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Rowling Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Rowling 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.

$10M
Granted FY2024still arriving
70
Grants FY2024still arriving
14
States reached
$2.9M
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.

Youth Development$6.1MReligion$5.1MEducation$3.0MPublic Safety & Disaster$2.8MInternational$2.3MHuman Services$1.8MHealth$1.7MCivil Rights$1.1MOther$0
02FY2024 · 70 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k5 grants · $13k
  • $10k–50k29 grants · $520k
  • $50k–250k29 grants · $2.7M
  • $250k+7 grants · $7.0M
$50,000
Median grant
14
States reached
$52M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
YOUNG LIFE$2,850,000
UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL FOUNDATION$1,500,000
HIGHLAND PARK ISD EDUCATION FOUNDATION$1,000,000
HIGHLANDS COLLEGE$833,333
IF GATHERING$270,000
ALLIANCE DEFENDING FREEDOM$250,000
EAST WEST MINISTRIES$250,000
PARK CITIES PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH$230,000
UNION GOSPEL MISSION$200,000
CURE INTERNATIONAL$150,000
ACT - ADVOCATES FOR COMMUNITY$150,000
HOPE FARM INC$125,000
KERSHAW'S CHALLENGE$125,000
MERCY STREET$125,000
DALLAS THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY$110,000
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 (FY20–24, $1.8M) land where the poverty rate runs at 8%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 36% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%OPEN DOOR PREGNANCY CENTER: $15k → 19%THE STARFISH PROJECT: $1k → 13%BEHIND EVERY DOOR MINISTRIES: $1.0M → 5%HOPE FARM INC: $125k → 11%HOPE FARM INC: $85k → 11%BEHIND EVERY DOOR MINISTRIES: $100k → 5%HOPE FARM INC: $85k → 11%BEHIND EVERY DOOR MINISTRIES: $100k → 14%HUMAN COALITION: $10k → 5%HUMAN COALITION: $50k → 5%BEHIND EVERY DOOR MINISTRIES: $7k → 14%MEN OF NEHEMIAH: $25k → 14%MEN OF NEHEMIAH: $25k → 14%MEN OF NEHEMIAH: $15k → 14%OURCALLING INC: $60k → 14%COUNCIL FOR LIFE: $30k → 14%COUNCIL FOR LIFE: $25k → 14%COUNCIL FOR LIFE: $25k → 14%COUNCIL FOR LIFE: $25k → 14%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
ID
WI
MI
NY
MA
IN
PA
CA
CO
VA
AZ
NC
DC
MS
AL
GA
TX
FL
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.
04

Where the work is directed

The same grants placed two ways: where each recipient sits, and where its stated purpose sends the money.

About 10% of Rowling Foundation’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address. By recipient address, 58% of the giving stays in TX; by stated purpose, 52%.

Rowling Foundationlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address · 3.9% directed abroad (not shown)
How this is measured
Recipient view: each grant at its grantee’s ZIP, mapped to a county. Directed view: each grant at the county its stated purpose names, falling back to the recipient’s county when the purpose names no place; US grants only. A county shows only if it carries the top 95% of that view’s dollars. Purposes are read from the funder’s own 990 grant descriptions.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

80%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$21M · 59 repeat orgs$5.1M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +30% since the first grant, against +14% for those funded once.

59 repeat relationships: 46 still active in FY2024, 13 since wound down; 23 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

59
50

Total granted

$21M
$1.8M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+30%
+14%

Still filing today

66%
46%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 67% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $3.3M 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 ServicesReligionEducationInternationalPhilanthropyCivil RightsOther
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

  • YL
    YOUNG LIFE
    5× · 2020–2024 · $5.4M · revenue +62%
  • BE
    BEHIND EVERY DOOR MINISTRIES INC
    4× · 2020–2024 · $1.2M · revenue +55%
  • ALLIANCE DEFENDING FREEDOM
    3× · 2022–2024 · $750k · revenue +15%

Funded once

  • CR
    CONSUMERS' RESEARCH INC
    one grant, 2021 · $500k · revenue +17%
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2023 · $100k
  • MA
    MISSIONSME & ANGEL HOUSE
    one grant, 2023 · $100k
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
Dallas International University

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

Education
2
Dallas Seminary Foundation

To support the mission of Dallas Theological Seminary by offering charitable planned giving and other related services to friends of the Seminary.

Education
3
Progress Texas Institute

The Progress Texas Institute provides research and strategic communications on issues with the ultimate goal of increasing civic engagement.

Civil Rights
4
Christianity Today International

Christianity Today is a global community inspired by evangelical conviction to advance the stories and ideas of the kingdom of God. Our mission is to elevate the storytellers and sages of the global church.

Religion
5
Episcopal Foundation of Dallas

The foundation's mission is to strengthen and support faith communities by partnering wise investments with purposeful giving.

