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North Carolina · Private foundation

John William Pope Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$15M
Granted FY2025(still arriving)
259
Grants FY2025
170
Organizations funded FY2024
11%
First-time grantees FY2024
Read the full brief
Median grant, FY2025
$25,000
Largest grant, FY2025
$500,000
Organizations funded a year
125 to 200
FY2019 to FY2024
States reached, FY2025
19
Total assets, FY2025
$121M
Applications
Takes unsolicited applications
Per its most recent filing; check its own site

How open it is to new grantees

In FY2024, 11% of the organizations John William Pope Foundation funded were first-time grantees, receiving 15% of its grant dollars.

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 85% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $2.2M 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 ServicesArts & CultureHealthCivil RightsYouth DevelopmentOther
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.
The numbers by year
Fiscal yearOrganizations fundedTo those organizationsFirst-time grantees
FY2025still arriving194$15M20%
FY2024170$15M11%
FY2023200$16M18%
FY2022183$14M28%
FY2021158$12M30%
FY2020148$11M39%
FY2019125$5.8Mn/a
99% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Public Benefit$35MEducation$22MSocial Science$9.4MHealth$5.7MCivil Rights$5.6MArts & Culture$5.0MHuman Services$3.6MCrime & Legal$3.3MOther$0

Where its grants go

Grant dollars by states, across the years we hold.

Which US states its grants reach

VT
MT
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
NV
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CA
UT
CO
MO
KY
WV
VA
DE
AZ
KS
NC
SC
DC
GA
TX
FL

Top grantees

Largest recipients by total granted, FY2019 to FY2025, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.

