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The GFC Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The GFC Foundation

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.

$1.2M
Granted FY2024still arriving
14
Grants FY2024still arriving
6
States reached
$1.1M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
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.

Education$14MPhilanthropy$464kCivil Rights$178kReligion$58kSocial Science$51kYouth Development$33kPublic Benefit$23kScience & Tech$20kOther$0
02FY2024 · 14 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k6 grants · $11k
  • $10k–50k6 grants · $99k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $54k
  • $250k+1 grant · $1.1M
$10,000
Median grant
6
States reached
$14M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
SUTHERLAND INSTITUTE$1,053,230
AMERICAN HERITAGE SCHOOL$53,698
FOUNDING FORWARD$25,000
INSTITUTE FOR FAMILY STUDIES$25,000
ETHICS AND PUCLI POLICY CENTER$15,000
LOGOS CLASSICAL ACADEMY$14,000
ATLAS NETWORK$10,000
BILL OF RIGHTS INSTITUTE$10,000
DC FAMILY & YOUTH INSTITUTE$3,000
PHILANTHROPY ROUNDTABLE$2,564
JEFFERSON INSTITUTE$2,000
ECHO$1,000
KIDS ON THE MOVE$1,000
FEAST$1,000
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 (FY20–23, $6k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 7%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 7%NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR ADOPTION: $2k → 9%FAMILY & YOUTH INITIATIVE: $2k → 14%ADOPT A NATIVE ELDER: $3k → 8%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

ID
MN
IL
MI
NY
PA
CA
UT
CO
VA
AZ
DC
GA
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.

98%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$14M · 17 repeat orgs$216k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +24% since the first grant, against +5% for those funded once.

17 repeat relationships: 9 still active in FY2024, 8 since wound down; 5 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

17
27

Total granted

$14M
$160k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+24%
+5%

Still filing today

47%
59%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 95% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $56k 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
EducationPhilanthropyHuman ServicesCivil RightsSocial ScienceHealthOther
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

  • SI
    Sutherland Institute
    8× · 2017–2024 · $10M · revenue +4% · 87% of their budget
  • AH
    American Heritage Schools Inc
    8× · 2017–2024 · $3.1M · revenue +77%
  • TI
    THE INSTITUTE FOR FAMILY STUDIES
    8× · 2017–2024 · $152k · revenue +207%

Funded once

  • FF
    FOUNDATION FOR THE AMERICAN WESTgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $65k · revenue +597% · 29% of their budget
  • TH
    THE HOWARD CENTER
    one grant, 2017 · $40k
  • LC
    LOGOS CLASSICAL ACADEMY INC
    one grant, 2023 · $5k · revenue -50%
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
Frontiers of Freedom Institute

To educate the public on constitutional issues and public policy matters. We are dedicated to the principles of individual liberty, peace through strength, limited government, free enterprise, and the values embodied in the Declaration of…

Public Benefit
2
Center of Theological Inquiry

The Center of Theological Inquiry is an independent research institution with an international visiting scholar program which convenes researchers in an ideal setting for interdisciplinary inquiries where theology casts light on global…

Religion
3
Pew Research Center

Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan "fact tank" that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. Pew Research Center generates a foundation of facts that enriches the public dialogue and…

Social Science
4
Foreign Policy Research Institute

The foreign policy research institute (frpi) is dedicated to producing the highest quality scholarship and nonpartisan policy analysis focused on crucial foreign policy and national security challenges facing the united states. we educate…

International
5
The Foundation for the Constitution

The Foundations Mission is to enhance our understanding of the Constitution and our constitutional history.

Social Science
6
Open Markets Institute

The open markets institute works to help people relearn how to use competition policy to build stronger democracies, more just and equitable societies, more innovative and sustainable economies, and a more secure and peaceful world.

Education
7
Institute for Policy Innovation

It is the mission of the Institute for Policy Innovation (IPI) to provide education, research, analysis and recommendations to policy makers, opinion leaders and the American people designed to help solve public policy problems through…

—
8
International Republican Institute

Iri advances freedom and democracy worldwide by developing political parties, civic institutions, open elections, democratic governance and the rule of law.

Education
9
Hudson Institute Inc

Hudson Institute is a research organization promoting American leadership for a secure, free, and prosperous future.