Religion
6
Biglife International Inc

Biglife international inc. empowers believers worldwide to reach and disciple their own people for jesus christ.

Recreation & Sports
7
Texas Tribune Inc

The texas tribune promotes civic engagement and public education across the state by producing and sharing for free public data interactives, statewide events and intensive and daily reporting on texas public policy, politics and current…

Education
8
Youth for Christ International Ministries

As part of the body of Christ, to see that every young person in every people group in every nation has the opportunity to make an informed decision to be a follower of Jesus Christ and become a part of the local church.

Religion
9
Greater Austin Christian Foundation

Mobilizing resources by inspiring biblical generosity in the greater austin, texas area.

Religion
10
Progress Texas

Progress Texas is a non-profit media organization advocating for progressive ideals and policies in our state.

Civil Rights
11
Kingdom Advisors Inc

Kingdom advisors is a discipleship ministry serving christian financial professionals. the organization encourages, educates, and empowers christian financial professionals with biblical wisdom to be effective disciples of jesus christ in…

Religion
12
Criswell College

The mission of criswell college is to provide ministerial and professional higher education for men and women preparing to serve as christian leaders throughout society, while maintaining an institutional commitment to biblical inerrancy.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Texas Public Policy 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.
05the grantee network

80 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. 80 of the 136 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.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
11
Early backer (in before they grew)
78/80
Grantees still filing
59/80
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL FOUNDATION: $1,500,000 · OtherUT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL FOUNDATIONHIGHLANDS COLLEGE: $838,333 · OtherHIGHLANDS COLLEGEFIRST BAPTIST DALLAS: $700,000 · OtherFIRST BAPTIST DALLASPARK CITIES PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH: $680,500 · OtherPARK CITIES PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHUNION GOSPEL MISSION: $656,000 · OtherUNION GOSPEL MISSIONACT-ADVOCATES FOR COMMUNITY: $460,000 · OtherTOLSON MINISTRIES: $400,000 · OtherALLIANCE DEFENDING FREEDOM: $750,000 · OtherALLIANCE DEFENDING FREEDOMKERSHAW'S CHALLENGE: $600,000 · OtherKERSHAW'S CHALLENGECONSUMERS' RESEARCH INC: $500,000 · Other+85 more: $4,095,850 · Other+85 moreYOUNG LIFE: $5,412,500 · Youth DevelopmentYOUNG LIFEMERCY STREET: $370,000 · Youth DevelopmentMERCY STREETOMNI HOTELS CHARITABLE FOUNDATION: $2,650,000 · Public Safety & DisasterOMNI HOTELS…+1 more: $12,500 · Public Safety & DisasterHIGHLAND PARK ISD EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $1,000,000 · EducationHIGHLAND P…HILLSDALE COLLEGE: $855,333 · EducationHILLSDALE …Dallas Theological Seminary: $320,000 · EducationDallas The…REFORMED THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY: $150,000 · EducationREFORMED T…+6 more: $94,000 · EducationEast-West Ministries International: $796,000 · ReligionFellowship of Israel Related Ministries Inc: $310,000 · ReligionIF GATHERING: $270,000 · ReligionElam Ministries: $225,000 · ReligionSAMARITAN'S PURSE: $200,000 · Religion+5 more: $79,500 · ReligionBEHIND EVERY DOOR MINISTRIES INC: $1,207,378 · Human ServicesHOPE FARM INC: $295,000 · Human ServicesCOUNCIL FOR LIFE: $104,579 · Human ServicesMEN OF NEHEMIAH INC: $65,000 · Human Services+6 more: $171,000 · Human ServicesHOPE INTERNATIONAL: $400,000 · InternationalCURE INTERNATIONAL INC: $350,000 · InternationalEdify: $320,000 · InternationalCHILDREN'S HUNGER FUND: $115,000 · InternationalLEAP GLOBAL MISSIONS: $87,000 · InternationalJUDEA HARVEST INCORPORATED: $50,000 · International+1 more: $10,000 · International
Other$11,180,683Youth Development$5,782,500Public Safety & Disaster$2,662,500Education$2,419,333Religion$1,880,500Human Services$1,842,957International$1,332,000

