Skip to content
Little Tower Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Little Tower Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$202k
Granted FY2025still arriving
35
Grants FY2025still arriving
2
States reached
$34k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0199% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Health$235kHuman Services$167kAnimals$143kReligion$127kFood & Nutrition$120kEducation$106kHousing & Shelter$86kArts & Culture$45kOther$0
02FY2025 · 35 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k31 grants · $119k
  • $10k–50k4 grants · $83k
$5,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$2.7M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
MARKS COLORECTAL SURGICAL FOUNDATION$33,500
NORRISTOWN ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY$29,000
FOX CHASE CANCER CENTER$10,000
HOLY SAVIOUR CHURCH$10,000
AIM ACADEMY$7,500
VARIETY-THE CHILDRENS CHARITY OF DELAWARE VALLEY$5,000
SALVATION ARMY- NORRISTOWN CORPS$5,000
MONTGOMERY CHILD ADVOCACY PROJECT$5,000
LAUREL HOUSE$5,000
CATHOLIC SOCIAL SERVICES OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY$5,000
ANGEL FLIGHT EAST$5,000
PATRICIAN SOCIETY$5,000
CECIL & GRACE BEAN SOUP KITCHEN INC$5,000
GATEWAY HOUSING GROUP$5,000
Individual grant recipient$5,000
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, $127k) land where the poverty rate runs at 7%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%MEADOWOOD: $5k → 6%MITZVAH CIRCLE: $3k → 6%GEMMA SERVICES (FORMERLY SILVER SPRINGS MARTIN LUTHER SCHOOL): $5k → 7%SILVER SPRINGS-MARTIN LUTHER SCHOOL: $3k → 7%GEMMA SERVICES (FORMERLY SILVER SPRINGS MARTIN LUTHER SCHOOL): $3k → 7%GEMMA SERVICES (FORMERLY SILVER SPRINGS MARTIN LUTHER SCHOOL): $3k → 7%GEMMA SERVICES (FORMERLY SILVER SPRINGS MARTIN LUTHER SCHOOL): $3k → 7%GEMMA SERVICES (FORMERLY SILVER SPRINGS MARTIN LUTHER SCHOOL): $2k → 7%SILVER SPRINGS-MARTIN LUTHER SCHOOL: $2k → 7%SILVER SPRINGS-MARTIN LUTHER SCHOOL: $2k → 7%A BABYS BREATH: $5k → 7%A BABYS BREATH: $5k → 7%A BABYS BREATH: $5k → 7%A BABYS BREATH: $5k → 7%A BABYS BREATH: $3k → 7%A BABYS BREATH: $2k → 7%A BABYS BREATH: $2k → 7%A BABYS BREATH: $2k → 7%A BABY'S BREATH: $1k → 7%THE KELLAN FORD FOUNDATION: $500 → 7%MONTGOMERY CHILD ADVOCACY PROJECT: $5k → 7%MONTGOMERY CHILD ADVOCACY PROJECT: $5k → 7%MONTGOMERY CHILD ADVOCACY PROJECT: $5k → 7%CECIL & GRACE BEAN SOUP KITCHEN INC: $5k → 7%CECIL & GRACE BEAN SOUP KITCHEN INC: $5k → 7%CECIL & GRACE BEAN SOUP KITCHEN INC: $5k → 7%MONTGOMERY CHILD ADVOCACY PROJECT: $5k → 7%CECIL & GRACE BEAN SOUP KITCHEN INC: $5k → 7%CECIL & GRACE BEAN SOUP KITCHEN INC: $5k → 7%CECIL & GRACE BEAN SOUP KITCHEN INC: $5k → 7%MONTGOMERY CHILD ADVOCACY PROJECT: $2k → 7%MONTGOMERY CHILD ADVOCACY PROJECT: $2k → 7%MONTGOMERY CHILD ADVOCACY PROJECT: $1k → 7%ACLAMO FAMILY CENTERS: $1k → 7%MONTGOMERY CHILD ADVOCACY PROJECT: $1k → 7%CECIL & GRACE BEAN SOUP KITCHEN INC: $1k → 7%CECIL & GRACE BEAN SOUP KITCHEN INC: $1k → 7%ACLAMO FAMILY CENTERS: $1k → 7%MONTGOMERY CHILD ADVOCACY PROJECT: $1k → 7%CECIL & GRACE BEAN SOUP KITCHEN INC: $1k → 7%MATTIE DIXON COMMUNITY CUPBOARD: $5k → 7%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.

