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Ken & Deborah Wilson Foundation Inc at a glance

· Private foundation

Ken & Deborah Wilson Foundation Inc

Its FY2023 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$2k
Granted FY2023
2
Grants FY2023
1
States reached
$1k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0196% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2023.

Environment$18kYouth Development$6kArts & Culture$4kHousing & Shelter$4kPhilanthropy$4kRecreation & Sports$3kReligion$3kEducation$3kOther$0
02FY2023 · 2 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$1,170
Median grant
1
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
DANIEL BOONE COUNCIL BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA$1,170
SMOKY MOUNTAIN AQUATIC CLUB$1,000
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 (FY20–22, $2k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, 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%HAYWOOD CHRISTIAN MINISTRY: $1k → 12%REACH OF HAYWOOD COUNTY INC: $500 → 12%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.

69%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$34k · 17 repeat orgs$16k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +52% since the first grant, against +41% for those funded once.

17 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2023, 16 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2023 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

17
40

Total granted

$34k
$15k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+52%
+41%

Still filing today

88%
30%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2023, 54% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $1k went to new ones.

50%100%’20’21’22’23
RenewedFirst-time

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

’20’21’22’23
Arts & CultureHousing & ShelterInternationalEnvironmentHuman ServicesAnimalsOther
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

  • BR
    BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY FOUNDATION
    3× · 2020–2022 · $13k · revenue +94%
  • BS
    BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA 414 DANIEL BOONE COUNCIL
    3× · 2020–2023 · $6k · revenue +210%
  • HW
    HAYWOOD WATERWAYS ASSOCIATION INC
    2× · 2020–2021 · $3k · revenue +124%

Funded once

  • FO
    FRIENDS OF THE SMOKIES TRAILS FOREVER
    one grant, 2020 · $2k
  • HH
    Haywood Health Foundation Incgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $1k · revenue +623%
  • RL
    REACH - LAURA'S HOUSE
    one grant, 2020 · $1k
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
Harpeth Conservancy

To restore and protect clean water and healthy ecosystems for rivers in tennessee by employing scientific expertise and collaborative relationships to develop, promote, and support broad community stewardship and action.

Environment
2
Wnc Health Network Inc

WNC Health Network, Inc supports people and organizations to improve community health and wellbeing across Western North Carolina.

Health
3
Humane Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

The primary mission of the humane society is to end animal cruelty, neglect and overpopulation in south carolina.

Animals
4
Blue Ridge National Heritage Area Inc

Preserving, interpreting, and developing the heritage resources of the North Carolina mountains.

Environment
5
Humane Society of Charlotte Inc

Humane Society of Charlotte mission is to champion the wellbeing of companion animals and strengthen their bond with the people who know, love, and need them.

Animals
6
Rocky Mountain Conservancy

The rocky mountain conservancy promotes stewardship of rocky mountain national park and similar lands through education and philanthropy.

Recreation & Sports
7
Nashville Public Radio

Nashville public radio's mission is to be the most trusted & independent nashville voice, connecting our communities through non-partisan journalism, compelling storytelling, civil conversation and music discovery.

Arts & Culture
8
North Carolina Conservation Network

The north carolina conservation network supports, trains, and coordinates diverse groups and directly advocates to achieve equitable and sustainable solutions for our environment.

Environment
9
Children's Home Society of North Carolina Inc

The Children's Home Society of North Carolina's mission is to promote the right of every child to a permanent, safe, and loving family.

Human Services
10
Safe Haven for Cats

The mission of safe haven for cats is to use no-kill principles and education to save cats' lives through rescue, adoption, spay/neuter services and community programs.

Animals
11
Nash Edgecombe Wilson Community Action Inc

To advance the general welfare of the people of eastern north carolina through programs providing housing and childcare assistance as well as poverty elimination strategies to disadvantaged populations.

—
12
Wilkes Medical Center Foundation

To support and carry out the functions and purposes of wrmc hospital operating corporation (dba atrium health wake forest baptist wilkes medical center) to enhance the delivery of quality health care within the organization's region.

