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Plinth

· Public charity

Memphis Bioworks Foundation

The foundation is executing a strategic business plan that leverages the competitive strengths within the region while expanding the infrastructure, educational opportunities, and entrepreneur support needed to expand entrepreneurship.

$13k
Granted FY2023
1
Grants FY2023
1
States reached
$13k
Largest
01What you fund
01100% classified

What you funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year — across FY20172023.

Education$4.4MEmployment$2.1MPhilanthropy$1.1MCommunity Improvement$660kScience & Tech$331kCrime & Legal$223kHealth$197kEnvironment$33kOther$0
02FY2023 · 1 grant

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

$13,371
Median grant
1
States reached
$6.0M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
NEIGHBORHOOD PRESERVATION INC$13,371
02The need
03

Do your dollars go where the need is?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, then read against the area’s typical level.

show:

Your human-services grants (FY20–20, $27k) land where the poverty rate runs at 17%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of your grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%WORKFORCE MIDSOUTH INC: $27k → 17%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount

Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty linein the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP; grantee ZIP can differ from where services are delivered.

US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are actually delivered. Need from public data — U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA — shown as context about the area, never attributed to your giving.

03Your edge
repeat funding

Who you back again

Which organizations you funded more than once, and which you funded a single time. Each grantee is matched to its own filings.

90%of every dollar goes to organizations you’ve funded before.
$7.1M · 14 repeat orgs$777k to everyone else

And the relationships you keep tend to grow: grantees you re-up on have seen median revenue of +131% since the first grant, against +20% for the ones you funded once.

14 repeat relationships — 0 still active in FY2023, 14 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2023 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

14
27

Total granted

$7.1M
$764k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+131%
+20%

Still filing today

29%
30%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2023, 0% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $13k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’19’20’21’23
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’19’20’21’23
Community ImprovementEducationEmploymentHuman ServicesOther

First-time = a grantee’s first year in your filing window; renewed = funded in an earlier year too. As a portfolio matures the renewed share naturally climbs — once funded, an org stays “renewable” — so the signal is the years that buck it (a new-grantee intake wave). 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

  • MA
    MEMPHIS ACADEMY OF SCIENCE AND ENGINEERI
    4× · 2017–2021 · $3.1M · revenue +131% · 42% of their budget
  • LF
    LAB FOUR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPM
    4× · 2017–2020 · $1.7M · revenue -34% · 37% of their budget
  • CC
    CONCORDE CAREER COLLEGE INC
    4× · 2017–2020 · $533k

Funded once

  • AM
    ASU MID SOUTH
    2× · 2017–2018 · $152k
  • MA
    MEMPHIS AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCEgraduated
    one grant, 2019 · $90k · revenue +65%
  • MS
    MID SOUTH WELLNESS CLINIC
    one grant, 2019 · $85k

Repeat = funded in two or more distinct years; growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Your field

The map has a center of gravity: the average direction from the rest of the sector toward the organizations the foundation funds — the shape of its giving. Scoring every nonprofit along that direction surfaces the ones that look most like the portfolio. These are the closest matchesthat aren’t grantees — a resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Mayor's Institute for Excellence in Government Inc

Develop and implement programs to meet major urban challenges that exist for memphis, tennessee

Public Benefit
2
Memphis Tomorrow

Memphis tomorrow is an association of ceos of memphis' largest businesses working to promote opportunity and quality of life for all memphians through collective action and public-private partnerships.

Community Improvement
3
The Collective Blueprint

Our mission is to increase socioeconomic mobility by building pathways to thriving careers.

Employment
4
Memphis Urban League Inc

To enable and empower african-americans and other minorities in underserved communities to achieve their highest human potential and secure economic self-reliance, parity, power and civil rights.

Human Services
5
My City Rides

My city rides makes reliable transportation affordable and ownership possible for those in the workforce with limited means but unlimited potential, increasing opportunity for everyone.

Employment
6
City Leadership

City leadership's mission is to recruit, develop, and catalyze leaders for the benefit of the city of memphis. the organization was founded in order to maximize the leadership capital and potential of memphis. city leadership strives to…

Public Benefit
7
Memphis Center City Development Corporation

Assist private development projects

8
Memphis for All

To build a cross-class multi-racial progressive alliance, by combining integrated voter engagement, distributive organization, and sustained leadership development.

Civil Rights
9
Memphis Bioworks Foundation

The foundation is executing a strategic business plan that leverages the competitive strengths within the region while expanding the infrastructure, educational opportunities, and entrepreneur support needed to expand entrepreneurship.

Health
10
Women's Foundation for a Greater Memphis

To encourage philanthropy and foster leadership among women and support programs that enable women and children to reach their full potential.

Human Services
11
North Missindustrial Development a

Promoting northeast mississippi for industrial growth.

12
Nashville Technology Council

Ntc mission is to advance the diverse technology ecosystem by connecting and promoting members, attracting, growing and retaining tech talent, and providing opportunities to reinvest in the greater nashville community.

Community Improvement

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Memphis Area Chamber of Commerce and the most unlike its peers is Memphis Center for Urban Theological Studies 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

16 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each one resolved to its own IRS returns and tracked year by year — your grant beside their revenue from every source. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

Counted here: distinct organizations you funded across 20172025, not grant rows in a single year — so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 16 of the 43 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile; the rest are funded organizations whose filings we could not track year by year.

