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Salt Water Fund at a glance

· Private foundation

Salt Water Fund

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.

$2.3M
Granted FY2024still arriving
8
Grants FY2024still arriving
2
States reached
$1.1M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0191% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2018 to 2024.

Education$9.2MAnimals$1.4MYouth Development$1.1MEnvironment$1.0MInternational$527kHealth$405kHousing & Shelter$400kCommunity Improvement$200kOther$0
02FY2024 · 8 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $10k–50k3 grants · $50k
  • $50k–250k3 grants · $239k
  • $250k+2 grants · $2.0M
$60,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$8.7M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF SOUTHEASTERN NORTH CAROLINA$1,050,000
Individual grant recipient$1,000,000
Individual grant recipient$125,000
WILLIAMS YMCA OF AVERY COUNTY$60,000
BEACON EDUCATION$53,645
KENTUCKY CHRISTIAN FOUNDATION$25,000
Individual grant recipient$15,000
CROSSNORE COMMUNITIES FOR CHILDREN$10,000
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, $768k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 33% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%PAWS4PEOPLE FOUNDATION: $250k → 12%ORPHANETWORK: $250k → 10%ORPHANETWORK: $250k → 10%ORPHANETWORK: $18k → 10%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.

71%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$11M · 12 repeat orgs$4.5M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +33% since the first grant, against +25% for those funded once.

12 repeat relationships: 2 still active in FY2024, 10 since wound down; 5 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

12
17

Total granted

$11M
$2.3M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+33%
+25%

Still filing today

67%
76%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 5% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $2.2M went to new ones.

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

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

’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
EducationHealthHuman ServicesYouth DevelopmentReligionCrime & LegalOther
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

  • TC
    The Carousel Center Inc
    2× · 2020–2022 · $310k · revenue +50%
  • BT
    BREAKTHROUGH T1D
    2× · 2018–2019 · $75k · revenue +31%
  • PE
    Phoenix Employment Services of Wilmingto Inc DBA StepUp Wilmington
    3× · 2019–2022 · $68k · revenue +3%

Funded once

  • GM
    GRANDFATHER MOUNTAIN STEWARDSHIP FOUNDATION INC
    one grant, 2021 · $1.0M · revenue -11%
  • WA
    Wilmington Area Rebuilding Ministry Inc
    one grant, 2022 · $400k · revenue +24%
  • PI
    PAWS4PEOPLE INC
    one grant, 2018 · $250k · revenue -23%
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
Junior Achievement of Central Carolinas Inc

Junior achievement is the world's largest organization dedicated to educating private and public school students in grades k-12 about entrepreneurship, workforce readiness, and financial literacy, through experiential, hands-on programs.

International
2
Children's Home Society of North Carolina Inc

The Children's Home Society of North Carolina's mission is to promote the right of every child to a permanent, safe, and loving family.

Human Services
3
Lake Norman Christian School

The mission of Lake Norman Christian School is to provide a college-preparatory education in a safe and nurturing environment grounded in the Christian faith.

Education
4
Communities in Schools of Cape Fear Inc

To surround at risk students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life.

Human Services
5
Young Men's Christian Association of Southeastern North Carolina Inc

The YMCA of Southeastern NC (YMCA of SENC)is an inclusive non-profit association committed to putting Christian principles into practice through programs that build a healthy spirit, mind and body for all. Our staff and volunteers work…

Human Services
6
UrbanPromise Charlotte

Provide Charlotte's low-income children and youth with the academic, spiritual, and social development necessary to become Christian leaders determined to restore their communities.

Youth Development
7
Wnc Lighthouse Inc

The mission of WNC Lighthouse Inc is Changing lives, by being a light for Christ our Lord. Our vision is To be fully devoted to Jesus Christ, by opening our arms and providing Christian services to the underseved children, adults and…

Human Services
8
Communities in Schools of North Carolina Inc

Cisnc's mission is to surround students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life. cisnc serves as the backbone for its statewide network of 20 independent nonprofit organizations that serve local…

Human Services
9
Wilmington School of the Arts

Wilmington School of the Arts is a tuition-free, public charter school located in New Hanover County, North Carolina. Its mission is to inspire students to pursue excellence in academics and the arts by awakening and nuturing the creative…

Education
10
Ywca of the Lower Cape Fear Inc

Dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women, and promoting peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all.

