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Stephens Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Stephens Foundation

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.

$609k
Granted FY2024still arriving
62
Grants FY2024still arriving
10
States reached
$60k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0197% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Arts & Culture$1.1MEnvironment$868kPhilanthropy$545kHealth$543kEducation$430kYouth Development$391kInternational$350kHuman Services$193kOther$0
02FY2024 · 62 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k42 grants · $158k
  • $10k–50k19 grants · $392k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $60k
$5,000
Median grant
10
States reached
$3.3M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
ALABAMA RIVERS ALLIANCE$60,000
BIRMINGHAM SOUTHERN COLLEGE$40,000
CHILDRENS HOSPITAL FOUNDATION$35,000
ALYS STEPHENS CENTER$35,000
BIRMINGHAM MUSEUM OF ART$35,000
GIRLSPRING INC$26,000
ALABAMA BALLET$25,000
COMPASSION AND CHOICES$25,000
SOUTHERN ENVIRONMENT LAW CENTER$25,000
ALABAMA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA$20,000
UNITED WAY OF CENTRAL ALABAMA$20,000
BLACK WARRIOR RIVERKEEPER$18,000
RED MOUNTAIN THEATRE COMPANY$15,000
BAPTIST HEALTH FOUNDATION$12,500
SOUTH CAROLINA COASTAL CAROLINA LEAGUE FOR GROWFOODS CAROLINA$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 (FY17–24, $117k) land where the poverty rate runs at 16%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%METROPOLITAN MINISTRIES: $6k → 13%METROPOLITAN MINISTRIES: $5k → 13%METROPOLITAN MINISTRIES: $5k → 13%UNITED METHODIST CHILDREN'S HOME: $5k → 18%SENIOR SERVICES: $2k → 15%METROPOLITAN MINISTRIES: $3k → 13%UNITED METHODIST CHILDREN'S HOME: $5k → 18%METROPOLITAN MINISTRIES: $2k → 13%UNITED METHODIST CHILDREN'S HOME: $5k → 18%FRESH AIR FAMILY: $4k → 16%FRESH AIR FAMILY: $4k → 16%FRESH AIR FAMILY: $4k → 16%FRESH AIR FAMILY: $2k → 16%LOVELADY CENTER: $8k → 16%LOVELADY CENTER: $5k → 16%THE LOVELADY CENTER: $3k → 16%LOVELADY CENTER: $2k → 16%GATEWAY: $7k → 16%GATEWAY: $5k → 16%GATEWAY: $4k → 16%GATEWAY: $4k → 16%GATEWAY: $3k → 16%GATEWAY: $3k → 16%COMMUNITY FURNITURE BANK: $2k → 16%COMMUNITY FURNITURE BANK: $2k → 16%COMMUNITY FURNITURE BANK: $2k → 16%COMMUNITY FURNITURE BANK: $2k → 16%COMMUNITY FURNITURE BANK: $1k → 16%YMCA OF GREATER BIRMINGHAM: $3k → 16%FIRST LIGHT: $5k → 16%KID ONE TRANSPORT: $2k → 16%KID ONE TRANSPORT: $2k → 16%KID ONE TRANSPORT: $1k → 16%KID ONE TRANSPORT: $1k → 16%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

NY
OR
OH
CT
CO
VA
MD
AR
TN
NC
SC
DC
LA
AL
GA
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.

92%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$4.4M · 87 repeat orgs$380k to everyone else

87 repeat relationships: 46 still active in FY2024, 41 since wound down; 15 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

87
54

Total granted

$4.4M
$296k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+37%
+71%

Still filing today

70%
59%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 86% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $84k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
EnvironmentEducationHuman ServicesArts & CultureHealthPhilanthropyOther
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

  • UNITED WAY OF CENTRAL ALABAMA INC
    8× · 2017–2024 · $512k · revenue +74%
  • AC
    Alabama Children's Hospital Foundation
    8× · 2017–2024 · $260k · revenue +81%
  • GI
    GIRLSPRING INC
    8× · 2017–2024 · $215k · revenue +125% · 53% of their budget

Funded once

  • BM
    BIRMINGHAM MUSEUM
    one grant, 2020 · $36k
  • A
    ARTPLAY
    one grant, 2020 · $25k
  • HF
    HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE
    one grant, 2022 · $20k
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
Alabama Bankers Association Inc

To promote the preservation and continued development of commercial banking in alabama.

