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Leigh Tison Charitable Trust at a glance

· Private foundation

Leigh Tison Charitable Trust

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$49k
Granted FY2024still arriving
46
Grants FY2024still arriving
6
States reached
$2k
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, FY2017 to 2024.

Youth Development$67kEducation$61kHuman Services$54kReligion$34kHealth$25kHousing & Shelter$22kEnvironment$18kCommunity Improvement$16kOther$0
02FY2024 · 46 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$1,000
Median grant
6
States reached
$321k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Individual grant recipient$2,000
GIRL SCOUTS OF WESTERN PA$2,000
GREATER PITTSBURGH COMNTY FOOD BANK$2,000
GREATER PGH COUNCIL BSA$2,000
WESTERN PA SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND$2,000
YMCA$2,000
UNITED WAY OF SWPA$2,000
YWCA$2,000
THE PITTSBURGH PROMISE$1,500
FAME$1,000
SHEPHERDS HEART FELLOWSHIP AND VET$1,000
BETHANY COMMUNITY MINISTRIES$1,000
HOMELESS CHILDRENS EDUCATION FUND$1,000
BIG BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF AMERICA$1,000
BOYS GIRLS CLUB OF AMERICA$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 (FY17–24, $28k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, 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%CASA SAN JOSE: $500 → 11%LARKIN STREET YOUTH SERVICES: $1k → 10%CASA SAN JOSE: $500 → 11%LARKIN STREET YOUTH SERVICES: $1k → 10%CASA SAN JOSE: $500 → 11%LARKIN STREET YOUTH SERVICES: $1k → 10%LARKIN STREET YOUTH SERVICES: $1k → 10%LIGHT OF LIFE RESCUE MISSION: $500 → 11%LIGHT OF LIFE RESCUE MISSION: $500 → 11%LIGHT OF LIFE MINISTRIES: $500 → 11%LATINO COMMUNITY CENTER: $1k → 11%LATINO COMMUNITY CENTER: $500 → 11%LATINO COMMUNITY CENTER: $500 → 11%BLESSING BOARD: $500 → 11%BLESSING BOARD: $500 → 11%BLESSING BOARD: $500 → 11%BETHANY COMMUNITY MINISTRIES: $1k → 11%YMCA: $2k → 11%YMCA: $2k → 11%YMCA: $2k → 11%BETHLEHEM HAVEN: $1k → 11%BETHLEHEM HAVEN: $1k → 11%WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT: $1k → 11%BETHLEHEM HAVEN: $1k → 11%BETHLEHEM HAVEN: $1k → 11%BETHLEHEM HAVEN: $1k → 11%BETHLEHEM HAVEN: $1k → 11%WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT: $1k → 11%FOCUS PITTSBURGH: $500 → 11%FOCUS PITTSBURGH: $500 → 11%FOCUS PITTSBURGH: $500 → 11%FOCUS PITTSBURGH: $500 → 11%BETHLEHEM HAVEN: $500 → 11%BETHLEHEM HAVEN: $300 → 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.

97%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$329k · 55 repeat orgs$9k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +16% since the first grant, against 0% for those funded once.

55 repeat relationships: 41 still active in FY2024, 14 since wound down; 5 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

55
2

Total granted

$329k
$2k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+16%
0%

Still filing today

53%
0%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 87% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $7k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
Human ServicesEducationCommunity ImprovementPhilanthropyHealthYouth 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.

Backed again, and grew

  • TP
    THE PITTSBURGH PROMISE FOUNDATION
    8× · 2017–2024 · $18k · revenue +37%
  • TC
    THE CHALLENGE PROGRAM INC
    8× · 2017–2024 · $14k · revenue +73%
  • TP
    The Pittsburgh Project
    8× · 2017–2024 · $14k · revenue +10%

Funded once

  • PS
    PA SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND
    one grant, 2017 · $2k
  • JT
    Journey To Normal Inc
    one grant, 2017 · $500
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
Jeremiah's Place Pittsburgh Relief Nursery

Jeremiah's place will protect children and strengthen families by providing a safe haven of respite, health, renewal, and support for children and families during times of crisis. we strive to serve as a leading voice for child abuse…

Human Services
2
Young Women's Christian Association Greater Pittsburgh

Ywca greater pittsburgh is dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women and promoting peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all. we envision a community that advances education, opportunity, and equity regardless of gender, race, or…

Human Services
3
United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey

United way's mission is to end intergenerational poverty in our region by harnessing, leveraging and strategically investing the collective power of donors, advocates and volunteers, to help individuals and families break the cycle of…

Philanthropy
4
Girls Inc of Greater Pittsburgh

Girls inc of greater pittsburgh empowers girls to imagine a broader future through a curriculum grounded on female role models delivered by college women mentors, who are themselves mentored by professional women.

