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O'Donnell Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

O'Donnell Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$187M
Granted FY2025still arriving
33
Grants FY2025still arriving
2
States reached
$38M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2025.

Health$142MEducation$140MArts & Culture$61MCommunity Improvement$11MAnimals$4.0MEnvironment$2.3MPhilanthropy$2.1MHousing & Shelter$2.0MOther$0
02FY2025 · 33 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • $10k–50k2 grants · $40k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $300k
  • $250k+29 grants · $187M
$1,000,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$195M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
DALLAS COLLEGE FOUNDATION$38,350,000
SOUTHERN METHODIST UNIVERSITY$25,300,000
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER AT DALLAS$17,251,000
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS AT DALLAS$17,000,000
THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT DALLAS$15,500,000
DALLAS SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION$12,930,022
THE COMMIT PARTNERSHIP$10,900,000
DALLAS MUSEUM OF ART$10,001,000
PEROT MUSEUM OF NATURE AND SCIENCE$10,000,000
SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL FOUNDATION$5,000,000
DALLAS ZOO$4,000,000
AT & T PERFORMING ARTS CENTER$3,000,000
THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN$2,000,000
HOUSING FORWARD$2,000,000
CHURCH OF THE INCARNATION$1,064,873
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 (FY25–25, $2.0M) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%HOUSING FORWARD: $2.0M → 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 grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

73%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$269M · 11 repeat orgs$99M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +27% since the first grant, against -1% for those funded once.

11 repeat relationships: 10 still active in FY2025, 1 since wound down; 22 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

11
5

Total granted

$269M
$1.5M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+27%
-1%

Still filing today

82%
80%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 48% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $97M went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24’25
EducationArts & CultureHealthCommunity ImprovementInternationalHuman ServicesOther
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

  • Southern Methodist University
    3× · 2023–2025 · $46M · revenue +14%
  • DS
    DALLAS SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION
    6× · 2020–2025 · $32M · revenue +27% · 27% of their budget
  • DM
    Dallas Museum of Art
    4× · 2020–2025 · $11M · revenue +282%

Funded once

  • UE
    UPLIFT EDUCATION
    one grant, 2024 · $1.0M · revenue -1%
  • TT
    TEXAS TREES FOUNDATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $300k · revenue +97%
  • TU
    THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS
    one grant, 2023 · $85k
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
The University of TexasTexas a&M Investment Management Company

To generate superior long-term investment returns to support The University of Texas and Texas A&M University systems as they provide world-class teaching, push the boundaries of discovery, and achieve excellence in patient healthcare for…

Education
2
Dallas International University

As a christian university, we provide education and research opportunities preparing global leaders to partner with local communities.

Education
3
Progress Texas Institute

The Progress Texas Institute provides research and strategic communications on issues with the ultimate goal of increasing civic engagement.

Civil Rights
4
Witte Museum

The witte museum inspires people to shape the future of texas through transformative and relevant experiences in nature, science and culture.

Arts & Culture
5
Dallas County Medical Society

The mission of the dallas county medical society is to promote public health and advocate for physicians and their relationship with patients, while upholding professionalism in the practice of medicine.

—
6
Downtown Dallas Inc

Downtown Dallas, Inc. (DDI), is the champion of a clean and safe Downtown and of the economic development and vibrancy of this community of diverse, unique neighborhoods. DDI: Mobilizes and amplifies the services of public agencies.…

—
7
Dallas Citizens Council

To lead and serve in the moments that matter the most for the people of dallas.

—
8
Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council

The mission of the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council is to drive evidence-based improvement in patient care and health equity throughout the region.

—
9
The Shakespeare Festival of Dallas dba Shakespeare Dallas

Using Shakespeare's works as a cornerstone, Shakespeare Dallas serves the Southwest region with fun and accessible indoor and outdoor theatre, integrated school programs, and cultural enrichment for people of all ages and backgrounds.

—
10
COMMIT2DALLAS

Our mission is that by 2040, at least half of all 25 to 34 year old residents of Dallas County, irrespective of race, will earn a living wage. Together, we cultivate a collaborative educational ecosystem with school systems, higher…

Education
11
Dallas Contemporary

Dallas contemporary presents art in a forum that cultivates artists, ignites learning and inspires the community. dallas contemporary is a non-collecting art museum presenting new and challenging ideas from regional, national and…

Arts & Culture
12
Texas Medical Association

The texas medical association (tma), the nation's largest and one of the oldest state medical societies, represents over 59,000 physicians and medical students dedicated to enhancing the health of all texans. in collaboration with 110…

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is United Way of Metropolitan Dallas Inc; the most unlike its peers is Big Thought. 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

