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Helen L Kay Charitable Trust at a glance

· Private foundation

Helen L Kay Charitable Trust

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$161k
Granted FY2025still arriving
23
Grants FY2025still arriving
5
States reached
$20k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0199% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Health$602kHuman Services$586kReligion$222kEmployment$145kEducation$76kYouth Development$63kHousing & Shelter$63kRecreation & Sports$54kOther$0
02FY2025 · 23 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k17 grants · $51k
  • $10k–50k6 grants · $110k
$3,000
Median grant
5
States reached
$5.3M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
SHRINER'S HOSPITAL FOR CHILDREN$20,000
THE SALVATION ARMY$20,000
STARR COMMONWEALTH$20,000
GOODWILL IND OF GREATER DETROIT$20,000
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF EAST BRADY$20,000
CANCER RESEARCH INSTITUTE$10,000
Hunter Hospitality House$3,000
ATHLETES FOR CHARITY$3,000
OAKLAND FAMILY SERVICES$3,000
THE PITTSBURGH PROJECT$3,000
LITTLE HEROES LEAGUE$3,000
EPILEPSY FOUNDATION$3,000
REFUGEE GARDEN INITIATIVES$3,000
New City Kids$3,000
WESLYN A BENNETT FOUNDATION$3,000
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 (FY20–25, $353k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 69% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%STARR COMMONWEALTH: $25k → 14%Pope Francis Center: $5k → 21%Wave Project: $10k → 10%MICHIGAN ABILITY PARTNERS: $5k → 14%STARR COMMONWEALTH: $25k → 14%Clayton Dabney for Kids with Cancer: $5k → 14%STARR COMMONWEALTH: $25k → 14%STARR COMMONWEALTH: $25k → 14%ZAMAN INTERNATIONAL: $5k → 21%STARR COMMONWEALTH: $25k → 14%ZAMAN INTERNATIONAL: $5k → 21%STARR COMMONWEALTH: $20k → 14%Jewish Community Center of Metro Detroit: $5k → 8%Evangelical Home of Michigan: $5k → 14%ROCHESTER AREA NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE: $15k → 8%DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PROJECT: $10k → 14%ROCHESTER AREA NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE: $10k → 8%OAKLAND FAMILY SERVICES: $15k → 8%HOSPICE OF MICHIGAN: $5k → 21%OAKLAND FAMILY SERVICES: $10k → 8%HOSPICE OF MICHIGAN: $5k → 21%LEADER DOGS FOR THE BLIND: $5k → 8%SPECTRUM COMMUNITY SERVICES: $10k → 21%LEADER DOGS FOR THE BLIND: $5k → 8%SPECTRUM COMMUNITY SERVICES: $10k → 21%OAKLAND FAMILY SERVICES: $3k → 8%SPECTRUM COMMUNITY SERVICES: $5k → 21%ROCHESTER AREA NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE: $3k → 8%HIGHER HOPES: $5k → 8%CAMP CASEY: $10k → 8%CAMP CASEY: $5k → 8%ANGELA HOSPICE HOME CARE INC: $17k → 21%ANGELA HOSPICE HOME CARE INC: $5k → 21%Hospice of Michigan: $10k → 8%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

IL
MI
NY
NV
OH
PA
NJ
CA
VA
MD
GA
TX
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.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

79%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.5M · 48 repeat orgs$408k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +22% since the first grant, against +16% for those funded once.

48 repeat relationships: 17 still active in FY2025, 31 since wound down; 6 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

48
54

Total granted

$1.5M
$383k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+22%
+16%

Still filing today

73%
59%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 84% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $25k 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
Human ServicesHealthEducationHousing & ShelterYouth DevelopmentCommunity ImprovementOther
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

  • AH
    American Heart Association Inc
    3× · 2021–2024 · $50k · revenue +33%
  • CH
    CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL MEDICAL CENTER
    2× · 2021–2024 · $40k · revenue +27%
  • CC
    CONQUER CANCER FOUNDATION OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CLINICAL ONCOLOGY
    3× · 2020–2023 · $35k · revenue +25%

Funded once

  • SA
    SALVATION ARMY-EASTERN MICHIGAN
    one grant, 2024 · $25k
  • BA
    BARBARA ANN KARMANOS CANCER INSTITUTEgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $15k · revenue +35%
  • MC
    Motor City Mission
    one grant, 2022 · $15k
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
Michigan Assoc of Community Mental Health Boards

Assisting the community mental health boards of michigan in developing methods for mental health planning, care and treatment.