Human Services
5
Pittsburgh Community Broadcasting Corporation

To create and distribute trusted content, build connections and strengthen our community through public media.

Arts & Culture
6
Pittsburgh Mercy Health System Inc

We, pittsburgh mercy health system (pittsburgh mercy) and trinity health, serve together in the spirit of the gospel as a compassionate and transforming healing presence within our communities. pittsburgh mercy is a member of trinity…

Health
7
Point Park University

Provides innovative education in a dynamic urban setting. dedicated to academic excellence and community engagement,we prepare students of diverse backgrounds with the knowledge, skill,and experience to lead meaningful lives as informed…

—
8
The Philadelphia School

The philadelphia school educates children for a future that is impossible to know but not impossible to shape. learn here. go anywhere.

—
9
The Baptist Home of Philadelphia

The mission of the baptist home of philadelphia is dedicated to providing quality continuing care living facilities and support services in a christian environment respecting the dignity and sanctity of all individuals regardless of their…

Human Services
10
Greater Philadelphia Community Alliance

Gpca's mission is to break the cycle of generational proverty by ensuring equitable distribution of the resources for vulnerable children, families, and communities. our vision is to be philadelphia's catalyst for community empowerment and…

Human Services
11
Community Action Commission

Commmunity action commission's mission is to build on the strengths and resources available, provide solutions, for complex issues, and empower individuals, families, and communities to move out of poverty.

Human Services
12
Community Justice Project

To provide high quality civil legal assistance and other services to indigent individuals and families.

Crime & Legal
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Homeless Children's Education Fund; the most unlike its peers is Little Sisters of the Poor. 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

33 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. 33 of the 62 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)
7
Early backer (in before they grew)
32/33
Grantees still filing
23/33
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

MENTORING PARTNERSHIP: $22,278 · OtherMENTORING PARTNERSHIPWESTERN PA CONSERVANCY: $18,000 · OtherWESTERN PA CONSERVANCYGREATER PGH COUNCIL BSA: $15,804 · OtherGREATER PGH COUNCIL BSAUNITED WAY OF SWPA: $11,000 · OtherGIRL SCOUTS OF WESTERN PA: $10,500 · OtherUPMC: $9,500 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $9,500 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $8,000 · OtherWOMENS CENTER SHELTER: $8,000 · OtherSALVATION ARMY: $8,000 · OtherHARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL: $8,000 · OtherBOYS GIRLS CLUB OF AMERICA: $8,000 · OtherSERVING SENIORS SAN DIEGO: $8,000 · Other+27 more: $76,418 · Other+27 moreBETHLEHEM HAVEN OF PITTSBURGH: $6,800 · Human ServicesBETHLEHEM…YMCA OF THE ROSES: $6,000 · Human ServicesYMCA OF T…Larkin Street Youth Services: $4,000 · Human ServicesLarkin St…THE LATINO COMMUNITY CENTER INC: $2,000 · Human ServicesTHE LATIN…FOCUS NORTH AMERICA: $2,000 · Human ServicesFOCUS NOR…WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT INC: $2,000 · Human ServicesWOUNDED W…CASA SAN JOSE: $1,500 · Human ServicesTHE BLESSING BOARD: $1,500 · Human ServicesLIGHT OF LIFE MINISTRIES INC: $1,500 · Human ServicesBETHANY COMMUNITY MINISTRIES: $1,000 · Human ServicesFAME: $8,000 · EducationEXTRA MILE EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $8,000 · EducationREADING IS FUNDAMENTAL INC: $4,000 · EducationMONARCH SCHOOL PROJECT: $2,691 · EducationPACE SCHOOL: $2,418 · EducationTHE PITTSBURGH PROMISE FOUNDATION: $17,500 · PhilanthropyHOMELESS CHILDREN'S EDUCATION FUND: $4,500 · PhilanthropyThe Pittsburgh Project: $13,500 · Community ImprovementNATIONAL COUNCIL OF JEWISH WOMEN PITTSBURGH SECTION: $3,000 · Community ImprovementNEIGHBORHOOD RESILIENCE PROJECT: $2,500 · Community ImprovementTHE CHALLENGE PROGRAM INC: $14,000 · Youth DevelopmentKIDSVOICE: $8,000 · Crime & Legal
Other$221,000Human Services$28,300Education$25,109Philanthropy$22,000Community Improvement$19,000Youth Development$14,000Crime & Legal$8,000