95%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.1M · 52 repeat orgs$56k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +78% since the first grant, against -15% for those funded once.

52 repeat relationships: 32 still active in FY2025, 20 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

52
17

Total granted

$1.1M
$46k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+78%
-15%

Still filing today

58%
29%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 95% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $10k 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 ServicesHealthEducationHousing & ShelterAnimalsArts & CultureOther
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

  • NZ
    NORRISTOWN ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY
    9× · 2017–2025 · $139k · revenue +201%
  • GH
    GATEWAY HOUSING GROUP
    9× · 2017–2025 · $45k · revenue +163%
  • AI
    ACADEMY IN MANAYUNK
    9× · 2017–2025 · $45k · revenue +156%

Funded once

  • EM
    EINSTEIN MEDICAL CENTER MONTGOMERY COUNTY
    one grant, 2020 · $9k
  • MN
    MATTIE N DIXON COMMUNITY CUPBOARD INCgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $5k · revenue +27%
  • LS
    LITTLE SISTERS OF THE POOR OF THE CITY AND COUNTY OF PHILADELPHIA
    one grant, 2023 · $5k · revenue -21%
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
Mercy Life Center Corporation

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

Health
2
Misericordia University

Misericordia university, a catholic liberal arts institution established in the tradition of the sisters of mercy, fosters intellectual curiosity, critical thinking, and respect for persons in an environment where all are welcome.values…

Education
3
Melmark Inc

Melmark is a human services provider with premier private special education schools, professional development, training, and research centers. melmark is committed to enhancing the lives of individuals within diverse communities with…

Human Services
4
Philhaven

Philhaven promotes hope, healing and wholeness through the provision of behavioral resources.

Health
5
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

The children's hospital of philadelphia, the oldest hospital in the united states dedicated exclusively to pediatrics, strives to be the world leader in the advancement of health care for children by integrating excellent patient care,…

Health
6
Elwyn of Pennsylvania and Delaware

Elwyn makes life better for people with developmental and behavioral health challenges.

Human Services
7
Marian Manor Corporation

Marian manor is part of the larger vincentian collaborative system ministries, whose mission statement is: "compelled by the love of christ, vincentian collaborative system nurtures and sustains a ministry of compassionate care that…

Health
8
Mainstay Life Services

Individuals with developmental disabilities will live within a community that sustains them and benefits from their participation. mainstay life services will be regarded as the region's provider of choice for individuals and families…

Housing & Shelter
9
Inglis Housing Corporation

To provide affordable, accessible and safe housing for people with physical disabilities where they enjoy an environment of independence and mobility, achieve their goals and live life to the fullest.

Housing & Shelter
10
Merakey Idd Philadelphia

The organization was formed to serve all functioning levels of individuals with intellectual developmental disabilities who reside primarily in the philadelphia metropolitan area. services provided include residential, outpatient and adult…

—
11
Ronald Mcdonald House Charities of Central Pa

Ronald mcdonald house charities of central pa provides essential services that remove barriers, strengthen families and promote healing when children need healthcare.

