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Michael W Louis Private Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Michael W Louis Private Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$775k
Granted FY2025still arriving
30
Grants FY2025still arriving
10
States reached
$100k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
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 2025.

Education$1.7MHealth$951kEnvironment$560kRecreation & Sports$465kCivil Rights$415kPhilanthropy$221kArts & Culture$193kCommunity Improvement$90kOther$0
02FY2025 · 30 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k6 grants · $33k
  • $10k–50k18 grants · $314k
  • $50k–250k6 grants · $429k
$11,250
Median grant
10
States reached
$8.3M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
NATIONAL LOUIS UNVERSITY$100,000
COLORADO COLLEGE$90,000
VALLEYWISE HEALTH FOUNDATION$88,500
PARK CITY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION$50,000
DESERT VOICES$50,000
HONOR HEALTH FOUNDATION$50,000
THE FIRST TEE OF PHOENIX$45,000
FOUNDATION FIGHTING BLINDNESS$40,000
UC SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION$30,000
LAKE OWEN ASSOCIATION$29,000
PHOENIX COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL$22,500
WINTER SPORTS SCHOOL$15,000
RYE NATURE CENTER$15,000
UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO$15,000
NEW CANAAN COMMUNITY FUND$11,250
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 (FY18–25, $37k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%TRANSPORTATION CHILDREN'S CENTER: $10k → 16%CARVER CENTER: $3k → 9%THERE WITH CARE: $5k → 12%CARVER CENTER: $3k → 9%THERE WITH CARE: $5k → 12%5 STEPS TO FIVE: $2k → 9%NOURISH PHOENIX: $10k → 11%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

VT
IL
WI
NY
MA
CT
CA
UT
CO
VA
MD
AZ
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.

95%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$4.5M · 38 repeat orgs$237k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +42% since the first grant, against +33% for those funded once.

38 repeat relationships: 20 still active in FY2025, 18 since wound down; 8 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

38
12

Total granted

$4.5M
$130k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+42%
+33%

Still filing today

82%
58%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 85% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $108k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’20’21’22’23’24’25
EducationHealthEnvironmentHuman ServicesArts & CultureRecreation & SportsOther
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

  • NL
    National Louis University
    7× · 2017–2025 · $870k · revenue +113%
  • THE FOUNDATION FIGHTING BLINDNESS INC
    8× · 2017–2025 · $455k · revenue +49%
  • TC
    THE COLORADO COLLEGE
    6× · 2018–2025 · $375k · revenue +43%

Funded once

  • CB
    CHEQUAMEGON BAY UNITED IMPACT LAND TRUST
    one grant, 2024 · $20k
  • PP
    PLANNED PARENTHOOD ACT
    one grant, 2023 · $20k
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2023 · $20k
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
Boston Architectural College

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

—
2
Arizona Community Foundation

To lead, serve and collaborate to mobilize enduring philanthropy for a better arizona.

Philanthropy
3
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
4
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
5
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The mission of mit is to advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century.

Education
6
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
7
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research

See schedule ouniversity corporation for atmospheric research (ucar), on behalf of, and in cooperation with its member university members, is engaged in the management of long-term atmospheric and related research and educational…

Science & Tech
8
Banner -University Medical Group

Assist banner health complete its mission to make health care easier so life can be better by providing integrated & coordinated care & population health management.

Health
9
Colorado Academy

Creating curious, kind, courageous, and adventurous learners and leaders.

Education
10
Park University

Park university's mission is to transform lives through accessible, student-centered, quality higher education.

Education
11
Lodestar Charitable Foundation

To perform the functions of, or to carry out the purposes of the arizona community foundation, an az nonprofit corporation, so long as the arizona community foundation, inc. remains a qualified organization.

