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The Chairman Club at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Public charity

The Chairman Club

Provide grants to youth sports organizations, youth arts, and culture clubs, youth education groups, youth health care associations and more

$125k
Granted FY2025still arriving
8
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$23k
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, FY2023 to 2024.

Health$99kHuman Services$43kEducation$38kArts & Culture$20kYouth Development$20kCrime & Legal$15kRecreation & Sports$15kHousing & Shelter$10k
02FY2025 · 8 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$15,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$6k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
ISAIAH 117 HOUSE$22,500
FRIENDS OF TENNESEE'S BABIES WITH SPECIAL NEEDS$22,500
KNOXVILLE INNER CITY KIDS OUTREACH$15,000
FAMILY PROMISE OF KNOXVILLE$15,000
FOSTERING HOPE TN INC$15,000
FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE 2 VOLUNTEER LODGE$15,000
WESLEY HOUSE COMMUNITY CENTER$10,000
FCBC FOUNDATION$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 (FY23–25, $96k) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%THE CAMP KOINONIA FOUNDATION INC: $15k → 12%ISAIAH 117 HOUSE: $23k → 18%HELPING MAMAS INC: $13k → 9%KNOXVILLE FAMILY JUSTICE CENTER: $15k → 12%FOSTERING HOPE TN INC: $15k → 12%FOSTERING HOPE TN INC: $15k → 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.
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.

28%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$108k · 4 repeat orgs$278k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +0% since the first grant, against 0% for those funded once.

4 repeat relationships: 4 still active in FY2025, 0 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

4
16

Total granted

$108k
$215k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+0%
0%

Still filing today

100%
88%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 50% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $63k went to new ones.

50%100%’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’23’24’25
Human ServicesHealthEducationHousing & ShelterArts & CultureYouth DevelopmentOther
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

  • FO
    FRIENDS OF TENNESSEE'S BABIES WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
    2× · 2023–2025 · $33k · revenue -14%
  • FH
    FOSTERING HOPE TN INC
    2× · 2023–2025 · $30k · revenue +59%
  • KI
    KNOXVILLE INNER CITY KIDS OUTR
    2× · 2023–2025 · $25k · revenue +0%

Funded once

  • ET
    EAST TENNESSEE TECHNOLOGY ACCESS CENTER INC
    one grant, 2024 · $20k · revenue +4%
  • FV
    FREEDOM VILLAGE OF HOPE
    one grant, 2024 · $20k · revenue +17%
  • HH
    HOOF & HARNESS EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING INC
    one grant, 2024 · $20k · revenue -11%
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
Tennessee Kids Belong Inc

Tennessee Kids Belong dramatically improves the experiences and outcomes for children in foster care.

Human Services
2
My Fathers House Nashville

The mission of My Fathers House Nashville (MFHN) is to provide shelter, parenting education, recovery information and life skills for fathers transitioning out of institutional settings or homelessness.

Housing & Shelter
3
Voices of Savannah Tn

Family support service,Emergency assist

Human Services
4
Hope House of Tennessee Inc

By creating a safe and structured two year residential program the Hope House of Tennessee will aim to equip and empower personal and educational growth economic self-sufficiency and a deeper understanding of Christs unconditional love.

Housing & Shelter
5
One Family Memphis
Human Services
6
Casa of Northeast Tennessee

Advocate for the best interest of abused and neglected children with the belief that every child is entitled to a safe and stable home.

Crime & Legal
7
Tennessee Children's Home Inc

Tennessee children's home, inc. is a not-for-profit organization that provides a home for neglected and pre-delinquent children who have an unstable family situation and who are beginning to develop problems which cannot be solved in their…

Human Services
8
Kids Place a Child Advocacy Center

To reduce the trauma of child abuse by providing a child oriented environment for the coordinated and multi-disciplinary investigation, intervention, and treatment of child sexual and severe physical abuse.

Crime & Legal
9
Welcome House Knoxville

Our Mission at Welcome House Knoxville is to share the love of Jesus through the ministries of hospitality and friendship. We provide safe and loving homes for individuals and families in transition to permanent housing.

Housing & Shelter
10
Knoxville Christian School

Educate preschool through twelfth grade children in a Christian environment while developing them spiritually,academically, emotionally, and physically with Jesus Christ as their standard and the Bible as their foundation.

—
11
The Mend House Sober Living Community

The Mend House is a sober living community for men, in Knoxville, Tn. which empowers them to gain control over their actions, decisions and choices. The Mend House allows men to enjoy clean, sober and stable housing for up to 2 years while…

Health
12
Casa of the Tennessee Valley

The mission of the organization is to provide a powerful voice for abused and neglected children by advocating for each child, within the court's jurisdiction, in order to ensure safety, permancy and an opportunity to thrive.

