Skip to content
Plinth
Foundation Dossiers
Plinth

· Private foundation

Ralph L Smith Foundation 13952400

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$40k
Granted FY2023
15
Grants FY2023
9
States reached
$8k
Largest
01What you fundRead
02The needRead
03Your edgeRead
04Your fieldRead

Read this first · the figures below need context

52% of Ralph L Smith Foundation 13952400’s FY2024 grant dollars went to Greater Kansas City Community Foundation, not to grantees.

Its money now reaches organizations through that sponsor, which does not report who recommended each grant. FY2024 names 0 organizations directly, so a portfolio cannot be read from it. Everything below is therefore FY2023, the last year Ralph L Smith Foundation 13952400 named its own grantees at scale: 10 organizations, $40k. It is dated, not current.

Organizations named directly on the return

66
’20
73
’21
76
’22
10
’23
0
’24

Amber years are those where most dollars went to a sponsor.

01What you fund
0198% classified

What you funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year — across FY2020–2024.

Philanthropy$13MEducation$582kArts & Culture$505kHealth$401kYouth Development$249kHuman Services$226kFood & Nutrition$194kReligion$145kOther$0
02FY2023 · 15 grants

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

$2,250
Median grant
9
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
ST ANN CATHOLIC CHURCH$7,500
CHRIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH FOUNDATION OF$5,000
ENGLISH IN ACTION$5,000
HARVESTERS THE COMMUNITY FOOD NETWORK$3,000
THE FEDERALIST SOCIETY FOR LAW AND PUB$2,500
ALLIANCE DEFENDING FREEDOM$2,500
PARENTS DEFENDING EDUCATION$2,500
MANHATTAN INSTITUTE$2,250
AMERICA ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE$2,200
LIBERTY COUNSEL INC$2,000
ROARING FORK CONSERVANCY$2,000
SAINT PAULS OUTREACH$1,000
ST ANN SCHOOL$1,000
UNITED CHARITABLE FBO FAIR CHARITABLE$1,000
BISHOP MIEGE HIGH SCHOOL FOUNDATION$1,000
02The need
03

Do your dollars go where the need is?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, then read against the area’s typical level.

show:

Your human-services grants (FY20–22, $297k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 97% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of your grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%UNION RESCUE MISSION: $23k → 14%FAMILY PROMISE OF LAWRENCE: $10k → 15%VALUE UNCONDITIONAL: $3k → 8%VALUE UNCONDITIONAL: $3k → 18%MUST MINISTRIES: $8k → 8%UNION RESCUE MISSION: $10k → 14%FAMILY PROMISE OF LAWRENCE: $8k → 15%CORNERSTONES OF CARE: $5k → 15%UNION RESCUE MISSION: $10k → 14%FAMILY PROMISE OF LAWRENCE: $8k → 15%KC HEALTHY KIDS: $1k → 16%KC HEALTHY KIDS: $1k → 16%ATLANTA MISSION: $5k → 13%UNBOUND: $2k → 16%UNBOUND: $2k → 16%EPEC INC: $3k → 15%FAITHBRIDGE FOSTER CARE: $10k → 13%UNBOUND: $2k → 16%EPEC THE GROOMING PROJECT: $3k → 15%CORNERSTONES OF CARE: $2k → 15%EPEC INC: $3k → 15%Emerge Center Against Domestic Abuse: $50k → 15%EMERGE CENTER AGAINST DOMESTIC ABUSE: $40k → 15%EMERGE CENTER AGAINST DOMESTIC ABUSE: $20k → 15%EMERGE CENTER AGAINST DOMESTIC ABUSE: $2k → 15%CORNERSTONES OF CARE: $3k → 15%PALISADES PRIDE: $5k → 14%THE MIDNIGHT MISSION: $10k → 14%ST JOSEPH CENTER: $10k → 14%THE CENTER AT BLESSED SACRAMENT: $20k → 14%THE CENTER AT BLESSED SACRAMENT: $20k → 14%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount

Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty linein the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP; grantee ZIP can differ from where services are delivered.

Which US states your grants reach

MN
IL
MI
NY
MA
IA
PA
CA
CO
NE
MO
VA
AZ
KS
TN
NC
DC
MS
GA
TX
FL

US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are actually delivered. Need from public data — U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA — shown as context about the area, never attributed to your giving.

03Your edge
repeat funding

Who you back again

Which organizations you funded more than once, and which you funded a single time. Each grantee is matched to its own filings.

27%of every dollar goes to organizations you’ve funded before.
$2.4M · 87 repeat orgs$6.5M to everyone else

And the relationships you keep tend to grow: grantees you re-up on have seen median revenue of +38% since the first grant, against +18% for the ones you funded once.

