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Plinth

· Public charity

South Carolina Research Authority

Fuel south carolina's innovation economy by accelerating technology enabled growth in research, academia, entrepreneurship and industry.

$3.6M
Granted FY2023
47
Grants FY2023
2
States reached
$693k
Largest
01What you fund
0198% classified

What you funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year — across FY20172023.

Science & Tech$12MEducation$6.9MHealth$2.6MCommunity Improvement$1.7MEnvironment$341kHuman Services$275kFood & Nutrition$265kArts & Culture$253kOther$0
02FY2023 · 47 grants

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

The 47 grants below total $3,461,583 — the rows itemised in this filing. The $3,632,961 headline is the total grant expense reported on the return, so the remaining $171,378 is giving the schedule does not break out: grants under the $5,000 itemisation floor, grants to individuals, and grants reported on other schedules. Every figure below describes the itemised rows only.

By grant size · FY2023

  • $10k–50k22 grants · $528k
  • $50k–250k22 grants · $1.3M
  • $250k+3 grants · $1.7M
$50,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$101M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Clemson University$693,367
SC Launch Inc$500,000
University of South Carolina$484,477
Clemson University Research Foundation$110,000
Francis Marion University$96,239
Incora Health Inc$75,000
Secure Process Intelligence LLC$75,000
Benedict College$50,000
Algistor Inc$50,000
3Key Digital Marketing LLC$50,000
Mainstage Operating LLC$50,000
Glossifi Inc$50,000
Tandem Concepts Inc$50,000
Bricolage Dynamics Inc$50,000
MUSC Foundation for Research$50,000
02The need
03

Do your dollars go where the need is?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, then read against the area’s typical level.

show:

Dollar for dollar, your grants (FY17–23) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 98% of your dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of your grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%SURCEYS INC: $50k → 10%Gabby LLC dba Confidence: $50k → 11%Medical University: $221k → 12%VRM Labs Inc: $50k → 15%Clemson University Foundation: $319k → 16%INDIEMARK LLC: $50k → 16%CarbonCents Inc: $50k → 17%Simple Vet Solutions Inc: $50k → 17%Maven Therapy LLC: $50k → 20%Humimic Medical LLC: $50k → 17%IoTco LLC: $50k → 16%Mainstage Operating LLC: $50k → 8%Lien Nation LLC: $50k → 10%FORESIGHT DATA SYSTEMS LLC: $50k → 11%MUSC Foundation for Research Development: $118k → 12%Cliently Inc: $50k → 13%SeeDaten Inc: $61k → 15%Clemson University Foundation: $200k → 16%ZARK LLC: $50k → 17%Circa Bioscience: $50k → 18%Quitchet LLC: $50k → 10%Baleen Solutions LLC: $50k → 11%Medical University: $114k → 12%Van Robotics Inc: $50k → 16%Your Configuratorcom: $50k → 8%Glycopath Inc: $50k → 12%COI - Verify LLC: $50k → 13%TFORM Inc: $70k → 15%Clemson University: $693k → 16%Secure Process Intelligence LLC: $75k → 8%Clemson University: $631k → 16%CLEMSON UNIVERSITY: $521k → 16%Clemson University: $262k → 16%UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA: $518k → 16%Clemson University: $197k → 16%University of South Carolina: $484k → 16%CLEMSON UNIVERSITY: $98k → 16%University of South Carolina: $350k → 16%University of South Carolina: $292k → 16%University of South Carolina: $250k → 16%SC Launch Inc: $2.5M → 16%SC Launch Inc: $2.1M → 16%SC LAUNCH INC: $1.9M → 16%SC Launch Inc: $1.8M → 16%Mipy LLC: $94k → 10%SC Launch Inc: $500k → 16%SC Launch Inc: $133k → 16%Incora Health Inc: $75k → 10%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount

Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty linein the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP; grantee ZIP can differ from where services are delivered.

US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are actually delivered. Need from public data — U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA — shown as context about the area, never attributed to your giving.

03Your edge
repeat funding

Who you back again

Which organizations you funded more than once, and which you funded a single time. Each grantee is matched to its own filings.

