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Mills Bee Lane Memorial Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Mills Bee Lane Memorial Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$539k
Granted FY2024still arriving
33
Grants FY2024still arriving
8
States reached
$60k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0198% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Environment$1.6MArts & Culture$968kEducation$883kAnimals$398kYouth Development$229kHealth$80kRecreation & Sports$10kFood & Nutrition$5kOther$0
02FY2024 · 33 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k12 grants · $44k
  • $10k–50k16 grants · $240k
  • $50k–250k5 grants · $265k
$10,000
Median grant
8
States reached
$1.8M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
LOWCOUNTRY LAND TRUST$60,000
ASHLEY HALL SCHOOL OR FOUNDATION$55,000
ST ANDREWS ON THE MARSH$50,000
PRESERVATION SOCIETY OF CHARLESTON$50,000
BATTLEFIELD TRUST$50,000
SOUTH CAROLINA HISTORICAL SOCIETY$25,000
JAMES ISLAND CHRISTIAN SCHOOL$25,000
DORCHESTER HERITAGE CENTER$25,000
COASTAL CONSERVATION LEAGUE$20,043
HEALTH SCIENCES FOUNDATION$15,000
DUCKS UNLIMITED$15,000
OPEN SPACE INSTITUTE$15,000
CONSERVATION VOTERS OF SOUTH CARO$15,000
THE NATURE CONSERVANCY$15,000
THE VILLAGE MUSEUM$10,000
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 83% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%VISION TO LEARN: $30k → 14%LORD BERKELEY CONSERVATION TRUST: $20k → 9%OPEN LAND TRUST: $36k → 10%DORCHESTER HERITAGE CENTER: $25k → 11%ASHLEY HALL SCHOOL OR FOUNDATION: $265k → 12%THE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $60k → 16%BATTLEFIELD TRUST: $55k → 14%ST ANDREWS ON THE MARSH: $50k → 16%SOUTHERN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER: $66k → 8%ASHLEY HALL SCHOOL OR FOUNDATION: $60k → 12%BATTLEFIELD TRUST: $50k → 14%ST ANDREWS ON THE MARSH: $25k → 16%SOUTHERN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER: $66k → 8%ASHLEY HALL SCHOOL OR FOUNDATION: $55k → 12%CIVIL WAR TRUST: $50k → 14%SOUTHERN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER: $65k → 8%ASHLEY HALL SCHOOL OR FOUNDATION: $55k → 12%BATTLEFIELD TRUST: $50k → 14%SOUTHERN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER: $65k → 8%ASHLEY HALL SCHOOL: $32k → 12%BATTLEFIELD TRUST: $50k → 14%SOUTHERN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER: $55k → 8%ASHLEY HALL SCHOOL: $27k → 12%BATTLEFIELD TRUST: $50k → 14%THE SAVANNAH COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL: $51k → 16%BATTLEFIELD TRUST: $50k → 14%THE SAVANNAH COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL: $50k → 16%THE SAVANNAH COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL: $50k → 16%LOWCOUNTRY LAND TRUST: $60k → 12%BETHESDA HOME FOR BOYS: $75k → 16%LOWCOUNTRY LAND TRUST: $60k → 12%BETHESDA HOME FOR BOYS: $50k → 16%GIBBES MUSEUM OF ART: $25k → 12%BETHESDA HOME FOR BOYS: $50k → 16%SOUTH CAROLINA HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $25k → 12%BETHESDA HOME FOR BOYS: $50k → 16%DUCKS UNLIMITED: $69k → 16%DUCKS UNLIMITED: $67k → 16%DUCKS UNLIMITED: $66k → 16%DUCKS UNLIMITED: $65k → 16%HISTORIC SAVANNAH FOUNDATION: $25k → 16%HISTORIC SAVANNAH FOUNDATION: $25k → 16%HISTORIC SAVANNAH FOUNDATION: $25k → 16%OSI: $20k → 16%SOUTH CAROLINA NATURE CONSERVANCY: $50k → 12%SOUTH CAROLINA NATURE CONSERVANCY: $50k → 12%SOUTH CAROLINA NATURE CONSERVANCY: $50k → 12%JAMES ISLAND CHRISTIAN SCHOOL: $25k → 12%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
WY
CT
CA
VA
NC
SC
DC
LA
GA
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.

93%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$3.7M · 41 repeat orgs$290k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +55% since the first grant, against +50% for those funded once.

