Missouri · Public charity
Optimist International Foundation
The OPTIMIST INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION, incorporated in february 1971, is a foundation and charitable corporation established for the general purpose of soliciting and receiving gifts, donations and bequests of money and property to be used for the furtherance of the charitable and educational efforts and activities of optimist…
- $1.2M
- Granted FY2025(still arriving)
- 17
- Itemized grants FY2025
- 14
- Organizations funded FY2024
- 14%
- First-time grantees FY2024
- Itemized, FY2025
- $291k
- The rest is grants the schedule does not break out
- Median grant, FY2025
- $12,000
- Largest grant, FY2025
- $80,000
- Organizations funded a year
- 11 to 24
- FY2018 to FY2024
- States reached, FY2025
- 14
- Total assets, FY2025
- $16M
How open it is to new grantees
In FY2024, 14% of the organizations Optimist International Foundation funded were first-time grantees, receiving 8% of its grant dollars.
New vs renewed · share of each year
In FY2024, 92% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $19k went to new ones.
Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant
How this is measured
The numbers by year
| Fiscal year | Organizations funded | To those organizations | First-time grantees |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025still arriving | 17 | $291k | 24% |
| FY2024 | 14 | $242k | 14% |
| FY2023 | 13 | $186k | 38% |
| FY2022 | 11 | $156k | 27% |
| FY2021 | 12 | $128k | 33% |
| FY2020 | 14 | $114k | 43% |
| FY2019 | 24 | $312k | 50% |
| FY2018 | 17 | $556k | 41% |
What it funded, over time
Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.
Where its grants go
Grant dollars by states, across the years we hold.
Which US states its grants reach
Top grantees
Largest recipients by total granted, FY2017 to FY2025, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.
| Grantee | Total granted | Years | Share of their budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| Optimist International | $438,503 | 3 | 4% |
| Optimist Club of Miami Beach North Shore Fl | $283,910 | 5 | n/a |
| Johns Hopkins University | $237,624 | 3 | 0% |
| Optimist Club of Terre Haute Inc | $119,580 | 6 | 36% |
| OPTIMIST INTERNATIONAL-Denver Monaco South CO | $107,737 | 9 | 19% |
| Optimist International | $88,000 | 8 | n/a |
| Winter Haven Optimist Club Inc | $86,185 | 8 | 89% |
| Twin City Area Optimist Club | $82,706 | 8 | 23% |
| Platte County Optimist Club of Missouri | $79,000 | 8 | n/a |
| Optimist International East Lincoln | $77,600 | 1 | n/a |
Show all 57 grantees
| Grantee | Total granted | Years | Share of their budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| Optimist International | $438,503 | 3 | 4% |
| Optimist Club of Miami Beach North Shore Fl | $283,910 | 5 | n/a |
| Johns Hopkins University | $237,624 | 3 | 0% |
| Optimist Club of Terre Haute Inc | $119,580 | 6 | 36% |
| OPTIMIST INTERNATIONAL-Denver Monaco South CO | $107,737 | 9 | 19% |
| Optimist International | $88,000 | 8 | n/a |
| Winter Haven Optimist Club Inc | $86,185 | 8 | 89% |
| Twin City Area Optimist Club | $82,706 | 8 | 23% |
| Platte County Optimist Club of Missouri | $79,000 | 8 | n/a |
| Optimist International East Lincoln | $77,600 | 1 | n/a |
| Optimist International | $61,500 | 3 | n/a |
| Optimist International | $59,875 | 6 | n/a |
| optimist club of holdrege ne | $47,119 | 1 | n/a |
| Optimist International | $46,921 | 3 | n/a |
| Optimist Club of Gastonia Nc | $43,275 | 5 | n/a |
| Optimist International | $39,300 | 3 | n/a |
| Optimist Club of Springfield-Westside Mo | $38,881 | 3 | n/a |
| Optimist International-Centerville Ohio Noon | $32,900 | 4 | 4% |
| Lincoln Sports Complex Optimist | $25,000 | 1 | 31% |
| Optimist International | $25,000 | 3 | n/a |
| Optimist International | $21,000 | 2 | n/a |
| Optimist International | $20,050 | 3 | n/a |
| Noon Optimist Club of Marshall Inc Tx | $20,000 | 2 | n/a |
| Optimist Club of Fredericksburg | $18,436 | 1 | 45% |
| The Optimist Club of Napa California | $17,500 | 1 | 13% |
| optimist club of fitchburg wi | $17,022 | 3 | n/a |
| Optimist International | $15,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Optimist Club of Reno Nv | $14,250 | 1 | n/a |
| Optimist International | $13,964 | 2 | n/a |
| Optimist International | $13,850 | 2 | n/a |
| Covina Valley Optimist Club | $13,250 | 1 | 16% |
| Optimist International | $12,519 | 1 | n/a |
| Optimist International | $10,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Greater Southwest Optimist Club Tx | $9,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Optimist International | $8,649 | 1 | n/a |
| OPTIMIST INTERNATIONAL Watertown Optimist Club | $8,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Optimist International | $7,580 | 1 | n/a |
| Optimist Club of Menomonee Falls Inc | $7,275 | 1 | 9% |
| Optimist Club of Kings Mountain Nc | $7,227 | 1 | n/a |
| Optimist International 21319 Woodstock Midday | $7,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Optimist International Ashland | $6,781 | 1 | 4% |
| Take Stock in Children | $6,155 | 1 | n/a |
| Optimist International | $6,100 | 1 | n/a |
| Pueblo Oc of Tuscon | $6,020 | 1 | n/a |
| Optimist International | $6,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Optimist Club of Duncan Ok | $6,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Optimist International | $6,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Monroe Area Optimist Club | $5,761 | 1 | n/a |
| Optimist International | $5,500 | 1 | n/a |
| Optimist International | $5,500 | 1 | n/a |
| Optimist Club of Leesburg Va | $5,320 | 1 | n/a |
| Optimist International | $5,250 | 1 | n/a |
| Optimist Club of Mechanicsville Md | $5,200 | 1 | n/a |
| Optimist International | $5,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Ronald McDonald House Global | $5,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Optimist Club of Howell Inc | $5,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Optimist International | $5,000 | 1 | n/a |
Where it is load-bearing
Optimist International Foundation supplied at least a quarter of the budget for 4 of its grantees at some point. The chart plots its 13 largest grantees; load-bearing ones sit top left.
Tap a dot to name the grantee.
How this is measured
Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus
How do I get to Optimist International Foundation?
Find your warmest path to Optimist International 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.
About Optimist International Foundation
- How much does Optimist International Foundation give?
- Optimist International Foundation reported 17 itemized grants totaling $290,935, out of $1,193,122 in total grant expense reported on the return in its FY2025 IRS filing. It funded between 11 and 24 organizations a year over FY2018 to FY2024.
- What does Optimist International Foundation fund?
- By grant dollars over FY2017 to FY2025, its largest causes are Youth Development (30%), Recreation & Sports (22%), International (17%).
- Who are Optimist International Foundation's largest grantees?
- By total granted over FY2017 to FY2025: Optimist International ($439k), Optimist Club of Miami Beach North Shore Fl ($284k), Johns Hopkins University ($238k).
- Does Optimist International Foundation fund new organizations?
- In FY2024, 14% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
- Where is Optimist International Foundation based?
- Optimist International Foundation is based in MO.
Play a game based on Optimist International’s filings →