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The John W Harris Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The John W Harris Family 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.

$27k
Granted FY2024still arriving
6
Grants FY2024still arriving
3
States reached
$10k
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, FY2018 to 2024.

Education$1.1MRecreation & Sports$503kHuman Services$459kEnvironment$167kPhilanthropy$111kInternational$69kReligion$61kHealth$34kOther$0
02FY2024 · 6 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k5 grants · $17k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $10k
$5,000
Median grant
3
States reached
$26k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
World Vision$10,000
NC Sports Hall of Fame$5,000
Woodberry Forest School$5,000
UNC Charlotte Athletic Foundation$5,000
Foundation for the Carolinas$1,000
Cypress Point Caddie Emergency Fund$500
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 (FY18–19, $300k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%YMCA OF GREATER CHARLOTTE: $200k → 10%YMCA OF GREATER CHARLOTTE: $100k → 10%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
NY
OH
CA
VA
TN
NC
SC
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.
$2.2M · 15 repeat orgs$265k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +85% since the first grant, against +26% for those funded once.

15 repeat relationships: 2 still active in FY2024, 13 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

15
34

Total granted

$2.2M
$259k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+85%
+26%

Still filing today

73%
62%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 65% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $6k went to new ones.

50%100%’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
EducationPhilanthropyRecreation & SportsInternationalHealthFood & NutritionOther
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

  • CL
    CHARLOTTE LATIN SCHOOLS
    3× · 2021–2023 · $750k · revenue +36%
  • TE
    THE EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION INC
    4× · 2018–2021 · $580k · revenue +97%
  • WF
    WOODBERRY FOREST SCHOOL
    3× · 2018–2024 · $86k · revenue +25%

Funded once

  • NH
    NC Heels4Life Inc
    one grant, 2023 · $100k
  • TU
    THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA FOUNDATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2018 · $25k · revenue +82%
  • JA
    Junior Achievement of Central Carolinas Inc
    one grant, 2019 · $18k · revenue -32%
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
South Carolina Childrens Fund

To make strategic, catalytic investments and provide expertise and technical assistance to educational organizations across south carolina.

Education
2
North Carolina Foundation for Public School Children

To provide basic necessities for public school children as well as improving parenting skills in order for the children to be successful in school and to expand professional development opportunities for educators.

Philanthropy
3
Charlotte Sports Foundation

The Charlotte Sports Foundation is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization created in 2013 to provide leadership for sports-based initiatives that enhance the economy and quality of life in the Charlotte region. We provide unique events and…

Recreation & Sports
4
For Charlotte Inc

To unite the Church to transform the city through the power of the Gospel.

Religion
5
Charlotte Hornets Foundation Inc

Through the investment of time, talents, and treasure, the charlotte hornets foundation will support, promote, and enhance important community efforts that enrich the quality of life for those in need, especially children and youth…

Philanthropy
6
Chanticleer Athletic Foundation

Providing financial assistance to student athletes at coastal carolina university

Education
7
Unc Health Foundation Inc

At unc health foundation, we inspire philanthropic support for unc health and unc school of medicine that transforms healthcare and provides hope to the people of north carolina and communities around the world.

Education
8
North Carolina Business Leaders for Educ

The mission of north carolina business leaders for education (dba best nc) is to unite an engaged and informed business perspective to dramatically transform and improve north carolina's education system. our goal is for every student to…

Education
9
Carolinas Golf Foundation

The carolinas golf foundation was formed by the carolinas golf association in 1977 to provide scholarships and funding for a variety of carolinas-based golf initiatives.

—
10
Charlotte Regional Realtor Association Inc

The charlotte regional realtor (r) association (crra) is a trade association serving members in mecklenburg, iredell and haywood counties. at december 31, 2024, crra had 14,020 members.

