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May Wetherby Jones Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

May Wetherby Jones 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.

$154k
Granted FY2023
27
Grants FY2023
—
States reached
$20k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02Its granteesRead
03Its fieldRead
04Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0189% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2018 to 2024.

Human Services$84kArts & Culture$39kRecreation & Sports$35kHealth$30kHousing & Shelter$18kReligion$17kEducation$13kFood & Nutrition$13kOther$0
02FY2023 · 27 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2023

  • Under $10k23 grants · $104k
  • $10k–50k4 grants · $50k
$5,000
Median grant
—
States reached
$2.1M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
St. John Center Inc$20,000
Louisville Olmstead Parks Conservancy, Inc.$10,000
Waterfront Botanical Gardens, Inc.$10,000
The Filson Historical Society$10,000
St. Luke's Episcopal Church$8,000
YMCA of Greater Louisville$7,000
The Morton Center$7,000
Gilda's Club Kentuckiana$5,000
Harbor House of Louisville$5,000
Hildegard House$5,000
Historic Locust Grove, Inc.$5,000
Home of the Innocents$5,000
Kentucky Humane Society$5,000
City of Middletown (Middletown Cemetery)$5,000
Maryhurst, Inc.$5,000
02Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

16%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$46k · 3 repeat orgs$248k to everyone else

3 repeat relationships: 3 still active in FY2023, 0 since wound down; 24 grantees were first funded in FY2023 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

3
21

Total granted

$46k
$117k

Still filing today

0%
95%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2023, 15% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $131k went to new ones.

50%100%’22’23
RenewedFirst-time

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

’22’23
Arts & CultureHuman ServicesRecreation & SportsEducationHousing & ShelterFood & 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

  • LO
    Louisville Olmstead Parks Conservancy Inc
    2× · 2022–2023 · $20k
  • SL
    St. Luke's Episcopal Church
    2× · 2022–2023 · $16k
  • BG
    Boys & Girls Club, Inc
    2× · 2022–2023 · $10k

Funded once

  • TF
    THE FILSON HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC
    one grant, 2022 · $10k · revenue -29%
  • SO
    SOCIETY OF ST VINCENT DE PAUL COUNCIL OF LOUISVILLE INC
    one grant, 2022 · $10k · revenue +25%
  • TH
    THE HEALING PLACE INC
    one grant, 2022 · $10k · revenue +4%
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.

03Its 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
Union Health System

To serve our communities by provding innovative and compassionate healthcare.

Health
2
University Family Physicians Inc

Engage actively and continuously in medical research, education and training in the practice of medicine in conjunction with the department of family medicine of the indiana university school of medicine and indiana university…

—
3
University Hospital & Clinics Inc

The organization provides medical care to improve, maintain, and restore the health of the people in the communities we serve.

Health
4
Missouri Historical Society

The missouri historical society (mhs) is a missouri pro forma decree, not-for-profit corporation whose primary functions are educational and community programs; collections and conservation; library and research; and exhibitions.…

Arts & Culture
5
Union Hospital Inc

We exist to serve our patients with compassionate health care of the highest quality.

Health
6
Lafayette General Foundation Inc

The lafayette general foundation was created to support lafayette general health (lgh), acadiana's only community-owned, nonprofit health system. we exist to help fulfill lgh's mission, to restore, maintain, and improve health. our role is…

Health
7
Lafayette General Health System Inc

The organization was organized for the benefit and support of its related 501(c)(3) health care entities which provide medical care to restore, maintain and improve the health of the community in which it serves.

Health
8
St Martin Hospital Inc

To improve, maintain and restore the health of the people in the communities we serve.

Health
9
Museum of Arts and Design

To collect, display and interpret objects in craft art and design.

Arts & Culture
10
Lafayette General Medical Center Inc

To restore, maintain, and imprive health of the people in the communities we serve.

Health
11
Detroit Historical Society

The Detroit Historical Society tells Detroit's stories and why they matter through its exhibits, programs, outreach, and the preservation and dissemination of its artifacts and collections.

