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Memphis Bioworks Foundation at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· 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 it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2023.

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

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$13,371
Median grant
1
States reached
$6.0M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
NEIGHBORHOOD PRESERVATION INC$13,371
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 (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 its 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
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.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

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

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +131% since the first grant, against +20% for those 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
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

  • 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
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
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
2
The Collective Blueprint

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

Employment
3
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
4
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
5
Memphis Center City Development Corporation

Assist private development projects

—
6
Mayor's Institute for Excellence in Government Inc

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

Public Benefit
7
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
8
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
9
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
10
North Missindustrial Development a

Promoting northeast mississippi for industrial growth.

—
11
Techstl

The TechSTL Council serves as the St Louis champion for technology by strategically and equitably investing in regional collaboration to advance tech workforce development and retention, along with spurring innovation opportunities in…

Community Improvement
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
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Memphis Area Chamber of Commerce; 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 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. 16 of the 43 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.

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

Where the money sits, by cause and 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 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 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
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 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 ↗

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.

Community Foundation …The Kresge FoundationThe Kemmons Wilson Fa…Jr Hyde III Family Fo…Tennessee Technology …Christian Community F…The Bank of America C…Network for GoodFidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
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

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 Memphis Bioworks Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Memphis Bioworks Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2023
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%3%13%28%50%funder's 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, 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 43 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 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 (FY2025) 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

    Play a game based on Memphis Bioworks’ 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