Heartland Inc

Provide advocacy for abused and neglected children in juvenile court.

Civil Rights
4
The Child Advocacy Center of Anderson Co Tn

To combat severe physical and sexual abuse and resulting trauma by coordinating and providing services in a child friendly, safe and nurturing environment.

Human Services
5
Court Appointed Special Advocates

To be the voice for children who have been victims of abuse and/or neglect. Our vision is to serve every child in the Cheaha Region by providing them with a caring and competent trained volunteer.

Crime & Legal
6
Chattanooga Design Studio

Chattanooga design studio seeks to elevate the quality of life for all citizens through guidance, collaboration, innovation, and education that promotes livable, accessible, walkable, and humane urban design.

Community Improvement
7
Legal Aid of East Tennessee

Legal aid of east tennessee provides legal representation, legal education, and other civil legal services for the low-income population in our community through advocacy of all types.

—
8
United Way of South Central Tennessee

The united way of south central tennessee's mission is to improve lives by advancing opportunities for education, health, and financial stability for all. its vision is to be the primary community solutions leader for human services.

—
9
Volunteer East Tennessee

Volunteer East Tennessee inspires service by equipping organizations and mobilizing volunteers to connect with one another and strengthen communities.

—
10
Tennessee Valley Coalition to End Homelessness Inc

Providing services to clients to assist in preventing homelessness, training partner organizations on reporting system and reporting to governments, statistical information.

Human Services
11
United Way of Cleveland County Inc

The United Way of Cleveland County helps people by uniting resources and programs to responsibly meet the needs of our community.

Philanthropy
12
Tennessee Children's Home Inc

Tennessee children's home, inc. is a not-for-profit organization that provides a home for neglected and pre-delinquent children who have an unstable family situation and who are beginning to develop problems which cannot be solved in their…

Human Services
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Artsbuild; the most unlike its peers is House of Refuge 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

80 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. 80 of the 207 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)
24
Early backer (in before they grew)
78/80
Grantees still filing
53/80
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF OCOEE REGION: $1,350,000 · OtherBOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF OCOEE REGIONYMCA: $815,000 · OtherYMCALEE UNIVERSITY: $400,000 · OtherCLEVELAND STATE COMM COLL FDTN: $400,000 · Other+151 more: $7,278,227 · Other+151 moreTHE CARING PLACE: $350,000 · Human ServicesTHE CARING…Bethel Bible Village: $260,000 · Human ServicesBethel Bib…HOLSTON HOME FOR CHILDREN INC: $155,000 · Human ServicesHOLSTON HO…CASA CORRIDOR OF EAST TENNESSEE: $152,000 · Human ServicesCASA CORRI…NORTHSIDE NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE: $110,000 · Human ServicesNORTHSIDE …The Trousdale School: $100,000 · Human ServicesThe Trousd…LA PAZ DE DIOS INC: $70,000 · Human ServicesLIFE BRIDGES INC: $50,000 · Human ServicesJOURNEY HEALTH FOUNDATION: $50,000 · Human ServicesTHE AIM CENTER INC: $47,000 · Human Services+4 more: $57,500 · Human ServicesTENNESSEE WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY: $550,000 · EducationTENNESSEE…UNIVERSITY OF CHATTANOOGA FOUNDATION INC: $200,000 · EducationUNIVERSIT…MOSE & GARRISON SISKIN MEMORIAL FDN INC D/B/A SISKIN CHILDREN'S INSTITUTE: $150,000 · EducationMOSE & GA…THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE FOUNDATION INC: $150,000 · EducationTHE UNIVE…BRADLEY CLEVELAND PUBLIC EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $146,413 · EducationBRADLEY C…+3 more: $81,000 · Education+3 moreUNITED WAY OF GREATER CHATTANOOGA: $200,000 · PhilanthropyUNITED WAY OF THE OCOEE REGION: $140,000 · PhilanthropyAUSTIN HATCHER FOUNDATION FOR PEDIATRIC CANCER: $135,000 · PhilanthropyUNITED WAY OF NORTHWEST GEORGIAINC: $135,000 · PhilanthropyCIVITAN INTERNATIONAL: $25,000 · PhilanthropyCreative Discovery Museum: $187,775 · Arts & CultureSCENIC CITY CLAY ARTS: $95,000 · Arts & CultureFamily Cornerstones Inc: $76,000 · Arts & CultureARTSBUILD: $72,500 · Arts & CultureTHE POP-UP PROJECT: $35,000 · Arts & CultureATHENS AREA COUNCIL FOR THE ARTS: $25,000 · Arts & Culture+3 more: $35,000 · Arts & CultureON POINT: $250,000 · HealthA STEP AHEAD FOUNDATION CHATTANOOGA INC: $80,000 · HealthWELCOME HOME OF CHATTANOOGA: $75,000 · HealthKARIS COMMUNITY HEALTH: $35,000 · HealthFIRST THINGS FIRST INC: $25,000 · Health+2 more: $26,000 · HealthTRI-STATE EXHIBITION CENTER: $280,500 · Food & NutritionChattanooga Area Food Bank Inc: $10,000 · Food & Nutrition
Other$10,243,227Human Services$1,401,500Education$1,277,413Philanthropy$635,000Arts & Culture$526,275Health$491,000Food & Nutrition$290,500