Show all 258 grantees
All grantees of John William Pope Foundation by total granted
GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
The John Locke Foundation Inc$22,827,723782%
Asheville School Inc$3,827,50072%
Unc Health Foundation Inc$3,559,99961%
Institute for Humane Studies$3,050,00072%
Civitas Institute Inc$2,371,500371%
The James G Martin Center for Academic Renewal$2,083,274589%
Mercatus Center Inc$1,440,00061%
State Policy Network$1,050,00061%
The Fund for American Studies$1,010,00071%
Economic Policy Innovation Center Inc$1,000,000219%
University of North Carolina at Chapel H Arts & Sciences Foundation$1,000,00022%
American Redistricting Project$950,00058%
Ravenscroft School$900,00070%
The Raleigh Rescue Mission Inc$880,00072%
North Carolina Institute for Constitutional Law$812,000351%
The Educational Foundation Inc$800,00060%
Competitive Enterprise Institute$760,00072%
Advancing American Freedom Foundation Inc$750,000321%
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill$750,0001n/a
The Reason Foundation$720,00061%
North Carolina Family Policy Council$690,000520%
The Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity$640,00047%
Manhattan Institute for Policy Research Inc$615,00071%
National Review Institute$595,00062%
Duke University$518,00030%
Franklin News Foundation$515,00053%
North Carolina Zoological Society Inc$500,00013%
Virginia Episcopal School$475,0007n/a
Public Interest Legal Foundation$470,00073%
Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation Inc$453,27953%
The Philanthropy Roundtable$425,00061%
The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies$400,00070%
The Jesse Helms Center Foundation$375,00077%
Institute for Justice$375,00070%
Positive Childhood Alliance North Carolina$365,00063%
Parents for Educational Freedom in NC$365,00076%
Carolina Ballet Inc$350,00062%
Lucy Burns Institute Inc$340,50061%
Secu Family House at Unc Hospitals$331,50074%
Hospice of Wake County Inc$330,00070%
The Institute for Family Studies$310,00039%
Capital Research Center$310,00071%
The Independent Institute$300,00073%
New Vocations Racehorse Adoption$295,00062%
Cato Institute$295,00070%
American Institute for Economic Research$290,00052%
The Vandenberg Coalition Inc$275,00037%
Institute for Free Speech$270,00062%
National Taxpayers Union Foundation$270,00065%
Tax Foundation$265,00061%
Embassy Cultural Center Foundation Inc$245,00078%
The Green Chair Project$245,00072%
North Carolina Symphony Society Inc$240,00060%
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research$235,00060%
North Carolina Center on Actual Innocence$235,00078%
The Heritage Foundation$230,00050%
Alliance Medical Ministry Inc$222,00062%
Foundation for Government Accountability Inc$220,00070%
Stepup Ministry$220,00072%
Raleigh Little Theatre Inc$215,000711%
Real Clear Foundation$215,00061%
Henderson Young Men's Christian Association Inc$211,00053%
New Civil Liberties Alliance$210,00051%
Food Bank of Central & Eastern Nc Inc$205,00070%
The Institute of Political Leadership$200,000448%
Archbridge Institute$200,00065%
Belmont Abbey College Inc$195,00050%
Young America's Foundation$195,00060%
Safechild$194,00071%
College of Charleston Foundation$190,93560%
Triangle Residential Options for Substance Abusers Inc$175,00070%
North Carolina State University Foundation Inc$173,25030%
Charlotte Museum of History$170,000112%
The Philadelphia Society$170,000411%
American Legislative Exchange Council$160,00070%
The Daniel Center for Math & Science Inc$160,000710%
North Carolina Master Chorale$155,000521%
Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression Inc$150,00030%
Jonathan Project Inc$150,0002n/a