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetYOUNG LIFE: $5,412,500 over 5y, 0.6% of budgetOMNI HOTELS CHARITABLE FOUNDATION: $2,650,000 over 2y, 93% of budgetBEHIND EVERY DOOR MINISTRIES INC: $1,207,378 over 4y, 15% of budgetHIGHLAND PARK ISD EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $1,000,000 over 1y, 8.3% of budgetHILLSDALE COLLEGE: $855,333 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetALLIANCE DEFENDING FREEDOM: $750,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetKERSHAW'S CHALLENGE: $600,000 over 5y, 4.8% of budgetCONSUMERS' RESEARCH INC: $500,000 over 1y, 6.2% of budgetHOPE INTERNATIONAL: $400,000 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetMERCY STREET: $370,000 over 4y, 4.9% of budgetCURE INTERNATIONAL INC: $350,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetEdify: $320,000 over 3y, 1.0% of budgetDallas Theological Seminary: $320,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetFellowship of Israel Related Ministries Inc: $310,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetHOPE FARM INC: $295,000 over 3y, 5.2% of budgetIF GATHERING: $270,000 over 1y, 2.4% of budgetElam Ministries: $225,000 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetTEXAS PUBLIC POLICY FOUNDATION: $200,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetSAMARITAN'S PURSE: $200,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFIRST LIBERTY INSTITUTE: $150,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetREFORMED THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY: $150,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetFamily Legacy Missions International: $145,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetCHILDREN'S HUNGER FUND: $115,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCOUNCIL FOR LIFE: $104,579 over 4y, 1.5% of budgetNORTHERN TEXAS PGA FOUNDATION: $104,000 over 2y, 1.4% of budgetPARKS AND WILDLIFE FOUNDATION OF TEXAS: $100,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetI Am A Golfer Foundation: $95,000 over 4y, 4.5% of budgetTHE GATEHOUSE CORPORATION: $91,000 over 3y, 17% of budgetLEAP GLOBAL MISSIONS: $87,000 over 3y, 3.3% of budgetBETTER MAN INC: $75,000 over 2y, 2.3% of budgetMEN OF NEHEMIAH INC: $65,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetOURCALLING INC: $60,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetHUMAN COALITION: $60,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetBRADLEY IMPACT FUND INC: $60,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetBIENVENIDO USA: $52,850 over 1y, 16% of budgetTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $50,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCARRY THE LOAD: $50,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetAMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY RESEARCH: $50,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetFORT WORTH CHAMBER DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 1y, 3.4% of budgetJUDEA HARVEST INCORPORATED: $50,000 over 1y, 6.1% of budgetDALLAS ARBORETUM AND BOTANICAL SOCIETY INC: $40,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetTEXAS STATE HISTORY MUSEUM FOUNDATION: $35,000 over 1y, 2.9% of budgetELIZABETH TOON CHARITIES: $35,000 over 1y, 3.7% of budgetNXT MOVE INC: $35,000 over 2y, 3.2% of budgetDALLAS 24 HOUR CLUB INC: $30,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetTHE MAGDALEN HOUSE: $30,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetTOOLBOX MINISTRIES INC: $30,000 over 3y, 1.4% of budgetTexas Foundation for Conservation: $30,000 over 1y, 6.8% 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 YOUNG LIFE ↗
  • Who funds OMNI HOTELS CHARITABLE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds BEHIND EVERY DOOR MINISTRIES INC ↗
  • Who funds HIGHLAND PARK ISD EDUCATION FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds HILLSDALE COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds East-West Ministries International ↗
  • Who funds ALLIANCE DEFENDING FREEDOM ↗
  • Who funds KERSHAW'S CHALLENGE ↗
  • Who funds CONSUMERS' RESEARCH INC ↗
  • Who funds HOPE INTERNATIONAL ↗
  • Who funds MERCY STREET ↗
  • Who funds CURE INTERNATIONAL INC ↗
  • Who funds Edify ↗
  • Who funds Dallas Theological Seminary ↗
  • Who funds Fellowship of Israel Related Ministries Inc ↗
  • Who funds HOPE FARM INC ↗
  • Who funds IF GATHERING ↗
  • Who funds Elam Ministries ↗
  • Who funds TEXAS PUBLIC POLICY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds SAMARITAN'S PURSE ↗
  • Who funds FIRST LIBERTY INSTITUTE ↗
  • Who funds REFORMED THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY ↗
  • Who funds Family Legacy Missions International ↗
  • Who funds CHILDREN'S HUNGER FUND ↗
  • Who funds COUNCIL FOR LIFE ↗
  • Who funds NORTHERN TEXAS PGA FOUNDATION ↗

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.

Communities Foundatio…The Dallas FoundationChristian Community F…The Independent Chari…Servant FoundationThe David B Miller Fa…Lee Ann and Steven Va…Community Foundation …The Signatry Charitab…The Rees-Jones Founda…Texas Instruments Fou…Lawrence B Dale Famil…
Communities Foundation of Texas IncTX42× affinity28 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Communities Foundation of Texas Inc · The Dallas Foundation · Christian Community Foundation Inc · The Independent Charitable Gift Fund · Servant Foundation · The David B Miller Family Foundation · Lee Ann and Steven Van Amburgh Foundation · Community Foundation of North Texas (Tax · The Signatry Charitable Trust · The Rees-Jones Foundation · Texas Instruments Foundation · Lawrence B Dale Family 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 Rowling Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Rowling Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%5%10%15%20%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    1get no government money at all
    9report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–20%
    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 136 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

    Play a game based on Rowling’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