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McKenzie Foundation D/B/A the McKenzie Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

McKenzie Foundation D/B/A the McKenzie Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$474k
Granted FY2025still arriving
31
Grants FY2025still arriving
5
States reached
$60k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0195% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Education$1.6MPhilanthropy$728kAnimals$539kYouth Development$525kArts & Culture$370kReligion$283kFood & Nutrition$234kHealth$190kOther$0
02FY2025 · 31 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k14 grants · $50k
  • $10k–50k13 grants · $215k
  • $50k–250k4 grants · $210k
$10,000
Median grant
5
States reached
$16M
Total assets

Largely a single collection: about 97% of reported assets are Vintage Guitar Collection.

Largest grants
RecipientAmount
BONEFISH & TARPON TRUST$60,000
PURPOSE POINT LEARNING CENTER$50,000
CHATTANOOGA PREPARATORY SCHOOL$50,000
UNITED WAY OF GREATER CHATTANOOGA$50,000
CHATTANOOGA AREA FOOD BANK$30,000
MEN OF VALOR$27,500
ADULT & TEEN CHALLENGE MIDSOUTH$25,000
BAYLOR SCHOOL$25,000
CHATT FOUNDATION$15,000
Boys & Girls Clubs of the Ocoee Region$15,000
Lookout Mountain School PTA$15,000
Welcome Home of Chattanooga$12,000
BRIDGE REFUGEE SERVICES$10,000
Fairyland Elementary School PTO$10,000
BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF CHATTANOOGA$10,000
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 (FY17–25, $48k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 4% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%SOLOMON FAMILY SOLUTIONS: $2k → 13%Nonprofit Resource Center: $500 → 12%HELP RIGHT HERE: $15k → 12%ORANGE GROVE CENTER: $500 → 12%SHEPARDS ARMS RESCUE MISSION: $20k → 12%BACHMAN CENTER COUNCIL INC: $10k → 12%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

ME
NY
IN
OH
CA
KY
VA
TN
NC
DC
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.

72%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$3.6M · 46 repeat orgs$1.4M to everyone else

46 repeat relationships: 18 still active in FY2025, 28 since wound down; 13 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

46
61

Total granted

$3.6M
$1.3M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+23%
+26%

Still filing today

63%
52%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 80% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $97k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
EducationHuman ServicesArts & CultureHealthAnimalsCommunity 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

  • UW
    UNITED WAY OF GREATER CHATTANOOGA
    6× · 2019–2025 · $343k · revenue +23%
  • BA
    BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF CHATTANOOGA INC
    5× · 2018–2025 · $173k · revenue +151%
  • MM
    METROPOLITAN MINISTRIES INC
    6× · 2018–2024 · $155k · revenue +47%

Funded once

  • TY
    THE YOUNG WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP ACADEMY FOUNDATION INC
    one grant, 2018 · $200k · revenue -54%
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2021 · $165k
  • CF
    CAMPAIGN FOR THE BOYS WOODBERRY FORREST SCHOOL
    one grant, 2019 · $125k
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
Chattanooga Design Studio

Chattanooga design studio seeks to elevate the quality of life for all citizens through guidance, collaboration, innovation, and education that promotes livable, accessible, walkable, and humane urban design.

Community Improvement
2
Chattanooga Technology Council Inc

Our mission is to connect chattanooga's technology sector to drive regional economic growth.

Community Improvement
3
Chattanooga Regional Homeless Coalition Inc

To advocate for people who are homless or near homeless, strategically planning for housing and services in the community, maximizing resources and collaboarating with community partners to implement housing and services within the…

Community Improvement
4
Invest Chattanooga

Invest chattanooga uses flexible, low-cost capital and strategic public-private partnerships to produce financially sustainable, mixed-income housing with deep permanent affordability that the market alone cannot deliver.

Housing & Shelter
5
Family Promise of Greater Chattanooga Inc

Family promise of greater chattanooga's mission is to provide help for homeless families with children be housed and self-sufficient.

Human Services
6
Chattanooga Christian School Inc

To prepare students to lead and serve with distinction while representing christ and his kingdom in all areas of home, church, society and culture.

Education
7
Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise

Mission: to create economically diverse neighborhoods filled with financially empowered citizens and housing for all.vision: all chattanoogans can afford a safe place in a strong neighborhood to call home. belief: we believe the future of…

Housing & Shelter
8
Chattanooga Rescue Mission

To show the love of christ to the needy in our area by providing their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs.

Housing & Shelter
9
Preserve Chattanooga Inc Formerly Cornerstones Inc

To protect the architectural heritage of chattanooga through historic preservation, advocacy, and education

Arts & Culture
10
Chattahoochee Hills Charter School Inc

The mission of the charter school is to inspire all their children to the highest levels of academic achievement through a rigorous curriculum that integrates the wonders of the natural world.

