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· Private foundation

Ruby and Ernest McSwain Worthy Lands

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.

$957k
Granted FY2024still arriving
28
Grants FY2024still arriving
1
States reached
$250k
Largest
01What it funds
0192% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Education$2.3MFood & Nutrition$2.1MHuman Services$1.1MPhilanthropy$810kArts & Culture$548kEnvironment$500kHousing & Shelter$450kYouth Development$408kOther$0
02FY2024 · 28 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k4 grants · $20k
  • $10k–50k18 grants · $352k
  • $50k–250k5 grants · $335k
  • $250k+1 grant · $250k
$20,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$28M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CITY OF SANFORD$250,000
OUTREACH MISSION$110,000
FOOD BANK OF CENTRAL AND EASTERN NC$75,000
NCSU - NC VETERINARY MEDICAL FOUNDATION$50,000
TEMPLE THEATRE$50,000
LEE COUNTY EDUCATION FOUNDATION$50,000
SALVATION ARMY$35,000
SANFORD BRUSH & PALETTE CLUB$32,000
BREAD OF LIFE MINISTRY OF SANFORD$25,000
BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF CENTRAL CAROLINA$25,000
AMERICAN RED CROSS$25,000
INGRAM FAMILY YMCA$25,000
ENRICHMENT CENTER OF LEE COUNTY$20,000
MEALS ON WHEELS$20,000
CHRISTIANS UNITED OUTREACH CENTER$20,000
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 7%. 100% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 7%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $50k → 8%GOLDSTON RURAL FIRE DEPARTMENT INC: $250k → 9%ROBBINS VILLAGE THEATER: $50k → 10%CITY OF SANFORD: $250k → 16%CCCC FOUNDATION: $215k → 16%INGRAM FAMILY YMCA: $100k → 16%CCCC FOUNDATION: $100k → 16%INGRAM FAMILY YMCA: $100k → 16%BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF CENTRAL CAROLINA: $100k → 16%BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF CENTRAL CAROLINA: $75k → 16%MEREDITH COLLEGE: $350k → 8%INGRAM FAMILY YMCA: $75k → 16%MEREDITH COLLEGE: $150k → 8%BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF CENTRAL CAROLINA: $73k → 16%MEREDITH COLLEGE: $50k → 8%SALVATION ARMY: $70k → 16%SALVATION ARMY: $55k → 16%SALVATION ARMY: $50k → 16%NC AGRICULTURAL FOUNDATION INC: $725k → 8%BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF CENTRAL CAROLINA: $50k → 16%NC AGRICULTURAL FOUNDATION INC: $355k → 8%INGRAM FAMILY YMCA: $50k → 16%NC STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $300k → 8%BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF CENTRAL CAROLINA: $50k → 16%NC AGRICULTURAL FOUNDATION INC: $300k → 8%INGRAM FAMILY YMCA: $50k → 16%NC STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $250k → 8%SALVATION ARMY: $44k → 16%NC CVM FOUNDATION: $250k → 8%FLOYD L KNIGHT SCHOOL: $42k → 16%NC STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $225k → 8%SALVATION ARMY: $35k → 16%NC STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $200k → 8%BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF CENTRAL CAROLINA: $35k → 16%NC STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $200k → 8%SANFORD BRUSH & PALETTE CLUB: $32k → 16%NC STATE NATURAL RESOURCES FOUNDATION INC: $200k → 8%NC CVM FOUNDATION: $150k → 8%FOOD BANK OF CENTRAL AND EASTERN NC: $125k → 8%NC AGRICULTURAL FOUNDATION INC: $130k → 8%FOOD BANK OF CENTRAL AND EASTERN NC: $75k → 8%NC STATE NATURAL RESOURCES FOUNDATION INC: $125k → 8%FOOD BANK OF CENTRAL AND EASTERN NC: $67k → 8%NC STATE NATURAL RESOURCES FOUNDATION INC: $100k → 8%FOOD BANK OF CENTRAL AND EASTERN NC: $50k → 8%NC STATE NATURAL RESOURCES FOUNDATION INC: $75k → 8%FOOD BANK OF CENTRAL AND EASTERN NC: $50k → 8%NCSU - NC VETERINARY MEDICAL FOUNDATION: $50k → 8%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.
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.

