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Shames Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Shames 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.

$367k
Granted FY2025still arriving
52
Grants FY2025still arriving
11
States reached
$95k
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 2025.

Education$614kHealth$391kHuman Services$245kCivil Rights$200kYouth Development$126kPublic Benefit$122kReligion$108kHousing & Shelter$99kOther$0
02FY2025 · 52 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k37 grants · $93k
  • $10k–50k14 grants · $179k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $95k
$3,125
Median grant
11
States reached
$4.4M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
DAVIDSON COLLEGE ANNUAL FUND$95,000
NORWALK ACTS$25,000
FAMILY & CHILDRENS AGENCY INC$25,000
CARLETON COLLEGE$15,000
CAMPAIGN LEGAL CENTER INC$12,500
FOCUS FOR DEMOCRACY FOUNDATION$11,000
PALLATIVE CARE FOR UGANDA LLC$10,000
WEST SIDE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HUNGER$10,000
ANTI DEFAMATION LEAGUE$10,000
RENAISSANCE SCHOOL ANNUAL FUND$10,000
DOROT INC$10,000
NUVANCE HEALTH MEDICAL PRACTICE CT INC$10,000
Individual grant recipient$10,000
BRENNAN CENTER FOR JUSTICE$10,000
A BETTER CHANCE OF WILTON INC$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 (FY17–25, $181k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 29% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%SHELTER FOR HELP IN EMERGENCY: $1k → 8%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $1k → 14%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $100 → 14%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $100 → 14%STAY AT HOME IN WILTON: $1k → 9%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $100 → 14%STAY AT HOME IN WILTON: $1k → 9%STAY AT HOME IN WILTON: $1k → 9%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $100 → 14%STAY AT HOME IN WILTON: $1k → 9%WILTON VOLUNTEER AMBULANCE CORPS: $500 → 9%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $100 → 14%WILTON VOLUNTEER AMBULANCE CORPS: $500 → 9%WILTON VOLUNTEER AMBULANCE CORPS: $500 → 9%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $100 → 14%WILTON VOLUNTEER AMBULANCE CORPS: $500 → 9%WILTON VOLUNTEER AMBULANCE CORPS: $500 → 9%WILTON VOLUNTEER AMBULANCE CORPS: $500 → 9%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $100 → 14%WILTON VOLUNTEER AMBULANCE CORPS: $500 → 9%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $100 → 14%WILTON VOLUNTEER AMBULANCE CORPS: $500 → 9%WILTON VOLUNTEER AMBULANCE CORPS: $500 → 9%WILTON COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE FUND: $500 → 9%DOROT INC: $10k → 17%DOROT INC: $10k → 17%DOROT INC: $10k → 17%DOROT INC: $10k → 17%DOROT INC: $8k → 17%MOUNT SINAI HEALTH SYSTEM INC: $4k → 17%FAMILY & CHILDRENS AGENCY INC: $30k → 9%FAMILY & CHILDRENS AGENCY INC: $25k → 9%FAMILY & CHILDRENS AGENCY INC: $25k → 9%FAMILY & CHILDRENS AGENCY INC: $25k → 9%FAMILY & CHILDRENS AGENCY INC: $5k → 9%FAMILY & CHILDRENS AGENCY INC: $5k → 9%ANNS PLACE INC: $200 → 9%FAMILY & CHILDRENS AGENCY INC: $3k → 9%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

NH
MN
IL
NY
MA
OH
PA
NJ
CT
CA
MO
VA
NC
DC
GA
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.

94%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$2.0M · 48 repeat orgs$128k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +35% since the first grant, against +23% for those funded once.

