Skip to content
John & Polly Sparks Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

John & Polly Sparks Foundation

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.

$3.1M
Granted FY2025still arriving
64
Grants FY2025still arriving
9
States reached
$500k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0185% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2018 to 2024.

Housing & Shelter$6.9MHealth$4.3MEducation$841kHuman Services$755kReligion$645kFood & Nutrition$310kInternational$260kYouth Development$245kOther$0
02FY2025 · 64 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • $10k–50k53 grants · $956k
  • $50k–250k7 grants · $745k
  • $250k+4 grants · $1.4M
$20,000
Median grant
9
States reached
$75M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CHILDRENS' HEALTHCARE OF ATLANTA$500,000
EMORY UNIVERSITY$387,302
CHRISTIAN CITY INC$300,000
GRADY HEALTH FOUNDATION$250,000
NARSAD BRAIN & BEHAVIOR RESEARCH FDN$225,000
THE MOREHOUSE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE$200,000
FAMILIES 4 FAMILIES$85,000
AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL FOUNDATION$75,000
THE COMMUNITY FDN FOR GREATER ATLANTA$60,000
FIFTH AVENUE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH$50,000
247 GATEWAY LLC$50,000
YOUTH FOR CHRIST$40,000
NAMI GEORGIA INC$40,000
RESILIENT GEORGIA INC$35,000
PASSION FOR HAITI FOUNDATION INC$30,000
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 (FY18–25, $3.0M) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 96% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%STEP UP ON SECOND STREET: $930k → 14%KIDS HOUSE OF SEMINOLE INC: $20k → 11%FAMILIES 4 FAMILIES: $85k → 11%FAMILIES AND WORK INSTITUTE INC: $40k → 5%OPTIONS INC: $35k → 20%CHRISTIAN APPALACHIAN PROJECT: $30k → 24%STEP UP ON SECOND STREET: $710k → 14%FAMILIES 4 FAMILIES: $50k → 11%FAMILIES AND WORK INSTITUTE INC: $20k → 5%OPTIONS INC: $35k → 20%STEP UP ON SECOND STREET: $400k → 14%SER FAMILIA INC: $15k → 8%FIVE LOAVES & TWO FISH FOOD PANTRY: $10k → 19%OPTIONS INC: $35k → 20%STEP UP ON SECOND STREET: $50k → 14%THORNWELL HOME FOR CHILDREN: $25k → 18%SER FAMILIA INC: $10k → 8%FIVE LOAVES & TWO FISH FOOD PANTRY: $10k → 19%SOUTHEASTERN GUIDE DOGS INC: $15k → 10%SOUTHEASTERN GUIDE DOGS: $10k → 10%GEORGIA CENTER FOR CHILD ADVOCACY INC: $20k → 13%OPEN DOORS: $20k → 14%SOUTHEASTERN GUIDE DOGS: $10k → 10%GEORGIA PARENT SUPPORT NETWORK INC: $15k → 13%SOUTHEASTERN GUIDE DOGS: $10k → 10%OPEN DOORS: $10k → 14%OPEN DOORS: $10k → 14%CARINGWORKS INC: $30k → 14%CARINGWORKS INC: $25k → 14%CARINGWORKS INC: $25k → 14%CHRIS KIDS: $55k → 14%CHRIS KIDS: $50k → 14%CHRIS KIDS: $30k → 14%CHRIS 180 INC: $30k → 14%CHRIS KIDS: $25k → 14%FAITHBRIDGE FOSTER CARE INC: $20k → 13%FAITHBRIDGE FOSTER CARE INC: $20k → 13%GEORGIA WORKS: $30k → 13%GEORGIA WORKS: $30k → 13%FAMILIES FIRST INC: $20k → 13%FAMILIES FIRST INC: $10k → 13%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

NY
OH
NJ
CA
KY
MD
TN
NC
SC
DC
LA
GA
TX
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.

94%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$18M · 85 repeat orgs$1.1M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +36% since the first grant, against +7% for those funded once.

85 repeat relationships: 53 still active in FY2025, 32 since wound down; 10 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

85
32

Total granted

$18M
$730k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+36%
+7%

Still filing today

74%
44%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 89% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $350k went to new ones.

