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Nicholson Foundation Inc at a glance

· Private foundation

Nicholson Foundation Inc

Its FY2023 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$166k
Granted FY2023
22
Grants FY2023
3
States reached
$149k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its fieldRead

Read this first · the figures below need context

91% of Nicholson Foundation Inc’s FY2023 grant dollars went to The Community Foundation Of Middle Tennessee Inc, not to grantees.

Its money now reaches organizations through that sponsor, which does not report who recommended each grant. FY2023 names 15 organizations directly, so a portfolio cannot be read from it.

Organizations named directly on the return

0
’17
0
’19
0
’20
0
’21
0
’22
15
’23

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

01What it funds
0178% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Philanthropy$149kReligion$11kEducation$3kHuman Services$1kHealth$350Youth Development$300Food & Nutrition$200Arts & Culture$100Other$0
02FY2023 · 22 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2023

  • Under $10k20 grants · $6k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $11k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $149k
$200
Median grant
3
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
COMMUNITY FOUNDATION MIDDLE TN$149,239
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH$11,200
STANFORD UNIVERSITY$2,100
GORDON JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER$560
SWEET SLEEP INC$500
BOY SCOUTS OF MIDDLE TN COUNCIL$300
HARPETH HALL SCHOOL$250
VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY$200
ALIVE HOSPICE$200
ETSU FOUNDATION$200
Individual grant recipient$200
SECOND HARVEST FOOD BANK$200
WESTMINISTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH$100
LAND TRUST FOR TN$100
MONTGOMERY BELL ACADEMY$100
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 (FY23–23, $1k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 7%. 60% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 7%SWEET SLEEP INC: $500 → 4%GORDON JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER: $560 → 14%ALIVE HOSPICE: $200 → 14%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 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
Nashville Public Radio

Nashville public radio's mission is to be the most trusted & independent nashville voice, connecting our communities through non-partisan journalism, compelling storytelling, civil conversation and music discovery.

Arts & Culture
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
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
4
Evangel University

Evangel is a comprehensive christian university that is committed to excellence in educating and equipping students to become spirit empowered servants of god who will impact the church and society globally.

Education
5
Augustana College

Rooted in the liberal arts & sciences & lutheran expression of the christian faith, & is committed to offering a challenging education that develops qualities of mind, spirit, & body necessary for a rewarding life of leadership & service…

Education
6
Furman University

The primary mission of furman as a liberal arts institution is to provide a distinctive education in fine arts, humanities, social sciences, mathematics and the sciences, as well as selected professional disciplines.

Education
7
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
8
International Academy of Oral Medicine & Toxicology Inc

The organization provides peer reviewed scientific research and education in the field of biological dentistry.

Health
9
The York School

York school is an award-winning, private, coed college-prep school for grades 8-12, that develops confident and authentic leaders. we offer an academically challenging experiential program for bright, kind, and driven students in an…

Education
10
Boston Architectural College

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

—
11
Ashland University

Ashland university, guided by our christian heritage, is a comprehensive, private university that provides a transformative learning experience, shaping graduates who work, serve and lead with integrity in their local, national, and global…

Education
12
Greensboro College

Greensboro College provides a liberal arts education grounded in the traditions of the United Methodist Church and fosters the intellectual, social, and spiritual development of all students while supporting their individual needs.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee Inc; the most unlike its peers is American Heart Association Inc. 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

16 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. 16 of the 23 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)
16/16
Grantees still filing
15/16
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

SEE: $153,185 · OtherSEEFIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH: $11,200 · OtherFIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH+8 more: $1,055 · OtherTHE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF MIDDLE TENNESSEE INC: $149,239 · PhilanthropyTHE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF MIDDLE TENNESSEE INCTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $2,100 · EducationTHE HARPETH HALL SCHOOL: $250 · EducationVanderbilt University: $200 · EducationEAST TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $200 · EducationMONTGOMERY BELL ACADEMY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NASHVILLE: $100 · EducationJEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER OF NASHVILLE: $560 · Human ServicesSWEET SLEEP INC: $500 · Human ServicesALIVE HOSPICE INC: $200 · Human ServicesINTERFAITH DENTAL CLINIC OF NASHVILLE: $100 · HealthAmerican Heart Association Inc: $50 · HealthNASHVILLE RESCUE MISSION: $100 · Housing & ShelterTHE LAND TRUST FOR TENNESSEE INC: $100 · Environment
Other$165,440Philanthropy$149,239Education$2,850Human Services$1,260Health$150Housing & Shelter$100Environment$100

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 budgetTHE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF MIDDLE TENNESSEE INC: $149,239 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $2,100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetJEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER OF NASHVILLE: $560 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSWEET SLEEP INC: $500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE HARPETH HALL SCHOOL: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetVanderbilt University: $200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetALIVE HOSPICE INC: $200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetEAST TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNASHVILLE RESCUE MISSION: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMONTGOMERY BELL ACADEMY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NASHVILLE: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE LAND TRUST FOR TENNESSEE INC: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetINTERFAITH DENTAL CLINIC OF NASHVILLE: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNASHVILLE PUBLIC TELEVISION INC: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican Heart Association Inc: $50 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMountain Goat Trail Alliance Inc: $50 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetOAK HILL SCHOOL: $50 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.

The Community Foundat…Dorothy Cate and Thom…The Community Foundat…Patricia and Rodes Ha…Thomas & Mamie Houser…Memorial Foundation I…American Endowment Fo…Raymond James Charita…Vanguard Charitable E…National Philanthropi…Morgan Stanley Global…Natl Christian Charit…
The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee IncTN22.7× affinity9 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee Inc · Dorothy Cate and Thomas F Frist Foundation · The Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga Inc · Patricia and Rodes Hart Foundation · Thomas & Mamie Houser Charitable Foundation · Memorial Foundation Inc · American Endowment Foundation · Raymond James Charitable Endowment Fund · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · National Philanthropic Trust · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · Natl Christian Charitable Fdn 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.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Nicholson Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Nicholson Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%10%20%30%40%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    5report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–40%
    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.

    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 23 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 2023, released 2023. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Nicholson’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