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Mac Five Foundation Inc at a glance

· Private foundation

Mac Five Foundation Inc

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.

$18M
Granted FY2025still arriving
4
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$9.0M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0199% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2025.

Education$30MPhilanthropy$12MFood & Nutrition$8.1MScience & Tech$6.6MEnvironment$2.7MHealth$2.0MAnimals$550kRecreation & Sports$270kOther$0
02FY2025 · 4 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$8,100,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$103M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
JSM CHARITABLE TRUST$9,000,000
WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY$8,100,000
GLENVIEW - MERCURY FAMILY FOUNDATION$347,595
STARPATCH FOUNDATION$275,065
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, $459k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 99% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%RIP MEDICAL DEBT: $1k → 9%UNITING PARTNERS FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN: $5k → 15%THE LITTLE BIT FOUNDATION: $120k → 11%UNITING PARTNERS FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN: $1k → 15%THE LITTLE BIT FOUNDATION: $100k → 11%THE LITTLE BIT FOUNDATION: $100k → 11%THE COVERING HOUSE: $20k → 11%THE LITTLE BIT FOUNDATION: $10k → 11%SOMERVILLE HOMELESS COALITION: $1k → 8%THE LITTLE BIT FOUNDATION: $100k → 11%SOMERVILLE HOMELESS COALITION: $1k → 8%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

NH
MN
IL
MI
NY
MA
OH
NJ
CA
CO
NE
MO
KY
WV
VA
NM
KS
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.

76%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$48M · 42 repeat orgs$15M to everyone else

42 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2025, 41 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

42
35

Total granted

$48M
$5.7M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+36%
+39%

Still filing today

76%
69%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 46% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $9.6M went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24’25
EducationEnvironmentHuman ServicesArts & CultureCommunity ImprovementPhilanthropyOther
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

  • WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
    6× · 2020–2025 · $9.0M · revenue +16%
  • TS
    TEACH ST LOUIS
    5× · 2020–2024 · $2.9M · revenue +37% · 27% of their budget
  • TS
    THE SAINT LOUIS ZOO ASSOCIATION
    3× · 2022–2024 · $550k · revenue +92%

Funded once

  • TO
    TRUSTEES OF THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDENS
    one grant, 2020 · $2.2M
  • The Trustees of Princeton Universitygraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $1.6M · revenue +51%
  • Trustees of Tufts Collegegraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $750k · revenue +39%
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
Boston Architectural College

The bac is committed to provide excellence in design education grounded in practice and accessible to diverse communities.

—
2
Thomas Jefferson School

Thomas jefferson school engages its students in the education necessary to live as responsible citizens of the world. through the strongest possible college-prepatory program and within a nurturing community, students develop a…

—
3
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The mission of mit is to advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century.

Education
4
The George Washington University

The mission of the george washington university (gw) is to educate individuals in liberal arts, languages, sciences, learned professions, and other courses and subjects of study, and to conduct scholarly research and publish the findings…

Education
5
Furman University

The primary mission of furman as a liberal arts institution is to provide a distinctive education in fine arts, humanities, social sciences, mathematics and the sciences, as well as selected professional disciplines.

Education
6
Columbia College

Columbia college improves lives by providing quality education to both traditional and nontraditional students, helping them achieve their true potential.

Education
7
Manhattanville University

To educate students to be ethical and socially responsible leaders in a global community.

Education
8
University of the Sciences in Philadelphia

University of the sciences prepares students to become leaders, innovators, and skilled practitioners in the sciences, the health professions, and related disciplines. we deliver excellence in teaching, research, and service through a safe…

—
9
Webster University

Founded in 1915, webster is a private non-profit and global university that is committed to delivering high-quality learning experiences that transform students for global citizenship and individual excellence.

Education
10
Wilson College

Wilson college empowers students to be confident and critical thinkers, creative visionaries, effective communicators, honorable leaders, and agents of justice.

Education
11
Chicago Public Education Fund

The chicago public education fund (the fund) is a nonprofit organization that improves public schools in chicago by investing in the talented educators who lead them.

Education
12
Golden Gate University

Golden gate university prepares individuals to lead and serve by providing high quality, practice-based educational programs in law, taxation, business and related professions - as a nonprofit institution - in an innovative and challenging…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Minneapolis Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Starpatch 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

63 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. 63 of the 84 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)
11
Early backer (in before they grew)
63/63
Grantees still filing
40/63
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

DAVIS & ELKINS COLLEGE: $11,750,000 · EducationDAVIS & ELKINS COLLEGEWASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: $8,965,000 · EducationWASHINGTON UNIVERSITYTEACH ST LOUIS: $2,867,500 · EducationTEACH ST LOUISThe Trustees of Princeton University: $1,642,248 · EducationThe Trustees of Princeton University+20 more: $4,110,500 · Education+20 moreSTL LIFE SCIENCES PROJECTS: $6,030,000 · OtherSTL LIFE SCIENCES PROJECTSMO BONTANICAL GARDENS: $2,500,000 · OtherMO BONTANICAL GARDENSTRUSTEES OF THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDENS: $2,175,000 · OtherTRUSTEES OF THE MISSOURI BOTAN…ST LOUIS LIFE SCIENCES PROJECT (SLLSP): $1,997,000 · OtherST LOUIS LIFE SCIENCES PROJECT…ST LOUIS COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $1,833,000 · OtherST LOUIS COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONTUFTS COLLEGE TRUSTEES: $975,000 · OtherTUFTS COLLEGE TRUSTEES+35 more: $1,530,000 · Other+35 moreTHE JSM CHARITABLE TRUST: $9,000,000 · PhilanthropyTHE JSM CHARITABL…GLENVIEW MERCURY FAMILY FOUNDATION: $347,595 · Philanthropy+4 more: $405,065 · PhilanthropyDONALD DANFORTH PLANT SCIENCE CENTER: $5,600,000 · Science & TechDONALD DAN…THE SAINT LOUIS ZOO ASSOCIATION: $550,000 · AnimalsForest Park Forever Inc: $270,000 · EnvironmentENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY CENTER OF THE MIDWEST: $120,000 · EnvironmentENVIRONMENT AMERICA RESEARCH AND POLICY CENTER INC: $70,000 · EnvironmentTHE RECYCLING PARTNERSHIP INC: $30,000 · EnvironmentGreat Lakes Aquatic Habitat Network and Fund Inc: $30,000 · Environment+1 more: $10,000 · EnvironmentTHE LITTLE BIT FOUNDATION: $430,000 · Human ServicesTHE COVERING HOUSE: $20,000 · Human Services+3 more: $9,000 · Human Services
Education$29,335,248Other$17,040,000Philanthropy$9,752,660Science & Tech$5,600,000Animals$550,000Environment$530,000Human Services$459,000