87 repeat relationships — 7 still active in FY2023, 80 since wound down; 9 grantees were first funded in FY2023 (too recent to call). Read against FY2023, the last year this funder named its own grantees directly; its giving has since run through a sponsor, which reports no donor behind each grant.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

87
64

Total granted

$2.4M
$581k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+38%
+18%

Still filing today

77%
50%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 0% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $5.9M 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
Human ServicesEducationHealthYouth DevelopmentArts & CultureCivil RightsOther

First-time = a grantee’s first year in your filing window; renewed = funded in an earlier year too. As a portfolio matures the renewed share naturally climbs — once funded, an org stays “renewable” — so the signal is the years that buck it (a new-grantee intake wave). 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

  • IT
    INVISIBLE THEATRE
    3× · 2020–2022 · $142k · revenue +65%
  • UO
    UNIVERSITY OF DENVER
    3× · 2020–2022 · $135k · revenue +22%
  • TC
    TUCSON CENTERS FOR WOMEN & CHILDREN INC DBA EMERGE CENTER AGAINST DOMESTIC ABUSE
    3× · 2020–2022 · $112k · revenue +69%

Funded once

  • TG
    THE GREATER KANSAS CITY COMMUNITY FND
    one grant, 2021 · $170k
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2022 · $35k
  • CD
    CU DEPT OF NEUROSURGERY
    one grant, 2022 · $33k

Repeat = funded in two or more distinct years; growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Your field

The map has a center of gravity: the average direction from the rest of the sector toward the organizations the foundation funds — the shape of its giving. Scoring every nonprofit along that direction surfaces the ones that look most like the portfolio. These are the closest matchesthat aren’t grantees — a resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Union Health System

To serve our communities by provding innovative and compassionate healthcare.

Health
2
Arizona Community Foundation

To lead, serve and collaborate to mobilize enduring philanthropy for a better arizona.

Philanthropy
3
Colorado Legal Services

To provide meaningful access to high quality, civil legal services in the pursuit of justice for as many low income persons and members of vulnerable populations throughout colorado as possible.

Crime & Legal
4
Banner -University Medical Group

Assist banner health complete its mission to make health care easier so life can be better by providing integrated & coordinated care & population health management.

Health
5
American Gas Association

American gas association's (the association) mission is to develop and advocate for informed, innovative, and durable policy that fulfills our nation's energy needs, environmental aspirations and economic potential. we are committed to…

—
6
The Common Application Inc

The common application is a not-for-profit membership organization of over 1,100 colleges and universities across the globe committed to access, equity, and integrity in the college admission process. every year, over 1.5 million students…

Education
7
Kqed Inc

See schedule okqed serves the people of northern california with a community-supported alternative to commercial media, providing the knowledge needed to make informed decisions; convening community dialogue; bringing the arts to everyone;…

Arts & Culture
8
Augustana College

Rooted in the liberal arts & sciences & lutheran expression of the christian faith, & is committed to offering a challenging education that develops qualities of mind, spirit, & body necessary for a rewarding life of leadership & service…

Education
9
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
10
Coop Careers Inc

Building a movement of diverse, upwardly mobile college grads overcoming underemployment through digital skills and peer connections.

Education
11
Atlantic University Inc

Provide post-secondary education of excellence.

Education
12
California Dental Association

The california dental association is committed to the success of our members in service to their patients and the public.

Community Improvement

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Atlanta Union Mission Corporation and the most unlike its peers is Denver Junior Golf. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.

For each theme you fund, this compares how the sector’s money is shifting with how your own giving is shifting.

← shrinkinggrowing →↓ leaning in → pulling backsteadyCommunity FoundationsPublic Library OperationsSenior Support ServicesLocal History MuseumsSchool District FoundationsVolunteer Fire & Ems Servic…Domestic Violence ServicesChristian Missionary Organi…School Parent OrganizationsPolicy Research and AdvocacyAnimal Rescue and ShelterHealth Access Advocacy and …Orchestra and Ensemble Perf…Youth Sports ProgramsPregnancy Support ServicesLgbtq+ Community SupportCancer Support ServicesChild Abuse Advocacy Servic…Environmental Conservation …Faith-Based Liberal Arts Co…Community Arts CentersFood Banks and PantriesIndependent K-12 Schools
the sector your giving your giving is ahead of the sector the sector’s ahead of you· dot size = how much the theme matters to each side
Ordered by the change in your giving — leaning in on top, pulling back at the bottom. The bar between the two dots is how out of step you are with the sector. Hover any row for detail.

Sector change and giving change are each shown relative to their own range, growing (right) or shrinking (left); both normalized, so inflation isn’t mistaken for growth.

Your grantees are a median of 33 years old; the field is 16. You back the established end — and your money leans older still.

