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Plinth

· Private foundation

Retail Merchants Foundation- Ima 41-7022592

Its FY2022 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$2k
Granted FY2022
1
Grants FY2022
1
States reached
$2k
Largest
01What you fund
0185% classified

What you funded, over time

Every grant clustered by its grantee’s IRS cause code (NTEE), by year — across FY20172022.

Community Improvement$91kFood & Nutrition$2kReligion$1kHuman Services$1kArts & Culture$1kInternational$900Health$850Youth Development$600Housing & Shelter$250Other$18k
02FY2022 · 1 grant

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

$2,148
Median grant
1
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CENTRAL VIRGINIA BUSINESS COALITION$2,148
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 (FY19–20, $1k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 57% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of your grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%HARMONY DAY SUPPORT: $250 → 8%SPORTS OUTREACH INSTITUTE: $250 → 20%YWCA OF CENTRAL VIRGINIA: $400 → 13%BEDFORD RIDE: $200 → 8%FRIENDS OF BEDFORD HOSPICE HOUSE: $50 → 8%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.

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.

92%of every dollar goes to organizations you’ve funded before.
$108k · 23 repeat orgs$9k to everyone else

23 repeat relationships — 1 still active in FY2022, 22 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

23
40

Total granted

$108k
$9k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+29%
+30%

Still filing today

52%
40%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2022, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22
Human ServicesArts & CultureInternationalReligionFood & NutritionCommunity ImprovementOther

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

  • CV
    CENTRAL VIRGINIA BUSINESS COALITION
    2× · 2020–2022 · $91k · revenue +7%
  • MO
    MEALS ON WHEELS INC
    4× · 2017–2020 · $1k · revenue +76%
  • LD
    LYNCHBURG DAILY BREAD INC
    4× · 2017–2020 · $1k · revenue +128%

Funded once

  • LB
    LYNCHBURG BAPTIST ASSOCIATION
    one grant, 2017 · $500
  • RA
    RISE AGAINST HUNGER
    one grant, 2018 · $500
  • CU
    CRAFTS UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
    one grant, 2017 · $500

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
Loudoun Serenity House

Loudoun Serenity House's mission is to provide free, peer-based mentoring, education, and advocacy for individuals and families affected by substance abuse disorder, along with structured transitional housing for men and women rebuilding…

Housing & Shelter
2
Lynchburg Covenant Fellowship Incorporated

Provision of safe and affordable housing.

3
Southern Wv Felllowship Home Inc

The southern west virginia fellowship home is here to serve all in need of a better life apart from drugs and alcohol. we have a confident expectation that a whole new life "a better life" exists for all.

4
City of Refuge - South Hill Inc

Our program is designed to help give back to the Southern Virginia community. We have weekly programs in place geared towards youth, young adults, families and senior citizens. We reach these individuals through feeding and group meetings…

Human Services
5
Transitions Family Violence Services

The mission of transitions family violence services (tfvs) is to build safe and healthy families on the virginia peninsula by providing services to adult and child victims of domestic violence and human trafficking. we work to increase…

6
Virginia Legal Aid Society Inc

The mission of Virginia Legal Aid Society is to resolve serious legal problems of low-income people, promote economic and family stability, reduce poverty through effective legal assistance, and to champion equal justice.

Crime & Legal
7
Virginia Network for Victims and Witnesses of Crime Inc

The voice for victims of crime and those who serve them

8
Bridging the Gap in Virginia

Our mission is to empower formerly incarcerated persons, veterans, at-risk youth, substance abusers and those suffering from homelessness. We help these groups of people overcome barriers that hinder their effective transition following…

Human Services
9
Virginia Poverty Law Center Inc

Virginia poverty law center uses advocacy, education, and litigation to break down systemic barriers that keep low-income virginians in the cycle of poverty.

Crime & Legal
10
Legal Services of Northern Virginia Inc

Legal services of northern virginia (lsnv) is a non-profit public interest law firm that provides free legal assistance to low-income residents of northern virginia.

Crime & Legal
11
The Union Mission

The union mission seeks to be a leader in gospel transforming ministry in hampton roads, providing a pathway to success for our homeless guests. we act to restore the lives of homeless neighbors by caring like christ.

Human Services
12
Branches Domestic Violence Shelter Inc

Crisis counseling and shelter

Human Services

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Central Virginia Alliance for Community Living Inc and the most unlike its peers is Bedford Boys Tribute Center. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.

Your grantees are a median of 27 years old; the field is 17. You back the established end — and your money leans older still.

THE FIELDby orgYOUR GRANTEESby number22%7%<5yr13%14%5–10yr17%14%10–20yr16%17%20–35yr14%31%35–55yr19%17%55yr+
THE FIELDby orgYOUR MONEYby value22%0%<5yr13%88%5–10yr17%2%10–20yr16%1%20–35yr14%6%35–55yr19%3%55yr+

The field is 22% startups (under 5 years old) — 7% of your grantees by number, and just 0% of your money.