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

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

’18’19’20’22’24’25
Human ServicesHealthHousing & ShelterEducationAnimalsPhilanthropyOther
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

  • CC
    Christian City Inc
    6× · 2018–2025 · $4.0M · revenue +123%
  • SU
    STEP UP ON SECOND STREET INC
    4× · 2018–2024 · $2.1M · revenue +234%
  • TG
    THE GRADY HEALTH FOUNDATION INC
    6× · 2018–2025 · $1.7M · revenue +67%

Funded once

  • SU
    STEP UP ON SECOND STREE, INC.
    one grant, 2022 · $200k
  • TG
    THE GATEWAY CENTER INC
    one grant, 2022 · $50k · revenue +7%
  • SH
    SECOND HELPINGS ATLANTA INC
    one grant, 2024 · $30k · revenue 0%
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
90 Works Inc

Overcoming homelessness, poverty, and family violence by becoming self-sufficient

—
2
Annandale At Suwanee Inc

To perpetuate a village community to provide progressive life assistance to adults with developmental disabilities so that they can maximize their abilities and maintain their independence in the least restrictive environment.

Health
3
Kidspeace National Centers of Georgia

Kidspeace, founded in 1882, is a healthcare nonprofit that is dedicated to providing hope, help, and healing to children, adults, and those who love them.continued on schedule o.with 40 offices and facilities across seven states, this…

Human Services
4
Saint Joseph's Mercy Care Services Inc

We, saint joseph's health system and trinity health, serve together in the spirit of the gospel as a compassionate and transforming healing presence within our communities. honoring the heritage and advancing the ministry of the sisters of…

—
5
Status Home Inc F/K/a Jerusalem House Inc

The organization provides afforable, supportive housing for metro atlanta's most vulnerable, particularly those living with or impacted by hiv.

Housing & Shelter
6
The Georgia Center for Nonprofits

Our mission is to create thriving communities by helping nonprofits succeed. our work revolves around four primary areas of focus.1. we are a hub for social innovation 2. we are a capacity accelerator for organizations and their people3.…

Community Improvement
7
Georgia Court Appointed Special Advocates Inc

Georgia Court Appointed Special Advocates, Inc. (the Organization) is a nonprofit organization which strengthens and supports court-sanctioned, affiliate CASA programs that empower community volunteers who advocate for abused or neglected…

Civil Rights
8
Gateway House Inc

Through crisis intervention, comprehensive support services and community collaboration, gateway domestic violence center helps create an environment for safe, healthy, self-sufficient growth, and violence prevention.

Human Services
9
Developmental Disabilities Management Assistance Inc

Carolina hill provides safe and caring emergency shelter and supportive services to homeless families focusing efforts to achieve rapid re-housing and developing skills and resources to maintain it.

Human Services
10
Sharehouse Inc

The Organization is a non-profit organization providing crisis intervention and the continuum of care to address the causes and effects of family violence.

—
11
The Drake House Inc

To empower women and their children experiencing homelessness to achieve economic independence and long-term stability.

Housing & Shelter
12
Family Counseling Center of Central Georgia Inc

Strengthen and preserve the well-being of individuals, couples, and families through easy, affordable access to professional counseling services.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Atlanta Union Mission Corporation; the most unlike its peers is Passion for Haiti Foundation 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

