Skip to content
Plinth

· Private foundation

Margaret Spilman Bowden Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$413k
Granted FY2024still arriving
18
Grants FY2024still arriving
2
States reached
$50k
Largest
01What you fund
0192% classified

What you funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year — across FY20172024.

Education$108kPublic Safety & Disaster$76kPhilanthropy$74kHousing & Shelter$69kAnimals$65kEnvironment$57kReligion$26kArts & Culture$18kOther$0
02FY2024 · 18 grants

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k1 grant · $8k
  • $10k–50k16 grants · $355k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $50k
$18,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$4.4M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
FAUQUIER SPCA$50,000
THE NORTHERN PIEDMONT COMMUNITY FOUNDATION$44,000
ST JOHN'S CATHOLIC SCHOOL$44,000
Individual grant recipient$42,000
RESERVA THE YOUTH LAND TRUST$34,000
WARRENTON VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPT$32,000
FOOTHILLS HOUSING CORPORATION$30,000
FAUQUIER FAMILY SHELTER SERVICES INC$25,000
CATLETT VOLUNTEER FIRE AND RESCUE$18,000
THE HILL SCHOOL$14,000
FAUQUIER FISH$12,000
HIGHLAND SCHOOL$10,000
FINLEYS GREEN LEAP FORWARD$10,000
ST JAMES EPISCOPAL CHURCH$10,000
FAUQUIER COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY$10,000
02The need
03

Do your dollars go where the need is?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, then read against the area’s typical level.

show:

Your human-services grants (FY17–24, $25k) land where the poverty rate runs at 6%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Your grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%HIGHLAND SCHOOL: $10k → 6%HIGHLAND SCHOOL: $3k → 6%HIGHLAND SCHOOL: $3k → 6%HIGHLAND SCHOOL: $2k → 6%HIGHLAND SCHOOL: $2k → 6%HIGHLAND SCHOOL: $2k → 6%HIGHLAND SCHOOL: $2k → 6%HIGHLAND SCHOOL: $2k → 6%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount

Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty linein the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP; grantee ZIP can differ from where services are delivered.

US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are actually delivered. Need from public data — U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA — shown as context about the area, never attributed to your giving.

03Your edge
repeat funding

Who you back again

Which organizations you funded more than once, and which you funded a single time. Each grantee is matched to its own filings.

82%of every dollar goes to organizations you’ve funded before.
$413k · 15 repeat orgs$89k to everyone else

15 repeat relationships — 12 still active in FY2024, 3 since wound down; 5 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

15
2

Total granted

$413k
$3k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+31%
+55%

Still filing today

60%
100%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 77% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $86k 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
PhilanthropyEnvironmentAnimalsHousing & ShelterEducationHuman ServicesOther

First-time = a grantee’s first year in your filing window; renewed = funded in an earlier year too. As a portfolio matures the renewed share naturally climbs — once funded, an org stays “renewable” — so the signal is the years that buck it (a new-grantee intake wave). 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

  • FS
    FAUQUIER SPCA INC
    8× · 2017–2024 · $65k · revenue +95%
  • RT
    RESERVA THE YOUTH LAND TRUST INC
    4× · 2021–2024 · $37k · revenue +36%
  • FF
    FAUQUIER FAMILY SHELTER SERVICES
    8× · 2017–2024 · $35k · revenue +24%

Funded once

  • WA
    WARRENTON ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETYgraduated
    one grant, 2018 · $2k · revenue +48%
  • HS
    Hospice Support of Fauquier County Incgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $1k · revenue +55%

Repeat = funded in two or more distinct years; growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Your field

The map has a center of gravity: the average direction from the rest of the sector toward the organizations the foundation funds — the shape of its giving. Scoring every nonprofit along that direction surfaces the ones that look most like the portfolio. These are the closest matchesthat aren’t grantees — a resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Fauquier Chamber of Commerce

We are focused on, and a resource for, the business, government and community interests of local businesses in and around fauquier county, virginia.

2
Fauquier Community Food Bank & Thrift Store

To fight hunger in fauquier county by providing our neighbors in need with nourishing food and encouraging self-sufficiency through vibrant community partnerships

Food & Nutrition
3
Fauquier Community Child Care Inc

Our mission is to provide an accessible, safe, and nurturing environment in which school-aged children learn, grow, and play to promote the development of the whole child.

