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Nelson Mead Fund at a glance

· Private foundation

Nelson Mead Fund

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$462k
Granted FY2024still arriving
105
Grants FY2024still arriving
22
States reached
$33k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02Its granteesRead
03Its fieldRead
04Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0192% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Environment$200kEducation$140kHealth$72kArts & Culture$69kReligion$56kPhilanthropy$31kInternational$23kCivil Rights$20kOther$0
02FY2024 · 105 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 105 grants below total $385,572, the rows itemized in this filing. The $461,772 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $76,200 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 $10k92 grants · $198k
  • $10k–50k13 grants · $188k
$1,450
Median grant
22
States reached
$5.6M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Hazelden$32,500
St. Paul's Episcopal Church$26,000
New Bedford Symphony Orchestra$15,000
The Conservation Fund$14,000
Guardians of Martin County Inc$13,000
Ethel Walker School$13,000
Everglades Foundation$12,000
Friends of the Lobkowicz Collections$12,000
Vassar College$10,200
World Wildlife Fund$10,000
RARE$10,000
Banner Lake Club$10,000
The Friends of VIM Clinic$10,000
Southern Poverty Law Center$8,000
Dartmouth Natural Resources Trust$8,000
02Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

89%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$625k · 84 repeat orgs$78k to everyone else

84 repeat relationships: 84 still active in FY2024, 0 since wound down; 19 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

84
21

Total granted

$625k
$26k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+19%
+26%

Still filing today

67%
57%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 86% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $51k went to new ones.

50%100%’22’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’22’24
EnvironmentEducationArts & CultureInternationalHealthYouth DevelopmentOther
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

  • TG
    THE GUARDIANS OF MARTIN COUNTY INC
    2× · 2022–2024 · $27k · revenue +1%
  • R
    RARE
    2× · 2022–2024 · $21k · revenue +69%
  • VC
    VASSAR COLLEGE
    2× · 2022–2024 · $20k · revenue +21%

Funded once

  • MS
    MILLBROOK SCHOOLgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $5k · revenue +58%
  • TU
    The University of Virginia, The College Foundation
    one grant, 2022 · $5k
  • TC
    THE CENTER FOR GRIEVING CHILDREN
    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
Boston Architectural College

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

—
2
President and Trustees of Bates College

Bates is a college of the liberal arts and sciences, and is a coeducational, nonsectarian, residential college with special commitments to academic rigor, and to assuring in all of its efforts the dignity of each individual, and access to…

Education
3
Native Plant Trust Inc

The organization's mission is to conserve and promote new england's native plants to ensure healthy, biologically diverse landscapes.

Environment
4
Harvard Conservation Trust

To preserve the unique character and natural resources of harvard.

Environment
5
Northeast College of Health Sciences

Northeast college of health sciences (the college) is committed to academic excellence, leadership, and professional best practices in the health sciences.

Education
6
Nantucket Conservation Foundation Inc

The nantucket conservation foundation owns, protects, and stewards over 9,000 acres of land and coastal shoreline, conserves nantucket's rare and significant natural resources, and engages in impactful ecological research to inform…

Environment
7
University of New Haven

The University of New Haven is a student-centered comprehensive university with an emphasis on excellence in liberal arts and professional education. Our mission is to prepare our students to lead purposeful and fulfilling lives in a…

Education
8
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The mission of mit is to advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century.

Education
9
Williams College

Williams College strives to achieve educational excellence by fostering a community of learning in collaboration with students, faculty, staff, devoted alumni and parents.

Education
10
Marine Biological Laboratory

The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) is a world-renowned center for biological discovery and training that is notably affiliated with more than 60 Nobel Prize winners. Research is conducted by full-time faculty as well as hundreds of the…

Science & Tech
11
Wheaton College

Wheaton college provides a transformative liberal arts education, combining theory and practice, for intellectually curious students within a collaborative and vibrant extended community and network that values and strives to create an…

Education
12
Wildlands Trust Inc

The wildlands trust works throughout southeastern massachusetts to conserve and permanently protect native habitats, farmland, and lands of high ecologic and scenic value that serve to keep our communities healthy and our residents…

Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation Inc; the most unlike its peers is Partners in Health a Nonprofit Corporation. 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

