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Mary Kay Ash Foundation at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Public charity

Mary Kay Ash Foundation

Provide support for irc sec 501(c)(3) organizations involved in raising and distributing funds to invest in breakthrough cancer research and clinical trials to find a cure for women-related cancers and ending domestic violence.

$2.6M
Granted FY2024still arriving
78
Grants FY2024still arriving
50
States reached
$150k
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, FY2017 to 2024.

Health$14MHuman Services$7.5MHousing & Shelter$4.3MCrime & Legal$2.1MInternational$275kEducation$100kCivil Rights$100kPhilanthropy$80kOther$0
02FY2024 · 78 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $10k–50k55 grants · $1.1M
  • $50k–250k23 grants · $1.5M
$20,000
Median grant
50
States reached
$17M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CANCERCARE$150,000
BAYLOR SCOTT & WHITE DALLAS FOUNDATION$100,000
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL$100,000
BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE$100,000
MEMORIAL SLOAN KETTERING CANCER CENTER$100,000
CONFERENCE ON CRIMES AGAINST WOMEN$75,000
TEMPLE UNIVERSITY - OF THE COMMONWEALTH SYSTEM$50,000
DREXEL UNIVERSITY$50,000
THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER AT SAN ANTONIO$50,000
UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER$50,000
ALBANY MEDICAL CENTER FOUNDATION$50,000
UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA$50,000
BROWN UNIVERSITY$50,000
ROSALIND FRANKLIN UNIVERSITY OF MEDICINE & SCIENCE$50,000
ROSWELL PARK ALLIANCE FOUNDATION$50,000
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 (FY17–24, $6.3M) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 67% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%CATHOLIC CHARITIES COMMUNITY: $20k → 11%EMERGE CENTER AGAINST DOMESTIC: $20k → 15%PEOPLE'S PLACE II INC: $20k → 10%CHILD INC: $20k → 10%INDEPENDENCE HOUSE INC: $20k → 8%NEW HOPE INC: $20k → 11%HARBORCOV INC: $20k → 16%Center for Sexual Assault and: $20k → 10%SPOUSE ABUSE SEXUAL ASSAULT CRISIS CENTER: $20k → 11%THE SAFE CENTER: $20k → 13%BRGT HORZ RESOURCES FOR SURVS OF DOMEST VIOLENCE & SEXUAL ASSAULT I: $20k → 13%HAVEN HOUSE FAMILY SERVICE CENTER: $20k → 13%WOMENS AND CHILDRENS ALLIANCE INC: $20k → 8%WOMENS CENTER INC: $20k → 10%Advocates Against Family Viol: $20k → 11%YOUNG WOMENS CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF LEWISTON-CLARKSTON INC: $20k → 11%FAMILY PATHWAYS: $20k → 5%ALEXANDRA HOUSE INC: $20k → 7%ANNA MARIE'S ALLIANCE: $20k → 11%WOMEN OF NATIONS: $20k → 14%YWCA MISSOULA: $20k → 9%SAFE HARBOUR INC: $20k → 18%DISTRICT IV HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL: $20k → 18%Domestic Violence Services of: $20k → 8%VICTIM OUTREACH INTERVENTION CENTER: $20k → 9%BLACKBURN CENTER AGAINST DOMESTIC: $20k → 10%DOMESTIC ABUSE PROJECT OF DELAWARE: $20k → 10%DOMESTIC VIOLENCE INTERVENTION OF LEBANON COUNTY INC: $20k → 11%TRANSISTIONS OF PA: $20k → 11%HOPES DOOR: $25k → 5%DENTON COUNTY FRIENDS OF: $25k → 8%HOPES DOOR: $25k → 5%DENTON COUNTY FRIENDS OF THE FAMILY: $25k → 8%HOPES DOOR INC: $25k → 5%DENTON COUNTY FRIENDS OF THE FAMILY: $25k → 8%HOPE'S DOOR INC: $25k → 5%DENTON COUNTY FRIENDS OF THE FAMILY: $25k → 8%HOPE'S DOOR: $25k → 5%DENTON COUNTY FRIENDS OF: $25k → 8%HOPES DOOR INC: $25k → 5%GENESIS WOMEN'S SHELTER: $25k → 14%GENESIS WOMEN'S SHELTER: $25k → 14%GENESIS WOMEN'S SHELTER: $25k → 14%THE FAMILY PLACE: $25k → 14%THE FAMILY PLACE: $35k → 14%THE FAMILY PLACE: $25k → 14%THE FAMILY PLACE: $25k → 14%THE FAMILY PLACE: $25k → 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.