Arts & Culture
12
Central Indiana Corporate Partnership Inc

Central indiana corporate partnership (cicp) is an alliance of indiana's business and research university leaders coming together to foster long-term prosperity for the region. cicp's mission is to transform the economy of indiana in order…

Community Improvement
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is St John Center Inc; the most unlike its peers is Whittier Home Association. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
03the grantee network

20 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. 20 of the 48 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)
3
Early backer (in before they grew)
20/20
Grantees still filing
12/20
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

St. John Center Inc: $20,000 · OtherSt. John Center IncLouisville Olmstead Parks Conservancy Inc: $20,000 · OtherLouisville Olmstead Parks Conservancy IncSt. Luke's Episcopal Church: $16,000 · OtherSt. Luke's Episcopal ChurchWaterfront Botanical Gardens, Inc.: $10,000 · OtherTHE HEALING PLACE INC: $10,000 · OtherST JOHN CENTER INC: $10,000 · OtherThe Filson Historical Society: $10,000 · OtherBoys & Girls Club, Inc: $10,000 · Other+26 more: $108,000 · Other+26 morethe Young Men's Christian Association of Greater Louisville Inc: $5,000 · Human ServicesTHE HOME OF THE INNOCENTS INC: $5,000 · Human ServicesWhittier Home Association: $5,000 · Human ServicesCATHOLIC CHARITIES OF LOUISVILLE INC: $5,000 · Human ServicesHISTORIC HOMES FOUNDATION: $5,000 · Arts & CultureAMERICAN PRINTING HOUSE FOR THE BLIND INC: $5,000 · Arts & CultureFUND FOR THE ARTS INC: $5,000 · Arts & CultureSPEED ART MUSEUM: $2,000 · Arts & CultureTHE FILSON HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC: $10,000 · Recreation & Sports21ST CENTURY PARKS INC: $5,000 · Recreation & SportsSOCIETY OF ST VINCENT DE PAUL COUNCIL OF LOUISVILLE INC: $10,000 · Housing & ShelterDARE TO CARE INC: $10,000 · Food & NutritionLOUISVILLE FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATIO: $5,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE FOUNDATION INC: $3,000 · Education
Other$214,000Human Services$20,000Arts & Culture$17,000Recreation & Sports$15,000Housing & Shelter$10,000Food & Nutrition$10,000Education$8,000

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 budgetTHE FILSON HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetSOCIETY OF ST VINCENT DE PAUL COUNCIL OF LOUISVILLE INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE HEALING PLACE INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetST JOHN CENTER INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetDARE TO CARE INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE MORTON CENTER INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetSMOKETOWN FAMILY WELLNESS CENTER CORP: $5,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetLOUISVILLE FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATIO: $5,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetHISTORIC HOMES FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetMETRO UNITED WAY INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN PRINTING HOUSE FOR THE BLIND INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetthe Young Men's Christian Association of Greater Louisville Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE HOME OF THE INNOCENTS INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFUND FOR THE ARTS INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budget21ST CENTURY PARKS INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCATHOLIC CHARITIES OF LOUISVILLE INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE FOUNDATION INC: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSPEED ART MUSEUM: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $1,000 over 1y, 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.

The Gheens Foundation…Snowy Owl Foundation …V V Cooke Foundation …The Community Foundat…The Community Foundat…James Graham Brown Fo…Lift a Life Foundatio…Cralle Foundation IncMightycause Charitabl…The Community Foundat…Brown-Forman Foundati…Owsley Brown II Famil…
The Gheens Foundation IncKY32.5× affinity13 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Gheens Foundation Inc · Snowy Owl Foundation Inc · V V Cooke Foundation Corporation · The Community Foundation of Louisville Corporate Depository Inc · The Community Foundation of Louisville Inc · James Graham Brown Foundation Inc · Lift a Life Foundation Inc · Cralle Foundation Inc · Mightycause Charitable Foundation · The Community Foundation of Louisville Depository Inc · Brown-Forman Foundation · Owsley Brown II Family Foundation Inc

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.
04Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to May Wetherby Jones Foundation?

Find your warmest path to May Wetherby Jones 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 48 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 2023, released 2023. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2024) is on record and reports $171k of grant expense with no grantee named in the published copy. A private foundation itemizes every grant it makes, so a return carrying none has filed its list as an attachment that the public copy does not include. The figures above are therefore from FY2023, the most recent year this funder’s grantee list reached the public record.

Source object · view filing

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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