—
10
Competitive Enterprise Institute

Competitive enterprise institute (cei) is a non-profit public policy organization dedicated to the principles of free enterprise and limited government. we believe that consumers are best helped not by government regulation but by being…

—
11
Freedom Forum Institute Inc

The mission of the freedom forum institute is to champion the five freedoms of the first amendment through education and entertainment.

—
12
Learning Policy Institute

The Learning Policy Institute (LPI) conducts and disseminates independent, high-quality research to improve learning for all children. A nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, LPI connects policymakers and stakeholders at the local, state,…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Ethics and Public Policy Center Inc; the most unlike its peers is Liahona Foundation. 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

29 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. 29 of the 50 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.

2
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
5
Early backer (in before they grew)
28/29
Grantees still filing
18/29
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Sutherland Institute: $10,297,730 · EducationSutherland InstituteAmerican Heritage Schools Inc: $3,080,941 · EducationAmerican Heritage Schools Inc+4 more: $160,000 · EducationDonors Trust Inc: $375,000 · PhilanthropyFOUNDATION FOR THE AMERICAN WEST: $65,000 · PhilanthropyTHE PHILANTHROPY ROUNDTABLE: $21,954 · Philanthropy+2 more: $2,000 · PhilanthropyMARRIAGE LAW FOUNDATION: $150,000 · OtherUTAH EAGLE FORUM EDUCATION FUND: $55,000 · OtherTHE HOWARD CENTER: $40,000 · OtherBill of Rights Institute: $20,000 · OtherATLAS NETWORK: $20,000 · OtherLOGOS CLASSICAL ACADEMY: $14,000 · Other+28 more: $80,484 · OtherFOUNDING FORWARD (FORMERLY THE UNION LEAGUE LEGACY FOUNDATION): $25,000 · Youth DevelopmentSaprea: $17,000 · HealthETHICS AND PUBLIC POLICY CENTER INC: $15,000 · Public BenefitSTATE POLICY NETWORK: $5,000 · Civil RightsActon Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty: $2,500 · Civil Rights
Education$13,538,671Philanthropy$463,954Other$379,484Youth Development$25,000Health$17,000Public Benefit$15,000Civil Rights$7,500

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 budgetSutherland Institute: $10,297,730 over 8y, 87% of budgetAmerican Heritage Schools Inc: $3,080,941 over 8y, 9.2% of budgetTHE INSTITUTE FOR FAMILY STUDIES: $152,000 over 8y, 6.6% of budgetFOUNDATION FOR THE AMERICAN WEST: $65,000 over 1y, 29% of budgetFOUNDING FORWARD (FORMERLY THE UNION LEAGUE LEGACY FOUNDATION): $25,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetTHE PHILANTHROPY ROUNDTABLE: $21,954 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetBill of Rights Institute: $20,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetSaprea: $17,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetETHICS AND PUBLIC POLICY CENTER INC: $15,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetFREEDOMS FOUNDATION AT VALLEY FORGE: $6,500 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetLOGOS CLASSICAL ACADEMY INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetSTATE POLICY NETWORK: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLiahona Foundation: $4,000 over 2y, 5.2% of budgetAMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY RESEARCH: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE FUND FOR AMERICAN STUDIES: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAdopt-A-Native Elder: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetActon Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Charlemagne Institute: $2,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetECHO INC: $2,000 over 2y, 4.2% of budgetFAMILY AND YOUTH INITIATIVE INC: $2,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetNational Council for Adoption: $1,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSLEEP IN HEAVENLY PEACE INC: $1,010 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCAPITAL RESEARCH CENTER: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFRIENDS OF UFM INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetKids on the Move Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSalt Lake Childrens Choir: $500 over 1y, 0.6% 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.

Sorenson Legacy Found…Sarah Scaife Foundati…Larry H Miller and Ga…Donors Trust IncRaymond James Charita…National Philanthropi…Morgan Stanley Global…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …American Online Givin…Amazonsmile Foundation
Sorenson Legacy FoundationUT19.6× affinity7 shared granteesties to 10 of 10Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Sorenson Legacy Foundation · Sarah Scaife Foundation Incorporated · Larry H Miller and Gail Miller Family Foundation · Donors Trust Inc · Raymond James Charitable Endowment Fund · National Philanthropic Trust · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · 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 GFC Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The GFC Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%6%25%56%100%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
    3report 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.
    05Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to The GFC Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to The GFC 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.

    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 50 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 GFC’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