Skip to content
Making a Difference Foundation at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Private foundation

Making a Difference Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$828k
Granted FY2024still arriving
229
Grants FY2024still arriving
29
States reached
$139k
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, FY2018 to 2024.

International$1.4MHealth$828kPublic Safety & Disaster$622kPhilanthropy$564kEducation$215kHuman Services$165kAnimals$120kHousing & Shelter$118kOther$0
02FY2024 · 229 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k215 grants · $447k
  • $10k–50k13 grants · $243k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $139k
$2,500
Median grant
29
States reached
$5.8M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL RELIEF$138,572
A BROADER VIEW VOLUNTEERS$29,712
MALIHEH FREE CLINIC$25,500
SEAGER MEMORIAL CLINIC$25,000
CARIDAD CENTER$25,000
LINCOLN COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER$25,000
PEOPLE'S HEALTH CLINIC$25,000
PARTNERS FOR WORLD HEALTH$19,500
AMERICAN RED CROSS$15,000
VOOM FOUNDATION$13,000
COMMUNITY FOUNDATION WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA$10,000
UNICEF$10,000
INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE$10,000
DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS$10,000
VOLUNTEERS OF AMERICA$8,500
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 (FY18–24, $300k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 60% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%A BROADER VIEW VOLUNTEERS: $5k → 7%FOSTERING HOPE: $3k → 10%ANGELS FOSTER FAMILY NETWORK: $750 → 11%LUSTGARTEN FOUNDATION: $1k → 6%NURSES WITH A PURPOSE: $2k → 8%CARIDAD CENTER: $25k → 11%FREEDOM RIDE INC: $3k → 13%THE MASONIC HOME FOR CHILDREN: $3k → 11%VINE MAPLE PLACE: $3k → 9%A BROADER VIEW VOLUNTEERS: $30k → 7%LUSTGARTEN FOUNDATION: $1k → 6%CARIDAD CENTER: $20k → 11%FREEDOM RIDE INC: $3k → 13%A BROADER VIEW VOLUNTEERS: $30k → 7%CARIDAD CENTER: $15k → 11%YMCA OF GREATER GRAND RAPIDS: $3k → 11%PEDAL THE CAUSE: $3k → 11%THE ADOPTION EXCHANGE: $1k → 8%BLESSINGS IN A BACKPACK: $1k → 15%CARIDAD CENTER: $15k → 11%YMCA OF GREATER GRAND RAPIDS: $750 → 11%INTER-FAITH FOOD SHUTTLE: $1k → 8%BLESSINGS IN A BACKPACK: $1k → 15%CARIDAD CENTER: $15k → 11%ADVOCATES FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES: $2k → 15%INTER-FAITH FOOD SHUTTLE: $1k → 8%THE ADOPTION EXCHANGE: $1k → 8%STERLING HOUSE COMMUNITY CENTER: $3k → 9%A BROADER VIEW VOLUNTEERS: $7k → 7%STERLING HOUSE COMMUNITY CENTER INC: $3k → 9%STERLING HOUSE COMMUNITY CENTER INC: $2k → 9%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $15k → 14%STERLING HOUSE COMMUNITY CENTER: $2k → 9%WORLD FOOD PROGRAM: $5k → 14%UTAH DIAPER BANK: $3k → 8%YMCA OF SOUTH PALM BEACH: $1k → 11%YMCA OF SOUTH PALM BEACH: $1k → 11%KIDS IN DISTRESS: $15k → 13%KIDS IN DISTRESS: $15k → 13%KIDS IN DISTRESS: $15k → 13%INTERMOUNTAIN THERAPY ANIMALS: $1k → 8%INTERMOUNTAIN THERAPY ANIMALS: $1k → 8%AAU - ASIAN ASSOCIATION OF UTAH: $4k → 8%THE INN BETWEEN: $3k → 8%UTAH YOUTH VILLAGE: $3k → 8%UTAH YOUTH VILLAGE: $3k → 8%ENCIRCLE: $4k → 8%THE ROAD HOME: $2k → 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

ME
WA
ID
MT
MN
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
OR
NV
IA
IN
OH
PA
CT
CA
UT
CO
MO
KY
VA
MD
AZ
NM
KS
AR
TN
NC
SC
DC
HI
OK
LA
MS
AL
GA
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.
04

Where the work is directed

The same grants placed two ways: where each recipient sits, and where its stated purpose sends the money.