—
12
Main Line Hospitals Inc

The mission of main line hospitals, inc. is to provide a comprehensive range of safe, high quality health services, complemented by educational and research activities that meet healthcare needs and improve the quality of life in the…

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Center for Loss and Bereavement; the most unlike its peers is Lisas Army 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

39 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. 39 of the 73 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)
14
Early backer (in before they grew)
39/39
Grantees still filing
29/39
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

HOLY SAVIOUR CHURCH: $68,500 · OtherHOLY SAVIOUR CHURCHSALVATION ARMY- NORRISTOWN CORPS: $51,600 · OtherSALVATION ARMY- NORRISTOWN CORPSMISSIONARIES OF CHARITY: $50,000 · OtherMISSIONARIES OF CHARITYFOX CHASE CANCER CENTER: $40,000 · OtherFOX CHASE CANCER CENTERCATHOLIC SOCIAL SERVICES OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY: $32,000 · OtherCATHOLIC SOCIAL SERVICES OF MONTGOMERY COUNTYANGEL FLIGHT EAST: $27,000 · OtherANGEL FLIGHT EAST+39 more: $234,450 · Other+39 moreLAUREL HOUSE: $34,000 · Human ServicesLAUREL HOUSECECIL AND GRACE BEANS SOUP KITCHEN INC: $33,000 · Human ServicesCECIL AND GRACE …A Babys Breath: $30,000 · Human ServicesA Babys BreathMONTGOMERY CHILD ADVOCACY PROJECT: $27,000 · Human ServicesMONTGOMERY CHILD…Gemma Services: $21,800 · Human ServicesGemma Services+5 more: $15,000 · Human Services+5 moreMARKS COLORECTAL SURGICAL FOUNDATION: $86,000 · HealthMARKS COLORECTA…THE CENTER FOR LOSS AND BEREAVEMENT: $21,000 · HealthTHE CENTER FOR …LANKENAU MEDICAL CENTER FOUNDATION: $15,000 · HealthLANKENAU MEDICA…PILLARS OF LIGHT AND LOVE: $15,000 · HealthPILLARS OF LIGH…HEDWIG HOUSE: $10,500 · HealthHEDWIG HOUSE+1 more: $4,000 · HealthNORRISTOWN ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $139,000 · AnimalsNORRISTOWN ZOO…+1 more: $4,000 · AnimalsACADEMY IN MANAYUNK: $45,000 · EducationGWYNEDD MERCY UNIVERSITY: $13,000 · EducationTHE PUBLIC SCHOOL OF GERMANTOWN: $13,000 · EducationHIGH POINT UNIVERSITY: $3,000 · Education+1 more: $750 · EducationGATEWAY HOUSING GROUP: $45,000 · Housing & ShelterThe Lamb Foundation: $6,500 · Housing & Shelter+1 more: $1,000 · Housing & ShelterTHEATRE HORIZON INC: $37,000 · Arts & CultureNATIONAL ITALIAN AMERICAN FOUNDATIONINC: $1,750 · Arts & Culture
Other$503,550Human Services$160,800Health$151,500Animals$143,000Education$74,750Housing & Shelter$52,500Arts & Culture$38,750