Education
11
Chattanooga Christian Community Foundation

We guide and encourage donors who are motivated toward kingdom-building generosity. our mission is carried out through four primary initiatives: providing donor-advised funds, inspiring and encouraging generosity within families along the…

Philanthropy
12
Carter Street Corporation

Encourage economic development

Community Improvement
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga Inc; the most unlike its peers is Shaking Ray Levi Society 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

70 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. 70 of the 121 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.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
24
Early backer (in before they grew)
68/70
Grantees still filing
46/70
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF CHATTANOOGA INC: $173,000 · OtherBOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF CHATTANOOGA INCIndividual grant recipient: $165,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientMETROPOLITAN MINISTRIES INC: $154,500 · OtherMETROPOLITAN MINISTRIES INCPURPOSE POINT LEARNING CENTER: $150,000 · OtherPURPOSE POINT LEARNING CENTERBOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF THE OCOEE REGION: $130,000 · OtherCAMPAIGN FOR THE BOYS WOODBERRY FORREST SCHOOL: $125,000 · OtherWOODBURY FOREST SCHOOL: $125,000 · OtherCHATTANOOGA PREPARATORY SCHOOL: $110,000 · OtherCOMMUNITY KITCHEN: $102,500 · Other+81 more: $1,373,220 · Other+81 moreTHE YOUNG WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP ACADEMY FOUNDATION INC: $200,000 · EducationTHE YOUNG WOMEN'S …UNIVERSITY OF CHATTANOOGA FOUNDATION INC: $125,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF CHAT…CHATTANOOGAHAMILTON COUNTY PUBLIC EDUCATION FUND: $125,000 · EducationCHATTANOOGAHAMILTO…PREP PUBLIC SCHOOLS: $100,000 · EducationPREP PUBLIC SCHOOL…BAYLOR SCHOOL: $90,000 · EducationBAYLOR SCHOOLWOODBERRY FOREST SCHOOL: $60,000 · EducationWOODBERRY FOREST S…CHATTACADEMY COMMUNITY SCHOOLS INC: $50,000 · EducationCHATTACADEMY COMMU…MONTESSORI ELEMENTARY AT HIGHLAND PARK: $50,000 · EducationMONTESSORI ELEMENT…SKYUKA HALL: $50,000 · EducationSKYUKA HALL+3 more: $30,900 · EducationUNITED WAY OF GREATER CHATTANOOGA: $343,000 · PhilanthropyUNITED WAY OF …The Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga Inc: $289,644 · PhilanthropyThe Community …CHATTANOOGA CHAMBER FOUNDATION: $25,000 · Philanthropy+1 more: $6,500 · PhilanthropyBONEFISH & TARPON TRUST INC: $518,038 · AnimalsBONEFISH & …+2 more: $10,500 · AnimalsSONGBIRDS FOUNDATION INC: $216,577 · Arts & CultureRISE CHATTANOOGA: $49,500 · Arts & CultureDYNAMO STUDIOS: $35,000 · Arts & Culture+4 more: $34,500 · Arts & CultureTHE ENTERPRISE CENTER INC: $125,000 · Community ImprovementPARTNERSHIP FOR FAMILIES CHILDREN AND ADULTS INC: $7,500 · Community Improvement+1 more: $1,500 · Community ImprovementChattanooga Area Food Bank Inc: $130,000 · Food & Nutrition+1 more: $1,000 · Food & Nutrition
Other$2,608,220Education$880,900Philanthropy$664,144Animals$528,538Arts & Culture$335,577Community Improvement$134,000Food & Nutrition$131,000