Showing the 200 largest grantees by grant value.

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 budgetTENNESSEE WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY: $550,000 over 8y, 0.4% of budgetLEE UNIVERSITY: $400,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetTHE CARING PLACE: $350,000 over 8y, 4.5% of budgetTRI-STATE EXHIBITION CENTER: $280,500 over 3y, 13% of budgetBethel Bible Village: $260,000 over 9y, 1.8% of budgetON POINT: $250,000 over 9y, 3.1% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF CHATTANOOGA FOUNDATION INC: $200,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetUNITED WAY OF GREATER CHATTANOOGA: $200,000 over 8y, 0.3% of budgetCreative Discovery Museum: $187,775 over 9y, 0.8% of budgetLOOKOUT MOUNTAIN CONSERVANCY: $180,000 over 9y, 3.6% of budgetHOLSTON HOME FOR CHILDREN INC: $155,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetCASA CORRIDOR OF EAST TENNESSEE: $152,000 over 9y, 7.4% of budgetMOSE & GARRISON SISKIN MEMORIAL FDN INC D/B/A SISKIN CHILDREN'S INSTITUTE: $150,000 over 3y, 0.9% of budgetTHE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE FOUNDATION INC: $150,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetBRADLEY CLEVELAND PUBLIC EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $146,413 over 2y, 12% of budgetUNITED WAY OF THE OCOEE REGION: $140,000 over 7y, 0.7% of budgetCITY FIELDS: $140,000 over 5y, 9.0% of budgetAUSTIN HATCHER FOUNDATION FOR PEDIATRIC CANCER: $135,000 over 8y, 3.0% of budgetUNITED WAY OF NORTHWEST GEORGIAINC: $135,000 over 9y, 0.4% of budgetHOUSE OF REFUGE INC: $135,000 over 8y, 5.9% of budgetLIFT YOUTH CENTER INC: $135,000 over 4y, 7.5% of budgetUNITED WAY OF LOUDON COUNTY INC: $120,000 over 8y, 9.4% of budgetHABITAT FOR HUMANITY OF CLEVELAND INC: $120,000 over 4y, 1.6% of budgetNORTHSIDE NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE: $110,000 over 9y, 0.6% of budgetCHAMBLISS CENTER FOR CHILDREN: $110,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetThe Trousdale School: $100,000 over 9y, 1.2% of budgetSCENIC CITY CLAY ARTS: $95,000 over 8y, 5.0% of budgetCHATT FOUNDATION: $93,000 over 9y, 0.4% of budgetLOUDON COUNTY HABITAT FOR HUMANITY: $90,000 over 3y, 1.8% of budgetA STEP AHEAD FOUNDATION CHATTANOOGA INC: $80,000 over 7y, 3.5% of budgetFamily Cornerstones Inc: $76,000 over 4y, 12% of budgetWELCOME HOME OF CHATTANOOGA: $75,000 over 5y, 4.6% of budgetARTSBUILD: $72,500 over 9y, 4.8% of budgetLA PAZ DE DIOS INC: $70,000 over 4y, 2.1% of budgetMetanoia Ministries: $70,000 over 7y, 3.6% of budgetSIGNAL CENTERS INC: $60,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetTRI-COUNTY CENTER: $60,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetCATOOSA COUNTY CHILDREN'S FUND: $50,000 over 9y, 9.8% of budgetLIFE BRIDGES INC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetJOURNEY HEALTH FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetTHE AIM CENTER INC: $47,000 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetBALLET TENNESSEE INC: $35,000 over 3y, 5.6% of budgetTHE POP-UP PROJECT: $35,000 over 5y, 4.0% of budgetKARIS COMMUNITY HEALTH: $35,000 over 2y, 1.8% of budgetHabitat for Humanity of Dalton Whitfield and Murra: $30,000 over 1y, 5.9% of budgetOCOEE OUTREACH INC: $30,000 over 3y, 4.4% of budgetTeach for America Inc: $30,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetLAUNCH INC: $28,000 over 2y, 2.0% 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.