48 repeat relationships: 32 still active in FY2025, 16 since wound down; 19 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

48
28

Total granted

$2.0M
$69k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+35%
+23%

Still filing today

79%
57%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 84% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $59k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
EducationHealthHuman ServicesArts & CultureCrime & LegalPublic BenefitOther
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

  • Davidson College
    8× · 2017–2025 · $261k · revenue +42%
  • NH
    Nuvance Health Medical Practice CT Inc
    4× · 2022–2025 · $180k · revenue +30%
  • NA
    NORWALK ACTS INC
    6× · 2020–2025 · $175k · revenue +34%

Funded once

  • SS
    STEPPING STONES MUSEUM FOR CHILDREN INC
    one grant, 2018 · $25k · revenue +11%
  • WA
    WORKING AMERICA EDUCATION FUNDgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $10k · revenue +36%
  • TD
    The Danbury Hospitalgraduated
    one grant, 2019 · $10k · revenue +27%
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 New Haven

The University of New Haven is a student-centered comprehensive university with an emphasis on excellence in liberal arts and professional education. Our mission is to prepare our students to lead purposeful and fulfilling lives in a…

Education
2
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

The children's hospital of philadelphia, the oldest hospital in the united states dedicated exclusively to pediatrics, strives to be the world leader in the advancement of health care for children by integrating excellent patient care,…

Health
3
Children's Hospital Corporation

Provider of pediatric healthcare, education, research & community service

Health
4
Western Connecticut Health Network Affiliates Inc

Improve the health of every person in our community through the efficient delivery of excellent, innovative and compassionate care.

—
5
Northeast College of Health Sciences

Northeast college of health sciences (the college) is committed to academic excellence, leadership, and professional best practices in the health sciences.

Education
6
Manhattanville University

To educate students to be ethical and socially responsible leaders in a global community.

Education
7
Wnet

Wnet is a multi-media public service non-profit that delivers lifelong learning and meaningful experiences to our communities. our content inspires curiosity, encourages action and nurtures dreams.

Arts & Culture
8
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The mission of mit is to advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century.

Education
9
The Trustees of Princeton University

Research, education and general - princeton university is a private not-for-profit, non-sectarian institution of higher learning with approximately 5,700 undergraduate and 3,300 graduate students. 2,500 students graduated in the 2024-2025…

Education
10
Boston Architectural College

The bac is committed to provide excellence in design education grounded in practice and accessible to diverse communities.

—
11
The George Washington University

The mission of the george washington university (gw) is to educate individuals in liberal arts, languages, sciences, learned professions, and other courses and subjects of study, and to conduct scholarly research and publish the findings…

Education
12
New York Genome Center Inc

Operate a state-of-the-art, world-class genomic research center that creates and uses advanced genomics to understand the genetic basis of disease. for more information, see schedule o.

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Norwalk Acts Inc; the most unlike its peers is Metropolitan Museum of Art. 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

