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McAdams Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

McAdams 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.

$103k
Granted FY2024still arriving
44
Grants FY2024still arriving
11
States reached
$10k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0194% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Education$159kArts & Culture$72kEnvironment$43kHuman Services$25kReligion$20kHealth$16kFood & Nutrition$16kCrime & Legal$15kOther$0
02FY2024 · 44 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k43 grants · $93k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $10k
$2,000
Median grant
11
States reached
$2.1M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
MONTGOMERY BELL ACADEMY$10,000
CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY OF PALM BEACH$8,000
SAMARITAN'S PURSE$7,000
TRIANGLE LAND CONSERVANCY$5,000
WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH$5,000
TRINITY SCHOOL OF DURHAM & CHAPEL HILL$5,000
PALM BEACH FOR CHRIST INC$4,000
CENTER FOR A NEW AMERICAN SECURITY$3,000
NC MUSEUM OF LIFE AND SCIENCE$3,000
HENRY MORRISON FLAGLER MUSEUM$3,000
PALM BEACH AREA TENNIS PATRONS$3,000
PALM BEACH FREEDOM INSTITUTE$3,000
CAPITAL RESEARCH CENTER$3,000
SALVATION ARMY OF PALM BEACH COUNTY$2,900
WUNC RADIO (UNC AT CHAPEL HILL)$2,500
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 (FY21–24, $6k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%JOVENES INC: $1k → 14%JOVENES INC: $1k → 14%THE CHILDREN'S PLACE AT HOME SAFE: $2k → 11%FAMILIES FIRST OF PALM BEACH COUNTY FOUNDATION INC: $2k → 11%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

MN
IL
MI
NY
MA
PA
CT
CA
MO
WV
VA
MD
TN
NC
DC
AL
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 6% of McAdams Foundation’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address.

McAdams Foundationlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address
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.
$312k · 43 repeat orgs$112k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +22% since the first grant, against +21% for those funded once.

43 repeat relationships: 22 still active in FY2024, 21 since wound down; 20 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

43
21

Total granted

$312k
$66k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+22%
+21%

Still filing today

79%
48%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 54% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $46k 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
Arts & CultureEducationPhilanthropyFood & NutritionEnvironmentHuman ServicesOther
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

  • MB
    MONTGOMERY BELL ACADEMY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NASHVILLE
    8× · 2017–2024 · $65k · revenue +6%
  • TRINITY SCHOOL OF DURHAM AND CHAPEL HILL INC
    6× · 2019–2024 · $28k · revenue +82%
  • TD
    THE DEERING ESTATE FOUNDATION INC
    3× · 2021–2023 · $15k · revenue +12%

Funded once

  • SA
    SALVATION ARMY OF PALM BEACH
    one grant, 2023 · $12k
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2022 · $10k
  • NORTH CAROLINA SCHOOL OF SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS FOUNDATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $10k · revenue +107%
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
The Trustees of Princeton University

Research, education and general - princeton university is a private not-for-profit, non-sectarian institution of higher learning with approximately 5,700 undergraduate and 3,300 graduate students. 2,500 students graduated in the 2024-2025…

Education
2
Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden Inc

We harness the power of plants for humankind and share the joy and beauty of tropical gardening with everyone. fairchild tropical botanic garden is a museum of tropical plants within a world famous, 83-acre designed landscape. it was…

Environment
3
Saint Andrew's School of Boca Raton Inc

Saint andrew's school is an independent school founded in the episcopal tradition. our mission is to build a community of learners, provide excellence in education, and nurture each student in mind, body, and spirit.

Education
4
Boston Architectural College

The bac is committed to provide excellence in design education grounded in practice and accessible to diverse communities.

—
5
Friends of the Earth

Friends of the earth strives for a more healthy and just world by defendng the environment and human health while advancing social and economic justice by conducting research and education, transforming the economy so it protects the…

Environment
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
Open Markets Institute

The open markets institute works to help people relearn how to use competition policy to build stronger democracies, more just and equitable societies, more innovative and sustainable economies, and a more secure and peaceful world.

