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Memphis Education Fund Inc at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

Memphis Education Fund Inc

To work in partnership with the shelby county school district and the achievement school district on strategies that support school improvement, development, and implementation of initiatives focused on increasing k-12 educational outcomes in the greater memphis, tn area.

$4.1M
Granted FY2025still arriving
19
Grants FY2025still arriving
7
States reached
$883k
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 2025.

Education$38MPublic Benefit$250kCivil Rights$96kHuman Services$70kScience & Tech$40kHealth$36k
02FY2025 · 19 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • $10k–50k6 grants · $185k
  • $50k–250k8 grants · $1.0M
  • $250k+5 grants · $2.9M
$93,120
Median grant
7
States reached
$3.4M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CITY YEAR MEMPHIS$883,000
LITERACY MID-SOUTH$670,374
PEER POWER FOUNDATION$591,693
MAN UP TEACHER FELLOWSHIP$400,000
TEACH LIKE A CHAMPION$392,211
FULLFILL EDUCATION$234,859
RELAY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION$220,480
SUMMER BOOST - 50CAN$110,000
TN CAN$100,000
ATTENDANCE WORKS$93,120
JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY$92,000
ONYOURMARK$80,850
TENNESSEE CHARTER SCHOOL CENTER$75,000
INSTRUCTION PARTNERS$47,898
TEACH FOR AMERICA$36,173
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 (FY21–21, $70k) land where the poverty rate runs at 17%, 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%CENTER FOR TRANSFORMING COMMUNITIES: $25k → 17%MEMPHIS DREAM CENTER: $45k → 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.

Which US states its grants reach

IL
NY
MA
NJ
CT
CA
MD
TN
NC
DC
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.

91%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$35M · 26 repeat orgs$3.5M to everyone else

26 repeat relationships: 11 still active in FY2025, 15 since wound down; 7 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

26
28

Total granted

$35M
$3.0M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+1%
+26%

Still filing today

85%
86%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 87% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $521k 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
EducationYouth DevelopmentPhilanthropyCivil RightsHuman ServicesHealthOther
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

  • Teach for America Inc
    4× · 2018–2025 · $6.5M · revenue +1%
  • RELAY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
    4× · 2018–2025 · $2.1M · revenue +1%
  • 5I
    50CAN INC
    7× · 2018–2025 · $2.0M · revenue +740%

Funded once

  • RU
    REACH UNIVERSITYgraduated
    one grant, 2024 · $600k · revenue +47%
  • SO
    STATE OF TENNESSEE
    2× · 2019–2020 · $525k
  • AI
    ALLMEMPHIS INCgraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $260k · revenue +139%
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
Lead Public Schools Inc

Lead public schools exists to prepare all our students with the knowledge and skills to succeed in college and in life.

Education
2
Mastery Charter High School

All students learn the academic and personal skills they need to be truly prepared for postsecondary success and able to pursue their dreams.

Education
3
The New American Academy Charter School

The new american academy charter school empowers learners and inspires leaders to make this a better world. through our collaborative teacher teams, mastery-based career ladder, and looping cycles, we offer personalized rigorous…

Education
4
Memphis Academy of Science and Engineeri

To produce lifelong learners, critical thinkers, effective communicators, and productive members of the global community

Education
5
Enroll Indy Inc

Enroll indy helps families choose schools that meet their children's needs by providing a one-stop enrollment process, school information that is relevant and easy to understand, and data to inform school improvement in indianapolis,…

Education
6
Stamford Charter School for Excellence

The stamford charter school for excellence prepares young people in stamford, connecticut to compete for admission to and succeed in top public, private and parochial high schools by cultivating their intellectual, artistic, social,…

Education
7
Compass Charter School

Compass charter school is a safe and nurturing educational environment that honors the individuality of each learner. by engaging in a process of inquiry, our graduates will be equipped with the necessary skills to lead fulfilling personal…

Education
8
Greatschools Inc

Greatschools is the leading nonprofit providing high-quality information that supports parents pursuing a great education for their child, schools striving for excellence, and communities working to diminish inequities in education.