About 18% of Making a Difference Foundation’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address.

Making a Difference Foundationlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address · 8.8% directed abroad (not shown)
How this is measured
Recipient view: each grant at its grantee’s ZIP, mapped to a county. Directed view: each grant at the county its stated purpose names, falling back to the recipient’s county when the purpose names no place; US grants only. A county shows only if it carries the top 95% of that view’s dollars. Purposes are read from the funder’s own 990 grant descriptions.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

74%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$3.2M · 109 repeat orgs$1.1M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +23% since the first grant, against +9% for those funded once.

109 repeat relationships: 64 still active in FY2024, 45 since wound down; 162 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

109
222

Total granted

$3.2M
$734k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+23%
+9%

Still filing today

76%
50%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 55% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $366k went to new ones.

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

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

’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
HealthHuman ServicesInternationalAnimalsEducationFood & NutritionOther
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

  • IM
    INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL RELIEF
    6× · 2018–2024 · $691k · revenue +24%
  • PH
    People's Health Clicnic
    5× · 2020–2024 · $90k · revenue +166%
  • CC
    Caridad Center Inc
    5× · 2020–2024 · $90k · revenue +88%

Funded once

  • CI
    CORONAVIRUS IMMEDIATE RELIEF FUND
    one grant, 2020 · $261k
  • MC
    Midvale Community Building Community Incgraduated
    one grant, 2019 · $25k · revenue +343%
  • SC
    SOS CHILDREN'S VILLAGES-USA INC
    one grant, 2018 · $25k · revenue -43%
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
Globus Relief

The mission of globus relief is to improve the delivery of healthcare worldwide by gathering, processing and distributing surplus medical and health supplies to charities at home and abroad.

International
2
Utah Health & Human Rights Project

The organization's mission is to help survivors of torture living in utah to heal from their physical and psychological injuries and rebuild their lives.

Health
3
United Food Bank

United Food Bank unites communities to alleviate hunger.

Food & Nutrition
4
Medical Teams International

Medical teams international is a christian humanitarian relief agency focused on providing life-saving medical care for people in crisis.

International
5
Management Sciences for Health Inc

(msh) saves lives and improves the health of the world's poorest (see schedule o) and most vulnerable people by closing the gap between knowledge and action in public health.

International
6
Global Partners in Care

The organization's mission is to build partnerships to enhance compassionate care globally. we are dedicated to improving access to hospice and palliative care worldwide.

International
7
Feeding San Diego

On a mission to connect every person facing hunger with nutritious meals by maximizing food rescue. through direct service and community partnerships, feeding san diego provides more than 26 million meals each year to children, families,…

Food & Nutrition
8
Utah Animal Adoption Center

The organization is dedicated to reducing pet overpopulation, eliminating euthanasia as a means of controlling pet overpopulation, and preventing animal suffering in utah.

Animals
9
World Relief Corp of National Association of Evangelicals

To boldly engage the world's greatest crises in partnership with the church.

International
10
Pathfinder International

Pathfinder expands access to sexual and reproductive health services, opening the door to opportunities for women and all individuals to thrive-economically, educationally, and civically. driven by our country-led leadership and local…

International
11
Southwest Utah Community Health Center

Making lives better in southwest utah by providing accessible, quality health care, regardless of financial, language, or cultural barriers.