—
2
Alabama Association of Resource Conservation and Development Councils

Coordinate rc&d activity in alabama

Environment
3
Uab Educational Foundation

To support the university of alabama at birmingham in its scientific and educational mission, including managing and disbursing funds, acquiring real property, and providing operational flexibility.

Education
4
Alabama Alliance Network

The alabama alliance netowrk works to strengthen and enhance alabama's civic society through research, education, and grantmaking

Public Benefit
5
Alabama Forest Land Trust Inc

The Organization focuses on providing services via conservation easements, administration of various grants, educational outreach and planning.

—
6
Alabama a&M University Foundation

The Alabama A&M University Foundation was established to receive, hold, invest, manage, use, and administer property of all kinds, whether given absolutely or in trust, for the benefit of Alabama A&M University and its educational,…

—
7
The University Foundation

The university foundation is organized to assist and aid the board of trustees of the university of alabama in fulfilling its educational, research, and public service programs and activities.

—
8
Alabama Rural Electric Association of Cooperatives

A statewide trade association which serves as a resource through which its electric cooperative members are provided services for the continuation and advancement of the rural electrification program in Alabama.

—
9
Alabama Association of Conservation Districts Inc

The alabama association of conservation districts (aacd) is the unified voice of alabama's 67 conservation districts. organized as a 501(c)3, aacd works in cooperation with the alabama soil & water conservation committee, federal, state,…

Environment
10
Conservation Al Foundation Inc

To build the ability of Alabama citizens and organizations to promote conservation through government and civic action.

Education
11
Alabama Partnership for Children

To work in partnership with families and organizations to ensure that all alabama children (birth to five) get everything they need to develop to their fullest potential.

Education
12
The Land Trust for Tennessee Inc

To conserve the unique character of tennessee's natural and historic landscapes and sites for future generations.

Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Alabama Children's Hospital Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Wake Forest University. 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

105 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. 105 of the 157 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)
37
Early backer (in before they grew)
104/105
Grantees still filing
76/105
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