Which US states its grants reach

AK
ME
VT
NH
WA
ID
MT
ND
MN
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
OR
NV
WY
SD
IA
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CT
RI
CA
UT
CO
NE
MO
KY
WV
VA
MD
DE
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.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

69%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$19M · 180 repeat orgs$8.4M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +46% since the first grant, against +37% for those funded once.

180 repeat relationships: 43 still active in FY2024, 137 since wound down; 33 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

180
363

Total granted

$19M
$7.5M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+46%
+37%

Still filing today

86%
94%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 63% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $920k 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
Human ServicesHealthHousing & ShelterEducationCrime & LegalCommunity ImprovementOther
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

  • CC
    Cancer Care Inc
    7× · 2017–2024 · $1.5M · revenue +30%
  • BH
    Baylor Health Care System Foundation
    6× · 2017–2024 · $610k · revenue +80%
  • CO
    CONFERENCE ON CRIMES AGAINST WOMEN INC
    8× · 2017–2024 · $575k · revenue +103%

Funded once

  • CC
    CANCER CARE SERVICES
    one grant, 2021 · $150k · revenue +16%
  • PC
    PHI CHI MEDICAL FRATERNITY INC
    one grant, 2022 · $50k
  • US
    USC School of Medicine Greenville
    one grant, 2021 · $50k
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
Domestic Violence Project

The mission of SafeHouse Center is to empower survivors of both sexual and intimate partner violence by providing advocacy, support, and promoting social change within our community.

Human Services
2
Domestic Violence Sexual Assault Center Inc

Our mission is to provide compassionate support, resources, and advocacy for victims of violent crime. we are dedicated to empowering children, teens and adults in their journey to healing by offering a safe place, emotional care, and the…

Human Services
3
Domestic Violence Safe Options Svcs

Aid victims of domestic violence/assualt

—
4
S a F E Shelter

We are committed to helping victims of sexual assault and abuse and domestic assault and abuse through advocacy support and education. We provide emergency shelter to domestic assault victims. We Also are committed to educating the public…

—
5
Crisis Center for Domestic Abuse and Sexual Assault

The crisis center is committed to the prevention and elimination of domestic violence and sexual assault. we work to enhance safety and to promote equality in relationships.

—
6
Safe of Columbia County

Domestic and sexual violence intervention, support, and education.

—
7
Dove House Advocacy Services

With wrap-around services, dove house seeks to address the needs of victimes of domestic violence, sexual assaultm and general crime in jefferson county as they navigate the many systems required to move from being victims to surviving and…

—
8
Family Crisis Center Inc

The family crisis center provides intervention and advocacy for victims of sexual assault and domestic violence. this is done with counselors, court advocates and 24 hour shelter for victims and their children.

Human Services
9
Community Beyond Violence

CBV heals the trauma of sexual assault and domestic violence by providing crisis intervention, safety, advocacy, and education to survivors and our community.

—
10
Every Woman's Place Inc

Provides comprehensive services that include emergency shelter, counseling, and advocacy for victims and survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and sex trafficking.

Human Services
11
Women's Aid Service Inc

To provide safety and empowerment to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault and to work to eliminate sexual victimization and domestic violence through shelter, treatment, education and social change.

Crime & Legal
12
Manitowoc County Domestic Violence Center Inc

To provide shelter, crisis intervention, and supportive services for survivors of domestic and sexual abuse and their families, with a commitment to safety, respect and promoting self-determination.

Crime & Legal
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Domestic Abuse and Sexual Assault Crisis Center of Warren County Inc; the most unlike its peers is Drexel University. 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

545 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. 545 of the 584 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.

