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· Private foundation

Special People in Need

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$325k
Granted FY2025still arriving
79
Grants FY2025still arriving
29
States reached
$7k
Largest
01What it funds
0194% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Health$573kEducation$314kHuman Services$292kAnimals$175kArts & Culture$153kFood & Nutrition$134kHousing & Shelter$87kYouth Development$85kOther$0
02FY2025 · 79 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$5,000
Median grant
29
States reached
$3.5M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
FREE WHEELCHAIR MISSION$7,000
CAN DO CANINES ASSISTANCE DOGS$6,500
PARAGON SERVICE DOGS$6,500
CANINE SUPPORT TEAMS$6,500
CATCHING THE DREAM$6,000
VARIETY (YTHE CHILDREN'S CHARITY)$6,000
ROARING FORK YOUTH ORCHESTRA$6,000
DISABLED PATRIOTS FUND$6,000
CENTER FOR MUSIC FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES$6,000
EAGLE MOUNT-BOZEMAN$5,000
SIMPLE CHANGES INC$5,000
SOUTHERN METHODIST COLLEGE$5,000
SO OTHERS MAY EAT$5,000
BETHESDA CARES$5,000
ABILITY FOUND$5,000
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, $310k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 68% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%NEW HORIZONS DISABILITY EMPOWERMENT CENTER: $5k → 14%CENTER FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT: $4k → 17%CANINE SUPPORT TEAMS: $7k → 11%DOGS INC: $5k → 10%PAWS4LIBERTY: $5k → 11%KSDS ASSISTANCE DOG INC: $5k → 10%THE KIRSTIE ENNIS FOUNDATION: $4k → 7%SUMMIT ASSISTANCE DOGS: $5k → 11%MARKLUND: $4k → 7%CANINE SUPPORT TEAMS: $7k → 11%DOGS INC: $5k → 10%KSDS ASSISTANCE DOG INC: $5k → 10%ABILITY FOUND: $7k → 8%THE KIRSTIE ENNIS FOUNDATION: $4k → 7%SUMMIT ASSISTANCE DOGS: $4k → 11%CANINE SUPPORT TEAMS: $5k → 11%SOUTHEASTERN GUIDE DOGS: $4k → 10%ABILITY FOUND: $5k → 8%THE KIRSTIE ENNIS FOUNDATION: $4k → 7%FREEDOM SERVICE DOGS INC: $5k → 8%SUMMIT ASSISTANCE DOGS: $4k → 11%HELP CENTER: $7k → 10%CANINE SUPPORT TEAMS: $5k → 11%ABILITY FOUND: $5k → 8%INTERNATIONAL HEARING DOG INC: $5k → 10%OPTIONS CENTER FOR INDEPENDENT LIVING: $4k → 29%CANINE SUPPORT TEAMS: $4k → 11%ABILITY FOUND: $5k → 8%INTERNATIONAL HEARING DOG INC: $5k → 10%ABILITY FOUND: $4k → 8%INTERNATIONAL HEARING DOG INC: $4k → 10%INTERNATIONAL HEARING DOG INC: $4k → 10%INTERNATIONAL HEARING DOG INC: $4k → 10%BETHESDA CARES: $7k → 8%HELP CENTER: $5k → 10%INTERNATIONAL HEARING DOG INC: $4k → 10%BETHESDA CARES: $6k → 8%HELP CENTER: $5k → 10%BETHESDA CARES: $5k → 8%HELP CENTER: $5k → 10%BETHESDA CARES: $5k → 8%HELP CENTER: $5k → 10%USA WARRIOR ICE HOCKEY PROGRAM: $4k → 8%THE NIGHT MINISTRY: $6k → 14%THE NIGHT MINISTRY: $5k → 14%THE NIGHT MINISTRY: $5k → 14%THE NIGHT MINISTRY: $5k → 14%IGNITE: $5k → 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.

Which US states its grants reach

ME
VT
NH
WA
MT
MN
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
OR
IA
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CT
RI
CA
UT
CO
MO
KY
WV
VA
MD
DE
AZ
NM
KS
TN
NC
SC
DC
OK
LA
AL
GA
TX
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.

86%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.9M · 112 repeat orgs$307k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +28% since the first grant, against +27% for those funded once.