—
2
Mymichigan Health Foundation

The corporation is organized and shall be operated exclusively for charitable, educational and scientific purposes by conducting or supporting activites exclusively for the benefit of, to perform the functions of, or to carry out the…

Health
3
Mymichigan Medical Center Midland

Creating healthy communities - together

Health
4
Mymichigan Medical Group

Creating healthy communities - together

Health
5
Michigan Christian Home

The michigan christian home dba beacon hill at eastgate, a not-for-profit corporation, provides housing and health services in a christian environment for older adults, thus enabling them to meet their ongoing physical, social and…

—
6
Trinity Health - Michigan

We, trinity health-michigan and trinity health, serve together in the spirit of the gospel as a compassionate and transforming healing presence within our communities. trinity health-michigan is a member of trinity health.

Health
7
Business Leaders for Michigan

Business leaders for michigan is a nonprofit, nonpartisan statewide organization driven by ceos from the state's leading employers, all working toward a shared goal: making michigan a top 10 state for jobs, talent and a thriving economy.…

—
8
Association for Children's Mental Health

To ensure all michigan children and youth with emotional, behavioral, or mental health challenges and their families live in a safe, welcoming community with access to needed services and supports.

Health
9
Michigan Center for Clinical Systems Improvement

The organization's mission is to support community-based, stakeholder driven training for care teams including physicians, care managers, care coordinators, medical assistants and behavioral health specialists; facilitate training and…

Health
10
Northern Michigan Hematology and Oncology

Provide professional services for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer and infectious disease and related conditions.

Health
11
Community & Home Supports Inc

Community & home supports, inc. was founded to help people and communities address poverty and homelessness. we strive to fulfill our purpose by developing, leading, and participating in collaborative and innovative efforts that support…

Human Services
12
Mymichigan Medical Center Gladwin

Creating healthy communities - together

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Habitat for Humanity Capital Region Inc; the most unlike its peers is The Bottomless Toy Chest 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

74 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

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 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 74 of the 109 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)
10
Early backer (in before they grew)
73/74
Grantees still filing
50/74
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

SHRINER'S HOSPITAL FOR CHILDREN: $145,000 · OtherSHRINER'S HOSPITAL FOR CHILDRENGOODWILL IND OF GREATER DETROIT: $145,000 · OtherGOODWILL IND OF GREATER DETROITTHE SALVATION ARMY: $120,000 · OtherTHE SALVATION ARMYFIRST UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH: $90,000 · OtherFIRST UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHFIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF EAST BRADY: $70,000 · OtherFIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF EAST BRADY+54 more: $513,500 · Other+54 moreSTARR COMMONWEALTH: $145,000 · Human ServicesSTARR COMMONWEALTHROCHESTER AREA NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE: $28,000 · Human ServicesROCHESTER AREA NEIGH…OAKLAND FAMILY SERVICES: $28,000 · Human ServicesOAKLAND FAMILY SERVI…SPECTRUM COMMUNITY SERVICES: $25,000 · Human ServicesSPECTRUM COMMUNITY S…ANGELA HOSPICE HOME CARE INC: $22,250 · Human ServicesANGELA HOSPICE HOME …Hospice of Michigan Inc: $20,000 · Human ServicesHospice of Michigan …CAMP CASEY CORPORATION: $15,000 · Human Services+10 more: $70,000 · Human Services+10 moreAmerican Heart Association Inc: $50,000 · HealthAmerican Heart Ass…CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL MEDICAL CENTER: $40,000 · HealthCHILDREN'S HOSPITA…CONQUER CANCER FOUNDATION OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CLINICAL ONCOLOGY: $35,000 · HealthCONQUER CANCER FOU…AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY INC: $30,000 · HealthAMERICAN CANCER SO…THE RAINBOW CONNECTION: $25,000 · HealthTHE RAINBOW CONNEC…NATIONAL BONE MARROW TRANSPLANT LINK: $18,000 · HealthNATIONAL BONE MARR…THE NEW DAY FOUNDATION FOR FAMILIES: $17,500 · HealthTHE NEW DAY FOUNDA…BARBARA ANN KARMANOS CANCER INSTITUTE: $15,000 · HealthDETROIT INSTITUTE FOR CHILDREN: $15,000 · Health+8 more: $63,000 · Health+8 moreNEW CITY KIDS INC: $33,000 · Youth DevelopmentTHE BOTTOMLESS TOY CHEST INC: $18,000 · Youth DevelopmentPLAYWORKS EDUCATION ENERGIZED: $10,000 · Youth DevelopmentWESLYN A BENNETT FOUNDATION: $3,000 · Youth DevelopmentHABITAT FOR HUMANITY CAPITAL REGION INC: $20,000 · Housing & ShelterHABITAT FOR HUMANITY OF HURON VALLEY: $10,000 · Housing & ShelterREBUILDING TOGETHER SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN INC: $7,500 · Housing & ShelterBEDS 4 KIDS: $5,000 · Housing & ShelterLIVE RITE STRUCTURED RECOVERY CORP: $5,000 · Housing & ShelterGILDA'S CLUB METRO DETROIT: $20,500 · Arts & CultureTHE PEWABIC SOCIETY INC: $13,000 · Arts & CultureKettering University: $15,000 · EducationWE SHALL READ: $5,000 · EducationMadonna University: $5,000 · EducationTHE NEW COMMON SCHOOL FOUNDATION: $5,000 · EducationA5 SCHOLARSHIP CHARITY: $2,000 · Education
Other$1,083,500Human Services$353,250Health$308,500Youth Development$64,000Housing & Shelter$47,500Arts & Culture$33,500Education$32,000

