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Lawson Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Lawson Family Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$82k
Granted FY2025still arriving
7
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$30k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0197% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2021 to 2024.

Education$1.4MHealth$740kCommunity Improvement$370kYouth Development$350kRecreation & Sports$285kArts & Culture$278kFood & Nutrition$225kPhilanthropy$205kOther$0
02FY2025 · 7 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k4 grants · $12k
  • $10k–50k3 grants · $70k
$5,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$121k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
KNOX COUNTY SCHOOLS$30,000
COMMUNITY ACTION FOR AFFORDABLE NEIGHBORHOODS (CAAN)$25,000
RELAUNCH$15,000
JACK AND JILL OF AMERICA - KNOXVILLE CHAPTER$5,000
Individual grant recipient$5,000
BEARDEN MIDDLE SCHOOL FOUNDATION$1,000
WEST HIGH FOUNDATION$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 (FY21–25, $255k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%PARTNERSHIP WITH NATIVE AMERICANS: $10k → 14%HOLSTON HOME FOR CHILDREN: $5k → 17%Penultimate Development: $20k → 11%CHILDHELP INC: $15k → 12%CHILDHELP INC: $15k → 12%BIP KNOXVILLE: $5k → 12%ChildHelp Inc: $3k → 12%YWCA KNOXVILLE: $25k → 12%MY DAUGHTER'S JOURNEY: $5k → 12%THE RESTORATION HOUSE OF EAST TENNE: $10k → 12%SOAR YOUTH MINISTRIES: $15k → 12%CONNECT MINISTRIES: $50k → 12%POSITIVELY LIVING: $5k → 12%UUNIK ACADEMY: $25k → 12%Knoxville Family Justice Ctr: $15k → 12%RELAUNCH: $15k → 12%Positively Living: $10k → 12%ANGELIC MINISTRIES INTERNATIONAL: $5k → 12%Carecuts: $3k → 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.

Which US states its grants reach

NY
CA
VA
MD
TN
DC
GA
TX
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.

52%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$2.5M · 27 repeat orgs$2.3M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +29% since the first grant, against 0% for those funded once.

27 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2025, 26 since wound down; 6 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

27
102

Total granted

$2.5M
$2.2M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+29%
0%

Still filing today

70%
60%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 1% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $81k went to new ones.

50%100%’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’21’22’23’24’25
Human ServicesArts & CultureHealthEducationYouth DevelopmentInternationalOther
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

  • EC
    EMERALD CHARTER SCHOOLS
    3× · 2022–2024 · $1.0M · revenue +29%
  • HR
    HELEN ROSS MCNABB FOUNDATION
    2× · 2021–2022 · $300k · revenue +109%
  • KL
    KNOXVILLE LEADERSHIP FOUNDATION INC
    2× · 2023–2024 · $120k · revenue +156%

Funded once

  • TU
    THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE FOUNDATION INC
    one grant, 2024 · $200k · revenue +9%
  • SA
    Shangri-La Academy of Riding
    one grant, 2022 · $200k
  • UW
    UNITED WAY OF GREATER KNOXVILLEINC
    one grant, 2024 · $175k · revenue -83%
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
Hope House of Tennessee Inc

By creating a safe and structured two year residential program the Hope House of Tennessee will aim to equip and empower personal and educational growth economic self-sufficiency and a deeper understanding of Christs unconditional love.

Housing & Shelter
2
Asian Culture Center of Tennessee

The asian culture center of tennessee (acctn) was founded in 2014 to help the next generation take their place as global citizens with a strong understanding for and appreciation of other cultures. through tailored programs and…

Arts & Culture
3
Goodwill Industries - Knoxville Inc

Goodwill industries-knoxville, inc. (the organization") is a nonprofit corporation. our mission at goodwill industries-knoxville, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is changing lives and strengthening families by helping people reach…

Employment
4
4 Market Square Inc

Primarily to spread the gospel of jesus christ in downtown knoxville, tennessee by serving the community of the greater knoxville area through the provision of services, resources, worship, teaching, fellowship and networking capabilities.

Religion
5
Restoration House Ministries

To see the miracle of recovery in the lives and families of the Greater Smoky Mountain communities by providing faith-based recovery programs and clinical treatment options to those who want freedom from addiction and co-occurring…

—
6
Knox Housing Partnership Inc

To provide affordable housing to low and moderate income persons in east tennessee through first-time homebuyer education; assist with mortgage loans, downpayments, and closing costs; build new single family housing; develop multi-family…

Housing & Shelter
7
Blount County Youth Court Inc

Tennessee Youth Court (TYC) is a teen-driven juvenile delinquency prevention/intervention diversion program based on restorative justice.