ALABAMA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: $501,500 · OtherALABAMA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRABIRMINGHAM MUSEUM OF ART: $232,000 · OtherBIRMINGHAM MUSEUM OF ARTUNICEF: $215,000 · OtherUNICEFSOUTHERN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER: $153,000 · OtherSOUTHERN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTERALYS STEPHENS CENTER: $97,250 · OtherMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $135,000 · OtherMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC+90 more: $1,111,700 · Other+90 moreGasp: $171,000 · EnvironmentGaspAlabama Rivers Alliance Inc: $170,500 · EnvironmentAlabama Rivers…BLACK WARRIOR RIVERKEEPER INC: $139,500 · EnvironmentBLACK WARRIOR …COOSA RIVERKEEPER INC: $45,500 · EnvironmentCOOSA RIVERKEE…PAINT ROCK FOREST RESEARCH CENTER: $24,500 · Environment+13 more: $66,250 · Environment+13 moreUNITED WAY OF CENTRAL ALABAMA INC: $512,000 · PhilanthropyUNITED WAY O…+4 more: $24,550 · PhilanthropyAlabama Children's Hospital Foundation: $260,000 · HealthALABAMA INSTITUTE FOR DEAF & BLIND FOUND: $30,000 · HealthLAKESHORE FOUNDATION: $25,000 · HealthBaptist Health Foundation Inc: $12,500 · Health+4 more: $13,000 · HealthGIRLSPRING INC: $215,000 · Youth DevelopmentLIFE Skills Foundation: $115,000 · Youth Development+1 more: $4,500 · Youth DevelopmentThe Summit School Incorporated: $55,000 · EducationLINLY HEFLIN UNIT INC: $44,000 · EducationTeach for America Inc: $37,500 · EducationSTAIR OF BIRMINGHAM: $36,000 · EducationACADEMY PREP CENTER OF TAMPA INC: $27,500 · EducationFRIENDS OF THE ALABAMA ARCHIVES: $13,500 · EducationTHE PISTON FOUNDATION INC: $12,500 · EducationAMERICAN COLLEGE OF THE BUILDING ARTS: $12,000 · EducationUrology Health Foundation: $10,000 · EducationWashington and Lee University: $10,000 · Education+8 more: $29,300 · EducationTHE STATE OF ALABAMA BALLET INC: $80,000 · Arts & CultureRED MOUNTAIN THEATRE COMPANY INC: $39,000 · Arts & CultureBIRMINGHAM CHILDREN'S THEATRE INC: $22,500 · Arts & CultureTAMPA MUSEUM OF ART INC: $15,500 · Arts & CultureREYNOLDA HOUSE INC: $15,000 · Arts & CultureALABAMA ARCHIVES & HISTORY FOUNDATION: $10,000 · Arts & CultureBIRMINGHAM LANDMARKS INC: $7,500 · Arts & Culture+2 more: $4,000 · Arts & Culture
Other$2,445,450Environment$617,250Philanthropy$536,550Health$340,500Youth Development$334,500Education$287,300Arts & Culture$193,500