Education
8
University of Miami

See Form 990, Part I, Line 1, Description of Organization Mission.

Education
9
Pew Research Center

Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan "fact tank" that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. Pew Research Center generates a foundation of facts that enriches the public dialogue and…

Social Science
10
Furman University

The primary mission of furman as a liberal arts institution is to provide a distinctive education in fine arts, humanities, social sciences, mathematics and the sciences, as well as selected professional disciplines.

Education
11
The Everglades Foundation Inc

The mission of the foundation is to restore and protect america's everglades through its three programmatic pillars: science, advocacy and education. (continued on schedule o)

Environment
12
Institute for Advanced Study - Louis Bamberger & Mrs Felix Fuld Foundation

The institute for advanced study (the institute) is one of the world's leading centers for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. see schedule o.

Science & Tech
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Capital Research Center; the most unlike its peers is James E Hughes Jr 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

55 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. 55 of the 86 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)
9
Early backer (in before they grew)
54/55
Grantees still filing
33/55
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE DEERING ESTATE FOUNDATION INC: $15,000 · OtherTHE DEERING ESTATE FOUNDATION INCSALVATION ARMY OF PALM BEACH: $12,000 · OtherSALVATION ARMY OF PALM BEACHNC MUSEUM OF LIFE AND SCIENCE: $10,500 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $10,000 · OtherNORTH CAROLINA SCHOOL OF SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS FOUNDATION: $10,000 · OtherAMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE OCEAN CLEANUP FOUNDATION: $7,000 · OtherPalm Beach County Food Bank Inc: $8,500 · OtherTRI COUNTY HUMANE SOCIETY: $7,900 · Other+52 more: $122,277 · Other+52 moreMONTGOMERY BELL ACADEMY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NASHVILLE: $65,000 · EducationMONTGOMERY BELL ACADEMY OF THE UNI…TRINITY SCHOOL OF DURHAM AND CHAPEL HILL INC: $27,500 · EducationTRINITY SCHOOL OF DURHAM AND CHAPE…THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $20,500 · EducationTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAN…HILLSDALE COLLEGE: $12,200 · EducationHILLSDALE COLLEGEPALM BEACH FREEDOM INSTITUTE INC: $9,500 · EducationPALM BEACH FREEDOM INSTITUTE INC+3 more: $6,200 · EducationThe Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach Inc: $8,850 · Arts & CultureCHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY OF PALM BEACH INC: $8,000 · Arts & CultureTHE HENRY MORRISON FLAGLER MUSEUM INC: $6,000 · Arts & CultureNORTH CAROLINA MUSEUM OF LIFE & SCIENCE INC: $3,000 · Arts & CultureNORTON MUSEUM OF ART INC: $2,427 · Arts & CultureTHE ENGLISH-SPEAKING UNION OF THE UNITED STATES - GROUP RETURN: $2,000 · Arts & CulturePRO PUBLICA INC: $1,500 · Arts & CultureTRIANGLE LAND CONSERVANCY INC: $12,000 · EnvironmentPollinator Partnership: $10,500 · Environment1000 FRIENDS OF FLORIDA INC: $4,200 · EnvironmentBLOOD CANCER UNITED INC: $13,000 · HealthORANGE COUNTY RAPE CRISIS CENTER: $11,500 · HealthPALM BEACH FOR CHRIST INC: $8,000 · ReligionSAMARITAN'S PURSE: $7,000 · ReligionCAPITAL RESEARCH CENTER: $6,000 · PhilanthropyTown of Palm Beach United Way Inc: $3,200 · PhilanthropyNMDP FOUNDATION: $3,000 · PhilanthropyJAMES E HUGHES JR FOUNDATION: $2,000 · Philanthropy
Other$203,177Education$140,900Arts & Culture$31,777Environment$26,700Health$24,500Religion$15,000Philanthropy$14,200