Education
9
New Classrooms Innovation Partners Inc

To create and inspire better ways to give every student an educational foundation for lifelong success. we imagine a world where every student attends a school that meets them where they are, adapts to the unique ways they learn, and…

Education
10
South Shore Charter School

The mission of south shore charter school is to cultivate students the tenacity, integrity, and curiosity needed to become innovative and socially responsible leaders, ready to face and solve the ever-changing challenges facing our…

Education
11
Bronx Charter School for Excellence

Excellence community schools prepares young people in new york city and stamford to compete for admission to and succeed in top public, private and parochial high schools by cultivating their intellectual, artistic, social, emotional, and…

Education
12
The Peak School

The peak school seeks to ignite a passion for learning, to develop students of diverse talents and backgrounds who think critically and act with integrity, and to graduate compassionate, confident, capable students who will embrace their…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Uncommon Schools Inc; the most unlike its peers is Mid South Peace and Justice Center. 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

52 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. 52 of the 61 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.

2
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
6
Early backer (in before they grew)
50/52
Grantees still filing
32/52
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Teach for America Inc: $6,536,173 · EducationTeach for America IncMEMPHIS LIFT PARENT INSTITUTE: $3,500,000 · EducationMEMPHIS LIFT PARENT INSTITUTETENNESSEE CHARTER SCHOOL CENTER: $2,625,000 · EducationTENNESSEE CHARTER SCHOOL CENTERNEW LEADERS INC: $2,310,000 · EducationNEW LEADERS INCRELAY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION: $2,068,979 · EducationRELAY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION50CAN INC: $1,960,000 · Education50CAN INCEDUCATION REFORM NOW INC: $1,775,000 · EducationEDUCATION REFORM NOW INCLEE INC: $1,516,668 · EducationRhodes College: $1,219,950 · EducationARRAY EDUCATION INC: $1,166,358 · Education+29 more: $7,690,028 · Education+29 moreCITY YEAR INC: $1,803,000 · OtherCITY YEAR INCLITERACY MID-SOUTH INC: $1,035,999 · OtherLITERACY MID-S…MAN UP TEACHER FELLOWSHIP: $755,000 · OtherMAN UP TEACHER…STATE OF TENNESSEE: $525,000 · OtherSTATE OF TENNE…Public Impact LLC: $255,000 · OtherFULLFILL EDUCATION: $234,859 · Other+7 more: $280,353 · Other+7 moreSTAND FOR CHILDREN INC: $1,075,000 · Youth DevelopmentSEEDING SUCCESS: $58,750 · Youth DevelopmentCOMMUNITY INITIATIVES: $93,120 · PhilanthropySchoolSeed Foundation: $44,400 · PhilanthropyGENEROUS LIFE FOUNDATION D/B/A MEMPHIS DREAM CENTER: $45,000 · Human ServicesCENTER FOR TRANSFORMING COMMUNITIES: $25,000 · Human ServicesMEMPHIS INTERFAITH COALITION FOR ACTION AND HOPE: $50,000 · Civil RightsNEW MEMPHIS INSTITUTE: $15,000 · Civil RightsFAMILY SAFETY CENTER OF MEMPHIS AND SHELBY COUNTY INC: $36,000 · Health
Education$32,368,156Other$4,889,211Youth Development$1,133,750Philanthropy$137,520Human Services$70,000Civil Rights$65,000Health$36,000

