· Private foundation
Robert and Lyn Nicolay Foundation
Its FY2023 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.
What it funded, over time
Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2019 to 2023.
Where the money goes
Grants by size, and the largest recipients.
By grant size · FY2023
- Under $10k5 grants · $23k
- $10k–50k5 grants · $140k
- $50k–250k1 grant · $60k
| Recipient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Individual grant recipient | $60,000 |
| FONTBONNE UNIVERSITY | $45,000 |
| CENTRAL METHODIST UNIVERSITY | $25,000 |
| KIRKWOOD PERFORMING ARTS CENTER | $25,000 |
| HUMANE SOCIETY OF MISSOURI | $25,000 |
| STAGES ST LOUIS | $20,000 |
| REPERTORY THEATRE OF ST LOUIS | $9,015 |
| STRAY DOG THEATRE | $5,000 |
| ST LOUIS METROPOLITAN ORCHESTRA | $5,000 |
| KIRKWOOD THEATRE GUILD | $2,000 |
| COAST GUARD FOUNDATION | $1,790 |
Does the money reach high-need areas?
Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.
Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY19–23) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 60% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.
How this is measured
How this is measured
Who it funds again
Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.
4 repeat relationships: 3 still active in FY2023, 1 since wound down; 8 grantees were first funded in FY2023 (too recent to call).
How the two cohorts compare
Organizations
Total granted
Still filing today
New vs renewed · share of each year
In FY2023, 43% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $128k went to new ones.
Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant
How this is measured
Backed again, and grew
- CMCENTRAL METHODIST UNIVERSITY3× · 2019–2023 · $185k · revenue +14%
- HSHUMANE SOCIETY OF MISSOURI2× · 2019–2023 · $35k · revenue +41%
- AHAmerican Heart Association Inc2× · 2019–2020 · $20k · revenue +43%
Funded once
- ACAMERICAN CANCER SOCIETYone grant, 2020 · $50k
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.
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.
See schedule o.inspired by our home city, baltimore center stage acts as a cultural catalyst for all communities to access theater in every form and engage in compelling conversations. programming: capture the collective imagination and…
The shakespeare theatre company creates, preserves and promotes classic theatre-ambitious, enduring plays with universal themes-for all audiences. through the creation of provocative, imaginative, and accessible theatre, stc ignites a…
To enrich the community by producing and presenting exceptional live theatre that touches the heart, engages the mind and delights the spirit.
Founded in 1915, webster is a private non-profit and global university that is committed to delivering high-quality learning experiences that transform students for global citizenship and individual excellence.
The chicago theatre group is committed to producing both classic and contemporary works giving full voice to a wide range of artists and visions. by dedicating itself to three guiding principles - quality, equity, and community - the…
Amda is committed to providing an unsurpassed performing arts education to a diverse community of creative artists. amda seeks to be both the school and the stage, where students are given the support and the freedom to find their voice…
To actively connect performing arts design and technology communities to ensure a vibrant dialog among practitioners, educators, and students.
Chicago opera theater expands the tradition of opera as a living art form by engaging lovers of music and storytelling through innovative experiences, predominantly of new and rarely performed works.
Connecting our community through live arts experiences that entertain, inspire, and engage
Syracuse stage tells stories that engage, entertain, and inspire us to see life beyond our own experiences.
Theater mu produces great performances born of arts, equity, and justice from the heart of the asian american experience.
Charleston stage's vision is to be a leading professional theater company, engaging the broad community through high quality productions, with leading artists, and excellent production values. the organization provides the community access…
How this is measured
9 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. 9 of the 13 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.
Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee
Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing
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 CENTRAL METHODIST UNIVERSITY ↗
- Who funds FONTBONNE UNIVERSITY ↗
- Who funds HUMANE SOCIETY OF MISSOURI ↗
- Who funds American Heart Association Inc ↗
- Who funds STAGES ST LOUIS ↗
- Who funds THE REPERTORY THEATRE OF ST LOUIS ↗
- Who funds STRAY DOG THEATRE ↗
- Who funds KIRKWOOD THEATRE GUILD ↗
- Who funds COAST GUARD FOUNDATION 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.
Open a dossier: Commerce Bancshares Foundation · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile Foundation
How this is measured
How much its grantees rely on government
Each dot is one organization Robert and Lyn Nicolay Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Robert and Lyn Nicolay Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.
How this is measured
Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus
How do I get to Robert and Lyn Nicolay Foundation?
Find your warmest path to Robert and Lyn Nicolay 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.
Play a game based on Robert and Lyn Nicolay’s filings →