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Sally Johnson Shy Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Sally Johnson Shy 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.

$9k
Granted FY2024still arriving
12
Grants FY2024still arriving
6
States reached
$3k
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, FY2017 to 2024.

Education$68kHealth$22kRecreation & Sports$15kPublic Benefit$7kArts & Culture$6kYouth Development$4kCommunity Improvement$1kHuman Services$1kOther$0
02FY2024 · 12 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$513
Median grant
6
States reached
$646k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
OLE MISS ATHLETIC FOUNDATION$2,500
UNC EDUCATION FOUNDATION$1,400
Individual grant recipient$1,300
YOUNG LIFE$1,031
Individual grant recipient$1,030
PAN MASS CHALLENGE$513
FINCH COLLEGE ALUMNI FOUNDATION$500
UNC ATHLETIC FOUNDATION$290
ALZHEIMERS ASSOCIATION$250
MEMPHIS GARDEN CLUB$250
FINCH COLLEGE ALUMNI FOUNDATION$195
CHI OMEGA FOUNDATION$156
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 16%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 96% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%PAN-MASS CHALLENGE: $514 → 7%FINCH COLLEGE ALUMNI FOUNDATION TRUST: $565 → 17%SOAR TOGETHER: $500 → 9%THE OAK FUND - OAK HILL SCHOOL: $6k → 14%FED X ST JUDE INVITATIONAL: $5k → 17%UNC EDUCATION FOINDATION: $2k → 13%OLE MISS ATHLETIC FOUNDATION: $3k → 18%MAKEAWISH AMERICA: $500 → 6%100 HOLE GOLF: $515 → 19%PAN MASS CHALLENGE: $513 → 7%FINCH COLLEGE ALUMNI FOUNDATION: $500 → 17%MEMPHIS UNIVERSITY SCHOOL: $3k → 17%UNC EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $1k → 13%OLE MISS ATHLETIC FOUNDATION: $3k → 18%PAN-MASS CHALLENGE: $511 → 7%FED X ST JUDE CLASSIC: $5k → 17%UNC EDUCATION FOINDATION: $1k → 13%UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI: $3k → 18%PAN-MASS CHALLENGE: $511 → 7%MEMPHIS UNIVERSITY SCHOOL: $3k → 17%UNC EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $500 → 13%UMAA Foundation: $3k → 18%Fed X St Jude Classic: $3k → 17%OLE MISS ATHLETIC FOUNDATION: $2k → 18%MEMPHIS UNIVERSITY SCHOOL: $2k → 17%UMAA: $2k → 18%Fed X St Jude Classic: $3k → 17%OLE MISS ATHLETIC FOUNDATION: $2k → 18%MEMPHIS UNIVERSITY SCHOOL: $2k → 17%OLE MISS ATHLETIC FOUNDATION: $1k → 18%UNIVERSITY IF MISSISSIPPI: $1k → 18%UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI: $1k → 18%MEMPHIS UNIVERSITY SCHOOL: $1k → 17%OLE MISS ATHLETIC FOUNDATION: $3k → 18%CHILDREN'S MUSEUM: $4k → 17%GROVE COLLECTIVE: $1k → 18%NEIGHBOORHOOD CHRISTIAN CENTER: $1k → 17%UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI FOUNDATION: $1k → 18%Presbyterian Day School DEWITT SHY FAC AWD: $2k → 17%PRESBYTERIAN DAY SCHOOL: $1k → 17%Presbyterian Day School DEWITT SHY FAC AWD: $1k → 17%ST MARY'S EPISCOPAL SCHOOL: $8k → 17%CARNIVAL MEMPHIS: $7k → 17%ST MARY'S EPISCOPAL SCHOOL: $6k → 17%ST MARY'S EPISCOPAL SCHOOL: $5k → 17%ST MARY'S EPISCOPAL SCHOOL: $3k → 17%St Mary's Episcopal School Annual Fund: $3k → 17%CARNIVAL OF MEMPHIS: $1k → 17%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

IL
NY
MA
CT
CO
VA
TN
NC
MS
GA
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.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

68%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$85k · 12 repeat orgs$40k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +49% since the first grant, against +21% for those funded once.

12 repeat relationships: 4 still active in FY2024, 8 since wound down; 7 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

12
24

Total granted

$85k
$36k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+49%
+21%

Still filing today

42%
29%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 58% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $4k 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
EducationEnvironmentArts & CultureYouth DevelopmentHealthOther
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

  • SM
    ST MARY'S EPISCOPAL SCHOOL
    5× · 2019–2023 · $22k · revenue +20%
  • OLE MISS ATHLETIC FOUNDATION
    6× · 2019–2024 · $14k · revenue +122%
  • MU
    MEMPHIS UNIVERSITY SCHOOL
    4× · 2017–2020 · $9k · revenue +97%

Funded once

  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2023 · $7k
  • TO
    THE OAK FUND - OAK HILL SCHOOL
    one grant, 2023 · $6k
  • FX
    FED X ST JUDE INVITATIONAL
    one grant, 2021 · $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
University of Memphis Foundation

The foundation accepts, manages, and disburses private support to the university of memphis.

Education
2
University of Southern Mississippi Foundation

To build relationships with alumni and friends in order to secure private funds and other resources for the benefit of the university of southern mississippi (usm). the foundation receives, invests and distributes private gifts in support…

Education
3
Union University

Union university provides christ-centered education that promotes excellence and character development in service to church and society.

