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The McDonnell Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The McDonnell 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.

$468k
Granted FY2018
12
Grants FY2018
4
States reached
$100k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead

Read this first · the figures below need context

57% of The McDonnell Family Foundation’s FY2024 grant dollars went to Community Foundation Of Greater Memphis Inc, not to grantees.

Its money now reaches organizations through that sponsor, which does not report who recommended each grant. FY2024 names 19 organizations directly, so a portfolio cannot be read from it. Everything below is therefore FY2018, the last year The McDonnell Family Foundation named its own grantees at scale: 7 organizations, $468k. It is dated, not current.

Organizations named directly on the return

8
’17
7
’18
4
’19
2
’20
2
’21
0
’22
19
’24

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

01What it funds
0190% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Philanthropy$3.3MEducation$850kHuman Services$735kReligion$425kHealth$275kArts & Culture$187kHousing & Shelter$100kFood & Nutrition$50kOther$0
02FY2018 · 12 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2018

  • Under $10k6 grants · $33k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $25k
  • $50k–250k5 grants · $410k
$25,000
Median grant
4
States reached
$133M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CHURCH OF THE HOLY COMMUNION$100,000
MEMPHIS TEACHER RESIDENCY$100,000
A STEP AHEAD FOUNDATION$100,000
Individual grant recipient$60,000
THE UNIVERSITY OF MS FOUNDATION$50,000
THE WEBB SCHOOL$25,000
WORLD TEAM$8,000
NEW BALLET ENSEMBLE AND SCHOOL$5,000
THE TREZEVANT FOUNDATION$5,000
PLAYBACK MEMPHIS$5,000
CHARLEVOIX COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDAT$5,000
EXCEPTIONAL FOUNDATION OF WEST TN$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.

show:

Its human-services grants (FY17–24, $710k) land where the poverty rate runs at 17%, against an area that typically sits at 14%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 14%American Red Cross: $10k → 14%A STEP AHEAD FOUNDATION: $100k → 17%A STEP AHEAD FOUNDATION: $100k → 17%A STEP AHEAD FOUNDATION: $100k → 17%A STEP AHEAD FOUNDATION: $100k → 17%A STEP AHEAD FOUNDATION: $100k → 17%A Step Ahead Foundation: $100k → 17%The Hospitality Hub: $100k → 17%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
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

82%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$3.3M · 11 repeat orgs$710k to everyone else

11 repeat relationships: 8 still active in FY2018, 3 since wound down; 25 grantees were first funded in FY2018 (too recent to call). Read against FY2018, 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

11
1

Total granted

$3.3M
$5k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+36%
+866%

Still filing today

73%
100%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 21% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $570k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’24
EducationArts & CultureHuman ServicesEnvironmentYouth DevelopmentHealthOther
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

  • AS
    A STEP AHEAD FOUNDATION INC
    6× · 2017–2024 · $600k · revenue +36%
  • MT
    MEMPHIS TEACHER RESIDENCY INC
    3× · 2017–2019 · $300k · revenue +4%
  • CH
    CHURCH HEALTH CENTER OF MEMPHIS INC
    2× · 2017–2019 · $250k · revenue +54%

Funded once

  • MB
    Memphis Brooks Museum of Art Incgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $5k · revenue +866%
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
Memphis Academy of Science and Engineeri

To produce lifelong learners, critical thinkers, effective communicators, and productive members of the global community

Education
2
The Children's Museum of Memphis Inc

The mission is to create memorable learning experiences through the joy of play, in hands-on exhibits and programs. we accomplish this mission by reaching out to the mid-south school children, families, and the tourist visitor.

Arts & Culture
3
University of Memphis Foundation

The foundation accepts, manages, and disburses private support to the university of memphis.

Education
4
Theatre Memphis

To produce plays and encourage the arts by performance and educational programs.

Arts & Culture
5
Mayor's Institute for Excellence in Government Inc

Develop and implement programs to meet major urban challenges that exist for memphis, tennessee

Public Benefit
6
Memphis Area Chamber of Commerce

To serve our members and partners by improving the quality of life through regional economic prosperity.

—
7
City Leadership

City leadership's mission is to recruit, develop, and catalyze leaders for the benefit of the city of memphis. the organization was founded in order to maximize the leadership capital and potential of memphis. city leadership strives to…

Public Benefit
8
The Urbanart Commission

The mission of the urbanart commission is to create opportunities for artists and neighborhoods to connect and shape spaces through public art.

Arts & Culture
9
Mississippi College

Mississippi college is a private, co-educational, comprehensive university of liberal arts and sciences and professional studies dedicated to the pursuit of academic excellence. founded in 1826, mississippi college is the oldest…

Education
10
Union University

Union university provides christ-centered education that promotes excellence and character development in service to church and society.