Closures · last 5 years

The orgs you fund almost never close 0.0% lost their exemption, against 12% of the field you don’t fund.

orgs you fund
0.0%0/33
the rest of the field
12%
126/1,089

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

29 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 20172025, not grant rows in a single year — so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 29 of the 63 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)
11
Early backer (in before they grew)
28/29
Grantees still filing
19/29
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

CENTRAL VIRGINIA BUSINESS COALITION — $91,144 · Community ImprovementCENTRAL VIRGINIA BUSINESS COALITIONTHE SALVATION ARMY — $1,600 · OtherTHE SALVATION ARMYMEALS ON WHEELS INC — $1,480 · OtherMEALS ON WHEELS INCUNITED WAY OF CENTRAL VIRGINIA INC — $1,150 · OtherUNITED WAY OF CENTR…ALZHEIMERS ASSOCIATION — $900 · OtherBIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS OF CENTRAL VA — $800 · OtherADULT CARE CENTER OF CENTRAL VA — $800 · OtherCHESTNUT HILL BAPTIST CHURCH — $750 · OtherIndividual grant recipient — $750 · OtherTHE UP FOUNDATION — $850 · Other+37 more — $10,680 · Other+37 moreLYNCHBURG DAILY BREAD INC — $1,400 · Food & NutritionTHE SOCIETY OF ST ANDREW INC — $550 · Food & NutritionProvidence Veterans Farm — $700 · ReligionINTERFAITH OUTREACH ASSOCIATION — $500 · ReligionSAMARITAN'S PURSE — $50 · ReligionYWCA OF CENTRAL VIRGINIA — $400 · Human ServicesHARMONY DAY SUPPORT INC — $250 · Human ServicesSports Outreach Institute Inc — $250 · Human ServicesCENTRAL VIRGINIA ALLIANCE FOR COMMUNITY LIVING INC — $200 · Human ServicesBEDFORD HOSPICE HOUSE INC — $50 · Human ServicesLynchburg Symphony Orchestra Inc — $550 · Arts & CultureBEDFORD BOYS TRIBUTE CENTER — $250 · Arts & CultureOPERA ON THE JAMES — $250 · Arts & CultureFreedom 4 24 — $500 · InternationalTRANSFORMATION FELLOWSHIP INC — $200 · InternationalGLEANING FOR THE WORLD INC — $200 · International
Community Improvement$91,144Other$19,760Food & Nutrition$1,950Religion$1,250Human Services$1,150Arts & Culture$1,050International$900

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

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ your share of their budgetCENTRAL VIRGINIA BUSINESS COALITION — $91,144 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetMEALS ON WHEELS INC — $1,480 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetLYNCHBURG DAILY BREAD INC — $1,400 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetUNITED WAY OF CENTRAL VIRGINIA INC — $1,150 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE UP FOUNDATION — $850 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetBIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS OF CENTRAL VA — $800 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetProvidence Veterans Farm — $700 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetIMPACT LIVING SERVICES — $600 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE SOCIETY OF ST ANDREW INC — $550 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetLynchburg Symphony Orchestra Inc — $550 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetFreedom 4 24 — $500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetINTERFAITH OUTREACH ASSOCIATION — $500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetYWCA OF CENTRAL VIRGINIA — $400 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetRETAIL MERCHANTS ASSOCIATION — $300 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetIRON LIVES INC — $300 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMIRIAM'S HOUSE INC — $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSports Outreach Institute Inc — $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSAFE SURFIN FOUNDATION — $250 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetOPERA ON THE JAMES — $250 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetBIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS INC — $200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGLEANING FOR THE WORLD INC — $200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCENTRAL VIRGINIA ALLIANCE FOR COMMUNITY LIVING INC — $200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFBI NATIONAL ACADEMY ASSOCIATES INC — $200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBEDFORD HOSPICE HOUSE INC — $50 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSAMARITAN'S PURSE — $50 over 1y, 0.0% 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 Lynchburg Community FoundationVA38.7× affinity16 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Greater Lynchburg Community Foundation · Centra Health Inc · Easley Char Irr Tua 5019004715 · The Al Stroobants Foundation · Foster Foundation · Schewel Charitable Foundation · Carrington Family Foundation · Valtim Family Foundation Inc · M4k Lynchburg Inc · Bedford Community Health Foundation · Centra Health Foundation · Liberty University Inc

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 Retail Merchants Foundation- Ima 41-7022592 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
202122232425
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%your share of their income ↑0%4%8%11%15%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
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–15%
    typical government reliance, FY2025

    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.

    05Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to Retail Merchants Foundation- Ima 41-7022592?

    Find your warmest path to Retail Merchants Foundation- Ima 41-7022592 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 directly from IRS e-file XML — your own 990/990-PF and the multi-year returns of the 63 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 2022, released 2022. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    More from the funding graph