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Herndon Fortnightly Club

Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$8k
Granted FY2025still arriving
6
Grants FY2025still arriving
2
States reached
$4k
Largest
01What it funds
0191% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Education$79kHuman Services$4kHealth$3kScience & Tech$1kHousing & Shelter$650Public Benefit$450Youth Development$400Community Improvement$400Other$0
02FY2025 · 6 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$2,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$268k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
VIRGINIA TECH$4,000
COLLEGE OF WILLIAM AND MARY$2,000
GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY$2,000
FRIENDS OF HERNDON FORTNIGHTLY LIBRARY$200
ALL AGES READ TOGETHER$150
ROTARY CLUB OF HERNDON-RESTON$100
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 (FY19–19, $50) land where the poverty rate runs at 6%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%CORNERSTONES: $50 → 6%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

ME
IL
MI
NY
PA
NJ
CT
CA
WV
VA
TN
NC
SC
DC
AL
GA
TX
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.

56%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$51k · 19 repeat orgs$41k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +37% since the first grant, against +13% for those funded once.

19 repeat relationships: 2 still active in FY2025, 17 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

19
47

Total granted

$51k
$38k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+37%
+13%

Still filing today

21%
30%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 71% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $2k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
EducationHealthInternationalHuman ServicesFood & NutritionAnimalsOther
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

  • UO
    University of Michigan
    2× · 2018–2020 · $2k · revenue +195%
  • WA
    Wreaths Across America
    2× · 2023–2024 · $400 · revenue +6%
  • OS
    OPERATION SMILE INC
    2× · 2018–2019 · $150 · revenue +37%

Funded once

  • GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY
    one grant, 2024 · $2k · revenue +10%
  • OO
    OFFICE OF UNIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIPS AND FINANCIAL AID
    one grant, 2018 · $2k
  • DP
    DC PUBLIC SCHOOLS
    one grant, 2022 · $2k
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
Drexel University

Drexel university fulfills its founder's vision of preparing each new generation of students for productive professional and civic lives while also focusing its collective expertise on solving society's greatest problems. drexel is an…

Education
2
Lehigh University

The university's goal in the coming decade is to advance learning through the integration of teaching, research and service to others. the core of this goal is to prepare graduates to engage with the world and lead lives of meaning. to do…

Education
3
Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania

The trustees of the university of pennsylvania (the "university") sees itself as having a public service mission. in such regard, the university aims to provide a rich and diverse educational environment for its students; to pioneer…

Education
4
University of Miami

See Form 990, Part I, Line 1, Description of Organization Mission.

Education
5
Washington University

The washington university is a co-educational, nondenominational university with a long and distinguished history of teaching, research and (cont'd on schedule o)

Education
6
University of Southern California

The central mission of the university of southern california is the development of human beings and society as a whole through the cultivation and enrichment of the human mind and spirit. the principal means by which our mission is…

Education
7
Western New England University

Western new england university, a comprehensive private institution with a tradition of excellence in teaching and scholarship and a commitment to service, awards undergraduate, master's, and doctoral degrees in various departments from…

Education
8
Wake Forest University

Wake Forest University, a 501(c)(3) institution of higher education, is dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in the liberal arts and in graduate and professional education. The organization is comprised of seven constituent parts: Wake…

Education
9
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
10
Trustees of Tufts College

Education and Research

Education
11
The Catholic University of America

As the national university of the catholic church in the united states, founded and sponsored by the bishops of the country with the approval of the holy see, the catholic university of america is committed to being a comprehensive…

Education
12
President and Fellows of Harvard College

Undergraduate, graduate, and professional education and research across a broad array of academic domains.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Georgetown University; the most unlike its peers is All Ages Read Together. 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 70 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)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
19/19
Grantees still filing
14/19
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

VIRGINIA TECH: $8,500 · OtherVIRGINIA TECHJAMES MADISON UNIVERSITY: $8,000 · OtherJAMES MADISON UNIVERSITYTHE COLLEGE OF WILLIAM AND MARY: $6,500 · OtherTHE COLLEGE OF WILLIAM AND MARYUNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: $4,500 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIANORTHERN VIRGINIA COMMUNITY COLLEGE: $4,000 · OtherGEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY: $3,500 · Other+47 more: $43,800 · Other+47 moreGEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: $2,000 · EducationGEORGETOWN UN…FRANKLIN & MARSHALL COLLEGE: $2,000 · EducationFRANKLIN & MA…New York University: $2,000 · EducationNew York Univ…DEPAUL UNIVERSITY: $1,500 · EducationDEPAUL UNIVER…UNIVERSITY OF HARTFORD: $1,500 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF…ROANOKE COLLEGE: $1,000 · EducationROANOKE COLLE…HOLLINS UNIVERSITY CORPORATION: $1,000 · EducationHOLLINS UNIVE…+1 more: $150 · EducationRush University Medical Center: $1,000 · HealthAmerican Heart Association Inc: $100 · HealthST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $90 · HealthWreaths Across America: $400 · Public BenefitOPERATION SMILE INC: $150 · InternationalMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $100 · InternationalCORNERSTONES INC: $50 · Human ServicesFOOD FOR NEIGHBORS: $50 · Food & NutritionMUTTS WITH A MISSION: $50 · Animals
Other$78,800Education$11,150Health$1,190Public Benefit$400International$250Human Services$50Food & Nutrition$50Animals$50

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 budgetGEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFRANKLIN & MARSHALL COLLEGE: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUniversity of Michigan: $2,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetNew York University: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetDEPAUL UNIVERSITY: $1,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF HARTFORD: $1,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetRush University Medical Center: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetROANOKE COLLEGE: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHOLLINS UNIVERSITY CORPORATION: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWreaths Across America: $400 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetOPERATION SMILE INC: $150 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetAll Ages Read Together: $150 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLINK INCORPORATED: $140 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican Heart Association Inc: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $90 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCORNERSTONES INC: $50 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFOOD FOR NEIGHBORS: $50 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMUTTS WITH A MISSION: $50 over 1y, 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 GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds FRANKLIN & MARSHALL COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds University of Michigan ↗
  • Who funds New York University ↗
  • Who funds DEPAUL UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds UNIVERSITY OF HARTFORD ↗
  • Who funds Rush University Medical Center ↗
  • Who funds ROANOKE COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds HOLLINS UNIVERSITY CORPORATION ↗

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 Closet of the Greater Herndon Area IncVA15.7× affinity5 shared granteesties to 5 of 5Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Closet of the Greater Herndon Area Inc · United Way of the National Capital Area · The Community Foundation for Northern Virginia Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · 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 Herndon Fortnightly Club funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Herndon Fortnightly Club. 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%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 1%
  • University of Hartford: 1% of 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
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 Herndon Fortnightly Club?

Find your warmest path to Herndon Fortnightly Club 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 70 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

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