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The Alice Aber Smith Scholarship Fund at a glance

· Private foundation

The Alice Aber Smith Scholarship Fund

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$33k
Granted FY2025still arriving
8
Grants FY2025still arriving
4
States reached
$9k
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, FY2017 to 2025.

Education$327kReligion$3k
02FY2025 · 8 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$3,000
Median grant
4
States reached
$538k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CARROLL UNIVERSITY$9,000
CEDARVILLE UNIVERSITY$6,000
LEWIS UNIVERSITY$3,000
MOUNT MARY UNIVERSITY$3,000
VITERBO UNIVERSITY$3,000
FAITH BAPTIST BIBLE COLLEGE$3,000
OLIVET NAZARENE UNIVERSOTY$3,000
CARTHAGE COLLEGE$3,000
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 (FY17–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 65% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%Grand Canyon University: $6k → 11%MARTIN LUTHER KING: $3k → 8%UNIVERSITY OF NORTHWESTERN: $3k → 14%Villanova University: $3k → 10%SCHOOL OF URBAN MISSIONS: $3k → 10%SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY: $3k → 16%PENSACOLA CHRISTIAN COLLEGE: $6k → 16%COE COLLEGE: $3k → 9%FAITH BAPTIST BIBLE COLLEGE: $3k → 10%LORAS COLLEGE: $3k → 11%ST LOUIS UNIVERSITY: $3k → 21%CARROLL UNIVERSITY: $9k → 5%CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY: $3k → 6%MARANTHA BAPTIST BIBLE COLLEGE: $6k → 8%Carthage College: $3k → 10%ST NORBERT COLLEGE: $3k → 10%EDGEWOOD COLLEGE: $3k → 10%VITERBO UNIVERSITY: $3k → 12%MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY: $3k → 17%MONTREAT COLLEGE: $3k → 12%CEDARVILLE UNIVERSITY: $6k → 9%LEWIS UNIVERSITY: $3k → 7%TRINITY INTERNATIONAL: $3k → 8%Olivet Nazarene University: $3k → 14%LOYOLA UNIVERSITY: $3k → 14%GRAND CANYON UNIVERSITY: $3k → 11%VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY: $3k → 10%SUM BIBLE COLLEGE: $3k → 10%SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY: $3k → 16%PENSACOLA CHRISTIAN COLLEGE: $6k → 16%COE COLLEGE: $3k → 9%FAITH BAPTIST BIBLE COLLEGE: $3k → 10%ST LOUIS UNIVERSITY: $3k → 21%CARROLL UNIVERSITY: $6k → 5%CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY: $3k → 6%MARANTHA BAPTIST BIBLE COLLEGE: $3k → 8%CARTHAGE COLLEGE: $3k → 10%ST NORBERT COLLEGE: $3k → 10%VITERBO UNIVERSITY: $3k → 12%MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY: $3k → 17%CEDARVILLE UNIVERSITY: $6k → 9%Lewis Univeristy: $3k → 7%TRINITY INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY: $3k → 8%Cedarville University: $6k → 9%CEDARVILLE UNIVERSITY: $6k → 9%WI LUTHERAN: $6k → 17%WI LUTHERAN: $6k → 17%WI LUTHERAN: $6k → 17%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

MN
IL
WI
IA
OH
PA
CA
MO
AZ
TN
NC
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.

90%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$297k · 20 repeat orgs$33k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +18% since the first grant, against +7% for those funded once.

20 repeat relationships: 7 still active in FY2025, 13 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

20
10

Total granted

$297k
$30k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+18%
+7%

Still filing today

90%
60%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 91% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $3k went to new ones.

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

  • CU
    CARROLL UNIVERSITY INC
    8× · 2017–2025 · $33k · revenue +18%
  • CU
    Cedarville University
    5× · 2021–2025 · $27k · revenue +32%
  • CARTHAGE COLLEGE
    9× · 2017–2025 · $27k · revenue +3%

Funded once

  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2018 · $3k
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2023 · $3k
  • UO
    UNIVERSITY OF NORTHWESTERN - ST PAULgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $3k · revenue +32%
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
California Lutheran University

The mission of the university is to educate leaders for a global society who are strong in character and judgment, confident in their identity and vocation, and committed to service and justice.

Education
2
Saint Xavier University

Saint xavier university, a catholic institution inspired by the heritage of the sisters of mercy, educates persons to search for truth, think critically, communicate effectively and serve wisely and compassionately in support of human…

Education
3
Loyola University

Loyola University New Orleans, a Jesuit and Catholic institution of higher education, welcomes students of diverse backgrounds and prepares them to lead meaningful lives with and for others; to pursue truth, wisdom, and virtue; and to work…

Education
4
John Brown University

John brown university (jbu) provides christ-centered education that prepares students to honor god and serve others by developing their intellectual, spiritual, and professional lives. (continued on schedule o)jbu serves traditional…

Education
5
Augustana University Association

Inspired by lutheran scholarly tradition and the liberal arts, augustana provides an education of enduring worth that challenges the intellect, fosters integrity and integrates faith with learning and service in a diverse world.

