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Michael & Susan Dell Foundation at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Private foundation

Michael & Susan Dell Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$164M
Granted FY2024still arriving
835
Grants FY2024still arriving
48
States reached
$50M
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, FY2018 to 2024.

Education$512MHealth$151MHuman Services$30MFood & Nutrition$27MPhilanthropy$23MEmployment$22MInternational$22MCommunity Improvement$19MOther$0
02FY2024 · 835 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k305 grants · $1.4M
  • $10k–50k295 grants · $7.2M
  • $50k–250k109 grants · $15M
  • $250k+126 grants · $141M
$19,324
Median grant
48
States reached
$7.8B
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Charter School Growth Fund$50,000,000
University of Texas at Austin$8,492,618
Mobile Loaves & Fishes Inc$7,586,321
United Jewish Appeal$2,500,000
University of Texas at Austin$2,106,020
University of Texas at Austin$2,085,748
Charter School Growth Fund$2,000,000
Communities Foundation of Texas$1,774,968
New Leaders Foundation$1,551,429
Region 4 Education Service Center$1,521,000
America's Frontier Fund$1,500,000
Individual grant recipient$1,322,451
New Schools Venture Fund$1,250,000
Education Analytics$1,215,000
The British Asian Trust$1,104,167
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 (FY21–24, $14.3M) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 83% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%America's Mighty Warriors: $50k → 11%Swipe Out Hunger: $234k → 14%Fostering Hope Austin: $50k → 6%National Scholarship Providers Association: $1.0M → 8%Fostering Hope Austin: $50k → 6%National Scholarship Providers Association: $497k → 8%Swipe Out Hunger: $125k → 14%National Scholarship Providers Association: $467k → 8%National Scholarship Providers Association: $200k → 8%Alliance of Community Assistance Ministries Inc: $350k → 16%Springboard Collaborative: $950k → 22%Alliance of Community Assistance Ministries Inc: $350k → 16%Springboard Collaborative: $500k → 22%Springboard Collaborative: $250k → 22%Think of Us: $212k → 14%Think of Us: $187k → 14%Abigail E Keller Foundation: $214k → 10%Tides Center: $262k → 10%Common Market Philadelphia Inc: $552k → 22%Jan Sahas USA Inc: $900k → 14%Jan Sahas USA Inc: $400k → 14%LEAP Innovations: $500k → 14%Data Quality Campaign: $500k → 14%Social Finance: $100k → 16%Data Quality Campaign: $500k → 14%Data Quality Campaign: $500k → 14%Peoples Courage International Inc: $400k → 14%Samaritan Center: $150k → 10%Samaritan Center: $100k → 10%Samaritan Center: $100k → 10%Urban School Food Alliance: $316k → 14%Partnerships for Children: $300k → 10%Partnerships for Children: $243k → 10%Partnerships for Children: $125k → 10%Partnerships for Children: $122k → 10%Partnerships for Children: $115k → 10%Partnerships for Children: $75k → 10%Partnerships for Children: $75k → 10%Partnerships for Children: $75k → 10%Texas Center for Child and Family Studies: $171k → 10%Texas Center for Child and Family Studies: $75k → 10%Texas Center for Child and Family Studies: $75k → 10%Texas Center for Child and Family Studies: $51k → 10%Helping Hand Home for Children: $563k → 10%Helping Hand Home for Children: $488k → 10%Helping Hand Home for Children: $281k → 10%Helping Hand Home for Children: $163k → 10%Helping Hand Home for Children: $146k → 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

ME
VT
NH
WA
ID
MT
ND
MN
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
OR
NV
WY
SD
IA
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CT
RI
CA
UT
CO
NE
MO
KY
WV
VA
MD
DE
AZ
NM
KS
AR
TN
NC
SC
DC
HI
OK
LA
MS
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.

88%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$746M · 766 repeat orgs$103M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +16% since the first grant, against +6% for those funded once.

766 repeat relationships: 533 still active in FY2024, 233 since wound down; 124 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

766
338

Total granted

$746M
$76M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+16%
+6%

Still filing today

43%
42%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 83% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $27M went to new ones.

