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The Aslan Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Aslan Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$918k
Granted FY2024still arriving
58
Grants FY2024still arriving
14
States reached
$275k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0196% 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$5.4MAnimals$2.3MPublic Benefit$1.6MHealth$504kHuman Services$436kEnvironment$232kFood & Nutrition$195kYouth Development$169kOther$0
02FY2024 · 58 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k45 grants · $109k
  • $10k–50k10 grants · $225k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $309k
  • $250k+1 grant · $275k
$3,400
Median grant
14
States reached
$122M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
YOUNG-WILLIAMS CENTER$275,000
BIG EARS FESTIVAL$229,167
TRI-STAR ARTS$80,000
KNOXVILLE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA$38,000
KNOXVILLE MUSEUM OF ART$35,000
BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF TN VALLEY$25,000
YOUNG-WILLIAMS ANIMAL CENTER$25,000
BIG EARS FESTIVAL$20,832
IJAMS NATURE CENTER$20,000
A STEP AHEAD$20,000
APPALACHIAN MOUNTAIN BIKE CLUB$16,000
KNOXVILLE OPERA COMPANY$15,000
KNOXVILLE HISTORY PROJECT$10,000
Individual grant recipient$5,100
Individual grant recipient$5,100
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 (FY18–22, $29k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%THE CHILDREN'S CENTER OF KNOXVILLE: $10k → 12%KNOXVILLE FAMILY JUSTICE CENTER: $13k → 12%KNOXVILLE FAMILY JUSTICE CENTER: $2k → 12%KNOXVILLE FAMILY JUSTICE CENTER: $2k → 12%KNOXVILLE FAMILY JUSTICE CENTER: $2k → 12%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

VT
WA
MN
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
OR
OH
PA
NJ
CT
RI
CA
UT
CO
VA
MD
KS
TN
NC
SC
LA
MS
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.

89%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$10M · 57 repeat orgs$1.2M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +53% since the first grant, against +33% for those funded once.

57 repeat relationships: 21 still active in FY2024, 36 since wound down; 33 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

57
126

Total granted

$10M
$846k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+53%
+33%

Still filing today

49%
17%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 60% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $370k 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
Arts & CultureAnimalsYouth DevelopmentEducationHousing & ShelterEnvironmentOther
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

  • YA
    YOUNG-WILLIAMS ANIMAL CENTER OF EAST TEN
    8× · 2017–2024 · $2.3M · revenue +50%
  • BE
    BIG EARS FESTIVAL
    8× · 2017–2024 · $1.8M · revenue +373% · 29% of their budget
  • KM
    KNOXVILLE MUSEUM OF ART
    8× · 2017–2024 · $1.2M · revenue +41%

Funded once

  • CB
    CENTRAL BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT
    one grant, 2017 · $135k
  • KM
    KNOXVILLE MUSEUM OF ART FOUNDATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2018 · $100k · revenue +444% · 67% of their budget
  • KC
    KNOXVILLE-KNOX COUNTY CAC
    one grant, 2022 · $81k
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
Knoxville Botanical Gardens and Arboretum

Knoxville botanical gardens and arboretum provides and maintains gardens for the benefit and enjoyment of the general public.

Environment
2
Historic Tennessee Theatre Foundation

To hold, maintain, renovate and improve certain real property known as the historic tennessee theatre located in knoxville tennessee, in order to provide a performing arts venue for the community and other entities for historic and…

Arts & Culture
3
Knoxville Zoological Gardens Inc

The mission of knoxville zoological gardens is to celebrate the wonders of the natural world. through education, conservation, exhibition, research and recreation, the zoo will tell the stories of the animals, the plants and the people who…

Animals
4
Knoxville Science Museum Inc
Arts & Culture
5
Knox Housing Partnership Inc

To provide affordable housing to low and moderate income persons in east tennessee through first-time homebuyer education; assist with mortgage loans, downpayments, and closing costs; build new single family housing; develop multi-family…

Housing & Shelter
6
Knoxville Public Library

Public library for the benefit of the town providing library access and services for the community

—
7
Knox Concert Series Inc

Dedicated to bringing nationally and internationally know performing artist and ensembles to calhoun county. the organization exist to stimulate cultural interst and to enhance the quality of life of the citizens of the area by making…

—
8
Knoxville Academy of Medicine Foundation

To provide no-cost health care to families who have no insurance and do not qualify for the states low income insurance program.

—
9
4 Market Square Inc

Primarily to spread the gospel of jesus christ in downtown knoxville, tennessee by serving the community of the greater knoxville area through the provision of services, resources, worship, teaching, fellowship and networking capabilities.