Education
6
Dordt University

As an institution of higher education committed to the reformed christian perspective, dordt university equips students, alumni, and the broader community to work effectively toward christ-centered renewal in all aspects of contemporary…

Education
7
St Marys University of Minnesota

Enriched by the lasallian catholic heritage, saint mary's university of minnesota awakens, nurtures, and empowers learners to ethical lives of service and leadership.

Education
8
Lehigh University

The university's goal in the coming decade is to advance learning through the integration of teaching, research and service to others. the core of this goal is to prepare graduates to engage with the world and lead lives of meaning. to do…

Education
9
Calvin University

The mission of calvin university is to equip students to think deeply, to act justly, and to live wholeheartedly as christ's agents of renewal in the world.

Education
10
Lourdes University

Lourdes university, rooted in catholic and franciscan traditions, provides a values-centered education that enriches lives and advances academic excellence through the integration of the liberal arts and professional studies.

Education
11
Xavier University

Xavier is a jesuit catholic university rooted in the liberal arts tradition. our mission is to educate each student intellectually, morally, and spiritually. we create learning opportunities through rigorous academic and professional…

Education
12
LaGrange College

Education - lagrange college challenges the minds and inspires the souls of its students. founded in 1831 and committed to its relationship with the united methodist church and its wesleyan and liberal arts traditions, the college supports…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is St Norbert College Inc; the most unlike its peers is Coe College. 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

25 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. 25 of the 31 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)
1
Early backer (in before they grew)
25/25
Grantees still filing
20/25
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

CARROLL UNIVERSITY INC: $33,000 · EducationCARROLL UNIVERSITY INCCedarville University: $27,000 · EducationCedarville UniversityCARTHAGE COLLEGE: $27,000 · EducationCARTHAGE COLLEGEVITERBO UNIVERSITY: $24,000 · EducationVITERBO UNIVERSITYPENSACOLA CHRISTIAN COLLEGE INC: $18,000 · EducationPENSACOLA CHRISTIAN COLLEGE INCST NORBERT COLLEGE INC: $15,000 · EducationST NORBERT COLLEGE INCFaith Baptist Bible College: $15,000 · EducationFaith Baptist Bible CollegeGrand Canyon University: $15,000 · EducationGrand Canyon UniversityVILLANOVA UNIVERSITY: $12,000 · EducationCOE COLLEGE: $12,000 · EducationMarquette University: $9,000 · EducationLOYOLA UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO: $9,000 · EducationST LOUIS UNIVERSITY: $9,000 · EducationOLIVET NAZARENE UNIVERSITY: $9,000 · Education+7 more: $30,000 · Education+7 moreIndividual grant recipient: $21,000 · OtherIndividual grant recip…MARANTHA BAPTIST BIBLE COLLEGE: $15,000 · OtherMARANTHA BAPTIST BIBLE…LEE UNIVERSITY: $9,000 · OtherLEE UNIVERSITYIndividual grant recipient: $3,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $3,000 · OtherMOUNT MARY UNIVERSITY INC: $3,000 · OtherSCHOOL OF URBAN MISSIONS: $3,000 · OtherSUM BIBLE COLLEGE: $3,000 · OtherLORAS COLLEGE: $3,000 · OtherCEDARBURG UNIVERSITY: $3,000 · Other
Education$264,000Other$66,000

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetCARROLL UNIVERSITY INC: $33,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetCedarville University: $27,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetCARTHAGE COLLEGE: $27,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetVITERBO UNIVERSITY: $24,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetPENSACOLA CHRISTIAN COLLEGE INC: $18,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetST NORBERT COLLEGE INC: $15,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetFaith Baptist Bible College: $15,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetGrand Canyon University: $15,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetVILLANOVA UNIVERSITY: $12,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCOE COLLEGE: $12,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetLEE UNIVERSITY: $9,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMarquette University: $9,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetLOYOLA UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO: $9,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetST LOUIS UNIVERSITY: $9,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetOLIVET NAZARENE UNIVERSITY: $9,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetLewis University: $6,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY INC: $6,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCONCORDIA UNIVERSITY INC: $6,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF NORTHWESTERN - ST PAUL: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetEDGEWOOD UNIVERSITY INC: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMOUNT MARY UNIVERSITY INC: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSCHOOL OF URBAN MISSIONS: $3,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetLORAS COLLEGE: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTrinity International University: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMONTREAT COLLEGE: $3,000 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.

Tulsa Community Found…Earnest F & Edna P Ab…Verizon FoundationAmerican Endowment Fo…Natl Christian Charit…National Philanthropi…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Tulsa Community FoundationOK14.8× affinity5 shared granteesties to 8 of 8Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Tulsa Community Foundation · Earnest F & Edna P Aber Scholarship Fund · Verizon Foundation · American Endowment Foundation · Natl Christian Charitable Fdn Inc · 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 The Alice Aber Smith Scholarship Fund funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Alice Aber Smith Scholarship Fund. Bigger dots raise more.

2025
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%6%13%19%25%share of the org’s income from government →median 1%
  • Southeastern University Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Pensacola Christian College Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
8report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–25%
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 The Alice Aber Smith Scholarship Fund?

Find your warmest path to The Alice Aber Smith Scholarship Fund 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 31 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 Alice Aber Smith Scholarship’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