67 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. 67 of the 98 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)
10
Early backer (in before they grew)
67/67
Grantees still filing
48/67
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Nuvance Health Medical Practice CT Inc: $180,000 · OtherNuvance Health Medical Practice CT IncNORTH COUNTRY SCHOOL & CAMP TREETOPS: $124,500 · OtherNORTH COUNTRY SCHOOL & CAMP TREETOPSCONGREGATION RODEPH SHOLOM: $55,050 · OtherCONGREGATION RODEPH SHOLOMUNITED WAY OF COASTAL FAIRFIELD COUNTY INC: $48,500 · OtherUNITED WAY OF COASTAL FAIRFIELD COUNTY INCTEMPLE BNAI CHAIM INC: $46,695 · OtherRENAISSANCE SCHOOL ANNUAL FUND: $37,600 · OtherTHE CHILD CENTER OF NY INC: $37,000 · OtherPLANNED PARENTHOOD: $35,750 · OtherLEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS EDUCATION FUND: $35,200 · OtherETHICAL CULTURE FIELDSTONE SCHOOL: $35,000 · OtherWEST SIDE CENTER FOR COMMUNITY LIFE: $53,350 · OtherWEST SIDE CENTER FOR COMMUNITY LIFEPALLIATIVE CARE AND EDUCATION FOR RURAL: $40,000 · Other+44 more: $156,826 · Other+44 moreDavidson College: $260,500 · EducationDavidson CollegeA BETTER CHANCE OF WILTON INC: $93,932 · EducationA BETTER CHANCE OF WILTON INCWILTON LIBRARY ASSOCIATION INC: $83,500 · EducationWILTON LIBRARY ASSOCIATION INCCARLETON COLLEGE: $66,000 · EducationCARLETON COLLEGEWILLIAM J BRENNAN CENTER FOR JUSTICE INC: $47,500 · EducationWILLIAM J BRENNAN CENTER FOR JU…TRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: $24,000 · Education+7 more: $30,275 · EducationFAMILY & CHILDREN'S AGENCY INC: $117,500 · Human ServicesFAMILY & CH…DOROT INC: $47,500 · Human ServicesDOROT INCCITY OF PROMISE INC: $35,500 · Human ServicesCITY OF PRO…+7 more: $16,055 · Human Services+7 moreNORWALK ACTS INC: $175,100 · Community ImprovementNORWALK A…+1 more: $5,000 · Community ImprovementNorwalk Hospital Foundation: $135,000 · HealthThe Danbury Hospital: $10,000 · HealthCHARLOTTESVILLE FREE CLINIC: $7,500 · HealthBREAKTHROUGH T1D: $6,000 · Health+7 more: $3,850 · HealthTHE CAMPAIGN LEGAL CENTER INC: $82,500 · Crime & Legal+2 more: $2,100 · Crime & LegalTHE VOTER PARTICIPATION CENTER: $42,000 · Civil RightsANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE: $20,000 · Civil RightsTHE CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS INC: $2,500 · Civil Rights
Other$885,471Education$605,707Human Services$216,555Community Improvement$180,100Health$162,350Crime & Legal$84,600Civil Rights$64,500