2
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
173
Early backer (in before they grew)
535/545
Grantees still filing
449/545
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS: $750,000 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF TEXASUNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL: $400,000 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPE…University of Wisconsin Madison: $300,000 · OtherWeill Medical College of Cornell Univers: $300,000 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA: $250,000 · Other+69 more: $4,842,000 · Other+69 moreUT SOUTHWESTERN HEALTH SYSTEMS: $2,400,000 · HealthUT SOUTHWESTERN HEALTH SYSTEMSCancer Care Inc: $1,458,790 · HealthCancer Care IncBaylor Health Care System Foundation: $610,000 · HealthBaylor Health Care System Foun…CANCER SUPPORT COMMUNITY NORTH TEXAS: $275,000 · HealthVanderbilt University Medical Center: $200,000 · Health+8 more: $670,000 · Health+8 moreThe Family Place: $155,000 · Human ServicesDENTON COUNTY FRIENDS OF THE FAMILY INC: $150,000 · Human ServicesHOPE'S DOOR NEW BEGINNING CENTER: $150,000 · Human Services+80 more: $3,645,375 · Human Services+80 moreTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $350,000 · EducationTHE BOARD OF TRUS…New York University: $300,000 · EducationNew York Universi…CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY: $300,000 · EducationCASE WESTERN RESE…WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: $250,000 · EducationWASHINGTON UNIVER…Yale University: $150,000 · EducationBaylor College of Medicine: $150,000 · EducationTHE MEDICAL COLLEGE OF WISCONSIN INC: $150,000 · EducationTrustees of Dartmouth College: $150,000 · EducationUniversity of Chicago: $150,000 · EducationTRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: $149,924 · Education+14 more: $1,200,000 · Education+14 moreCONFERENCE ON CRIMES AGAINST WOMEN INC: $575,000 · Crime & LegalBROWN UNIVERSITY: $200,000 · Community ImprovementDISTRICT ALLIANCE FOR SAFE HOUSING INC: $60,000 · Housing & ShelterSAFETY SHELTER OF ST JOHNS COUNTY INC: $40,000 · Housing & ShelterBEACON CENTER: $40,000 · Housing & ShelterADVOCATES OF OZAUKEE INC: $40,000 · Housing & Shelter
Other$6,842,000Health$5,613,790Human Services$4,100,375Education$3,299,924Crime & Legal$575,000Community Improvement$200,000Housing & Shelter$180,000

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%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetUT SOUTHWESTERN HEALTH SYSTEMS: $2,400,000 over 4y, 28% of budgetCancer Care Inc: $1,458,790 over 7y, 2.4% of budgetBaylor Health Care System Foundation: $610,000 over 6y, 0.4% of budgetCONFERENCE ON CRIMES AGAINST WOMEN INC: $575,000 over 8y, 7.4% of budgetTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $350,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetNew York University: $300,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY: $300,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetCANCER SUPPORT COMMUNITY NORTH TEXAS: $275,000 over 8y, 6.4% of budgetWASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: $250,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetVanderbilt University Medical Center: $200,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetBROWN UNIVERSITY: $200,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetThe Family Place: $155,000 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetYale University: $150,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetDENTON COUNTY FRIENDS OF THE FAMILY INC: $150,000 over 6y, 0.5% of budgetBaylor College of Medicine: $150,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetNorthwestern University: $150,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCANCER CARE SERVICES: $150,000 over 1y, 5.4% of budgetHOPE'S DOOR NEW BEGINNING CENTER: $150,000 over 6y, 0.5% of budgetTHE MEDICAL COLLEGE OF WISCONSIN INC: $150,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTrustees of Dartmouth College: $150,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCOOPERATIVE FOR ASSISTANCE AND RELIEF EVERYWHERE INC: $150,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetUniversity of Chicago: $150,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: $149,924 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetUS NATIONAL COMMITTEE FOR UN WOMEN: $125,000 over 2y, 5.9% of budgetTrustees of Tufts College: $100,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA MEDICAL SCHOOL FOUNDATION: $100,000 over 2y, 1.4% of budgetTemple University - Of The Commonwealth System of Higher Education: $100,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetJOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: $100,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: $100,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMEMORIAL SLOAN-KETTERING CANCER CENTER: $100,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH: $100,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCITY OF HOPE: $100,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetDana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc: $100,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetRUTGERS UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $100,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN MEDICAL ALUMNI ASSOCIATION INC: $100,000 over 2y, 27% of budgetNY PRESBYTERIAN HOSPITAL COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CTRNYSNA RETIREE MEDIC AL PLAN TRUST: $100,000 over 2y, 15% of budgetThe Kansas University Endowment Association: $100,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE WISTAR INSTITUTE OF ANATOMY AND BIOLOGY: $100,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetGEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: $100,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetUniversity of Notre Dame du Lac: $100,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCHILD INC: $80,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetSOJOURNER HOUSE INC: $80,000 over 4y, 1.6% of budgetMARJAREE MASON CENTER INC: $80,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetGENESIS WOMENS SHELTER & SUPPORT: $75,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetAUSTIN STREET CENTER: $70,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetAID TO VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC ABUSE INC: $60,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetWOMEN HELPING WOMEN: $60,000 over 3y, 1.2% of budgetCornerstone Advocacy Service: $60,000 over 3y, 0.4% 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 UT SOUTHWESTERN HEALTH SYSTEMS ↗
  • Who funds Cancer Care Inc ↗
  • Who funds Baylor Health Care System Foundation ↗
  • Who funds CONFERENCE ON CRIMES AGAINST WOMEN INC ↗
  • Who funds THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds New York University ↗
  • Who funds CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds CANCER SUPPORT COMMUNITY NORTH TEXAS ↗
  • Who funds WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds Vanderbilt University Medical Center ↗
  • Who funds BROWN UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds The Family Place ↗
  • Who funds Yale University ↗
  • Who funds DENTON COUNTY FRIENDS OF THE FAMILY INC ↗
  • Who funds Baylor College of Medicine ↗
  • Who funds Northwestern University ↗
  • Who funds CANCER CARE SERVICES ↗
  • Who funds HOPE'S DOOR NEW BEGINNING CENTER ↗
  • Who funds THE MEDICAL COLLEGE OF WISCONSIN INC ↗
  • Who funds Trustees of Dartmouth College ↗
  • Who funds COOPERATIVE FOR ASSISTANCE AND RELIEF EVERYWHERE INC ↗
  • Who funds University of Chicago ↗
  • Who funds TRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA ↗
  • Who funds US NATIONAL COMMITTEE FOR UN WOMEN ↗
  • Who funds Trustees of Tufts College ↗
  • Who funds THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA MEDICAL SCHOOL FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Temple University - Of The Commonwealth System of Higher Education ↗
  • Who funds JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY ↗

