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Nickless Family Charitable Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Nickless Family Charitable Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$622k
Granted FY2025still arriving
29
Grants FY2025still arriving
6
States reached
$100k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Human Services$1.1MEducation$951kHealth$774kYouth Development$761kFood & Nutrition$450kHousing & Shelter$393kCrime & Legal$349kPhilanthropy$309kOther$0
02FY2025 · 29 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k10 grants · $36k
  • $10k–50k16 grants · $386k
  • $50k–250k3 grants · $200k
$15,000
Median grant
6
States reached
$11M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CAN COUNCIL$100,000
BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF THE GREAT LAKES BAY REGION$50,000
MUNSON HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION$50,000
CHILDRENS CABINET INC$40,000
YWCA EVANSTONNORTHSHORE$40,000
UNDERGROUND RAILROAD INC$40,000
SAGINAW ARTS AND SCIENCES ACADEMY$38,000
FOSTER FAMILIES NAVIGATION AND RESOURCE CENTER$30,000
CAN COUNCIL$30,000
BAY CITY CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL$29,876
ENDEX$25,000
TRI-COUNTY COMMUNITY ADJUCATION PROGRAM$20,000
BAY AREA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION$20,000
FOOD BANK OF NORTHERN NEVADA$15,000
WOMEN OF QUAL CREEK$15,000
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 (FY17–25, $548k) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 74% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%NEW YORK FOUNDLING: $15k → 17%STAIRCASE YOUTH SERVICES: $5k → 10%MANISTEE COUNTY COUNCIL ON AGING: $37k → 13%NEVADA YOUTH EMPOWERMENT PROJECT: $20k → 10%COVENANT HOUSE CALIFORNIA: $10k → 14%CHILDRENS CABINET INC: $40k → 10%THE EDDY HOUSE: $20k → 10%THE EDDY HOUSE: $10k → 10%FLORENCE CRITTENTON SERVICES: $5k → 12%EDDY HOUSE: $10k → 10%EDDYS HOUSE: $5k → 10%CHILDREN'S CABINET: $5k → 10%ASSISTANCE LEAGUE OF RENO-SPARKS: $30k → 10%RACHEL SOVEREIGN MEMORIAL HOME: $11k → 14%UNDERGROUND RAILROAD INC: $42k → 18%UNDERGROUND RAILROAD: $40k → 18%UNDERGROUND RAILROAD INC: $40k → 18%UNDERGROUND RAILROAD INC: $40k → 18%UNDERGROUND RAILROAD INC: $40k → 18%UNDERGROUND RAILROAD INC: $39k → 18%UNDERGROUND RAILROAD INC: $27k → 18%FOSTER FAMILIES NAVIGATION AND RESOURCE CENTER: $30k → 14%UNDERGROUND RAILROAD INC: $25k → 18%UNDERGROUND RAILROAD INC: $2k → 18%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.

Which US states its grants reach

WA
ID
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
OR
NV
IN
PA
CA
CO
VA
AZ
GA
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.
04

Where the work is directed

The same grants placed two ways: where each recipient sits, and where its stated purpose sends the money.

About 7% of Nickless Family Charitable Foundation’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address. By recipient address, 67% of the giving stays in MI; by stated purpose, 61%.

Nickless Family Charitable Foundationlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address
How this is measured
Recipient view: each grant at its grantee’s ZIP, mapped to a county. Directed view: each grant at the county its stated purpose names, falling back to the recipient’s county when the purpose names no place; US grants only. A county shows only if it carries the top 95% of that view’s dollars. Purposes are read from the funder’s own 990 grant descriptions.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

72%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$3.9M · 46 repeat orgs$1.5M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +43% since the first grant, against +26% for those funded once.

46 repeat relationships: 14 still active in FY2025, 32 since wound down; 12 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

46
64

Total granted

$3.9M
$1.3M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+43%
+26%

Still filing today

43%
39%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 65% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $206k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
Human ServicesEducationFood & NutritionHealthCrime & LegalPhilanthropyOther
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

  • GG
    GUARDIAN GROUP
    4× · 2021–2024 · $321k · revenue +37%
  • UR
    UNDERGROUND RAILROAD INC
    8× · 2017–2025 · $295k · revenue +39%
  • FB
    Food Bank of Eastern Michigan
    5× · 2017–2021 · $255k · revenue +43%

Funded once

  • BA
    BAY AREA SOCCER ASSOCIATION
    one grant, 2024 · $150k · revenue -27% · 34% of their budget
  • BC
    BAY COUNTY HABITAT FOR HUMANITY INCgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $100k · revenue +76% · 75% of their budget
  • HF
    HABITAT FOR HUMANITYgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $99k · revenue +136% · 43% of their budget
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
Trinity Health - Michigan

We, trinity health-michigan and trinity health, serve together in the spirit of the gospel as a compassionate and transforming healing presence within our communities. trinity health-michigan is a member of trinity health.

