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Limestone Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Limestone Foundation

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.

$2.5M
Granted FY2024still arriving
29
Grants FY2024still arriving
15
States reached
$505k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2024.

Public Benefit$7.0MCommunity Improvement$1.7MCivil Rights$1.4MHuman Services$1.0MPhilanthropy$955kArts & Culture$455kEducation$335kSocial Science$300kOther$0
02FY2024 · 29 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k5 grants · $25k
  • $10k–50k6 grants · $115k
  • $50k–250k15 grants · $1.3M
  • $250k+3 grants · $1.1M
$50,000
Median grant
15
States reached
$46M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CENTER ON BUDGET AND POLICY PRIORITIES$505,000
NEW MEXICO VOICES FOR CHILDREN$300,000
KENTUCKY CENTER FOR ECONOMIC POLICY INC$275,000
KENTUCKY COALITION INC$150,000
STATE POWER FUND$150,000
KENTUCKY CIVIC ENGAGEMENT TABLE INC$150,000
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE$75,000
HOPEWELL FUND$75,000
THE ALLUVIAL COLLECTIVE$75,000
MONTANA BUDGET AND POLICY CENTER$75,000
NEO PHILANTHROPY INC$75,000
OKLAHOMA POLICY INSTITUTE$75,000
NEW JERSEY POLICY PERSPECTIVE$75,000
NEW VENTURE FUNDAMERICANS FOR TAX FAIRNESS$75,000
WEST VIRGINIA CENTER ON BUDGET AND POLICY INC$50,000
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 (FY20–24, $1.3M) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 77% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%KANSAS ACTION FOR CHILDREN INC: $200k → 14%STATE POWER FUND: $150k → 19%KANSAS ACTION FOR CHILDREN INC: $200k → 14%STATE POWER FUND: $150k → 19%TIDES CENTER: $225k → 10%NEW YORK WOMEN'S FOUNDATION: $15k → 17%KANSAS ACTION FOR CHILDREN INC: $200k → 14%STATE POWER FUND: $50k → 19%TIDES CENTER: $25k → 10%NEW YORK WOMEN'S FOUNDATION: $15k → 17%STATE POWER FUND: $20k → 19%INSTITUTO LAB: $50k → 11%NEW YORK WOMEN'S FOUNDATION: $15k → 17%NEW YORK WOMEN'S FOUNDATION: $10k → 17%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

AK
MT
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
IN
OH
NJ
CA
KY
WV
VA
MD
AZ
NM
KS
NC
DC
OK
MS
GA
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.

89%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$11M · 36 repeat orgs$1.4M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +13% since the first grant, against +11% for those funded once.

36 repeat relationships: 23 still active in FY2024, 13 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

36
19

Total granted

$11M
$1.1M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+13%
+11%

Still filing today

86%
89%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 88% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $275k 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
Public BenefitCivil RightsArts & CultureCommunity ImprovementHuman ServicesEducationOther
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

  • Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
    5× · 2020–2024 · $2.4M · revenue +12%
  • MA
    MOUNTAIN ASSOCIATION FOR COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INC
    4× · 2020–2023 · $1.4M · revenue +67%
  • NM
    NEW MEXICO VOICES FOR CHILDREN
    2× · 2023–2024 · $600k · revenue +22%

Funded once

  • WISCONSIN VOICES INC
    one grant, 2020 · $325k · revenue -89%
  • ALLIANCE FOR YOUTH ORGANIZING
    one grant, 2020 · $175k · revenue -28%
  • P
    PUSHBLACK
    one grant, 2020 · $125k · revenue -78%
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
Institute for Public Accuracy

To teach and disseminate educational materials to the public.

Arts & Culture
2
Association of Washington Cities

The association of washington cities builds connections between our state's diverse cities and towns, while providing our members with the support needed to thrive through delivery of data-driven education, nationally recognized pooling…

—
3
Center for American Progress

The center for american progress (cap) is an independent nonpartisan policy institute that is dedicated to improving the lives of all americans through bold, progressive ideas, as well as strong leadership and concerted action. our aim is…

Civil Rights
4
Central Indiana Corporate Partnership Inc

Central indiana corporate partnership (cicp) is an alliance of indiana's business and research university leaders coming together to foster long-term prosperity for the region. cicp's mission is to transform the economy of indiana in order…

Community Improvement
5
America's Newspapers

Providing research, education and practical information all aimed at optimizing newspapers' business operations, deepening their community engagement and enhancing the quality of their journalism.

Employment
6
Center for International Policy Inc

The center for international policy is a woman-led, progressive, independent nonprofit center for research, education, and advocacy working to advance a more peaceful, just, and sustainable u.s. approach to foreign policy. through…

International
7
Dc Policy Center

The mission of the d.c. policy center is to arm decision makers with fact-based, unbiased, and reliable research and analyses to help create a vibrant local economy that can maximize opportunities for residents, workers, and businesses in…

Public Benefit
8
Environmental Investigation Agency

To establish and promote programs to protect the global climate, forests, wildlife and the natural environment, through research, advocacy, and investigation.