112 repeat relationships: 61 still active in FY2025, 51 since wound down; 18 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

112
73

Total granted

$1.9M
$244k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+28%
+27%

Still filing today

62%
58%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 81% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $63k 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
Human ServicesHealthEducationRecreation & SportsPhilanthropyArts & CultureOther
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

  • SP
    SAMARITAN'S PURSE
    2× · 2023–2024 · $45k · revenue +53%
  • CF
    CENTER FOR MUSIC BY PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
    9× · 2017–2025 · $43k · revenue +66%
  • CD
    CAN DO CANINES
    9× · 2017–2025 · $39k · revenue +61%

Funded once

  • ST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC
    one grant, 2024 · $20k · revenue +10%
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2024 · $7k
  • ED
    ENCORE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES
    one grant, 2024 · $7k · revenue +0%
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
Colorado Discover Ability

Provide adaptive sports for the disabled.

Recreation & Sports
2
Healing Reins Equine Assisted Services Inc

"to heal with horses" by offering nationally accredited, affordable, horse-centered therapies and experiences that bring strength, independence, confidence and joy to central oregonians of all ages and abilities.

Health
3
Woodland Strides
Health
4
Accessible Alpine Adventure Tours
Health
5
Colorado Therapeutic Riding Center

To change the lives of people with disabilities by promoting their physical, psychological and social well-being through equine-assisted activities.

—
6
Turn Community Services Inc

TURN dreams into reality. We are dedicated to choice, quality and respect for people with disabilities and those who support them.

Human Services
7
Equest Center for Therapeutic Riding Inc

We improve quality of life through equine-based therapy to physically, mentally and socially/emotionally challenged individuals. Our unique program integrates academic, social and physical skills using the horse as a catalyst.

Health
8
Living Well Disability Services

Living Well Disability Services transforms the lives of people impacted by disabilities through the delivery of exceptional services.

—
9
Disability Rights Montana

Disability Rights Montana envisions a society where people with disabilities have equality of opportunity and are able to participate fully in community life by exercising choice and self-determination. Because of this vision, the mission…

Civil Rights
10
Limitless Disability Services Inc

To create an enviornment where special needs individuals have the opportunity to for independence and growth. This is done by providing special needs adults a day program that fosters a safe, loving and inclusive environment.

Human Services
11
United Rehabilitation Services of Greater Dayton

To provide child and adult day services, vocational, therapy and support services for individuals with acquired or developmental disabilities or other special needs, and their families.

—
12
Leg Up Farm Inc

Leg up farm's pediatric services are unique in that leg up farm is the only facility in the country with the following services beneath one roof: physical, occupational, and speech therapy; mental health, equine-assisted, and nutrition…

Animals
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Access Living of Metropolitan Chicago; the most unlike its peers is UpRoot Colorado. 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

132 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. 132 of the 203 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)
38
Early backer (in before they grew)
127/132
Grantees still filing
86/132
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