—
8
Tennessee Kids Belong Inc

Tennessee Kids Belong dramatically improves the experiences and outcomes for children in foster care.

Human Services
9
Ywca Nashville & Middle Tennessee

The ywca nashville & middle tennessee is dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women and promoting peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all. it is the vision of ywca nashville & middle tennessee to focus on women and girls who…

—
10
Project Return Inc

People who have just been released from prison are typically stigmatized, overlooked, and pigeonholed by society. when they walk into project return, they discover that here they are valued, heard, and encouraged. while reduction of…

—
11
Next Step Initiative Tennessee

To meet people exactly where they arewithout judgmentand walk with them as they take their next steps in their journey whether recovery or simply Harm Reduction. We build authentic relationships rooted in trust, dignity, and unconditional…

Housing & Shelter
12
Keith Dixon Foundation

Our mission is to provide high-quality recovery housing and recovery support services to individuals struggling with substance use disorder in Tennessee. We believe that our actions speak louder than our words. Since our inception in 2021,…

Philanthropy
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Restoration House of East Tennessee; the most unlike its peers is Real Talk Mentoring 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

85 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. 85 of the 136 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.

4
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
14
Early backer (in before they grew)
83/85
Grantees still filing
41/85
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Shangri-La Academy of Riding: $200,000 · OtherShangri-La Academy of RidingUNITED WAY OF GREATER KNOXVILLEINC: $175,000 · OtherUNITED WAY OF GREATER KNOXVILLEINCEAST TENNESSEE COMMUNITY DESIGN CEN: $150,000 · OtherEAST TENNESSEE COMMUNITY DESIGN CENKNOX COUNTY COMMUNITY GARDENERS: $150,000 · OtherKNOX COUNTY COMMUNITY GARDENERSRAISING A VOICE: $75,000 · Other+77 more: $1,204,000 · Other+77 moreEMERALD CHARTER SCHOOLS: $1,000,000 · EducationEMERALD CHARTER SCHOOLSTHE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE FOUNDATION INC: $200,000 · EducationTHE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE FOU…+7 more: $113,000 · Education+7 moreHELEN ROSS MCNABB FOUNDATION: $300,000 · HealthHELEN ROSS MC…Free Medical Clinic of America: $75,000 · HealthFree Medical …INTERFAITH HEALTH CENTER: $75,000 · HealthINTERFAITH HE…EAST TENNESSEE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION INC: $50,000 · HealthEAST TENNESSE…New Direction Healthcare Solutions: $26,500 · HealthThe Mend House Sober Living Community: $25,000 · Health+4 more: $13,500 · HealthUUNIK ACADEMY INC: $50,000 · Human ServicesCONNECT MINISTRIES: $50,000 · Human ServicesSOAR YOUTH MINISTRIES INC THRIVE LONSDALE: $50,000 · Human ServicesCHILDHELP INC: $32,500 · Human ServicesTHE YOUNG WOMEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION: $25,000 · Human ServicesPenultimate Development: $20,000 · Human ServicesRELAUNCH: $15,000 · Human ServicesKNOXVILLE FAMILY JUSTICE CENTER: $15,000 · Human ServicesPOSITIVELY LIVING: $15,000 · Human Services+8 more: $52,500 · Human ServicesKNOXVILLE LEADERSHIP FOUNDATION INC: $120,000 · ReligionNORTH POINT PRODUCTIONS INC: $100,000 · ReligionFOCUS MINISTRIES: $25,000 · ReligionKNOXVILLE OPERA COMPANY: $60,000 · Arts & CultureKNOXVILLE SYMPHONY SOCIETY INCORPORATED: $45,000 · Arts & CultureKNOXVILLE HISTORY PROJECT: $25,000 · Arts & CultureTHE MUSE KNOXVILLE: $20,000 · Arts & CultureJUNIOR APPALACHIAN MUSICIANS INC: $16,000 · Arts & CultureHISTORIC TENNESSEE THEATRE FOUNDATION: $15,000 · Arts & Culture+6 more: $19,500 · Arts & CultureWILLIAMS CREEK YOUTH FOUNDATION: $100,000 · Recreation & SportsSTREET HOPE TN: $60,000 · Recreation & SportsKARATE FIVE ASSOCIATION INC: $25,000 · Recreation & Sports
Other$1,954,000Education$1,313,000Health$565,000Human Services$325,000Religion$245,000Arts & Culture$200,500Recreation & Sports$185,000