Religion
10
Knoxville Entrepreneur Center

Knoxville entrepreneur center was formed for educational and charitable purpose to provide resources and assist entrepreneurs and small business owners in knoxville, tennessee and the surrounding community to transform their business…

Education
11
Knox Co Council On Aging

To provide services for senior citizens in knox county

—
12
Knox Development Partnership Inc

Knox Development Partnership partners with key community members including Knox County Foundation, Ariel Foundation and Area Development Foundation to further economic development in Knox County through key investments in real estate and…

Community Improvement
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Leadership Knoxville Inc; the most unlike its peers is Mountain Tails Wildlife Rehab. 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

52 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. 52 of the 216 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.

3
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
23
Early backer (in before they grew)
51/52
Grantees still filing
41/52
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

BIG EARS FESTIVAL: $1,780,832 · Arts & CultureBIG EARS FESTIVALKNOXVILLE MUSEUM OF ART: $1,184,500 · Arts & CultureKNOXVILLE MUSEUM OF ARTKNOXVILLE SYMPHONY SOCIETY INCORPORATED: $603,438 · Arts & CultureKNOXVILLE SYMPHONY SOCIETY INCORPORATEDKNOXVILLE OPERA COMPANY: $479,258 · Arts & CultureKNOXVILLE OPERA COMPANY+11 more: $237,300 · Arts & Culture+11 moreCITY OF KNOXVILLE: $1,613,382 · OtherCITY OF KNOXVILLETRI STAR ARTS: $326,748 · OtherTRI STAR ARTSYOUNG-WILLIAMS CENTER: $275,000 · OtherYOUNG-WILLIAMS CENTERKNOX HERITAGE INC: $206,190 · OtherKNOX HERITAGE INCCENTRAL BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT: $135,000 · OtherSECOND HARVEST FOOD BANK: $130,000 · Other+160 more: $1,045,594 · Other+160 moreYOUNG-WILLIAMS ANIMAL CENTER OF EAST TEN: $2,277,240 · AnimalsYOUNG-WILLIAMS ANIMAL C…+5 more: $27,500 · AnimalsINTERFAITH HEALTH CENTER: $252,442 · HealthFree Medical Clinic of America: $225,000 · HealthIJAMS NATURE CENTER INC: $190,607 · EnvironmentCONSERVATION FISHERIES INC: $28,000 · Environment+1 more: $7,338 · EnvironmentBOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF THE TENNESSEE VALL: $107,000 · Youth DevelopmentHORSE HAVEN OF TENNESSEE INC: $33,000 · Youth DevelopmentBIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS OF EAST TENNESSEE INC: $8,000 · Youth Development+2 more: $6,979 · Youth DevelopmentVOLUNTEER MINISTRY CENTER: $94,000 · Housing & ShelterFAMILY PROMISE OF KNOXVILLE: $25,000 · Housing & ShelterWESLEY HOUSE COMMUNITY CENTER CO: $6,000 · Housing & Shelter
Arts & Culture$4,285,328Other$3,731,914Animals$2,304,740Health$477,442Environment$225,945Youth Development$154,979Housing & Shelter$125,000

