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Mississippi First Inc at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

Mississippi First Inc

Mississippi first champions transformative policy solutions ensuring educational excellence for every misssissippi child.

$2.6M
Granted FY2025still arriving
8
Grants FY2025still arriving
2
States reached
$1.4M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead

Read this first · the figures below need context

56% of Mississippi First Inc’s FY2025 grant dollars went to Community Foundation For Mississippi, not to grantees.

Its money now reaches organizations through that sponsor, which does not report who recommended each grant. FY2025 names 7 organizations directly, so a portfolio cannot be read from it.

Organizations named directly on the return

2
’23
3
’24
7
’25

Amber years are those where most dollars went to a sponsor.

01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2023 to 2025.

Education$4.6M
02FY2025 · 8 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 8 grants below total $2,496,044, the rows itemized in this filing. The $2,575,276 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $79,232 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

  • $10k–50k3 grants · $134k
  • $50k–250k3 grants · $558k
  • $250k+2 grants · $1.8M
$174,146
Median grant
2
States reached
$2.5M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF MISSISSIPPI$1,407,500
REPUBLIC SCHOOLS INC$396,325
CLARKSDALE COLLEGIATE$242,139
INSTANT IMPACT GLOBAL PREP$174,146
SR1 COLLEGE PREPARATORY AND STEM ACADEMY$141,884
JACKSON PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT$45,000
AMBITION PREPARATORY CHARTER SCHOOL$45,000
MISSISSIPPI GLOBAL ACADEMY$44,050
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 (FY23–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 25%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 97% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%MISSISSIPPI GLOBAL ACADEMY: $44k → 14%SR1 COLLEGE PREPARATORY AND STEM ACADEMY: $142k → 11%AMBITION PREPARATORY CHARTER SCHOOL: $45k → 23%INSTANT IMPACT GLOBAL PREP: $443k → 31%LEFLORE LEGACY ACADEMY: $45k → 34%CLARKSDALE COLLEGIATE: $242k → 36%REPUBLIC SCHOOLS INC: $396k → 23%INSTANT IMPACT GLOBAL PREP: $235k → 31%REPUBLIC SCHOOLS INC: $240k → 23%INSTANT IMPACT GLOBAL PREP: $174k → 31%COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF MISSISSIPPI: $1.4M → 23%MS CHARTER SCHOOLS ASSOCIATION: $517k → 23%COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF MISSISSIPPI: $400k → 23%COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF MISSISSIPPI: $250k → 23%JACKSON PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT: $45k → 23%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
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
Lead Education Foundation

Operate a charter school in montgomery, al providing innovative programs designed to spark curiosity, maximize learning potential, and continuously improve student achievement by empowering students with 21st century skills.

Education
2
Covenant Academy of Mobile

Operation of a public charter school in Mobile Alabama.

Human Services
3
Memphis Rise Academy Inc

To provide students in grades 6-12 with an excellent education, preparing them to pursue ambitious goals and succeed in college.

Education
4
University Charter School

Operation of a public charter school in Livingston, AL.

Education
5
The Crescent Academy

Elementary school to prepare children to be tomorrow's leaders

Education
6
Montgomery Christian Academy

Montgomery Christian Academy is a Christ-centered school dedicated to providing academic excellence while nurturing the hearts and minds of students in biblical truth. Our mission is to partner with families to equip the next generation…

Education
7
Minnesota Transitions Charter School

We are a student-centered learning community that inspires and supports all learners to achieve excellence through equitable, relevant learning experiences.

Education
8
Legacy Schools

Operation of a public charter school in Livingston, AL.

Education
9
Emblaze Academy Charter School

Through rigorous curriculum and high quality instruction, provided within an invested and ambitious school community, emblaze academy charter school prepares all students in grades five through eight to thrive in high school and graduate…

Education
10
Libertas College Preparatory

The mission of libertas college preparatory charter school is to equip middle school students in grades 4-8 with the academic skills and the strength of character needed to thrive in and graduate from high-performing high schools and…

Education
11
South Columbus Preparatory Academy

We care about every student and are committed to preparing children for lifelong success. Our Individualized Learning Plans start with a unique baseline for each student and analyze performance data at regular, short intervals. Teachers…

Education
12
Charter School for Entrepreurs

To engage students in entrepreneurial learning expierences to prepare them for career ownership.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Mississippi Charter Schools Association; the most unlike its peers is Ms Delta Academies dba Leflore Legacy Ac. 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

9 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. 9 of the 10 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)
1
Early backer (in before they grew)
9/9
Grantees still filing
3/9
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Instant Impact Educational Services dba Instant Impact Global Preparatory: $851,983 · EducationInstant Impact Educational Services dba Instant Impact Global…RePublic Schools Jackson Inc: $636,160 · EducationRePublic Schools Jackson IncMISSISSIPPI CHARTER SCHOOLS ASSOCIATION: $517,000 · EducationMISSISSIPPI CHARTER SCHOOLS ASSOCIATIONCLARKSDALE COLLEGIATE: $242,139 · EducationCLARKSDALE COLLEGIATESR1 COLLEGE PREPARATORY AND STEM ACADEMY: $141,884 · EducationSR1 COLLEGE PREPARATORY AND STEM ACADEMY+3 more: $134,050 · EducationCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION FOR MISSISSIPPI: $2,057,500 · PhilanthropyCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION FOR MISSISSIPPIJACKSON PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT: $45,000 · Other
Education$2,523,216Philanthropy$2,057,500Other$45,000

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 budgetCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION FOR MISSISSIPPI: $2,057,500 over 3y, 9.3% of budgetInstant Impact Educational Services dba Instant Impact Global Preparatory: $851,983 over 3y, 65% of budgetRePublic Schools Jackson Inc: $636,160 over 2y, 1.3% of budgetMISSISSIPPI CHARTER SCHOOLS ASSOCIATION: $517,000 over 1y, 51% of budgetCLARKSDALE COLLEGIATE: $242,139 over 1y, 2.2% of budgetSR1 COLLEGE PREPARATORY AND STEM ACADEMY: $141,884 over 1y, 15% of budgetMS Delta Academies dba Leflore Legacy Ac: $45,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetAMBITION PREPARATORY CHARTER SCHOOL: $45,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetMISSISSIPPI GLOBAL ACADEMY: $44,050 over 1y, 22% 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.

Community Foundation …Charter Fund Inc D/B/…Amazonsmile Foundation
Community Foundation for MississippiMS15.7× affinity5 shared granteesties to 2 of 2Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Community Foundation for Mississippi · Charter Fund Inc D/B/A Charter School Growth Fund · Amazonsmile 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 Mississippi First Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Mississippi First Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2025
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%5%19%42%75%funder's share of their income ↑0%1%3%4%5%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    6report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–5%
    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 Mississippi First Inc?

    Find your warmest path to Mississippi First 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 10 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

    Play a game based on Mississippi First’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