—
11
Charlotte Country Day School

Through excellence in education, charlotte country day school develops the potential of each student by fostering intellectual curiosity, principled character, ethical leadership and a responsibility to serve. the key values and…

Education
12
Carolinas Credit Union Foundation

To provide educational scholarships, and to provide assistance to credit unions in north and south carolina, and special projects.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Educational Foundation Inc; the most unlike its peers is Blood Cancer United 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

35 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. 35 of the 53 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)
8
Early backer (in before they grew)
35/35
Grantees still filing
28/35
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION INC: $580,000 · OtherTHE EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION INCTREES CHARLOTTE FOUNDATION: $156,667 · OtherTREES CHARLOTTE FOUNDATIONNC Heels4Life Inc: $100,000 · OtherNC Heels4Life IncPRESBYTERIAN CHURCH USA: $51,000 · OtherTHE SPRINGS: $50,000 · Other+22 more: $78,075 · Other+22 moreCHARLOTTE LATIN SCHOOLS: $750,000 · EducationCHARLOTTE LATIN SCHOOLSWOODBERRY FOREST SCHOOL: $86,000 · EducationWOODBERRY FOREST SCHOOL+10 more: $122,000 · Education+10 moreYOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF GREATER CHARLOTTE: $300,000 · Human ServicesYOUNG MEN'S C…CAROLINAS GOLF ASSOCIATION: $65,000 · Recreation & SportsTHE GOOD FELLOWS CLUB INC: $50,000 · Recreation & Sports+1 more: $1,000 · Recreation & SportsFOUNDATION FOR THE CAROLINAS: $84,000 · PhilanthropyJANES FUND: $10,000 · PhilanthropyJIMMIE JOHNSON FOUNDATION: $10,000 · PhilanthropyPebble Beach Company Foundation: $6,300 · PhilanthropyHOOPTEE CHARITIES INC: $5,000 · PhilanthropyWORLD VISION INC: $45,000 · InternationalJunior Achievement of Central Carolinas Inc: $18,000 · InternationalWorld Affairs Council of Charlotte: $6,000 · International+1 more: $500 · InternationalCharlotte Mecklenburg Police Foundation: $21,000 · Public Safety & Disaster
Other$1,015,742Education$958,000Human Services$300,000Recreation & Sports$116,000Philanthropy$115,300International$69,500Public Safety & Disaster$21,000

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 budgetCHARLOTTE LATIN SCHOOLS: $750,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetTHE EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION INC: $580,000 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetYOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF GREATER CHARLOTTE: $300,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetWOODBERRY FOREST SCHOOL: $86,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetFOUNDATION FOR THE CAROLINAS: $84,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetTHE GOOD FELLOWS CLUB INC: $50,000 over 5y, 1.5% of budgetWORLD VISION INC: $45,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPUT ON THE BRAKES INC: $30,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetAllegro Foundation Inc: $30,000 over 4y, 1.1% of budgetTHE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCharlotte Mecklenburg Police Foundation: $21,000 over 3y, 1.2% of budgetCAROLINA YOUTH COALITION: $20,000 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetJunior Achievement of Central Carolinas Inc: $18,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetJANES FUND: $10,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetJIMMIE JOHNSON FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetCarolina Raptor Center Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetLeighton Ford Ministries Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 3.2% of budgetPebble Beach Company Foundation: $6,300 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetHopeWay Foundation: $6,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetWorld Affairs Council of Charlotte: $6,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetATHLETIC FOUNDATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHARLOTTE: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetHOOPTEE CHARITIES INC: $5,000 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetECHO FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSTEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE CITADEL BRIGADIER FOUNDATION: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICA'S SECOND HARVEST OF COASTAL GEORGIA INC: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBROADWAY CARESEQUITY FIGHTS AIDS INC: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBLOOD CANCER UNITED INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHV3 FOUNDATION: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTeach for America Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSEAL-NSW FAMILY FOUNDATION: $975 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetLwala Community Alliance: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHenderson County & Thermal Belt Habitat for Humanity: $100 over 1y, 0.0% 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.

Foundation for the Ca…Albemarle FoundationDuke Energy FoundationHendrick Family Found…C D Spangler Foundati…Dowd Foundation IncUnited Way WorldwideNational Philanthropi…The Blackbaud Giving …Equitable Foundation …Natl Christian Charit…The Ayco Charitable F…
Foundation for the CarolinasNC25.1× affinity11 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Foundation for the Carolinas · Albemarle Foundation · Duke Energy Foundation · Hendrick Family Foundation · C D Spangler Foundation Inc · Dowd Foundation Inc · United Way Worldwide · National Philanthropic Trust · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · Equitable Foundation Inc · Natl Christian Charitable Fdn Inc · The Ayco Charitable 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 John W Harris Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The John W Harris Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%4%8%11%15%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    8report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–15%
    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 John W Harris Family Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to The John W Harris Family 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 53 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 John W Harris Family’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