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 budgetNORRISTOWN ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $139,000 over 9y, 0.2% of budgetMARKS COLORECTAL SURGICAL FOUNDATION: $86,000 over 9y, 16% of budgetGATEWAY HOUSING GROUP: $45,000 over 9y, 6.4% of budgetACADEMY IN MANAYUNK: $45,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetTHEATRE HORIZON INC: $37,000 over 9y, 0.5% of budgetLAUREL HOUSE: $34,000 over 9y, 0.2% of budgetCECIL AND GRACE BEANS SOUP KITCHEN INC: $33,000 over 9y, 3.2% of budgetA Babys Breath: $30,000 over 9y, 1.6% of budgetMONTGOMERY CHILD ADVOCACY PROJECT: $27,000 over 9y, 0.7% of budgetANGEL FLIGHT EAST: $27,000 over 8y, 0.3% of budgetGemma Services: $21,800 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetTHE CENTER FOR LOSS AND BEREAVEMENT: $21,000 over 5y, 0.6% of budgetNorristown Hospitality Center: $15,000 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetLANKENAU MEDICAL CENTER FOUNDATION: $15,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetPILLARS OF LIGHT AND LOVE: $15,000 over 2y, 6.2% of budgetPATRICIAN SOCIETY OF CENTRAL NORRISTOWN: $14,500 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetGWYNEDD MERCY UNIVERSITY: $13,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetTHE PUBLIC SCHOOL OF GERMANTOWN: $13,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetSUPERKIDS OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY INC: $10,500 over 8y, 9.2% of budgetHEDWIG HOUSE: $10,500 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetRIVERBEND ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION CENTER: $10,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetVARIETY THE CHILDREN'S CHARITY OF THE DELAWARE VALLEY: $10,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetRONALD MCDONALD HOUSE CHARITIES OF THE PHILADELPHIA REGION: $7,250 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetThe Lamb Foundation: $6,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetMATTIE N DIXON COMMUNITY CUPBOARD INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetLITTLE SISTERS OF THE POOR OF THE CITY AND COUNTY OF PHILADELPHIA: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetKITTY COTTAGE ADOPTION CENTER INC: $4,000 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetLISAS ARMY INC: $4,000 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetHIGH POINT UNIVERSITY: $3,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetWISSAHICKON FOUNDATION: $2,500 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetMISSION KIDS CHILD ADVOCACY CENTER: $2,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetACLAMO: $2,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetNATIONAL ITALIAN AMERICAN FOUNDATIONINC: $1,750 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetDEVELOPMENTAL ENTERPRISES CORPORATION: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: $750 over 3y, 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 NORRISTOWN ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds MARKS COLORECTAL SURGICAL FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds GATEWAY HOUSING GROUP ↗
  • Who funds ACADEMY IN MANAYUNK ↗
  • Who funds THEATRE HORIZON INC ↗
  • Who funds LAUREL HOUSE ↗
  • Who funds CECIL AND GRACE BEANS SOUP KITCHEN INC ↗
  • Who funds A Babys Breath ↗
  • Who funds MONTGOMERY CHILD ADVOCACY PROJECT ↗
  • Who funds ANGEL FLIGHT EAST ↗
  • Who funds Gemma Services ↗
  • Who funds THE CENTER FOR LOSS AND BEREAVEMENT ↗
  • Who funds Norristown Hospitality Center ↗
  • Who funds LANKENAU MEDICAL CENTER FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds PILLARS OF LIGHT AND LOVE ↗
  • Who funds PATRICIAN SOCIETY OF CENTRAL NORRISTOWN ↗
  • Who funds GWYNEDD MERCY UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds THE PUBLIC SCHOOL OF GERMANTOWN ↗
  • Who funds SUPERKIDS OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY INC ↗
  • Who funds HEDWIG HOUSE ↗
  • Who funds RIVERBEND ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION CENTER ↗
  • Who funds VARIETY THE CHILDREN'S CHARITY OF THE DELAWARE VALLEY ↗
  • Who funds RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE CHARITIES OF THE PHILADELPHIA REGION ↗
  • Who funds The Lamb Foundation ↗

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.

Genuardi Family Found…Jaymar FoundationConnelly FoundationThe Philadelphia Foun…Montgomery County Fou…W W Smith Charitable …United Way of Greater…Vna Foundation of Gre…Quest for the BestThe Cedarcrest Charit…The Gordon Charter Fo…Phillies Charities Inc
Genuardi Family FoundationPA40.9× affinity17 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Genuardi Family Foundation · Jaymar Foundation · Connelly Foundation · The Philadelphia Foundation · Montgomery County Foundation Inc · W W Smith Charitable Trust · United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey · Vna Foundation of Greater North Penn · Quest for the Best · The Cedarcrest Charitable Foundation Aka Blbb Charitable · The Gordon Charter Foundation · Phillies Charities 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 Little Tower Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Little Tower Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%5%11%20%funder's share of their income ↑0%10%20%30%40%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    11report 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.

    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 73 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 Little Tower’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