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Great Circle Foundation Inc at a glance

· Private foundation

Great Circle 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.

$69k
Granted FY2024still arriving
5
Grants FY2024still arriving
5
States reached
$30k
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, FY2019 to 2024.

Education$170kArts & Culture$105kCrime & Legal$80kPublic Benefit$10kCivil Rights$6kPublic Safety & Disaster$2kHealth$2k
02FY2024 · 5 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k2 grants · $6k
  • $10k–50k3 grants · $63k
$12,500
Median grant
5
States reached
$1.9M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
HILLSDALE COLLEGE$30,000
LANDMARK LEGAL FOUNDATION$20,000
SHERMAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY$12,500
SECOND LINE ART COLLECTIVE$4,000
JOHN THEISSEN CHILDRENS FOUNDATION$2,000
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 (FY19–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 93% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%JOHN THEISSEN CHILDRENS FOUNDATION: $2k → 6%PROPERTY RIGHTS FOUNDATION OF AMERICA INC: $2k → 10%ROCKWELL MUSUEM OF WESTERN ART: $8k → 13%MORGAN LIBRARY AND MUSEUM: $25k → 17%HILLSDALE COLLEGE: $50k → 14%LANDMARK LEGAL FOUNDATION: $20k → 15%SHERMAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $13k → 9%LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE: $10k → 7%SECOND LINE ART COLLECTIVE: $4k → 15%UNITED CAJUN NAVY: $2k → 19%THE ROUTES OF MUSIC: $5k → 23%PROPERTY RIGHTS FOUNDATION OF AMERICA INC: $2k → 10%COOPER-HEWITT SMITHSONIAN DESIGN MUSEUM: $25k → 17%HILLSDALE COLLEGE: $50k → 14%LANDMARK LEGAL FOUNDATION: $20k → 15%PROPERTY RIGHTS FOUNDATION OF AMERICA INC: $2k → 10%AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE: $25k → 17%HILLSDALE COLLEGE: $30k → 14%LANDMARK LEGAL FOUNDATION: $20k → 15%HILLSDALE COLLEGE: $30k → 14%LANDMARK LEGAL FOUNDATION: $20k → 15%HILLSDALE COLLEGE: $10k → 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
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
American Museum of Natural History

The museum's mission statement is: "to discover, interpret, and disseminate - through scientific research and education - knowledge about human cultures, the natural world, and the universe."

Arts & Culture
2
The Long Island Museum of American Art History & Carriages

The long island museum is dedicated to inspiring people of all ages with an understanding and enjoyment of american art, history and carriages as expressed through the heritage of long island and its diverse communities.

Arts & Culture
3
Institute for Advanced Study - Louis Bamberger & Mrs Felix Fuld Foundation

The institute for advanced study (the institute) is one of the world's leading centers for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. see schedule o.

Science & Tech
4
William Marsh Rice University

As a leading research university with a distinctive commitment to undergraduate education, Rice University aspires to path breaking research, unsurpassed teaching, and contributions to the betterment of our world. It seeks to fulfill this…

Education
5
New York Historical Society

The founding mission of the new-york historical society ("the new york historical "tnyh") is to collect, preserve, and interpret, for the broadest possible public, material relevant to the history of the united states in general and of new…

Arts & Culture
6
The National Museum of Women in the Arts

The mission of the national museum of women in the arts is to collect, conserve and elevate the achievements of women artists from all nationalities and to educate the public on their outstanding accomplishments. we strive to accomplish…

—
7
Metropolitan Museum of Art

The metropolitan museum of art collects, studies, conserves, and presents significant works of art across all times and cultures in order to connect people to creativity, knowledge, and ideas.

Arts & Culture
8
The Phillips Collection

The phillips collection is the oldest museum of modern and contemporary art in the u.s. in addition to presentation of works from the permanent collection and special exhibitions, the museum maintains active educational, academic,…

Arts & Culture
9
Berggruen Institute
Education
10
The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

The gilder lehrman institute of american history was founded in 1994 by richard gilder and lewis e. lehrman, visionaries and lifelong supporters of american history. the institute is the leading nonprofit and nonpartisan organization…

Education
11
First Amendment Museum At the Gannett House
Arts & Culture
12
Museum of Modern Art

The Museum of Modern Art is a private, non-profit institution chartered by the State of New York Department of Education in 1929 to foster public awareness of modern and contemporary art. (Continued in Schedule O)

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Roots of Music Inc; the most unlike its peers is United Cajun Navy. 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

11 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. 11 of the 13 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)
3
Early backer (in before they grew)
11/11
Grantees still filing
9/11
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

HILLSDALE COLLEGE: $170,000 · EducationHILLSDALE COLLEGEThe Pierpont Morgan Library: $25,000 · EducationThe Pierpont Morgan LibraryLandmark Legal Foundation: $80,000 · Crime & LegalLandmark Legal Foundatio…BALLET THEATRE FOUNDATION INC: $25,000 · Arts & CultureBALLET THEATRE FO…SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION: $25,000 · Arts & CultureSMITHSONIAN INSTI…Roots of Music Inc: $5,000 · Arts & CultureRoots of Music In…Second Line Arts Collective: $4,000 · Arts & CultureSecond Line Arts …THE SHERMAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC: $12,500 · OtherROCKWELL MUSUEM OF WESTERN ART: $8,000 · OtherPROPERTY RIGHTS FOUNDATION OF AMERICA INC: $6,000 · OtherLeadership Institute: $10,000 · Public BenefitTHE JOHN THEISSEN CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION INC: $2,000 · HealthUnited Cajun Navy: $2,000 · Public Safety & Disaster
Education$195,000Crime & Legal$80,000Arts & Culture$59,000Other$26,500Public Benefit$10,000Health$2,000Public Safety & Disaster$2,000

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 budgetHILLSDALE COLLEGE: $170,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetLandmark Legal Foundation: $80,000 over 4y, 1.2% of budgetBALLET THEATRE FOUNDATION INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Pierpont Morgan Library: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE SHERMAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC: $12,500 over 1y, 9.4% of budgetLeadership Institute: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetRoots of Music Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetSecond Line Arts Collective: $4,000 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetTHE JOHN THEISSEN CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION INC: $2,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetUnited Cajun Navy: $2,000 over 1y, 0.2% 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.

Vanguard Charitable E…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Vanguard Charitable Endowment ProgramPA8.3× affinity4 shared granteesties to 3 of 3Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · 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 Great Circle Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Great Circle Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%3%5%8%10%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    1get 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 · 0–10%
    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 Great Circle Foundation Inc?

    Find your warmest path to Great Circle Foundation Inc 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 13 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 Great Circle’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