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The Drexel Fund at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Private foundation

The Drexel Fund

THE DREXEL FUND IS A VENTURE PHILANTHROPY FUND THAT INVESTS AND PARTNERS IN THE GROWTH OF HIGH QUALITY, FINANCIALLY SUSTAINABLE NETWORKS OF FAITH BASED OR OTHER PRIVATE SCHOOLS 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.

$3.7M
Granted FY2024still arriving
55
Grants FY2024still arriving
16
States reached
$275k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0191% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Education$21MYouth Development$643kReligion$435kScience & Tech$300kHealth$274kCrime & Legal$214kCommunity Improvement$70kRecreation & Sports$25kOther$0
02FY2024 · 55 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k4 grants · $20k
  • $10k–50k20 grants · $526k
  • $50k–250k30 grants · $2.9M
  • $250k+1 grant · $275k
$56,000
Median grant
16
States reached
$22M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Individual grant recipient$275,000
CRISTO REY ORANGE COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL$200,000
THE MEANING FOUNDATION (PRIMER)$195,000
CRISTO REY ATLANTA JESUIT HIGH SCHOOL$150,000
DUBUQUE DREAM CENTER INC$150,000
THE BASILICA SCHOOL OF ST MARY STAR OF THE SEA$150,000
CRISTO REY MIAMI HIGH SCHOOL$125,000
LAB SCHOOL OF MEMPHIS INC$124,000
ICON PREPARATORY JAX AND TAMPA$100,000
NOTRE DAME SCHOOL OF MILWAUKEE$100,000
COOLANU INC$100,000
ICON PREPARATORY SCHOOL CLEVELAND$100,000
YESHIVA TORAS CHAIM TORAS EMES$100,000
SUMMIT CHRISTIAN ACADEMY$95,000
CRISTO REY RESEARCH TRIANGLE HS NC$93,750
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 (FY20–23, $140k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 29% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%EDWARD CHARLES FOUNDATION: $25k → 14%THE ECO-COLLECTIVE FARM SCHOOL: $50k → 10%THE ECO-COLLECTIVE FARM SCHOOL: $50k → 10%HOPE YOUTH RANCH: $15k → 11%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

WA
MN
IL
WI
NY
NV
IA
IN
OH
CA
UT
KY
WV
MD
AZ
AR
TN
NC
DC
OK
LA
AL
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.

71%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$17M · 39 repeat orgs$6.8M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +113% since the first grant, against +55% for those funded once.

39 repeat relationships: 16 still active in FY2024, 23 since wound down; 39 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

39
59

Total granted

$17M
$4.4M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+113%
+55%

Still filing today

59%
34%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 35% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $2.4M 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
EducationYouth DevelopmentHuman ServicesRecreation & SportsPhilanthropyReligionOther
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

  • FF
    FUGEES FAMILY INC
    4× · 2018–2022 · $2.3M · revenue +159% · 83% of their budget
  • CR
    CRISTO REY NETWORK
    5× · 2017–2021 · $1.5M · revenue +211%
  • TO
    The Oaks Academy Inc
    3× · 2017–2022 · $1.1M · revenue +114%

Funded once

  • KP
    KINGDOM PREP
    one grant, 2018 · $500k
  • CR
    CRISTO REY TAMPA HIGH SCHOOL AT MARY HELP OF CHRISTIANS INC
    one grant, 2017 · $300k
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2023 · $250k
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
St Therese Academy

Guided by Christian faith, St. Therese Academy guides students with Montessori, Catechesis of the Good Shepherd and classical principles to live out the gospel message, achieve academic excellence, and joyfulluy lead by faith, virtue and…

—
2
Austin Trinity School

Trinity episcopal school (trinity) is a not-for-profit independent school whose mission is to provide an enriched academic curriculum in a christian environment. trinity is not affiliated with or sponsored by any parish. we will nurture…

Education
3
Artesia Classical Academy Inc

In partnership with parents, Artesia Classical Academy equips students to be Christlike disciples and servant-leaders who know and share God's Word.

Education
4
Christian Schools Inc

Education - private christian school grades k-12

—
5
St Stephens Academy

As a classical christian school, st. stephen's academy aims to provide an academically excellent education in a grace-filled environment that develops christian character and equips students with tools of learning that will last a…

Education
6
Regina Luminis Academy

Regina luminis academy is a private, independent school grades pre-k through 12, founded, with the help of gods grace, to assist parents in the education and formation of their children by providing a classical liberal arts education in…

Education
7
Liberty Classical Academy

Liberty classical academy is an independent private school offering college-preparatory academics and christian faith in the classical tradition for minneapolis-st. paul students in preschool and kindergarten through the 12th grade.

