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Lair Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Lair Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$872k
Granted FY2025still arriving
21
Grants FY2025still arriving
3
States reached
$300k
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 2025.

Education$2.1MHuman Services$1.4MYouth Development$1.1MReligion$816kRecreation & Sports$466kHealth$250kPublic Safety & Disaster$160kHousing & Shelter$110kOther$0
02FY2025 · 21 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k6 grants · $29k
  • $10k–50k10 grants · $198k
  • $50k–250k4 grants · $345k
  • $250k+1 grant · $300k
$15,200
Median grant
3
States reached
$17M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION$300,000
WICHITA FAMILY CRISIS CENTER$150,000
KANSAS HEALTH FOUNDATION$70,000
Individual grant recipient$65,000
RAINBOWS UNITED INC$60,000
UNION RESCUE MISSION OF WICHITA INC$35,000
SHEPHERDS WAY INC$30,000
THE OPPORTUNITY PROJECT$25,000
WICHITA HABITAT FOR HUMANITY INC$25,000
SPECIAL OPERATIONS WARRIOR FOUNDATION$20,000
KANSAS FOOD BANK$15,200
AMERICAN NATIONAL RED CROSS$15,000
LEAGUE 42 FOUNDATION$12,500
YOUNG LIFE WICHITA$10,000
EMPOWER$10,000
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 (FY17–25, $1.5M) land where the poverty rate runs at 16%, 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%HELPING HANDS MINISTRY: $3k → 13%AMERICAN NATIONAL RED CROSS: $15k → 14%HELPING HANDS MINISTRY: $3k → 13%AMERICAN NATIONAL RED CROSS: $15k → 14%HELPING HANDS MINISTRY: $2k → 13%AMERICAN NATIONAL RED CROSS: $15k → 14%HELPING HANDS MINISTRY: $2k → 13%AMERICAN NATIONAL RED CROSS: $15k → 14%HELPING HANDS MINISTRY: $2k → 13%AMERICAN NATIONAL RED CROSS: $15k → 14%HELPING HANDS MINISTRY: $2k → 13%AMERICAN NATIONAL RED CROSS: $15k → 14%AMERICAN NATIONAL RED CROSS: $5k → 14%WICHITA FAMILY CRISIS CENTER: $20k → 16%THE TREEHOUSE INC: $15k → 16%THE TREEHOUSE: $8k → 16%THE TREEHOUSE INC: $8k → 16%RAINBOWS UNITED: $184k → 16%RAINBOWS UNITED INC: $95k → 16%RAINBOWS UNITED: $77k → 16%WICHITA'S LITTLE HEROS: $3k → 16%RAINBOWS UNITED INC: $60k → 16%RAINBOWS UNITED: $30k → 16%RAINBOWS UNITED: $29k → 16%RAINBOWS UNITED: $10k → 16%RAINBOWS UNITED: $10k → 16%GREATER WICHITA YMCA: $5k → 16%PANDO INITIATIVE INC: $2k → 16%GREATER WICHITA YMCA: $1k → 16%WICHITA FAMILY CRISIS CENTER: $300k → 16%WICHITA FAMILY CRISIS CENTER: $150k → 16%WICHITA FAMILY CRISIS CENTER: $150k → 16%WICHITA CHILDRENS HOME: $75k → 16%WICHITA CHILDRENS HOME: $38k → 16%WICHITA CHILDREN'S HOME: $27k → 16%WICHITA CHILDREN'S HOME: $10k → 16%WICHITA CHILDRENS HOME: $8k → 16%WICHITA CHILDREN'S HOME: $5k → 16%HONORE ADVERSIS FOUNDATION: $5k → 16%WICHITA CHILDREN'S HOME: $5k → 16%STARKEY: $17k → 16%STARKY FOUNDATION: $6k → 16%STARKEY INC: $5k → 16%STARKEY INC: $4k → 16%STARKEY: $2k → 16%STARKY INC: $1k → 16%THE HONORE ADVERSIS FOUNDATION: $6k → 16%THE HONORE ADVERSIS FOUNDATION: $5k → 16%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

NV
CA
MO
KS
DC
OK
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.
$6.1M · 34 repeat orgs$410k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +64% since the first grant, against +29% for those funded once.