77%of every dollar goes to organizations you’ve funded before.
$19M · 63 repeat orgs$5.7M to everyone else

And the relationships you keep tend to grow: grantees you re-up on have seen median revenue of +28% since the first grant, against +20% for the ones you funded once.

63 repeat relationships — 20 still active in FY2023, 43 since wound down; 27 grantees were first funded in FY2023 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

63
128

Total granted

$19M
$4.6M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+28%
+20%

Still filing today

10%
5%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2023, 71% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $1.0M went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23
EducationCommunity ImprovementScience & TechHealthEnvironmentHousing & ShelterOther

First-time = a grantee’s first year in your filing window; renewed = funded in an earlier year too. As a portfolio matures the renewed share naturally climbs — once funded, an org stays “renewable” — so the signal is the years that buck it (a new-grantee intake wave). 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

  • CU
    CLEMSON UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION
    4× · 2017–2020 · $763k · revenue +143%
  • MF
    MUSC Foundation for Research Development
    6× · 2018–2023 · $283k · revenue +81%
  • CU
    CLEMSON UNIVERSITY RESEARCH FOUNDATION
    5× · 2019–2023 · $231k · revenue +28%

Funded once

  • BE
    Blue Eye Soft Corp
    one grant, 2020 · $110k
  • ML
    Mipy LLC
    one grant, 2019 · $94k
  • IC
    Infinity Collar LLC
    one grant, 2022 · $75k

Repeat = funded in two or more distinct years; growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Your field

The map has a center of gravity: the average direction from the rest of the sector toward the organizations the foundation funds — the shape of its giving. Scoring every nonprofit along that direction surfaces the ones that look most like the portfolio. These are the closest matchesthat aren’t grantees — a resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Musc Strategic Ventures

To promote and support the educational, medical, scientific, and research purposes of the medical university of south carolina "musc", and university medical associates of the medical university of south carolina "uma", including their…

Health
2
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
3
South Carolina Universities Research & Education Foundation

The foundation is organized and operates as a support organization primarily to provide assistance to clemson university, university of south carolina, and university of south carolina aiken in their separate and joint efforts to provide…

4
Columbia College

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

Education
5
Southern Wesleyan University

Southern wesleyan university is a christ-centered, student-focused learning community devoted to transforming lives by challenging students to be dedicated scholars and servant-leaders who impact the world for christ.

Education
6
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
7
South Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities

Scicu seeks to advance higher education in south carolina through fundraising, scholarships, research, as well as facilitating collaborative activities among the member institutions. scicu also enhances a positive public image and…

Education
8
Columbia College

Columbia college provides educational opportunities that develop students' capacity for critical thought and expression, life-long learning, acceptance of personal responsibilty, and commitment to service and social justice.

Education
9
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
10
Vanderbilt University

See Disclosure Above.

Education
11
University of South Carolina Educational Foundation

To support the University of South Carolina in its academic, research and charitable endeavors by promoting a culture of philanthropy, managing and stewarding donor gifts, and providing financial resources to support students and faculty…

Education
12
Augusta University Research Institute Inc

Augusta university research institute, inc. (the "institute") was incorporated under the laws of the state of georgia as a nonprofit corporation on july 31, 1980. the institute qualified as a tax-exempt corporation under section 501(c)(3)…

Education

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Clemson University Foundation and the most unlike its peers is Midlands Technical College Foundation Inc. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.

For each theme you fund, this compares how the sector’s money is shifting with how your own giving is shifting.

← shrinkinggrowing →↓ leaning in → pulling backsteadyFamily Philanthropic Founda…Early Childhood DevelopmentYouth Development Organizat…Christian Discipleship Mini…Christian Youth Camping Pro…
the sector your giving your giving is ahead of the sector the sector’s ahead of you· dot size = how much the theme matters to each side
Ordered by the change in your giving — leaning in on top, pulling back at the bottom. The bar between the two dots is how out of step you are with the sector. Hover any row for detail.

Sector change and giving change are each shown relative to their own range, growing (right) or shrinking (left); both normalized, so inflation isn’t mistaken for growth.