The Masonic Home for Children at Oxford Inc$150,00060%
Independent Women's Forum$150,00060%
Raleigh Fine Arts Society Inc$145,000511%
North Carolina Opera$145,00043%
Safe Families for Children Alliance$142,00070%
Habitat for Humanity of Wake County Inc$140,00060%
Georgia Center for Opportunity Inc$140,00031%
Community Music School Inc$132,50079%
Arise Collective Inc$130,00059%
Institute for Energy Research$130,00052%
Fellowship Home of Raleigh$130,00077%
Litigators for Liberty Network$130,00064%
Raleigh Charter High School Inc$125,00041%
Tholos Foundation$125,00052%
Foundation for Economic Education Inc$125,00051%
New America Corporation$124,961111%
Preserving Home Inc$120,00061%
Turning Point Community Development Corporation$120,00048%
West Virginia University Foundation Inc$120,00020%
Winston-Salem State University Foundation Inc$120,00030%
North Carolina Business Leaders for Educ$120,00044%
Classical Liberals in the Carolinas$115,029523%
Samaritan's Purse$115,00020%
Dress for Success Triangle Nc$115,00062%
Safelight Inc$108,00013%
North Carolina Museum of Art Foundation$105,00040%
Acts of Vance County Inc$105,0007n/a
University of Mount Olive Inc$100,00010%
The Hill Center Inc$100,00021%
Community Housing Coalition of Madison County Inc$100,000216%
Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Raleigh Inc$100,0004n/a
North Carolinians for Redistricting Reform$100,0002n/a
Community Partners of Hope Inc$100,000215%
Hart Square Foundation Inc$100,000110%
Property and Environment Research Center$100,00071%
Foundation for American Innovation$100,00031%
People United for Privacy$100,00044%
Loaves and Fishes Ministry Inc$96,000512%
Center for Equal Opportunity$95,00066%
Pacific Research Institute For Public Policy$95,00070%
Iron Light Labs$95,000110%
Lucy Daniels Center for Early Childhood$92,75014%
Camp Corral$90,00061%
The North Carolina Theatre$90,00022%
Young Voices$90,00061%
Center for Individual Rights$90,00022%
Coweta Samaritan Clinic Inc$87,00070%
Neighbor to Neighbor Ministries$85,00041%
Speech First Inc$85,00031%
Western Carolina University Foundation$82,00031%
Reality Ministries Inc$80,00071%
Mackinac Center$80,00020%
Artsplosure the Raleigh Arts Festival$77,50062%
Hope Reins$76,50061%
Liberty Justice Center$75,00031%
Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty$75,00060%
Campbell University$75,00020%
Clemson University Foundation$75,00010%
Note in the Pocket Inc$75,00051%
Jobs for Life Inc$70,00068%
The Methodist Home for Children Inc$70,00030%
America's Future Foundation$69,08871%
The Corral Riding Academy$68,00051%
Thomas B Fordham Institute$65,00016%
Downtown Enfield Restoration & Preservation Committee$64,3191n/a
Wingate University$62,00050%
Triangle Youth Music Inc$60,50053%
Life Line Outreach Inc$60,00057%
The Buckeye Institute$60,00022%
The Historic Preservation Foundation of North Carolina Inc$60,00061%
Free to Choose Network Inc$60,00040%
The Young Men's Christian Association of the Triangle Area Inc (4598)$60,00070%
Phoenix Multisport Inc$60,00020%
The Conservative Coalition for Climate Solutions$60,00013%
Thoroughbred Charities of America Inc$60,00061%
Artspace Inc$60,00028%
Sunrise Preservation Group Inc$59,50016%
Tammy Lynn Memorial Foundation Inc$55,00031%
Wake Forest University Foundation$55,000245%
Paragon Health Institute$55,00031%
Pacific Legal Foundation$55,00060%
50can Inc$55,00030%
Student Free Press Association$55,00033%
Falcon Childrens Home of the Pentecostal Holiness Church Inc$51,2171n/a
State Financial Officers Foundation Inc$50,00021%
Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation Inc$50,00021%
American Battlefield Trust$50,00010%