DISABLED PATRIOT FUND INC: $44,500 · OtherSAMARITAN'S PURSE: $45,000 · Other+116 more: $1,181,711 · Other+116 moreABILITY FOUND CORPORATION: $33,500 · Human ServicesABILITY FOUND COR…HELP CENTER INC: $32,000 · Human ServicesHELP CENTER INCPARAGON SERVICE DOGS: $27,000 · Human ServicesPARAGON SERVICE D…CANINE SUPPORT TEAMS INC: $26,500 · Human ServicesCANINE SUPPORT TE…BETHESDA CARES INC: $26,000 · Human ServicesBETHESDA CARES IN…THE NIGHT MINISTRY: $24,000 · Human ServicesTHE NIGHT MINISTR…The Kirstie Ennis Foundation: $18,000 · Human ServicesThe Kirstie Ennis…SUMMIT ASSISTANCE DOGS: $14,500 · Human ServicesTuesdays Child: $14,500 · Human ServicesSoutheastern Guide Dogs Inc: $13,500 · Human Services+25 more: $102,260 · Human Services+25 moreFREE WHEELCHAIR MISSION: $37,500 · HealthFREE WHEELC…Pregnancy Resource Center Inc: $32,000 · HealthPregnancy R…RMH SERVICES: $28,000 · HealthRMH SERVICE…ST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $20,000 · HealthST JUDE CHI…MOMENTUM WHEELS FOR HUMANITY: $14,000 · HealthMOMENTUM WH…SUFFER OUT LOUD: $10,100 · HealthMAY WE HELP INC: $10,000 · HealthSMILING GOAT RANCH INC: $9,000 · HealthPAWsitive Recovery: $7,500 · Health+13 more: $47,410 · Health+13 moreCatching the Dream: $47,000 · EducationCatching …ALICE LLOYD COLLEGE: $35,500 · EducationALICE LLO…UNIVERSITY OF THE CUMBERLANDS INC: $31,000 · EducationUNIVERSIT…SOUTHERN METHODIST COLLEGE: $25,500 · EducationSOUTHERN …CHESAPEAKE THERAPEUTIC RIDING INC: $14,260 · EducationCHESAPEAK…COMMUNITY PREPARATORY SCHOOL: $12,000 · EducationCOMMUNITY…ELIM CHRISTIAN SERVICES: $10,700 · EducationELIM CHRI…+2 more: $5,500 · EducationCENTER FOR MUSIC BY PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES: $42,500 · Arts & CultureStill Point Theatre Collective: $23,000 · Arts & CultureAXIS Dance Company: $7,000 · Arts & CultureTELLIN TALES THEATRE: $3,000 · Arts & CultureBORN DANCING INC: $3,000 · Arts & CultureMARTHA'S TABLE INC: $30,000 · Food & NutritionMANNA FOOD CENTER INC: $29,000 · Food & NutritionUpRoot Colorado: $15,000 · Food & NutritionLITTLE BIT THERAPEUTIC RIDING CENTER: $18,500 · Recreation & SportsHORIZONS INC: $14,500 · Recreation & SportsSpace Coast Sled Hockey Inc: $8,000 · Recreation & SportsStephen J Wampler Foundation Camp WAMP: $4,000 · Recreation & SportsLIONS CAMP MERRICK INC: $3,000 · Recreation & SportsCHILDRENS ONCOLOGY CAMP FOUNDATION: $3,000 · Recreation & SportsCAMP HOLIDAY TRAILS: $2,500 · Recreation & Sports+1 more: $1,100 · Recreation & Sports
Other$1,271,211Human Services$331,760Health$215,510Education$181,460Arts & Culture$78,500Food & Nutrition$74,000Recreation & Sports$54,600

Showing the 200 largest grantees by grant value.