Health
12
Make-a-Wish Foundation of Utah Inc

Together, we create life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Junior League of Salt Lake Cityinc; the most unlike its peers is Caris Foundation. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
05the grantee network

305 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. 305 of the 499 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.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
53
Early backer (in before they grew)
295/305
Grantees still filing
175/305
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Individual grant recipient: $305,335 · OtherIndividual grant recipientCHG EE COMPASSION FUND: $300,384 · OtherCHG EE COMPASSION FUNDCORONAVIRUS IMMEDIATE RELIEF FUND: $260,700 · OtherCORONAVIRUS IMMEDIATE RELIEF FUNDA BROADER VIEW: $95,856 · OtherA BROADER VIEWTHE CHILDREN'S CENTER UTAH: $63,500 · Other+108 more: $519,652 · Other+108 moreINTERNATIONAL MEDICAL RELIEF: $691,496 · HealthINTERNATIONAL MEDICAL RELIEFPeople's Health Clicnic: $90,000 · HealthPeople's Health ClicnicSEAGER MEMORIAL CLINIC: $61,000 · HealthMaliheh Free Clinic: $60,500 · HealthWasatch Homeless Health Care: $50,500 · HealthLINCOLN COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER INC: $45,000 · Health+23 more: $189,901 · Health+23 moreUTAH'S PROMISE: $494,002 · PhilanthropyUTAH'S PROMISEMidvale Community Building Community Inc: $25,000 · Philanthropy+8 more: $57,000 · Philanthropy+8 moreCaridad Center Inc: $90,000 · Human ServicesA BROADER VIEW VOLUNTEERS CORP: $71,086 · Human ServicesKIDS IN DISTRESS INC: $45,000 · Human ServicesAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $15,000 · Human Services+14 more: $54,250 · Human ServicesINTERNATIONAL MEDICAL CORPS: $38,500 · InternationalCENTER FOR HUMANITARIAN OUTREACH AND INTERCULTURAL EXCHANGE: $32,467 · InternationalUNITED STATES FUND FOR UNICEF: $25,000 · InternationalPartners for World Health: $19,500 · InternationalInternational Rescue Committee INC: $16,500 · InternationalHEART TO HEART INTERNATIONAL INC: $16,000 · InternationalGLOBALGIVING FOUNDATION INC: $11,000 · InternationalAMERICARES FOUNDATION INC: $10,500 · InternationalMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $10,000 · InternationalAMERICAN FRIENDS OF MAGEN DAVID ADOM: $10,000 · International+7 more: $36,520 · InternationalBROWARD PARTNERSHIP FOR THE HOMELESS INC: $45,000 · Housing & ShelterREBUILDING TOGETHER BROWARD COUNTY INC: $9,000 · Housing & ShelterABANDONED PET RESCUE INC: $9,250 · AnimalsBENGAL RESCUE: $7,000 · AnimalsHUMANE SOCIETY OF UTAH: $5,500 · AnimalsPARADISE RESCUE: $5,000 · AnimalsOPERATION LIBERATION: $4,000 · AnimalsFRIENDS OF TRACY AVIARY: $3,500 · AnimalsBIG DOG RANCH RESCUE INC: $3,000 · AnimalsCHRISTINES CRITTERS INC: $3,000 · AnimalsAvian Sanctuary and Protection: $2,500 · AnimalsMAUI HUMANE SOCIETY: $2,500 · AnimalsRSQ: $2,500 · Animals
Other$1,545,427Health$1,188,397Philanthropy$576,002Human Services$275,336International$225,987Housing & Shelter$54,000Animals$47,750

Showing the 200 largest grantees by grant value.