Health
2
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
3
Manhattanville University

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

Education
4
Trinity Health Grand Haven Hospital

We, trinity health grand haven hospital and trinity health, serve together in the spirit of the gospel as a compassionate and transforming healing presence within our communities.trinity health grand haven hospital is a member of trinity…

Health
5
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
6
Mercy Health Partners

We, mercy health and trinity health, serve together in the spirit of the gospel as a compassionate and transforming healing presence within our communities.mercy health partners is a member of mercy health and trinity health.

—
7
Mclaren Northern Michigan

Mclaren health care, through its subsidiaries, will be the best value in health care as defined by quality outcomes and cost.

Health
8
Carson Tahoe Regional Healthcare

To enhance the health and well-being of the communities we serve.

Health
9
University Health Inc

Primary functions are the coordination and delivery of health care resources and services, health care education for the hospital service area, long range analysis of health care needs and development of programs, and arranging for…

—
10
The Cardiac Institute

Our mission is to help people to live longer, healthier lives with dignity, and to use all of our resources to give them everything they expect and deserve in comprehensive cardiovascular care for their families and themselves.

Health
11
Point Park University

Provides innovative education in a dynamic urban setting. dedicated to academic excellence and community engagement,we prepare students of diverse backgrounds with the knowledge, skill,and experience to lead meaningful lives as informed…

—
12
Trinity Continuing Care Services

We, trinity senior living communities and trinity health, serve together in the spirit of the gospel as a compassionate and transforming healing presence within our communities.trinity continuing care services (d/b/a trinity health senior…

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Hope Community Services Inc; the most unlike its peers is Tri-Star Charitable Foundation. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
05the grantee network

55 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. 55 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.

3
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
13
Early backer (in before they grew)
54/55
Grantees still filing
40/55
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

TENNYSON CENTER FOR CHILDREN: $220,678 · OtherTENNYSON CENTER FOR CHILDRENCHILD ABUSE & NEGLECT COUNCIL GREAT LAKES BAY REGION: $207,000 · OtherCHILD ABUSE & NEGLECT COUNCIL GREAT LAKES BAY REGIONMUNSON HEALTHCARE FOUNDATIONS: $176,638 · OtherSIERRA COMMUNITY HOUSE: $168,567 · OtherBAY CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS: $160,195 · OtherTHE STATE THEATRE: $126,562 · OtherMIDLAND HIGH SCHOOL: $121,000 · Other+91 more: $2,214,670 · Other+91 moreUNDERGROUND RAILROAD INC: $294,964 · Human ServicesUNDERGROUND …EDDY HOUSE: $70,000 · Human ServicesEDDY HOUSETHE CHILDREN'S CABINET INC: $45,000 · Human ServicesTHE CHILDREN…MANISTEE COUNTY COUNCIL ON AGING: $37,002 · Human ServicesMANISTEE COU…FOSTER FAMILIES NAVIGATION & RESOURCE CENTER INC: $30,000 · Human ServicesTHE 1701 GROUP FKA ASSISTANCE LEAGUE OF RENO-SPARKS: $30,000 · Human ServicesHIDDEN HARVEST: $25,000 · Human ServicesNEVADA YOUTH EMPOWERMENT PROJECT: $20,000 · Human Services+5 more: $46,000 · Human Services+5 moreFood Bank of Eastern Michigan: $254,500 · Food & NutritionHOPE COMMUNITY SERVICES INC: $90,000 · Food & NutritionCARITAS OF PORT CHESTER INC: $25,321 · Food & NutritionPART OF THE SOLUTION: $20,266 · Food & NutritionFood Bank of Northern Nevada Inc: $15,000 · Food & NutritionGreat Lakes Bay Health Centers: $174,900 · HealthALTERNATIVES INC: $115,000 · HealthMUNSON HEALTHCARE MANISTEE HOSPITAL: $108,616 · Health+1 more: $5,000 · HealthGUARDIAN GROUP: $321,001 · Crime & LegalLAKESHORE CHILDRENS ADVOCACY CENTER: $27,700 · Crime & LegalBAY AREA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $209,309 · PhilanthropyTRI-STAR CHARITABLE FOUNDATION: $70,000 · PhilanthropyBAY VETERANS FOUNDATION: $45,133 · PhilanthropyBAY AREA SOCCER ASSOCIATION: $150,000 · Recreation & Sports
Other$3,395,310Human Services$597,966Food & Nutrition$405,087Health$403,516Crime & Legal$348,701Philanthropy$324,442Recreation & Sports$150,000