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Mountain Projects Inc; the most unlike its peers is CATMAN2 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

29 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. 29 of the 59 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)
12
Early backer (in before they grew)
28/29
Grantees still filing
26/29
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

UNITED WAY: $2,500 · OtherUNITED WAYFRIENDS OF THE SMOKIES TRAILS FOREVER: $1,500 · OtherFRIENDS OF THE SMOKIES TRAILS FOREVERSMOKY MOUNTAIN AQUATIC CLUB: $1,000 · OtherREACH - LAURA'S HOUSE: $1,000 · OtherFRIENDS OF THE HAYWOOD COUNTY LIBRARY: $1,000 · OtherHAYWOOD COUNTY SCHOOLS FOUNDATION: $950 · OtherWILDERNESS TRAIL INC: $750 · OtherTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $700 · OtherHaywood Health Foundation Inc: $1,000 · Other+37 more: $9,750 · Other+37 moreBLUE RIDGE PARKWAY FOUNDATION: $13,000 · EnvironmentBLUE RIDGE PARKWAY FOUNDATIONHAYWOOD WATERWAYS ASSOCIATION INC: $2,750 · EnvironmentHAYWOOD WATERWAYS ASSOCIATION INCBOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA 414 DANIEL BOONE COUNCIL: $5,670 · Youth DevelopmentBOY SCOUTS O…HAYWOOD COUNTY ARTS COUNCIL INC: $2,250 · Arts & CultureWESTERN N CAROLINA PUBLIC RADIO: $1,200 · Arts & CultureFriends of South Dakota Public Broadcasting: $450 · Arts & CultureWESTERN CAROLINA RESCUE MINISTRIES INC: $1,750 · Housing & ShelterHaywood Pathways Center Inc: $500 · Housing & ShelterOPEN DOOR MINISTRIES OF HIGH POINT INC: $250 · Housing & ShelterHaywood Christian Ministry Inc: $1,000 · Human ServicesREACH OF HAYWOOD COUNTY INC: $500 · Human ServicesADVENTURE CYCLING ASSOCIATION: $550 · Recreation & SportsFRIENDS OF GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK: $500 · Recreation & Sports
Other$20,150Environment$15,750Youth Development$5,670Arts & Culture$3,900Housing & Shelter$2,500Human Services$1,500Recreation & Sports$1,050

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 budgetBLUE RIDGE PARKWAY FOUNDATION: $13,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetBOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA 414 DANIEL BOONE COUNCIL: $5,670 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetHAYWOOD WATERWAYS ASSOCIATION INC: $2,750 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetHAYWOOD COUNTY ARTS COUNCIL INC: $2,250 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetWESTERN CAROLINA RESCUE MINISTRIES INC: $1,750 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetWESTERN N CAROLINA PUBLIC RADIO: $1,200 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetHaywood Health Foundation Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetHaywood Christian Ministry Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE HAYWOOD COUNTY LIBRARY: $1,000 over 2y, 2.2% of budgetHAYWOOD COUNTY SCHOOLS FOUNDATION: $950 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetWILDERNESS TRAIL INC: $750 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $700 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCATMAN2 INC: $600 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetADVENTURE CYCLING ASSOCIATION: $550 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetHaywood Community College Found: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHaywood Pathways Center Inc: $500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetREACH OF HAYWOOD COUNTY INC: $500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetEACH INITIATIVE INC: $500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetFRIENDS OF GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFriends of South Dakota Public Broadcasting: $450 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE CARTER CENTER INC: $400 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetUNITED STATES FUND FOR UNICEF: $350 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetOPEN DOOR MINISTRIES OF HIGH POINT INC: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMOUNTAIN PROJECTS INC: $200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMARINE TOYS FOR TOTS FOUNDATION: $200 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFeline Urgent Rescue of Western North Carolina Inc: $200 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetMANNA FOOD BANK INC: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSMILE TRAIN INC: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $100 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.

The Community Foundat…North Carolina Commun…The John C Harmon Fam…Foundation for the Ca…Dogwood Health TrustEast Tennessee Founda…Duke Energy FoundationColquitt FoundationGradison FoundationPisgah Health Foundat…United Way of Haywood…Haywood Health Founda…
The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina IncNC33.3× affinity14 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina Inc · North Carolina Community Foundation · The John C Harmon Family Foundation · Foundation for the Carolinas · Dogwood Health Trust · East Tennessee Foundation · Duke Energy Foundation · Colquitt Foundation · Gradison Foundation · Pisgah Health Foundation · United Way of Haywood County Inc · Haywood Health Foundation Inc

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 Ken & Deborah Wilson Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Ken & Deborah Wilson Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%13%25%38%50%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    6report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–50%
    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 59 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 2023, released 2023. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Ken & Deborah Wilson’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