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 budgetDAVIS & ELKINS COLLEGE: $11,750,000 over 3y, 13% of budgetTHE JSM CHARITABLE TRUST: $9,000,000 over 1y, 50% of budgetWASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: $8,965,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetDONALD DANFORTH PLANT SCIENCE CENTER: $5,600,000 over 4y, 4.7% of budgetTEACH ST LOUIS: $2,867,500 over 5y, 27% of budgetThe Trustees of Princeton University: $1,642,248 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTrustees of Tufts College: $750,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE SAINT LOUIS ZOO ASSOCIATION: $550,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetTHE OPPORTUNITY TRUST D/B/A ZEST EDUCATION: $530,500 over 4y, 1.8% of budgetBIOSTL: $460,000 over 3y, 2.0% of budgetST LOUIS COUNTY LIBRARY FOUNDATION: $450,000 over 2y, 11% of budgetTHE LITTLE BIT FOUNDATION: $430,000 over 4y, 4.0% of budgetGATEWAY GLOBAL AMERICAN YOUTH & BUSINESS ALLIANCE INC: $415,000 over 4y, 76% of budgetGLENVIEW MERCURY FAMILY FOUNDATION: $347,595 over 1y, 20% of budgetCITY ACADEMY INC: $300,000 over 1y, 4.4% of budgetTeach for America Inc: $300,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetSTARPATCH FOUNDATION: $275,065 over 1y, 19% of budgetForest Park Forever Inc: $270,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetFIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND: $252,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetOHIO WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY: $200,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetGreat Rivers Environmental Law Center: $200,000 over 2y, 14% of budgetJOHN BURROUGHS SCHOOL: $135,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetMary Institute and St Louis Country Day School: $135,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY CENTER OF THE MIDWEST: $120,000 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetThinker Analytix Inc: $100,000 over 3y, 7.5% of budgetWHITE MOUNTAIN SCIENCE INC: $100,000 over 2y, 11% of budgetGIRL SCOUTS OF EASTERN MISSOURI INC: $93,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetScripps College: $80,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS FOUNDATION INC: $75,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetKarkhana Global: $75,000 over 1y, 27% of budgetAIM HIGH ST LOUIS: $72,000 over 3y, 4.4% of budgetENVIRONMENT AMERICA RESEARCH AND POLICY CENTER INC: $70,000 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetBoston Foundation Inc: $60,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE MINNEAPOLIS FOUNDATION: $60,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSOUTH SUDANESE ENRICHMENT FOR FAMILIES INC: $50,000 over 1y, 10% of budgetTHE MAGIC HOUSE: $30,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetTHE RECYCLING PARTNERSHIP INC: $30,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTURN THE PAGE STL: $30,000 over 2y, 4.0% of budgetGreat Lakes Aquatic Habitat Network and Fund Inc: $30,000 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetTHE COVERING HOUSE: $20,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetBEYOND HOUSING INC: $20,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetThe American Youth Foundation: $20,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetTRUSTEES OF BOSTON COLLEGE: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCHARACTERPLUS: $20,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetHomeWorks Trenton: $15,000 over 1y, 2.6% of budgetFORWARD THROUGH FERGUSON: $11,000 over 2y, 1.1% of budget350ORG: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCORTEX: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% 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.

St Louis Community Fo…United Way of Greater…Commerce Bancshares F…Moneta Group Charitab…St Louis Community Fo…Berges Family Foundat…Trio Foundation of St…Centene FoundationWorld Wide Technology…Youthbridge Community…Employees Community F…The Rogers Family Fou…
St Louis Community Foundation IncMO46.4× affinity22 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: St Louis Community Foundation Inc · United Way of Greater St Louis Inc · Commerce Bancshares Foundation · Moneta Group Charitable Foundation · St Louis Community Foundation · Berges Family Foundation · Trio Foundation of St Louis · Centene Foundation · World Wide Technology Foundation · Youthbridge Community Foundation · Employees Community Fund of the Boeing Company · The Rogers Family 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 Mac Five Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Mac Five Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 50%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 6%
  • Somerville Homeless Coalition Inc: 31% of income from government
  • Trustees of Tufts College: 13% of income from government
  • The Trustees of Princeton University: 11% of income from government
  • HomeWorks Trenton: 6% of income from government
  • Zumix Inc: 5% of income from government
  • Trustees of Boston College: 3% of income from government
  • Boston Symphony Orchestra Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Boston Foundation Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
5get 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
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 Mac Five Foundation Inc?

Find your warmest path to Mac Five Foundation Inc 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 84 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 Mac Five’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