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McPherson Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

McPherson Family 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.

$3.4M
Granted FY2024still arriving
11
Grants FY2024still arriving
6
States reached
$1.2M
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, FY2020 to 2024.

International$4.5MHuman Services$676kEducation$514kPhilanthropy$240kHousing & Shelter$63kFood & Nutrition$30kPublic Benefit$20k
02FY2024 · 11 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $10k–50k3 grants · $54k
  • $50k–250k3 grants · $370k
  • $250k+5 grants · $3.0M
$150,000
Median grant
6
States reached
$33M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
THE CHILDREN OF THE NILE$1,237,789
SECOND MILE HAITI$735,000
ASONE MINISTRIES$363,332
SCHOOLS FOR SALONE$320,000
WORLDWIDE ORPHANS$320,000
A HOPE FOR CHILDREN$150,000
MILE HIGH UNITED WAY$120,000
HOPE HAVEN RWANDA$100,000
TCON FARM INITIATIVES INC$22,000
THE GATHERING PLACE$18,000
ALMOST HOME$13,558
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 (FY22–22, $9k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, 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%optimal innovation group: $4k → 12%there with care: $5k → 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.
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 56% of McPherson Family Foundation’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address. By recipient address, 46% of the giving stays in CO; by stated purpose, 9%.

McPherson Family Foundationlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address · 66% directed abroad (not shown)
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.

99%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$6.0M · 11 repeat orgs$64k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +25% since the first grant, against 0% for those funded once.

11 repeat relationships: 10 still active in FY2024, 1 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

11
6

Total granted

$6.0M
$42k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+25%
0%

Still filing today

82%
67%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 99% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $22k went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24
Human ServicesInternationalHealthEducationHousing & 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

  • TC
    THE CHILDREN OF THE NILE
    2× · 2023–2024 · $2.2M · revenue +25% · 99% of their budget
  • SM
    SECOND MILE HAITI
    2× · 2023–2024 · $1.3M · revenue +30% · 61% of their budget
  • AM
    AsOne Ministries
    2× · 2023–2024 · $651k · revenue +110%

Funded once

  • FO
    FOSTER'S OUTRIDERS FOUNDATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $20k · revenue +43%
  • VW
    VIVOBLU WATER FOR ALL
    one grant, 2022 · $8k · revenue -99%
  • TW
    THERE WITH CARE
    one grant, 2022 · $5k · revenue -42%
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
Assist International Inc

Assist international partners with changemakers around the world to provide solutions that save lives and build resilient communities. we accomplish our mission with actionable projects that make a lasting and sustainable impact on the…

International
2
Hands of Hope African Outreach

Hands of Hope African Outreach empowers vulnerable women and children in East Africa by partnering with small community-based organizations We support locally led initiatives that provide vocational training access to education healthcare…

Philanthropy
3
Orphans Hope International
—
4
Charity Global Inc

Charity: water is a non-profit organization bringing clean and safe water to people around the world. continued on schedule o.

Human Services
5
Hope for the Fatherless

HFTF serves orphaned and vulnerable children in Ethiopia, and its mission is to see every child thriving in a loving family. HFTF accomplishes this through five primary initiatives: in-country adoption training and placement, family…

International
6
Second Nile Global Corp

Our commitment to providing accessible clean water extends beyond the boundaries of countries, continents, and cultures. We are driven by a shared belief in the power of technology to transform lives, uplift communities, and create a more…

International
7
Be Hope International
Religion
8
Heal Uganda Inc
International
9
Seeds of Change Foundation
Philanthropy
10
Vision for Africa
Religion
11
HopeCo

Driven by our Christian faith, HopeCo provides quality holistic care that enables vulnerable children, their families, and communities in East Africa to flourish.

—
12
Homes for Homes aka Homes 4 Homes

Homes 4 Homes brings safe housing to people in developing countries. We empower local leaders and construction teams to build homes for at risk members of their own communities. Safe and secure housing positively impacts multiple…

Housing & Shelter
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Worldwide Orphans Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Tcon Farm Initiatives Inc. 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

15 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. 15 of the 18 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.

5
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
14/15
Grantees still filing
10/15
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE CHILDREN OF THE NILE: $2,222,389 · InternationalTHE CHILDREN OF THE NILEHOPE HAVEN CHARITABLE TRUST: $200,000 · InternationalHOPE HAVEN CHARITABLE TRUSTSECOND MILE HAITI: $1,250,530 · HealthSECOND MILE HAITIAHOPE FOR CHILDREN: $300,000 · HealthAHOPE FOR CHILDRENWORLDWIDE ORPHANS FOUNDATION: $550,000 · EducationWORLDWIDE ORPHANS F…SCHOOLS FOR SALONE: $514,250 · EducationSCHOOLS FOR SALONEAsOne Ministries: $650,832 · Human ServicesAsOne Minist…+2 more: $8,900 · Human ServicesMILE HIGH UNITED WAY INC: $240,000 · PhilanthropyTHE GATHERING PLACE: $37,000 · OtherCATHOLIC CHARITIES OF CENTRAL COLORADO INC: $15,750 · OtherTCON FARM INITIATIVES INC: $22,000 · OtherVIVOBLU WATER FOR ALL: $8,078 · OtherFOSTER'S OUTRIDERS FOUNDATION: $20,000 · Other+1 more: $367 · OtherAlmost Home Inc: $30,598 · Housing & ShelterHOPE COMMUNITIES INC: $5,000 · Housing & Shelter
International$2,422,389Health$1,550,530Education$1,064,250Human Services$659,732Philanthropy$240,000Other$103,195Housing & Shelter$35,598

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

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetTHE CHILDREN OF THE NILE: $2,222,389 over 2y, 99% of budgetSECOND MILE HAITI: $1,250,530 over 2y, 61% of budgetAsOne Ministries: $650,832 over 2y, 11% of budgetWORLDWIDE ORPHANS FOUNDATION: $550,000 over 2y, 13% of budgetSCHOOLS FOR SALONE: $514,250 over 2y, 40% of budgetAHOPE FOR CHILDREN: $300,000 over 2y, 56% of budgetMILE HIGH UNITED WAY INC: $240,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetHOPE HAVEN CHARITABLE TRUST: $200,000 over 2y, 2.3% of budgetAlmost Home Inc: $30,598 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetTCON FARM INITIATIVES INC: $22,000 over 1y, 100% of budgetFOSTER'S OUTRIDERS FOUNDATION: $20,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetVIVOBLU WATER FOR ALL: $8,078 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetTHERE WITH CARE: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetHOPE COMMUNITIES INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetOPTIMAL INNOVATION GROUP: $3,900 over 1y, 4.4% 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.

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.

Colorado Gives Founda…Natl Christian Charit…National Philanthropi…Vanguard Charitable E…Donor Advised Charita…American Online Givin…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Colorado Gives FoundationCO12.5× affinity4 shared granteesties to 7 of 7Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Colorado Gives Foundation · Natl Christian Charitable Fdn Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · American Online Giving Foundation 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 McPherson Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from McPherson Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%3%5%8%10%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    1report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–10%
    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 McPherson Family Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to McPherson Family 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 18 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 McPherson Family’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