Education
8
Vision Academy Charter School

The mission of vision academy charter school is to prepare students in kindergarten through 8th grade to become responsible and articulate students and citizens by using a comprehensive curriculum designed to foster academic success and…

Education
9
Independence Academy

The mission of independence charter school (iacs) is to educate students of diverse ages and backgrounds - helping them understand, thrive in, and enhance our community, our environment,and our world. iacs regards learning as a continuing…

Education
10
Summit Classical Christian School

Summit Classical Christian School is a PreK-12 school that exists to cultivate generations of joyful disciples of Christ by partnering with faithful Christian families to educate their children from a Biblical worldview using classical…

Education
11
The School for Global Thinkers

Our mission is to challenge and nurture young women to thrive in future global markets through personalized STEM advanced academics. Through a supportive small school and single-gender environment, project-based learning, and STEM advanced…

Education
12
Victory Christian Academy

The mission of victory christian academy, in partnership with christian parents, is to provide a loving, christ-centered environment of educational excellence so that the students may develop their gifts, knowledge, skills and energies to…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Seton Education Partners; the most unlike its peers is Generation Success. 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

66 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. 66 of the 137 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.

10
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
28
Early backer (in before they grew)
65/66
Grantees still filing
47/66
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

JULIE BILLIART NETWORK: $1,012,000 · OtherJULIE BILLIART NETWORKLUTHERAN URBAN MISSION INITIATIVE INC: $538,100 · OtherCRISTO REY ATLANTA JESUIT HIGH SCHOOL INC: $507,600 · OtherST MARCUS LUTHERAN SCHOOL: $500,000 · OtherKINGDOM PREP: $500,000 · OtherCRISTO REY OKLAHOMA CITY CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL INC: $482,600 · OtherCRISTO REY RESEARCH TRIANGLE HS NC: $431,250 · OtherCRISTO REY ST VIATOR LAS VEGAS: $430,600 · OtherWISCONSIN EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN SYNOD: $382,600 · Other+69 more: $5,654,004 · Other+69 moreCRISTO REY NETWORK: $1,480,000 · EducationCRISTO REY NETWORKThe Oaks Academy Inc: $1,057,000 · EducationThe Oaks Academy IncGOOD SHEPHERD MISSION NETWORKINC: $757,600 · EducationGOOD SHEPHERD MISSION NETWORKINCST AUGUSTINE PREPARATORY ACADEMY INC: $525,000 · EducationST AUGUSTINE PREPARATORY ACADEMY INCTHE ECCLESIAL SCHOOLS INITIATIVE IN: $435,000 · EducationTHE ECCLESIAL SCHOOLS INITIATIVE INACADEMY PREP FOUNDATION INC: $330,600 · EducationCRISTO REY MIAMI HIGH SCHOOL INC: $262,000 · Education+38 more: $2,817,653 · Education+38 moreFUGEES FAMILY INC: $2,305,600 · Recreation & SportsFUGEES FAMI…SAILFUTURE INC: $80,000 · Recreation & SportsPARTNERSHIP FOR INNER CITY EDUCATION DBA PARTNERSHIP SCHOOLS: $1,075,000 · PhilanthropyPARTNERSH…SETON EDUCATION PARTNERS: $997,000 · PhilanthropySETON EDU…BUILD UP: $630,600 · Youth DevelopmentDUBUQUE DREAM CENTER INC: $150,000 · Youth DevelopmentAUTISM INSPIRED INC: $50,000 · Youth Development+1 more: $18,800 · Youth DevelopmentCOOLANU INC MELNICK: $200,000 · ReligionST MARCUS FOUNDATION INC: $7,040 · ReligionThe Eco-Collective Farm School Inc: $100,000 · Human ServicesEDWARD CHARLES FOUNDATION: $25,000 · Human ServicesHope Youth Ranch Inc: $15,000 · Human ServicesEDUCATE TOMORROW CORP: $100,000 · International
Other$10,438,754Education$7,664,853Recreation & Sports$2,385,600Philanthropy$2,072,000Youth Development$849,400Religion$207,040Human Services$140,000International$100,000

