Skip to content
The Melkus Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Melkus 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.

$7.3M
Granted FY2024still arriving
75
Grants FY2024still arriving
14
States reached
$1.0M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0198% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2024.

International$6.2MHuman Services$4.2MFood & Nutrition$3.9MPhilanthropy$2.7MHealth$2.2MEducation$2.1MHousing & Shelter$1.2MCrime & Legal$1.1MOther$0
02FY2024 · 75 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k17 grants · $64k
  • $10k–50k28 grants · $526k
  • $50k–250k20 grants · $2.2M
  • $250k+10 grants · $4.5M
$25,000
Median grant
14
States reached
$61M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE$1,000,000
BELMONT UNIVERSITY$989,184
DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS$500,000
ANCORA TN$400,000
CITY HARVEST$300,000
MARTHA O'BRYAN CENTER$294,940
COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF COLLIER COUNTY$270,000
SECOND HARVEST FOOD BANK$250,000
NATIONAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL$250,000
RENEWAL HOUSE$250,000
CHILDREN'S AID SOCIETY$214,534
CARE INC$200,000
PLANNED PARENTHOOD$200,000
SEXUAL ASSAULT CENTER$200,000
MANNA FOOD BANK INC$200,000
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 (FY20–24, $3.0M) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%AMERICAN THERAPEUTIC RIDING CENTER: $10k → 15%HOPE STATION INC: $5k → 9%SHOULDER TO SHOULDER FOUNDATION: $5k → 14%OPEN HEART MAGIC: $10k → 14%AMERICAN THERAPEUTIC RIDING CENTER: $10k → 15%AMERICAN THERAPEUTIC RIDING CENTER: $10k → 15%AMERICAN THERAPEUTIC RIDING CENTER: $8k → 15%BEAUTIFUL FEET GLOBAL OUTREACH: $5k → 4%ANCORA TN: $400k → 14%BEAUTIFUL FEET GLOBAL OUTREACH: $5k → 4%END SLAVERY TENNESSEE: $200k → 14%END SLAVERY TENNESSEE: $125k → 14%END SLAVERY TENNESSEE: $125k → 14%CHILDREN'S AID SOCIETY: $215k → 17%CHILDREN'S AID SOCIETY: $214k → 17%CHILDREN'S AID SOCIETY: $213k → 17%THE FAMILY CENTER: $50k → 14%CHILDREN'S AID SOCIETY: $161k → 17%CHILDREN'S AID SOCIETY: $160k → 17%THE FAMILY CENTER: $50k → 14%THE FAMILY CENTER: $50k → 14%CROSSROADS CAMPUS: $3k → 14%CROSSROADS CAMPUS: $3k → 14%CROSSROADS CAMPUS: $3k → 14%CROSSROADS CAMPUS: $3k → 14%GORDON JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER: $250k → 14%GORDON JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER: $250k → 14%GORDON JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER: $10k → 14%FAMILY & CHILDREN'S SERVICE: $25k → 14%FIFTY FORWARD: $25k → 14%FIFTY FORWARD: $25k → 14%FIFTY FORWARD: $25k → 14%FIFTY FORWARD: $25k → 14%COMMUNITY RESOURCE CENTER: $75k → 14%COMMUNITY RESOURCE CENTER: $75k → 14%COMMUNITY RESOURCE CENTER: $75k → 14%COMMUNITY RESOURCE CENTER: $50k → 14%COMMUNITY RESOURCE CENTER: $50k → 14%ALIVE HOSPICE: $5k → 14%JAKE OWEN FOUNDATION: $1k → 14%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

WA
IL
WI
NY
MA
RI
CA
UT
KY
VA
MD
TN
NC
DC
OK
MS
GA
TX
FL
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.

92%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$24M · 78 repeat orgs$2.1M to everyone else

78 repeat relationships: 54 still active in FY2024, 24 since wound down; 20 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

78
35

Total granted

$24M
$376k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+39%
+44%

Still filing today

65%
57%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 76% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $1.7M went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24
Human ServicesEducationHealthAnimalsArts & CultureInternationalOther
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

  • IR
    International Rescue Committee INC
    4× · 2020–2024 · $3.9M · revenue +63%
  • CITY HARVEST INC
    5× · 2020–2024 · $2.4M · revenue +3%
  • MO
    MARTHA O'BRYAN CENTER INC
    4× · 2020–2024 · $1.7M · revenue +45%

Funded once

  • RI
    ROOM IN THE INN INC
    one grant, 2020 · $75k
  • THE DOE FUND INC
    one grant, 2020 · $50k · revenue +4%
  • FC
    FAMILY & CHILDREN'S SERVICEgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $25k · revenue +192%
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
Nashville Public Radio

Nashville public radio's mission is to be the most trusted & independent nashville voice, connecting our communities through non-partisan journalism, compelling storytelling, civil conversation and music discovery.