Human Services
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Wesley House Community Center Co; the most unlike its peers is Hoof & Harness Experiential Learning Inc. 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

22 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. 22 of the 24 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)
21/22
Grantees still filing
10/22
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

FOSTERING HOPE TN INC: $30,000 · Human ServicesFOSTERING HOPE TN INCISAIAH 117 HOUSE: $22,500 · Human ServicesISAIAH 117 HOUSETHE CAMP KOINONIA FOUNDATION INC: $15,000 · Human ServicesTHE CAMP KOINONIA FOUNDATION INCKNOXVILLE FAMILY JUSTICE CENTER: $15,000 · Human ServicesKNOXVILLE FAMILY JUSTICE CENTERHOLSTON HOME FOR CHILDREN INC: $15,000 · Human ServicesHOLSTON HOME FOR CHILDREN INCHELPING MAMAS INC: $13,000 · Human ServicesHELPING MAMAS INCFRIENDS OF TENNESSEE'S BABIES WITH SPECIAL NEEDS: $32,500 · EducationFRIENDS OF TENNES…FREEDOM VILLAGE OF HOPE: $20,000 · EducationFREEDOM VILLAGE O…PEER ACADEMY: $8,000 · EducationPEER ACADEMYHOOF & HARNESS EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING INC: $20,000 · HealthHOOF & HARNESS …THE DREAM CONNECTION: $12,000 · HealthTHE DREAM CONNE…UNIVERSITY HEALTH SYSTEM INC: $12,000 · HealthUNIVERSITY HEAL…Covenant Health Foundation: $10,000 · HealthCovenant Health…EAST TENNESSEE TECHNOLOGY ACCESS CENTER INC: $20,000 · OtherEAST TENNESSEE TECHNOLO…FCBC FOUNDATION: $10,000 · OtherFCBC FOUNDATIONCARPENTERS ELEMENTARY FRIENDS PROGRAM: $10,000 · OtherCARPENTERS ELEMENTARY F…FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE 2 VOLUNTEER LODGE: $15,000 · OtherFRATERNAL ORDER OF POLI…STREET HOPE TN: $15,000 · OtherSTREET HOPE TNYoke Youth Ministries: $10,000 · OtherYoke Youth MinistriesWESLEY HOUSE COMMUNITY CENTER CO: $20,000 · Housing & ShelterWESLEY HOU…FAMILY PROMISE OF KNOXVILLE: $15,000 · Housing & ShelterFAMILY PRO…KNOXVILLE INNER CITY KIDS OUTR: $25,000 · Youth DevelopmentJOY OF MUSIC YOUTH MUSIC SCHOOL CORPORATION: $10,000 · Arts & CultureTHE MUSE KNOXVILLE: $10,000 · Arts & Culture
Human Services$110,500Education$60,500Health$54,000Other$80,000Housing & Shelter$35,000Youth Development$25,000Arts & Culture$20,000

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 budgetFRIENDS OF TENNESSEE'S BABIES WITH SPECIAL NEEDS: $32,500 over 2y, 7.2% of budgetFOSTERING HOPE TN INC: $30,000 over 2y, 9.4% of budgetKNOXVILLE INNER CITY KIDS OUTR: $25,000 over 2y, 1.4% of budgetISAIAH 117 HOUSE: $22,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetWESLEY HOUSE COMMUNITY CENTER CO: $20,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetFREEDOM VILLAGE OF HOPE: $20,000 over 1y, 10% of budgetHOOF & HARNESS EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING INC: $20,000 over 1y, 8.5% of budgetTHE CAMP KOINONIA FOUNDATION INC: $15,000 over 1y, 5.6% of budgetKNOXVILLE FAMILY JUSTICE CENTER: $15,000 over 1y, 2.8% of budgetHOLSTON HOME FOR CHILDREN INC: $15,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSTREET HOPE TN: $15,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetHELPING MAMAS INC: $13,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetTHE DREAM CONNECTION: $12,000 over 1y, 5.3% of budgetUNIVERSITY HEALTH SYSTEM INC: $12,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCovenant Health Foundation: $10,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetYoke Youth Ministries: $10,000 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetJOY OF MUSIC YOUTH MUSIC SCHOOL CORPORATION: $10,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetTHE MUSE KNOXVILLE: $10,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetPEER ACADEMY: $8,000 over 1y, 0.9% 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.

East Tennessee Founda…Akima Club IncUnited Way of Greater…Gene & Florence Monda…Lawson Family Foundat…Variety of Eastern Te…Thompson Charitable F…The Melrose FoundationTrinity Health Founda…The Clayton Homes Fou…Haslam Family Foundat…Smith Family Foundati…
East Tennessee FoundationTN29.9× affinity12 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%4%8%15%funder's share of their income ↑0%6%13%19%25%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    5report 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 Chairman Club?

    Find your warmest path to The Chairman Club 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 24 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 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 Chairman Club’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