Skip to content
Martha Elizabeth Macmillan Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Martha Elizabeth Macmillan 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.

$108k
Granted FY2024still arriving
7
Grants FY2024still arriving
3
States reached
$50k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0197% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Arts & Culture$1.2MInternational$615kFood & Nutrition$500kHealth$250kScience & Tech$20kReligion$10kHuman Services$10kEducation$5kOther$0
02FY2024 · 7 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k2 grants · $10k
  • $10k–50k4 grants · $48k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $50k
$10,650
Median grant
3
States reached
$16M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF ARTS$50,000
WALKER ART CENTER$15,000
MINNEAPOLIS INSTITUTE OF ART$12,500
GLOBAL MINNESOTA$10,650
PRESIDENT & FELLOWS OF HARVARD$10,000
Individual grant recipient$5,000
WOMEN MOVING MILLIONS$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 (FY22–24, $510k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%WOMEN MOVING MILLIONS: $5k → 17%FRIENDS OF THE WORLD FOOD PROGRAM: $250k → 14%WOMEN MOVING MILLIONS: $5k → 17%WORLD FOOD PROGRAM USA: $250k → 14%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.

94%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$2.5M · 13 repeat orgs$148k to everyone else

13 repeat relationships: 5 still active in FY2024, 8 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

13
7

Total granted

$2.5M
$143k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+6%
+13%

Still filing today

85%
29%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 95% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $5k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’20’21’22’23’24
Arts & CultureInternationalHuman ServicesYouth DevelopmentEducationEnvironmentOther
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

  • FRIENDS OF THE WORLD FOOD PROGRAM INC
    2× · 2022–2023 · $500k · revenue +4%
  • EI
    ELLIS ISLAND HONORS SOCIETY INC
    2× · 2022–2023 · $275k · revenue +38%
  • WA
    WALKER ART CENTER
    7× · 2017–2024 · $254k · revenue +87%

Funded once

  • AH
    ALINA HEALTH FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2022 · $100k
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2023 · $25k
  • WC
    Wayzata Community Church
    one grant, 2020 · $10k
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
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
3
Harvard Club of Washington Dc

To inform and enrich the intellectual lives of 20,000 alumni of harvard university in the washington, dc area and to assist harvard university with respect to applicants and undergraduates from the dc area.

Education
4
Minnesota Business Partnership

The minnesota business partnership's mission is to maintain a high quality of life for all minnesotans by ensuring that the state's economy remains strong, globally competitive and its prospects for growth bright by working with elected…

—
5
Minnesota Medical Association

To be the leading voice of medicine to make minnesota the healthiest state and the best place to practice.

—
6
United States Naval Institute

Provide an independent forum for those who dare to read, think, speak, and write to advance the professional, literary, and scientific understanding of sea power and other issues critical to global security.

—
7
Augustana College

Rooted in the liberal arts & sciences & lutheran expression of the christian faith, & is committed to offering a challenging education that develops qualities of mind, spirit, & body necessary for a rewarding life of leadership & service…

Education
8
University of New Haven

The University of New Haven is a student-centered comprehensive university with an emphasis on excellence in liberal arts and professional education. Our mission is to prepare our students to lead purposeful and fulfilling lives in a…

Education
9
Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and Industry

The minnesota chamber of commerce proactively leads the business community statewide to: advance pro-business, responsible minnesota public policy that creates jobs and grows the econony; provde member services to address evolving business…

—
10
American Foreign Service Association

American foreign service association (afsa) is both the principal advocate for the long-term institutional wellbeing of the professional career foreign service and responsible for safeguarding the interest of afsa members. (continued on…

—
11
American Association for the Advancement of Science

Advance science, engineering, and innovation throughout the world for the benefit of all. the world's largest multidisciplinary scientific society and a leading publisher of cutting-edge research through its science family of journals,…

Science & Tech
12
Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States Inc

