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Helping Fund at a glance

· Private foundation

Helping Fund

Its FY2023 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$1.0M
Granted FY2023
28
Grants FY2023
3
States reached
$112k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0191% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2023.

Arts & Culture$558kAnimals$376kEducation$203kPhilanthropy$177kHealth$115kReligion$75kCommunity Improvement$62kSocial Science$10kOther$0
02FY2023 · 28 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2023

  • Under $10k9 grants · $7k
  • $10k–50k10 grants · $240k
  • $50k–250k9 grants · $770k
$21,000
Median grant
3
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
INDIANAPOLIS ZOO$112,300
CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS$108,500
BUTLER UNIVERSITY$105,000
MICHAEL FEINSTEIN FOUNDATION$92,500
UNITED WAY OF CENTRAL INDIANA$80,000
COMMUNITY HOSPITAL FOUNDATION$75,000
INDIANA REPERTORY THEATRE$70,000
INDIANA LANDMARKS$63,500
SECOND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH$63,000
Individual grant recipient$40,000
INDIANAPOLIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA$37,928
GEO$35,000
CIVIC THEATRE$32,000
JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF INDIANAPOLIS$21,000
Individual grant recipient$18,800
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 (FY20–23) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 79% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE: $5k → 14%CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS: $109k → 5%INDIANA LANDMARKS: $64k → 16%AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE: $5k → 14%MICHAEL FEINSTEIN FOUNDATION: $93k → 5%HOOSIER ART SALON: $19k → 16%DISCOVER BROADWAY: $40k → 5%INDIANAPOLIS PUBLIC BROADCASTING: $18k → 16%CIVIC THEATRE: $32k → 5%DISCOVER BROADWAY: $15k → 16%CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS: $13k → 5%INDIANA LANDMARKS: $15k → 16%CENTER FOR PERFORMING ARTS: $12k → 5%INDIANA LANDMARKS: $12k → 16%DISCOVER BROADWAY: $11k → 5%DISCOVER BROADWAY: $10k → 16%CENTER FOR PERFORMING ARTS: $10k → 5%MICHAEL FEINSTEIN FOUNDATION: $5k → 5%SECOND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH: $63k → 16%ST VINCENT FOUNDATION: $18k → 16%ST VINCENT FOUNDATION: $10k → 16%ST VINCENT FOUNDATION: $5k → 16%COMMUNITY HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $75k → 16%INDIANA REPERTORY THEATRE: $70k → 16%INDIANAPOLIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: $38k → 16%CENTRAL INDIANA COMMUNITY FOUNDATIO: $20k → 16%INDIANAPOLIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: $15k → 16%INDIANA REPETORY THEATRE: $15k → 16%CENTRAL INDIANA COMMUNITY FOUNDATIO: $10k → 16%CICF: $10k → 16%CENTRAL INDIANA COMMUNITY FNDTN: $10k → 16%INDIANAPOLIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: $8k → 16%INDIANAPOLIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: $8k → 16%INDIANA REPETORY THEATRE: $5k → 16%INDIANA REPETORY THEATRE: $5k → 16%INDIANAPOLIS ZOO: $205k → 16%INDIANAPOLIS ZOO: $112k → 16%INDIANAPOLIS ZOO: $53k → 16%INDIANAPOLIS ZOO: $5k → 16%UNITED WAY OF CENTRAL INDIANA: $80k → 16%GEO: $35k → 16%UNITED WAY: $30k → 16%UNITED WAY OF CENTRAL INDIANA: $30k → 16%BUTLER UNIVERSITY: $27k → 16%UNITED WAY: $25k → 16%JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF INDIANAPOLIS: $21k → 16%BUTLER UNIVERSITY: $12k → 16%CENTER FOR INTERFAITH COOPERATION: $10k → 16%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.

89%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.5M · 29 repeat orgs$176k to everyone else

29 repeat relationships: 22 still active in FY2023, 7 since wound down; 5 grantees were first funded in FY2023 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

29
15

Total granted

$1.5M
$27k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+30%
+186%

Still filing today

45%
13%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2023, 85% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $149k went to new ones.

50%100%’20’21’22’23
RenewedFirst-time

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

’20’21’22’23
Arts & CultureEducationHealthAnimalsPhilanthropySocial ScienceOther
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

  • IZ
    Indianapolis Zoological Society Inc
    4× · 2020–2023 · $376k · revenue +143%
  • BU
    Butler University
    4× · 2020–2023 · $170k · revenue +33%
  • TC
    THE CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS INC
    2× · 2022–2023 · $121k · revenue +24%

Funded once

  • C
    CICF
    one grant, 2020 · $10k
  • Y
    YMCA
    one grant, 2020 · $3k
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2020 · $3k
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
Central Indiana Corporate Partnership Inc

Central indiana corporate partnership (cicp) is an alliance of indiana's business and research university leaders coming together to foster long-term prosperity for the region. cicp's mission is to transform the economy of indiana in order…

Community Improvement
2
University of Indianapolis

The University of Indianapolis champions lifelong learning through relevant and innovative education that fosters experiential learning, diverse perspectives, service for impact, and a global mindset.

Education
3
Indiana University Health Foundation Inc

Indiana university health foundation leverages the power of philanthropy to support the iu health goal of making indiana one of the healthiest states in the nation.

Health
4
Indiana Academy of Science

Ias advances scientific research, education, and communication and cooperation among scientists and improvement in education in the sciences.

Science & Tech
5
Indiana Symphony Society Inc

The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra inspires and unites our community through our music.