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 budgetGUARDIAN GROUP: $321,001 over 4y, 14% of budgetUNDERGROUND RAILROAD INC: $294,964 over 8y, 1.4% of budgetFood Bank of Eastern Michigan: $254,500 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetBAY AREA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $209,309 over 8y, 1.8% of budgetCHILD ABUSE & NEGLECT COUNCIL GREAT LAKES BAY REGION: $207,000 over 4y, 2.4% of budgetMUNSON HEALTHCARE FOUNDATIONS: $176,638 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetGreat Lakes Bay Health Centers: $174,900 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetBAY AREA SOCCER ASSOCIATION: $150,000 over 1y, 34% of budgetALTERNATIVES INC: $115,000 over 3y, 1.1% of budgetMUNSON HEALTHCARE MANISTEE HOSPITAL: $108,616 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetDOW BAY AREA FAMILY YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION: $100,000 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetBAY COUNTY HABITAT FOR HUMANITY INC: $100,000 over 1y, 75% of budgetHABITAT FOR HUMANITY: $99,429 over 1y, 43% of budgetHOPE COMMUNITY SERVICES INC: $90,000 over 3y, 1.0% of budgetBOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF NORTH LAKE TAHOE: $80,000 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetUniversity of Michigan: $72,500 over 7y, 12% of budgetMCLAREN BAY MEDICAL FOUNDATION: $70,000 over 2y, 2.8% of budgetTRI-STAR CHARITABLE FOUNDATION: $70,000 over 3y, 12% of budgetEDDY HOUSE: $70,000 over 6y, 1.1% of budgetRYE YOUTH COUNCIL INC: $70,000 over 2y, 11% of budgetBOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF THE GREAT LAKES BAY REGION: $50,000 over 1y, 2.7% of budgetBAY VETERANS FOUNDATION: $45,133 over 3y, 11% of budgetTHE CHILDREN'S CABINET INC: $45,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTRUCKEE MEADOWS HABITAT FOR HUMANITY: $45,000 over 1y, 3.5% of budgetYWCA EvanstonNorth Shore: $40,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetMANISTEE COUNTY COUNCIL ON AGING: $37,002 over 1y, 3.9% of budgetTHE WOMEN OF QUAIL CREEK: $35,000 over 3y, 10% of budgetTHE 1701 GROUP FKA ASSISTANCE LEAGUE OF RENO-SPARKS: $30,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetLAKESHORE CHILDRENS ADVOCACY CENTER: $27,700 over 1y, 7.5% of budgetCARITAS OF PORT CHESTER INC: $25,321 over 2y, 3.5% of budgetHIDDEN HARVEST: $25,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetPART OF THE SOLUTION: $20,266 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetNEVADA YOUTH EMPOWERMENT PROJECT: $20,000 over 1y, 5.7% of budgetNEW YORK FOUNDLING: $15,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY: $15,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFood Bank of Northern Nevada Inc: $15,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFAMILY RESOURCE CENTER OF TRUCKEE: $15,000 over 1y, 2.4% of budgetTHE SHARING SHELF INC: $15,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetRACHEL SOVEREIGN MEMORIAL HOME: $11,000 over 1y, 2.4% of budgetCOVENANT HOUSE CALIFORNIA: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetUniversity of Notre Dame du Lac: $6,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetDISABILITY SERVICES RESOURCE CENTER: $5,000 over 1y, 2.0% of budgetFLORENCE CRITTENTON SERVICES OF COLORADO: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetLAWRENCE TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCOVENANT HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMassachusetts Institute of Technology: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSTAIRCASE YOUTH SERVICES INC: $5,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetMadonna University: $5,000 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.

  • Who funds GUARDIAN GROUP ↗
  • Who funds UNDERGROUND RAILROAD INC ↗
  • Who funds Food Bank of Eastern Michigan ↗
  • Who funds BAY AREA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds CHILD ABUSE & NEGLECT COUNCIL GREAT LAKES BAY REGION ↗
  • Who funds MUNSON HEALTHCARE FOUNDATIONS ↗
  • Who funds Great Lakes Bay Health Centers ↗
  • Who funds BAY AREA SOCCER ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds ALTERNATIVES INC ↗
  • Who funds MUNSON HEALTHCARE MANISTEE HOSPITAL ↗
  • Who funds DOW BAY AREA FAMILY YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds BAY COUNTY HABITAT FOR HUMANITY INC ↗
  • Who funds HABITAT FOR HUMANITY ↗
  • Who funds HOPE COMMUNITY SERVICES INC ↗
  • Who funds BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF NORTH LAKE TAHOE ↗
  • Who funds University of Michigan ↗
  • Who funds MCLAREN BAY MEDICAL FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds TRI-STAR CHARITABLE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds EDDY HOUSE ↗
  • Who funds RYE YOUTH COUNCIL INC ↗
  • Who funds BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF THE GREAT LAKES BAY REGION ↗
  • Who funds BAY VETERANS FOUNDATION ↗

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.

Consumers Energy Foun…Bay Area Community Fo…The Kantzler Foundati…Gougeon Employees Fou…Bierlein Companies Fo…Russell H & Maxine E …Tri-Star Charitable F…Saginaw Community Fou…Richard Barton Law Me…Weinlander Fitzhugh F…Michigan College Acce…Boutell Memorial Fund
Consumers Energy FoundationMI34× affinity15 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Consumers Energy Foundation · Bay Area Community Foundation · The Kantzler Foundation · Gougeon Employees Foundation · Bierlein Companies Foundation · Russell H & Maxine E Smith Charitable Foundation · Tri-Star Charitable Foundation · Saginaw Community Foundation · Richard Barton Law Memorial Trust · Weinlander Fitzhugh Foundation Inc · Michigan College Access Network · Boutell Memorial Fund

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 Nickless Family Charitable Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Nickless Family Charitable Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%5%19%42%75%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 35%
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology: 35% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
20report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
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 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 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Nickless Family’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