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 budgetTHE PITTSBURGH PROMISE FOUNDATION: $17,500 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetTHE CHALLENGE PROGRAM INC: $14,000 over 8y, 0.4% of budgetThe Pittsburgh Project: $13,500 over 8y, 0.7% of budgetFAME: $8,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetEXTRA MILE EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $8,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetKIDSVOICE: $8,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetBETHLEHEM HAVEN OF PITTSBURGH: $6,800 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetYMCA OF THE ROSES: $6,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSOUTH HILLS INTERFAITH MINISTRIES: $6,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetHOMELESS CHILDREN'S EDUCATION FUND: $4,500 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetREADING IS FUNDAMENTAL INC: $4,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetLarkin Street Youth Services: $4,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetTRYING TOGETHER: $4,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL COUNCIL OF JEWISH WOMEN PITTSBURGH SECTION: $3,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetNORTH HILLS COMMUNITY OUTREACH INC: $3,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMONARCH SCHOOL PROJECT: $2,691 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetNEIGHBORHOOD RESILIENCE PROJECT: $2,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetPACE SCHOOL: $2,418 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetGREATER PITTSBURGH COMMUNITY FOOD BANK: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE LATINO COMMUNITY CENTER INC: $2,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetFOCUS NORTH AMERICA: $2,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetWOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT INC: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCASA SAN JOSE: $1,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCANCER BRIDGES: $1,500 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetFAMILY HOUSE INC: $1,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetLITTLE SISTERS OF THE POOR: $1,500 over 3y, 4.6% of budgetTHE BLESSING BOARD: $1,500 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetLIGHT OF LIFE MINISTRIES INC: $1,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetThe Women and Girls Foundation of Southwest Pennsylvania: $1,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetBETHANY COMMUNITY MINISTRIES: $1,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetBig Brothers Big Sisters Of America: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE HERITAGE FOUNDATION: $1,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetJourney To Normal Inc: $500 over 1y, 3.0% 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 THE PITTSBURGH PROMISE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds THE CHALLENGE PROGRAM INC ↗
  • Who funds The Pittsburgh Project ↗
  • Who funds FAME ↗
  • Who funds EXTRA MILE EDUCATION FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds KIDSVOICE ↗
  • Who funds BETHLEHEM HAVEN OF PITTSBURGH ↗
  • Who funds YMCA OF THE ROSES ↗
  • Who funds SOUTH HILLS INTERFAITH MINISTRIES ↗
  • Who funds HOMELESS CHILDREN'S EDUCATION FUND ↗
  • Who funds READING IS FUNDAMENTAL INC ↗
  • Who funds Larkin Street Youth Services ↗
  • Who funds TRYING TOGETHER ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL COUNCIL OF JEWISH WOMEN PITTSBURGH SECTION ↗
  • Who funds NORTH HILLS COMMUNITY OUTREACH INC ↗
  • Who funds MONARCH SCHOOL PROJECT ↗
  • Who funds NEIGHBORHOOD RESILIENCE PROJECT ↗
  • Who funds PACE SCHOOL ↗

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 Pittsburgh Founda…Hillman Family Founda…The United Way of Sou…Richard King Mellon F…The Grable FoundationThe Heinz EndowmentsMassey Charitable Tru…McElhattan FoundationEden Hall FoundationCentimark FoundationStaunton Farm Foundat…Pittsburgh Child Guid…
The Pittsburgh FoundationPA38.8× affinity18 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Pittsburgh Foundation · Hillman Family Foundations · The United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania · Richard King Mellon Foundation · The Grable Foundation · The Heinz Endowments · Massey Charitable Trust · McElhattan Foundation · Eden Hall Foundation · Centimark Foundation · Staunton Farm Foundation 540-054 Dba Staunton Farm Foundation · Pittsburgh Child Guidance 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 Leigh Tison Charitable Trust funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Leigh Tison Charitable Trust. 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%15%30%45%60%share of the org’s income from government →median 21%
  • Big Brothers Big Sisters of America: 21% of income from government
  • Wounded Warrior Project Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
14report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–60%
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 Leigh Tison Charitable Trust?

Find your warmest path to Leigh Tison Charitable Trust 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 62 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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

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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