Arts & Culture
6
Indiana University Health Care Associates Inc

To deliver preeminent medical care and service to our patients and communities through outstanding and innovative medical leadership and practice, while participating in and supporting excellence in education and research. We achieve this…

Health
7
University Family Physicians Inc

Engage actively and continuously in medical research, education and training in the practice of medicine in conjunction with the department of family medicine of the indiana university school of medicine and indiana university…

—
8
Indiana University Health Frankfort Inc

Lead the transformation of healthcare through quality, innovation & education, and make Indiana one of the nation's healthiest states.

Health
9
Indiana University Health West Hospital Inc

Lead the transformation of healthcare through quality, innovation & education, and make Indiana one of the nation's healthiest states.

Health
10
Indiana University Health Bedford Inc

Lead the transformation of healthcare through quality, innovation & education, and make Indiana one of the nation's healthiest states.

Health
11
Indianapolis Symphonic Choir Inc

We bring people, communities, and cultures together through performance, the creation of new choral works, outreach, and education in indianapolis and beyond.

—
12
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
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Mind Trust Inc; the most unlike its peers is American Diabetes Association. 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

19 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. 19 of the 50 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)
1
Early backer (in before they grew)
19/19
Grantees still filing
13/19
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

MICHAEL FEINSTEIN FOUNDATION: $100,000 · OtherMICHAEL FEINSTEIN FOUNDATIONIndividual grant recipient: $76,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientCOMMUNITY HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $75,000 · OtherCOMMUNITY HOSPITAL FOUNDATIONINDIANAPOLIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: $68,978 · OtherINDIANAPOLIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRASECOND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH: $63,000 · OtherSECOND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHUNITED WAY: $55,000 · OtherUNITED WAYGEO: $40,000 · OtherGEOCIVIC THEATRE: $35,435 · OtherCIVIC THEATREJUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF INDIANAPOLIS: $23,000 · OtherCENTER FOR PERFORMING ARTS: $22,487 · Other+21 more: $85,205 · Other+21 moreIndianapolis Zoological Society Inc: $375,546 · AnimalsIndianapolis Zoological …THE CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS INC: $121,000 · Arts & CultureTHE CENTER FOR THE P…Indiana Repertory Theatre Inc: $95,000 · Arts & CultureIndiana Repertory Th…Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana Inc: $92,700 · Arts & CultureHistoric Landmarks F…+5 more: $6,100 · Arts & CultureButler University: $169,500 · EducationButler Univ…+2 more: $1,600 · EducationUNITED WAY OF CENTRAL INDIANA INC: $110,000 · PhilanthropyUNITED WA…Central Indiana Community Foundation Inc: $40,000 · PhilanthropyCentral I…ST VINCENT HOSPITAL FOUNDATION INC: $37,000 · Health+2 more: $500 · HealthAMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY RESEARCH: $10,000 · Social ScienceCenter for Interfaith Cooperation Inc: $10,000 · Religion
Other$644,105Animals$375,546Arts & Culture$314,800Education$171,100Philanthropy$150,000Health$37,500Social Science$10,000Religion$10,000

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 budgetIndianapolis Zoological Society Inc: $375,546 over 4y, 0.9% of budgetButler University: $169,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetTHE CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS INC: $121,000 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetUNITED WAY OF CENTRAL INDIANA INC: $110,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetIndiana Repertory Theatre Inc: $95,000 over 4y, 0.9% of budgetHistoric Landmarks Foundation of Indiana Inc: $92,700 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetCentral Indiana Community Foundation Inc: $40,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetST VINCENT HOSPITAL FOUNDATION INC: $37,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetAMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY RESEARCH: $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCenter for Interfaith Cooperation Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetNewfields Inc: $4,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetTHE MIND TRUST INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION: $600 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY: $600 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetINDIANA STATE MUSEUM FOUNDATION INC: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetINDIANAPOLIS CHAMBER ORCHESTRA INC: $500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetINDIANA HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMENTAL HEALTH ASSOCIATION OF MARYLAND INC: $300 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican Diabetes Association: $200 over 2y, 0.0% 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 Indianapolis Zoological Society Inc ↗
  • Who funds Butler University ↗
  • Who funds THE CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS INC ↗
  • Who funds UNITED WAY OF CENTRAL INDIANA INC ↗
  • Who funds Indiana Repertory Theatre Inc ↗
  • Who funds Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana Inc ↗
  • Who funds Central Indiana Community Foundation Inc ↗
  • Who funds ST VINCENT HOSPITAL FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY RESEARCH ↗
  • Who funds Center for Interfaith Cooperation Inc ↗
  • Who funds Newfields Inc ↗
  • Who funds THE MIND TRUST INC ↗
  • Who funds SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY ↗

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.

Lilly Endowment IncChristel DeHaan Famil…Allen Whitehill Clowe…Eugene & Marilyn Glic…Nicholas H Noyes Jr M…Lumina Foundation for…The Ackerman Foundati…Dorsey Foundation IncMaurer Family Foundat…Central Indiana Commu…The R B Annis Educati…White Oak Foundation …
Lilly Endowment IncIN25× affinity10 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Lilly Endowment Inc · Christel DeHaan Family Foundation Inc · Allen Whitehill Clowes Charitable Foundation Inc · Eugene & Marilyn Glick Foundation · Nicholas H Noyes Jr Memorial Foundation · Lumina Foundation for Education Inc · The Ackerman Foundation · Dorsey Foundation Inc · Maurer Family Foundation Inc · Central Indiana Community Foundation Inc · The R B Annis Educational Foundation · White Oak Foundation Inc

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 Helping Fund funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Helping Fund. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%5%10%15%20%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    6report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–20%
    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 50 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 2023, released 2023. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Helping’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