Education
4
Harvey Mudd College

HMC seeks to educate engineers, scientists, and mathematicians well versed in all of these areas and in the humanities, social sciences and the arts so that they may assume leadership in their fields with a clear understanding of the…

Education
5
University of Virginia Investment Management Company

The university of virginia investment management company (uvimco) is organized to invest funds on behalf of the rector and visitors of the university of virginia (the university or uva) and university-associated organizations (uaos).

Education
6
Mcphs University

Mcphs university prepares students for careers in health care through teaching, scholarship, research, professional service and community engagement.

Education
7
Collegiate School of Memphis

To prepare young ladies and gentlemen for college success within a highly-structured, nurturing, christian environment.

Education
8
University of the Sciences in Philadelphia

University of the sciences prepares students to become leaders, innovators, and skilled practitioners in the sciences, the health professions, and related disciplines. we deliver excellence in teaching, research, and service through a safe…

—
9
Oxford University School

Providing educational services to children in grades pre-k through 7th grade

—
10
Columbia College

Columbia college improves lives by providing quality education to both traditional and nontraditional students, helping them achieve their true potential.

Education
11
University of Maryland Physicians Pa

Under the medical service plan of the university of maryland school of medicine, medical services are rendered by the members of the faculty on behalf of the school of medicine in connection with their duties to provide clinical…

—
12
The Philadelphia School

The philadelphia school educates children for a future that is impossible to know but not impossible to shape. learn here. go anywhere.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is University of Mississippi Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Soar Together Inc. 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

14 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

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 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 14 of the 43 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)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
14/14
Grantees still filing
13/14
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

ST MARY'S EPISCOPAL SCHOOL: $21,500 · OtherST MARY'S EPISCOPAL SCHOOLFED X ST JUDE CLASSIC: $10,463 · OtherFED X ST JUDE CLASSICSt Mary's Episcopal School Annual Fund: $8,500 · OtherSt Mary's Episcopal School Annual FundIndividual grant recipient: $7,400 · OtherIndividual grant recipientTHE OAK FUND - OAK HILL SCHOOL: $6,000 · OtherTHE OAK FUND - OAK HILL SCHOOLFED X ST JUDE INVITATIONAL: $5,488 · OtherFED X ST JUDE INVITATIONALCHILDREN'S MUSEUM: $4,500 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $3,600 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI: $3,500 · Other+23 more: $24,019 · Other+23 moreOLE MISS ATHLETIC FOUNDATION: $13,700 · EducationOLE MISS ATHLETIC FOUN…MEMPHIS UNIVERSITY SCHOOL: $9,019 · EducationMEMPHIS UNIVERSITY SCH…UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI FOUNDATION: $1,000 · EducationPRESBYTERIAN DAY SCHOOL: $1,000 · Education+1 more: $500 · EducationYOUNG LIFE: $3,131 · Youth DevelopmentARTSMEMPHIS: $500 · Arts & CultureAMERICAN FRIENDS OF VERSAILLES: $250 · Arts & CultureSOAR TOGETHER INC: $500 · HealthMEMPHIS GARDEN CLUB: $250 · EnvironmentDucks Unlimited Inc: $120 · Environment
Other$94,970Education$25,219Youth Development$3,131Arts & Culture$750Health$500Environment$370

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 budgetST MARY'S EPISCOPAL SCHOOL: $21,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetOLE MISS ATHLETIC FOUNDATION: $13,700 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetMEMPHIS UNIVERSITY SCHOOL: $9,019 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetYOUNG LIFE: $3,131 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetPAN-MASSACHUSETTS CHALLENGE INC: $3,042 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI FOUNDATION: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPRESBYTERIAN DAY SCHOOL: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE HUTCHISON SCHOOL: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetARTSMEMPHIS: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSOAR TOGETHER INC: $500 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetMEMPHIS GARDEN CLUB: $250 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetAMERICAN FRIENDS OF VERSAILLES: $250 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCHI OMEGA FOUNDATION: $156 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetDucks Unlimited Inc: $120 over 1y, 0.0% 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 ST MARY'S EPISCOPAL SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds OLE MISS ATHLETIC FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds MEMPHIS UNIVERSITY SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds YOUNG LIFE ↗
  • Who funds PAN-MASSACHUSETTS CHALLENGE INC ↗
  • Who funds UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds PRESBYTERIAN DAY SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds THE HUTCHISON SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds ARTSMEMPHIS ↗
  • Who funds SOAR TOGETHER INC ↗
  • Who funds MEMPHIS GARDEN CLUB ↗
  • Who funds AMERICAN FRIENDS OF VERSAILLES ↗

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.

Thomas Garrott Founda…Christian Community F…Elmer & Gladys Fergus…The Kemmons Wilson Fa…Community Foundation …Raymond James Charita…The Pfizer Foundation…National Philanthropi…The Bank of America C…Vanguard Charitable E…Donor Advised Charita…American Online Givin…
Thomas Garrott FoundationFL17.9× affinity6 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Thomas Garrott Foundation · Christian Community Foundation of Memphis · Elmer & Gladys Ferguson Charitable Trust · The Kemmons Wilson Family Foundation · Community Foundation of Greater Memphis Inc · Raymond James Charitable Endowment Fund · The Pfizer Foundation Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc

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 Sally Johnson Shy Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Sally Johnson Shy Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%5%10%15%20%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • Pan-Massachusetts Challenge Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
3report 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 43 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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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