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The Melanie and Matthew McLennan Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Melanie and Matthew McLennan Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$50k
Granted FY2025still arriving
1
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$50k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2019 to 2025.

Arts & Culture$739kHealth$700kEducation$350kPhilanthropy$150kInternational$100kHuman Services$35kCivil Rights$15kEnvironment$5kOther$0
02FY2025 · 1 grant

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$50,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$14k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
ROBIN HOOD FOUNDATION$50,000
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 (FY20–20, $10k) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, 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%RIVER FUND NEW YORK INC: $10k → 13%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.

83%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$929k · 5 repeat orgs$193k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +29% since the first grant, against +14% for those funded once.

5 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2025, 4 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

5
9

Total granted

$929k
$193k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+29%
+14%

Still filing today

100%
100%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

50%100%’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
Arts & CultureEducationHuman ServicesInternationalEnvironmentRecreation & SportsOther
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

  • TL
    THE LITERARY CLASSICS OF THE US INC D/B/A LIBRARY OF AMERICA
    4× · 2020–2023 · $634k · revenue +6%
  • RH
    ROBIN HOOD FOUNDATION
    4× · 2021–2025 · $150k · revenue +29%
  • AA
    AMERICAN AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATION
    2× · 2019–2020 · $100k · revenue +5%

Funded once

  • DL
    DE LA SALLE ACADEMY
    one grant, 2023 · $50k · revenue +8%
  • FO
    FRIENDS OF THE HIGH LINE INC
    one grant, 2020 · $50k · revenue -8%
  • TF
    The Frick Collection
    one grant, 2019 · $50k · revenue -4%
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
The Trustees of Princeton University

Research, education and general - princeton university is a private not-for-profit, non-sectarian institution of higher learning with approximately 5,700 undergraduate and 3,300 graduate students. 2,500 students graduated in the 2024-2025…

Education
2
American Museum of Natural History

The museum's mission statement is: "to discover, interpret, and disseminate - through scientific research and education - knowledge about human cultures, the natural world, and the universe."

Arts & Culture
3
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The mission of mit is to advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century.

Education
4
Fordham University

Fordham university, the jesuit university of new york, is committed to the discovery of wisdom and the transmission of learning, through research and through education of the highest quality. for more information, see schedule o.

Education
5
Boston Architectural College

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

—
6
The Pierpont Morgan Library

The Morgan Library & Museum celebrates and shares the history and process of human creativity from antiquity to the present day through the preservation, study, and interpretation of a dynamic and growing collection.

Education
7
Harvard Club of Washington Dc

To inform and enrich the intellectual lives of 20,000 alumni of harvard university in the washington, dc area and to assist harvard university with respect to applicants and undergraduates from the dc area.

Education
8
The New York Public Library Astor Lenox and Tilden Foundations

The mission of the new york public library is to inspire lifelong learning, advance knowledge, and strengthen our communities.

Education
9
Institute for Advanced Study - Louis Bamberger & Mrs Felix Fuld Foundation

The institute for advanced study (the institute) is one of the world's leading centers for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. see schedule o.

Science & Tech
10
Manhattanville University

To educate students to be ethical and socially responsible leaders in a global community.

Education
11
University of New Haven

The University of New Haven is a student-centered comprehensive university with an emphasis on excellence in liberal arts and professional education. Our mission is to prepare our students to lead purposeful and fulfilling lives in a…

Education
12
New York University

Nyu is a private university with approximately 60,000 matriculating students in 20 schools and institutes. nyu's primary missions are education, research and scholarship, and patient care.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Literary Classics of the Us Inc D/B/a Library of America; the most unlike its peers is Friends of Tuxedo Park Library 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

16 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.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
16/16
Grantees still filing
13/16
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

President and Fellows of Harvard College: $950,000 · EducationPresident and Fellows of Harvard CollegeDE LA SALLE ACADEMY: $50,000 · Education+3 more: $50,000 · EducationTHE LITERARY CLASSICS OF THE US INC D/B/A LIBRARY OF AMERICA: $634,000 · Arts & CultureTHE LITERARY CLASSICS OF THE US INC D…FRIENDS OF THE HIGH LINE INC: $50,000 · Arts & CultureFRIENDS OF THE HIGH LINE INC+1 more: $5,000 · Arts & CultureROBIN HOOD FOUNDATION: $150,000 · PhilanthropyAMERICAN AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATION: $100,000 · InternationalAHA FOUNDATION INC: $15,000 · InternationalThe Frick Collection: $50,000 · OtherThe Girls Foundation of Tanzania: $25,000 · Human ServicesTHE RIVER FUND NEW YORK INC: $10,000 · Human ServicesENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND INCORPORATED: $5,000 · EnvironmentCENTRAL PARK CONSERVANCY INC: $2,500 · Recreation & Sports
Education$1,050,000Arts & Culture$689,000Philanthropy$150,000International$115,000Other$50,000Human Services$35,000Environment$5,000Recreation & Sports$2,500

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 budgetPresident and Fellows of Harvard College: $950,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetTHE LITERARY CLASSICS OF THE US INC D/B/A LIBRARY OF AMERICA: $634,000 over 4y, 2.9% of budgetROBIN HOOD FOUNDATION: $150,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATION: $100,000 over 2y, 1.3% of budgetDE LA SALLE ACADEMY: $50,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE HIGH LINE INC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetThe Frick Collection: $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetThe Girls Foundation of Tanzania: $25,000 over 3y, 4.5% of budgetTRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSERVICES FOR CHILDREN WITH HIDDEN INTELLIGENCE: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetAHA FOUNDATION INC: $15,000 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetTHE RIVER FUND NEW YORK INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND INCORPORATED: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBEDFORD PLAYHOUSE INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetFRIENDS OF TUXEDO PARK LIBRARY INC: $5,000 over 1y, 14% of budgetCENTRAL PARK CONSERVANCY INC: $2,500 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.

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.

Jewish Communal FundNational Philanthropi…Vanguard Charitable E…Donor Advised Charita…American Online Givin…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Jewish Communal FundNY13.8× affinity5 shared granteesties to 6 of 6Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Jewish Communal Fund · National Philanthropic Trust · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · American Online Giving Foundation 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 Melanie and Matthew McLennan Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Melanie and Matthew McLennan Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%1%4%8%15%funder's share of their income ↑0%13%25%38%50%share of the org’s income from government →median 42%
  • Aha Foundation Inc: 42% of income from government
  • President and Fellows of Harvard College: 7% of 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 · 0–50%
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 Melanie and Matthew McLennan Foundation?

Find your warmest path to The Melanie and Matthew McLennan 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 16 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

Play a game based on Melanie and Matthew McLennan’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