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The Katherine and Thomas Belk Foundation Inc at a glance

· Private foundation

The Katherine and Thomas Belk Foundation Inc

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.

$680k
Granted FY2023
12
Grants FY2023
3
States reached
$600k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead

Read this first · the figures below need context

79% of The Katherine and Thomas Belk Foundation Inc’s FY2024 grant dollars went to Foundation For The Carolinas, not to grantees.

Its money now reaches organizations through that sponsor, which does not report who recommended each grant. FY2024 names 1 organization directly, so a portfolio cannot be read from it. Everything below is therefore FY2023, the last year The Katherine and Thomas Belk Foundation Inc named its own grantees at scale: 9 organizations, $680k. It is dated, not current.

Organizations named directly on the return

9
’17
9
’18
10
’20
10
’21
7
’22
9
’23
1
’24

Amber years are those where most dollars went to a sponsor.

01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Philanthropy$4.7MReligion$3.1MCommunity Improvement$250kEnvironment$115kEducation$87kHuman Services$60kHousing & Shelter$50kArts & Culture$45kOther$0
02FY2023 · 12 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2023

  • Under $10k7 grants · $30k
  • $10k–50k4 grants · $50k
  • $250k+1 grant · $600k
$7,500
Median grant
3
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
MYERS PARK PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH$600,000
CHARLOTTE MECKLENBURG DREAM CENTER$20,000
GOOD FELLOWS$10,000
CHARLOTTE FAMILY HOUSING$10,000
DAVIDSON COLLEGE$10,000
WILLIAMS YMCA OF AVERY COUNTY$7,500
BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA$5,000
UNION PRESBYTERIAN SEMINARY$5,000
AUGUSTINE LITERACY PROJECT - CHARLOTTE$5,000
WILLIAMS COLLEGE$2,500
GRANDFATHER MOUNTAIN STEWARDSHIP FOUNDATION$2,500
ST ANDREWS SCHOOL$2,500
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 (FY18–23, $60k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%Charlotte Family Housing: $10k → 10%Charlotte Family Housing: $10k → 10%CHARLOTTE FAMILY HOUSING: $10k → 10%CHARLOTTE FAMILY HOUSING: $10k → 10%CHARLOTTE MECKLENBURG DREAM CENTER: $20k → 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.
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.
04

Where the work is directed

The same grants placed two ways: where each recipient sits, and where its stated purpose sends the money.

About 20% of The Katherine and Thomas Belk Foundation Inc’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address. By recipient address, 84% of the giving stays in NC; by stated purpose, 60%.

The Katherine and Thomas Belk Foundation Inclessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address · 23% directed abroad (not shown)
How this is measured
Recipient view: each grant at its grantee’s ZIP, mapped to a county. Directed view: each grant at the county its stated purpose names, falling back to the recipient’s county when the purpose names no place; US grants only. A county shows only if it carries the top 95% of that view’s dollars. Purposes are read from the funder’s own 990 grant descriptions.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

87%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$3.3M · 16 repeat orgs$500k to everyone else

16 repeat relationships: 10 still active in FY2023, 6 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2023 (too recent to call). Read against FY2023, the last year this funder named its own grantees directly; its giving has since run through a sponsor, which reports no donor behind each grant.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

16
15

Total granted

$3.3M
$360k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+10%
+81%

Still filing today

69%
40%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 84% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $115k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’20’21’22’23’24
EducationRecreation & SportsHuman ServicesAnimalsYouth DevelopmentPhilanthropyOther
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

  • CF
    Charlotte Family Housing
    4× · 2018–2023 · $40k · revenue +10%
  • AB
    A Better World Charlotte
    3× · 2018–2021 · $30k · revenue +71%
  • WY
    WILLIAMS YMCA OF AVERY COUNTY
    4× · 2020–2023 · $25k · revenue +91%

Funded once

  • MC
    MONTREAT CONFERENCE CENTER
    one grant, 2022 · $250k
  • CC
    CENTER CITY CHURCH
    one grant, 2017 · $15k
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2021 · $15k
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
For Charlotte Inc

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

Religion
2
Humane Society of Charlotte Inc

Humane Society of Charlotte mission is to champion the wellbeing of companion animals and strengthen their bond with the people who know, love, and need them.

Animals
3
UrbanPromise Charlotte

Provide Charlotte's low-income children and youth with the academic, spiritual, and social development necessary to become Christian leaders determined to restore their communities.

Youth Development
4
TreesCharlotte

Public/private collaborative to plant trees, raise awareness of the canopy, and educate about tree care.

Environment
5
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.

—
6
The Charlotte Center for the Humanities Inc

The mission of The Charlotte Center is to help our community flourish. We accomplish our mission by bringing people together to explore community life together through the lens of the humanities and civic imagination.

Human Services
7
Carolina Meadows Foundation Inc

To solicit and receive gifts, grants, bequests and contributions for the support of carolina meadows, inc. in order to enhance or extend its mission, programs, services, and facilities.