  • Who funds TENNESSEE WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds LEE UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds THE CARING PLACE ↗
  • Who funds TRI-STATE EXHIBITION CENTER ↗
  • Who funds Bethel Bible Village ↗
  • Who funds ON POINT ↗
  • Who funds UNIVERSITY OF CHATTANOOGA FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds UNITED WAY OF GREATER CHATTANOOGA ↗
  • Who funds Creative Discovery Museum ↗
  • Who funds LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN CONSERVANCY ↗
  • Who funds HOLSTON HOME FOR CHILDREN INC ↗
  • Who funds CASA CORRIDOR OF EAST TENNESSEE ↗
  • Who funds MOSE & GARRISON SISKIN MEMORIAL FDN INC D/B/A SISKIN CHILDREN'S INSTITUTE ↗
  • Who funds THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds BRADLEY CLEVELAND PUBLIC EDUCATION FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds UNITED WAY OF THE OCOEE REGION ↗
  • Who funds CITY FIELDS ↗
  • Who funds AUSTIN HATCHER FOUNDATION FOR PEDIATRIC CANCER ↗
  • Who funds UNITED WAY OF NORTHWEST GEORGIAINC ↗
  • Who funds HOUSE OF REFUGE INC ↗
  • Who funds LIFT YOUTH CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds UNITED WAY OF LOUDON COUNTY INC ↗
  • Who funds HABITAT FOR HUMANITY OF CLEVELAND INC ↗
  • Who funds NORTHSIDE NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE ↗
  • Who funds CHAMBLISS CENTER FOR CHILDREN ↗

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 Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga IncTN51.1× affinity24 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga Inc · Robert F Stone Foundation AKA Bobby Stone Foundation · Tucker Foundation · Chattanooga Christian Community Foundation · Weldon F Osborne Foundation Inc · Lyndhurst Foundation Inc · Benwood Foundation Inc · Hamico Inc · Robert L & Kathrina H Maclellan Founda Foundation · The Maclellan Foundation Inc · United Way of Greater Chattanooga · Community Foundation of Cleveland and Bradley County

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 George R Johnson Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from George R Johnson Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%5%11%20%funder's share of their income ↑0%19%38%56%75%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    35report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–75%
    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 George R Johnson Family Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to George R Johnson Family Foundation 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 207 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 George R Johnson Family’s filings →

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