28 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. 28 of the 40 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.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
5
Early backer (in before they grew)
28/28
Grantees still filing
11/28
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER AT DALLAS: $130,306,000 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER AT DALLASTHE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT DALLAS: $32,577,000 · OtherTHE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT DALLASUNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS AT DALLAS: $17,000,000 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS AT DALLASTHE COMMIT PARTNERSHIP: $10,900,000 · Other+12 more: $14,504,873 · Other+12 moreSouthern Methodist University: $46,400,000 · EducationSouthern Methodist Universit…DALLAS COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC: $38,350,000 · EducationDALLAS COLLEGE FOUNDATION IN…SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL FOUNDATION: $5,750,000 · EducationSOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL FOUNDAT…+5 more: $3,079,138 · EducationDALLAS SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION: $32,276,443 · Arts & CultureDALLAS SYMPHONY AS…Dallas Museum of Art: $11,422,000 · Arts & CultureDallas Museum of A…PEROT MUSEUM OF NATURE & SCIENCE: $10,000,000 · Arts & CulturePEROT MUSEUM OF NA…The Dallas Opera: $4,750,000 · Arts & CultureThe Dallas Opera+2 more: $460,000 · Arts & CultureTEXAS ACADEMY OF MEDICINE ENGINEERING SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: $2,180,000 · HealthMEADOWS MENTAL HEALTH POLICY INSTITUTE FOR TEXAS: $1,750,000 · HealthPARKLAND FOUNDATION: $1,000,000 · HealthUNITED WAY OF METROPOLITAN DALLAS INC: $1,000,000 · PhilanthropyCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF ABILENE: $1,000,000 · PhilanthropyTHE DALLAS FOUNDATION: $100,000 · PhilanthropyTrinity Park Conservancy: $1,000,000 · Community ImprovementSOUTHERN GATEWAY PUBLIC GREEN FOUNDATION: $1,000,000 · Community ImprovementCircuit Trail Conservancy: $100,000 · Community ImprovementHOUSING FORWARD: $2,000,000 · Human Services
Other$205,287,873Education$93,579,138Arts & Culture$58,908,443Health$4,930,000Philanthropy$2,100,000Community Improvement$2,100,000Human Services$2,000,000

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 budgetSouthern Methodist University: $46,400,000 over 3y, 2.1% of budgetDALLAS SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION: $32,276,443 over 6y, 27% of budgetDallas Museum of Art: $11,422,000 over 4y, 6.8% of budgetPEROT MUSEUM OF NATURE & SCIENCE: $10,000,000 over 1y, 9.7% of budgetSOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL FOUNDATION: $5,750,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetThe Dallas Opera: $4,750,000 over 6y, 7.8% of budgetTEXAS ACADEMY OF MEDICINE ENGINEERING SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: $2,180,000 over 4y, 0.9% of budgetMEADOWS MENTAL HEALTH POLICY INSTITUTE FOR TEXAS: $1,750,000 over 2y, 2.5% of budgetUPLIFT EDUCATION: $1,000,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetTeach for America Inc: $1,000,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetUNITED WAY OF METROPOLITAN DALLAS INC: $1,000,000 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetTexas 2036: $1,000,000 over 1y, 8.2% of budgetPARKLAND FOUNDATION: $1,000,000 over 1y, 4.3% of budgetCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF ABILENE: $1,000,000 over 1y, 2.8% of budgetTrinity Park Conservancy: $1,000,000 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetWoodall Rodgers Park Foundation: $1,000,000 over 2y, 6.1% of budgetSOUTHERN GATEWAY PUBLIC GREEN FOUNDATION: $1,000,000 over 1y, 5.7% of budgetTHE LAMPLIGHTER SCHOOL: $500,000 over 1y, 3.0% of budgetUNITED TO LEARN: $500,000 over 1y, 8.7% of budgetBIG THOUGHT: $450,000 over 2y, 2.1% of budgetTEXAS TREES FOUNDATION: $300,000 over 1y, 6.4% of budgetTHE DALLAS FOUNDATION: $100,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetNATIONAL MATH & SCIENCE INITIATIVE INC: $79,138 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetWORLD AFFAIRS COUNCIL OF DALLAS/FORT WORTH: $25,000 over 1y, 0.8% 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.

Texas Instruments Fou…The Addy FoundationMeadows Foundation IncThe Eugene McDermott …Communities Foundatio…The Dallas FoundationVin and Caren Prothro…Hirsch Family Foundat…Boone Family Foundati…George & Fay Young Fo…The Moody FoundationThe Rose Family Found…
Texas Instruments FoundationTX27.5× affinity13 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Texas Instruments Foundation · The Addy Foundation · Meadows Foundation Inc · The Eugene McDermott Foundation · Communities Foundation of Texas Inc · The Dallas Foundation · Vin and Caren Prothro Foundation · Hirsch Family Foundation · Boone Family Foundation · George & Fay Young Foundation Inc · The Moody Foundation · The Rose Family 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 O'Donnell Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from O'Donnell Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    7report 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.
    05Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to O'Donnell Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to O'Donnell 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 40 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 O'Donnell’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