Skip to content
Mills Family Foundation Inc at a glance

· Private foundation

Mills Family Foundation Inc

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.

$52k
Granted FY2025still arriving
7
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$43k
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, FY2019 to 2025.

Education$95kPhilanthropy$62kRecreation & Sports$9kCrime & Legal$7kHuman Services$7kArts & Culture$6kReligion$4kHealth$2kOther$0
02FY2025 · 7 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k6 grants · $9k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $43k
$1,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$280k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CAROLINA DAY SCHOOL$42,500
HAYWOOD STREET CONGREGATION$3,750
LITERACY TOGETHER$2,500
MOUNTAIN AMATEUR ATHELETIC CLUB$1,000
PRESERVATION SOCIETY OF AVL & BUNCOMBE COUNTY$1,000
OPEN DOORS OF ASHEVILLE$500
DANIEL BOONE SOCIETY$300
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 (FY19–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 100% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%THE NATIONAL AUDOBON SOCIETY: $1k → 17%United Way of Asheville & Buncombe County: $13k → 12%United Way of Asheville & Buncombe County: $10k → 12%UNITED WAY: $8k → 12%UNITED WAY: $6k → 12%United Way of Asheville & Buncombe County: $5k → 12%Pisgah Legal Services: $5k → 12%AB TECH FOUNDATION: $5k → 12%HAYWOOD STREET CONGREGATION: $4k → 12%United Way of Asheville & Buncombe County: $4k → 12%United Way of Asheville & Buncombe County: $4k → 12%AB TECH FOUNDATION: $3k → 12%LITERACY COUNTIL OF BUNCOMBE COUNTY: $3k → 12%LITERACY TOGETHER: $3k → 12%United Way of Asheville & Buncombe County: $3k → 12%CAROLINA DAY SCHOOL: $43k → 12%LITERACY TOGETHER: $3k → 12%Carolina Day School: $8k → 12%UNITED WAY: $3k → 12%Carolina Day School: $8k → 12%ASHEVILLE AREA ART COUNCIL: $2k → 12%Carolina Day School: $5k → 12%United Way of Asheville & Buncombe County: $2k → 12%Carolina Day School: $4k → 12%A-B Tech Community College Foundation: $2k → 12%CAROLINA DAY SCHOOL: $3k → 12%United Way of Asheville & Buncombe County: $1k → 12%Carolina Day School: $3k → 12%Planned Parenthood: $1k → 12%CAROLINA DAY SCHOOL: $2k → 12%Planned Parenthood: $1k → 12%Irene Wortham Center: $1k → 12%PISGAH LEGAL SERVICES: $1k → 12%Community Foundation of Western North Carolina-Women For Women: $1k → 12%Literacy Council of Buncombe County: $1k → 12%MOUNTAIN AMATEUR ATHELETIC CLUB: $1k → 12%United Way of Asheville & Buncombe County: $688 → 12%MOUNTAIN AMATEUR ATHELETIC CLUB: $1k → 12%United Way of Asheville & Buncombe County: $688 → 12%Mountain Amateur Athletic Club: $1k → 12%United Way of Asheville & Buncombe County: $687 → 12%MOUNTAIN AMATEUR ATHELETIC CLUB: $1k → 12%MOUNTAIN AMATEUR ATHELETIC CLUB: $1k → 12%Mountain Amateur Athletic Club: $1k → 12%SVITLA NADIYA: $1k → 12%Mountain Amateur Athletic Club: $1k → 12%Mountain Child Advocacy Center: $800 → 12%Open Doors of Asheville: $1k → 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.
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.
$181k · 15 repeat orgs$10k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +113% since the first grant, against +25% for those funded once.

15 repeat relationships: 6 still active in FY2025, 9 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

15
9

Total granted

$181k
$10k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+113%
+25%

Still filing today

67%
56%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 99% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $300 went to new ones.

50%100%’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
EducationArts & CulturePhilanthropyRecreation & SportsCrime & LegalEnvironmentOther
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

  • CD
    Carolina Day School Inc
    6× · 2019–2025 · $75k · revenue +35%
  • UW
    UNITED WAY OF ASHEVILLE AND BUNCOMBE COUNTY INC
    3× · 2019–2021 · $43k · revenue +216%
  • LT
    Literacy Together
    7× · 2019–2025 · $10k · revenue +169%

Funded once

  • NB
    No Barriers
    one grant, 2019 · $3k
  • AA
    ASHEVILLE AREA ARTS COUNCILgraduated
    one grant, 2024 · $2k · revenue +380%
  • AT
    A-B Tech Community College Foundation
    one grant, 2019 · $2k
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
The Center for Craft Creativity & Design Inc

To resource, catalyze, and amplify how and why craft matters.