THE FIELDby orgYOUR GRANTEESby number22%1%<5yr14%9%5–10yr19%14%10–20yr16%28%20–35yr13%25%35–55yr16%24%55yr+
THE FIELDby orgYOUR MONEYby value22%1%<5yr14%1%5–10yr19%2%10–20yr16%28%20–35yr13%59%35–55yr16%10%55yr+

The field is 22% startups (under 5 years old) — 1% of your grantees by number, and just 1% of your money.

Closures · last 5 years

The orgs you fund almost never close — 0.9% lost their exemption, against 13% of the field you don’t fund.

orgs you fund
0.9%1/112
the rest of the field
13%
240,395/1,819,453

Age = years since IRS exemption (a founding proxy). “Closed” = auto-revocation for 3 years of non-filing — a floor on closure, not proof, and bigger established orgs lapse least. Association, not causation.

04the grantee network

107 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each one resolved to its own IRS returns and tracked year by year — your grant beside their revenue from every source. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

Counted here: distinct organizations you funded across 2017–2025, not grant rows in a single year — so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 107 of the 164 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile; the rest are funded organizations whose filings we could not track year by year.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
22
Early backer (in before they grew)
106/107
Grantees still filing
80/107
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

VANGUARD CHARITABLE TO THE RALPH SMITH — $5,940,625 · OtherVANGUARD CHARITABLE TO THE RALPH SMITH+96 more — $1,593,034 · Other+96 moreGreater Kansas City Community Foundation — $4,633,443 · PhilanthropyGreater Kansas City Community FoundationDONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC — $2,117,221 · PhilanthropyDONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC+3 more — $55,500 · PhilanthropyINVISIBLE THEATRE — $141,667 · Arts & CultureLOFT CINEMA INC FKA TUCSON CINEMA FOUNDATION INC — $56,665 · Arts & CultureTUCSON MUSEUM OF ART AND HISTORIC BLOCK INC — $50,000 · Arts & CultureArizona Theatre Company — $45,000 · Arts & Culture+4 more — $21,375 · Arts & CultureTUCSON CENTERS FOR WOMEN & CHILDREN INC DBA EMERGE CENTER AGAINST DOMESTIC ABUSE — $111,667 · Human ServicesUNION RESCUE MISSION — $42,500 · Human ServicesTHE CENTER IN HOLLYWOOD — $40,000 · Human ServicesFAMILY PROMISE OF LAWRENCE INC — $25,000 · Human Services+12 more — $87,500 · Human ServicesUNIVERSITY OF DENVER — $134,500 · EducationPRAGER UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION — $50,000 · EducationKANSAS POLICY INSTITUTE — $20,000 · EducationHarmony Project — $20,000 · EducationSTEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION — $15,000 · EducationOPERATION BREAKTHROUGH INC — $15,000 · Education+10 more — $26,250 · EducationALS UNITED OF GEORGIA INC — $55,000 · HealthDIDI HIRSCH PSYCHIATRIC SERVICE — $55,000 · HealthCROHN'S & COLITIS FOUNDATION INC — $39,000 · HealthChildren's Hospital Los Angeles — $30,000 · HealthALZHEIMERS GREATER LOS ANGELES — $20,000 · HealthALS THERAPY DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION INC — $10,000 · HealthBLUFORD HEALTHCARE LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE — $10,000 · HealthALZHEIMER'S DISEASE & RELATED DISORDERS ASSOCIATION INC — $10,000 · Health+5 more — $26,542 · HealthSTUDENTS RUN AMERICA — $60,000 · Youth DevelopmentHOMEBOY INDUSTRIES — $30,000 · Youth DevelopmentBOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF SANTA MONICA INC — $30,000 · Youth DevelopmentYOUNG LIFE — $25,000 · Youth DevelopmentJEWISH BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS ASSOCIATION OF LOS ANGELES — $20,000 · Youth DevelopmentBOYS CLUB OF GREATER KANSAS CITY — $12,500 · Youth DevelopmentFELLOWSHIP OF CHRISTIAN ATHLETES — $12,000 · Youth DevelopmentDENVER JUNIOR GOLF — $10,000 · Youth Development+1 more — $3,000 · Youth Development
Other$7,533,659Philanthropy$6,806,164Arts & Culture$314,707Human Services$306,667Education$280,750Health$255,542Youth Development$202,500