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 budgetINTERNATIONAL MEDICAL RELIEF: $691,496 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetUTAH'S PROMISE: $494,002 over 5y, 1.5% of budgetPeople's Health Clicnic: $90,000 over 5y, 0.8% of budgetCaridad Center Inc: $90,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetA BROADER VIEW VOLUNTEERS CORP: $71,086 over 4y, 16% of budgetTHE CHILDREN'S CENTER UTAH: $63,500 over 6y, 1.1% of budgetSEAGER MEMORIAL CLINIC: $61,000 over 4y, 4.4% of budgetMaliheh Free Clinic: $60,500 over 3y, 1.2% of budgetWasatch Homeless Health Care: $50,500 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetLINCOLN COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER INC: $45,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetKIDS IN DISTRESS INC: $45,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetBROWARD PARTNERSHIP FOR THE HOMELESS INC: $45,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetINTERNATIONAL MEDICAL CORPS: $38,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetBENEVOLENT HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION: $37,638 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetNational Kidney Foundation Inc: $35,238 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCENTER FOR HUMANITARIAN OUTREACH AND INTERCULTURAL EXCHANGE: $32,467 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetJUNIOR LEAGUE OF SALT LAKE CITYINC: $28,500 over 3y, 2.6% of budgetFAMILIES MOVING FORWARD: $25,750 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetMidvale Community Building Community Inc: $25,000 over 1y, 7.6% of budgetUNITED STATES FUND FOR UNICEF: $25,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSOS CHILDREN'S VILLAGES-USA INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetPartners for World Health: $19,500 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetInternational Rescue Committee INC: $16,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetHEART TO HEART INTERNATIONAL INC: $16,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $15,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHAWAII COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $15,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE VOOM FOUNDATION: $13,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetVOLUNTEERS OF AMERICA UTAH: $12,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetFEEDING SOUTH FLORIDA INC: $11,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetGLOBALGIVING FOUNDATION INC: $11,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHANKSGIVING HEROES SLC: $10,500 over 4y, 1.7% of budgetAMERICARES FOUNDATION INC: $10,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCHILDREN'S CRANIOFACIAL ASSOCIATION: $10,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUTAH HEMOPHILIA FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetTHE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN FRIENDS OF MAGEN DAVID ADOM: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGranite Education Foundation: $9,500 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetABANDONED PET RESCUE INC: $9,250 over 4y, 0.7% of budgetREBUILDING TOGETHER BROWARD COUNTY INC: $9,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetROOTS CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL: $9,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetCancer Wellness House dba Survivor Wellness: $8,500 over 3y, 2.0% of budgetUSANA KIDS EAT: $8,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetHUNTSMAN CANCER FOUNDATION: $8,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSTERLING HOUSE COMMUNITY CENTER INC: $8,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetRAPE RECOVERY CENTER: $8,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetDAVIS SEARCH AND RESCUE FOUNDATION DAVIS CNTY SHERIFF'S SEARCH & RESCUE INC: $7,500 over 3y, 34% of budgetPROJECT HOPE - THE PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE HEALTH FOUNDATION INC: $7,500 over 2y, 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.

Sorenson Legacy Found…George S and Dolores …The Community Foundat…Lawrence & Janet Dee …Larry H Miller and Ga…Kennecott Utah Copper…McCarthey Family Foun…Utah's PromiseIhc Health Services I…Henry W & Leslie M Es…Willard L Eccles Char…David Kelby Johnson M…
Sorenson Legacy FoundationUT78.5× affinity45 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Sorenson Legacy Foundation · George S and Dolores Dore Eccles Foundation · The Community Foundation of Utah · Lawrence & Janet Dee Foundation · Larry H Miller and Gail Miller Family Foundation · Kennecott Utah Copper Visitors Center Charitable Foundation · McCarthey Family Foundation · Utah's Promise · Ihc Health Services Inc · Henry W & Leslie M Eskuche Charitable Foundation · Willard L Eccles Charitable Foundation · David Kelby Johnson Memorial 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 Making a Difference Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Making a Difference Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 200%3%10%23%40%funder's share of their income ↑0%23%45%68%90%share of the org’s income from government →median 2%
  • Save the Children Federation Inc: 30% of income from government
  • Sterling House Community Center Inc: 8% of income from government
  • Feeding South Florida Inc: 5% of income from government
  • Broward Partnership for the Homeless Inc: 5% of income from government
  • Best Buddies International Inc: 4% of income from government
  • Feeding America Tampa Bay Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Big Dog Ranch Rescue Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Americares Foundation Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Halifax Humane Society Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Caridad Center Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Kids in Distress Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
20get no government money at all
56report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–90%
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 Making a Difference Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Making a Difference 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 499 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 Making a Difference’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