· Private foundation
James and Cleo Hamilton Family Charitable Trust
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.
What it funded, over time
Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2025.
Where the money goes
Grants by size, and the largest recipients.
| Recipient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Davis County Historical Society | $3,000 |
| Brilliant Detroit | $3,000 |
| Davis County Dollars for Scholars | $2,500 |
| Detroit Institute of Arts | $2,000 |
| Grinnell College | $1,846 |
| Metropolitan United Methodist | $1,700 |
| Forgotten Harvest | $1,000 |
| Westside Culturall and Athletic Clu | $1,000 |
| Gleaners | $1,000 |
| Ruth Ellis Center | $550 |
| Childrens Center | $550 |
| Clark Park Coalition | $550 |
| Living Arts | $500 |
| Cass Community Social Services | $500 |
| Planned Parenthood | $500 |
Does the money reach high-need areas?
Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.
Its human-services grants (FY20–25, $3k) land where the poverty rate runs at 21%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.
How this is measured
Which US states its grants reach
How this is measured
Who it funds again
Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.
Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +47% since the first grant, against -5% for those funded once.
61 repeat relationships: 41 still active in FY2025, 20 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).
How the two cohorts compare
Organizations
Total granted
Median revenue growth · since first grant
Still filing today
New vs renewed · share of each year
In FY2025, 98% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $420 went to new ones.
Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant
How this is measured
Backed again, and grew
THE DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS6× · 2020–2025 · $12k · revenue +14%
FORGOTTEN HARVEST INC6× · 2020–2025 · $9k · revenue +2%
BRILLIANT DETROIT4× · 2022–2025 · $9k · revenue +16%
Funded once
- MMMetropolitan Methodist Churchone grant, 2020 · $2k
- EGEden Gardens Community Aaaociationone grant, 2022 · $538
- DRDetroit Rescue Mission Ministriesone grant, 2021 · $200 · revenue -5%
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.
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.
Informing and educating the public and decision makers about environmental issues.
Inspire awareness, appreciation and passion for michigan's history and stories, culture and environment through the arts.
Promotion of activities to spur economic growth and revitalization in the city of detroit
The organization was founded by a group of concerned citizens, working in cooperation with the detroit city council, to shape food policy and to work for a more localized, more just, and environmentally friendly food system. the…
The organization is known as the leader in the movement and is seen as the "go to" experts on environmental justice and sustainable redevelopment because of its knowledge and its network.
The mission of the Detroit Zoological Society (DZS) is to create meaningful connections between people, animals and the natural world so all can thrive. The vision of the DZS is to be a force for positive change in a world where animals…
To create life-enriching experiences that build meaningful relations, foster personal and professional growth, and celebrate culture in the heart of detroit.
The chamber is the voice for business and works to power the economy for southeast michigan through public policy, advocacy and leading regional economic development and talent initiatives.
Endeavor Detroit is leading the high-impact entrepreneurship movement in Michigan and the wider Great Lakes region, catalyzing long-term economic growth by selecting, mentoring, and supporting the best high-impact entrepreneurs in the…
To strategically solve problems through collaboratives with City of Detroit Departments, nonprofit organizations and local grant makers in order to secure the maximum federal, state, and national foundation dollars for the city Detroit.
To improve and save lives through compassionate care, community engagement and advocacy for animals.
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.…
How this is measured
36 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. 36 of the 82 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.
Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee
Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing
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 THE DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS ↗
- Who funds FORGOTTEN HARVEST INC ↗
- Who funds GLEANERS COMMUNITY FOOD BANK OF SOUTHEASTERN MICHIGAN ↗
- Who funds BRILLIANT DETROIT ↗
- Who funds Living Arts ↗
- Who funds CASS COMMUNITY SOCIAL SERVICES INC ↗
- Who funds RUTH ELLIS CENTER ↗
- Who funds CLARK PARK COALITION ↗
- Who funds DOWNTOWN BOXING GYM YOUTH PROGRAM ↗
- Who funds SOUTHWEST SOLUTIONS INC ↗
- Who funds Preservation Detroit ↗
- Who funds POPE FRANCIS CENTER ↗
- Who funds THE GREENING OF DETROIT ↗
- Who funds THE HEAT AND WARMTH FUND ↗
- Who funds BLOOMFIELD MAIN STREET INC ↗
- Who funds FREEDOM HOUSE DETROIT ↗
- Who funds DETROIT PUBLIC THEATRE ↗
- Who funds DETROIT PUBLIC MEDIA ↗
- Who funds MICHIGAN HISTORIC PRESERVATION NETWORK ↗
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.
Open a dossier: DTE Energy Foundation · Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan · The Kresge Foundation · Ford Philanthropy · United Way for Southeastern Michigan · The Skillman Foundation · United Jewish Foundation · Flagstar Foundation Inc · WK Kellogg Foundation · Charles Stewart Mott Foundation · Marjorie and Maxwell Jospey Foundation · McGregor Fund
How this is measured
How much its grantees rely on government
Each dot is one organization James and Cleo Hamilton Family Charitable Trust funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from James and Cleo Hamilton Family Charitable Trust. Bigger dots raise more.
How this is measured
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