International
9
Bipartisan Policy Center Inc

To drive principled solutions through rigorous analysis, reasoned negotiation, and respectful dialogue. to actively promote bipartisanship and work to address the key challenges facing the nation including energy and infrastructure,…

Public Benefit
10
Common Future

Common future is a network of pioneering leaders across the u.s. and canada who work deeply within their communities to create alternative approaches to business, philanthropy, and investing. we envision an economy that has transitioned…

Community Improvement
11
Center for Popular Democracy Inc

The center for popular democracy (cpd) and its affiliates know that everyday people have the power to change the world. we upend business and politics as usual to forge a representative, multiracial government and society where we all…

Public Benefit
12
The Campaign Legal Center Inc

The nonpartisan campaign legal center advances democracy through law at the federal, state and local levels, fighting for every american's rights to responsive government and a fair opportunity to participate in and affect the democratic…

Crime & Legal
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky Inc; the most unlike its peers is Boston Symphony Orchestra 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

58 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. 58 of the 64 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.

2
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
12
Early backer (in before they grew)
57/58
Grantees still filing
37/58
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: $2,366,000 · Public BenefitCenter on Budget and Policy PrioritiesKENTUCKY COALITION INC: $710,000 · Public BenefitKENTUCKY COALITION INCGEORGIA BUDGET AND POLICY INSTITUTE INC: $400,000 · Public BenefitGEORGIA BUDGET AND POLICY INSTITUTE INCMONTANA BUDGET AND POLICY CENTER: $375,000 · Public BenefitMONTANA BUDGET AND POLICY CENTERThe Commonwealth Institute for: $325,000 · Public BenefitThe Commonwealth Institute forNEO Philanthropy Inc: $295,000 · Public BenefitNEO Philanthropy IncKENTUCKY CENTER FOR ECONOMIC POLICY INC: $275,000 · Public BenefitWEST VIRGINIA CENTER ON BUDGET AND POLICY INC: $275,000 · Public Benefit+4 more: $385,000 · Public Benefit+4 moreNEW MEXICO VOICES FOR CHILDREN: $600,000 · Civil RightsNEW MEXICO VOICES …WISCONSIN VOICES INC: $325,000 · Civil RightsWISCONSIN VOICES I…OKLAHOMA POLICY INC: $275,000 · Civil RightsOKLAHOMA POLICY IN…THE ALLUVIAL COLLECTIVE: $225,000 · Civil RightsTHE ALLUVIAL COLLE…ALLIANCE FOR YOUTH ORGANIZING: $175,000 · Civil RightsALLIANCE FOR YOUTH…PUSHBLACK: $125,000 · Civil RightsPUSHBLACKPROGEORGIA STATE TABLE INC: $100,000 · Civil RightsFair Elections Center: $100,000 · Civil RightsRURAL ARIZONA ENGAGEMENT: $75,000 · Civil RightsONE ARIZONA: $75,000 · Civil Rights+2 more: $55,000 · Civil RightsMOUNTAIN ASSOCIATION FOR COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INC: $1,365,000 · Community ImprovementMOUNTAIN ASSOCIAT…KENTUCKY CIVIC ENGAGEMENT TABLE INC: $425,000 · Community ImprovementKENTUCKY CIVIC EN…FAITH IN ACTION NETWORK: $225,000 · Community ImprovementFAITH IN ACTION N…+1 more: $35,000 · Community ImprovementKANSAS ACTION FOR CHILDREN INC: $600,000 · Human ServicesKANSAS ACTI…STATE POWER FUND: $370,000 · Human ServicesSTATE POWER…TIDES CENTER: $250,000 · Human ServicesTIDES CENTE…NEW YORK WOMEN'S FOUNDATION INC: $55,000 · Human ServicesInstituto Lab: $50,000 · Human ServicesNEW VENTURE FUNDAMERICANS FOR TAX FAIRNESS: $307,500 · OtherNEW VENTURE…PROGRESS MICHIGAN EDUCATIONWE THE PEOPLE: $275,000 · OtherPROGRESS MI…NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE: $150,000 · OtherNATIONAL AS…FUND FOR CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY AND CORPORATE: $90,000 · OtherFUND FOR CO…THE URBAN INSTITUTE: $150,000 · OtherTHE URBAN I…WINDWARD FUND: $50,000 · OtherTHE ALASKA CENTER EDUCATION FUND: $50,000 · OtherBETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER INC: $50,000 · Other+12 more: $200,000 · Other+12 moreTHE AMERICAN PROSPECT INC: $350,000 · Arts & CultureNew Jersey Policy Perspective: $150,000 · Arts & CultureNative Peoples Action Community Fund: $150,000 · Arts & CultureKENTUCKY PUBLIC RADIO INC: $50,000 · Arts & CultureBOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC: $25,000 · Arts & Culture+1 more: $5,000 · Arts & CultureHOPEWELL FUND: $165,000 · PhilanthropyBROOKLINE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $95,000 · PhilanthropyTHE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF LOUISVILLE INC: $70,000 · PhilanthropyBLUE GRASS COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $50,000 · PhilanthropyARIZONA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $30,000 · Philanthropy
Public Benefit$5,406,000Civil Rights$2,130,000Community Improvement$2,050,000Human Services$1,325,000Other$1,322,500Arts & Culture$730,000Philanthropy$410,000