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 budgetCatching the Dream: $47,000 over 9y, 1.6% of budgetSAMARITAN'S PURSE: $45,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetDISABLED PATRIOT FUND INC: $44,500 over 9y, 5.5% of budgetCENTER FOR MUSIC BY PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES: $42,500 over 9y, 7.0% of budgetCAN DO CANINES: $38,500 over 9y, 0.2% of budgetFREE WHEELCHAIR MISSION: $37,500 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetALICE LLOYD COLLEGE: $35,500 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetABILITY FOUND CORPORATION: $33,500 over 8y, 0.3% of budgetWOMENS RESOURCE CENTER: $32,000 over 7y, 1.2% of budgetHELP CENTER INC: $32,000 over 7y, 0.3% of budgetPregnancy Resource Center Inc: $32,000 over 6y, 2.8% of budgetAccess Living of Metropolitan Chicago: $31,500 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF THE CUMBERLANDS INC: $31,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetMOUNTAIN STATES LEGAL FOUNDATION: $30,000 over 7y, 0.3% of budgetHAVEN: $30,000 over 7y, 0.3% of budgetMARTHA'S TABLE INC: $30,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetMANNA FOOD CENTER INC: $29,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetRMH SERVICES: $28,000 over 9y, 5.7% of budgetCENTER FOR HEARING & SPEECH: $27,500 over 8y, 0.2% of budgetPARAGON SERVICE DOGS: $27,000 over 7y, 0.8% of budgetCANINE SUPPORT TEAMS INC: $26,500 over 5y, 0.6% of budgetSECOND SENSE: $26,500 over 9y, 0.4% of budgetBETHESDA CARES INC: $26,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetSOUTHERN METHODIST COLLEGE: $25,500 over 8y, 3.3% of budgetProvidence St Mel School: $25,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetWELLSPRING: $24,500 over 9y, 0.7% of budgetLESTER AND ROSALIE ANIXTER CENTER: $24,500 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetTHE NIGHT MINISTRY: $24,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetStill Point Theatre Collective: $23,000 over 7y, 4.2% of budgetDONKA INCORPORATED: $21,000 over 7y, 1.0% of budgetST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $20,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMBLESIDE SCHOOL ROCKY MOUNTAINS: $19,200 over 3y, 1.4% of budgetBERNIE'S BOOK BANK: $18,500 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetLITTLE BIT THERAPEUTIC RIDING CENTER: $18,500 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetThe Kirstie Ennis Foundation: $18,000 over 5y, 6.0% of budgetUpRoot Colorado: $15,000 over 3y, 1.6% of budgetWOMEN'S BEAN PROJECT: $15,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetHORIZONS INC: $14,500 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetSUMMIT ASSISTANCE DOGS: $14,500 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetVERMONT ASSOCIATION FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED INC: $14,500 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetTuesdays Child: $14,500 over 9y, 1.0% of budgetCHESAPEAKE THERAPEUTIC RIDING INC: $14,260 over 4y, 1.0% of budgetMOMENTUM WHEELS FOR HUMANITY: $14,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetTOTALLY POSITIVE PRODUCTIONS: $13,500 over 6y, 4.0% of budgetSoutheastern Guide Dogs Inc: $13,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetRIDE TO WALK INC: $13,500 over 4y, 1.0% of budgetTHE CHROMOSOME 18 REGISTRY & RESEARCH SOCIETY: $12,000 over 4y, 0.6% of budgetCOMMUNITY PREPARATORY SCHOOL: $12,000 over 7y, 0.1% 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 Catching the Dream ↗
  • Who funds SAMARITAN'S PURSE ↗
  • Who funds DISABLED PATRIOT FUND INC ↗
  • Who funds CENTER FOR MUSIC BY PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES ↗
  • Who funds CAN DO CANINES ↗
  • Who funds FREE WHEELCHAIR MISSION ↗
  • Who funds ALICE LLOYD COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds ABILITY FOUND CORPORATION ↗
  • Who funds WOMENS RESOURCE CENTER ↗
  • Who funds HELP CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds Pregnancy Resource Center Inc ↗
  • Who funds Access Living of Metropolitan Chicago ↗
  • Who funds UNIVERSITY OF THE CUMBERLANDS INC ↗
  • Who funds MOUNTAIN STATES LEGAL FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds HAVEN ↗
  • Who funds MARTHA'S TABLE INC ↗
  • Who funds MANNA FOOD CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds RMH SERVICES ↗
  • Who funds CENTER FOR HEARING & SPEECH ↗
  • Who funds PARAGON SERVICE DOGS ↗
  • Who funds CANINE SUPPORT TEAMS INC ↗
  • Who funds SECOND SENSE ↗
  • Who funds BETHESDA CARES INC ↗
  • Who funds SOUTHERN METHODIST COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds Providence St Mel School ↗
  • Who funds WELLSPRING ↗
  • Who funds LESTER AND ROSALIE ANIXTER CENTER ↗
  • Who funds THE NIGHT MINISTRY ↗
  • Who funds Still Point Theatre Collective ↗
  • Who funds DONKA INCORPORATED ↗

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.

Christopher Reeve FoundationNJ21.3× affinity10 shared granteesties to 9 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Christopher Reeve Foundation · George M Eisenberg Foundation for Charities · Helen V Brach Foundation · Goldenberg Max Tw M G Foundation · Town Pump Charitable Foundation · Max & Victoria Dreyfus Foundation Inc · The Service Club of Chicago · Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation · Stern Sidney Memorial Tuw · Jolley Family Foundation · The Chicago Community Trust · Greater Gallatin United Way 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 Special People in Need funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Special People in Need. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 120%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 26%
  • Bethesda Cares Inc: 100% of income from government
  • Dismas of Vermont Inc: 39% of income from government
  • Horizons Inc: 39% of income from government
  • Usa Warriors Ice Hockey Program Inc Usawihp: 37% of income from government
  • Center for Human Development Inc: 26% of income from government
  • Special Strides Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Western New England University: 1% of income from government
  • Manna Food Center Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Southeastern Guide Dogs Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Theatre Adventure Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
12get no government money at all
33report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
1rely 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.
05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Special People in Need?

Find your warmest path to Special People in Need through trustees and officers whose names appear on both boards. Search for your organization and Plinth traces the shortest route it can evidence.

Each link is a name appearing on two organizations’ public IRS 990 filings, matched on that name and, where the filings support it, on location. A same-state match has geographic support, which is a second matching feature rather than confirmation that the two are one person; a cross-state one is the likeliest to be two people who share a name. Every hop shows its tier, low-confidence and distant paths are held back rather than guessed, and it is worth confirming the person before you use the introduction.

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 203 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

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