83 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. 83 of the 128 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.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
16
Early backer (in before they grew)
82/83
Grantees still filing
57/83
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Christian City Inc: $4,019,172 · OtherChristian City IncCHILDRENS' HEALTHCARE OF ATLANTA: $1,020,000 · OtherCHILDRENS' HEALTHCARE OF ATLANTABBRF: $450,000 · OtherNARSAD: $395,000 · Other+69 more: $4,120,000 · Other+69 moreSTEP UP ON SECOND STREET INC: $2,090,000 · Human ServicesSTEP UP ON SECOND STR…Must Ministries Inc: $205,000 · Human ServicesMust Ministries IncCHRIS 180 INC: $190,000 · Human ServicesFAMILIES 4 FAMILIES: $135,000 · Human ServicesATLANTA UNION MISSION CORPORATION: $120,000 · Human Services+17 more: $835,000 · Human Services+17 moreEmory University: $1,088,331 · EducationEmory Univ…MOREHOUSE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: $590,000 · EducationMOREHOUSE …RICHMONT GRADUATE UNIVERSITY: $70,000 · Education+2 more: $60,000 · EducationTHE GRADY HEALTH FOUNDATION INC: $1,660,000 · PhilanthropyTHE GRADY …THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION FOR GREATER ATLANTA INC: $60,000 · Philanthropy+1 more: $10,000 · PhilanthropyHEAD STRONG PROJECT INC: $220,000 · HealthCOMMUNITY FRIENDSHIP INC: $140,000 · HealthHillside Inc: $133,000 · HealthBREAKTHROUGH T1D: $85,000 · HealthJOHNS HOPKINS BAYVIEW MEDICAL CENTER INC: $60,000 · HealthGEORGIA MENTAL HEALTH CONSUMER NETWORK INC: $50,000 · HealthRESILIENT GEORGIA INC: $50,000 · HealthATLANTA RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE CHARITIES INC: $50,000 · HealthTHE NEMOURS FOUNDATION: $40,000 · HealthTHIS MUST BE THE PLACE: $40,000 · HealthMERCY CARE FOUNDATION INC: $40,000 · HealthASCENSA HEALTH INC: $35,000 · Health+5 more: $60,000 · Health3KEYS INC: $180,000 · Housing & ShelterNicholas House Inc: $175,000 · Housing & ShelterSOLOMON'S TEMPLE FOUNDATION INC: $145,000 · Housing & ShelterTHE CITY RESCUE MISSION INC: $55,000 · Housing & ShelterRAINBOW VILLAGE INC: $30,000 · Housing & ShelterZABAN PARADIES CENTER FOR HOMELESS COUPLES INC: $25,000 · Housing & Shelter+1 more: $10,000 · Housing & ShelterAMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL FOUNDATION: $527,000 · Social Science
Other$10,004,172Human Services$3,575,000Education$1,808,331Philanthropy$1,730,000Health$1,003,000Housing & Shelter$620,000Social Science$527,000

