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Sumner T McKnight Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Sumner T McKnight 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.

$50k
Granted FY2024still arriving
2
Grants FY2024still arriving
1
States reached
$25k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2018 to 2024.

Environment$540kArts & Culture$103kEducation$33kFood & Nutrition$25kAnimals$12kPublic Benefit$8kHealth$3k
02FY2024 · 2 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$25,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$1.5M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
HARFORD LAND TRUST INC$25,000
UPSTREAM ALLIANCE$25,000
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY18–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 8%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 8% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%GETTYSBURG MUSEUM FOUNDATION: $25k → 9%BAY JOURNAL MEDIA: $25k → 9%AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION: $1k → 14%SHRINERS HOSPITALS FOR CHILDREN: $1k → 13%COLORADO 500 CHARITY FUND: $10k → 7%MOSBY HERITAGE AREA ASSOCIATION: $3k → 6%CULPEPER ROTARY CLUB: $2k → 8%CHESAPEAKE CONSERVANCY: $25k → 6%HARFORD LAND TRUST INC: $25k → 7%MARYLAND HORSE FOUNDATION: $5k → 11%JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: $5k → 19%GETTYSBURG MUSEUM FOUNDATION: $25k → 9%BAY JOURNAL MEDIA: $25k → 9%COLORADO 500 CHARITY FUND: $5k → 7%CULPEPER ROTARY CLUB: $2k → 8%CHESAPEAKE CONSERVANCY: $25k → 6%HARFORD LAND TRUST INC: $20k → 7%LADEW TOPIARY GARDENS: $10k → 11%BALTIMORE TREE TRUST: $5k → 19%GETTYSBURG FOUNDATION: $25k → 9%BAY JOURNAL MEDIA: $20k → 9%COLORADO 500 CHARITY FUND: $5k → 7%CULPEPER ROTARY CLUB: $2k → 8%CHESAPEAKE CONSERVANCY: $25k → 6%HARFORD LAND TRUST INC: $20k → 7%LADEW TOPIARY GARDENS: $10k → 11%BALTIMORE TREE TRUST: $5k → 19%GETTYSBURG FOUNDATION: $25k → 9%BAY JOURNAL MEDIA: $18k → 9%COLORADO 500 CHARITY FUND: $5k → 7%CULPEPER ROTARY CLUB: $2k → 8%UPSTREAM ALLIANCE: $25k → 6%HARFORD LAND TRUST INC: $20k → 7%LADEW TOPIARY GARDENS: $5k → 11%NATIONAL RIDING STABLES HORSE RESCUE: $5k → 9%BAY JOURNAL MEDIA: $15k → 9%UPSTREAM ALLIANCE: $20k → 6%HARFORD LAND TRUST INC: $20k → 7%GARRISON FOREST SCHOOL: $2k → 11%NATIONAL RIDING STABLES HORSE RESCUE: $2k → 9%BAY JOURNAL MEDIA: $15k → 9%UPSTREAM ALLIANCE: $20k → 6%HARFORD LAND TRUST INC: $20k → 7%UPSTREAM ALLIANCE: $20k → 6%HARFORD LAND TRUST INC: $20k → 7%UPSTREAM ALLIANCE: $20k → 6%UPSTREAM ALLIANCE: $20k → 6%UPSTREAM ALLIANCE: $15k → 6%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.

98%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$708k · 13 repeat orgs$16k to everyone else

13 repeat relationships: 2 still active in FY2024, 11 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

13
6

Total granted

$708k
$16k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+29%
+51%

Still filing today

77%
100%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

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

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

’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
EnvironmentHealthEducationArts & CulturePhilanthropyAnimalsOther
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

  • UA
    Upstream Alliance Inc
    7× · 2018–2024 · $140k · revenue +467%
  • BJ
    BAY JOURNAL MEDIA INC
    6× · 2018–2023 · $118k · revenue +15%
  • CC
    CHESAPEAKE CONSERVANCY INC
    3× · 2018–2021 · $75k · revenue +224%

Funded once

  • JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITYgraduated
    one grant, 2018 · $5k · revenue +51%
  • MH
    MARYLAND HORSE FOUNDATION INC
    one grant, 2022 · $5k · revenue -57%
  • VP
    VIRGINIA PIEDMONT HERITAGE AREA ASSOCIATION
    one grant, 2019 · $3k · revenue +24%
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
Harvard Conservation Trust

To preserve the unique character and natural resources of harvard.

Environment
2
Chesapeake Bay Trust

Chesapeake bay trust is a public, nonprofit grant-making organization created to promote public awareness of and participation in the restoration and protection of the chesapeake bay and its tributaries. (see schedule o for continuation)…

—
3
The Land Trust for Tennessee Inc

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

Environment
4
The James River Basin Partnership

To improve and protect the water quality in the james river watershed and table rock lake.

Environment
5
Natural History Institute

Natural History Institute is organized to provide leadership and resources for a revitalized practice of natural history that integrates art, science, and humanities to promote the health and well-being of humans and the rest of the…

Arts & Culture
6
Harpeth Conservancy

To restore and protect clean water and healthy ecosystems for rivers in tennessee by employing scientific expertise and collaborative relationships to develop, promote, and support broad community stewardship and action.

