Skip to content
Sandfort Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Sandfort Family Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$781k
Granted FY2025still arriving
12
Grants FY2025still arriving
2
States reached
$331k
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, FY2021 to 2024.

Education$685kHealth$395kHuman Services$330kReligion$250kPhilanthropy$95kRecreation & Sports$55kPublic Safety & Disaster$50kFood & Nutrition$10k
02FY2025 · 12 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • $10k–50k7 grants · $150k
  • $50k–250k4 grants · $300k
  • $250k+1 grant · $331k
$25,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$4.1M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
DIOCESE OF NASHVILLE - ST MICHAEL ACADEMY$331,212
TUCKER'S HOUSE$150,000
ST XAVIER HIGH SCHOOL$50,000
DIOCESE OF NASHVILLE$50,000
LIPSCOMB UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF BUSINESS$50,000
BEGIN ANEW OF MIDDLE TN$25,000
DIOCESE OF NASHVILLE - ADVANCEMENT OF CATHOLIC EDUCATION$25,000
NASHVILLE ANTI-HUMAN TRAFFICKING COALITION INC$25,000
SADDLE UP$25,000
HIGH HOPES DEVELOPMENT CENTER$25,000
HOLY FAMILY CATHOLIC CHURCH - MISISON HONDURAS$15,000
MAKE-A-WISH MIDDLE TN$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 (FY25–25, $10k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 7%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 7%MAKE-A-WISH MIDDLE TN: $10k → 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.
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.

87%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$2.3M · 13 repeat orgs$345k to everyone else

13 repeat relationships: 9 still active in FY2025, 4 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

13
6

Total granted

$2.3M
$260k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

-13%
+3%

Still filing today

54%
67%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 89% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $85k went to new ones.

50%100%’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’21’22’23’24’25
Human ServicesEducationReligionRecreation & SportsPhilanthropyHealthOther
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

  • BC
    BEACON COLLEGE INC
    2× · 2023–2024 · $300k · revenue +14%
  • SU
    SADDLE UP
    4× · 2021–2025 · $65k · revenue +133%
  • UW
    UNITED WAY OF MIDDLE TENNESSEE INC
    2× · 2022–2023 · $50k · revenue +7%

Funded once

  • MT
    MOTHER TERESA CATHOLIC CHURCH
    one grant, 2022 · $100k
  • AN
    American National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branchesgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $50k · revenue +27%
  • BU
    Benedictine University
    one grant, 2024 · $50k · revenue +3%
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
Furman University

The primary mission of furman as a liberal arts institution is to provide a distinctive education in fine arts, humanities, social sciences, mathematics and the sciences, as well as selected professional disciplines.

Education
2
Columbia College

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

Education
3
Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Inc

To make kids better today and healthier tomorrow.

Health
4
Central Indiana Corporate Partnership Inc

Central indiana corporate partnership (cicp) is an alliance of indiana's business and research university leaders coming together to foster long-term prosperity for the region. cicp's mission is to transform the economy of indiana in order…

Community Improvement
5
Bethel University

We educate and equip students to lead lives of impact through transformative academics in a christ-centered community.

Education
6
Evangel University

Evangel is a comprehensive christian university that is committed to excellence in educating and equipping students to become spirit empowered servants of god who will impact the church and society globally.

Education
7
Dunwoody College of Technology

Dunwoody college changes lives by building opportunities for graduates to have successful careers, to develop into leaders and entrepreneurs, and to engage in "the better performance of life's duties." quote is from the last will and…

Education
8
Abilitypath Housing

Abilitypath housing advances affordable, accessible housing projects that promote independence and inclusive communities for adults with developmental disabilities. through partnerships and innovative program designs, abilitypath housing…

Human Services
9
Mid-Atlantic Christian University

Mid-atlantic christian university is an undergraduate institution of christian higher learning whose mission is to impact the world by transforming ordinary people into extraordinary christian leaders. students are taught to think…

Education
10
Union University

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

Education
11
Augustana College

Rooted in the liberal arts & sciences & lutheran expression of the christian faith, & is committed to offering a challenging education that develops qualities of mind, spirit, & body necessary for a rewarding life of leadership & service…

Education
12
Fielding Graduate University

We provide exemplary interdisciplinary programs for a community of scholar-practitioners within a distributed learning model grounded in student-driven inquiry and leading to enhanced knowledge.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Make-a-Wish Foundation of Middle Tennessee; the most unlike its peers is American National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches. 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, 2017–2025.