Human Services
4
Fauquier Free Clinic Inc

The free clinic offers quality medical, dental and mental health care to residents of fauquier and rappahannock counties who lack appropriate alternatives for these services.

5
Fauquier Community Action Committee Inc

The organization seeks to reduce poverty, revitalize low income communities and empower low income individuals and families to become self-sufficient.

Human Services
6
Historic Virginia Land Conservancy

Promoting for the benefit of the general public, the preservation, protection and enjoyment of our natural resources, principally in the lower james, york, rappahannock and chowan rivers and surrounding watersheds.

Environment
7
Friends of the Fairfax County Animal Shelter

Each year, nearly 5,000 pets come to the fairfax county animal shelter. friends of the fairfax county animal shelter (friends) funds medical/dental treatment, parasite prevention, spay/neuter procedures and behavioral training beyond what…

8
Clean Fairfax Council

The mission of clean fairfax is to encourage environmental stewardship and urban sustainability in fairfax county, virginia through education, programming and community involvement. clean fairfax works on litter prevention efforts,…

Environment
9
Fauquier Education Farm Inc

To advance agriculture and agriculture-related education through best-method demonstrations, classroom instruction, on-farm workshops, and hands-on learning. the farm supports the community by contributing all of its agricultural products…

Food & Nutrition
10
Friends of Fairfax Inc
Arts & Culture
11
Franklin County Humane Society

Franklin County Humane Society dba Franklin County Animal Rescue (FCAR)promotes the health, welfare, and humane treatment of animal in Northwestern Vermont and provides temporary shelter for them with the goal of finding them good,…

Animals
12
Fauquier Heritage and Preservation Foundation Inc

To foster the historical and genealogical heritage of fauquier county, virginia.

Arts & Culture

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Clifton Institute Inc and the most unlike its peers is Reserva the Youth Land Trust 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

15 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each one resolved to its own IRS returns and tracked year by year — your grant beside their revenue from every source. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

Counted here: distinct organizations you funded across 20172025, not grant rows in a single year — so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 15 of the 23 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile; the rest are funded organizations whose filings we could not track year by year.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
15/15
Grantees still filing
9/15
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

WARRENTON VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPT — $56,200 · OtherWARRENTON VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPTIndividual grant recipient — $50,333 · OtherIndividual grant recipientST JOHN'S CATHOLIC SCHOOL — $44,000 · OtherST JOHN'S CATHOLIC SCHOOLFOOTHILLS HOUSING CORPORATION — $33,700 · OtherFOOTHILLS HOUSING CORPORATIONST JAMES EPISCOPAL CHURCH — $25,033 · OtherST JAMES EPISCOPAL CHURCHCATLETT VOLUNTEER FIRE AND RESCUE — $19,333 · OtherCATLETT VOLUNTEER FIRE AND RESCUETHE CLIFTON INSTITUTE INC — $10,000 · OtherFAUQUIER COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY — $10,000 · Other+5 more — $9,333 · OtherNORTHERN PIEDMONT COMMUNITY FOUNDATION — $61,950 · PhilanthropyNORTHERN PIEDMONT …PIEDMONT REGIONAL ORCHESTRA DBA PIEDMONT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA — $16,333 · PhilanthropyPIEDMONT REGIONAL …FAUQUIER FISH — $12,000 · PhilanthropyFAUQUIER FISHFAUQUIER SPCA INC — $64,833 · AnimalsFAUQUIER SPCA…RESERVA THE YOUTH LAND TRUST INC — $36,750 · EnvironmentRESERVA T…FINLEYS GREEN LEAP FORWARD — $10,000 · EnvironmentFINLEYS G…FAUQUIER FAMILY SHELTER SERVICES — $35,000 · Housing & ShelterTHE HILL SCHOOL CORPORATION OF MIDDLEBURG — $29,000 · EducationHIGHLAND SCHOOL INC — $24,700 · Human ServicesMENTAL HEALTH ASSOCIATION OF FAUQUIER COUNTY INC — $15,500 · Health
Other$257,932Philanthropy$90,283Animals$64,833Environment$46,750Housing & Shelter$35,000Education$29,000Human Services$24,700Health$15,500