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 budgetDavidson College: $260,500 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetNuvance Health Medical Practice CT Inc: $180,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetNORWALK ACTS INC: $175,100 over 6y, 3.2% of budgetNorwalk Hospital Foundation: $135,000 over 6y, 0.5% of budgetFAMILY & CHILDREN'S AGENCY INC: $117,500 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetA BETTER CHANCE OF WILTON INC: $93,932 over 9y, 14% of budgetWILTON LIBRARY ASSOCIATION INC: $83,500 over 8y, 0.7% of budgetTHE CAMPAIGN LEGAL CENTER INC: $82,500 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetCARLETON COLLEGE: $66,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetWEST SIDE CENTER FOR COMMUNITY LIFE: $53,350 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetUNITED WAY OF COASTAL FAIRFIELD COUNTY INC: $48,500 over 8y, 0.7% of budgetDOROT INC: $47,500 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetWILLIAM J BRENNAN CENTER FOR JUSTICE INC: $47,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetTHE VOTER PARTICIPATION CENTER: $42,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetPALLIATIVE CARE AND EDUCATION FOR RURAL: $40,000 over 7y, 4.9% of budgetTHE CHILD CENTER OF NY INC: $37,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetCITY OF PROMISE INC: $35,500 over 4y, 2.1% of budgetLEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS EDUCATION FUND: $35,200 over 8y, 0.2% of budgetSTEPPING STONES MUSEUM FOR CHILDREN INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetCOMMON CAUSE EDUCATION FUND: $25,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetTRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: $24,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWORKING AMERICA EDUCATION FUND: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetThe Danbury Hospital: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCHARLOTTESVILLE FREE CLINIC: $7,500 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetPEABODY SCHOOL: $7,400 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetTHE YOUNG MEN'S AND YOUNG WOMEN'S HEBREW ASSOCIATION: $6,335 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetMETROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART: $6,136 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetBREAKTHROUGH T1D: $6,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetST ANNE'S-BELFIELD INC: $6,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCHARLOTTESVILLE AREA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $5,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHARLEM ACADEMY: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetNORWALK HOUSING FOUNDATION INC: $5,000 over 1y, 2.2% of budgetWGBH Educational Foundation: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWILTON VOLUNTEER AMBULANCE CORPS INC: $4,500 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetCHILD HEALTH PARTNERSHIP INC: $4,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetSTAY AT HOME IN WILTON INC: $4,000 over 4y, 1.2% of budgetHOPE'S LEGACY EQUINE RESCUE INC: $3,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetArts For Life: $2,500 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetInternational Neighbors Inc: $2,500 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetTHE CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE BUCK SQUAD CENTRAL VIRGINIA VIOLENCE INTERRUPTERS: $2,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetMOUNT SINAI HEALTH PARTNERS PC: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $1,855 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetCHARLOTTESVILLE COMMUNITY BASEBALL INC: $1,125 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetGround Game Fund: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetREADING PARTNERS: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $900 over 9y, 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 Davidson College ↗
  • Who funds Nuvance Health Medical Practice CT Inc ↗
  • Who funds NORWALK ACTS INC ↗
  • Who funds Norwalk Hospital Foundation ↗
  • Who funds FAMILY & CHILDREN'S AGENCY INC ↗
  • Who funds A BETTER CHANCE OF WILTON INC ↗
  • Who funds WILTON LIBRARY ASSOCIATION INC ↗
  • Who funds THE CAMPAIGN LEGAL CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds CARLETON COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds WEST SIDE CENTER FOR COMMUNITY LIFE ↗
  • Who funds UNITED WAY OF COASTAL FAIRFIELD COUNTY INC ↗
  • Who funds DOROT INC ↗
  • Who funds WILLIAM J BRENNAN CENTER FOR JUSTICE INC ↗
  • Who funds THE VOTER PARTICIPATION CENTER ↗
  • Who funds PALLIATIVE CARE AND EDUCATION FOR RURAL ↗
  • Who funds THE CHILD CENTER OF NY INC ↗
  • Who funds CITY OF PROMISE INC ↗
  • Who funds LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS EDUCATION FUND ↗
  • Who funds STEPPING STONES MUSEUM FOR CHILDREN INC ↗
  • Who funds COMMON CAUSE EDUCATION FUND ↗
  • Who funds TRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA ↗
  • Who funds ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE ↗
  • Who funds WORKING AMERICA EDUCATION FUND ↗
  • Who funds The Danbury Hospital ↗
  • Who funds CHARLOTTESVILLE FREE CLINIC ↗
  • Who funds SOUTHERN VISION ALLIANCE ↗
  • Who funds PEABODY SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds THE YOUNG MEN'S AND YOUNG WOMEN'S HEBREW ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART ↗
  • Who funds BREAKTHROUGH T1D ↗
  • Who funds ST ANNE'S-BELFIELD 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.

Charlottesville Area …Alexander Family Foun…S&P Global Foundation…Fairfield County's Co…Perakis Foundation Ja…The Charles Fund IncCaplin FoundationThe Rimora FoundationElizabeth Raymond Amb…Manning Family Founda…The Oak Hill FundThe Dawn and Jeff Pad…
Charlottesville Area Community FoundationVA24.9× affinity10 shared granteesties to 9 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Charlottesville Area Community Foundation · Alexander Family Foundation Inc · S&P Global Foundation Fka the McGraw-Hill Research Foundation · Fairfield County's Community Foundation Inc · Perakis Foundation James Perakis Trustee · The Charles Fund Inc · Caplin Foundation · The Rimora Foundation · Elizabeth Raymond Ambler Trust · Manning Family Foundation · The Oak Hill Fund · The Dawn and Jeff Padovan 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 Shames Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Shames Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 90%1%4%8%15%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 1%
  • Family & Children's Agency Inc: 47% of income from government
  • Norwalk Acts Inc: 6% of income from government
  • Wilton Historical Society Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Wgbh Educational Foundation: 1% of income from government
  • Stepping Stones Museum for Children Inc: 1% of income from government
  • The Danbury Hospital: 1% of income from government
  • Wilton Library Association Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Nuvance Health Medical Practice Ct Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Partners in Health a Nonprofit Corporation: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
9get 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
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 98 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 Shames 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