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$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetYOUNG-WILLIAMS ANIMAL CENTER OF EAST TEN: $2,277,240 over 8y, 7.9% of budgetBIG EARS FESTIVAL: $1,780,832 over 8y, 29% of budgetKNOXVILLE MUSEUM OF ART: $1,184,500 over 8y, 22% of budgetKNOXVILLE SYMPHONY SOCIETY INCORPORATED: $603,438 over 7y, 5.1% of budgetKNOXVILLE OPERA COMPANY: $479,258 over 6y, 9.7% of budgetINTERFAITH HEALTH CENTER: $252,442 over 6y, 2.4% of budgetFree Medical Clinic of America: $225,000 over 3y, 10% of budgetKNOX HERITAGE INC: $206,190 over 7y, 10% of budgetIJAMS NATURE CENTER INC: $190,607 over 7y, 3.3% of budgetBOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF THE TENNESSEE VALL: $107,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetKNOXVILLE MUSEUM OF ART FOUNDATION: $100,000 over 1y, 67% of budgetVOLUNTEER MINISTRY CENTER: $94,000 over 2y, 2.0% of budgetKNOXVILLE HISTORY PROJECT: $91,800 over 7y, 10% of budgetSEEED INC: $40,607 over 1y, 3.8% of budgetHORSE HAVEN OF TENNESSEE INC: $33,000 over 4y, 9.3% of budgetCONSERVATION FISHERIES INC: $28,000 over 2y, 2.6% of budgetFAMILY PROMISE OF KNOXVILLE: $25,000 over 1y, 4.7% of budgetNourish Knoxville Inc: $20,000 over 1y, 4.0% of budgetKNOXVILLE ACADEMY OF MEDICINE: $20,000 over 1y, 2.2% of budgetKNOXVILLE FAMILY JUSTICE CENTER: $19,470 over 3y, 3.6% of budgetKnoxville Childrens Theatre Inc: $12,000 over 5y, 0.7% of budgetSHORA FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 3.2% of budgetThe Children's Center of Knoxville: $10,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetAppalachian Black Bear Rehabilitation and Release Center Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetHAZEN HISTORICAL MUSEUM FOUNDATION INC: $9,000 over 4y, 2.2% of budgetBIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS OF EAST TENNESSEE INC: $8,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetKeep Knoxville Beautiful Inc: $7,338 over 6y, 1.2% of budgetTIGER HAVEN INC: $7,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetWESLEY HOUSE COMMUNITY CENTER CO: $6,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetTHE GREAT SCHOOLS PARTNERSHIP CHARITABLE TRUST: $5,583 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetNIEF-NORF: $5,000 over 2y, 3.3% of budgetMOUNTAIN TAILS WILDLIFE REHAB: $4,500 over 1y, 21% of budgetCOMMUNITY SHARES INC: $4,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetTHE MUSE KNOXVILLE: $4,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetTHE ELEPHANT SANCTUARY IN TENNESSEE: $4,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetLEADERSHIP KNOXVILLE INC: $3,900 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetJOY OF MUSIC YOUTH MUSIC SCHOOL CORPORATION: $3,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetLEGACY PARKS FOUNDATION: $2,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTHE GENTLE BARN FOUNDATION: $2,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCandoro Arts and Heritage Center: $2,000 over 1y, 54% of budgetJOURNEY THROUGH HALLOWED GROUND PARTNERSHIP: $2,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE CHANGE CENTER: $2,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetDREAM BIKES INC: $2,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetTENNESSEE STAGE COMPANY: $1,500 over 1y, 2.1% 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 YOUNG-WILLIAMS ANIMAL CENTER OF EAST TEN ↗
  • Who funds BIG EARS FESTIVAL ↗
  • Who funds KNOXVILLE MUSEUM OF ART ↗
  • Who funds KNOXVILLE SYMPHONY SOCIETY INCORPORATED ↗
  • Who funds KNOXVILLE OPERA COMPANY ↗
  • Who funds INTERFAITH HEALTH CENTER ↗
  • Who funds Free Medical Clinic of America ↗
  • Who funds KNOX HERITAGE INC ↗
  • Who funds IJAMS NATURE CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF THE TENNESSEE VALL ↗
  • Who funds KNOXVILLE MUSEUM OF ART FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds VOLUNTEER MINISTRY CENTER ↗
  • Who funds KNOXVILLE HISTORY PROJECT ↗
  • Who funds SEEED INC ↗
  • Who funds HORSE HAVEN OF TENNESSEE INC ↗
  • Who funds CONSERVATION FISHERIES INC ↗
  • Who funds FAMILY PROMISE OF KNOXVILLE ↗
  • Who funds Nourish Knoxville Inc ↗
  • Who funds KNOXVILLE ACADEMY OF MEDICINE ↗
  • Who funds KNOXVILLE FAMILY JUSTICE CENTER ↗
  • Who funds MARBLE CITY OPERA ↗
  • Who funds Knoxville Childrens Theatre Inc ↗
  • Who funds SHORA FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds The Children's Center of Knoxville ↗
  • Who funds Appalachian Black Bear Rehabilitation and Release Center Inc ↗

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.

East Tennessee Founda…Haslam Family Foundat…The Boyd FoundationThe Clayton Homes Fou…Akima Club IncLawson Family Foundat…The Clayton Family Fo…United Way of Greater…The Melrose FoundationThompson Charitable F…Stowers Machinery Fou…Gene & Florence Monda…
East Tennessee FoundationTN48.6× affinity22 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: East Tennessee Foundation · Haslam Family Foundation Inc · The Boyd Foundation · The Clayton Homes Foundation · Akima Club Inc · Lawson Family Foundation · The Clayton Family Foundation · United Way of Greater Knoxvilleinc · The Melrose Foundation · Thompson Charitable Foundation · Stowers Machinery Foundation Inc · Gene & Florence Monday Foundation 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 The Aslan Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Aslan Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%2%8%17%30%funder's 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
    22report 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.

    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 216 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 Aslan’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