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The Liberty Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Liberty Family Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$12k
Granted FY2024still arriving
2
Grants FY2024still arriving
1
States reached
$7k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0191% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Philanthropy$69kFood & Nutrition$25kHuman Services$19kEducation$19kRecreation & Sports$18kArts & Culture$2kCommunity Improvement$2kReligion$200Other$0
02FY2024 · 2 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$7,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$870
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Individual grant recipient$7,000
Candlelight Foundation$5,000
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.

US giving: 71% of grant dollars ($120k). The need read here covers only this US portion; the 29% that went abroad ($48k) is mapped below.

show:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–23) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 13%. 42% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants spread fairly evenly across need levels.

area typical 13%LEADERBOARD OF BOSTON: $80 → 8%BOSTON UNIVERSITY: $500 → 16%UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: $500 → 22%Pitzer College: $500 → 14%Hobart Smith College: $500 → 10%Liberty House for Women: $1k → 17%Quantic School of Business: $4k → 14%Full Circle Performance Baseball: $4k → 10%Miles To Go: $6k → 13%Connecticut College: $500 → 9%UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAVEN: $500 → 12%WASHINGTON COLLEGE: $500 → 12%UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE: $500 → 9%BOWDOIN COLLEGE: $500 → 7%UNIVERSITY OF NEW ENGLAND: $500 → 9%COLBY COLLEGE: $1k → 12%Bates College: $1k → 13%University of Maine: $1k → 15%PITZER COLLEGE: $500 → 14%HOBART & SMITH COLLEGES: $500 → 10%Liberty House for Women: $6k → 13%CONNECTICUT COLLEGE: $500 → 9%St Josephs College: $2k → 7%Colby College: $500 → 12%BATES COLLEGE: $500 → 13%UNIVERSITY OF MAINE: $1k → 15%SAINT JOSEPHS COLLEGE: $1k → 7%American Legion Post 86: $5k → 7%G-NG HS SUMMER LUNCH PROGRAM: $4k → 7%American Legion Post 86: $3k → 7%American Music Camp: $2k → 7%Town of Gray: $1k → 7%TOWN OF GRAY: $1k → 7%Windham Chamber Singers: $500 → 7%Candace Foundation: $500 → 7%NORTH WINDHAM UNION CHURCH: $250 → 7%Candace Foundation: $500 → 7%North Windham Union Church: $200 → 7%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

ME
NH
NY
MA
PA
CT
CA
MD
DC
FL

Beyond the US: 29% of all-years giving ($48k)

2 countries, by the recipient’s country on the filing.

grant dollars sentlessmore
Nigeria$41k · 3 grants
Kenya$7k · 1 grant
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. International giving is mapped by the recipient’s country from the same 990 filings; comparable need data isn’t available at that grain.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

69%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$115k · 13 repeat orgs$53k to everyone else

13 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2024, 12 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

13
16

Total granted

$115k
$46k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+37%
+42%

Still filing today

46%
38%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 42% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $7k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time
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

  • TA
    The American Legion Post 86
    2× · 2018–2022 · $8k · revenue +45%
  • PRESIDENT AND TRUSTEES OF BATES COLLEGE
    2× · 2017–2018 · $2k · revenue +9%
  • The President and Trustees of Colby College
    2× · 2017–2018 · $2k · revenue +37%

Funded once

  • LF
    Lagos Food Bank Initiative
    one grant, 2021 · $25k
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2021 · $6k
  • GH
    G-NG HS SUMMER LUNCH PROGRAM
    one grant, 2017 · $4k
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
Boston Architectural College

The bac is committed to provide excellence in design education grounded in practice and accessible to diverse communities.

—
2
Roger Williams University

At Roger Williams University, students are prepared to be thinkers and doers ready to solve challenging problems with innovative solutions. RWU offers robust offerings of undergraduate, graduate and professional programs across eight…

Education
3
Trustees of Dartmouth College

Dartmouth College educates the most promising students and prepares them for a lifetime of learning and of responsible leadership, through a faculty dedicated to teaching and the creation of knowledge.

