Tennessee · Private foundation
The Dustin J Wells Foundation
Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.
- $6k
- Granted FY2025(still arriving)
- 2
- Grants FY2025
- 2
- Organizations funded FY2024
- 100%
- First-time grantees FY2024
- Median grant, FY2025
- $6,000
- Largest grant, FY2025
- $6,000
- Organizations funded a year
- 1 to 7
- FY2017 to FY2024
- States reached, FY2025
- 1
- Total assets, FY2025
- $15k
- Applications
- Preselected organizations only
- Per its most recent filing; check its own site
How open it is to new grantees
In FY2024, 100% of the organizations The Dustin J Wells Foundation funded were first-time grantees, receiving 100% of its grant dollars.
New vs renewed · share of each year
In FY2024, 0% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $11k went to new ones.
Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant
How this is measured
The numbers by year
| Fiscal year | Organizations funded | To those organizations | First-time grantees |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025still arriving | 2 | $6k | 0% |
| FY2024 | 2 | $11k | 100% |
| FY2023 | 2 | $6k | 100% |
| FY2021 | 3 | $21k | 67% |
| FY2020 | 5 | $168k | 40% |
| FY2019 | 1 | $5k | 100% |
| FY2018 | 5 | $19k | 80% |
| FY2017 | 7 | $108k | n/a |
What it funded, over time
Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.
Top grantees
Largest recipients by total granted, FY2017 to FY2025, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.
| Grantee | Total granted | Years | Share of their budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wo Smith Nashville Community Music School | $175,000 | 2 | 13% |
| Scott Hamilton Cares Foundation Inc | $85,325 | 2 | 9% |
| Brentwood Academy | $20,000 | 1 | 0% |
| Lambscroft Ministries Inc Dba the Cookery | $16,000 | 2 | 1% |
| Harding University Inc | $15,000 | 1 | n/a |
| The Leap Foundation Inc | $5,000 | 1 | 1% |
| Musicares Foundation Inc | $2,000 | 1 | 0% |
| New Hope Academy | $1,325 | 2 | 0% |
| Music & Memory Inc | $1,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Eastern European Mission | $1,000 | 1 | n/a |
Show all 14 grantees
| Grantee | Total granted | Years | Share of their budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wo Smith Nashville Community Music School | $175,000 | 2 | 13% |
| Scott Hamilton Cares Foundation Inc | $85,325 | 2 | 9% |
| Brentwood Academy | $20,000 | 1 | 0% |
| Lambscroft Ministries Inc Dba the Cookery | $16,000 | 2 | 1% |
| Harding University Inc | $15,000 | 1 | n/a |
| The Leap Foundation Inc | $5,000 | 1 | 1% |
| Musicares Foundation Inc | $2,000 | 1 | 0% |
| New Hope Academy | $1,325 | 2 | 0% |
| Music & Memory Inc | $1,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Eastern European Mission | $1,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Graceworks Ministries Inc | $500 | 1 | n/a |
| The Dollywood Foundation | $500 | 1 | 0% |
| Eli's House | $500 | 1 | 0% |
| The Next Door Inc | $250 | 1 | 0% |
Plus 6 recipients with no EIN on record ($19k), not named here.
Where it is load-bearing
Each grantee by its size and the share of its budget The Dustin J Wells Foundation supplied at peak.
Tap a dot to name the grantee.
How this is measured
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.
Open a dossier: The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee Inc · Servant Foundation · Raymond James Charitable Endowment Fund · Stephens' Christian Trust · T & T Family Foundation · Dorothy Cate and Thomas F Frist Foundation · American Endowment Foundation · Natl Christian Charitable Fdn Inc · Jpmorgan Chase Foundation · National Philanthropic Trust · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program
How this is measured
Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus
How do I get to The Dustin J Wells Foundation?
Find your warmest path to The Dustin J Wells 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.
About The Dustin J Wells Foundation
- How much does The Dustin J Wells Foundation give?
- The Dustin J Wells Foundation reported 2 grants totaling $6,125 in its FY2025 IRS filing. It funded between 1 and 7 organizations a year over FY2017 to FY2024.
- What does The Dustin J Wells Foundation fund?
- By grant dollars over FY2017 to FY2025, its largest causes are Arts & Culture (52%), Health (26%), Education (12%).
- Who are The Dustin J Wells Foundation's largest grantees?
- By total granted over FY2017 to FY2025: Wo Smith Nashville Community Music School ($175k), Scott Hamilton Cares Foundation Inc ($85k), Brentwood Academy ($20k).
- Does The Dustin J Wells Foundation fund new organizations?
- In FY2024, 100% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
- Does The Dustin J Wells Foundation accept unsolicited applications?
- Its most recent filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and does not take unsolicited requests. Check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.
- Which funders back the same organizations as The Dustin J Wells Foundation?
- Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee Inc, Servant Foundation, Raymond James Charitable Endowment Fund.
- Where is The Dustin J Wells Foundation based?
- The Dustin J Wells Foundation is based in TN.
Play a game based on Dustin J Wells’ filings →