Each org by its size and your share of it — top-left is where you’re load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ your share of their budgetGreater Kansas City Community Foundation — $4,633,443 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetDONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC — $2,117,221 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Orme School — $178,500 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetINVISIBLE THEATRE — $141,667 over 3y, 20% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF DENVER — $134,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTUCSON CENTERS FOR WOMEN & CHILDREN INC DBA EMERGE CENTER AGAINST DOMESTIC ABUSE — $111,667 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetLOS ANGELES REGIONAL FOOD BANK — $100,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetWESTSIDE FOOD BANK — $65,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetSTUDENTS RUN AMERICA — $60,000 over 3y, 1.2% of budgetLOFT CINEMA INC FKA TUCSON CINEMA FOUNDATION INC — $56,665 over 3y, 1.0% of budgetTUCSON BOTANICAL GARDENS — $55,000 over 3y, 1.1% of budgetALS UNITED OF GEORGIA INC — $55,000 over 2y, 1.7% of budgetDIDI HIRSCH PSYCHIATRIC SERVICE — $55,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTUCSON MUSEUM OF ART AND HISTORIC BLOCK INC — $50,000 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetPRAGER UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION — $50,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetArizona Theatre Company — $45,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetUNION RESCUE MISSION — $42,500 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetCASA OF LOS ANGELES — $40,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetTHE CENTER IN HOLLYWOOD — $40,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetGAMMA MU FOUNDATION INC — $40,000 over 3y, 4.9% of budgetCROHN'S & COLITIS FOUNDATION INC — $39,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTREVOR PROJECT INC — $30,250 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetStep Up To Justice — $30,000 over 2y, 3.1% of budgetHOMEBOY INDUSTRIES — $30,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetBOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF SANTA MONICA INC — $30,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetChildren's Hospital Los Angeles — $30,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetHumane Society of Southern Arizona — $25,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetYOUNG LIFE — $25,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFAMILY PROMISE OF LAWRENCE INC — $25,000 over 3y, 1.1% of budgetKANSAS POLICY INSTITUTE — $20,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetHarmony Project — $20,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetALZHEIMERS GREATER LOS ANGELES — $20,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetJEWISH BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS ASSOCIATION OF LOS ANGELES — $20,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetWOODSON CENTER — $17,500 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetSTEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION — $15,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetAchilles International Inc — $15,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetOPERATION BREAKTHROUGH INC — $15,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSamaritan's Feet International — $15,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetUNIVERSITY CAMPS — $15,000 over 3y, 1.5% of budgetMIKEROWEWORKS FOUNDATION — $12,500 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetBOYS CLUB OF GREATER KANSAS CITY — $12,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetDEFENDING EDUCATION — $12,500 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetFELLOWSHIP OF CHRISTIAN ATHLETES — $12,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetHARVESTERS - THE COMMUNITY FOOD NETWORK — $12,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetColorado Outdoor Education Center Inc — $10,500 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetST JOSEPH CENTER — $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetVITAE FOUNDATION — $10,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTHE MIDNIGHT MISSION — $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budget
Go grantee by grantee — a decade per org, and how each moved after you funded them

A decade per grantee — revenue shaded, your grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

The grantmakers whose grantees overlap with yours far more than size alone predicts. Each orbits closer the stronger the alignment; the arcs between them show where they also fund each other. Here it reads as a tightly interlocked camp — most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Greater Kansas City C…Ewing Marion Kauffman…John J Sullivan Jr Fo…United Way of Greater…Marion and Henry Bloc…Community Foundation …The Don & Jean Wagner…The Shumaker Family F…The Kansas City Royal…Jewish Community Foun…The Francis Family Fo…The H & R Block Found…
Greater Kansas City Community FoundationMO35.6× affinity21 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Greater Kansas City Community Foundation · Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation · John J Sullivan Jr Foundation John Houlehan & Mark Henke-Trustees · United Way of Greater Kansas City Inc · Marion and Henry Bloch Family Foundation · Community Foundation for Southern Arizona · The Don & Jean Wagner Charitable Foundation · The Shumaker Family Foundation · The Kansas City Royals Foundation · Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona · The Francis Family Foundation · The H & R Block Foundation

Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. A research starting point: overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

Government reliance of your grantees

Every dot is one organization Ralph L Smith Foundation 13952400 funds. Left–right is the share of its income from government; up–down is the share from you. Bigger dots raise more. Filter to federal or a single department — and drag the year to watch it move.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%2%6%14%25%your share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 8%
  • Als Therapy Development Foundation Inc — 8% of income from government
  • Mote Marine Laboratory Inc — 4% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
2get no government money at all
26report 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

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 your grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first — a floor, not 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 12–24 months.

On method. Every financial figure here is read directly from IRS e-file XML — your own 990/990-PF and the multi-year returns of the 164 grantees we resolved across every year we hold, several hundred filings in all (a different count from the grant rows on the cover, which are one fiscal year)— each linked to its source. Grantee achievements and outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III); we read these as association with sustained funding — the foundation is one of several forces — suppress low-confidence name matches rather than guess, and say so where a figure rests on a single grant or filing. Not everything on this page is a filed figure, and the difference matters. Filed is what you reported on your 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. How we build these →

Generated from your IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2023, released 2023. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

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 camps
funders cluster by geography, not ideology
By state
where grant money is based, and what stays home
State money flows
the interactive map of money crossing state lines