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Nathan Speare Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Nathan Speare Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$195k
Granted FY2024still arriving
39
Grants FY2024still arriving
12
States reached
$35k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02Its granteesRead
03Its fieldRead
04Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0195% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2019 to 2025.

Philanthropy$1.3MEducation$171kArts & Culture$15kPublic Benefit$10kHuman Services$8kRecreation & Sports$5kHealth$4kReligion$3kOther$0
02FY2024 · 39 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 39 grants below total $168,436, the rows itemized in this filing. The $194,936 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $26,500 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 · FY2024

  • Under $10k36 grants · $88k
  • $10k–50k3 grants · $80k
$2,000
Median grant
12
States reached
$3.0M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CCSA Foundation$35,000
Foundation for Delaware County$25,000
Notre Dame de Lourdes Catholic School$20,000
Pennsylvania State University$8,000
Drexel Neumann Academy$5,000
Community Arts Center$5,000
J. Wood Platt Scholarship Trust$5,000
Washington & Lee University$5,000
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine$5,000
University of South Carolina$4,500
University of Alabama$4,000
Hunter College$3,000
Tee It Up for the Troops$2,500
Delaware County Community College$2,500
Media Fellowship House$2,500
02Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

46%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$98k · 3 repeat orgs$115k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +24% since the first grant, against -3% for those funded once.

3 repeat relationships: 3 still active in FY2024, 0 since wound down; 34 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

3
5

Total granted

$98k
$19k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+24%
-3%

Still filing today

100%
60%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 32% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $96k went to new ones.

50%100%’22’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’22’24
EducationHuman ServicesArts & CultureHealthAnimalsOther
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
    CCSA FOUNDATION
    2× · 2022–2024 · $68k · revenue -4%
  • CA
    COMMUNITY ARTS CENTER
    2× · 2022–2024 · $15k · revenue +67%
  • DN
    DREXEL NEUMANN ACADEMY INC
    2× · 2022–2024 · $15k · revenue +24%

Funded once

  • CF
    Center for Resolutions
    one grant, 2022 · $10k
  • FS
    FAMILY SUPPORT LINE OF DELAWARE COUNTY INC
    one grant, 2022 · $3k · revenue +22%
  • BM
    BRYN MAWR COLLEGE
    one grant, 2022 · $3k · revenue -3%
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.

03Its 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
Delaware Valley University

See schedule o.we are inspired by the ideals of our founder who, in 1896, emphasized respect for all people and ideas, who honored knowledge with practice, progress and the common good. our historical commitment to experiential learning…

—
2
Lehigh University

The university's goal in the coming decade is to advance learning through the integration of teaching, research and service to others. the core of this goal is to prepare graduates to engage with the world and lead lives of meaning. to do…

Education
3
Drexel University

Drexel university fulfills its founder's vision of preparing each new generation of students for productive professional and civic lives while also focusing its collective expertise on solving society's greatest problems. drexel is an…

Education
4
Wilson College

Wilson college empowers students to be confident and critical thinkers, creative visionaries, effective communicators, honorable leaders, and agents of justice.

Education
5
Delaware State University

Delaware state university is a public, comprehensive, 1890 land-grant institution that offers access and opportunity to diverse populations from delaware, the nation, and the world. (continued on schedule o.)building on its heritage as a…

Education
6
Gettysburg College

Gettysburg college is a residential, undergraduate college of the liberal arts and sciences.

Education
7
La Roche University

La roche university advances learning informed by ethical and service-oriented values, reflecting its catholic heritage and the charism of the sisters of divine providence.

Education
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
The Catholic University of America

As the national university of the catholic church in the united states, founded and sponsored by the bishops of the country with the approval of the holy see, the catholic university of america is committed to being a comprehensive…

Education
10
Manhattanville University

To educate students to be ethical and socially responsible leaders in a global community.