3
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
15/16
Grantees still filing
8/16
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

MEMPHIS ACADEMY OF SCIENCE AND ENGINEERI — $3,070,000 · EducationMEMPHIS ACADEMY OF SCIENCE AND ENGINEERISouthwest Tennessee Community College Foundation — $310,455 · EducationSouthwest Tennessee Community College Foun…+1 more — $10,375 · EducationCONCORDE CAREER COLLEGE INC — $533,186 · OtherCONCORDE CAREER COLLEGE INCTENNESSEE COLLEGE OF APPLIED TECHNOLOGY - MEM — $330,838 · OtherTENNESSEE COLLEGE OF APPLIED …TENNESSEE COLLEGE OF APPLIED TECHNOLOGY - WHITEVILLE — $228,565 · OtherTENNESSEE COLLEGE OF APPLIED …Individual grant recipient — $192,045 · OtherIndividual grant recipientASU MID SOUTH — $151,977 · OtherASU MID SOUTHTENNESSEE COLLEGE OF APPLIED TECHNOLOGY - COVINGTON — $147,741 · OtherTENNESSEE COLLEGE OF APPLIED …UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS — $96,364 · OtherMEMPHIS AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE — $90,000 · OtherTRANSNETYX INC — $88,797 · OtherMID SOUTH WELLNESS CLINIC — $84,720 · Other+21 more — $403,525 · Other+21 moreLAB FOUR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPM — $1,741,572 · EmploymentLAB FOUR PROFESSIONAL…COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF GREATER MEMPHIS INC — $1,082,818 · PhilanthropyCOMMUNITY FOU…Structured Employment Economic Development Corporation — $260,288 · Community ImprovementLAUNCHYOURCITY — $75,356 · Community ImprovementCOMMUNITY LIFT CORP — $26,625 · Community ImprovementLAUNCH INC — $14,500 · Community ImprovementNeighborhood Preservation Inc — $13,371 · Community Improvement+1 more — $10,153 · Community ImprovementWorkforce Mid-South Inc — $27,006 · Human Services
Education$3,390,830Other$2,347,758Employment$1,741,572Philanthropy$1,082,818Community Improvement$400,293Human Services$27,006

Each org by its size and your share of it — top-left is where you’re load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ your share of their budgetMEMPHIS ACADEMY OF SCIENCE AND ENGINEERI — $3,070,000 over 4y, 42% of budgetLAB FOUR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPM — $1,741,572 over 4y, 37% of budgetCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF GREATER MEMPHIS INC — $1,082,818 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetSouthwest Tennessee Community College Foundation — $310,455 over 4y, 52% of budgetStructured Employment Economic Development Corporation — $260,288 over 3y, 2.0% of budgetMEMPHIS AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE — $90,000 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetLAUNCHYOURCITY — $75,356 over 1y, 4.3% of budgetCOMMUNITY LIFT CORP — $26,625 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetLEADERSHIP MEMPHIS — $17,697 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetLAUNCH INC — $14,500 over 1y, 2.2% of budgetNeighborhood Preservation Inc — $13,371 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetCODECREW — $10,375 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetVIBRANT MEMPHIS INC — $10,153 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetMEMPHIS CENTER FOR URBAN THEOLOGICAL STUDIES INC — $5,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budget
Go grantee by grantee — a decade per org, and how each moved after you funded them

A decade per grantee — revenue shaded, your grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

  • Who funds MEMPHIS ACADEMY OF SCIENCE AND ENGINEERI
  • Who funds LAB FOUR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPM
  • Who funds COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF GREATER MEMPHIS INC
  • Who funds Southwest Tennessee Community College Foundation
  • Who funds Structured Employment Economic Development Corporation
  • Who funds MEMPHIS AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
  • Who funds LAUNCHYOURCITY
  • Who funds Workforce Mid-South Inc
  • Who funds COMMUNITY LIFT CORP
  • Who funds LEADERSHIP MEMPHIS
  • Who funds LAUNCH INC
  • Who funds Neighborhood Preservation Inc
  • Who funds CODECREW
  • Who funds VIBRANT MEMPHIS INC
  • Who funds MEMPHIS CENTER FOR URBAN THEOLOGICAL STUDIES INC

The grantmakers whose grantees overlap with yours far more than size alone predicts. Each orbits closer the stronger the alignment; the arcs between them show where they also fund each other. Here it reads as a tightly interlocked camp — most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Community Foundation of Greater Memphis IncTN18.2× affinity7 shared granteesties to 9 of 9Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Community Foundation of Greater Memphis Inc · The Kresge Foundation · The Kemmons Wilson Family Foundation · Jr Hyde III Family Foundation · Tennessee Technology Development Corp · Christian Community Foundation of Memphis · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Network for Good · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile Foundation

Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. A research starting point: overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

Government reliance of your grantees

Every dot is one organization Memphis Bioworks Foundation funds. Left–right is the share of its income from government; up–down is the share from you. Bigger dots raise more. Filter to federal or a single department — and drag the year to watch it move.

2023
202122232425
no gov · 00%3%13%28%50%your share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    4report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    typical government reliance, FY2025

    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 your grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first — a floor, not 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 12–24 months.

    On method. Every financial figure here is read directly from IRS e-file XML — your own 990/990-PF and the multi-year returns of the 43 grantees we resolved across every year we hold, several hundred filings in all (a different count from the grant rows on the cover, which are one fiscal year)— each linked to its source. Grantee achievements and outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III); we read these as association with sustained funding — the foundation is one of several forces — suppress low-confidence name matches rather than guess, and say so where a figure rests on a single grant or filing. Not everything on this page is a filed figure, and the difference matters. Filed is what you reported on your 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. How we build these →

    Generated from your IRS Form 990 e-file return for fiscal year 2023, released 2023. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2024) is on record and reports no grant expense, so the figures above are from FY2023, the most recent year this funder made grants.

    Source object · view filing

    More from the funding graph