Joel Fund$50,00054%
The Center for Education Reform$50,00022%
Freedomworks Inc$50,00011%
Hope Renovations Spencer$47,90013%
The Center for the Study of Technology and Society$45,00033%
Defense of Freedom Institute for Policy Studies Inc$45,00021%
Perry Memorial Library Inc$45,00032%
Surry Arts Council$45,00012%
Dorothea Dix Park Conservancy$45,00050%
The Carying Place Inc$45,00032%
Edmonds Tennis and Education Founda$41,000340%
Kidznotes Inc$40,00042%
Hope of Winston Salem Inc$40,00014%
Elizabeth Vann Moore Foundation$37,500111%
Hubzone Technology Initiative Inc$37,00032%
Gha Autism Supports$35,37710%
National Taxpayers Union$35,00011%
Myfuturencinc$35,00021%
American Council of Trustees and Alumni$35,00030%
Historical Foundation of Hillsborough and Orange County$33,000122%
Performance Edge Inc$32,500511%
Raleigh Camerata$31,500613%
Intercollegiate Studies Institute Inc$31,00040%
Chowan Arts Council Inc$30,000118%
Oak City Cares Inc$30,00031%
Reformers Academy$30,0001n/a
Concordia University Inc$30,00020%
Ava Gardner Museum Inc$30,000117%
Scottish Cultural Outreach Foundation$30,000236%
Triangle Special Hockey Association$30,00058%
Purple Heart Homes Inc$27,87310%
Shepherd Youth Ranch Inc$25,00024%
Made4me$25,00035%
Madison County Arts Council$25,00014%
Carolinas Academic Leadership Network Inc$25,000123%
Center for Urban Renewal & Education$25,00030%
Haven House Inc$25,00010%
The Jack Miller Center for Teaching America's Founding Principles And$25,00010%
Libertas Network$25,00030%
Tahoe Fund$25,00050%
Children's Home Society of North Carolina Inc$25,00020%
Wake Forest University$25,00010%
Dementia Alliance of North Carolina Inc$25,00021%
Make-A-Wish Foundation of Eastern North Carolina$22,50010%
Safe Haven for Cats$22,00040%
Parkway Playhouse of Burnsville$20,2001n/a
Southern Sun Farm Sanctuary Inc$20,000110%
Autism Society of North Carolina Inc$20,00040%
Urban Ministries of Wake County Inc$20,00030%
May 20th Society$20,0001n/a
Nevada Policy Research Institute$20,00021%
Teneo Inc$20,0002n/a
Rebuilding Hope Inc$20,00019%
Baptist Children's Homes of North Carolina Incorporated$20,0001n/a
Family Room Foster Care Resource Center$20,00013%
Tammy Lynn Center Inc$20,0001n/a
Cristo Rey Research Triangle High School Inc$20,00020%
South Carolina Policy Council Education Foundation$18,00012%
Life Experiences Inc$15,00032%
Vance County Historical Society Inc$15,0001n/a
Diaper Train$15,00013%
Shepherd's Table Soup Kitchen Inc$15,00031%
Student Press Law Center$15,00011%
Macon County Care Network$12,37513%
Henderson Collegiate Inc$12,00010%
Carolina Liberty Foundation$11,0002n/a
Neuse Christian Academy Inc$10,0002n/a
Stable Recovery Inc$10,0001n/a
Girl Scouts - North Carolina Coastal Pines Inc$10,00020%
Center for Clean Air Policy$10,00011%
Boys & Girls Homes of Nc Inc$10,00010%
Junior Achievement of Central Carolinas Inc$10,00011%
Boys and Girls Clubs of N Cent Nc$10,00010%
Food Bank of the Albemarle$10,00010%
Mission Triangle Inc$10,00011%
Network of Enlightened Women Inc$10,00011%
Horses N Heroes of Marion County Inc$10,00015%
Backstretch Employee Service Team of New York Inc$10,00020%
Nourish Up$10,00010%
The Heartland Institute$10,00010%
Casa$10,00010%
Pennsylvania Institute of Technology$5,00010%
The Alice Aycock Poe Center for Health Education$5,00010%
Old North State Council Inc$5,00010%
Communities in Schools of Wake County$5,00011%
Saint Marys School$5,00010%
The Family Violence Prevention Center Inc$5,00010%
Charitable Allies Inc$5,00010%
The Joe Martin ALS Foundation$5,00011%
Helping Horse Inc$5,00013%
Dig In Yancey Community Garden$3,00011%
Asheville-Buncombe Community Christian Ministry Inc$2,5001n/a