34 repeat relationships: 17 still active in FY2025, 17 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

34
20

Total granted

$6.1M
$249k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+64%
+29%

Still filing today

71%
60%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 82% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $161k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
Human ServicesEducationHealthArts & CultureRecreation & SportsHousing & ShelterOther
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

  • WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION
    9× · 2017–2025 · $1.9M · revenue +85%
  • WF
    WICHITA FAMILY CRISIS CENTER
    4× · 2020–2025 · $620k · revenue +64%
  • BG
    BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF SOUTH CENTRAL KANSAS INC
    7× · 2017–2024 · $611k · revenue +132%

Funded once

  • BF
    BPS FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2024 · $50k · revenue 0%
  • WF
    WSU FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2017 · $50k
  • W-
    WSU -ICAA FUND
    one grant, 2017 · $39k
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
Kansas Wesleyan University

Kansas wesleyan university is a liberal arts college that promotes and integrates academic excellence, spiritual development, personal well-being, and social responsibility.

Education
2
Kansas Children's Service League Foundation

To protect and promote the well-being of children by providing ongoing support of the charitable mission of the kansas children's service league.

Philanthropy
3
Kanza Mental Health and Guidance Center Inc

Offer hope to build a better tomorrow through mental health services.

Health
4
Kansas Academy of Family Physicians

The mission of the kansas academy of family physicians is to empower and cultivate kansas family physicians to: serve as trusted and innovative leaders champion a diverse, sustainable and inclusive workforce advocate and collaborate for…

—
5
Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce Inc

To drive economic growth and community advancement in the wichita region.

—
6
Kansas Healthcare Collaborative Inc

Engaging and aligning providers and stakeholders to establish Kansas as a role model for health care quality and a top performer in health care outcomes.

Health
7
Regional West Health Services

Health care services for the people of western nebraska and eastern wyoming.

Health
8
Chamber of Commerce of Greater Kansas City

Leading the way to the best kc region by convening innovative leaders, collaborating with like-minded organizations, advocating for positive change, and helping small businesses grow.

—
9
Western Kansas Community Foundation

Enriching western Kansas life through philanthropy, collaboration and leadership.

Philanthropy
10
Kansas Farm Bureau

Kansas farm bureau exists to strengthen agriculture and the lives of kansans through advocacy, education, and service.

—
11
Wichita Eye Foundation

To engage in grant making to medical educational organizations and related charitable activities in the area of eye disease and vision disorder, and the care and treatment thereof.

Health
12
Kansas Legal Services Inc

Kansas legal services is devoted to helping low income kansans meet their basic needs through the provision of important legal and mediation services.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Wichitas Littlest Heroes; the most unlike its peers is Bps Foundation. 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

38 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

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 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 38 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)
9
Early backer (in before they grew)
38/38
Grantees still filing
32/38
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF SOUTH CENTRAL KANSAS INC: $610,850 · OtherBOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF SOUTH CENTRAL KANSAS IN…NEWSPRING CHURCH: $495,000 · OtherNEWSPRING CHURCHSPECIAL OPERATIONS WARRIOR FOUNDATN: $330,000 · OtherSPECIAL OPERATIONS WARRIOR FOUNDATNYOUNG LIFE WICHITA: $298,750 · OtherYOUNG LIFE WICHITAWICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY - ICAA: $160,000 · OtherWICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY - ICAAKANSAS BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS INC: $116,750 · OtherSTAND TOGETHER FOUNDATION-SAFE FAMI: $90,000 · Other+24 more: $496,250 · Other+24 moreWICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $1,898,000 · EducationWICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATIONSPECIAL OPERATIONS WARRIOR FOUNDATION: $100,000 · Education+4 more: $59,500 · EducationWICHITA FAMILY CRISIS CENTER: $620,000 · Human ServicesWICHITA FAMILY CRISIS CEN…RAINBOWS UNITED INC: $495,140 · Human ServicesRAINBOWS UNITED INCTHE WICHITA CHILDREN'S HOME: $166,500 · Human ServicesTHE WICHITA CHILDREN'S HO…American National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $95,000 · Human ServicesAmerican National Red Cro…+8 more: $105,648 · Human Services+8 moreKansas Health Foundation: $70,000 · HealthSHEPHERDS WAY INC: $60,000 · HealthKVC HOSPITALS INC: $45,000 · Health+2 more: $3,000 · HealthWICHITA HABITAT FOR HUMANITY INC: $110,000 · Housing & ShelterLEAGUE 42 FOUNDATION: $62,500 · Recreation & SportsWICHITA FESTIVALS INC: $40,000 · Recreation & SportsMARK ARTS INC: $12,500 · Arts & CultureINTERNATIONAL SPY MUSEUM: $12,250 · Arts & Culture
Other$2,597,600Education$2,057,500Human Services$1,482,288Health$178,000Housing & Shelter$110,000Recreation & Sports$102,500Arts & Culture$24,750

