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Pennies From Heaven Foundation at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Public charity

Pennies From Heaven Foundation

None

$731k
Granted FY2021
9
Grants FY2021
1
States reached
$224k
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, FY2017 to 2021.

Philanthropy$1.6MHuman Services$1.1MCommunity Improvement$1.0MEducation$326kEnvironment$250kEmployment$250kHousing & Shelter$148kHealth$148kOther$0
02FY2021 · 9 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2021

  • Under $10k1 grant · $8k
  • $10k–50k3 grants · $50k
  • $50k–250k5 grants · $659k
$50,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$24M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
OAKTREE ACADEMY$224,000
UNITED WAY OF MASON COUNTY$179,109
HANDS EXTENDED LOVING PEOPLE (HELP)$106,022
MASON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY$100,000
TALENT 2025 INC$50,000
WEST SHORE FAMILY SUPPORT$25,299
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY OF MASON COUNTY$15,000
CHILDCARE PROVIDERS ASSOC OF MICHIGAN (CPAOM)$10,000
LUDINGTON AREA ARTS COUNCIL$8,000
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 (FY17–21, $1.2M) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 93% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%SINGLE MOMM: $36k → 7%SINGLE MOMM: $36k → 7%SINGLE MOMM: $10k → 7%SINGLE MOMM: $5k → 7%OAKTREE ACADEMY: $269k → 10%OAKTREE ACADEMY: $224k → 10%OAKTREE ACADEMY: $115k → 10%OAKTREE ACADEMY: $110k → 10%HANDS EXTENDED LOVING PEOPLE (HELP): $106k → 10%HANDS EXTENDED LOVING PEOPLE (HELP): $59k → 10%HANDS EXTENDED LOVING PEOPLE (HELP): $55k → 10%LAKESHORE FOOD CLUB: $46k → 10%HANDS EXTENDED LOVING PEOPLE (HELP): $45k → 10%LAKESHORE FOOD CLUB: $23k → 10%LAKESHORE FOOD CLUB: $21k → 10%OAKTREE ACADEMY: $9k → 10%COVE (COMMUNITIES OVERCOMING VIOLENT ENCOUNTERS): $5k → 10%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.

71%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$3.4M · 10 repeat orgs$1.4M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +129% since the first grant, against +63% for those funded once.

10 repeat relationships: 5 still active in FY2021, 5 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2021 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

10
14

Total granted

$3.4M
$1.3M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+129%
+63%

Still filing today

90%
43%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2021, 80% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $143k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21
Human ServicesCommunity ImprovementArts & CulturePhilanthropyYouth DevelopmentEnvironmentOther
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

  • OA
    OAKTREE ACADEMY INC
    7× · 2017–2025 · $727k · revenue +129% · 41% of their budget
  • HE
    Hands Extended Loving People
    8× · 2017–2025 · $265k · revenue +20% · 29% of their budget
  • HT
    HOME TEAM HOUSING
    5× · 2017–2021 · $148k · revenue +85% · 37% of their budget

Funded once

  • MC
    MICHIGAN COMMUNITY CAPITALgraduated
    one grant, 2019 · $1.0M · revenue +226% · 34% of their budget
  • CP
    CONNEXION POINT INC
    one grant, 2018 · $100k · revenue -73% · 64% of their budget
  • MC
    MASON COUNTY EASTERN SCHOOLS
    one grant, 2020 · $26k
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
Muskegon Lakeshore Chamber of Commerce

Member programs/services, economic development

—
2
Macomb County Chamber of Commerce

The organization's mission is to promote a healthy business climate for its members and all businesses in macomb county, michigan.

Unclassified
3
Western Michigan Christian Encampment

Christian camps.

Recreation & Sports
4
Michigan Community Resources

We advance the missions of michigan nonprofit organizations that serve low income individuals and communities through pro bono and low cost legal and other professional services, organizational development, and trusted guidance.

Crime & Legal
5
Michigan Center of Accountability for Republicans

Social welfare and issue advocacy

Civil Rights
6
Lakeshore Legal Aid

Standing with our neighbors, Lakeshore Legal Aid fights poverty and injustice through advocacy and by providing meaningful and dignified access to the legal system.

Crime & Legal
7
Michigan Casa Inc

Michigan casa, inc. is dedicated to changing the lives of abused and neglected children by advocating for their best interests through establishing, supporting, and expanding quality casa programs throughout the state of michigan to ensure…

Civil Rights
8
Lake Superior Community Partnership Inc

To stimulate and sustain a vibrant regional economy by facilitating economic growth and prosperity.

—
9
Michigan Legal Services

Provide free legal assistance to indigent and low income persons

Crime & Legal
10
Michigan West Coast Chamber of Commerce

The west coast chamber exists to be a catalyst for business growth and development, a convener of leaders and influencers, and a champion for a thriving community.

—
11
Association for Children's Mental Health

To ensure all michigan children and youth with emotional, behavioral, or mental health challenges and their families live in a safe, welcoming community with access to needed services and supports.