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

25%50%75%100%$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetCenter on Budget and Policy Priorities: $2,366,000 over 5y, 1.4% of budgetMOUNTAIN ASSOCIATION FOR COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INC: $1,365,000 over 4y, 9.1% of budgetKENTUCKY COALITION INC: $710,000 over 5y, 7.9% of budgetNEW MEXICO VOICES FOR CHILDREN: $600,000 over 2y, 20% of budgetKANSAS ACTION FOR CHILDREN INC: $600,000 over 3y, 16% of budgetKENTUCKY CIVIC ENGAGEMENT TABLE INC: $425,000 over 3y, 11% of budgetGEORGIA BUDGET AND POLICY INSTITUTE INC: $400,000 over 4y, 5.3% of budgetMONTANA BUDGET AND POLICY CENTER: $375,000 over 5y, 12% of budgetSTATE POWER FUND: $370,000 over 4y, 2.5% of budgetTHE AMERICAN PROSPECT INC: $350,000 over 5y, 5.5% of budgetWISCONSIN VOICES INC: $325,000 over 1y, 3.2% of budgetThe Commonwealth Institute for: $325,000 over 4y, 5.2% of budgetNEO Philanthropy Inc: $295,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetOKLAHOMA POLICY INC: $275,000 over 4y, 4.0% of budgetKENTUCKY CENTER FOR ECONOMIC POLICY INC: $275,000 over 1y, 31% of budgetWEST VIRGINIA CENTER ON BUDGET AND POLICY INC: $275,000 over 5y, 9.4% of budgetTIDES CENTER: $250,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetFAITH IN ACTION NETWORK: $225,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetTHE ALLUVIAL COLLECTIVE: $225,000 over 2y, 26% of budgetALLIANCE FOR YOUTH ORGANIZING: $175,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetHOPEWELL FUND: $165,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetBALLOT INITIATIVE STRATEGY CENTER FOUNDATION: $160,000 over 5y, 2.1% of budgetINSTITUTE ON TAXATION AND ECONOMIC POLICY: $150,000 over 3y, 2.1% of budgetTHE URBAN INSTITUTE: $150,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetNew Jersey Policy Perspective: $150,000 over 2y, 4.0% of budgetNative Peoples Action Community Fund: $150,000 over 2y, 21% of budgetPUSHBLACK: $125,000 over 1y, 2.3% of budgetPROGEORGIA STATE TABLE INC: $100,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetFair Elections Center: $100,000 over 1y, 3.0% of budgetBROOKLINE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $95,000 over 5y, 1.0% of budgetRURAL ARIZONA ENGAGEMENT: $75,000 over 1y, 3.0% of budgetONE ARIZONA: $75,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetTHE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF LOUISVILLE INC: $70,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetNEW YORK WOMEN'S FOUNDATION INC: $55,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetWINDWARD FUND: $50,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetVOTERIDERS: $50,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetBETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER INC: $50,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetKENTUCKY PUBLIC RADIO INC: $50,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetCODE FOR AMERICA LABS INC: $50,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetInstituto Lab: $50,000 over 1y, 2.6% of budgetTHE ALASKA CENTER EDUCATION FUND: $50,000 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetBLUE GRASS COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMASSACHUSETTS COMMUNITIES ACTION NETWORK INC: $35,000 over 3y, 1.0% of budgetTHE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK: $35,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetARIZONA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $30,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBROOKLINE FOOD PANTRY INC: $25,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetProgressive Change Institute: $25,000 over 1y, 3.7% of budgetBOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC: $25,000 over 5y, 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.

New Venture FundHopewell FundAmalgamated Charitabl…Annie E Casey Foundat…Center on Budget and …Tides FoundationThe Ford FoundationChestnut FundMary Reynolds Babcock…Wellspring Philanthro…NEO Philanthropy IncEconomic Policy Insti…
New Venture FundDC37.6× affinity19 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: New Venture Fund · Hopewell Fund · Amalgamated Charitable Foundation Inc · Annie E Casey Foundation Inc · Center on Budget and Policy Priorities · Tides Foundation · The Ford Foundation · Chestnut Fund · Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation Incorporated · Wellspring Philanthropic Fund Inc · NEO Philanthropy Inc · Economic Policy Institute

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 Limestone Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Limestone Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 40%3%10%23%40%funder's share of their income ↑0%10%20%30%40%share of the org’s income from government →median 6%
  • Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Inc: 6% of income from government
  • Boston Symphony Orchestra Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
4get no government money at all
8report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–40%
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 Limestone Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Limestone 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 64 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

Play a game based on Limestone’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