The fsmb serves as the voice for state medical boards, supporting them through education, assessment, research and advocacy while providing services and initiatives that promote patient safety, quality health care and regulatory best…

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Walker Art Center; the most unlike its peers is Twin Cities Public Television 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

14 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. 14 of the 22 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)
1
Early backer (in before they grew)
14/14
Grantees still filing
10/14
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

ELLIS ISLAND HONORS SOCIETY INC: $275,000 · OtherELLIS ISLAND HONORS SOCIETY INCCHILDREN'S THEATER COMPANY: $250,000 · OtherCHILDREN'S THEATER COMPANYCHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF MINNESOTA: $250,000 · OtherCHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF MINNESOTAALINA HEALTH FOUNDATION: $100,000 · OtherALINA HEALTH FOUNDATION+5 more: $40,004 · OtherOPPORTUNITY INTERNATIONAL INC D/B/A OPPORTUNITY INTERNATIONAL-US: $495,339 · InternationalOPPORTUNITY INTERNATIONAL …GLOBAL MINNESOTA: $109,925 · InternationalGLOBAL MINNESOTA+1 more: $10,000 · InternationalFRIENDS OF THE WORLD FOOD PROGRAM INC: $500,000 · Human ServicesFRIENDS OF THE WORLD F…+1 more: $10,000 · Human ServicesWALKER ART CENTER: $254,444 · Arts & CultureWALKER ART CENTERTHE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF ARTS INC: $102,000 · Arts & CultureTHE AMERICAN FEDE…MINNEAPOLIS SOCIETY OF FINE ARTS DBA MINNEAPOLIS INSTITUTE OF ARTS: $37,500 · Arts & CultureMINNEAPOLIS SOCIE…+1 more: $10,976 · Arts & CultureST DAVID'S CENTER: $150,000 · Youth DevelopmentPresident and Fellows of Harvard College: $20,000 · EducationTHE BLAKE SCHOOL: $5,000 · EducationLAKE MINNETONKA GARDEN CLUB: $2,500 · Environment
Other$915,004International$615,264Human Services$510,000Arts & Culture$404,920Youth Development$150,000Education$25,000Environment$2,500

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 budgetFRIENDS OF THE WORLD FOOD PROGRAM INC: $500,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetOPPORTUNITY INTERNATIONAL INC D/B/A OPPORTUNITY INTERNATIONAL-US: $495,339 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetELLIS ISLAND HONORS SOCIETY INC: $275,000 over 2y, 6.5% of budgetWALKER ART CENTER: $254,444 over 7y, 0.5% of budgetST DAVID'S CENTER: $150,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetGLOBAL MINNESOTA: $109,925 over 4y, 4.0% of budgetTHE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF ARTS INC: $102,000 over 3y, 1.6% of budgetMINNEAPOLIS SOCIETY OF FINE ARTS DBA MINNEAPOLIS INSTITUTE OF ARTS: $37,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetPresident and Fellows of Harvard College: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTWIN CITIES PUBLIC TELEVISION INC: $10,976 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWOMEN MOVING MILLIONS INC: $10,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetALIGHT: $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE BLAKE SCHOOL: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLAKE MINNETONKA GARDEN CLUB: $2,500 over 1y, 2.1% 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.

Fox Family FoundationThe Minneapolis Found…American Endowment Fo…Vanguard Charitable E…National Philanthropi…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Fox Family FoundationMN13.6× affinity4 shared granteesties to 7 of 7Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Fox Family Foundation · The Minneapolis Foundation · American Endowment Foundation · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · National Philanthropic Trust · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile 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 Martha Elizabeth Macmillan Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Martha Elizabeth Macmillan Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%13%25%38%50%share of the org’s income from government →median 7%
  • President and Fellows of Harvard College: 7% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
2report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–50%
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 Martha Elizabeth Macmillan Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Martha Elizabeth Macmillan 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 22 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 Martha Elizabeth Macmillan’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