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.

United Animal Nations…Alpha Chi Omega Found…More Than a Phone IncTexas Council on Fami…Pennsylvania Coalitio…YWCA USA IncThe Gap FoundationWomen's Foundation of…Florida Coalition Aga…Illinois Coalition Ag…The MakeSense Foundat…California Physicians…
United Animal Nations Dba RedroverCA103.1× affinity55 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: United Animal Nations Dba Redrover · Alpha Chi Omega Foundation Inc · More Than a Phone Inc · Texas Council on Family Violence Inc · Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence · YWCA USA Inc · The Gap Foundation · Women's Foundation of California · Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence Inc · Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence · The MakeSense Foundation · California Physicians' Service Fdn Dba Blue Shield of California Fdn

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 Mary Kay Ash Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Mary Kay Ash Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%2%8%17%30%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 33%
  • Elizabeth Freeman Center Inc: 76% of income from government
  • Steps to End Domestic Violence Inc: 71% of income from government
  • Child Inc: 71% of income from government
  • Center for Hope and Safety Inc: 69% of income from government
  • Womenspace: 62% of income from government
  • Dove Inc: 60% of income from government
  • Clarina Howard Nichols Center Inc: 51% of income from government
  • People's Place Ii Inc: 51% of income from government
  • Saving Grace: 48% of income from government
  • Newstory Center Inc: 48% of income from government
  • Women Aware Inc: 43% of income from government
  • Jersey Battered Women's Service Inc: 40% of income from government
  • Another Way Inc: 36% of income from government
  • Heartly House Inc: 33% of income from government
  • Favorhouse of Northwest Florida Inc: 25% of income from government
  • Harbor House of Central Florida Inc: 24% of income from government
  • Safe Futures Inc: 15% of income from government
  • Domestic Violence Intervention Services: 15% of income from government
  • Community Action Stops Abuse Inc: 13% of income from government
  • Trustees of Tufts College: 13% of income from government
  • Johns Hopkins University: 12% of income from government
  • Yale University: 12% of income from government
  • Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc: 7% of income from government
  • Casa Myrna Vazquez Inc: 5% of income from government
  • The Sexual Assaultspouse Abuse Resource Center Inc: 2% of income from government
  • The Shelter for Abused Women & Children Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Rutgers University Foundation: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
82report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
8rely 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 Mary Kay Ash Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Mary Kay Ash 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 584 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 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 Mary Kay Ash’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