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetEMERALD CHARTER SCHOOLS: $1,000,000 over 3y, 7.0% of budgetHELEN ROSS MCNABB FOUNDATION: $300,000 over 2y, 4.0% of budgetTHE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE FOUNDATION INC: $200,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetUNITED WAY OF GREATER KNOXVILLEINC: $175,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetKNOXVILLE LEADERSHIP FOUNDATION INC: $120,000 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetWILLIAMS CREEK YOUTH FOUNDATION: $100,000 over 1y, 6.5% of budgetRAISING A VOICE: $75,000 over 2y, 10% of budgetFree Medical Clinic of America: $75,000 over 2y, 5.3% of budgetINTERFAITH HEALTH CENTER: $75,000 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetSTREET HOPE TN: $60,000 over 3y, 1.7% of budgetKNOXVILLE OPERA COMPANY: $60,000 over 2y, 2.6% of budgetUUNIK ACADEMY INC: $50,000 over 2y, 17% of budgetTHE CHANGE CENTER: $50,000 over 1y, 10% of budgetEAST TENNESSEE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION INC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCONNECT MINISTRIES: $50,000 over 1y, 5.7% of budgetSOAR YOUTH MINISTRIES INC THRIVE LONSDALE: $50,000 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetTHE REAL GOOD KITCHEN FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 1y, 55% of budgetBreakthrough Corporation D/B/A Autism Breakthrough of Knoxville: $50,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetMEN OF VALOR: $50,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetKNOXVILLE SYMPHONY SOCIETY INCORPORATED: $45,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetREAL TALK MENTORING INC: $40,000 over 2y, 51% of budgetCHILDHELP INC: $32,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTwo Bikes: $28,500 over 3y, 2.7% of budgetNew Direction Healthcare Solutions: $26,500 over 1y, 4.2% of budgetKNOXVILLE COLLEGE: $25,000 over 1y, 4.6% of budgetGIRL TALK INC: $25,000 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetFOCUS MINISTRIES: $25,000 over 2y, 3.4% of budgetThe Mend House Sober Living Community: $25,000 over 1y, 5.5% of budgetBRIDGE REFUGEE SERVICES INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetKNOXVILLE ENTREPRENEUR CENTER: $25,000 over 1y, 2.4% of budgetKARATE FIVE ASSOCIATION INC: $25,000 over 1y, 29% of budgetKNOXVILLE HISTORY PROJECT: $25,000 over 1y, 8.5% of budgetTNACHIEVES: $25,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetPARTNERSHIP TENNESSEE: $25,000 over 1y, 42% of budgetTHE YOUNG WOMEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION: $25,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetPenultimate Development: $20,000 over 1y, 15% of budgetHAND UP FOR WOMEN: $20,000 over 1y, 5.7% of budgetTHE MUSE KNOXVILLE: $20,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetJUNIOR APPALACHIAN MUSICIANS INC: $16,000 over 1y, 4.2% of budgetRELAUNCH: $15,000 over 1y, 10% of budgetKNOXVILLE FAMILY JUSTICE CENTER: $15,000 over 1y, 3.5% of budgetPOSITIVELY LIVING: $15,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetHISTORIC TENNESSEE THEATRE FOUNDATION: $15,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetGIRLS INCORPORATED OF TENNESSEE VALLEY: $12,500 over 2y, 1.4% of budgetCOMMUNITY SHARES INC: $10,000 over 1y, 2.4% of budgetCAMPBELL CULTURE COALITION: $10,000 over 1y, 10% of budgetPartnership With Native Americans: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWESLEY HOUSE COMMUNITY CENTER CO: $10,000 over 1y, 0.7% 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.

East Tennessee Founda…United Way of Greater…The Clayton Homes Fou…Haslam Family Foundat…Stowers Machinery Fou…Thompson Charitable F…Bill and Crissy Hasla…Trinity Health Founda…Akima Club IncGene & Florence Monda…The Boyd FoundationUniversity Health Sys…
East Tennessee FoundationTN76.8× affinity37 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: East Tennessee Foundation · United Way of Greater Knoxvilleinc · The Clayton Homes Foundation · Haslam Family Foundation Inc · Stowers Machinery Foundation Inc · Thompson Charitable Foundation · Bill and Crissy Haslam Foundation · Trinity Health Foundation of East Tennessee · Akima Club Inc · Gene & Florence Monday Foundation Inc · The Boyd Foundation · University Health System 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 Lawson Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Lawson Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%4%15%34%60%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
    1get no government money at all
    37report 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 Lawson Family Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Lawson Family 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 136 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 Lawson Family’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