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Mort & Brigitte Harris Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Mort & Brigitte Harris 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.

$100k
Granted FY2025still arriving
1
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$100k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0197% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2023.

Arts & Culture$14MEducation$3.5MYouth Development$100kPhilanthropy$31kReligion$4kCommunity Improvement$2kHousing & Shelter$1kCivil Rights$1kOther$0
02FY2025 · 1 grant

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$100,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$1.2M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF ILLINOIS$100,000
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 (FY17–18, $1k) land where the poverty rate runs at 21%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%KIDS WISH NETWORK: $25 → 11%KIDS WISH NETWORK: $20 → 11%FOCUS HOPE: $1k → 21%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.

77%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$15M · 7 repeat orgs$4.5M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +22% since the first grant, against +7% for those funded once.

7 repeat relationships: 0 still active in FY2025, 7 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

7
23

Total granted

$15M
$4.4M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+22%
+7%

Still filing today

43%
48%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 0% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $100k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’22’23’25
EducationArts & CultureHuman ServicesCommunity ImprovementHousing & ShelterInternationalOther
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

  • DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC
    2× · 2018–2022 · $5.4M · revenue +22%
  • THE DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS
    2× · 2018–2022 · $5.4M · revenue +34%
  • TH
    THE HENRY FORD MUSEUM
    2× · 2022–2023 · $3.3M

Funded once

  • WS
    WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY
    one grant, 2018 · $2.0M
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2022 · $1.4M
  • NU
    Northwood University
    one grant, 2019 · $500k · revenue +1%
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
Detroit Historical Society

The Detroit Historical Society tells Detroit's stories and why they matter through its exhibits, programs, outreach, and the preservation and dissemination of its artifacts and collections.

Arts & Culture
2
United States Naval Institute

Provide an independent forum for those who dare to read, think, speak, and write to advance the professional, literary, and scientific understanding of sea power and other issues critical to global security.

—
3
Boston Architectural College

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

—
4
Delta Dental Fund

Delta dental fund's mission is to improve the oral health of the public and to advance dental science and the dental profession through research and education.

—
5
Saint Xavier University

Saint xavier university, a catholic institution inspired by the heritage of the sisters of mercy, educates persons to search for truth, think critically, communicate effectively and serve wisely and compassionately in support of human…

Education
6
The Northern Michigan University Foundation

The nmu foundation will establish and foster relationships to generate resources that benefit the strategic goals of northern michigan university.

Education
7
Children's Museum of Oak Park

To spark curiosity and creativity in all young children through positive, play-based learning experiences.

Arts & Culture
8
DePauw University

Depauw university develops leaders the world needs through an uncommon commitment to the liberal arts. depauw's diverse and inclusive learning and living experience, distinctive in its rigorous intellectual engagement and its global and…

Education
9
Museum of Arts and Design

To collect, display and interpret objects in craft art and design.

Arts & Culture
10
The Trustees of Princeton University

Research, education and general - princeton university is a private not-for-profit, non-sectarian institution of higher learning with approximately 5,700 undergraduate and 3,300 graduate students. 2,500 students graduated in the 2024-2025…

Education
11
New York School of Interior Design

New york school of interior design provides the most innovative, immersive, and transformative interior design education in the world, demonstrating the impact of professionally designed interiors on the health, happiness, and well-being…

Education
12
National Committee for Quality Assurance

Our mission: to improve the quality of health care.our vision: better health care. better choices. better health.

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is National Park Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Homes for Veterans a Nj Non Profit Corporation. 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

15 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. 15 of the 31 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)
1
Early backer (in before they grew)
15/15
Grantees still filing
9/15
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC: $5,400,000 · Arts & CultureDETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INCTHE DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS: $5,400,000 · Arts & CultureTHE DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS+1 more: $300 · Arts & CultureTHE HENRY FORD MUSEUM: $3,250,000 · OtherTHE HENRY FORD MUSEUMWAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY: $2,000,000 · OtherWAYNE STATE UNIVERSITYIndividual grant recipient: $1,400,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientCRANBROOK: $600,000 · OtherCRANBROOK+15 more: $312,375 · OtherNorthwood University: $500,000 · EducationLOYOLA UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO: $50,000 · EducationTHE NEW COMMON SCHOOL FOUNDATION: $25,000 · Education+1 more: $2,000 · EducationPlanned Parenthood of Illinois: $100,000 · HealthBRILLIANT DETROIT: $100,000 · Youth DevelopmentBELLE ISLE CONSERVANCY: $2,000 · Community ImprovementFOCUSHOPE: $1,000 · Human ServicesKIDS WISH NETWORK INC: $45 · Human Services
Arts & Culture$10,800,300Other$7,562,375Education$577,000Health$100,000Youth Development$100,000Community Improvement$2,000Human Services$1,045

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

25%50%75%100%$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetDETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC: $5,400,000 over 2y, 11% of budgetTHE DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS: $5,400,000 over 2y, 6.3% of budgetNorthwood University: $500,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetPlanned Parenthood of Illinois: $100,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetBRILLIANT DETROIT: $100,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetLOYOLA UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO: $50,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE NEW COMMON SCHOOL FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetBELLE ISLE CONSERVANCY: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBEYOND BASICS: $2,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetFOCUSHOPE: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Army Historical Foundation Inc: $300 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION: $200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetKIDS WISH NETWORK INC: $45 over 2y, 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.

Community Foundation …Edward C and Linda Dr…Mutual of America Fou…Morgan Stanley Global…Charities Aid Foundat…The Bank of America C…National Philanthropi…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Community Foundation for Southeast MichiganMI15.4× affinity5 shared granteesties to 9 of 9Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan · Edward C and Linda Dresner Levy Foundation · Mutual of America Foundation · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · Charities Aid Foundation America · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift 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 Mort & Brigitte Harris Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Mort & Brigitte Harris Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%1%4%8%15%funder's share of their income ↑0%4%8%11%15%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    2get 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 · 0–15%
    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 Mort & Brigitte Harris Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Mort & Brigitte Harris 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 31 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 Mort & Brigitte Harris’ 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