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 budgetUNITED WAY OF CENTRAL ALABAMA INC: $512,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetAlabama Children's Hospital Foundation: $260,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetGIRLSPRING INC: $215,000 over 8y, 53% of budgetGasp: $171,000 over 6y, 16% of budgetAlabama Rivers Alliance Inc: $170,500 over 6y, 20% of budgetSOUTHERN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER: $153,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetBLACK WARRIOR RIVERKEEPER INC: $139,500 over 6y, 9.7% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $135,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetLIFE Skills Foundation: $115,000 over 6y, 6.0% of budgetTHE STATE OF ALABAMA BALLET INC: $80,000 over 8y, 1.1% of budgetBIRMINGHAM-SOUTHERN COLLEGE: $60,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetThe Summit School Incorporated: $55,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetCOOSA RIVERKEEPER INC: $45,500 over 7y, 4.2% of budgetLINLY HEFLIN UNIT INC: $44,000 over 6y, 1.3% of budgetRED MOUNTAIN THEATRE COMPANY INC: $39,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetTeach for America Inc: $37,500 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetALZHEIMERS OF CENTRAL ALABAMA INC: $36,000 over 7y, 0.7% of budgetSTAIR OF BIRMINGHAM: $36,000 over 8y, 1.5% of budgetALABAMA HUMANITIES ALLIANCE: $35,000 over 8y, 0.4% of budgetBig Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Birmingham Inc: $35,000 over 7y, 0.4% of budgetALABAMA INSTITUTE FOR DEAF & BLIND FOUND: $30,000 over 6y, 0.4% of budgetBETTER BASICS INC: $28,000 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetACADEMY PREP CENTER OF TAMPA INC: $27,500 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetGateway: $25,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetCOMPASSION & CHOICES: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetLAKESHORE FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetPAINT ROCK FOREST RESEARCH CENTER: $24,500 over 2y, 6.5% of budgetBIRMINGHAM CHILDREN'S THEATRE INC: $22,500 over 6y, 0.5% of budgetHISTORIC CHARLESTON FOUNDATION: $21,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetMETROPOLITAN MINISTRIES INC: $20,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetCahaba River Society Inc: $19,750 over 6y, 1.2% of budgetFREEDOM RAIN INC: $18,200 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetWOODLAWN UNITED INC: $16,500 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetSARARA INSTITUTE: $16,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetTAMPA MUSEUM OF ART INC: $15,500 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetNATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC: $15,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetUNITED METHODIST CHILDREN'S HOME: $15,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetREYNOLDA HOUSE INC: $15,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetTAMPA BAY WATERKEEPER INC: $14,500 over 5y, 1.9% of budgetBirmingham Zoo Inc: $14,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetFRESH AIR FAMILY INC: $14,000 over 4y, 1.2% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE ALABAMA ARCHIVES: $13,500 over 3y, 2.0% of budgetMISSION WOLF: $13,500 over 7y, 0.6% of budgetBaptist Health Foundation Inc: $12,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE PISTON FOUNDATION INC: $12,500 over 2y, 2.3% of budgetAMERICAN COLLEGE OF THE BUILDING ARTS: $12,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetALABAMA WILDLIFE FEDERATION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetUrology Health Foundation: $10,000 over 2y, 3.3% 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 UNITED WAY OF CENTRAL ALABAMA INC ↗
  • Who funds Alabama Children's Hospital Foundation ↗
  • Who funds GIRLSPRING INC ↗
  • Who funds Gasp ↗
  • Who funds Alabama Rivers Alliance Inc ↗
  • Who funds SOUTHERN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER ↗
  • Who funds BLACK WARRIOR RIVERKEEPER INC ↗
  • Who funds MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC ↗
  • Who funds LIFE Skills Foundation ↗
  • Who funds THE STATE OF ALABAMA BALLET INC ↗
  • Who funds BIRMINGHAM-SOUTHERN COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds The Summit School Incorporated ↗
  • Who funds COOSA RIVERKEEPER INC ↗
  • Who funds LINLY HEFLIN UNIT INC ↗
  • Who funds RED MOUNTAIN THEATRE COMPANY INC ↗
  • Who funds Teach for America Inc ↗
  • Who funds ALZHEIMERS OF CENTRAL ALABAMA INC ↗
  • Who funds STAIR OF BIRMINGHAM ↗
  • Who funds ALABAMA HUMANITIES ALLIANCE ↗
  • Who funds Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Birmingham Inc ↗
  • Who funds ALABAMA INSTITUTE FOR DEAF & BLIND FOUND ↗
  • Who funds BETTER BASICS INC ↗
  • Who funds ACADEMY PREP CENTER OF TAMPA INC ↗
  • Who funds Gateway ↗
  • Who funds COMPASSION & CHOICES ↗
  • Who funds LAKESHORE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds PAINT ROCK FOREST RESEARCH CENTER ↗

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 Community Foundat…The Daniel Foundation…Mike and Gillian Good…Susan Mott Webb Chari…Robert R Meyer Founda…Protective Life Found…Hill Crest Foundation…Alabama Power Foundat…Altecstyslinger Found…The Hugh Kaul Foundat…The Maynard Nexsen Fo…Orlean & Ralph W Bees…
The Community Foundation of Greater BirminghamAL95.4× affinity51 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham · The Daniel Foundation of Alabama · Mike and Gillian Goodrich Foundation · Susan Mott Webb Charitable Trust · Robert R Meyer Foundation · Protective Life Foundation · Hill Crest Foundation Inc · Alabama Power Foundation Inc · Altecstyslinger Foundation · The Hugh Kaul Foundation · The Maynard Nexsen Foundation · Orlean & Ralph W Beeson Fund

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%1%5%11%20%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 3%
  • The Spring of Tampa Bay Inc: 33% of income from government
  • Mote Marine Laboratory Inc: 4% of income from government
  • Academy Prep Center of Tampa Inc: 3% of income from government
  • Tampa Bay Waterkeeper Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Metropolitan Ministries Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Tampa Museum of Art Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
27report 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.
05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Stephens Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Stephens Foundation 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 157 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 Stephens’ 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