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 budgetTeach for America Inc: $6,536,173 over 4y, 0.9% of budgetMEMPHIS LIFT PARENT INSTITUTE: $3,500,000 over 7y, 80% of budgetTENNESSEE CHARTER SCHOOL CENTER: $2,625,000 over 7y, 53% of budgetNEW LEADERS INC: $2,310,000 over 5y, 3.6% of budgetRELAY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION: $2,068,979 over 4y, 1.1% of budget50CAN INC: $1,960,000 over 7y, 3.9% of budgetCITY YEAR INC: $1,803,000 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetEDUCATION REFORM NOW INC: $1,775,000 over 5y, 4.3% of budgetLEE INC: $1,516,668 over 5y, 2.4% of budgetRhodes College: $1,219,950 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetARRAY EDUCATION INC: $1,166,358 over 3y, 1.8% of budgetSTAND FOR CHILDREN INC: $1,075,000 over 6y, 5.2% of budgetLITERACY MID-SOUTH INC: $1,035,999 over 2y, 12% of budgetThe Education Trust Inc: $975,000 over 4y, 0.9% of budgetTHE PEER POWER FOUNDATION INC: $972,207 over 2y, 16% of budgetUNCOMMON SCHOOLS INC: $932,141 over 4y, 1.2% of budgetAccelerate Institute: $900,000 over 4y, 16% of budgetREACH UNIVERSITY: $600,000 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetBES INC: $455,000 over 2y, 3.1% of budgetCAMBIAR EDUCATION: $365,850 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetALLMEMPHIS INC: $260,000 over 1y, 23% of budgetCIVIC NEWS COMPANY: $250,000 over 3y, 3.8% of budgetINSTRUCTION PARTNERS: $234,898 over 5y, 2.6% of budgetACHIEVEMENT FIRST INC: $230,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetKIPP FOUNDATION: $150,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetMEMPHIS MERIT ACADEMY INC: $100,000 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetCOMMUNITY INITIATIVES: $93,120 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetJOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: $92,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS FOUNDATION: $90,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetLIBERTAS SCHOOL OF MEMPHIS: $74,400 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetSEEDING SUCCESS: $58,750 over 1y, 4.1% of budgetMEMPHIS INTERFAITH COALITION FOR ACTION AND HOPE: $50,000 over 2y, 7.2% of budgetMid South Peace and Justice Center: $46,000 over 1y, 9.1% of budgetGENEROUS LIFE FOUNDATION D/B/A MEMPHIS DREAM CENTER: $45,000 over 1y, 8.5% of budgetSchoolSeed Foundation: $44,400 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetFAMILY SAFETY CENTER OF MEMPHIS AND SHELBY COUNTY INC: $36,000 over 1y, 2.4% of budgetJOURNEY COMMUNITY SCHOOLS: $30,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCENTER FOR TRANSFORMING COMMUNITIES: $25,000 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetVERIFIED SOLUTIONS FKA TENNESSEE SCHOLAR ACADEMICS: $23,200 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetMEMPHIS RISE ACADEMY INC: $20,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetREAD FOUNDATION DBA MEMPHIS SCHOOL OF EXCELLENCE: $20,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCAPSTONE EDUCATION GROUP INC: $20,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMEMPHIS BUSINESS ACADEMY INC: $20,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetBeacon College Preparatory Inc: $20,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetAURORA COLLEGIATE ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL: $20,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetNEW MEMPHIS INSTITUTE: $15,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetPORTER-LEATH: $11,050 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNEW DAY SCHOOLS INC DBA COMPASS COMMUNITY SCHOOLS: $10,000 over 1y, 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.

Community Foundation …Jr Hyde III Family Fo…Charter Fund Inc D/B/…City Fund50can IncThe Urban Child Insti…New Schools FundGates FoundationChristian Community F…Walton Family Foundat…Silicon Schools Fund …Louis Calder Foundati…
Community Foundation of Greater Memphis IncTN59.1× affinity31 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Community Foundation of Greater Memphis Inc · Jr Hyde III Family Foundation · Charter Fund Inc D/B/A Charter School Growth Fund · City Fund · 50can Inc · The Urban Child Institute · New Schools Fund · Gates Foundation · Christian Community Foundation of Memphis · Walton Family Foundation Inc · Silicon Schools Fund Inc · Louis Calder 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 Education Fund Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Memphis Education Fund Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 30%6%23%51%90%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 11%
  • Johns Hopkins University: 12% of income from government
  • City Year Inc: 11% of income from government
  • Achievement First Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
3get no government money at all
17report 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 61 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 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Memphis Education’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