93%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$8.9M · 36 repeat orgs$709k to everyone else

36 repeat relationships: 23 still active in FY2024, 13 since wound down; 5 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

36
5

Total granted

$8.9M
$379k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+36%
+63%

Still filing today

50%
60%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 66% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $330k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
EducationArts & CultureHealthHuman ServicesAnimalsYouth DevelopmentOther
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

  • TN
    THE NORTH CAROLINA AGRICULTURAL FOUNDATION INC
    5× · 2018–2022 · $1.5M · revenue +36%
  • NC
    NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC
    5× · 2018–2022 · $1.2M · revenue +265%
  • NS
    NC STATE NATURAL RESOURCES FOUNDATION INC
    4× · 2018–2021 · $500k · revenue +34%

Funded once

  • GR
    GOLDSTON RURAL FIRE DEPARTMENTgraduated
    one grant, 2018 · $250k · revenue +45% · 83% of their budget
  • NM
    NC MUSEUM OF ART
    one grant, 2021 · $50k
  • RV
    ROBBINS VILLAGE THEATER
    one grant, 2017 · $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.

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
North Carolina State University College of Sciences Foundation Inc

Provide financial support for all types of education and research within the college of sciences at north carolina state university.

Philanthropy
2
Nc State Engineering Foundation Inc

To aid and promote, by financial assistance and otherwise, educational, research, and extension in the college of engineering at north carolina state university

Education
3
North Carolina State University Alumni Association Inc

The nc state alumni association engages alumni and friends through programs and services that foster pride and enhance a lifelong connection to nc state university ("nc state").

—
4
North Carolina Central University Foundation Inc

The mission of the north carolina central university foundation, inc., is to foster and promote the growth of higher education in north carolina and specifically north carolina central university by whatever name it may be designated, and…

Education
5
North Carolina Textile Foundation Inc

To advance wilson college of textiles through engagement, partnership and philanthropy. as a charitable organization, the foundation supports the college and dean of the college and such support shall include but is not limited to…

Education
6
State Chartered Credit Unions in North Carolina

Programs of credit unions which offer a wide variety of personal financial services exclusively to their members.

—
7
Foundation for the Carolinas

Inspiring philanthropy and strengthening our region through innovative community initiatives and quality services to donors and constituents.

Philanthropy
8
North Carolina Biotechnology Center

The north carolina biotechnology center aids the biotechnology-related efforts of researchers, businesses, state and federal governments, and other agencies primarily through awards of grants and loans related to specific programs and…

Science & Tech
9
Carolina Community Care Inc

The mission of hospice & community care is to give hope, comfort, and compassion to those that need it most. hospice & community care is a nonprofit healthcare organization providing hospice and palliative care to residents of york,…

—
10
North Carolina Symphony Society Inc

To be north carolina's state orchestra, an orchestra achieving the highest level of artistic quality and performance standards, and embracing its dual legacies of statewide service and music education.

Arts & Culture
11
Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina Inc

Our mission is to improve the economic well-being and quality of life for all north carolinians. we do this by collaborating with state, regional, local, and private-sector partners in new business recruitment, existing employer support,…

Community Improvement
12
North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities Inc

To support, represent and advocate for north carolina independent higher education.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is North Carolina State University Foundation Inc; the most unlike its peers is Hollys Nest. 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

23 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. 23 of the 46 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.

3
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
7
Early backer (in before they grew)
22/23
Grantees still filing
16/23
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

INGRAM FAMILY YMCA: $425,000 · OtherINGRAM FAMILY YMCANC CVM FOUNDATION: $400,000 · OtherNC CVM FOUNDATIONCCCC FOUNDATION: $395,000 · OtherCCCC FOUNDATIONSALVATION ARMY: $293,884 · OtherSALVATION ARMYCITY OF SANFORD: $250,000 · OtherCITY OF SANFORDHABITAT FOR HUMANITY OF SANFORD: $180,000 · OtherMEALS ON WHEELS: $138,000 · OtherBREAD OF LIFE MINISTRY OF SANFORD: $135,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $135,000 · OtherAMERICAN RED CROSS: $135,000 · OtherOUTREACH MISSION INC: $240,000 · OtherOUTREACH MISSION INCCHRISTIANS UNITED OUTREACH CENTER: $130,000 · Other+20 more: $862,780 · Other+20 moreNORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $1,175,000 · EducationNORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY …MEREDITH COLLEGE: $600,000 · EducationMEREDITH COLLEGENC STATE NATURAL RESOURCES FOUNDATION INC: $500,000 · EducationNC STATE NATURAL RESOURCES FOUND…LEE COUNTY EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $400,000 · EducationLEE COUNTY EDUCATION FOUNDATION+2 more: $55,000 · EducationTHE NORTH CAROLINA AGRICULTURAL FOUNDATION INC: $1,531,000 · HealthTHE NORTH CAROLINA …HELPING HANDS CLINIC INC: $105,000 · HealthHELPING HANDS CLINI…TEMPLE THEATRE COMPANY: $351,000 · Arts & CultureSANFORD BRUSH AND PALETTE CLUB INC: $72,000 · Arts & CultureNORTH CAROLINA MUSEUM OF ART FOUNDATION: $25,000 · Arts & CultureBOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF CENTRAL CAROLINA: $407,500 · Youth DevelopmentFOOD BANK OF CENTRAL & EASTERN NC INC: $402,000 · Food & NutritionGOLDSTON RURAL FIRE DEPARTMENT: $250,000 · Public Safety & Disaster
Other$3,719,664Education$2,730,000Health$1,636,000Arts & Culture$448,000Youth Development$407,500Food & Nutrition$402,000Public Safety & Disaster$250,000

