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Ministering Circle of Wilmington NC at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Public charity

Ministering Circle of Wilmington NC

The Ministering Circle is committed to supporting projects and programs which promote the health and wellness of those in Wilmington and the surrounding community.

$129k
Granted FY2025still arriving
8
Grants FY2025still arriving
2
States reached
$35k
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, FY2017 to 2025.

Education$549kCommunity Improvement$240kHealth$141kHousing & Shelter$58kHuman Services$46kFood & Nutrition$32kCrime & Legal$23kReligion$20k
02FY2025 · 8 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 8 grants below total $93,250, the rows itemized in this filing. The $128,750 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $35,500 is giving the schedule does not break out (grants under the $5,000 itemization floor, grants to individuals, grants on other schedules). Every figure below describes the itemized rows only.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k4 grants · $28k
  • $10k–50k4 grants · $65k
$10,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$1.9M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Harrelson Center & Help Hub$35,250
Eden Village$10,000
Family Promise of the LCF$10,000
Childrens Cancer Partners$10,000
Carousel Center$8,000
Bread for Life Senior Pantry$8,000
UNCW$6,000
Cape Fear CC Fdn$6,000
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 (FY25–25, $8k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 13%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 13%Bread for Life Senior Pantry: $8k → 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.

96%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.1M · 11 repeat orgs$44k to everyone else

11 repeat relationships: 6 still active in FY2025, 5 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

11
3

Total granted

$1.1M
$26k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+84%
+116%

Still filing today

91%
67%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 81% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $18k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
EducationHealthHousing & ShelterCrime & LegalCommunity ImprovementFood & NutritionOther
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

  • CF
    CAPE FEAR COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC
    9× · 2017–2025 · $302k · revenue +989%
  • JA
    Jo Ann Carter Harrelson Center Inc
    9× · 2017–2025 · $240k · revenue +153%
  • TF
    THE FOUNDATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT WILMINGTON
    9× · 2017–2025 · $234k · revenue +35%

Funded once

  • PH
    PUBLIC HEALTH FOUNDATION OF NEW HANOVER COUNTY
    one grant, 2017 · $10k
  • AS
    A Safe Place Incgraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $10k · revenue +116%
  • GS
    Good Shepherd Ministries of Wilmington Inc
    one grant, 2024 · $6k · revenue +7%
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
Hope Harbor Home Inc

Hope Harbor Home strives to break the cycle of domestic and sexual violence in Brunswick County, North Carolina.

—
2
Cape Fear Clinic Inc

Cape fear clinic provides compassionate and affordable patient-centered healthcare to low income individuals and families in the cape fear region, regardless of their ability to pay.

Philanthropy
3
Lower Cape Fear Hospice Incorporated dba Lower Cape Fear LifeCare

Hospice care for terminally ill patients.

Human Services
4
Safe Harbor of Nc Inc

Safe Harbor provides a faith-based community for rebuilding, renewing, and recovery. We work together with volunteers and other nonprofit organizations to provide a wide range of services to those experiencing homelessness, single mothers,…

Health
5
Cape Fear Tutoring Inc

To promote quality nutrition and reduce food insecurities through financial and educational support in Family childcare homes and Day Care centers, while maintaining Child and Adult Care Food Program integrity.

—
6
Cumberland County Habitat for Humanity

Seeking to put gods love into action, Habitat for Humanity brings people together to build homes, communities, and hope.

—
7
Communities in Schools of Cape Fear Inc

To surround at risk students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life.

Human Services
8
North Carolina Equal Access to Justice Foundation Inc

In collaboration with the legal community, NCEAJF empowers North Carolinians to navigate the civil justice system.

Crime & Legal
9
First Choice Community Health Ctrs

Providing healthcare to the underserved population of Harnett County NC and the surrounding area.

Health
10
Community Care of the Lower Cape Fear I

Community Care of the Lower Cape Fear, Inc (CCLCF) serves as a health and social care hub, working in partnership with community organizations to improve health outcomes for Medicare, Medicaid, uninsured and privately insured individuals…

Health
11
Carolina Family Health Centers Inc

Carolina Family Health Centers, Inc. provides accessible and affordable health care with excellence...where patients come FIRST

—
12
Children's Home Society of North Carolina Inc

The Children's Home Society of North Carolina's mission is to promote the right of every child to a permanent, safe, and loving family.