Health
12
Michigan Family Resources

Michigan Family Resources mission is to deliver holistic family-centered services to children that promote their well-being and development.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Lakeshore Childrens Advocacy Center; the most unlike its peers is Pere Marquette Memorial Association. 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

34 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.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

6
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
12
Early backer (in before they grew)
31/34
Grantees still filing
21/34
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

UNITED WAY OF MASON COUNTY: $1,372,950 · PhilanthropyUNITED WAY OF MASON COUNTYCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION FOR MUSKEGON COUNTY: $311,085 · PhilanthropyCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION FOR MUSKEGON COU…+1 more: $15,000 · PhilanthropyOAKTREE ACADEMY INC: $726,568 · Human ServicesOAKTREE ACADEMY INCHands Extended Loving People: $265,016 · Human ServicesHands Extended Loving Peop…LAKESHORE FOOD CLUB: $89,913 · Human ServicesLAKESHORE FOOD CLUBSINGLE MOMM: $87,000 · Human ServicesSINGLE MOMM+1 more: $5,000 · Human ServicesMICHIGAN COMMUNITY CAPITAL: $1,000,000 · Community ImprovementMICHIGAN COMMUNITY CAPITA…TALENTFIRST INC FKA TALENT FIRST INC: $105,000 · Community ImprovementTALENTFIRST INC FKA TALEN…+2 more: $34,000 · Community ImprovementGATEWAY TO SUCCESS ACADEMY: $300,000 · OtherGATEWAY TO SUCC…HOME TEAM HOUSING: $147,988 · OtherHOME TEAM HOUSI…CONNEXION POINT INC: $100,000 · OtherCONNEXION POINT…MASON COUNTY EASTERN SCHOOLS: $26,000 · OtherBETHANY LUTHERAN CHURCH: $25,000 · Other+8 more: $84,241 · Other+8 moreLand Conservancy of West Michigan: $250,000 · EnvironmentMASON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $100,000 · Arts & CultureLUDINGTON AREA ARTS COUNCIL: $8,000 · Arts & CultureWEST SHORE FAMILY SUPPORT: $25,299 · HealthGIRL SCOUTS OF MICHIGAN SHORE TO SHORE: $10,000 · Youth Development
Philanthropy$1,699,035Human Services$1,173,497Community Improvement$1,139,000Other$683,229Environment$250,000Arts & Culture$108,000Health$25,299Youth Development$10,000

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

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetUNITED WAY OF MASON COUNTY: $1,372,950 over 9y, 81% of budgetMICHIGAN COMMUNITY CAPITAL: $1,000,000 over 1y, 34% of budgetOAKTREE ACADEMY INC: $726,568 over 7y, 41% of budgetCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION FOR MUSKEGON COUNTY: $311,085 over 6y, 1.5% of budgetHands Extended Loving People: $265,016 over 8y, 29% of budgetLand Conservancy of West Michigan: $250,000 over 2y, 3.1% of budgetHOME TEAM HOUSING: $147,988 over 5y, 37% of budgetTALENTFIRST INC FKA TALENT FIRST INC: $105,000 over 6y, 7.1% of budgetMASON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $100,000 over 2y, 22% of budgetCONNEXION POINT INC: $100,000 over 1y, 64% of budgetLAKESHORE FOOD CLUB: $89,913 over 3y, 14% of budgetSINGLE MOMM: $87,000 over 8y, 11% of budgetWEST SHORE FAMILY SUPPORT: $25,299 over 1y, 15% of budgetCOMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION OF MICHIGAN: $24,000 over 2y, 1.3% of budgetMANISTEE COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $15,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetWEST MICHIGAN TEAM INC: $12,500 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetGIRL SCOUTS OF MICHIGAN SHORE TO SHORE: $10,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetEagle Village Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetLUDINGTON AREA ARTS COUNCIL: $8,000 over 3y, 2.7% of budgetCOMMUNITIES OVERCOMING VIOLENT ENCO: $5,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetECHO HIS LOVE INC: $5,000 over 1y, 1.6% 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.

Community Foundation …Consumers Energy Foun…Birtwistle Family Fou…Great Lakes Castings …Fremont Area Communit…Grand Rapids Communit…Grand Haven Area Comm…DTE Energy FoundationUnited Way of Mason C…Protein FoundationUnited Way of the Lak…Frey Foundation
Community Foundation for Muskegon CountyMI70.8× affinity32 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Community Foundation for Muskegon County · Consumers Energy Foundation · Birtwistle Family Foundation · Great Lakes Castings Corporation Foundation · Fremont Area Community Foundation · Grand Rapids Community Foundation · Grand Haven Area Community Foundation Inc · DTE Energy Foundation · United Way of Mason County · Protein Foundation · United Way of the Lakeshore · Frey 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 Pennies From Heaven Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Pennies From Heaven Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%3%10%23%40%funder's share of their income ↑0%8%15%22%30%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    9report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–30%
    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 Pennies From Heaven Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Pennies From Heaven 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 30 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 e-file return for fiscal year 2021, released 2021. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2025) is on record and reports $743k of grant expense, but none of it to a named recipient. On a Form 990 that can mean grants abroad, filed by region only (Schedule F), grants under $5,000, which are not itemized, or a schedule referenced as an attachment the e-file does not carry. The figures above are therefore from FY2021, the most recent year this funder named its grantees.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Pennies From Heaven’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