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 budgetMONTGOMERY BELL ACADEMY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NASHVILLE: $65,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetTRINITY SCHOOL OF DURHAM AND CHAPEL HILL INC: $27,500 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $20,500 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetTHE DEERING ESTATE FOUNDATION INC: $15,000 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetBLOOD CANCER UNITED INC: $13,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetHILLSDALE COLLEGE: $12,200 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetTRIANGLE LAND CONSERVANCY INC: $12,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetORANGE COUNTY RAPE CRISIS CENTER: $11,500 over 7y, 0.9% of budgetPollinator Partnership: $10,500 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetNORTH CAROLINA SCHOOL OF SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetPALM BEACH FREEDOM INSTITUTE INC: $9,500 over 3y, 3.9% of budgetThe Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach Inc: $8,850 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetPalm Beach County Food Bank Inc: $8,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY OF PALM BEACH INC: $8,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetPALM BEACH FOR CHRIST INC: $8,000 over 2y, 2.8% of budgetTRI COUNTY HUMANE SOCIETY: $7,900 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetSAMARITAN'S PURSE: $7,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE OCEAN CLEANUP FOUNDATION: $7,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE HENRY MORRISON FLAGLER MUSEUM INC: $6,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCAPITAL RESEARCH CENTER: $6,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetHighlands Biological Foundation Inc: $5,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budget1000 FRIENDS OF FLORIDA INC: $4,200 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetFOOD BANK OF CENTRAL & EASTERN NC INC: $4,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMATHCOUNTS Foundation: $4,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetTHE NORTH CAROLINA AQUARIUM SOCIETY: $4,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetAPPALACHIAN TRAIL CONSERVANCY: $4,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Palm Beach Police and Fire Foundation Inc: $3,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTown of Palm Beach United Way Inc: $3,200 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetNORTH CAROLINA MUSEUM OF LIFE & SCIENCE INC: $3,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCenter for a New American Security Inc: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPALM BEACH AREA TENNIS PATRONS INC: $3,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetNMDP FOUNDATION: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE CHILDREN'S PLACE INC: $3,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetRESCUE MISSIONS MINISTRIES INC: $2,602 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetNORTON MUSEUM OF ART INC: $2,427 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetLA FAMILY HOUSING CORPORATION: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetJAMES E HUGHES JR FOUNDATION: $2,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetAMERICAN FRIENDS OF BELVOIR CASTLE: $2,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetSOCIAL JUSTICE LEARNING INSTITUTE: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetThe Children's Place at Home Safe Inc: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetJOVENES INC: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPalm Beach Civic Association Inc: $2,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetJack The Bike Man Inc: $2,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetHARVARD GLEE GLUB ALUMNI INC: $2,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetPRO PUBLICA INC: $1,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFAMILIES FIRST OF PALM BEACH COUNTY FOUNDATION INC: $1,500 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetSave The Children Federation Inc: $1,500 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.

Ibis Charities Founda…Community Foundation …Triangle Community Fo…Ibm International Fou…Admirals Cove Foundat…Lost Tree Village Cha…Quantum Foundation IncUnited Way of Palm Be…Fidelity FoundationJpmorgan Chase Founda…Gs Donor Advised Phil…The Ayco Charitable F…
Ibis Charities Foundation IncFL15.7× affinity5 shared granteesties to 8 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Ibis Charities Foundation Inc · Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties Inc · Triangle Community Foundation Inc · Ibm International Foundation · Admirals Cove Foundation Inc · Lost Tree Village Charitable Foundation · Quantum Foundation Inc · United Way of Palm Beach County Inc · Fidelity Foundation · Jpmorgan Chase Foundation · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · The Ayco Charitable 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 McAdams Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from McAdams Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 100%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 30%
  • Families First of Palm Beach County Foundation Inc: 100% of income from government
  • Save the Children Federation Inc: 30% of income from government
  • Palm Beach County Food Bank Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Jack the Bike Man Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
10get no government money at all
14report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
1rely 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.

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 86 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 McAdams’ 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