41 repeat relationships: 26 still active in FY2024, 15 since wound down; 6 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

41
20

Total granted

$3.7M
$207k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+55%
+50%

Still filing today

56%
55%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 85% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $83k 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
EducationArts & CultureEnvironmentAnimalsScience & TechHealthOther
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

  • SOUTHERN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER
    8× · 2017–2024 · $357k · revenue +55%
  • TP
    The Preservation Society of Charleston Inc
    8× · 2017–2024 · $341k · revenue +161%
  • LL
    LOWCOUNTRY LAND TRUST INC
    8× · 2017–2024 · $185k · revenue +125%

Funded once

  • AB
    American Battlefield Trustgraduated
    one grant, 2018 · $50k · revenue +50%
  • OL
    OPEN LAND TRUST
    one grant, 2021 · $36k
  • VISION TO LEARNgraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $30k · revenue +40%
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
Triangle Land Conservancy Inc

Triangle land conservancy (tlc) strives to create a healthier and more vibrant triangle region by safeguarding clean water, protecting natural habitats, supporting local farms, and connecting people with nature through land protection and…

Environment
2
North Carolina Coastal Land Trust

The organization's primary exempt purpose is acquiring and protecting lands of regional and national conservation and/or historic significance in the coastal plain of north carolina.

Environment
3
Congaree Land Trust

The congaree land trust was established to promote voluntary conservation of scenic lands, open spaces, farms, forests, natural areas and significant habitats in central south carolina.

Environment
4
New River Land Trust

To conserve the rural, natural, and cultural heritage of the new river region, protecting farms, forests, open spaces, and historic places.

Environment
5
South Carolina Environmental Law Project Inc

We use our legal expertise to protect the land, water and communities across south carolina.

Environment
6
Brookgreen Gardens

Brookgreen gardens was formed in 1931 to collect, preserve and exhibit american sculpture, and the flora and fauna native to south carolina.

Environment
7
Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden Inc

We harness the power of plants for humankind and share the joy and beauty of tropical gardening with everyone. fairchild tropical botanic garden is a museum of tropical plants within a world famous, 83-acre designed landscape. it was…

Environment
8
Washington Forest Law Center

Dedicated to protecting the world's natural environment on behalf of the public by serving as a public interest law firm. refer to schedule o, part iii, line 4a, for list of litigated cases or advocacy work.

—
9
Upper Savannah Land Trust

The mission of the upper savannah land trust is to encourage and support conservation of natural and scenic lands, farms, forests, waterways, and open spaces on our eight-county area: abbeville, anderson, edgefield, greenwood, laurens,…

Environment
10
Washington and Lee University

Mission statement of washington and lee university: washington and lee university provides a liberal arts education that develops students' capacity to think freely, critically, and humanely and to conduct themselves with honor, integrity,…

Education
11
Georgia Conservancy Inc

To protect georgia through ecological and economic solutions for stewardship, conservation, and sustainable use of the land and its resources.

Environment
12
Harvard Conservation Trust

To preserve the unique character and natural resources of harvard.

Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Lowcountry Land Trust Inc; the most unlike its peers is The Village Museum. 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

38 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. 38 of the 68 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.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
11
Early backer (in before they grew)
38/38
Grantees still filing
30/38
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

ASHLEY HALL SCHOOL OR FOUNDATION: $450,000 · OtherASHLEY HALL SCHOOL OR FOUNDATIONSOUTHERN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER: $357,000 · OtherSOUTHERN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTERThe Preservation Society of Charleston Inc: $340,520 · OtherThe Preservation Society of Charleston IncCOASTAL CONSERVATION LEAGUE: $332,531 · OtherCOASTAL CONSERVATION LEAGUEDUCKS UNLIMITED: $328,688 · OtherDUCKS UNLIMITEDBATTLEFIELD TRUST: $305,000 · OtherBATTLEFIELD TRUSTBETHESDA HOME FOR BOYS: $225,000 · OtherBETHESDA HOME FOR BOYSSOUTH CAROLINA NATURE CONSERVANCY: $150,000 · OtherTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $140,000 · Other+30 more: $722,187 · Other+30 moreLOWCOUNTRY LAND TRUST INC: $185,000 · EnvironmentOPEN SPACE INSTITUTE INC: $46,000 · EnvironmentOne Hundred Miles Inc: $25,000 · EnvironmentUPSTATE FOREVER: $10,000 · Environment+2 more: $12,000 · EnvironmentSAVANNAH COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL INC: $152,500 · EducationSouth Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities: $70,000 · EducationTHE MATTHEW REARDON CENTER FOR AUTISM INC: $34,500 · Education+7 more: $19,500 · EducationAmerican Battlefield Trust: $50,000 · Arts & CultureTHE SOUTH CAROLINA HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $35,000 · Arts & CultureCAROLINA ART ASSOCIATION DBA GIBBES MUSEUM OF ART: $30,000 · Arts & CultureTHE MOUNT VERNON LADIES' ASSOCIATION OF THE UNION: $25,250 · Arts & CultureDORCHESTER HERITAGE CENTER INC: $25,000 · Arts & CultureCharleston Literary Festival Inc: $10,000 · Arts & CultureThe Charleston Museum: $10,000 · Arts & CultureTHE VILLAGE MUSEUM: $10,000 · Arts & CultureVISION TO LEARN: $30,000 · HealthTHE CENTER FOR HUMANS AND NATURE: $24,608 · Science & TechTROUT UNLIMITED INC: $4,760 · AnimalsNATIONAL DEER ASSOCIATION: $1,000 · AnimalsSOUTH CAROLINA FARM BUREAU LAND TRUST INC: $5,000 · Food & Nutrition
Other$3,350,926Environment$278,000Education$276,500Arts & Culture$195,250Health$30,000Science & Tech$24,608Animals$5,760Food & Nutrition$5,000