79 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

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 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 79 of the 126 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)
11
Early backer (in before they grew)
79/79
Grantees still filing
55/79
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Hazelden: $58,500 · OtherHazeldenSt. Paul's Episcopal Church: $31,000 · OtherSt. Paul's Episcopal ChurchNew Bedford Symphony Orchestra: $25,000 · OtherNew Bedford Symphony OrchestraPlanned Parenthood: $22,500 · OtherPlanned ParenthoodVASSAR COLLEGE: $20,400 · OtherVASSAR COLLEGEThe Friends of VIM Clinic: $15,000 · OtherZeiterion Theater: $12,500 · OtherTHE BANNER LAKE CLUB INC: $12,000 · Other+63 more: $162,453 · Other+63 moreTHE GUARDIANS OF MARTIN COUNTY INC: $27,000 · EnvironmentTHE GUARDIANS OF MARTIN COU…WORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $23,000 · EnvironmentWORLD WILDLIFE FUND INCRARE: $20,500 · EnvironmentRAREDARTMOUTH NATURAL RESOURCES TRUST INC: $18,000 · EnvironmentDARTMOUTH NATURAL RESOURCES…THE CONSERVATION FUND A NONPROFIT CORPORATION: $14,000 · EnvironmentTHE CONSERVATION FUND A NON…CLEAN AIR TASK FORCE INC: $12,500 · EnvironmentCLEAN AIR TASK FORCE INCTHE EVERGLADES FOUNDATION INC: $12,000 · EnvironmentTHE EVERGLADES FOUNDATION I…NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC: $10,000 · EnvironmentNATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE C…NATIONAL TROPICAL BOTANICAL GARDEN: $10,000 · EnvironmentNATIONAL TROPICAL BOTANICAL…+15 more: $25,002 · Environment+15 moreETHEL WALKER SCHOOL INC: $26,000 · EducationETHEL WALKER …THE EPIPHANY SCHOOL INC: $10,500 · EducationTHE EPIPHANY …REED INSTITUTE: $9,000 · EducationREED INSTITUT…WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: $7,500 · EducationWASHINGTON UN…INDIAN MOUNTAIN SCHOOL INC: $7,000 · EducationINDIAN MOUNTA…NORTH YARMOUTH ACADEMY: $6,000 · EducationNORTH YARMOUT…MILLBROOK SCHOOL: $5,000 · EducationMILLBROOK SCH…+10 more: $12,150 · Education+10 moreHOBE SOUND COMMUNITY CHEST INC: $22,000 · PhilanthropyBERKSHIRE TACONIC COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $9,000 · PhilanthropyJupiter Medical Center Foundation Inc: $6,000 · PhilanthropyFRIENDS OF THE LOBKOWICZ COLLECTIONS INC: $24,000 · Arts & CultureJUPITER ISLAND ARTS COUNCIL INC: $2,000 · Arts & CultureOld Dartmouth Historical Society: $1,000 · Arts & Culture+3 more: $1,200 · Arts & CultureJUPITER ISLAND MEDICAL CLINIC INC: $12,000 · HealthDAYTON CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL: $10,000 · Health+2 more: $900 · HealthSOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER INC: $18,000 · Crime & Legal
Other$359,353Environment$172,002Education$83,150Philanthropy$37,000Arts & Culture$28,200Health$22,900Crime & Legal$18,000

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

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetTHE GUARDIANS OF MARTIN COUNTY INC: $27,000 over 2y, 5.8% of budgetETHEL WALKER SCHOOL INC: $26,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE LOBKOWICZ COLLECTIONS INC: $24,000 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetWORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $23,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetHOBE SOUND COMMUNITY CHEST INC: $22,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetRARE: $20,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetVASSAR COLLEGE: $20,400 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER INC: $18,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetDARTMOUTH NATURAL RESOURCES TRUST INC: $18,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetTHE CONSERVATION FUND A NONPROFIT CORPORATION: $14,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCLEAN AIR TASK FORCE INC: $12,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetJUPITER ISLAND MEDICAL CLINIC INC: $12,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetTHE BANNER LAKE CLUB INC: $12,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetTHE EVERGLADES FOUNDATION INC: $12,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE EPIPHANY SCHOOL INC: $10,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetDAYTON CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL: $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetNATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC: $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL TROPICAL BOTANICAL GARDEN: $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBERKSHIRE TACONIC COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $9,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetREED INSTITUTE: $9,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCOLLEGE OF THE ATLANTIC: $7,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: $7,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetINDIAN MOUNTAIN SCHOOL INC: $7,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetLOAVES AND FISHES OF HOBE SOUND INC: $7,000 over 2y, 3.6% of budgetWORLD REHABILITATION FUND: $6,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetJupiter Medical Center Foundation Inc: $6,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetNORTH YARMOUTH ACADEMY: $6,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetRocky Mountain Institute: $5,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHOBE SOUND NATURE CENTER INC: $5,190 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetMILLBROOK SCHOOL: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMaine Coast Heritage Trust: $5,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWATER MISSIONS INTERNATIONAL: $4,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetRAINFOREST TRUST: $3,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetGREATER BOSTON FOOD BANK INC: $3,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budget1000 FRIENDS OF FLORIDA INC: $3,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetAMERICARES FOUNDATION INC: $2,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE CENTER FOR GRIEVING CHILDREN: $2,500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetSAWTOOTH SOCIETY INC: $2,450 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetROYAL RIVER CONSERVATION TRUST: $2,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetC-CHANGE CONVERSATIONS: $2,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetJUPITER ISLAND ARTS COUNCIL INC: $2,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetLake Forest College: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMISS PORTER'S SCHOOL INC: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCORNWALL CHILD CENTER INC: $2,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetCOMMUNITY KITCHEN OF TORRINGTON INC: $2,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetFRIENDS ACADEMY INC: $1,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCornwall Conservation Trust Inc: $1,500 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetINTERNATIONAL CRANE FOUNDATION INC: $1,200 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.

St Clair Charitable T…Legatus FoundationCMB FoundationEthel D Colket Founda…Colket Family Foundat…The James E & Constan…The David and Elizabe…Cox Foundation IncHugh and Patricia Oka…The Patton Charitable…Woodward Family Chari…Fore River Foundation
St Clair Charitable TrustMI22.1× affinity8 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: St Clair Charitable Trust · Legatus Foundation · CMB Foundation · Ethel D Colket Foundation · Colket Family Foundation · The James E & Constance L Bell Foundation · The David and Elizabeth Long Foundation · Cox Foundation Inc · Hugh and Patricia Okane Foundation Co Hugh Okane · The Patton Charitable Foundation · Woodward Family Charitable Foundation · Fore River 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.
04Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Nelson Mead Fund?

Find your warmest path to Nelson Mead Fund 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 126 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.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Nelson Mead’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