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 budgetChristian City Inc: $4,019,172 over 6y, 19% of budgetSTEP UP ON SECOND STREET INC: $2,090,000 over 4y, 4.0% of budgetTHE GRADY HEALTH FOUNDATION INC: $1,660,000 over 6y, 3.0% of budgetEmory University: $1,088,331 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMOREHOUSE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: $590,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetAMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL FOUNDATION: $527,000 over 5y, 10% of budgetOUR HOUSE INC: $245,000 over 6y, 1.6% of budgetHEAD STRONG PROJECT INC: $220,000 over 4y, 1.0% of budgetMust Ministries Inc: $205,000 over 6y, 0.4% of budgetPASSION FOR HAITI FOUNDATION INC: $190,000 over 6y, 78% of budgetCHRIS 180 INC: $190,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetNAMI Georgia Inc: $180,000 over 6y, 3.3% of budget3KEYS INC: $180,000 over 6y, 1.7% of budgetNicholas House Inc: $175,000 over 6y, 1.6% of budgetSOLOMON'S TEMPLE FOUNDATION INC: $145,000 over 6y, 5.3% of budgetATLANTA COMMUNITY FOOD BANK INC: $140,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetCOMMUNITY FRIENDSHIP INC: $140,000 over 5y, 0.7% of budget247 GATEWAY LLC: $140,000 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetFAMILIES 4 FAMILIES: $135,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetHillside Inc: $133,000 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetMETRO ATLANTA YOUTH FOR CHRIST INC: $130,000 over 6y, 13% of budgetATLANTA UNION MISSION CORPORATION: $120,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetOPTIONS INC: $115,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetCaringWorks Inc: $110,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetSOUTHWEST CHRISTIAN HOSPICE & HOPE HOUSE INC: $90,000 over 6y, 1.4% of budgetBREAKTHROUGH T1D: $85,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICA'S VETDOGS THE VETERANS K-9 CORPS INC: $80,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetGeorgia Works Inc: $70,000 over 3y, 1.0% of budgetGEORGIA CENTER FOR CHILD ADVOCACY INC: $70,000 over 2y, 1.5% of budgetCITY OF REFUGE: $70,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetRICHMONT GRADUATE UNIVERSITY: $70,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetTHE CARTER CENTER INC: $60,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetJOHNS HOPKINS BAYVIEW MEDICAL CENTER INC: $60,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE FAMILIES AND WORK INSTITUTE INC: $60,000 over 2y, 11% of budgetTHE CITY RESCUE MISSION INC: $55,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetPENFIELD ADDICTION MINISTRIES INC: $50,000 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetAHIMSA HOUSE INC: $50,000 over 4y, 2.4% of budgetGEORGIA MENTAL HEALTH CONSUMER NETWORK INC: $50,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetRESILIENT GEORGIA INC: $50,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetTHE GATEWAY CENTER INC: $50,000 over 1y, 6.9% of budgetTHORNWELL: $50,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetSER FAMILIA: $50,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetATLANTA RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE CHARITIES INC: $50,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetSoutheastern Guide Dogs Inc: $45,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetClearwater Marine Aquarium Inc: $40,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetTHE NEMOURS FOUNDATION: $40,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHIS MUST BE THE PLACE: $40,000 over 2y, 2.7% of budgetACTION MINISTRIES INC: $40,000 over 2y, 0.3% 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 Christian City Inc ↗
  • Who funds STEP UP ON SECOND STREET INC ↗
  • Who funds THE GRADY HEALTH FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds Emory University ↗
  • Who funds MOREHOUSE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE ↗
  • Who funds AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds OUR HOUSE INC ↗
  • Who funds HEAD STRONG PROJECT INC ↗
  • Who funds Must Ministries Inc ↗
  • Who funds PASSION FOR HAITI FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds CHRIS 180 INC ↗
  • Who funds NAMI Georgia Inc ↗
  • Who funds 3KEYS INC ↗
  • Who funds Nicholas House Inc ↗
  • Who funds SOLOMON'S TEMPLE FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds ATLANTA COMMUNITY FOOD BANK INC ↗
  • Who funds COMMUNITY FRIENDSHIP INC ↗
  • Who funds 247 GATEWAY LLC ↗
  • Who funds FAMILIES 4 FAMILIES ↗
  • Who funds Hillside Inc ↗
  • Who funds METRO ATLANTA YOUTH FOR CHRIST INC ↗
  • Who funds ATLANTA UNION MISSION CORPORATION ↗
  • Who funds OPTIONS INC ↗
  • Who funds CaringWorks Inc ↗
  • Who funds SOUTHWEST CHRISTIAN HOSPICE & HOPE HOUSE INC ↗

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 Imlay Foundation …United Way of Greater…The Community Foundat…Tuw Thomas H PittsGeorgia Power Foundat…Tr Uw Charles I BrananAtl Fdn-W Peters MainBetty and Davis Fitzg…The Waterfall Foundat…Ryan Ida Alice Tuw Ma…Community Foundation …THDF II Inc DBA The H…
The Imlay Foundation IncGA53.9× affinity24 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Imlay Foundation Inc · United Way of Greater Atlanta Inc · The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta Inc · Tuw Thomas H Pitts · Georgia Power Foundation Inc · Tr Uw Charles I Branan · Atl Fdn-W Peters Main · Betty and Davis Fitzgerald Foundation Inc · The Waterfall Foundation Inc · Ryan Ida Alice Tuw Main · Community Foundation for Northeast Georgia · THDF II Inc DBA The Home Depot Foundation & Homer Fund

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 John & Polly Sparks Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from John & Polly Sparks Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%4%15%34%60%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • Kids House of Seminole Inc: 10% of income from government
  • Pace Center for Girlsinc: 2% of income from government
  • Clearwater Marine Aquarium Inc: 1% of income from government
  • The Nemours Foundation: 0% of income from government
  • Southeastern Guide Dogs Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center Inc: 0% of income from government
  • K9S for Warriors Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
2get no government money at all
18report 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 John & Polly Sparks Foundation?

Find your warmest path to John & Polly Sparks 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 128 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

Play a game based on John & Polly Sparks’ 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