Education
11
Mcdaniel College Inc

Mcdaniel college is a diverse student-centered community committed to excellence in the liberal arts & sciences and professional studies with careful mentoring and attention to the individual. mcdaniel changes lives. we challenge students…

Education
12
Daemen University

Private, independent university providing higher education to students. The mission of Daemen University is to prepare creative, ethically-minded leaders for a diverse and interconnected world by integrating the intellectual strengths…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Immaculata University; the most unlike its peers is Life University Inc. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
03the grantee network

22 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. 22 of the 44 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)
22/22
Grantees still filing
15/22
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

CCSA FOUNDATION: $67,500 · EducationCCSA FOUNDATIONDREXEL NEUMANN ACADEMY INC: $15,000 · EducationDREXEL NEUMANN ACADEMY INCPHILADELPHIA COLLEGE OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE: $5,000 · EducationWashington and Lee University: $5,000 · Education+12 more: $20,000 · Education+12 moreNotre Dame de Lourdes Catholic School: $20,000 · OtherNotre Dame de Lourdes Catholic SchoolCenter for Resolutions: $10,000 · OtherCenter for ResolutionsPENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY: $8,000 · OtherPENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITYJ. Wood Platt Scholarship Trust: $5,000 · OtherJ. Wood Platt Scholarship TrustUniversity of South Carolina: $4,500 · OtherUniversity of South CarolinaUniversity of Alabama: $4,000 · OtherHunter College: $3,000 · Other+15 more: $25,936 · Other+15 moreFOUNDATION FOR DELAWARE COUNTY: $25,000 · HealthFOUNDATION F…CHESTER COUNTY HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $1,000 · HealthCOMMUNITY ARTS CENTER: $15,000 · Arts & CultureFAMILY SUPPORT LINE OF DELAWARE COUNTY INC: $2,500 · Human ServicesMEDIA FELLOWSHIP HOUSE INC: $2,500 · Human ServicesDELAWARE COUNTY SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS: $500 · Animals
Education$112,500Other$80,436Health$26,000Arts & Culture$15,000Human Services$5,000Animals$500

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 budgetCCSA FOUNDATION: $67,500 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetFOUNDATION FOR DELAWARE COUNTY: $25,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCOMMUNITY ARTS CENTER: $15,000 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetDREXEL NEUMANN ACADEMY INC: $15,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetPHILADELPHIA COLLEGE OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWashington and Lee University: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFAMILY SUPPORT LINE OF DELAWARE COUNTY INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetBRYN MAWR COLLEGE: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTEE IT UP FOR THE TROOPS INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMEDIA FELLOWSHIP HOUSE INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetIMMACULATA UNIVERSITY: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUniversity of Notre Dame du Lac: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLYCOMING COLLEGE: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTemple University - Of The Commonwealth System of Higher Education: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSWARTHMORE COLLEGE: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLIFE UNIVERSITY INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMarywood University: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCHESTER COUNTY HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetVILLANOVA UNIVERSITY: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetDELAWARE COUNTY SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS: $500 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.

Ethel S C Smith No 5 …Foundation for Delawa…United Way of Greater…Independence Blue Cro…The Cigna Group Found…The Philadelphia Foun…The Pfizer Foundation…The Blackbaud Giving …Ge Aerospace Foundati…The Bank of America C…Vanguard Charitable E…Renaissance Charitabl…
Ethel S C Smith No 5 Charitable TwMO19.9× affinity7 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Ethel S C Smith No 5 Charitable Tw · Foundation for Delaware County · United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey · Independence Blue Cross Foundation · The Cigna Group Foundation · The Philadelphia Foundation · The Pfizer Foundation Inc · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · Ge Aerospace Foundation · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Renaissance Charitable 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.
04Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Nathan Speare Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Nathan Speare 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 44 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.

Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2025) is on record and reports $204k of grant expense with no grantee named in the published copy. A private foundation itemizes every grant it makes, so a return carrying none has filed its list as an attachment that the public copy does not include. The figures above are therefore from FY2024, the most recent year this funder’s grantee list reached the public record.

Source object · view filing

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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