What it could do for these grantees

Plus 116 recipients with no EIN on record ($11M), not named here.

Where it is load-bearing

John William Pope Foundation supplied at least a quarter of the budget for 8 of its grantees at some point. The chart plots its 200 largest grantees; load-bearing ones sit top left.

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetThe John Locke Foundation Inc: $22,827,723 over 7y, 82% of budgetAsheville School Inc: $3,827,500 over 7y, 2.4% of budgetUnc Health Foundation Inc: $3,559,999 over 6y, 1.1% of budgetInstitute for Humane Studies: $3,050,000 over 7y, 2.5% of budgetCivitas Institute Inc: $2,371,500 over 3y, 71% of budgetThe James G Martin Center for Academic Renewal: $2,083,274 over 5y, 89% of budgetMercatus Center Inc: $1,440,000 over 6y, 0.9% of budgetState Policy Network: $1,050,000 over 6y, 1.3% of budgetThe Fund for American Studies: $1,010,000 over 7y, 1.5% of budgetEconomic Policy Innovation Center Inc: $1,000,000 over 2y, 19% of budgetUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel H Arts & Sciences Foundation: $1,000,000 over 2y, 2.0% of budgetAmerican Redistricting Project: $950,000 over 5y, 8.1% of budgetRavenscroft School: $900,000 over 7y, 0.5% of budgetThe Raleigh Rescue Mission Inc: $880,000 over 7y, 1.6% of budgetNorth Carolina Institute for Constitutional Law: $812,000 over 3y, 51% of budgetThe Educational Foundation Inc: $800,000 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetCompetitive Enterprise Institute: $760,000 over 7y, 2.5% of budgetAdvancing American Freedom Foundation Inc: $750,000 over 3y, 21% of budgetThe Reason Foundation: $720,000 over 6y, 1.2% of budgetNorth Carolina Family Policy Council: $690,000 over 5y, 20% of budgetThe Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity: $640,000 over 4y, 6.8% of budgetManhattan Institute for Policy Research Inc: $615,000 over 7y, 0.6% of budgetNational Review Institute: $595,000 over 6y, 1.8% of budgetDuke University: $518,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetFranklin News Foundation: $515,000 over 5y, 2.6% of budgetNorth Carolina Zoological Society Inc: $500,000 over 1y, 3.2% of budgetPublic Interest Legal Foundation: $470,000 over 7y, 3.2% of budgetGrayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation Inc: $453,279 over 5y, 3.3% of budgetThe Philanthropy Roundtable: $425,000 over 6y, 0.7% of budgetThe Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies: $400,000 over 7y, 0.4% of budgetThe Jesse Helms Center Foundation: $375,000 over 7y, 7.2% of budgetInstitute for Justice: $375,000 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetPositive Childhood Alliance North Carolina: $365,000 over 6y, 3.5% of budgetParents for Educational Freedom in NC: $365,000 over 7y, 5.8% of budgetCarolina Ballet Inc: $350,000 over 6y, 1.5% of budgetLucy Burns Institute Inc: $340,500 over 6y, 1.2% of budgetSecu Family House at Unc Hospitals: $331,500 over 7y, 4.3% of budgetHospice of Wake County Inc: $330,000 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetThe Institute for Family Studies: $310,000 over 3y, 9.2% of budgetCapital Research Center: $310,000 over 7y, 1.1% of budgetThe Independent Institute: $300,000 over 7y, 2.6% of budgetNew Vocations Racehorse Adoption: $295,000 over 6y, 1.5% of budgetCato Institute: $295,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetAmerican Institute for Economic Research: $290,000 over 5y, 2.3% of budgetThe Vandenberg Coalition Inc: $275,000 over 3y, 7.2% of budgetInstitute for Free Speech: $270,000 over 6y, 1.8% of budgetNational Taxpayers Union Foundation: $270,000 over 6y, 4.8% of budgetTax Foundation: $265,000 over 6y, 0.7% of budget

Tap a dot to name the grantee.

How this is measured
Share of budget is the funder’s grant in a year over the grantee’s total revenue that year, at its highest across the years we hold; revenue is from all sources. Only grantees confirmed against their own filings, whose grants do not exceed their revenue, are plotted: the largest 200.

Nonprofits that may fit its grantmaking

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.

Triangle Community Foundation IncNC92.3× affinity65 shared granteesties to 9 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Triangle Community Foundation Inc · The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation Inc · Donors Trust Inc · North Carolina Community Foundation · Sarah Scaife Foundation Incorporated · Bradley Impact Fund Inc · The Cannon Foundation Inc · Charles Koch Foundation · W Trent Ragland Jr Foundation · The Searle Freedom Trust · Adolph Coors Foundation · Bell Koonce Burnette 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.

Compare John William Pope Foundation with peer funders

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to John William Pope Foundation?

Find your warmest path to John William Pope 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.

About John William Pope Foundation

How much does John William Pope Foundation give?
John William Pope Foundation reported 259 grants totaling $15,231,748 in its FY2025 IRS filing. It funded between 125 and 200 organizations a year over FY2019 to FY2024.
What does John William Pope Foundation fund?
By grant dollars over FY2019 to FY2025, its largest causes are Public Benefit (30%), Education (19%), Social Science (8%).
Who are John William Pope Foundation's largest grantees?
By total granted over FY2019 to FY2025: The John Locke Foundation Inc ($23M), Asheville School Inc ($3.8M), Unc Health Foundation Inc ($3.6M).
Does John William Pope Foundation fund new organizations?
In FY2024, 11% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
Does John William Pope Foundation accept unsolicited applications?
Its most recent filing reports that it accepts unsolicited grant applications.
Which funders back the same organizations as John William Pope Foundation?
Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include Triangle Community Foundation Inc, The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation Inc, Donors Trust Inc.
Where is John William Pope Foundation based?
John William Pope Foundation is based in NC.

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 375 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

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