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Greater Charlotte Cultural Trust at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Public charity

Greater Charlotte Cultural Trust

Growing and sustaining a vibrant cultural community in charlotte-mecklenburg by providing endowment management and oversight and investment expertise to build and grow permanent funds for the area's arts, science, and history organizations.

$9.2M
Granted FY2025still arriving
16
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$3.2M
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, FY2020 to 2025.

Arts & Culture$52MEnvironment$1.8MAnimals$174kEducation$160k
02FY2025 · 16 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k1 grant · $8k
  • $10k–50k3 grants · $82k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $390k
  • $250k+10 grants · $8.6M
$360,157
Median grant
1
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
MINT MUSEUM$3,166,618
DISCOVERY PLACE INC$1,223,406
BECHTLER MUSEUM OF MODERN ART$838,283
CHILDREN'S THEATRE OF CHARLOTTE$733,393
CHARLOTTE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SOCIETY INC$665,178
NORTH CAROLINA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER FOUNDATION$547,207
WING HAVEN FOUNDATION INC$432,681
MCCOLL CENTER FOR ART INNOVATION$360,157
LEVINE MUSEUM OF THE NEW SOUTH$356,688
HARVEY B GANTT CENTER FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN ARTS & CULTURE$268,481
CHARLOTTE BALLET$229,214
CAROLINA RAPTOR CENTER INC$160,400
ARTS$43,015
OPERA CAROLINA$22,702
CHARLOTTE CHOIR SCHOOL$15,857
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 10%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 0% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%WING HAVEN FOUNDATION INC: $433k → 10%WING HAVEN FOUNDATION INC: $366k → 10%WING HAVEN FOUNDATION INC: $309k → 10%ARTS & SCIENCE COUNCIL: $7.1M → 10%BECHTLER MUSEUM OF MODERN ART: $1.7M → 10%BECHTLER MUSEUM OF MODERN ART: $1.5M → 10%NORTH CAROLINA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER FOUNDATION: $1.5M → 10%DISCOVERY PLACE INC: $1.5M → 10%DISCOVERY PLACE INC: $1.3M → 10%ARTS & SCIENCE COUNCIL: $1.2M → 10%DISCOVERY PLACE INC: $1.2M → 10%ARTS & SCIENCE COUNCIL: $1.1M → 10%DISCOVERY PLACE INC: $1.1M → 10%DISCOVERY PLACE INC: $1.0M → 10%CHARLOTTE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SOCIETY INC: $1.0M → 10%NORTH CAROLINA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER FOUNDATION: $1.0M → 10%BECHTLER MUSEUM OF MODERN ART: $987k → 10%BECHTLER MUSEUM OF MODERN ART: $838k → 10%BECHTLER MUSEUM OF MODERN ART: $837k → 10%NORTH CAROLINA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER FOUNDATION: $829k → 10%CHILDREN'S THEATRE OF CHARLOTTE: $750k → 10%CHILDREN'S THEATRE OF CHARLOTTE: $733k → 10%MCCOLL CENTER FOR ART INNOVATION: $706k → 10%ARTS & SCIENCE COUNCIL: $668k → 10%CHARLOTTE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SOCIETY INC: $665k → 10%CHARLOTTE BALLET: $655k → 10%CHILDREN'S THEATRE OF CHARLOTTE: $638k → 10%CHILDREN'S THEATRE OF CHARLOTTE: $631k → 10%CHILDREN'S THEATRE OF CHARLOTTE: $600k → 10%CHARLOTTE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SOCIETY INC: $550k → 10%NORTH CAROLINA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER FOUNDATION: $547k → 10%CHARLOTTE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SOCIETY INC: $493k → 10%CHARLOTTE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SOCIETY INC: $485k → 10%CHILDREN'S THEATRE OF CHARLOTTE: $481k → 10%CHARLOTTE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SOCIETY INC: $447k → 10%LEVINE MUSEUM OF THE NEW SOUTH: $425k → 10%MCCOLL CENTER FOR ART INNOVATION: $385k → 10%MCCOLL CENTER FOR ART INNOVATION: $360k → 10%LEVINE MUSEUM OF THE NEW SOUTH: $353k → 10%MCCOLL CENTER FOR ART INNOVATION: $328k → 10%LEVINE MUSEUM OF THE NEW SOUTH: $327k → 10%MCCOLL CENTER FOR ART INNOVATION: $309k → 10%MINT MUSEUM: $3.2M → 10%MINT MUSEUM: $3.0M → 10%MINT MUSEUM: $1.4M → 10%MINT MUSEUM: $959k → 10%MINT MUSEUM: $855k → 10%MINT MUSEUM: $617k → 10%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.