—
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 Phoenix Country Day School; the most unlike its peers is Lake Owen Association 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

46 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. 46 of the 60 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)
9
Early backer (in before they grew)
45/46
Grantees still filing
33/46
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

National Louis University: $870,000 · EducationNational Louis UniversityTHE COLORADO COLLEGE: $375,000 · EducationTHE COLORADO COLLEGEUC SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION: $110,000 · EducationUC SAN DIEGO FOUNDATIONPHOENIX COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL: $97,500 · EducationPHOENIX COUNTRY DAY SCHOOLUniversity of Arizona Foundation: $80,000 · EducationWINTER SPORTS SCHOOL IN PARK CITY: $70,000 · Education+8 more: $134,250 · Education+8 moreDESERT VOICES: $415,000 · OtherDESERT VOICESRYE NATURE CENTER: $120,000 · OtherRYE NATURE CENTERDESIGN BUILD BLUFF: $90,000 · OtherDESIGN BUILD BLUFFIndividual grant recipient: $80,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipien…Individual grant recipient: $70,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipien…ZION CANYON MESA: $60,000 · OtherSANDRA DAY O'CONNOR INSTITUTE FOR AMERICAN DEMOCRACY: $60,000 · Other+20 more: $231,500 · Other+20 moreTHE FOUNDATION FIGHTING BLINDNESS INC: $455,000 · HealthTHE FOUNDATION FIGHTI…VALLEYWISE HEALTH FOUNDATION: $253,500 · HealthVALLEYWISE HEALTH FOU…BARROW NEUROLOGICAL FOUNDATION: $150,000 · HealthBARROW NEUROLOGICAL F…HONORHEALTH FOUNDATION: $50,000 · HealthHONORHEALTH FOUNDATIO…+1 more: $15,000 · HealthLAKE OWEN ASSOCIATION INC: $244,500 · EnvironmentLAKE OWEN…DESERT BOTANICAL GARDEN INC: $100,000 · EnvironmentDESERT BO…New Canaan Nature Center Association Inc: $45,000 · EnvironmentNew Canaa…+2 more: $20,000 · EnvironmentARIZONA GOLF AND LIFE SKILLS INC DBA FIRST TEE - PHOENIX: $250,000 · Recreation & SportsCHEQUAMEGON AREA MOUNTAIN BIKE ASSOCIATI: $52,500 · Recreation & SportsARIZONA CYCLING ASSOCIATION: $12,500 · Recreation & SportsPARK CITY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $200,000 · PhilanthropyNEW CANAAN COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $21,250 · PhilanthropyTHE ADLER PLANETARIUM: $95,000 · Arts & CultureBALLET WEST: $40,000 · Arts & CultureCABLE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM INC: $37,500 · Arts & CultureTHE HEARD MUSEUM: $20,000 · Arts & Culture
Education$1,736,750Other$1,126,500Health$923,500Environment$409,500Recreation & Sports$315,000Philanthropy$221,250Arts & Culture$192,500

