Skip to content
John M & Susan Morrison Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

John M & Susan Morrison 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.

$300k
Granted FY2021
1
Grants FY2021
1
States reached
$300k
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, FY2017 to 2021.

Philanthropy$8.1MEducation$1.9MHealth$301kRecreation & Sports$150kReligion$125kAnimals$45kYouth Development$15kArts & Culture$3k
02FY2021 · 1 grant

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$300,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$167k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
UNIVERSITY OF ST THOMAS$300,000
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 (FY17–17, $5k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%YOUTH FRONTIERS: $5k → 11%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.

70%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.8M · 4 repeat orgs$753k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +49% since the first grant, against +5% for those funded once.

4 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2021, 3 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

4
12

Total granted

$1.8M
$753k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+49%
+5%

Still filing today

75%
75%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2021, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21
EducationHealthHuman ServicesArts & CultureOther
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 St Thomas
    4× · 2017–2021 · $1.4M · revenue +49%
  • MH
    MINNEAPOLIS HEART INSTITUTE FOUNDATION
    2× · 2018–2019 · $280k · revenue +92%
  • OF
    ORONO FOUNDATION FOR EDUCATION
    2× · 2018–2019 · $57k · revenue -64%

Funded once

  • SC
    ST CATHERINE UNIVERSITY
    one grant, 2017 · $400k · revenue +6%
  • OH
    ORONO HOCKEY BOOSTERS INC
    one grant, 2018 · $150k · revenue -43%
  • TS
    THE SAINT PAUL SEMINARY
    one grant, 2017 · $100k
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 Minnesota Foundation Investment Advisors

To provide the highest level of stewardship for university donors through professional management and oversight of the university of minnesota foundation's assets by creating a focused investment environment with clarity of purpose,…

Education
2
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
3
Sarnoff Cardiovascular Research Foundation Inc

The sarnoff cardiovascular research foundation is dedicated to cultivating the next generation of physician-leaders in cardiovascular medicine by funding and supporting medical students and physicians engaged in transformative research.

Health
4
University of South Florida Foundation Inc

University of South Florida Foundation, Inc.'s mission is to provide charitable and educational aid to the University of South Florida; to promote education and other related activities of the University; and to encourage research,…

Education
5
St Mary's University

St. marys university, as a catholic marianist university, fosters the formation of people in faith and educates leaders for the common good through community, integrated liberal arts and professional education, and academic excellence.

—
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
University of the Sciences in Philadelphia

University of the sciences prepares students to become leaders, innovators, and skilled practitioners in the sciences, the health professions, and related disciplines. we deliver excellence in teaching, research, and service through a safe…

—
8
St Olaf College

St. olaf college challenges students to excel in the liberal arts, examine faith and values, and explore meaningful vocation in an inclusive, globally engaged community nourished by lutheran tradition.

Education
9
St Francis College

St. francis college is an independent, coeducational institution of higher education chartered by an act of the regents of the university of the state of new york on april 10, 1957.

Education
10
Minnesota Council on Foundations

MCF is a vibrant philanthropic community connecting, strengthening and mobilizing the power of philanthropy to advance prosperity and equity.

—
11
The University of Toledo Foundation

The mission of the university of toledo foundation is to secure the future for the university of toledo, through prudent asset management and philanthropy. we build strong linkages between alumni and the university, fostering a spirit of…

Education
12
Saint Xavier University

Saint xavier university, a catholic institution inspired by the heritage of the sisters of mercy, educates persons to search for truth, think critically, communicate effectively and serve wisely and compassionately in support of human…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is University of Minnesota Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Community of Recovering People. 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 17 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)
13/13
Grantees still filing
8/13
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

COLLIER COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $8,132,272 · OtherCOLLIER COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC+6 more: $347,479 · OtherUniversity of St Thomas: $1,418,581 · EducationUniversity of St Th…ST CATHERINE UNIVERSITY: $400,000 · EducationST CATHERINE UNIVER…+2 more: $58,000 · EducationMINNEAPOLIS HEART INSTITUTE FOUNDATION: $280,000 · Health+3 more: $21,000 · HealthYOUTH FRONTIERS INC: $5,000 · Human ServicesCAROLYN GLASOE BAILEY FOUNDATION INC: $3,000 · Arts & Culture
Other$8,479,751Education$1,876,581Health$301,000Human Services$5,000Arts & Culture$3,000

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 budgetCOLLIER COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $8,132,272 over 1y, 17% of budgetUniversity of St Thomas: $1,418,581 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetST CATHERINE UNIVERSITY: $400,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetMINNEAPOLIS HEART INSTITUTE FOUNDATION: $280,000 over 2y, 1.7% of budgetORONO HOCKEY BOOSTERS INC: $150,000 over 1y, 8.5% of budgetORONO FOUNDATION FOR EDUCATION: $57,000 over 2y, 3.5% of budgetSAINT ANN SCHOOL FOUNDATION INC: $18,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetANGEL FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetCommunity of Recovering People: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetYOUTH FRONTIERS INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetPIETROS FIGHT INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA FOUNDATION: $1,000 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.

Collier Community Fou…American Gift FundThe Minneapolis Found…National Philanthropi…Vanguard Charitable E…American Endowment Fo…Natl Christian Charit…Morgan Stanley Global…The Bank of America C…Donor Advised Charita…American Online Givin…Fidelity Investments …
Collier Community Foundation IncFL13.4× affinity4 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Collier Community Foundation Inc · American Gift Fund · The Minneapolis Foundation · National Philanthropic Trust · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · American Endowment Foundation · Natl Christian Charitable Fdn Inc · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift 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 M & Susan Morrison Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from John M & Susan Morrison Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%5%11%20%funder's share of their income ↑0%3%5%8%10%share of the org’s 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 · 0–10%
    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 M & Susan Morrison Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to John M & Susan Morrison 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 17 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 2021, released 2021. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2025) is on record and reports no grant expense, so the figures above are from FY2021, the most recent year this funder made grants.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on John M & Susan Morrison’s 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