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Mfi Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Mfi 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.

$1.4M
Granted FY2024still arriving
71
Grants FY2024still arriving
11
States reached
$154k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0196% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Environment$1.5MEducation$999kCommunity Improvement$936kHealth$915kArts & Culture$859kPhilanthropy$738kRecreation & Sports$590kReligion$383kOther$0
02FY2024 · 71 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k41 grants · $114k
  • $10k–50k20 grants · $325k
  • $50k–250k10 grants · $954k
$5,000
Median grant
11
States reached
$30M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN$154,000
PEOPLE'S FUND$150,000
PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF GREATER TEXAS$109,450
EQUALITY TEXAS$100,000
ECOAMERICA$100,000
NEXTGEN EDUCATION FUND$100,000
WATERLOO GREENWAY CONSERVANCY$75,500
CARITAS OF AUSTIN$65,000
CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS$50,000
ECHO$50,000
ENTREPRENEURS FOUNDATION$32,600
EAGLES AUTISM CHALLENGE$25,000
RARE$25,000
TEXAS TRIBUNE$25,000
UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA FOUNDATION$25,000
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 (FY17–24, $95k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%DOROT: $1k → 17%AUSTIN JUSTICE COALITION: $10k → 10%GIRLS EMPOWERMENT NETWORK: $5k → 10%GIRLS EMPOWERMENT NETWORK: $5k → 10%GIRLS EMPOWERMENT NETWORK: $5k → 10%GIRLS EMPOWERMENT NETWORK: $5k → 10%THE OTHER ONES FOUNDATION: $4k → 10%GENAUSTIN: $5k → 10%OPEN DOOR PRE SCHOOL: $20k → 10%OPEN DOOR PRE SCHOOL: $15k → 10%OPEN DOOR PRE SCHOOL: $9k → 10%OPEN DOOR PRE SCHOOL: $4k → 10%OPEN DOOR PRESCHOOL: $3k → 10%FLATWATER FOUNDATION: $1k → 10%YMCA OF AUSTIN: $2k → 10%YMCA OF AUSTIN: $1k → 10%GREATER AUSTIN YMCA: $1k → 10%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

WA
MT
NY
MA
PA
NJ
CA
UT
CO
VA
TN
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.

91%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$6.9M · 92 repeat orgs$705k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +25% since the first grant, against +5% for those funded once.

92 repeat relationships: 52 still active in FY2024, 40 since wound down; 17 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

92
51

Total granted

$6.9M
$393k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+25%
+5%

Still filing today

65%
53%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 78% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $312k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
HealthEducationArts & CultureEnvironmentHuman ServicesCivil RightsOther
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

  • WG
    WATERLOO GREENWAY CONSERVANCY
    8× · 2017–2024 · $1.2M · revenue +4%
  • AC
    AUSTIN CHILDREN'S MUSEUM
    7× · 2017–2024 · $339k · revenue +32%
  • R
    RARE
    5× · 2019–2024 · $275k · revenue +14%

Funded once

  • DS
    DELL SETON MEDICAL CENTER
    one grant, 2019 · $63k
  • TM
    THE MILKEN INSTITUTEgraduated
    one grant, 2019 · $50k · revenue +191%
  • MI
    MILKEN INSTITUTE
    one grant, 2018 · $35k
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
American Civil Liberties Union of Texas Inc

The ACLU of Texas works with communities, at the State Capitol, and in the courts to protect and advance civil rights and civil liberties for every Texan, no exceptions.

—
2
Aclu Foundation of Texas Inc

The ACLU Foundation of Texas is the unyielding guardian and promoter of freedom, justice, equality and dignity of all people, particularly for those who are still fighting to secure the full exercise of their civil rights and liberties.…

Civil Rights
3
Leadership Austin

Leadership austin connects and develops leaders to courageously engage and transform our communities.

Youth Development
4
Forty First Foundation

The forty first foundation supports and advances the university of texas at austin in its pursuit of excellence. we work closely with the office of the president to identify, fund, and implement strategic initiatives that enhance the…

Education
5
Uatx

Uatx is a nonprofit dedicated to building a liberal arts university committed to freedom of inquiry, freedom of conscience, and civil discourse. to maintain these principles, the university will be fiercely independent financially,…

Education
6
Center for Austin Independent Journalism

To equip Austinites to make informed decisions through independent, in-depth reporting, diverse opinions, and civil dialogue. A strong local press is essential for a healthy community and democracy. We work to make Austin a more empowered…

Arts & Culture
7
Greater Austin Christian Foundation

Mobilizing resources by inspiring biblical generosity in the greater austin, texas area.