Environment
7
Health Care Without Harm

The mission of health care without harm (hcwh) is to transform health care worldwide so that it reduces its environmental footprint, becomes a community anchor for sustainability and a leader in the global movement for environmental health…

Environment
8
James River Association

The mission of the james river association is to be guardian of the james river. we provide a voice for the river and take action to promote conservation and responsible stewardship of its natural resources.

Environment
9
Chesapeake Bay Foundation Inc

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation's (CBF) mission, simply stated, is to Save the Bay. See Schedule O for Continuation (page 48)

Environment
10
Natural Heritage Trust

The purpose of the trust is to serve as a focal point for the receipt and administration of gifts, grants, devises and bequests of real and personal property to further conservation, outdoor recreation, historic preservation and waterfront…

—
11
The Clifton Institute Inc

Our mission is to inspire a deeper understanding and appreciation of nature, to study the ecology of our region, to restore habitat, and to conserve native biodiversity. we fulfill our mission by providing environmental education to people…

—
12
Historic Virginia Land Conservancy

Promoting for the benefit of the general public, the preservation, protection and enjoyment of our natural resources, principally in the lower james, york, rappahannock and chowan rivers and surrounding watersheds.

Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Gettysburg Foundation; the most unlike its peers is National Riding Stables Horse Rescue. 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

16 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. 16 of the 19 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)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
16/16
Grantees still filing
12/16
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

HARFORD LAND TRUST INC: $145,000 · EnvironmentHARFORD LAND TRUST INCUpstream Alliance Inc: $140,000 · EnvironmentUpstream Alliance IncBAY JOURNAL MEDIA INC: $117,500 · EnvironmentBAY JOURNAL MEDIA INCCHESAPEAKE CONSERVANCY INC: $75,000 · EnvironmentCHESAPEAKE CONSERVANCY INC+1 more: $10,000 · EnvironmentGETTYSBURG MUSEUM FOUNDATION: $50,000 · OtherGETTYSBURG MUSEU…LADEW TOPIARY GARDENS: $25,000 · OtherLADEW TOPIARY GA…COLORADO 500 CHARITY FUND: $25,000 · OtherCOLORADO 500 CHA…CULPEPER ROTARY CLUB: $8,000 · OtherCULPEPER ROTARY …Fair Hill Foundation Inc: $52,500 · PhilanthropyGETTYSBURG FOUNDATION: $50,000 · Arts & CultureVIRGINIA PIEDMONT HERITAGE AREA ASSOCIATION: $2,500 · Arts & CultureJOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: $5,000 · EducationGARRISON FOREST SCHOOL INC: $3,000 · EducationNATIONAL RIDING STABLES HORSE RESCUE: $7,000 · Recreation & SportsMARYLAND HORSE FOUNDATION INC: $5,000 · AnimalsSHRINERS HOSPITALS FOR CHILDREN: $1,000 · HealthST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $1,000 · HealthAmerican Heart Association Inc: $1,000 · Health
Environment$487,500Other$108,000Philanthropy$52,500Arts & Culture$52,500Education$8,000Recreation & Sports$7,000Animals$5,000Health$3,000

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 budgetHARFORD LAND TRUST INC: $145,000 over 7y, 9.3% of budgetUpstream Alliance Inc: $140,000 over 7y, 5.6% of budgetBAY JOURNAL MEDIA INC: $117,500 over 6y, 1.7% of budgetCHESAPEAKE CONSERVANCY INC: $75,000 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetFair Hill Foundation Inc: $52,500 over 2y, 2.8% of budgetGETTYSBURG FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetCOLORADO 500 CHARITY FUND: $25,000 over 4y, 2.2% of budgetBALTIMORE TREE TRUST INC: $10,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetNATIONAL RIDING STABLES HORSE RESCUE: $7,000 over 2y, 2.8% of budgetJOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMARYLAND HORSE FOUNDATION INC: $5,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetGARRISON FOREST SCHOOL INC: $3,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetVIRGINIA PIEDMONT HERITAGE AREA ASSOCIATION: $2,500 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetSHRINERS HOSPITALS FOR CHILDREN: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican Heart Association Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 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.

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.

Baltimore Community F…National Fish and Wil…Vanguard Charitable E…National Philanthropi…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Baltimore Community Foundation IncMD13.3× affinity4 shared granteesties to 6 of 6Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Baltimore Community Foundation Inc · National Fish and Wildlife Foundation · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · National Philanthropic Trust · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile 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 Sumner T McKnight Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Sumner T McKnight Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 15%
  • Baltimore Tree Trust Inc: 100% of income from government
  • Chesapeake Conservancy Inc: 27% of income from government
  • Harford Land Trust Inc: 15% of income from government
  • Johns Hopkins University: 12% of income from government
  • Shriners Hospitals for Children: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
2get no government money at all
3report 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 Sumner T McKnight Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Sumner T McKnight 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 19 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

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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