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Pensmore Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Pensmore Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$155k
Granted FY2024still arriving
5
Grants FY2024still arriving
5
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, FY2020 to 2024.

Education$558kPublic Benefit$170kInternational$133kSocial Science$100kHuman Services$25kReligion$20k
02FY2024 · 5 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k1 grant · $5k
  • $10k–50k3 grants · $50k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $100k
$20,000
Median grant
5
States reached
$8.5M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
PATRICK HENRY COLLEGE$100,000
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CHRISTIAN LAWMAKERS$20,000
SANCTUARY OF HOPE$20,000
AMERICAN CORNERSTONE INSTITUTE$10,000
PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION$5,000
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY20–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 58% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%GODS NOT DEAD FOUNDATION: $10k → 11%NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CHRISTIAN LAWMAKERS: $65k → 15%AMERICAN CORNERSTONE INSTITUTE INC: $10k → 14%AUBURN UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $8k → 15%COLLEGE OF THE OZARKS: $20k → 14%MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY: $20k → 15%PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $5k → 12%DISCOVERY INSTITUTE: $50k → 9%PATRICK HENRY COLLEGE: $100k → 4%CHARITIES AID FOUNDATION AMERICA: $100k → 9%CARSON SCHOLARS FUND INC: $10k → 11%NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CHRISTIAN LAWMAKERS: $45k → 15%AMERICAN CORNERSTONE INSTITUTE: $10k → 14%SANCTUARY OF HOPE: $20k → 14%MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY: $10k → 15%DISCOVERY INSTITUTE: $50k → 9%PATRICK HENRY COLLEGE: $100k → 4%CHARITIES AID FOUNDATION AMERICA: $33k → 9%CARSON SCHOLAR FUND: $10k → 11%NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CHRISTIAN LAWMAKERS: $40k → 15%AMERICAN CORNERSTONE INSTITUTE: $10k → 14%THE CARING PEOPLE: $5k → 14%MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY: $10k → 15%PATRICK HENRY COLLEGE: $100k → 4%NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CHRISTIAN LAWMAKERS: $20k → 15%MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY: $10k → 15%PATRICK HENRY COLLEGE: $75k → 4%HOLY GHOST MINISTRIES: $10k → 15%PATRICK HENRY COLLEGE: $50k → 4%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
OR
MO
VA
MD
AZ
AR
DC
AL
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.

91%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$795k · 6 repeat orgs$78k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +36% since the first grant, against -63% for those funded once.

6 repeat relationships: 3 still active in FY2024, 3 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

6
5

Total granted

$795k
$53k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+36%
-63%

Still filing today

83%
80%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 84% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $25k went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24
EducationReligionOther
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

  • PH
    PATRICK HENRY COLLEGE
    5× · 2020–2024 · $425k · revenue +25%
  • NA
    NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CHRISTIAN LAWMAKERS INC
    4× · 2021–2024 · $170k · revenue +36%
  • DI
    DISCOVERY INSTITUTE
    2× · 2020–2021 · $100k · revenue +27%

Funded once

  • CO
    COLLEGE OF THE OZARKS
    one grant, 2022 · $20k · revenue +8%
  • HG
    HOLY GHOST MINISTRIES INC
    one grant, 2020 · $10k · revenue -63%
  • GN
    GODS NOT DEAD FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2020 · $10k · revenue -100%
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
National Christian Foundation -- Wisconsin Inc

Equipping followers of christ to give wisely to advance his kingdom by inspiring biblical stewardship and generosity.

Religion
2
Asbury College

Asbury university equips students, through academic excellence and spiritual vitality, for lifelong learning, leadership, and service to the professions, society, the family and the church, preparing them to engage their cultures and…

Education
3
Carolina College of Biblical Studies

Carolina college of biblical studies exists to disciple christ-followers, through biblical higher education, for a lifetime of effective servant leadership.

Education
4
Dallas International University

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

Education
5
Crown College

The mission of crown college is to provide a biblically based education for christian leadership in the christian and missionary alliance, the church-at-large, and the world.

—
6
Los Angeles Pacific University

Los angeles pacific university exists to deliver high quality, accessible christ-centered education to learners everywhere.

Education
7
Reformed University Inc

Provide education in theology, divinity, religious education, ministerial training, business and organizational leadership.

Education
8
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
9
Alaska Christian College

To empower alaska natives through bibically based higher education and christian formation to pursue excellence in character, learning, and service as followers of christ.

Religion
10
Barclay College

The mission of barclay college is to prepare students in a bible-centered environment for effective christian life, service, and leadership.

Education
11
Carson-Newman University

Mission of challenge, nurture, community: carson-newman college offers a christian, liberal arts education in an environment that encourages open intellectual inquiry and deeper spiritual maturity. students receive a personalized education…

Education
12
Union University

Union university provides christ-centered education that promotes excellence and character development in service to church and society.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Patrick Henry College; the most unlike its peers is The Caring People. 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

12 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. 12 of the 14 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)
11/12
Grantees still filing
8/12
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

PATRICK HENRY COLLEGE: $425,000 · EducationPATRICK HENRY COLLEGEAMERICAN CORNERSTONE INSTITUTE INC: $30,000 · EducationAMERICAN CORNERSTONE INSTITUTE INCCARSON SCHOLARS FUND INC: $20,000 · EducationCOLLEGE OF THE OZARKS: $20,000 · Education+1 more: $7,500 · EducationNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CHRISTIAN LAWMAKERS INC: $170,000 · ReligionNATIONAL ASSOCIATION …HOLY GHOST MINISTRIES INC: $10,000 · ReligionGODS NOT DEAD FOUNDATION: $10,000 · ReligionDISCOVERY INSTITUTE: $100,000 · OtherDISCOVERY INSTITUTEMISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY: $50,000 · OtherMISSOURI STATE UNIVE…SANCTUARY OF HOPE: $20,000 · OtherSANCTUARY OF HOPE+2 more: $10,000 · Other+2 moreCHARITIES AID FOUNDATION AMERICA: $133,000 · PhilanthropyCHARITIES AID …
Education$502,500Religion$190,000Other$180,000Philanthropy$133,000

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 budgetPATRICK HENRY COLLEGE: $425,000 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CHRISTIAN LAWMAKERS INC: $170,000 over 4y, 17% of budgetCHARITIES AID FOUNDATION AMERICA: $133,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetDISCOVERY INSTITUTE: $100,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetAMERICAN CORNERSTONE INSTITUTE INC: $30,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetCARSON SCHOLARS FUND INC: $20,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetCOLLEGE OF THE OZARKS: $20,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHOLY GHOST MINISTRIES INC: $10,000 over 1y, 6.0% of budgetGODS NOT DEAD FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAUBURN UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $7,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE CARING PEOPLE: $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.

Natl Christian Charit…Vanguard Charitable E…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Natl Christian Charitable Fdn IncGA11.9× affinity7 shared granteesties to 4 of 4Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Natl Christian Charitable Fdn Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile 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 Pensmore Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Pensmore Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%1%5%11%20%funder's share of their income ↑0%1%3%4%5%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • Portland State University Foundation: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
1report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–5%
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 14 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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

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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