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James K Adams & Arlene L Adams Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

James K Adams & Arlene L Adams Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$157k
Granted FY2024still arriving
16
Grants FY2024still arriving
6
States reached
$25k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Education$1.1MReligion$20k
02FY2024 · 16 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k10 grants · $69k
  • $10k–50k6 grants · $88k
$8,000
Median grant
6
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
MESSIAH UNIVERSITY$25,000
PENN STATE UNIVERSITY$17,000
WEST CHESTER UNIVERSITY$16,000
LANCASTER BIBLE COLLEGE$10,000
MARANATHA BAPTIST UNIVERSITY$10,000
GENEVA COLLEGE$10,000
MILLERSVILLE UNIVERSITY$8,000
UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE$8,000
BOB JONES UNIVERSITY$8,000
BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY$8,000
UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH$8,000
HACC$7,500
LIBERTY UNIVERSITY$6,000
REGENT UNIVERSITY$5,000
SAINT VINCENT COLLEGE$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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 24% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE: $8k → 10%WEST CHESTER UNIVERSITY: $16k → 6%STUDENTS RECEIVED LOANS: $113k → 8%LANCASTER BIBLE COLLEGE: $10k → 9%SAINT VINCENT COLLEGE: $5k → 10%GENEVA COLLEGE: $10k → 10%UPMC SHADYSIDE SCHOOL OF NURSING: $3k → 11%CEDAR CREST COLLEGE: $10k → 11%BUCKNELL UNIVERSITY: $10k → 11%HACC: $8k → 12%BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY: $8k → 14%PENN STATE UNIVERSITY: $17k → 16%BOB JONES UNIVERSITY: $11k → 10%GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: $5k → 14%MARANATHA BAPTIST UNIVERSITY: $10k → 8%REGENT UNIVERSITY: $5k → 10%SOUTHERN VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY: $10k → 12%LIBERTY UNIVERSITY: $6k → 20%UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE: $8k → 10%WEST CHESTER UNIVERSITY: $6k → 6%MESSIAH UNIVERSITY: $25k → 8%LANCASTER BIBLE COLLEGE: $10k → 9%SAINT VINCENT COLLEGE: $5k → 10%GENEVA COLLEGE: $5k → 10%UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH: $8k → 11%HACC: $8k → 12%BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY: $8k → 14%PENN STATE UNIVERSITY: $12k → 16%BOB JONES UNIVERSITY: $8k → 10%GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: $5k → 14%MARANATHA BAPTIST UNIVERSITY: $10k → 8%REGENT UNIVERSITY: $5k → 10%LIBERTY UNIVERSITY: $5k → 20%EASTERN UNIVERSITY: $5k → 6%MESSIAH UNIVERSITY: $17k → 8%MILLERSVILLE UNIVERSITY: $8k → 9%UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH: $5k → 11%FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE EDUCATION: $172k → 8%MILLERSVILLE UNIVERSITY: $8k → 9%FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE EDUCATION: $136k → 8%FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE EDUCATION: $122k → 8%FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE EDUCATION: $102k → 8%FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE EDUCATION: $99k → 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.
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.

85%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$915k · 17 repeat orgs$159k to everyone else

17 repeat relationships: 16 still active in FY2024, 1 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

17
7

Total granted

$915k
$159k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+14%
+17%

Still filing today

59%
57%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

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

  • MU
    MESSIAH UNIVERSITY
    2× · 2023–2024 · $42k · revenue +8%
  • MB
    MARANATHA BAPTIST UNIVERSITY INC
    2× · 2023–2024 · $20k · revenue +9%
  • LB
    LANCASTER BIBLE COLLEGE
    2× · 2023–2024 · $20k · revenue +4%

Funded once

  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2017 · $113k
  • Bucknell University
    one grant, 2023 · $10k · revenue +12%
  • SV
    SOUTHERN VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY
    one grant, 2023 · $10k · revenue +17%
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
Delaware Valley University

See schedule o.we are inspired by the ideals of our founder who, in 1896, emphasized respect for all people and ideas, who honored knowledge with practice, progress and the common good. our historical commitment to experiential learning…

—
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
Wilson College

Wilson college empowers students to be confident and critical thinkers, creative visionaries, effective communicators, honorable leaders, and agents of justice.