100%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$54M · 23 repeat orgs$163k to everyone else

23 repeat relationships: 15 still active in FY2025, 8 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

23
4

Total granted

$54M
$155k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+8%
+23%

Still filing today

78%
75%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $8k 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
Arts & CultureEducationAnimalsOther
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

  • MM
    MINT MUSEUM OF ART INC
    6× · 2020–2025 · $10.0M · revenue +112% · 33% of their budget
  • DP
    DISCOVERY PLACE INC
    5× · 2020–2025 · $6.1M · revenue +61%
  • AH
    Andreas H Bechtler Arts Foundation
    5× · 2020–2025 · $5.9M · revenue +0% · 41% of their budget

Funded once

  • MM
    Mint Museum Auxiliary
    one grant, 2020 · $125k · revenue -6% · 36% of their budget
  • SC
    Savannah College of Art and DesignInc
    one grant, 2023 · $10k · revenue +23%
  • RT
    RUTGERS THE STATE UNIVERSITY
    one grant, 2020 · $10k
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
The Center for Craft Creativity & Design Inc

To resource, catalyze, and amplify how and why craft matters.

Arts & Culture
2
Charleston Symphony Orchestra

The charleston symphony's mission is to inspire and engage the community through exceptional musical performances and educational programs.

Arts & Culture
3
Carolina Art Association Dba Gibbes Museum of Art

The mission of the gibbes museum of art is to enhance lives through art by engaging people of every background and experience with art and artists of enduring quality; collect and preserve the art that touches charleston; and provide…

Arts & Culture
4
Bechtler Collection Preservation Foundation
Arts & Culture
5
Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute

Munson-williams-proctor arts institute (mwpai) is a fine arts center dedicated to serving diverse audiences by advancing the appreciation, understanding, and enjoyment of the arts. the art institute aims to promote interest and…

Arts & Culture
6
Manhattan School of Music

Manhattan school of music is deeply committed to excellence in education, performance, and creative activity; to the humanity of the school's environment; and to the cultural enrichment of the larger community. a premiere international…

Arts & Culture
7
Cleveland Museum of Art

The mission of the cleveland museum of art (cma) is to fulfill its dual roles as one of the world's most distinguished comprehensive art museums and as one of northeastern ohio's principal civic and cultural institutions. the museum,…

Arts & Culture
8
The Museum of Fine Arts Houston

The museum of fine arts, houston serves as a welcoming and inclusive place for all people, connecting the communities of houston with diverse histories of art spanning 6,000 years and six continents. through our permanent collections,…

Arts & Culture
9
Clyfford Still Museum

Home to the art and legacy of the american painter clyfford still, we invite all to explore the potential of individual creative endeavor.

Arts & Culture
10
Berggruen Institute
Education
11
Redux Contemporary Art Center

Redux contemporary art center is committed to fostering creativity and the cultivation of contemporary art through diverse exhibitions, affordable studio space for visual artists, meaningful education and outreach programs, and a…

Arts & Culture
12
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Inc

Organization's mission statement true to the ambitious vision of its founder and her spirit of creative risk-taking, the mission of the isabella stewart gardner museum is: - to bring to life and preserve the rich historic collection; - to…

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Charlotte Symphony Orchestra Society Inc; the most unlike its peers is Wing Haven Foundation Inc Dba Wing Haven Garden & Bird Sanctuary. 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

23 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. 23 of the 29 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.

6
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
23/23
Grantees still filing
14/23
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

MINT MUSEUM OF ART INC: $9,974,831 · Arts & CultureMINT MUSEUM OF ART INCDISCOVERY PLACE INC: $6,138,355 · Arts & CultureDISCOVERY PLACE INCAndreas H Bechtler Arts Foundation: $5,937,714 · Arts & CultureAndreas H Bechtler Arts FoundationNORTH CAROLINA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER AT CHARLOTTE FOUNDATION: $4,166,637 · Arts & CultureNORTH CAROLINA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER AT CHARLOTTE FOUNDATIONThe Childrens Theatre of Charlotte Inc: $3,833,228 · Arts & CultureThe Childrens Theatre of Charlotte IncCHARLOTTE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SOCIETY INC: $3,683,083 · Arts & CultureCHARLOTTE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SOCIETY INCMcColl Center for Art Innovation: $2,390,789 · Arts & CultureMcColl Center for Art InnovationMUSEUM OF THE NEW SOUTH INC: $2,153,254 · Arts & CultureCHARLOTTE BALLET: $1,593,169 · Arts & CultureCHARLOTTE MECKLENBURG AFRO-AMERICAN CULTURAL AND SERVICE CENTER INC: $1,551,779 · Arts & Culture+4 more: $321,107 · Arts & CultureARTS & SCIENCE COUNCIL CHARLOTTE/MECKLENBURG INC: $10,203,933 · OtherARTS & SCIENCE COUNCIL…+8 more: $383,399 · OtherWing Haven Foundation Inc DBA Wing Haven Garden & Bird Sanctuary: $1,788,275 · AnimalsCarolina Raptor Center Inc: $173,741 · AnimalsUNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: $30,000 · EducationNew York University: $20,000 · EducationSavannah College of Art and DesignInc: $10,000 · EducationJUILLIARD SCHOOL: $10,000 · Education
Arts & Culture$41,743,946Other$10,587,332Animals$1,962,016Education$70,000