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

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

’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
EducationHuman ServicesInternationalHealthPhilanthropyYouth DevelopmentOther
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

  • TI
    TNTP INC
    4× · 2021–2024 · $4.9M · revenue +63%
  • CI
    COMMUNITIES IN SCHOOLS OF CENTRAL TEXAS
    4× · 2021–2024 · $4.0M · revenue +1%
  • TI
    TRANSCEND INC
    3× · 2021–2023 · $3.7M · revenue +105%

Funded once

  • HC
    Health Community Support
    one grant, 2018 · $35M
  • SP
    SAMARITAN'S PURSEgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $2.5M · revenue +40%
  • IM
    INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL CORPS
    one grant, 2022 · $2.0M · revenue +8%
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
University of New Haven

The University of New Haven is a student-centered comprehensive university with an emphasis on excellence in liberal arts and professional education. Our mission is to prepare our students to lead purposeful and fulfilling lives in a…

Education
2
Boston Architectural College

The bac is committed to provide excellence in design education grounded in practice and accessible to diverse communities.

—
3
Furman University

The primary mission of furman as a liberal arts institution is to provide a distinctive education in fine arts, humanities, social sciences, mathematics and the sciences, as well as selected professional disciplines.

Education
4
Augustana College

Rooted in the liberal arts & sciences & lutheran expression of the christian faith, & is committed to offering a challenging education that develops qualities of mind, spirit, & body necessary for a rewarding life of leadership & service…

Education
5
Manhattanville University

To educate students to be ethical and socially responsible leaders in a global community.

Education
6
Saint Xavier University

Saint xavier university, a catholic institution inspired by the heritage of the sisters of mercy, educates persons to search for truth, think critically, communicate effectively and serve wisely and compassionately in support of human…

Education
7
Point Park University

Provides innovative education in a dynamic urban setting. dedicated to academic excellence and community engagement,we prepare students of diverse backgrounds with the knowledge, skill,and experience to lead meaningful lives as informed…

—
8
Wilson College

Wilson college empowers students to be confident and critical thinkers, creative visionaries, effective communicators, honorable leaders, and agents of justice.

Education
9
University of the Sciences in Philadelphia

University of the sciences prepares students to become leaders, innovators, and skilled practitioners in the sciences, the health professions, and related disciplines. we deliver excellence in teaching, research, and service through a safe…

—
10
Fielding Graduate University

We provide exemplary interdisciplinary programs for a community of scholar-practitioners within a distributed learning model grounded in student-driven inquiry and leading to enhanced knowledge.

—
11
Golden Gate University

Golden gate university prepares individuals to lead and serve by providing high quality, practice-based educational programs in law, taxation, business and related professions - as a nonprofit institution - in an innovative and challenging…

Education
12
Capital University

Capital university transforms lives by empowering an inclusive community of learners through engaging academic, co-curricular, and professional experiences.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Schreiner University; the most unlike its peers is Idp Foundation 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

559 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. 559 of the 1,250 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.