Religion
8
American Gas Association

American gas association's (the association) mission is to develop and advocate for informed, innovative, and durable policy that fulfills our nation's energy needs, environmental aspirations and economic potential. we are committed to…

—
9
Dallas Citizens Council

To lead and serve in the moments that matter the most for the people of dallas.

—
10
Texas Association of Business

As the state chamber of commerce, tab is the most influential and dominant voice for public policy issues affecting business in texas. through proven results-oriented advocacy and member services, tab develops a climate in texas which…

—
11
The University of TexasTexas a&M Investment Management Company

To generate superior long-term investment returns to support The University of Texas and Texas A&M University systems as they provide world-class teaching, push the boundaries of discovery, and achieve excellence in patient healthcare for…

Education
12
Progress Texas Institute

The Progress Texas Institute provides research and strategic communications on issues with the ultimate goal of increasing civic engagement.

Civil Rights
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Peoplefund; the most unlike its peers is Planned Parenthood. 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

109 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. 109 of the 163 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)
18
Early backer (in before they grew)
104/109
Grantees still filing
68/109
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $428,333 · OtherTHE NATURE CONSERVANCYTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY OF TEXAS: $340,452 · OtherTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY OF TEXASTHE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN: $320,500 · OtherTHE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTINST JOHN NEUMANN: $300,000 · OtherST JOHN NEUMANNCARITAS OF AUSTIN: $210,150 · OtherSETON FUND: $187,600 · OtherEQTX Equality Texas dba Equality Texas: $175,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $161,500 · Other+100 more: $1,825,645 · Other+100 moreWATERLOO GREENWAY CONSERVANCY: $1,208,766 · Community ImprovementWATERLOO GREENWAY …PEOPLEFUND: $150,000 · Community ImprovementPEOPLEFUND+1 more: $20,000 · Community ImprovementPLANNED PARENTHOOD: $295,217 · HealthPLANNED PA…PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF GREATER TEXAS INC: $219,450 · HealthPLANNED PA…EAGLES AUTISM CHALLENGE INC: $180,000 · HealthEAGLES AUT…ANDY TALLEY BONE MARROW FOUNDATION: $35,000 · Health+10 more: $65,892 · Health+10 moreRARE: $275,000 · EnvironmentRARENEXTGEN CLIMATE AMERICA INC: $200,000 · EnvironmentNEXTGEN C…ECOAMERICA: $200,000 · EnvironmentECOAMERIC…+6 more: $32,800 · EnvironmentAUSTIN CHILDREN'S MUSEUM: $339,292 · Arts & CultureTHE 19TH NEWS: $175,000 · Arts & CultureGREATER AUSTIN PERFORMING ARTS CENTER INC: $48,700 · Arts & CultureTHE CONTEMPORARY AUSTIN MUSEUM INC: $27,500 · Arts & CultureKOVNO COMMUNICATIONS INC: $25,000 · Arts & Culture+4 more: $29,700 · Arts & CultureAUSTIN COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $493,300 · Philanthropy+6 more: $45,600 · PhilanthropyTEXAS TRIBUNE INC: $162,350 · EducationEanes Education Foundation: $80,000 · EducationBREAKTHROUGH: $80,000 · EducationSAINT FRANCIS UNIVERSITY: $72,200 · EducationCOMMUNITIES IN SCHOOLS OF CENTRAL TEXAS: $40,000 · EducationTHE TRUSTEES OF MOUNT HOLYOKE COLLEGE: $30,000 · EducationTHE UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA FOUNDATION: $25,000 · Education+6 more: $22,250 · Education
Other$3,949,180Community Improvement$1,378,766Health$795,559Environment$707,800Arts & Culture$645,192Philanthropy$538,900Education$511,800