Education
4
Evangel University

Evangel is a comprehensive christian university that is committed to excellence in educating and equipping students to become spirit empowered servants of god who will impact the church and society globally.

Education
5
Union University

Union university provides christ-centered education that promotes excellence and character development in service to church and society.

Education
6
Benedictine University

Benedictine University is an inclusive academic community dedicated to teaching and learning, scholarship and service, truth and justice, as inspired by the Catholic intellectual tradition, the social teaching of the Church, and the…

Education
7
Trinity University

Trinity university is an independent co-educational university whose mission is excellence in the interrelated areas of teaching, research and services.

Education
8
Union College

Union college is a seventh-day adventist community of higher education, inspired by jesus christ, and dedicated to empowering students to learn, serve, and lead.

Education
9
Gettysburg College

Gettysburg college is a residential, undergraduate college of the liberal arts and sciences.

Education
10
University of New Haven

The University of New Haven is a student-centered comprehensive university with an emphasis on excellence in liberal arts and professional education. Our mission is to prepare our students to lead purposeful and fulfilling lives in a…

Education
11
Point Park University

Provides innovative education in a dynamic urban setting. dedicated to academic excellence and community engagement,we prepare students of diverse backgrounds with the knowledge, skill,and experience to lead meaningful lives as informed…

—
12
Capital University

Capital university transforms lives by empowering an inclusive community of learners through engaging academic, co-curricular, and professional experiences.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Georgetown University; the most unlike its peers is Maranatha Baptist University 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

14 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. 14 of the 24 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)
0
Early backer (in before they grew)
14/14
Grantees still filing
13/14
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Individual grant recipient: $630,050 · OtherIndividual grant recipientIndividual grant recipient: $113,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient+11 more: $174,000 · Other+11 moreMESSIAH UNIVERSITY: $42,000 · EducationMESSIAH UNIVERSI…LANCASTER BIBLE COLLEGE: $20,000 · EducationLANCASTER BIBLE …GENEVA COLLEGE: $15,000 · EducationGENEVA COLLEGEUNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH: $13,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF PI…LIBERTY UNIVERSITY INC: $11,000 · EducationLIBERTY UNIVERSI…SAINT VINCENT COLLEGE: $10,000 · EducationSAINT VINCENT CO…Bucknell University: $10,000 · EducationBucknell Univers…SOUTHERN VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY: $10,000 · EducationSOUTHERN VIRGINI…GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: $10,000 · EducationGEORGETOWN UNIVE…CEDAR CREST COLLEGE: $10,000 · EducationCEDAR CREST COLL…+1 more: $5,000 · Education
Other$917,050Education$156,000

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetMESSIAH UNIVERSITY: $42,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMARANATHA BAPTIST UNIVERSITY INC: $20,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetLANCASTER BIBLE COLLEGE: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE: $16,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetGENEVA COLLEGE: $15,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH: $13,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetLIBERTY UNIVERSITY INC: $11,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSAINT VINCENT COLLEGE: $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBucknell University: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSOUTHERN VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetREGENT UNIVERSITY: $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCEDAR CREST COLLEGE: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetEASTERN UNIVERSITY: $5,000 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.

  • Who funds MESSIAH UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds MARANATHA BAPTIST UNIVERSITY INC ↗
  • Who funds LANCASTER BIBLE COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE ↗
  • Who funds GENEVA COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH ↗
  • Who funds LIBERTY UNIVERSITY INC ↗
  • Who funds SAINT VINCENT COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds Bucknell University ↗
  • Who funds SOUTHERN VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds REGENT UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds CEDAR CREST COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds EASTERN UNIVERSITY ↗

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.

Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Donor Advised Charitable Giving IncCO6.8× affinity5 shared granteesties to 2 of 2Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: 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 K Adams & Arlene L Adams Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from James K Adams & Arlene L Adams Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2025
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%8%15%22%30%share of the org’s income from government →median 25%
  • University of Delaware: 25% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
1report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–30%
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 24 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

Play a game based on James K Adams & Arlene L Adams’ 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