15
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
28
Early backer (in before they grew)
555/559
Grantees still filing
362/559
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Education: $78,158,605 · OtherEducationHealth Initiatives Community Suppor: $62,774,296 · OtherHealth Initiatives Community SupporData Driven EducationEd-Fi: $61,118,119 · OtherData Driven EducationEd-FiUniversity of Texas - Austin: $38,340,268 · OtherUniversity of Texas - AustinUniversity of Texas at Austin: $36,412,991 · OtherUniversity of Texas at AustinHealth Community Support: $35,060,463 · OtherHealth Community SupportUNIVERSITY OF TEXAS: $34,025,560 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF TEXASScholarship Program: $24,076,796 · OtherFamily Economic Stability: $23,883,564 · Other+118 more: $194,677,083 · Other+118 moreCHARTER FUND INC D/B/A CHARTER SCHOOL GROWTH FUND: $59,500,000 · PhilanthropyCHARTER FUND…UNITED WAY FOR GREATER AUSTIN: $5,844,013 · PhilanthropyUNITED WAY F…COMMUNITIES FOUNDATION OF TEXAS INC: $5,211,968 · PhilanthropyCOMMUNITIES …THE BLACKBAUD GIVING FUND: $4,938,563 · PhilanthropyTHE BLACKBAU…+6 more: $7,670,229 · Philanthropy+6 moreTNTP INC: $4,891,698 · EducationCOMMUNITIES IN SCHOOLS OF CENTRAL TEXAS: $4,050,000 · EducationTRANSCEND INC: $3,700,000 · EducationNEW SCHOOLS FUND: $3,295,000 · EducationTEACH PLUS INC: $2,512,999 · EducationBREAKTHROUGH: $2,500,000 · EducationLET'S GET READY INC: $2,363,758 · Education+33 more: $32,988,261 · EducationMOBILE LOAVES & FISHES INC: $23,493,094 · ReligionSAMARITAN'S PURSE: $2,500,000 · ReligionINTERNATIONAL MEDICAL CORPS: $2,000,000 · InternationalMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $1,900,000 · InternationalSave The Children Federation Inc: $1,750,000 · InternationalAFF FOUNDATION: $1,500,000 · InternationalINTERNATIONAL YOUTH FOUNDATION: $1,333,456 · InternationalAMERICAN FRIENDS OF MAGEN DAVID ADOM: $1,000,000 · InternationalAMERICAN FRIENDS OF NATAL INC: $1,000,000 · InternationalThe American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee Inc: $1,000,000 · InternationalDIGITAL PROMISE GLOBAL: $870,499 · InternationalMercy Ships International: $700,000 · InternationalNational Scholarship Providers Association: $2,163,921 · Human ServicesSPRINGBOARD COLLABORATIVE: $1,701,500 · Human ServicesPEOPLE'S COURAGE INTERNATIONAL INC: $1,700,000 · Human ServicesHELPING HAND HOME FOR CHILDREN INC: $1,640,000 · Human ServicesData Quality Campaign Inc: $1,500,000 · Human ServicesPARTNERSHIPS FOR CHILDREN: $1,135,139 · Human ServicesALLIANCE OF COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE MINISTRIES INC: $700,000 · Human ServicesCOMMON MARKET PHILADELPHIA INC: $551,950 · Human ServicesTexas 2036: $3,500,000 · Public BenefitMISSION CAPITAL: $3,016,666 · Public BenefitPROMEDICA FOUNDATION: $750,000 · Public Benefit
Other$588,527,745Philanthropy$83,164,773Education$56,301,716Religion$25,993,094International$13,053,955Human Services$11,092,510Public Benefit$7,266,666

Showing the 200 largest grantees by grant value.

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 budgetCHARTER FUND INC D/B/A CHARTER SCHOOL GROWTH FUND: $59,500,000 over 4y, 22% of budgetMOBILE LOAVES & FISHES INC: $23,493,094 over 3y, 18% of budgetUNITED WAY FOR GREATER AUSTIN: $5,844,013 over 4y, 8.8% of budgetCOMMUNITIES FOUNDATION OF TEXAS INC: $5,211,968 over 3y, 1.2% of budgetTHE BLACKBAUD GIVING FUND: $4,938,563 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetTNTP INC: $4,891,698 over 4y, 1.7% of budgetCOMMUNITIES IN SCHOOLS OF CENTRAL TEXAS: $4,050,000 over 4y, 6.0% of budgetTRANSCEND INC: $3,700,000 over 3y, 10% of budgetTexas 2036: $3,500,000 over 4y, 10.0% of budgetTHE SAFE ALLIANCE: $3,450,000 over 4y, 3.5% of budgetNEW SCHOOLS FUND: $3,295,000 over 3y, 3.0% of budgetFOUNDATION COMMUNITIES INC: $3,051,000 over 4y, 2.7% of budgetMISSION CAPITAL: $3,016,666 over 4y, 66% of budgetTEACH PLUS INC: $2,512,999 over 4y, 6.2% of budgetSAMARITAN'S PURSE: $2,500,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetBREAKTHROUGH: $2,500,000 over 4y, 8.5% of budgetLET'S GET READY INC: $2,363,758 over 4y, 21% of budgetEDUCATION ANALYTICS INC: $2,230,134 over 3y, 6.4% of budgetNational Scholarship Providers Association: $2,163,921 over 3y, 56% of budgetINTERNATIONAL MEDICAL CORPS: $2,000,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetSHALOM AUSTIN: $1,956,149 over 2y, 6.9% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $1,900,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetCHARITIES AID FOUNDATION AMERICA: $1,828,980 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetSave The Children Federation Inc: $1,750,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetSPRINGBOARD COLLABORATIVE: $1,701,500 over 4y, 2.6% of budgetPEOPLE'S COURAGE INTERNATIONAL INC: $1,700,000 over 3y, 19% of budgetHELPING HAND HOME FOR CHILDREN INC: $1,640,000 over 4y, 4.9% of budgetCOURT APPOINTED SPECIAL ADVOCATES OF TRAVIS COUNTY: $1,586,200 over 4y, 6.3% of budgetAFF FOUNDATION: $1,500,000 over 1y, 36% of budgetDeans for Impact: $1,500,000 over 4y, 21% of budgetData Quality Campaign Inc: $1,500,000 over 2y, 23% of budget3DE NATIONAL LLC: $1,500,000 over 3y, 8.1% of budgetIMENTOR INC: $1,430,725 over 2y, 3.6% of budgetCollegespring Inc: $1,425,936 over 4y, 30% of budgetARIZOU: $1,375,316 over 4y, 13% of budgetCOMMON SENSE MEDIA: $1,362,261 over 2y, 3.0% of budgetBLUE ENGINE INC: $1,347,054 over 3y, 21% of budgetGENERATION SCHOOLS NETWORK INC: $1,334,832 over 3y, 18% of budgetINTERNATIONAL YOUTH FOUNDATION: $1,333,456 over 3y, 3.5% of budgetMEB ALLIANCE FOR EDUCATOR DIVERSITY INC: $1,312,500 over 4y, 7.5% of budgetINNOVATEEDU INC: $1,312,359 over 4y, 13% of budgetTHE CLEVELAND AVENUE FOUNDATION FOR EDUCATION GROUP: $1,250,000 over 3y, 13% of budgetECONOMIC MOBILITY PATHWAYS INC: $1,240,000 over 3y, 4.0% of budgetONEGOAL: $1,220,000 over 4y, 1.6% of budgetTURNAROUND FOR CHILDREN INC: $1,215,764 over 3y, 9.6% of budgetCAL POLY POMONA PHILANTHROPIC FOUNDATION: $1,200,000 over 2y, 7.4% of budgetNASH: $1,200,000 over 3y, 13% of budgetNPOWER INC: $1,200,000 over 2y, 3.0% 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.