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 budgetWATERLOO GREENWAY CONSERVANCY: $1,208,766 over 8y, 4.9% of budgetAUSTIN COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $493,300 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $428,333 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetAUSTIN CHILDREN'S MUSEUM: $339,292 over 7y, 5.8% of budgetRARE: $275,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD OF GREATER TEXAS INC: $219,450 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetCARITAS OF AUSTIN: $210,150 over 7y, 0.7% of budgetNEXTGEN CLIMATE AMERICA INC: $200,000 over 2y, 1.7% of budgetECOAMERICA: $200,000 over 2y, 3.3% of budgetEAGLES AUTISM CHALLENGE INC: $180,000 over 7y, 0.9% of budgetTHE 19TH NEWS: $175,000 over 5y, 1.0% of budgetEQTX Equality Texas dba Equality Texas: $175,000 over 2y, 21% of budgetTEXAS TRIBUNE INC: $162,350 over 8y, 0.3% of budgetPEOPLEFUND: $150,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetHUSTON-TILLOTSON UNIVERSITY: $122,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetMOBILE LOAVES & FISHES INC: $109,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetNEXTGEN EDUCATION FUND: $100,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetEanes Education Foundation: $80,000 over 7y, 0.5% of budgetBREAKTHROUGH: $80,000 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetSAINT FRANCIS UNIVERSITY: $72,200 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTHE CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS INC: $55,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetChampions Off the Field: $53,942 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetOPEN DOOR PRESCHOOL: $50,500 over 5y, 0.6% of budgetTHE MILKEN INSTITUTE: $50,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGREATER AUSTIN PERFORMING ARTS CENTER INC: $48,700 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetCENTER FOR CHILD PROTECTION: $41,309 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetGIFFORDS LAW CENTER TO PREVENT GUN VIOLENCE: $40,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetCOMMUNITIES IN SCHOOLS OF CENTRAL TEXAS: $40,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetANDY TALLEY BONE MARROW FOUNDATION: $35,000 over 7y, 2.5% of budgetGENAUSTIN: $35,000 over 7y, 0.4% of budgetAustin Child Guidance Center: $35,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetTexas Book Festival: $32,000 over 8y, 0.4% of budgetTHE SAFE ALLIANCE: $31,450 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetTHE TRUSTEES OF MOUNT HOLYOKE COLLEGE: $30,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetTHE CONTEMPORARY AUSTIN MUSEUM INC: $27,500 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetHIM FOR HER INC: $25,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetKOVNO COMMUNICATIONS INC: $25,000 over 1y, 2.4% of budgetTHE UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMISSION ACCOMPLISHED: $23,000 over 2y, 5.9% of budgetHungry Hill Foundation: $20,000 over 2y, 2.4% of budgetTHE JUNIOR LEAGUE OF AUSTIN INC: $20,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE: $19,475 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetSundance Institute: $19,200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNOTLEY FOUNDATION: $15,000 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetHUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN FOUNDATION: $12,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetAUSTIN SPEECH LABS INC: $12,090 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetTEXAS FREEDOM NETWORK: $12,000 over 8y, 0.3% of budgetSRV2THRV FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 5.6% 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 WATERLOO GREENWAY CONSERVANCY ↗
  • Who funds AUSTIN COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds THE NATURE CONSERVANCY ↗
  • Who funds AUSTIN CHILDREN'S MUSEUM ↗
  • Who funds PLANNED PARENTHOOD ↗
  • Who funds RARE ↗
  • Who funds PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF GREATER TEXAS INC ↗
  • Who funds CARITAS OF AUSTIN ↗
  • Who funds NEXTGEN CLIMATE AMERICA INC ↗
  • Who funds ECOAMERICA ↗
  • Who funds EAGLES AUTISM CHALLENGE INC ↗
  • Who funds THE 19TH NEWS ↗
  • Who funds EQTX Equality Texas dba Equality Texas ↗
  • Who funds TEXAS TRIBUNE INC ↗
  • Who funds PEOPLEFUND ↗
  • Who funds HUSTON-TILLOTSON UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds MOBILE LOAVES & FISHES INC ↗
  • Who funds NEXTGEN EDUCATION FUND ↗
  • Who funds Eanes Education Foundation ↗
  • Who funds BREAKTHROUGH ↗
  • Who funds SAINT FRANCIS UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds THE CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS INC ↗
  • Who funds Champions Off the Field ↗
  • Who funds OPEN DOOR PRESCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds THE MILKEN INSTITUTE ↗
  • Who funds GREATER AUSTIN PERFORMING ARTS CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds CENTER FOR CHILD PROTECTION ↗
  • Who funds GIFFORDS LAW CENTER TO PREVENT GUN VIOLENCE ↗

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.

Austin Community Foun…St David's FoundationThe Moody FoundationThe Powell FoundationTopfer Family Foundat…United Way for Greate…Better Business BureauA Glimmer of Hope Fou…Shield-Ayres Foundati…Alice Kleberg Reynold…The Applied Materials…Ascension Seton
Austin Community Foundation IncTX62.2× affinity34 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Austin Community Foundation Inc · St David's Foundation · The Moody Foundation · The Powell Foundation · Topfer Family Foundation · United Way for Greater Austin · Better Business Bureau · A Glimmer of Hope Foundation Austin · Shield-Ayres Foundation · Alice Kleberg Reynolds Meyer Foundat A0479800 · The Applied Materials Foundation · Ascension Seton

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 30%5%19%42%75%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 1%
  • The Trustees of Mount Holyoke College: 1% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
3get no government money at all
27report 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 163 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 Mfi’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