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 budgetTHE NORTH CAROLINA AGRICULTURAL FOUNDATION INC: $1,531,000 over 5y, 3.8% of budgetNORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $1,175,000 over 5y, 0.8% of budgetMEREDITH COLLEGE: $600,000 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetNC STATE NATURAL RESOURCES FOUNDATION INC: $500,000 over 4y, 5.6% of budgetBOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF CENTRAL CAROLINA: $407,500 over 7y, 8.3% of budgetFOOD BANK OF CENTRAL & EASTERN NC INC: $402,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetLEE COUNTY EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $400,000 over 7y, 72% of budgetTEMPLE THEATRE COMPANY: $351,000 over 7y, 6.4% of budgetGOLDSTON RURAL FIRE DEPARTMENT: $250,000 over 1y, 83% of budgetOUTREACH MISSION INC: $240,000 over 6y, 7.5% of budgetCHRISTIANS UNITED OUTREACH CENTER: $130,000 over 7y, 1.1% of budgetTHE ENRICHMENT CENTER OF LEE COUNTY INC: $113,000 over 8y, 21% of budgetHELPING HANDS CLINIC INC: $105,000 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetSANFORD BRUSH AND PALETTE CLUB INC: $72,000 over 4y, 70% of budgetUNC HEALTH FOUNDATION INC: $40,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetHOLLYS NEST: $35,000 over 6y, 6.1% of budgetFAMILY PROMISE OF LEE COUNTY INC: $30,000 over 3y, 17% of budgetNORTH CAROLINA MUSEUM OF ART FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCarolina Animal Rescue & Adoption Inc: $15,000 over 1y, 6.0% of budgetPARTNERSHIP FOR CHILDREN & FAMILIES: $15,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetUNITED WAY OF LEE COUNTY INC: $15,000 over 3y, 2.4% of budgetCOALITION FOR FAMILIES IN LEE COUNT: $10,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetDOWNTOWN SANFORD INC: $3,780 over 1y, 1.7% 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 NORTH CAROLINA AGRICULTURAL FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds MEREDITH COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds NC STATE NATURAL RESOURCES FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF CENTRAL CAROLINA ↗
  • Who funds FOOD BANK OF CENTRAL & EASTERN NC INC ↗
  • Who funds LEE COUNTY EDUCATION FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds TEMPLE THEATRE COMPANY ↗
  • Who funds GOLDSTON RURAL FIRE DEPARTMENT ↗
  • Who funds OUTREACH MISSION INC ↗
  • Who funds CHRISTIANS UNITED OUTREACH CENTER ↗
  • Who funds THE ENRICHMENT CENTER OF LEE COUNTY INC ↗
  • Who funds HELPING HANDS CLINIC INC ↗
  • Who funds SANFORD BRUSH AND PALETTE CLUB INC ↗
  • Who funds UNC HEALTH FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds HOLLYS NEST ↗
  • Who funds FAMILY PROMISE OF LEE COUNTY INC ↗
  • Who funds NORTH CAROLINA MUSEUM OF ART FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Carolina Animal Rescue & Adoption 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 Perkins Foundation IncNC20× affinity7 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Perkins Foundation Inc · Duke Energy Foundation · United Way of Lee County Inc · North Carolina Community Foundation · Espere Foundation · The Pfizer Foundation Inc · Renaissance Charitable Foundation Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund

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 Ruby and Ernest McSwain Worthy Lands funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Ruby and Ernest McSwain Worthy Lands. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%5%19%42%75%funder's share of their income ↑0%3%5%8%10%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get 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 · 0–10%
    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 46 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

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