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

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetFUGEES FAMILY INC: $2,305,600 over 4y, 83% of budgetCRISTO REY NETWORK: $1,480,000 over 5y, 13% of budgetPARTNERSHIP FOR INNER CITY EDUCATION DBA PARTNERSHIP SCHOOLS: $1,075,000 over 3y, 4.7% of budgetThe Oaks Academy Inc: $1,057,000 over 3y, 9.0% of budgetJULIE BILLIART NETWORK: $1,012,000 over 3y, 11% of budgetSETON EDUCATION PARTNERS: $997,000 over 6y, 7.1% of budgetGOOD SHEPHERD MISSION NETWORKINC: $757,600 over 2y, 35% of budgetBUILD UP: $630,600 over 3y, 57% of budgetST AUGUSTINE PREPARATORY ACADEMY INC: $525,000 over 2y, 1.9% of budgetTHE ECCLESIAL SCHOOLS INITIATIVE IN: $435,000 over 5y, 44% of budgetACADEMY PREP FOUNDATION INC: $330,600 over 3y, 10% of budgetCRISTO REY MIAMI HIGH SCHOOL INC: $262,000 over 2y, 2.7% of budgetTHE WILDFLOWER FOUNDATION: $233,500 over 3y, 1.3% of budgetCRISTO REY ORANGE COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL INC: $200,000 over 1y, 4.1% of budgetGREATHEARTS ARIZONA: $200,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetCOOLANU INC MELNICK: $200,000 over 2y, 7.4% of budgetSTARS AUTISM SCHOOLS FOUNDATION INC: $170,000 over 2y, 8.9% of budgetDUBUQUE DREAM CENTER INC: $150,000 over 1y, 7.0% of budgetThe Lab School of Memphis Inc: $124,000 over 1y, 37% of budgetSouth Bend Montessori High School Inc: $121,000 over 2y, 10% of budgetINFINITE POTENTIAL LEARNING ACADEMY INC: $115,000 over 2y, 22% of budgetKENOSHA CHRISTIAN ACADEMY: $113,000 over 2y, 6.5% of budgetICON PREPARATORY SCHOOL INC: $100,000 over 1y, 2.4% of budgetThe Eco-Collective Farm School Inc: $100,000 over 2y, 9.4% of budgetEDUCATE TOMORROW CORP: $100,000 over 1y, 3.3% of budgetICON PREPARATORY SCHOOL CLEVELAND INC: $100,000 over 1y, 14% of budgetCRISTO REY OKC CORPORATE WORK STUDY: $100,000 over 1y, 11% of budgetSummit Christian Academy Corp: $95,000 over 1y, 16% of budgetSAILFUTURE INC: $80,000 over 1y, 4.6% of budgetThe Light Preparatory Academy: $73,481 over 1y, 56% of budgetAzalea Montessori School: $65,000 over 3y, 3.3% of budgetLEARNING INDEPENDENCE FOR TOMORROW INC: $56,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetAUTISM INSPIRED INC: $50,000 over 1y, 7.4% of budgetCRISTO REY ORLANDO HIGH SCHOOL INC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetHOPE CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS INC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetIgnite Classical School: $48,000 over 1y, 28% of budgetEMERALD COAST AUTISM CENTER IN: $48,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetGeneration Success: $46,007 over 1y, 20% of budgetFOX FLOWER MONTESSORI: $45,000 over 1y, 99% of budgetLIFE INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY INC: $44,000 over 1y, 21% of budgetPINYON MONTESSORI: $40,000 over 1y, 38% of budgetWestside Christian School: $33,000 over 2y, 7.6% of budgetGWINNETT GLOBAL SCHOOL INC: $33,000 over 1y, 20% of budgetEDWARD CHARLES FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSaint Martin de Porres High School: $25,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetJUPITER CHRISTIAN SCHOOL INC: $20,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetLIBERTAS SCHOOL OF MEMPHIS: $20,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetBREAKFREE EDUCATION: $18,800 over 1y, 0.4% 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 FUGEES FAMILY INC ↗
  • Who funds CRISTO REY NETWORK ↗
  • Who funds PARTNERSHIP FOR INNER CITY EDUCATION DBA PARTNERSHIP SCHOOLS ↗
  • Who funds The Oaks Academy Inc ↗
  • Who funds JULIE BILLIART NETWORK ↗
  • Who funds SETON EDUCATION PARTNERS ↗
  • Who funds GOOD SHEPHERD MISSION NETWORKINC ↗
  • Who funds BUILD UP ↗
  • Who funds ST AUGUSTINE PREPARATORY ACADEMY INC ↗
  • Who funds THE ECCLESIAL SCHOOLS INITIATIVE IN ↗
  • Who funds ACADEMY PREP FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds CRISTO REY MIAMI HIGH SCHOOL INC ↗
  • Who funds THE WILDFLOWER FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds CRISTO REY ORANGE COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL INC ↗
  • Who funds GREATHEARTS ARIZONA ↗
  • Who funds COOLANU INC MELNICK ↗
  • Who funds Cristo Rey St Viator Las Vegas Work Study ↗
  • Who funds STARS AUTISM SCHOOLS FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds DUBUQUE DREAM CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds THE GARDEN CHRISTIAN ACADEMY ↗

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.

Cristo Rey NetworkThe Center for Educat…The Lynde and Harry B…Charter Fund Inc D/B/…New Schools FundPwc Foundation IncCity Forward Collecti…The Howley FoundationThe Robert D and Patr…Louis Calder Foundati…Community Foundation …Greater Milwaukee Fou…
Cristo Rey NetworkIL24.1× affinity9 shared granteesties to 6 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Cristo Rey Network · The Center for Education Reform · The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation Inc · Charter Fund Inc D/B/A Charter School Growth Fund · New Schools Fund · Pwc Foundation Inc · City Forward Collective Inc · The Howley Foundation · The Robert D and Patricia E Kern Family Foundation Inc · Louis Calder Foundation · Community Foundation of Tampa Bay Inc · Greater Milwaukee 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 Drexel Fund funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Drexel Fund. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 130%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%6%13%19%25%share of the org’s income from government →median 3%
  • Icon Preparatory School Inc: 22% of income from government
  • Impact Christian Academy: 7% of income from government
  • Stars Autism Schools Foundation Inc: 3% of income from government
  • Autism Inspired Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Educate Tomorrow Corp: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
13get no government money at all
25report 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.

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 137 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 Drexel’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