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Guardian Credit Union at a glance

· Public charity

Guardian Credit Union

Cooperative society incorporated for the two-fold purpose of promoting thrift among its members and creating a source of credit for them at legitimate rates of interest.

$390k
Granted FY2024still arriving
5
Grants FY2024still arriving
1
States reached
$165k
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, FY2018 to 2024.

Education$895kPhilanthropy$162kRecreation & Sports$141kHuman Services$18kPublic Safety & Disaster$10kCrime & Legal$8kArts & Culture$5k
02FY2024 · 5 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 5 grants below total $354,700, the rows itemized in this filing. The $389,700 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $35,000 is giving the schedule does not break out (grants under the $5,000 itemization floor, grants to individuals, grants on other schedules). Every figure below describes the itemized rows only.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k1 grant · $8k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $10k
  • $50k–250k3 grants · $337k
$50,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$1.1B
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
TROY UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION$165,000
GUARDIAN CREDIT UNION FOUNDATION$121,500
FAULKNER UNIVERSITY$50,000
LIBERTY LEARNING FOUNDATION$10,000
AUTAUGA COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE$8,200
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 (FY18–18, $10k) land where the poverty rate runs at 18%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%BRANTWOOD CHILDREN'S HOME: $10k → 18%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.
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 56% of Guardian Credit Union’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address. By recipient address, 99% of the giving stays in AL; by stated purpose, 32%.

Guardian Credit Unionlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address
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.

87%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.1M · 5 repeat orgs$156k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +53% since the first grant, against +5% for those funded once.

5 repeat relationships: 4 still active in FY2024, 1 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

5
7

Total granted

$1.1M
$148k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+53%
+5%

Still filing today

80%
100%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 98% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $8k went to new ones.

50%100%’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
EducationHuman ServicesPhilanthropyRecreation & SportsArts & CultureOther
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

  • TU
    TROY UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION
    4× · 2021–2024 · $660k · revenue +3%
  • FU
    FAULKNER UNIVERSITY
    5× · 2020–2024 · $150k · revenue +53%
  • TL
    THE LIBERTY LEARNING FOUNDATION
    2× · 2020–2024 · $15k · revenue +32%

Funded once

  • AS
    ALABAMA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INCgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $50k · revenue +53%
  • CA
    CENTRAL ALABAMA SPORTS COMMISSION INC
    one grant, 2023 · $45k · revenue -9%
  • VC
    VALIANT CROSS ACADEMY
    one grant, 2023 · $20k · revenue +13%
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 University Foundation

The university foundation is organized to assist and aid the board of trustees of the university of alabama in fulfilling its educational, research, and public service programs and activities.

—
2
Coker University

Coker university is a student-centered, comprehensive university. it is dedicated to providing every student an academic curriculum based upon a uniformly excellent liberal arts core that enhances the structured development of key personal…

Education
3
Alabama State University Trust for Educational Excellence

The trust seeks to support and improve educational excellence at alabama state university (the university) through the following: (1) granting of academic scholarships at the university, (2) endowment of academic chairs, (3) subsidizing of…

Education
4
The Academy of Art University Foundation
Human Services
5
Alabama a&M University Trust for Educational Excellence

The Trusts mission is to support and improve educational excellence at Alabama A&M University through the granting of academic scholarships at the Unviversity, the endowment of academic chairs, the subsidizing of current faculty positions,…

Education
6
Alabama a&M University Foundation

The Alabama A&M University Foundation was established to receive, hold, invest, manage, use, and administer property of all kinds, whether given absolutely or in trust, for the benefit of Alabama A&M University and its educational,…

—
7
Alcorn State University National Alumni Assn Foundation Inc

Educating the youth at asu

Education
8
Austin Peay State University Foundation

The foundation provides scholarships, awards, and monies for other apsu educational purposes.

Education
9
Alabama School of Fine Arts Foundation

The foundation's purpose is to sponsor and encourage the efforts of the alabama school of fine arts. the school is the beneficiary of all gifts and charitable disbursements, and qualifies for such due to its not for profit status.

—
10
Trustees of Clark University

Clark university's mission is to educate undergraduate and graduate students to be imaginative and contributing citizens of the world, and to advance the frontiers of knowledge and understanding through rigorous scholarship and creative…

Education
11
Arkansas State University System Foundation Inc

The primary purpose of the arkansas state university system foundation, inc. (the foundation) is to receive, solicit, accept and hold, administer, invest and disburse any and every kind of property for such education, scientific, literary,…

Education
12
Auburn Foundation
—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Alabama State University Foundation Inc; the most unlike its peers is Guardian Credit Union Foundation. 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

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.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
1
Early backer (in before they grew)
11/11
Grantees still filing
8/11
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

TROY UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $660,000 · EducationTROY UNIVERSITY FOUNDATIONFAULKNER UNIVERSITY: $150,000 · EducationFAULKNER UNIVERSITY+2 more: $35,320 · EducationAUTAUGA COUNTY COMMISSION: $96,000 · OtherAUTAUGA COUNTY …ALABAMA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $50,000 · OtherALABAMA STATE U…NATIONAL CREDIT UNION FOUNDATION: $10,000 · OtherNATIONAL CREDIT…AUTAUGA COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: $8,200 · OtherGUARDIAN CREDIT UNION FOUNDATION: $161,500 · PhilanthropyGUARDIAN CREDI…CENTRAL ALABAMA SPORTS COMMISSION INC: $45,000 · Recreation & SportsCHILDREN'S PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION INC: $10,000 · Human ServicesMONTGOMERY AREA FAMILY VIOLENCE PROGRAM INC: $7,500 · Human ServicesALABAMA SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL: $5,000 · Arts & Culture
Education$845,320Other$164,200Philanthropy$161,500Recreation & Sports$45,000Human Services$17,500Arts & Culture$5,000

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetTROY UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $660,000 over 4y, 1.2% of budgetGUARDIAN CREDIT UNION FOUNDATION: $161,500 over 2y, 100% of budgetFAULKNER UNIVERSITY: $150,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetALABAMA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetCENTRAL ALABAMA SPORTS COMMISSION INC: $45,000 over 1y, 8.7% of budgetVALIANT CROSS ACADEMY: $20,320 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetTHE LIBERTY LEARNING FOUNDATION: $15,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetNATIONAL CREDIT UNION FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCHILDREN'S PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetMONTGOMERY AREA FAMILY VIOLENCE PROGRAM INC: $7,500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetALABAMA SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% 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.

The Daniel Foundation…Alabama Power Foundat…Kiwanis Club of Montg…Arthur M Britton Foun…Alfa FoundationEnterprise Holdings F…Natl Christian Charit…The Bank of America C…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
The Daniel Foundation of AlabamaAL19.7× affinity7 shared granteesties to 10 of 10Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Daniel Foundation of Alabama · Alabama Power Foundation Inc · Kiwanis Club of Montgomery Foundation Inc · Arthur M Britton Foundation Inc · Alfa Foundation · Enterprise Holdings Foundation · Natl Christian Charitable Fdn Inc · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · 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 Guardian Credit Union funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Guardian Credit Union. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%8%15%22%30%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    5report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–30%
    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 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 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

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    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