Each org by its size and your share of it — top-left is where you’re load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ your share of their budgetFAUQUIER SPCA INC — $64,833 over 8y, 2.0% of budgetNORTHERN PIEDMONT COMMUNITY FOUNDATION — $61,950 over 8y, 0.8% of budgetRESERVA THE YOUTH LAND TRUST INC — $36,750 over 4y, 24% of budgetFAUQUIER FAMILY SHELTER SERVICES — $35,000 over 8y, 3.2% of budgetFOOTHILLS HOUSING CORPORATION — $33,700 over 3y, 1.3% of budgetTHE HILL SCHOOL CORPORATION OF MIDDLEBURG — $29,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetHIGHLAND SCHOOL INC — $24,700 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetPIEDMONT REGIONAL ORCHESTRA DBA PIEDMONT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA — $16,333 over 8y, 5.0% of budgetMENTAL HEALTH ASSOCIATION OF FAUQUIER COUNTY INC — $15,500 over 7y, 2.6% of budgetFAUQUIER FISH — $12,000 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetFINLEYS GREEN LEAP FORWARD — $10,000 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetTHE CLIFTON INSTITUTE INC — $10,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetTHE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF FAUQUIER INC — $3,500 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetWARRENTON ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY — $2,000 over 1y, 2.6% of budget
Go grantee by grantee — a decade per org, and how each moved after you funded them

A decade per grantee — revenue shaded, your grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

  • Who funds FAUQUIER SPCA INC
  • Who funds NORTHERN PIEDMONT COMMUNITY FOUNDATION
  • Who funds RESERVA THE YOUTH LAND TRUST INC
  • Who funds FAUQUIER FAMILY SHELTER SERVICES
  • Who funds FOOTHILLS HOUSING CORPORATION
  • Who funds THE HILL SCHOOL CORPORATION OF MIDDLEBURG
  • Who funds HIGHLAND SCHOOL INC
  • Who funds PIEDMONT REGIONAL ORCHESTRA DBA PIEDMONT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
  • Who funds MENTAL HEALTH ASSOCIATION OF FAUQUIER COUNTY INC
  • Who funds FAUQUIER FISH
  • Who funds FINLEYS GREEN LEAP FORWARD
  • Who funds THE CLIFTON INSTITUTE INC
  • Who funds THE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF FAUQUIER INC
  • Who funds WARRENTON ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY
  • Who funds Hospice Support of Fauquier County Inc

The grantmakers whose grantees overlap with yours far more than size alone predicts. Each orbits closer the stronger the alignment; the arcs between them show where they also fund each other. Here it reads as a tightly interlocked camp — most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Northern Piedmont Community FoundationVA30.5× affinity12 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Northern Piedmont Community Foundation · Fauquier Health Foundation Dba the Path Foundation · The Jesse and Rose Loeb Foundation Inc · Mightycause Charitable Foundation · Wise Foundation · William a Hazel Family Foundation · Fhi Services · Amory S Carhart Memorial Fund · Blue Ridge Community Foundation · The Bank of Clarke County Foundation · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program

Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. A research starting point: overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

Government reliance of your grantees

Every dot is one organization Margaret Spilman Bowden Foundation funds. Left–right is the share of its income from government; up–down is the share from you. Bigger dots raise more. Filter to federal or a single department — and drag the year to watch it move.

2024
202122232425
no gov · 00%2%6%14%25%your 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
    6report 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, FY2025

    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 your grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first — a floor, not 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 12–24 months.

    05Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to Margaret Spilman Bowden Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Margaret Spilman Bowden 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 directly from IRS e-file XML — your own 990/990-PF and the multi-year returns of the 23 grantees we resolved across every year we hold, several hundred filings in all (a different count from the grant rows on the cover, which are one fiscal year)— each linked to its source. Grantee achievements and outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III); we read these as association with sustained funding — the foundation is one of several forces — suppress low-confidence name matches rather than guess, and say so where a figure rests on a single grant or filing. Not everything on this page is a filed figure, and the difference matters. Filed is what you reported on your 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. How we build these →

    Generated from your IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    More from the funding graph