Human Services
8
Junior Achievement of Central Carolinas Inc

Junior achievement is the world's largest organization dedicated to educating private and public school students in grades k-12 about entrepreneurship, workforce readiness, and financial literacy, through experiential, hands-on programs.

International
9
The Little Theatre of Charlotte Inc dba Theatre Charlotte

To produce volunteer-based theatrical events in the Charlotte, NC region.

Arts & Culture
10
Foundation of the University of North Carolina At Charlotte

The foundation of unc charlotte receives contributions to promote and develop the academic and educational purpose of unc charlotte by providing support for operations, educational programs, and scholarships for the university and its…

—
11
Leadership Charlotte

The mission of leadership charlotte is to develop and enhance volunteer community leadership by providing a diverse group of emerging and existing leaders with the opportunity to increase their community knowledge, civic network, and…

Arts & Culture
12
Carolina Common Enterprise

The specific objectives and purposes of this corporation shall be to assist individuals and communities, particularly those in low-income and socially disadvantaged areas, in the creation, expansion, and improvement of rural and…

Community Improvement
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Foundation for the Carolinas; the most unlike its peers is A Better World Charlotte. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
05the grantee network

21 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. 21 of the 37 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)
7
Early backer (in before they grew)
21/21
Grantees still filing
14/21
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH USA: $3,000,000 · OtherPRESBYTERIAN CHURCH USAMONTREAT CONFERENCE CENTER: $250,000 · OtherMONTREAT CONFERENCE CENTER+21 more: $323,000 · Other+21 moreFOUNDATION FOR THE CAROLINAS: $3,360,675 · PhilanthropyFOUNDATION FOR THE CAROLINAS+1 more: $10,000 · PhilanthropyFIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND: $1,255,892 · Community ImprovementFIDELITY INVESTM…Davidson College: $20,000 · EducationTeach for America Inc: $15,000 · EducationWilliams College: $15,000 · EducationQueens University of Charlotte: $10,000 · EducationAugustine Literacy Project - Charlotte: $5,000 · EducationCharlotte Family Housing: $40,000 · Human ServicesCharlotte Mecklenburg Dream Center Inc: $20,000 · Human ServicesA Better World Charlotte: $30,000 · Recreation & SportsTHE GOOD FELLOWS CLUB INC: $20,000 · Recreation & SportsYouth Golf Foundation of the Carolinas: $10,000 · Recreation & SportsWILLIAMS YMCA OF AVERY COUNTY: $25,000 · Youth Development
Other$3,573,000Philanthropy$3,370,675Community Improvement$1,255,892Education$65,000Human Services$60,000Recreation & Sports$60,000Youth Development$25,000

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 budgetFOUNDATION FOR THE CAROLINAS: $3,360,675 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetFIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND: $1,255,892 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCharlotte Family Housing: $40,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetBOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA MECKLENBURG COUNTY COUNCIL: $30,000 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetA Better World Charlotte: $30,000 over 3y, 4.0% of budgetWILLIAMS YMCA OF AVERY COUNTY: $25,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetDavidson College: $20,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE GOOD FELLOWS CLUB INC: $20,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetMUSEUM OF THE NEW SOUTH INC: $20,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetTeach for America Inc: $15,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWilliams College: $15,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetUNITED WAY OF GREATER CHARLOTTE INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGRANDFATHER MOUNTAIN STEWARDSHIP FOUNDATION INC: $10,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetQueens University of Charlotte: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetYouth Golf Foundation of the Carolinas: $10,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetLily Pad Haven Inc: $6,000 over 2y, 1.9% of budgetAVERY COUNTY HUMANE SOCIETY INC: $5,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetWing Haven Foundation Inc DBA Wing Haven Garden & Bird Sanctuary: $5,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetAugustine Literacy Project - Charlotte: $5,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetCHARLOTTE RESCUE MISSION SOCIAL ENTERPRISE: $5,000 over 1y, 0.5% 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…Dowd Foundation IncDuke Energy FoundationTruist Foundation IncAlbemarle FoundationUnited Way of Greater…Equitable Foundation …Dalton-Brand Foundati…The Dickson Foundatio…The Cannon Foundation…United Way WorldwideThe Bank of America C…
Foundation for the CarolinasNC22.1× affinity9 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Foundation for the Carolinas · Dowd Foundation Inc · Duke Energy Foundation · Truist Foundation Inc · Albemarle Foundation · United Way of Greater Charlotte Inc · Equitable Foundation Inc · Dalton-Brand Foundation Inc · The Dickson Foundation Inc · The Cannon Foundation Inc · United Way Worldwide · The Bank of America Charitable 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 Katherine and Thomas Belk Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Katherine and Thomas Belk Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%3%5%8%10%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • Williams College: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
7report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–10%
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 37 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 2023, released 2023. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Katherine and Thomas Belk’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