  • Who funds CHARTER FUND INC D/B/A CHARTER SCHOOL GROWTH FUND ↗
  • Who funds MOBILE LOAVES & FISHES INC ↗
  • Who funds UNITED WAY FOR GREATER AUSTIN ↗
  • Who funds COMMUNITIES FOUNDATION OF TEXAS INC ↗
  • Who funds THE BLACKBAUD GIVING FUND ↗
  • Who funds TNTP INC ↗
  • Who funds COMMUNITIES IN SCHOOLS OF CENTRAL TEXAS ↗
  • Who funds TRANSCEND INC ↗
  • Who funds Texas 2036 ↗
  • Who funds THE SAFE ALLIANCE ↗
  • Who funds NEW SCHOOLS FUND ↗
  • Who funds FOUNDATION COMMUNITIES INC ↗
  • Who funds MISSION CAPITAL ↗
  • Who funds TEACH PLUS INC ↗
  • Who funds SAMARITAN'S PURSE ↗
  • Who funds BREAKTHROUGH ↗

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.

Gates FoundationCarnegie Corporation …Walton Family Foundat…National Collegiate A…Council of Independen…New Schools FundEcmc FoundationNew Profit IncGreater Texas Foundat…United Way for Greate…Austin Community Foun…St David's Foundation
Gates FoundationWA78.5× affinity77 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Gates Foundation · Carnegie Corporation of New York · Walton Family Foundation Inc · National Collegiate Athletic Association · Council of Independent Colleges · New Schools Fund · Ecmc Foundation · New Profit Inc · Greater Texas Foundation · United Way for Greater Austin · Austin Community Foundation Inc · St David's 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 Michael & Susan Dell Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Michael & Susan Dell Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 150%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 10%
  • Jewish Vocational Service Inc: 39% of income from government
  • Save the Children Federation Inc: 30% of income from government
  • Saga Innovations Inc: 28% of income from government
  • Rodel Charitable Foundation - De: 20% of income from government
  • International Youth Foundation: 17% of income from government
  • Trustees of Boston University: 12% of income from government
  • Tech Goes Home Incorporated: 10% of income from government
  • President and Fellows of Harvard College: 7% of income from government
  • Economic Mobility Pathways Inc: 6% of income from government
  • Education Resource Strategies Inc: 4% of income from government
  • Uaspire Inc: 1% of income from government
  • The Bottom Line Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Achieving the Dream Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
15get no government money at all
39report 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.
05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Michael & Susan Dell Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Michael & Susan Dell 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 1250 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 Michael & Susan Dell’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