Human Services
11
Carolina Charter Academy

Operation of a public charter school.

Education
12
Cape Fear Tutoring Inc

To promote quality nutrition and reduce food insecurities through financial and educational support in Family childcare homes and Day Care centers, while maintaining Child and Adult Care Food Program integrity.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Collective Impact in New Hanover County; 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

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 34 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)
5
Early backer (in before they grew)
23/23
Grantees still filing
17/23
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

BEACON EDUCATION INC: $8,379,682 · EducationBEACON EDUCATION INC+5 more: $335,000 · EducationIndividual grant recipient: $1,125,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientCAMP SEA GULL SEAFARER: $1,100,000 · OtherCAMP SEA GULL SEAFARERBoys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern North Carolina Inc: $1,050,000 · OtherBoys & Girls Clubs of Southeas…THE CROSSNORE SCHOOL: $427,500 · OtherTHE CROSSNORE SCHOOL+16 more: $469,380 · Other+16 moreGRANDFATHER MOUNTAIN STEWARDSHIP FOUNDATION INC: $1,000,000 · EnvironmentThe Orphanetwork: $517,500 · Human ServicesPAWS4PEOPLE INC: $250,000 · Human ServicesWilmington Area Rebuilding Ministry Inc: $400,000 · Housing & ShelterThe Carousel Center Inc: $310,000 · HealthBREAKTHROUGH T1D: $75,000 · Health+1 more: $10,000 · HealthCOLLECTIVE IMPACT IN NEW HANOVER COUNTY: $200,000 · Public Benefit
Education$8,714,682Other$4,171,880Environment$1,000,000Human Services$767,500Housing & Shelter$400,000Health$395,000Public Benefit$200,000

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 budgetBEACON EDUCATION INC: $8,379,682 over 7y, 45% of budgetBoys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern North Carolina Inc: $1,050,000 over 1y, 20% of budgetGRANDFATHER MOUNTAIN STEWARDSHIP FOUNDATION INC: $1,000,000 over 1y, 8.5% of budgetThe Orphanetwork: $517,500 over 3y, 4.1% of budgetWilmington Area Rebuilding Ministry Inc: $400,000 over 1y, 10% of budgetThe Carousel Center Inc: $310,000 over 2y, 11% of budgetPAWS4PEOPLE INC: $250,000 over 1y, 9.0% of budgetCape Fear Academy: $250,000 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetCOLLECTIVE IMPACT IN NEW HANOVER COUNTY: $200,000 over 1y, 12% of budgetBREAKTHROUGH T1D: $75,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPhoenix Employment Services of Wilmingto Inc DBA StepUp Wilmington: $67,500 over 3y, 4.0% of budgetWILLIAMS YMCA OF AVERY COUNTY: $62,500 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetWOODBERRY FOREST SCHOOL: $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetNourishNC Inc: $25,000 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetLINVILLE FOUNDATION INC: $20,000 over 1y, 4.2% of budgetYOUNG LIFE: $11,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCROSSNORE COMMUNITIES FOR CHILDREN: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSMART START OF NEW HANOVER COUNTY: $10,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetSAMARITAN'S PURSE: $9,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetDREAMS OF WILMINGTON INC: $6,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetNORTH CAROLINA BUSINESS LEADERS FOR EDUC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.6% 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.

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.

New Hanover Community…North Carolina Commun…The Landfall Foundati…Duke Energy FoundationThe Eshelman Foundati…United Way of the Cap…Corning Incorporated …Ge Aerospace Foundati…Cape Fear Memorial Fo…Novant Health IncThe Cynthia & George …Foundation for the Ca…
New Hanover Community Endowment IncNC26.3× affinity10 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: New Hanover Community Endowment Inc · North Carolina Community Foundation · The Landfall Foundation Inc · Duke Energy Foundation · The Eshelman Foundation · United Way of the Cape Fear Area Inc · Corning Incorporated Foundation · Ge Aerospace Foundation · Cape Fear Memorial Foundation · Novant Health Inc · The Cynthia & George Mitchell Foundation · Foundation for the Carolinas

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 Salt Water Fund funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Salt Water Fund. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%3%13%28%50%funder's share of their income ↑0%13%25%38%50%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    11report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–50%
    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 34 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 Salt Water’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