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 budgetARTS & SCIENCE COUNCIL CHARLOTTE/MECKLENBURG INC: $10,203,933 over 5y, 60% of budgetMINT MUSEUM OF ART INC: $9,974,831 over 6y, 33% of budgetDISCOVERY PLACE INC: $6,138,355 over 5y, 13% of budgetAndreas H Bechtler Arts Foundation: $5,937,714 over 5y, 41% of budgetNORTH CAROLINA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER AT CHARLOTTE FOUNDATION: $4,166,637 over 6y, 3.8% of budgetThe Childrens Theatre of Charlotte Inc: $3,833,228 over 6y, 22% of budgetCHARLOTTE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SOCIETY INC: $3,683,083 over 6y, 6.0% of budgetMcColl Center for Art Innovation: $2,390,789 over 6y, 66% of budgetMUSEUM OF THE NEW SOUTH INC: $2,153,254 over 6y, 24% of budgetWing Haven Foundation Inc DBA Wing Haven Garden & Bird Sanctuary: $1,788,275 over 6y, 40% of budgetCHARLOTTE BALLET: $1,593,169 over 6y, 14% of budgetCHARLOTTE MECKLENBURG AFRO-AMERICAN CULTURAL AND SERVICE CENTER INC: $1,551,779 over 6y, 20% of budgetCarolina Raptor Center Inc: $173,741 over 3y, 9.2% of budgetArtsPlus: $143,399 over 6y, 1.3% of budgetOPERA CAROLINA: $132,904 over 6y, 1.9% of budgetMint Museum Auxiliary: $125,000 over 1y, 36% of budgetPOINT PARK UNIVERSITY: $90,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCharlotte Choir School: $55,333 over 5y, 5.8% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: $30,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetNew York University: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSavannah College of Art and DesignInc: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetJUILLIARD SCHOOL: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE LIGHT FACTORY: $7,870 over 1y, 7.2% 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.

  • Who funds ARTS & SCIENCE COUNCIL CHARLOTTE/MECKLENBURG INC ↗
  • Who funds MINT MUSEUM OF ART INC ↗
  • Who funds DISCOVERY PLACE INC ↗
  • Who funds Andreas H Bechtler Arts Foundation ↗
  • Who funds NORTH CAROLINA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER AT CHARLOTTE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds The Childrens Theatre of Charlotte Inc ↗
  • Who funds CHARLOTTE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SOCIETY INC ↗
  • Who funds McColl Center for Art Innovation ↗
  • Who funds MUSEUM OF THE NEW SOUTH INC ↗
  • Who funds Wing Haven Foundation Inc DBA Wing Haven Garden & Bird Sanctuary ↗
  • Who funds CHARLOTTE BALLET ↗
  • Who funds CHARLOTTE MECKLENBURG AFRO-AMERICAN CULTURAL AND SERVICE CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds Carolina Raptor Center Inc ↗
  • Who funds ArtsPlus ↗
  • Who funds OPERA CAROLINA ↗
  • Who funds Mint Museum Auxiliary ↗
  • Who funds POINT PARK UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds Charlotte Choir School ↗
  • Who funds UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ↗
  • Who funds New York University ↗
  • Who funds Savannah College of Art and DesignInc ↗
  • Who funds JUILLIARD SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds THE LIGHT FACTORY ↗

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.

Foundation for the Ca…Arts & Science Counci…Duke Energy FoundationIbm International Fou…Emc Arts IncArts Sciences & Cultu…The Dickson Foundatio…Albemarle FoundationJohn S and James L Kn…The Presbyterian Hosp…Dowd Foundation IncUnited Way Worldwide
Foundation for the CarolinasNC34.4× affinity16 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Foundation for the Carolinas · Arts & Science Council Charlotte/Mecklenburg Inc · Duke Energy Foundation · Ibm International Foundation · Emc Arts Inc · Arts Sciences & Cultural Council of Charlotte Mecklenburg Inc · The Dickson Foundation Inc · Albemarle Foundation · John S and James L Knight Foundation · The Presbyterian Hospital · Dowd Foundation Inc · United Way Worldwide

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 Greater Charlotte Cultural Trust funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Greater Charlotte Cultural Trust. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%5%19%42%75%funder's share of their income ↑0%4%8%11%15%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    9report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–15%
    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 29 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 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 Greater Charlotte Cultural’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