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 budgetWICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $1,898,000 over 9y, 1.2% of budgetWICHITA FAMILY CRISIS CENTER: $620,000 over 4y, 10% of budgetBOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF SOUTH CENTRAL KANSAS INC: $610,850 over 7y, 5.9% of budgetRAINBOWS UNITED INC: $495,140 over 8y, 1.4% of budgetTHE WICHITA CHILDREN'S HOME: $166,500 over 7y, 0.6% of budgetKANSAS BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS INC: $116,750 over 5y, 1.0% of budgetWICHITA HABITAT FOR HUMANITY INC: $110,000 over 6y, 0.9% of budgetSPECIAL OPERATIONS WARRIOR FOUNDATION: $100,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $95,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetLEAGUE 42 FOUNDATION: $62,500 over 4y, 2.0% of budgetSHEPHERDS WAY INC: $60,000 over 4y, 4.0% of budgetBPS FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetKVC HOSPITALS INC: $45,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetWICHITA FESTIVALS INC: $40,000 over 2y, 1.6% of budgetGIVING THE BASICS INC: $40,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetTHE TREEHOUSE INC: $30,000 over 3y, 3.9% of budgetSTARKEY INC: $29,148 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetYouth Entrepreneurs Inc: $27,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetJUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF KANSAS INC: $20,000 over 2y, 1.9% of budgetKANSAS FOODBANK WAREHOUSE INC: $19,200 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCARPENTER PLACE INC: $17,000 over 2y, 1.4% of budgetTHE HONORE ADVERSIS FOUNDATION: $15,600 over 3y, 4.2% of budgetHUNTER HEALTH CLINIC: $15,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetPHILLIPS FUNDAMENTAL LEARNING CENTER INC: $15,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetHELPING HANDS MINISTRIES INC: $14,900 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetMARK ARTS INC: $12,500 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetINTERNATIONAL SPY MUSEUM: $12,250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWICHITA COLLEGIATE SCHOOL: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetFOLDS OF HONOR FOUNDATION: $7,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF WICHITA KANSAS (2311): $6,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSTARKEY FOUNDATION INC: $6,000 over 1y, 2.4% of budgetAbilityPoint Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetScott Community Foundation: $3,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetWICHITAS LITTLEST HEROES: $2,500 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetCYSTIC FIBROSIS FOUNDATION: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE PANDO INITIATIVE INC: $1,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetAmerican Heart Association Inc: $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.

  • Who funds WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds WICHITA FAMILY CRISIS CENTER ↗
  • Who funds BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF SOUTH CENTRAL KANSAS INC ↗
  • Who funds RAINBOWS UNITED INC ↗
  • Who funds THE WICHITA CHILDREN'S HOME ↗
  • Who funds KANSAS BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS INC ↗
  • Who funds WICHITA HABITAT FOR HUMANITY INC ↗
  • Who funds SPECIAL OPERATIONS WARRIOR FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds American National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches ↗
  • Who funds Kansas Health Foundation ↗
  • Who funds LEAGUE 42 FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds SHEPHERDS WAY INC ↗
  • Who funds BPS FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds KVC HOSPITALS INC ↗
  • Who funds WICHITA FESTIVALS INC ↗
  • Who funds GIVING THE BASICS INC ↗
  • Who funds THE TREEHOUSE INC ↗
  • Who funds STARKEY INC ↗
  • Who funds Youth Entrepreneurs Inc ↗
  • Who funds JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF KANSAS INC ↗
  • Who funds KANSAS FOODBANK WAREHOUSE INC ↗
  • Who funds CARPENTER PLACE INC ↗
  • Who funds THE HONORE ADVERSIS FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds HUNTER HEALTH CLINIC ↗
  • Who funds PHILLIPS FUNDAMENTAL LEARNING CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds HELPING HANDS MINISTRIES INC ↗
  • Who funds MARK ARTS INC ↗
  • Who funds INTERNATIONAL SPY MUSEUM ↗

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.

Berry Foundation IncWichita FoundationTextron Charitable Tr…Dwane L and Velma Lun…Goebel Family-Star Lu…Ima FoundationLattner Family Founda…United Way of the Pla…Kansas Health Foundat…The Fidelity Bank Fou…DeVore Foundation IncBruce G Cochener Foun…
Berry Foundation IncKS42.9× affinity18 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Berry Foundation Inc · Wichita Foundation · Textron Charitable Trust Dtd 122353 · Dwane L and Velma Lunt Wallace Charitable Foundation · Goebel Family-Star Lumber Charitable Trust · Ima Foundation · Lattner Family Foundation Inc · United Way of the Plains Inc · Kansas Health Foundation · The Fidelity Bank Foundation · DeVore Foundation Inc · Bruce G Cochener 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 Lair Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Lair Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 40%1%4%8%15%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    4get no government money at all
    16report 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.

    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 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Lair’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