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 budgetSTARR COMMONWEALTH: $145,000 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetAmerican Heart Association Inc: $50,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCHILDREN'S HOSPITAL MEDICAL CENTER: $40,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCONQUER CANCER FOUNDATION OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CLINICAL ONCOLOGY: $35,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetCROSSROADS OF MICHIGAN: $35,000 over 3y, 1.2% of budgetNEW CITY KIDS INC: $33,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetAMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY INC: $30,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetVISTA MARIA: $30,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetROCHESTER AREA NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE: $28,000 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetOAKLAND FAMILY SERVICES: $28,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetTHE RAINBOW CONNECTION: $25,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetSPECTRUM COMMUNITY SERVICES: $25,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetANGELA HOSPICE HOME CARE INC: $22,250 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetGILDA'S CLUB METRO DETROIT: $20,500 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetHABITAT FOR HUMANITY CAPITAL REGION INC: $20,000 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetHospice of Michigan Inc: $20,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL BONE MARROW TRANSPLANT LINK: $18,000 over 3y, 3.0% of budgetTHE BOTTOMLESS TOY CHEST INC: $18,000 over 3y, 1.9% of budgetTHE NEW DAY FOUNDATION FOR FAMILIES: $17,500 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetCAMP CASEY CORPORATION: $15,000 over 2y, 2.1% of budgetBARBARA ANN KARMANOS CANCER INSTITUTE: $15,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetDETROIT INSTITUTE FOR CHILDREN: $15,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetTHREE PILLARS AN EDUCATIONAL SERVICE PROVIDER: $15,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetKettering University: $15,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetLittle Heroes League: $13,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetFORGOTTEN HARVEST INC: $13,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE PEWABIC SOCIETY INC: $13,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetFriends In Deed: $12,500 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetSPECIAL OLYMPICS MICHIGAN INC: $10,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetDomestic Violence Project: $10,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetNORTHVILLE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 2.7% of budgetMIRACLE FLIGHTS: $10,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetMENTAL HEALTH ASSOCIATION IN MICHIGAN: $10,000 over 2y, 4.7% of budgetMARY CROWLEY MEDICAL RESEARCH CENTER: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCANCER RESEARCH INSTITUTE INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetZAMAN INTERNATIONAL: $10,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetABIGAYLE MINISTRIES: $10,000 over 1y, 2.5% of budgetLEADER DOGS FOR THE BLIND: $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWELLSPRING: $10,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetHABITAT FOR HUMANITY OF HURON VALLEY: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetPLAYWORKS EDUCATION ENERGIZED: $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCHILDREN'S LEUKEMIA FOUNDATION OF MICHIGAN: $10,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetWAVE PROJECT: $10,000 over 1y, 5.6% of budgetHUNTER HOSPITALITY HOUSE INC: $8,000 over 2y, 1.4% of budgetEversight: $7,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetABIDE MINISTRIES INC: $7,500 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetREBUILDING TOGETHER SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN INC: $7,500 over 1y, 2.7% of budgetCOMMUNITY HOUSE ASSOCIATION INC: $5,000 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.

Community Foundation …Phillip and Elizabeth…United Way for Southe…The Carls FoundationDTE Energy FoundationHarry a and Margaret …The Barton Malow Foun…Ford PhilanthropyEagles for ChildrenCanton Community Foun…Young Woman's Home As…Deroy Testamentary Fo…
Community Foundation for Southeast MichiganMI57× affinity30 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan · Phillip and Elizabeth Filmer Memorial · United Way for Southeastern Michigan · The Carls Foundation · DTE Energy Foundation · Harry a and Margaret D Towsley Foundation · The Barton Malow Foundation · Ford Philanthropy · Eagles for Children · Canton Community Foundation Inc · Young Woman's Home Association of Detroit Michigan · Deroy Testamentary 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 Helen L Kay Charitable Trust funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Helen L Kay Charitable Trust. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%4%8%15%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    18report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    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 109 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 Helen L Kay’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