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James E Davis & Susan Frost Davis Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

James E Davis & Susan Frost Davis Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$77k
Granted FY2024still arriving
6
Grants FY2024still arriving
5
States reached
$20k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2024.

Education$112kReligion$98kArts & Culture$40kCrime & Legal$30kPhilanthropy$21kRecreation & Sports$20kInternational$15kEnvironment$10kOther$0
02FY2024 · 6 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k2 grants · $12k
  • $10k–50k4 grants · $65k
$15,000
Median grant
5
States reached
$1.3M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
BELOIT COLLEGE GENERAL FUNDS$20,000
MEQUON THIENSVILLE COMMUNITY FOUNDA$20,000
CENTER FOR SPIRITUAL LIVING CULTRUA$15,000
COLBY'S CREW RESCUE$10,000
COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY$7,000
RWANDA STUDENT FEES PROGRAM$5,000
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 (FY20–20, $25k) land where the poverty rate runs at 17%, 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.

area typical 10%THE INNOCENCE PROJECT: $25k → 17%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

VT
MN
IL
WI
NY
MA
CO
VA
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.

30%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$105k · 4 repeat orgs$241k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +178% since the first grant, against +33% for those funded once.

4 repeat relationships: 2 still active in FY2024, 2 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

4
17

Total granted

$105k
$206k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+178%
+33%

Still filing today

25%
59%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 39% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $35k went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24
EducationHuman ServicesHealthArts & CultureInternationalCommunity 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

  • CS
    COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY
    2× · 2023–2024 · $37k
  • CF
    CENTER FOR SPIRITUAL LIVING SARASOTA
    2× · 2021–2022 · $33k
  • CF
    CENTER FOR SPIRITUAL LIVING CULTRUA
    2× · 2023–2024 · $25k

Funded once

  • SL
    SPIRITUAL LIVING OF SARASOTA
    one grant, 2020 · $40k
  • TI
    THE INNOCENCE PROJECT INCgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $25k · revenue +75%
  • SF
    SARASOTA FILM SOCIETY INC
    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
University of Miami

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

Education
2
Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

We educate the next generation of leaders to improve the health of our society.

Education
3
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
4
Marine Biological Laboratory

The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) is a world-renowned center for biological discovery and training that is notably affiliated with more than 60 Nobel Prize winners. Research is conducted by full-time faculty as well as hundreds of the…

Science & Tech
5
Trustees of Dartmouth College

Dartmouth College educates the most promising students and prepares them for a lifetime of learning and of responsible leadership, through a faculty dedicated to teaching and the creation of knowledge.

Education
6
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The mission of mit is to advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century.

Education
7
Boston Architectural College

The bac is committed to provide excellence in design education grounded in practice and accessible to diverse communities.

—
8
The Trustees of Princeton University

Research, education and general - princeton university is a private not-for-profit, non-sectarian institution of higher learning with approximately 5,700 undergraduate and 3,300 graduate students. 2,500 students graduated in the 2024-2025…

Education
9
Lewis & Clark College

Lewis & clark is a premier private higher education institution offering an exceptional education in an inclusive environment. by fostering critical thinking, innovation, creativity, civic engagement, and leadership, both inside and…

Education
10
Dickinson College

Dickinson college provides a useful, innovative and interdisciplinary education in the liberal arts and sciences to prepare students to lead rich and fulfilling lives of engaged global citizenship

Education
11
Albright College

As a diverse community of learners, we cultivate integrity, curiosity, connection and resilience.

Education
12
Council of Independent Colleges

The council of independent colleges is an association of nonprofit independent colleges and universities, state- based councils of independent colleges, and other higher education affiliates, that works to support college and university…

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Carleton College; the most unlike its peers is Partners in Health a Nonprofit Corporation. 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

13 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. 13 of the 25 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)
13/13
Grantees still filing
10/13
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

SPIRITUAL LIVING OF SARASOTA: $40,000 · OtherSPIRITUAL LIVING OF SARASOTACOLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY: $37,000 · OtherCOLORADO STATE UNIVERSITYCENTER FOR SPIRITUAL LIVING SARASOTA: $33,000 · OtherCENTER FOR SPIRITUAL LIVING SARASOTACENTER FOR SPIRITUAL LIVING CULTRUA: $25,000 · OtherCENTER FOR SPIRITUAL LIVING CULTRUABELOIT COLLEGE GENERAL FUNDS: $20,000 · OtherBELOIT COLLEGE GENERAL FUNDSJEWELS ON THE BAY: $20,000 · OtherJEWELS ON THE BAYLIDO KEY RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION INC: $10,000 · OtherELIZABETH AND GEORGE FROST ENDOWED SCHOLARSHIP: $10,000 · OtherMOTE MARINE LABORATORY INC: $10,000 · OtherColby's Crew Rescue: $10,000 · Other+5 more: $17,500 · Other+5 moreBELOIT COLLEGE: $15,000 · EducationBELOIT COLL…Ready For Reading Inc: $10,000 · EducationReady For R…COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $5,000 · EducationCOLORADO ST…TEACHING PEACE INC: $5,000 · EducationTEACHING PE…CARLETON COLLEGE: $3,000 · EducationCARLETON CO…THE INNOCENCE PROJECT INC: $25,000 · Human ServicesMEQUON-THIENSVILLE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $20,000 · PhilanthropySARASOTA FILM SOCIETY INC: $20,000 · Arts & CultureThe Bay Park Conservancy Inc: $20,000 · Community ImprovementHEROIC HEARTS PROJECT INC: $10,000 · International
Other$232,500Education$38,000Human Services$25,000Philanthropy$20,000Arts & Culture$20,000Community Improvement$20,000International$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 budgetTHE INNOCENCE PROJECT INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMEQUON-THIENSVILLE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $20,000 over 1y, 6.2% of budgetSARASOTA FILM SOCIETY INC: $20,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetThe Bay Park Conservancy Inc: $20,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetBELOIT COLLEGE: $15,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHEROIC HEARTS PROJECT INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetReady For Reading Inc: $10,000 over 2y, 8.1% of budgetColby's Crew Rescue: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMOTE MARINE LABORATORY INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPARTNERS IN HEALTH A NONPROFIT CORPORATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCOLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTEACHING PEACE INC: $5,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetCARLETON COLLEGE: $3,000 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.

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.

National Philanthropi…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
National Philanthropic TrustPA8.3× affinity4 shared granteesties to 3 of 3Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: National Philanthropic Trust · 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 James E Davis & Susan Frost Davis Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from James E Davis & Susan Frost Davis Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%6%13%19%25%share of the org’s income from government →median 4%
  • Mote Marine Laboratory Inc: 4% of income from government
  • Partners in Health a Nonprofit Corporation: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
2get no government money at all
3report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–25%
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 James E Davis & Susan Frost Davis Foundation?

Find your warmest path to James E Davis & Susan Frost Davis Foundation 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 25 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 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