Education
11
Kipp Memphis

Kipp memphis public schools (kmps) is part of the non-profit kipp public schools network. together with families and communities, kmps create joyful, academically excellent schools that prepare students with the skills and confidence to…

Education
12
Women's Foundation for a Greater Memphis

To encourage philanthropy and foster leadership among women and support programs that enable women and children to reach their full potential.

Human Services
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is University of Mississippi Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Protect Our Aquifer. 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 39 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)
3
Early backer (in before they grew)
29/29
Grantees still filing
19/29
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF GREATER MEMPHIS INC: $3,262,498 · PhilanthropyCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF GREATER MEMPHIS INC+2 more: $45,000 · PhilanthropyIndividual grant recipient: $1,274,393 · OtherIndividual grant recipientCHURCH OF THE HOLY COMMUNION: $400,000 · OtherCHURCH OF THE HOLY COMMUNIONUNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS: $289,858 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF MEMPHISPORTER-LEATH: $100,000 · Other+14 more: $238,000 · Other+14 moreA STEP AHEAD FOUNDATION INC: $599,828 · Human ServicesA STEP AHEA…THE HOSPITALITY HUB OF MEMPHIS: $100,000 · Human ServicesTHE HOSPITA…+2 more: $20,000 · Human ServicesMEMPHIS TEACHER RESIDENCY INC: $300,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI FOUNDATION: $150,000 · EducationTHE WEBB SCHOOL: $25,000 · EducationALLMEMPHIS INC: $25,000 · EducationCHRISTIAN BROTHERS UNIVERSITY: $25,000 · EducationSEMMES-MURPHEY FOUNDATION: $25,000 · Education+1 more: $10,000 · EducationCHURCH HEALTH CENTER OF MEMPHIS INC: $250,000 · HealthDixon Gallery and Gardens: $96,996 · Arts & CultureARTSMEMPHIS: $25,000 · Arts & CultureEverystory: $10,000 · Arts & CultureNEW BALLET ENSEMBLE INC: $10,000 · Arts & CultureMemphis Brooks Museum of Art Inc: $5,000 · Arts & CultureMID-SOUTH FOOD BANK: $50,000 · Food & Nutrition
Philanthropy$3,307,498Other$2,302,251Human Services$719,828Education$560,000Health$250,000Arts & Culture$146,996Food & Nutrition$50,000

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 budgetCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF GREATER MEMPHIS INC: $3,262,498 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetA STEP AHEAD FOUNDATION INC: $599,828 over 6y, 5.8% of budgetMEMPHIS TEACHER RESIDENCY INC: $300,000 over 3y, 2.3% of budgetCHURCH HEALTH CENTER OF MEMPHIS INC: $250,000 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI FOUNDATION: $150,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetTHE HOSPITALITY HUB OF MEMPHIS: $100,000 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetPORTER-LEATH: $100,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetDixon Gallery and Gardens: $96,996 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetMID-SOUTH FOOD BANK: $50,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE WEBB SCHOOL: $25,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetSLINGSHOT MEMPHIS INC: $25,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetMEMPHIS INTERFAITH COALITION FOR ACTION AND HOPE: $25,000 over 1y, 4.8% of budgetAGAPE CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetALLMEMPHIS INC: $25,000 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetTHE NATIONAL BONSAI FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 1y, 5.1% of budgetProtect Our Aquifer: $25,000 over 1y, 3.5% of budgetCITY YEAR INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCHRISTIAN BROTHERS UNIVERSITY: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSEMMES-MURPHEY FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetARTSMEMPHIS: $25,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetCharlevoix County Community Foundation: $20,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetKNOWLEDGE QUEST INC: $15,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetCONNECTICUT COLLEGE: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetEverystory: $10,000 over 2y, 2.1% of budgetTHRIVE MEMPHIS: $10,000 over 2y, 1.3% of budgetAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMemphis Brooks Museum of Art Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMemphis Inner City Rugby: $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.

Community Foundation …Christian Community F…The Kemmons Wilson Fa…Thomas W Briggs Found…Jr Hyde III Family Fo…Rose Montgomery Johns…The Urban Child Insti…The Assisi Foundation…Plough FoundationCrews Family Foundati…Self FoundationThe Kresge Foundation
Community Foundation of Greater Memphis IncTN39.6× affinity18 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Community Foundation of Greater Memphis Inc · Christian Community Foundation of Memphis · The Kemmons Wilson Family Foundation · Thomas W Briggs Foundation Inc · Jr Hyde III Family Foundation · Rose Montgomery Johnston Family Foundation · The Urban Child Institute · The Assisi Foundation of Memphis Inc · Plough Foundation · Crews Family Foundation · Self Foundation · The Kresge 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 McDonnell Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The McDonnell Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 11%
  • City Year Inc: 11% of income from government
  • Connecticut College: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
9report 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 McDonnell Family Foundation?

Find your warmest path to The McDonnell 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 39 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 2018, released 2018. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on McDonnell 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