Human Services
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Cape Fear Literacy Council; the most unlike its peers is Public Health Foundation of New Hanover County. 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

14 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. 14 of the 16 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)
14/14
Grantees still filing
9/14
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

CAPE FEAR COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC: $301,802 · EducationCAPE FEAR COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION INCTHE FOUNDATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT WILMINGTON: $233,688 · EducationTHE FOUNDATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT WI…+1 more: $13,250 · EducationJo Ann Carter Harrelson Center Inc: $240,250 · Community ImprovementJo Ann Carter Harrelson …The Carousel Center Inc: $62,600 · HealthThe Carousel…ST MARY DENTAL CLINIC CORP: $58,000 · HealthST MARY DENT…Eden Village of Wilmington: $51,500 · Housing & ShelterGood Shepherd Ministries of Wilmington Inc: $6,000 · Housing & ShelterHousekeeper Helper Pgm: $46,080 · OtherHousekeep…PUBLIC HEALTH FOUNDATION OF NEW HANOVER COUNTY: $10,000 · OtherPUBLIC HE…FAMILY PROMISE OF THE LOWER CAPE FEAR: $20,000 · OtherFAMILY PR…CHILDREN'S CANCER PARTNERS OF THE CAROLINAS INC: $10,000 · OtherCHILDREN'…BREAD FOR LIFE SENIOR PANTRY: $8,000 · OtherBREAD FOR…NourishNC Inc: $23,500 · Food & NutritionCape Fear Guardian ad Litem Association: $13,250 · Crime & LegalA Safe Place Inc: $10,000 · Crime & Legal
Education$548,740Community Improvement$240,250Health$120,600Housing & Shelter$57,500Other$94,080Food & Nutrition$23,500Crime & Legal$23,250

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetCAPE FEAR COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC: $301,802 over 9y, 3.4% of budgetJo Ann Carter Harrelson Center Inc: $240,250 over 9y, 2.4% of budgetTHE FOUNDATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT WILMINGTON: $233,688 over 9y, 12% of budgetThe Carousel Center Inc: $62,600 over 6y, 0.6% of budgetST MARY DENTAL CLINIC CORP: $58,000 over 5y, 9.4% of budgetEden Village of Wilmington: $51,500 over 4y, 0.9% of budgetNourishNC Inc: $23,500 over 3y, 0.9% of budgetFAMILY PROMISE OF THE LOWER CAPE FEAR: $20,000 over 2y, 1.4% of budgetCAPE FEAR LITERACY COUNCIL: $13,250 over 2y, 1.3% of budgetCHILDREN'S CANCER PARTNERS OF THE CAROLINAS INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetA Safe Place Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetBREAD FOR LIFE SENIOR PANTRY: $8,000 over 1y, 4.4% of budgetGood Shepherd Ministries of Wilmington Inc: $6,000 over 1y, 0.1% 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.

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.

New Hanover Community…The Landfall Foundati…Cape Fear Memorial Fo…North Carolina Commun…The Cynthia & George …The Eshelman Foundati…United Way of the Cap…Corning Incorporated …Duke Energy FoundationThe Myrtle and Rt Sin…The Rudisill Family F…The True North Founda…
New Hanover Community Endowment IncNC32.6× affinity13 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: New Hanover Community Endowment Inc · The Landfall Foundation Inc · Cape Fear Memorial Foundation · North Carolina Community Foundation · The Cynthia & George Mitchell Foundation · The Eshelman Foundation · United Way of the Cape Fear Area Inc · Corning Incorporated Foundation · Duke Energy Foundation · The Myrtle and Rt Sinclair Jr Charitable Foundation Inc · The Rudisill Family Foundation · The True North Foundation Co Amy Brown North

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 Ministering Circle of Wilmington NC funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Ministering Circle of Wilmington NC. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%4%8%15%funder's share of their income ↑0%5%10%15%20%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
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–20%
    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 Ministering Circle of Wilmington NC?

    Find your warmest path to Ministering Circle of Wilmington NC 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 16 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 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

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