Education
4
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
5
Dean College

Dean college is a private, residential new england college grounded in a culture and tradition that all students deserve the opportunity to discover and exceed their greatest aspirations. a personal and transformative community since 1865,…

Education
6
Western New England University

Western new england university, a comprehensive private institution with a tradition of excellence in teaching and scholarship and a commitment to service, awards undergraduate, master's, and doctoral degrees in various departments from…

Education
7
Reed Institute

The mission of Reed College is to provide education in the liberal arts and sciences.

Education
8
Williams College

Williams College strives to achieve educational excellence by fostering a community of learning in collaboration with students, faculty, staff, devoted alumni and parents.

Education
9
President and Fellows of Middlebury College

Through a commitment to immersive learning, we prepare students to lead engaged, consequential, and creative lives, contribute to their communities, and address the world's most challenging problems.

Education
10
Le Moyne College

The College is a diverse learning community that strives for academic excellence in the Catholic and Jesuit tradition through comprehensive programs rooted in the liberal arts and sciences.

Education
11
Goucher College

Goucher College provides an innovative liberal arts education that prepares students with a broad, humane perspective for a life of inquiry, creativity, and critical and analytical thinking. The College's vision is to become a top-100…

Education
12
Benedictine University

Benedictine University is an inclusive academic community dedicated to teaching and learning, scholarship and service, truth and justice, as inspired by the Catholic intellectual tradition, the social teaching of the Church, and the…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Connecticut College; the most unlike its peers is The American Legion Post 86. 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

13 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. 13 of the 31 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)
0
Early backer (in before they grew)
13/13
Grantees still filing
11/13
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Candlelight Foundation: $68,290 · OtherCandlelight FoundationLagos Food Bank Initiative: $25,000 · OtherLagos Food Bank InitiativeFull Circle Performance Baseball: $18,200 · OtherFull Circle Performance BaseballThe American Legion Post 86: $7,500 · OtherLiberty House for Women: $7,137 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $7,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $6,000 · Other+13 more: $17,530 · Other+13 moreTrustees of Saint Joseph's College Saint Joseph's College of Maine: $3,000 · EducationPRESIDENT AND TRUSTEES OF BATES COLLEGE: $1,500 · EducationThe President and Trustees of Colby College: $1,500 · EducationPitzer College: $1,000 · EducationCONNECTICUT COLLEGE: $1,000 · EducationBowdoin College: $500 · EducationSPRINGFIELD COLLEGE: $500 · EducationUniversity of New Haven: $500 · EducationUniversity of New England: $500 · EducationTRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: $500 · EducationWASHINGTON COLLEGE: $500 · Education
Other$156,657Education$11,000

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 American Legion Post 86: $7,500 over 2y, 2.3% of budgetTrustees of Saint Joseph's College Saint Joseph's College of Maine: $3,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPRESIDENT AND TRUSTEES OF BATES COLLEGE: $1,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetThe President and Trustees of Colby College: $1,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPitzer College: $1,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCONNECTICUT COLLEGE: $1,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBowdoin College: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSPRINGFIELD COLLEGE: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTRUSTEES OF BOSTON UNIVERSITY: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUniversity of New Haven: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUniversity of New England: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWASHINGTON COLLEGE: $500 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.

  • Who funds The American Legion Post 86 ↗
  • Who funds Trustees of Saint Joseph's College Saint Joseph's College of Maine ↗
  • Who funds PRESIDENT AND TRUSTEES OF BATES COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds The President and Trustees of Colby College ↗
  • Who funds Pitzer College ↗
  • Who funds CONNECTICUT COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds Bowdoin College ↗
  • Who funds SPRINGFIELD COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds TRUSTEES OF BOSTON UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds University of New Haven ↗
  • Who funds University of New England ↗
  • Who funds TRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA ↗
  • Who funds WASHINGTON COLLEGE ↗

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization The Liberty Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Liberty Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2025
’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 →median 0%
  • Trustees of Boston University: 12% of income from government
  • University of New Haven: 1% of income from government
  • Washington College: 0% of income from government
  • Connecticut College: 0% of income from government
  • Springfield College: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
1report 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 Liberty Family Foundation?

Find your warmest path to The Liberty 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 31 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 Liberty 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