04the grantee network

14 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each one resolved to its own IRS returns and tracked year by year — your grant beside their revenue from every source. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

Counted here: distinct organizations you funded across 20172025, not grant rows in a single year — so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 14 of the 218 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile; the rest are funded organizations whose filings we could not track year by year.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
14/14
Grantees still filing
8/14
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

CLEMSON UNIVERSITY — $2,452,406 · OtherCLEMSON UNIVERSITYUSC School of Medicine Greenville — $2,034,754 · OtherUSC School of Medicine GreenvilleFRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY — $503,018 · Other+186 more — $9,502,331 · Other+186 moreSC LAUNCH INC — $8,923,138 · Community ImprovementSC LAUNCH INC+1 more — $50,000 · Community ImprovementCLEMSON UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION — $762,695 · EducationCLEMSON UNIVERSITY RESEARCH FOUNDATION — $231,242 · EducationBENEDICT COLLEGE — $50,000 · Education+1 more — $30,000 · EducationMUSC Foundation for Research Development — $282,947 · HealthSOUTH CAROLINA RESEARCH AUTHORITY — $30,000 · Science & TechADVANCED TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL — $22,000 · Science & TechUnited States Endowment for Forestry — $50,000 · EnvironmentPRESBYTERIAN COLLEGE — $15,000 · Housing & Shelter
Other$14,492,509Community Improvement$8,973,138Education$1,073,937Health$282,947Science & Tech$52,000Environment$50,000Housing & Shelter$15,000

Showing your 200 largest grantees by grant value.

Each org by its size and your share of it — top-left is where you’re load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ your share of their budgetSC LAUNCH INC — $8,923,138 over 6y, 86% of budgetCLEMSON UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION — $762,695 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetMUSC Foundation for Research Development — $282,947 over 6y, 3.8% of budgetCLEMSON UNIVERSITY RESEARCH FOUNDATION — $231,242 over 5y, 5.7% of budgetSouth Carolina Research Foundation — $70,067 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBENEDICT COLLEGE — $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetUnited States Endowment for Forestry — $50,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetBJU INC — $30,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSOUTH CAROLINA RESEARCH AUTHORITY — $30,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetADVANCED TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL — $22,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPRESBYTERIAN COLLEGE — $15,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budget
Go grantee by grantee — a decade per org, and how each moved after you funded them

A decade per grantee — revenue shaded, your grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

  • Who funds SC LAUNCH INC
  • Who funds CLEMSON UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION
  • Who funds MUSC Foundation for Research Development
  • Who funds CLEMSON UNIVERSITY RESEARCH FOUNDATION

The grantmakers whose grantees overlap with yours far more than size alone predicts. Each orbits closer the stronger the alignment; the arcs between them show where they also fund each other. Here it reads as a tightly interlocked camp — most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Sc Launch IncSC60.6× affinity27 shared granteesties to 0 of 4Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Sc Launch Inc · Spartanburg County Foundation · Central Carolina Community Foundation · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund

Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. A research starting point: overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

Government reliance of your grantees

Every dot is one organization South Carolina Research Authority funds. Left–right is the share of its income from government; up–down is the share from you. Bigger dots raise more. Filter to federal or a single department — and drag the year to watch it move.

2024
202122232425
no gov · 00%5%19%42%75%your share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    4report 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, FY2025

    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 your grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first — a floor, not 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 12–24 months.

    On method. Every financial figure here is read directly from IRS e-file XML — your own 990/990-PF and the multi-year returns of the 218 grantees we resolved across every year we hold, several hundred filings in all (a different count from the grant rows on the cover, which are one fiscal year)— each linked to its source. Grantee achievements and outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III); we read these as association with sustained funding — the foundation is one of several forces — suppress low-confidence name matches rather than guess, and say so where a figure rests on a single grant or filing. Not everything on this page is a filed figure, and the difference matters. Filed is what you reported on your 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. How we build these →

    Generated from your IRS Form 990 e-file return for fiscal year 2023, released 2023. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    More from the funding graph