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Richard D Shirk Family Foundation Inc at a glance

· Private foundation

Richard D Shirk Family Foundation Inc

Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$77k
Granted FY2025still arriving
3
Grants FY2025still arriving
2
States reached
$50k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0186% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Public Benefit$223kReligion$78kHuman Services$69kEducation$51kHealth$51kArts & Culture$26kPublic Safety & Disaster$19kCivil Rights$18kOther$0
02FY2025 · 3 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k1 grant · $2k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $25k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $50k
$25,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$1.8M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
DAILY SIGNAL INSTITUTE$50,000
THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION$25,000
ALEXANDER THARPE FUND$2,000
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 (FY18–20, $9k) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%YMCA OF METRO ATLANTA: $5k → 13%YMCA OF METRO ATLANTA: $2k → 13%YMCA OF METRO ATLANTA: $2k → 13%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

PA
CA
CO
KY
VA
NC
DC
GA
TX
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.

77%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$476k · 17 repeat orgs$140k to everyone else

17 repeat relationships: 2 still active in FY2025, 15 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

17
13

Total granted

$476k
$90k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+18%
+68%

Still filing today

53%
54%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 35% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $50k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
EducationPublic BenefitArts & CultureHealthHuman ServicesRecreation & SportsOther
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

  • THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION
    6× · 2018–2025 · $145k · revenue +65%
  • GC
    GETTYSBURG COLLEGE
    5× · 2017–2023 · $42k · revenue +18%
  • TG
    THE GATEWAY CENTER INC
    2× · 2022–2024 · $16k · revenue +7%

Funded once

  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2024 · $50k
  • AR
    AMERICAN RED CROSS
    one grant, 2017 · $10k
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2017 · $5k
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
Golden Gate University

Golden gate university prepares individuals to lead and serve by providing high quality, practice-based educational programs in law, taxation, business and related professions - as a nonprofit institution - in an innovative and challenging…

Education
2
American Foreign Service Association

American foreign service association (afsa) is both the principal advocate for the long-term institutional wellbeing of the professional career foreign service and responsible for safeguarding the interest of afsa members. (continued on…

—
3
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
4
George Fox University

George fox university, a christ centered community, prepares students spiritually, academically, and professionally to think with clarity, act with integrity, and serve with passion.

Education
5
Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington

Agsiw's central mission is to provide expert research and analysis of the social, economic, and political dimensions of the gulf arab states and how they impact how they impact u.s. and gulf domestic and foreign policy. to accomplish this…

International
6
Professional Association of Georgia Educators - Legal

To provide support for the legal self-insurance provided to members of the professional association of georgia educators, inc.

Education
7
Jefferson Scholars Foundation

The jefferson scholars foundation (foundation) provides academic merit-based scholarship, fellowship and professorship support to students and faculty at the university of virginia (uva).

Philanthropy
8
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…

—
9
Air & Space Forces Association

The air & space forces association (afa) is a nonprofit, independent, professional military, and aerospace education association. the association's mission is to promote dominant u.s. air and space forces as the foundation of a strong…

Education
10
National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors

Empowering financial professionals and consumers through world-class advocacy and education.

—
11
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
12
United States Naval Institute

Provide an independent forum for those who dare to read, think, speak, and write to advance the professional, literary, and scientific understanding of sea power and other issues critical to global security.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Heritage Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Samaritan's Purse. 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

18 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. 18 of the 32 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)
6
Early backer (in before they grew)
18/18
Grantees still filing
14/18
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE WELLSPRING CHURCH CV: $78,000 · OtherTHE WELLSPRING CHURCH CVIndividual grant recipient: $50,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientFOCUS ON THE FAMILY: $33,000 · OtherFOCUS ON THE FAMILYALEXANDER THARPE FUND: $31,000 · OtherALEXANDER THARPE FUNDALZHEIMER'S ASSOCIATION - METRO ATLANTA REGIONAL OFFICE: $15,000 · OtherMY FAITH VOTES: $15,000 · OtherANGEL FLIGHT SOARS INC: $13,000 · OtherTHE ECHO FOUNDATION: $10,000 · OtherAMERICAN RED CROSS: $10,000 · Other+11 more: $45,000 · Other+11 moreTHE HERITAGE FOUNDATION: $145,000 · Public BenefitTHE HERITAGE FOUNDATIONLeadership Institute: $25,000 · Public BenefitLeadership Institute+1 more: $2,000 · Public BenefitTHE DAILY SIGNAL INSTITUTE: $50,000 · Arts & CultureTHE DAILY S…ROBERT W WOODRUFF ARTS CENTER INC: $16,000 · Arts & CultureROBERT W WO…GETTYSBURG COLLEGE: $42,000 · Education+2 more: $2,000 · EducationGEORGIA ALZHEIMER'S FOUNDATION INC: $23,000 · HealthMIGHTY OAKS FOUNDATION: $4,000 · HealthTHE GATEWAY CENTER INC: $16,000 · Crime & LegalSAMARITAN'S PURSE: $15,000 · Religion
Other$300,000Public Benefit$172,000Arts & Culture$66,000Education$44,000Health$27,000Crime & Legal$16,000Religion$15,000

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 budgetTHE HERITAGE FOUNDATION: $145,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetGETTYSBURG COLLEGE: $42,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetLeadership Institute: $25,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetGEORGIA ALZHEIMER'S FOUNDATION INC: $23,000 over 4y, 2.0% of budgetTHE GATEWAY CENTER INC: $16,000 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetROBERT W WOODRUFF ARTS CENTER INC: $16,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetSAMARITAN'S PURSE: $15,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetANGEL FLIGHT SOARS INC: $13,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetYOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF METROPOLITAN ATLANTA (1361): $9,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMIGHTY OAKS FOUNDATION: $4,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetGSGA FOUNDATION INC: $4,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetStudents for Life of America Inc: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN FRIENDS OF OUR ARMED FORCES WALT VANBENTHYSEN: $2,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetPHI GAMMA DELTA EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE CHEROKEE EMPLOYEE SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetTHE GLOUCESTER INSTITUTE INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.3% 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.

  • Who funds THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds THE DAILY SIGNAL INSTITUTE ↗
  • Who funds GETTYSBURG COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds Leadership Institute ↗
  • Who funds GEORGIA ALZHEIMER'S FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds THE GATEWAY CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds ROBERT W WOODRUFF ARTS CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds SAMARITAN'S PURSE ↗
  • Who funds ANGEL FLIGHT SOARS INC ↗
  • Who funds YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF METROPOLITAN ATLANTA (1361) ↗
  • Who funds MIGHTY OAKS FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds GSGA FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds Students for Life of America Inc ↗
  • Who funds ROTARY EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION OF ATLANTA INC ↗
  • Who funds AMERICAN FRIENDS OF OUR ARMED FORCES WALT VANBENTHYSEN ↗
  • Who funds PHI GAMMA DELTA EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds THE CHEROKEE EMPLOYEE SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds THE GLOUCESTER INSTITUTE INC ↗

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.

The Community Foundat…American Endowment Fo…Morgan Stanley Global…Natl Christian Charit…Raymond James Charita…Charities Aid Foundat…Network for GoodNational Philanthropi…Donor Advised Charita…American Online Givin…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta IncGA12.7× affinity4 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta Inc · American Endowment Foundation · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · Natl Christian Charitable Fdn Inc · Raymond James Charitable Endowment Fund · Charities Aid Foundation America · Network for Good · National Philanthropic Trust · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · American Online Giving Foundation 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 Richard D Shirk Family Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Richard D Shirk Family Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%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
    2report 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.

    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 32 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 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Richard D Shirk Family’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