Arts & Culture
2
Early Years Inc

Early years leads efforts to strengthen accessible and affordable quality early care and education by providing support for families, communities and the workforce. early years 's primary purpose is to provide services, research and…

—
3
Public School Forum of Nc Inc

All north carolina children shall have the opportunity to reach their full potential through equitable and meaningful public education that nourishes our state's civic and economic vitality.to provide trusted, nonpartisan, evidence-based…

Education
4
Anderson University

The university is a comprehensive university affiliated with the south carolina baptist convention offering bachelors, masters, and doctorate degrees. located on approximately 398 acres in the upstate region of south carolina near the…

Education
5
Alliance Center for Education Inc

Our mission is to provide high-quality education and support for children in need through partnership with their families. our vision is to positively affect the future of children at risk by improving economic mobility through education.…

Education
6
Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce Inc

Building community through business

—
7
Asheville Museum of Science

The asheville museum of science (amos) is western north carolina's home for experiential science learning, discovery, and exploration. amos strives to spark the imagination and foster lifelong curiosity.

Arts & Culture
8
Children FirstCommunities in Schools of Buncombe County Inc

To empower children and their families to reach their full potential through advocacy, education and services. As Communities In Schools, we surround students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in…

—
9
The North Caroliniana Society

To promote interest in, knowledge of, and appreciation for north carolina history and culture through historical preservation, library service, and perpetuation of state literary and cultural heritage.

—
10
North Carolina Community Foundation

The nccf is the single statewide community foundation serving north carolina and was created in 1988 to build capacity through philanthropy. the nccf administers over 1,300 component funds established to provide long-term support of a…

Philanthropy
11
Alice Lloyd College

The mission of alice lloyd college is to educate mountain people for positions of leadership by making an alice lloyd college education accessible to qualified mountain students regardless of their financial situation. the college provides…

Education
12
United Way of Greater Charlottesville

The united way of greater charlottesville connects our community, enabling individuals and families to achieve their potential.

Philanthropy
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County Inc; the most unlike its peers is National Audubon Society 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

16 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. 16 of the 26 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)
6
Early backer (in before they grew)
16/16
Grantees still filing
15/16
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Carolina Day School Inc: $74,917 · EducationCarolina Day School IncASHEVILLE-BUNCOMBE TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $7,500 · EducationASHEVILLE-BUNCOMBE TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE FO…+1 more: $1,500 · EducationUNITED WAY OF ASHEVILLE AND BUNCOMBE COUNTY INC: $43,369 · PhilanthropyUNITED WAY OF ASHEVILLE AN…+1 more: $1,100 · PhilanthropyUNITED WAY: $17,126 · OtherUNITED WAYLiteracy Together: $10,000 · OtherLiteracy TogetherHAYWOOD STREET CONGREGATION: $4,250 · OtherHAYWOOD STREET CONGREGATIO…No Barriers: $2,500 · OtherNo BarriersPlanned Parenthood: $2,000 · OtherIRENE WORTHAM CENTER INC: $1,500 · OtherA-B Tech Community College Foundation: $1,500 · Other+9 more: $5,205 · Other+9 moreMOUNTAIN AMATEUR ATHLETIC CLUB INC: $7,000 · Recreation & SportsPISGAH LEGAL SERVICES: $6,000 · Crime & LegalPreservation Society of Asheville & Buncombe County Inc: $3,500 · Arts & CultureASHEVILLE AREA ARTS COUNCIL: $2,000 · Arts & CultureNATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY INC: $1,000 · Environment
Education$83,917Philanthropy$44,469Other$44,081Recreation & Sports$7,000Crime & Legal$6,000Arts & Culture$5,500Environment$1,000

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 budgetCarolina Day School Inc: $74,917 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetUNITED WAY OF ASHEVILLE AND BUNCOMBE COUNTY INC: $43,369 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetLiteracy Together: $10,000 over 7y, 0.5% of budgetASHEVILLE-BUNCOMBE TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $7,500 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetMOUNTAIN AMATEUR ATHLETIC CLUB INC: $7,000 over 7y, 4.0% of budgetPISGAH LEGAL SERVICES: $6,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetPreservation Society of Asheville & Buncombe County Inc: $3,500 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetASHEVILLE AREA ARTS COUNCIL: $2,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetIRENE WORTHAM CENTER INC: $1,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetOpen Doors of Asheville Inc: $1,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetNATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCHILDREN'S WELL-BEING LEAGUE F/K/A CHILDREN'S WELFARE LEAGUE: $1,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetMountain Child Advocacy Center Inc: $800 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetYWCA of Asheville and Western North Carolina Inc: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL FIRE SAFETY COUNCIL INC: $105 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.

The Community Foundat…Dogwood Health TrustWnc Bridge FoundationWalnut Cove Members A…United Way of Ashevil…Richard Eckerd Founda…Td Charitable Foundat…The Goodman Foundatio…The Cannon Foundation…Foundation for the Ca…American Endowment Fo…Vanguard Charitable E…
The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina IncNC27.7× affinity11 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina Inc · Dogwood Health Trust · Wnc Bridge Foundation · Walnut Cove Members Association Inc · United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County Inc · Richard Eckerd Foundation Inc · Td Charitable Foundation · The Goodman Foundation Inc · The Cannon Foundation Inc · Foundation for the Carolinas · American Endowment Foundation · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%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
    0get no government money at all
    8report 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 Family Foundation Inc?

    Find your warmest path to Mills Family Foundation Inc 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 26 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 Mills Family’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