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The Joshua P & Elizabeth D Darden Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Joshua P & Elizabeth D Darden Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$62k
Granted FY2025still arriving
2
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$31k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
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 2022.

Animals$1.7MEducation$785kEnvironment$381kHealth$50kScience & Tech$50kArts & Culture$10kOther$0
02FY2025 · 2 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$31,194
Median grant
1
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
AUDREY AND ALLAN PARROTT CHARITABLE FUND$31,194
ELIZABETH HOLLEY DARDEN AND MARK SZYMCZAK CHARITABLE FUND$31,194
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 94% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%ELIZABETH HOLLEY DARDEN AND MARK SZYMCZAK CHARITABLE FUND: $31k → 16%FLORIDA WILDLIFE FEDERATION: $10k → 19%SEWANEE UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH: $100k → 13%THE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $26k → 8%EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL: $150k → 9%VA AQUARIUM AND MARINE SCIENCE CENTER: $567k → 10%CHKD: $15k → 19%THE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $100k → 22%CHESAPEAKE BAY FOUNDATION: $5k → 6%AUDREY AND ALLAN PARROTT CHARITABLE FUND: $31k → 16%VA AQUARIUM AND MARINE SCIENCE CENTER: $500k → 10%ACCESS COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $10k → 19%THE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $100k → 22%VA AQUARIUM AND MARINE SCIENCE CENTER: $500k → 10%WHRO PUBLIC MEDIA: $5k → 19%THE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $100k → 22%VA AQUARIUM AND MARINE SCIENCE CENTER: $67k → 10%VIRGINIA ARTS FESTIVAL: $10k → 19%THE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $50k → 22%VIRGINIA AQUARIUM FOUNDATION: $67k → 10%NORFOLK SPCA: $10k → 19%NORFOLK ACADEMY: $500k → 19%CANCER CAER FOUNDATION OF TIDEWATER: $10k → 19%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
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
Wake Forest University

Wake Forest University, a 501(c)(3) institution of higher education, is dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in the liberal arts and in graduate and professional education. The organization is comprised of seven constituent parts: Wake…

Education
2
Norfolk Christian Schools

It is the mission of norfolk christian schools to equip students spiritually, intellectually, and physically to love god and to serve him as christ's ambassadors in the world.

Education
3
Norfolk Collegiate School

To educate a diverse body of students to thrive in a college setting and beyond.

Education
4
The Coral Reef and Marine Science Foundation Inc C/O James Bildner
—
5
Hampden-Sydney College

Since 1775, the mission of Hampden-Sydney College has been to form good men and good citizens in an atmosphere of sound learning.

Education
6
Nansemond River Preservation Alliance

To educate and engage citizens to be environmental stewards of our local environment to restore Suffolks impaired waterways increase shoreline stabilization and biodiversity create access to water for all and educate our community and…

Environment
7
Virginia Beach City Public Schools Entrepreneurship and Business
Education
8
Tennessee Aquarium

The mission of the Tennessee Aquarium is to connect people with nature and empower them to make informed decisions about water and wildlife.

Animals
9
The Everglades Foundation Inc

The mission of the foundation is to restore and protect america's everglades through its three programmatic pillars: science, advocacy and education. (continued on schedule o)

Environment
10
The Salish Sea School

The salish sea schools mission is to awaken curiosity and deepen connections with the sea through shore and sea exploration programs for all ages.

Environment
11
Foxcroft School

Foxcroft's mission is to help every girl explore her unique voice and to develop the skills, confidence, and courage to share it with the world with emphasis on Our Values of Respect, Integrity, Kindness, Service.

Education
12
Good Shepherd Episcopal School

The mission of Good Shepherd Episcopal School is to inspire each child to achieve academic excellence within a diverse, nurturing community that builds character and fosters respect for one another and our shared environment, locally and…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Access College Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters. 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

11 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. 11 of the 19 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)
1
Early backer (in before they grew)
11/11
Grantees still filing
8/11
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

VA AQUARIUM AND MARINE SCIENCE CENTER: $1,633,334 · OtherVA AQUARIUM AND MARINE SCIENCE CENTERTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $376,000 · OtherTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY+8 more: $244,054 · Other+8 moreTHE NORFOLK ACADEMY: $500,000 · EducationTHE NORFOLK ACADEMYTHE PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL IN VIRGINIA: $150,000 · EducationTHE PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL HIG…UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH: $100,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH+1 more: $10,000 · EducationNORFOLK SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS INC: $10,000 · AnimalsFlorida Wildlife Federation: $10,000 · AnimalsChildren's Hospital of the King's Daughters: $15,000 · HealthTHE VIRGINIA ARTS FESTIVAL INC: $10,000 · Arts & CultureCHESAPEAKE BAY FOUNDATION INC: $5,000 · Environment
Other$2,253,388Education$760,000Animals$20,000Health$15,000Arts & Culture$10,000Environment$5,000

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 budgetTHE NORFOLK ACADEMY: $500,000 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $376,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetTHE PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL IN VIRGINIA: $150,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH: $100,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCANCER CARE FOUNDATION OF TIDEWATER: $25,000 over 1y, 14% of budgetChildren's Hospital of the King's Daughters: $15,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNORFOLK SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetTHE VIRGINIA ARTS FESTIVAL INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetACCESS COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCHESAPEAKE BAY FOUNDATION INC: $5,000 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.

The Barr FoundationThe Bank of America C…Network for GoodVanguard Charitable E…American Online Givin…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
The Barr FoundationVA13.6× affinity4 shared granteesties to 7 of 7Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Barr Foundation · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Network for Good · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · 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 Joshua P & Elizabeth D Darden Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Joshua P & Elizabeth D Darden Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2025
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%0%1%3%5%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
    1get no government money at all
    2report 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 19 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 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

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    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