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetBONEFISH & TARPON TRUST INC: $518,038 over 8y, 3.7% of budgetUNITED WAY OF GREATER CHATTANOOGA: $343,000 over 6y, 1.6% of budgetThe Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga Inc: $289,644 over 5y, 0.6% of budgetSONGBIRDS FOUNDATION INC: $216,577 over 9y, 17% of budgetTHE YOUNG WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP ACADEMY FOUNDATION INC: $200,000 over 1y, 17% of budgetBOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF CHATTANOOGA INC: $173,000 over 5y, 2.4% of budgetMETROPOLITAN MINISTRIES INC: $154,500 over 6y, 1.9% of budgetBOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF THE OCOEE REGION: $130,000 over 4y, 1.0% of budgetChattanooga Area Food Bank Inc: $130,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF CHATTANOOGA FOUNDATION INC: $125,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetTHE ENTERPRISE CENTER INC: $125,000 over 2y, 3.1% of budgetCHATTANOOGAHAMILTON COUNTY PUBLIC EDUCATION FUND: $125,000 over 3y, 2.3% of budgetPREP PUBLIC SCHOOLS: $100,000 over 1y, 2.7% of budgetBAYLOR SCHOOL: $90,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetWOODBERRY FOREST SCHOOL: $60,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetHOUSE OF REFUGE INC: $60,000 over 3y, 7.2% of budgetLIFT YOUTH CENTER INC: $55,000 over 3y, 12% of budgetMEN OF VALOR: $52,500 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetHABITAT FOR HUMANITY OF GREATER CHATTANOOGA AREA INC: $52,500 over 4y, 0.7% of budgetCHATTACADEMY COMMUNITY SCHOOLS INC: $50,000 over 1y, 14% of budgetMONTESSORI ELEMENTARY AT HIGHLAND PARK: $50,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetSKYUKA HALL: $50,000 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetTHE LAUNCH PAD: $50,000 over 2y, 3.4% of budgetRISE CHATTANOOGA: $49,500 over 3y, 8.7% of budgetCHATT FOUNDATION: $45,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetWELCOME HOME OF CHATTANOOGA: $42,000 over 2y, 1.9% of budgetDYNAMO STUDIOS: $35,000 over 3y, 12% of budgetHOMES & HAVENS: $30,000 over 2y, 21% of budgetBethel Bible Village: $30,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetCHATTANOOGA CHAMBER FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetTHE SHEPHERD'S ARMS RESCUE MISSION INC: $20,000 over 1y, 2.9% of budgetA STEP AHEAD FOUNDATION CHATTANOOGA INC: $20,000 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetBIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS OF GREATER CHATTANOOGA: $20,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetCHAMBLISS CENTER FOR CHILDREN: $20,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCHATTANOOGA GIRLS LEADERSHIP ACADEMY: $17,500 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetBe The Change Youth Initiative: $15,500 over 4y, 4.3% of budgetHELP RIGHT HERE: $15,000 over 1y, 4.6% of budgetWALTER E BOEHM BIRTH DEFECTS CENTER INC: $12,500 over 2y, 3.5% of budgetON POINT: $10,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetBETA CHAPTER OF PDT INC: $10,000 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetROSE MONT RESTORATION FOUNDATION INC: $10,000 over 1y, 5.4% of budgetSOUNDCORPS INC: $10,000 over 1y, 4.7% of budgetTALL TIMBERS FOUNDATION INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetAtlantic Salmon Federation (US) Inc: $7,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPARTNERSHIP FOR FAMILIES CHILDREN AND ADULTS INC: $7,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetLULA LAKE LAND TRUST: $6,500 over 7y, 0.4% of budgetSHAKING RAY LEVI SOCIETY INC: $5,190 over 1y, 26% of budgetGARDEN CLUB OF LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN: $5,000 over 1y, 11% 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 BONEFISH & TARPON TRUST INC ↗
  • Who funds UNITED WAY OF GREATER CHATTANOOGA ↗
  • Who funds The Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga Inc ↗
  • Who funds SONGBIRDS FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds THE YOUNG WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP ACADEMY FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF CHATTANOOGA INC ↗
  • Who funds METROPOLITAN MINISTRIES INC ↗
  • Who funds BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF THE OCOEE REGION ↗
  • Who funds Chattanooga Area Food Bank Inc ↗
  • Who funds UNIVERSITY OF CHATTANOOGA FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds THE ENTERPRISE CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds CHATTANOOGAHAMILTON COUNTY PUBLIC EDUCATION FUND ↗
  • Who funds PREP PUBLIC SCHOOLS ↗
  • Who funds BAYLOR SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds WOODBERRY FOREST SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds HOUSE OF REFUGE INC ↗
  • Who funds LIFT YOUTH CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds MEN OF VALOR ↗
  • Who funds HABITAT FOR HUMANITY OF GREATER CHATTANOOGA AREA INC ↗
  • Who funds CHATTACADEMY COMMUNITY SCHOOLS INC ↗
  • Who funds MONTESSORI ELEMENTARY AT HIGHLAND PARK ↗
  • Who funds SKYUKA HALL ↗
  • Who funds THE LAUNCH PAD ↗
  • Who funds RISE CHATTANOOGA ↗
  • Who funds CHATT FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds WELCOME HOME OF CHATTANOOGA ↗
  • Who funds DYNAMO STUDIOS ↗
  • Who funds HOMES & HAVENS ↗

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.

Chattanooga Christian…Robert F Stone Founda…The Community Foundat…Benwood Foundation IncWeldon F Osborne Foun…Lyndhurst Foundation …The Maclellan Foundat…Robert L & Kathrina H…Tucker FoundationThe Howard FundHamico IncLillian L Colby Chari…
Chattanooga Christian Community FoundationTN73.4× affinity38 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Chattanooga Christian Community Foundation · Robert F Stone Foundation AKA Bobby Stone Foundation · The Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga Inc · Benwood Foundation Inc · Weldon F Osborne Foundation Inc · Lyndhurst Foundation Inc · The Maclellan Foundation Inc · Robert L & Kathrina H Maclellan Founda Foundation · Tucker Foundation · The Howard Fund · Hamico Inc · Lillian L Colby Charitable Fdn Ia

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 McKenzie Foundation D/B/A the McKenzie Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from McKenzie Foundation D/B/A the McKenzie Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%2%6%14%25%funder's share of their income ↑0%23%45%68%90%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    2get no government money at all
    28report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–90%
    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 McKenzie Foundation D/B/A the McKenzie Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to McKenzie Foundation D/B/A the McKenzie 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 121 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 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on McKenzie Foundation D/B/A the McKenzie’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