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 budgetNational Louis University: $870,000 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetTHE FOUNDATION FIGHTING BLINDNESS INC: $455,000 over 8y, 0.3% of budgetTHE COLORADO COLLEGE: $375,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetVALLEYWISE HEALTH FOUNDATION: $253,500 over 3y, 1.2% of budgetARIZONA GOLF AND LIFE SKILLS INC DBA FIRST TEE - PHOENIX: $250,000 over 7y, 3.8% of budgetLAKE OWEN ASSOCIATION INC: $244,500 over 8y, 46% of budgetPARK CITY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $200,000 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetBARROW NEUROLOGICAL FOUNDATION: $150,000 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetUC SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION: $110,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetDESERT BOTANICAL GARDEN INC: $100,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetPHOENIX COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL: $97,500 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetTHE ADLER PLANETARIUM: $95,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetDESIGN BUILD BLUFF: $90,000 over 2y, 53% of budgetUniversity of Arizona Foundation: $80,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetWINTER SPORTS SCHOOL IN PARK CITY: $70,000 over 5y, 1.4% of budgetSANDRA DAY O'CONNOR INSTITUTE FOR AMERICAN DEMOCRACY: $60,000 over 3y, 2.6% of budgetCHEQUAMEGON AREA MOUNTAIN BIKE ASSOCIATI: $52,500 over 5y, 4.5% of budgetPark City Education Foundation: $45,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetNew Canaan Nature Center Association Inc: $45,000 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetBALLET WEST: $40,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetCABLE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM INC: $37,500 over 3y, 3.5% of budgetMAMA'S KITCHEN: $22,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetTHE NEW CANAAN LIBRARY INC: $21,250 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetNEW CANAAN COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $21,250 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetGRALAND COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSTEP STUDENT EXPEDITION PROGRAM INC: $20,000 over 4y, 0.7% of budgetTHE HEARD MUSEUM: $20,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetDENVER ZOOLOGICAL FOUNDATION: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPhoenix Children's Hospital: $15,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetARIZONA CYCLING ASSOCIATION: $12,500 over 2y, 3.6% of budgetTHERE WITH CARE: $10,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetNEW WAY ACADEMY: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTRANSPORTATION CHILDREN'S CENTER INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetChrist Church School Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetFOOD ALLERGY RESEARCH & EDUCATION INC: $10,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTHE MORTON ARBORETUM: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWashington and Lee University: $7,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetRYE FUND FOR EDUCATION INC: $5,500 over 2y, 4.2% of budgetFOOD BANK OF THE ROCKIES: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPORT CHESTER CARVER CENTER INC: $5,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTHE DIAPER BANK OF CONNECTICUT INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetTeach for America Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budget5 Steps to Five: $2,000 over 1y, 1.1% 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 National Louis University ↗
  • Who funds THE FOUNDATION FIGHTING BLINDNESS INC ↗
  • Who funds THE COLORADO COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds VALLEYWISE HEALTH FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds ARIZONA GOLF AND LIFE SKILLS INC DBA FIRST TEE - PHOENIX ↗
  • Who funds LAKE OWEN ASSOCIATION INC ↗
  • Who funds PARK CITY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds BARROW NEUROLOGICAL FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds UC SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds DESERT BOTANICAL GARDEN INC ↗
  • Who funds PHOENIX COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds THE ADLER PLANETARIUM ↗
  • Who funds DESIGN BUILD BLUFF ↗
  • Who funds University of Arizona Foundation ↗
  • Who funds WINTER SPORTS SCHOOL IN PARK CITY ↗
  • Who funds SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR INSTITUTE FOR AMERICAN DEMOCRACY ↗
  • Who funds CHEQUAMEGON AREA MOUNTAIN BIKE ASSOCIATI ↗
  • Who funds HONORHEALTH FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Park City Education Foundation ↗
  • Who funds New Canaan Nature Center Association Inc ↗
  • Who funds BALLET WEST ↗
  • Who funds CABLE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM INC ↗
  • Who funds MAMA'S KITCHEN ↗
  • Who funds THE NEW CANAAN LIBRARY INC ↗
  • Who funds NEW CANAAN COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds GRALAND COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds STEP STUDENT EXPEDITION PROGRAM INC ↗
  • Who funds THE HEARD MUSEUM ↗
  • Who funds DENVER ZOOLOGICAL FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Phoenix Children's Hospital ↗

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.

Louis Foundation IncHalf Moon FoundationArizona Community Fou…Century FoundationThe Ayco Charitable F…The Chicago Community…National Philanthropi…Gs Donor Advised Phil…Morgan Stanley Global…American Endowment Fo…Vanguard Charitable E…The Pfizer Foundation…
Louis Foundation IncAZ17.9× affinity6 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Louis Foundation Inc · Half Moon Foundation · Arizona Community Foundation · Century Foundation · The Ayco Charitable Foundation · The Chicago Community Trust · National Philanthropic Trust · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · American Endowment Foundation · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · The Pfizer Foundation Inc

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 30%2%6%14%25%funder's share of their income ↑0%15%30%45%60%share of the org’s income from government →median 49%
  • The Diaper Bank of Connecticut Inc: 49% of income from government
  • Transportation Children's Center Inc: 2% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
3get no government money at all
11report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–60%
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 W Louis Private Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Michael W Louis Private 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 60 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 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Michael W Louis Private’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