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. 14 of the 23 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
8/14
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

DIOCESE OF NASHVILLE - ST MICHAEL ACADEMY: $341,212 · OtherDIOCESE OF NASHVILLE - ST MICHAEL ACADEMYBEACON COLLEGE INC: $300,000 · OtherBEACON COLLEGE INCST XAVIER HIGH SCHOOL: $275,000 · OtherST XAVIER HIGH SCHOOLLIPSCOMB UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF BUSINESS: $150,000 · OtherLIPSCOMB UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF BUSINESSBEGIN ANEW OF MIDDLE TN: $100,000 · OtherBEGIN ANEW OF MIDDLE TNMOTHER TERESA CATHOLIC CHURCH: $100,000 · OtherMOTHER TERESA CATHOLIC CHURCHDIOCESE OF NASHVILLE - ADVANCEMENT OF CATHOLIC EDUCATION: $60,000 · OtherHIGH HOPES INC: $55,000 · OtherDIOCESE OF NASHVILLE: $50,000 · Other+2 more: $55,000 · OtherTUCKER'S HOUSE: $450,000 · Human ServicesTUCKER'S HOUSEAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $50,000 · Human ServicesAmerican National Red …+2 more: $20,000 · Human ServicesBRIGHTSTONE INC: $355,000 · EducationBRIGHTSTONE INCBenedictine University: $50,000 · EducationBenedictine Unive…UNITED WAY OF MIDDLE TENNESSEE INC: $50,000 · PhilanthropyTHE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF MIDDLE TENNESSEE INC: $20,000 · PhilanthropySADDLE UP: $65,200 · HealthMIRACLE LEAGUE OF COLUMBIA AT MAURY COUNTY PARK: $55,000 · Recreation & SportsFAMILY MISSIONS COMPANY: $25,000 · ReligionNASHVILLE ANTI-HUMAN TRAFFICKING COALITION: $25,000 · Religion
Other$1,486,212Human Services$520,000Education$405,000Philanthropy$70,000Health$65,200Recreation & Sports$55,000Religion$50,000

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 budgetTUCKER'S HOUSE: $450,000 over 4y, 17% of budgetBRIGHTSTONE INC: $355,000 over 4y, 4.5% of budgetBEACON COLLEGE INC: $300,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetSADDLE UP: $65,200 over 4y, 0.9% of budgetHIGH HOPES INC: $55,000 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetMIRACLE LEAGUE OF COLUMBIA AT MAURY COUNTY PARK: $55,000 over 2y, 9.6% of budgetUNITED WAY OF MIDDLE TENNESSEE INC: $50,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $50,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBenedictine University: $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetFAMILY MISSIONS COMPANY: $25,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetTHE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF MIDDLE TENNESSEE INC: $20,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION OF MIDDLE TENNESSEE: $10,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetCUL2VATE: $10,000 over 1y, 0.7% 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.

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 Frist FoundationUnited Way of Middle …Raymond James Charita…The Community Foundat…Dugas Family Foundati…Dorothy Cate and Thom…Nashville Predators F…Hca Healthcare Founda…The Richard M Schulze…American Endowment Fo…Servant FoundationBaird Foundation Inc
The Frist FoundationTN15.7× affinity5 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Frist Foundation · United Way of Middle Tennessee Inc · Raymond James Charitable Endowment Fund · The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee Inc · Dugas Family Foundation II Inc · Dorothy Cate and Thomas F Frist Foundation · Nashville Predators Foundation · Hca Healthcare Foundation · The Richard M Schulze Family Foundation · American Endowment Foundation · Servant Foundation · Baird 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 Sandfort Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Sandfort Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%5%11%20%funder's share of their income ↑0%5%10%15%20%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • Beacon College Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
2report 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 23 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 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Sandfort Family’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