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 budgetSOUTHERN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER: $357,000 over 8y, 0.2% of budgetThe Preservation Society of Charleston Inc: $340,520 over 8y, 3.4% of budgetLOWCOUNTRY LAND TRUST INC: $185,000 over 8y, 1.0% of budgetSAVANNAH COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL INC: $152,500 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $140,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetLORD BERKELEY CONSERVATION TRUST: $85,000 over 8y, 3.6% of budgetST ANDREWS ON THE MARSH INC: $78,500 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetHISTORIC SAVANNAH FOUNDATION INC: $75,000 over 3y, 2.6% of budgetSouth Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities: $70,000 over 7y, 0.9% of budgetAmerican Battlefield Trust: $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetOPEN SPACE INSTITUTE INC: $46,000 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetTHE SOUTH CAROLINA HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $35,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetTHE MATTHEW REARDON CENTER FOR AUTISM INC: $34,500 over 5y, 1.4% of budgetCAROLINA ART ASSOCIATION DBA GIBBES MUSEUM OF ART: $30,000 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetVISION TO LEARN: $30,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE MOUNT VERNON LADIES' ASSOCIATION OF THE UNION: $25,250 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTUDOR PLACE FOUNDATION INC: $25,000 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetOne Hundred Miles Inc: $25,000 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetDORCHESTER HERITAGE CENTER INC: $25,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetTHE CENTER FOR HUMANS AND NATURE: $24,608 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetCharleston Literary Festival Inc: $10,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetUPSTATE FOREVER: $10,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetThe Charleston Museum: $10,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetTHE VILLAGE MUSEUM: $10,000 over 1y, 8.7% of budgetBEAUFORT COUNTY OPEN LAND TRUST: $9,000 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetKENT SCHOOL: $5,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSOUTH CAROLINA FARM BUREAU LAND TRUST INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetSALISBURY SCHOOL INC: $5,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTROUT UNLIMITED INC: $4,760 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMerrie-Woode Foundation Inc: $4,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetJACKSON HOLE LAND TRUST: $3,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetWESLEYAN COLLEGE: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHISTORIC CHARLESTON FOUNDATION: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHAMMOND SCHOOL: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCHARLESTON DAY SCHOOLINC: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCLEMSON UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetETHEL WALKER SCHOOL INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL DEER ASSOCIATION: $1,000 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.

  • Who funds SOUTHERN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER ↗
  • Who funds The Preservation Society of Charleston Inc ↗
  • Who funds LOWCOUNTRY LAND TRUST INC ↗
  • Who funds SAVANNAH COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL INC ↗
  • Who funds THE NATURE CONSERVANCY ↗
  • Who funds LORD BERKELEY CONSERVATION TRUST ↗
  • Who funds ST ANDREWS ON THE MARSH INC ↗
  • Who funds HISTORIC SAVANNAH FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds South Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities ↗
  • Who funds American Battlefield Trust ↗
  • Who funds OPEN SPACE INSTITUTE INC ↗
  • Who funds THE SOUTH CAROLINA HISTORICAL SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds THE MATTHEW REARDON CENTER FOR AUTISM INC ↗
  • Who funds CAROLINA ART ASSOCIATION DBA GIBBES MUSEUM OF ART ↗
  • Who funds VISION TO LEARN ↗
  • Who funds THE MOUNT VERNON LADIES' ASSOCIATION OF THE UNION ↗
  • Who funds TUDOR PLACE FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds One Hundred Miles Inc ↗
  • Who funds DORCHESTER HERITAGE CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds THE CENTER FOR HUMANS AND NATURE ↗
  • Who funds Charleston Literary Festival 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.

Gaylord and Dorothy D…The Joanna FoundationCoastal Community Fou…Guffey Family Foundat…South Carolina Humani…Henry & Sylvia Yaschi…Atlantic Services of …John M Rivers Jr Foun…Dominion Energy Chari…Post and Courier Foun…The Ceres Foundation …Davis Family Foundati…
Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley FoundationIL27.7× affinity11 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation · The Joanna Foundation · Coastal Community Foundation of South Carolina Inc · Guffey Family Foundation · South Carolina Humanities Council Inc · Henry & Sylvia Yaschik Foundation Inc · Atlantic Services of Charleston Cha · John M Rivers Jr Foundation · Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation · Post and Courier Foundation · The Ceres Foundation Inc · Davis Family 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 Mills Bee Lane Memorial Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Mills Bee Lane Memorial Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%1%3%6%10%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
    2get 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
    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 Mills Bee Lane Memorial Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Mills Bee Lane Memorial 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 68 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 Mills Bee Lane Memorial’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