Arts & Culture
2
Nashville Food Project Inc

The nashville food project brings people together to grow, cook, and share nourishing food, with the goals of cultivating community and alleviating hunger in our city.

Food & Nutrition
3
Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition

Tirrc is a statewide, immigrant and refugee-led collaboration. our mission is to build power, amplify our voices, and organize communities to advocate for our rights. our vision is a stronger, more inclusive tennessee where people of all…

Civil Rights
4
Nashville Safe Haven Family Shelter Inc

Lead our community's efforts to house, support, empower and advocate for families experiencing homelessness.

Housing & Shelter
5
New York Genome Center Inc

Operate a state-of-the-art, world-class genomic research center that creates and uses advanced genomics to understand the genetic basis of disease. for more information, see schedule o.

Health
6
Methodist Medical Center

Methodist Medical Center provides quality healthcare, in alignment with Covenant Health's mission to serve the community by improving the quality of life through better health regardless of a patient's ability to pay.

Health
7
Bloodwater Mission Inc

Bloodwater mission, inc. (the organization) is a not-for-profit organization registered in nashville, tennessee that operates an international nonprofit that partners with african community-driven organizations to end water and hiv/aids…

Religion
8
Ut Medical Group Inc

To be a successful physician led, professionally managed medical practice that benefits our patients and our community, while supporting the UT Health Science Center's mission through clinical excellence, financial responsibility and a…

Health
9
Roane County Medical Center

Roane County Medical Center provides quality healthcare, in alignment with Covenant Health's mission to serve the community by improving the quality of life through better health, regardless of a patient's ability to pay.

Health
10
Banner -University Medical Group

Assist banner health complete its mission to make health care easier so life can be better by providing integrated & coordinated care & population health management.

Health
11
National Committee for Quality Assurance

Our mission: to improve the quality of health care.our vision: better health care. better choices. better health.

Health
12
Methodist Healthcare-Memphis Hospitals

Methodist le bonheur healthcare, in partnership with its medical staffs, will collaborate with patients and their families to be the leader in providing high quality, cost-effective patient-and family-centered care. services will be…

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Nashville Rescue Mission; the most unlike its peers is Jake Owen Foundation. 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

85 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. 85 of the 136 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.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
14
Early backer (in before they grew)
84/85
Grantees still filing
65/85
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

COLLIER COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $1,320,000 · OtherCOLLIER COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INCSECOND HARVEST FOOD BANK: $1,175,000 · OtherSECOND HARVEST FOOD BANKUNITED WAY: $760,000 · OtherUNITED WAYPLANNED PARENTHOOD: $500,000 · OtherHABITAT FOR HUMANITY OF GREATER NASHVILLE: $389,978 · OtherNATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC: $950,000 · OtherNATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INCTENNESSEE JUSTICE CENTER INC: $805,000 · OtherTENNESSEE JUSTICE CENTER INCNASHVILLE ZOO INC: $500,000 · Other+77 more: $3,809,162 · Other+77 moreInternational Rescue Committee INC: $3,850,000 · InternationalInternational Rescue …MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $1,325,000 · InternationalMEDECINS SANS FRONTIE…+2 more: $10,500 · InternationalTHE CHILDREN'S AID SOCIETY: $962,476 · Human ServicesTHE CHILDREN'S…ANCORATN FKA END SLAVERY TENNESSEE INC: $850,000 · Human ServicesANCORATN FKA E…JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER OF NASHVILLE: $510,000 · Human ServicesJEWISH COMMUNI…SANCTUARY FOR FAMILIES INC: $375,000 · Human ServicesSANCTUARY FOR …COMMUNITY RESOURCE CENTER: $325,000 · Human ServicesCOMMUNITY RESO…THE FAMILY CENTER INC: $150,000 · Human Services+10 more: $208,500 · Human Services+10 moreCITY HARVEST INC: $2,400,000 · Food & NutritionCITY HARVE…MANNA FOOD BANK INC: $200,000 · Food & NutritionMANNA FOOD…+2 more: $23,000 · Food & NutritionBelmont University: $989,184 · EducationTHE HARPETH HALL SCHOOL: $356,500 · EducationTRUSTEES OF BOSTON COLLEGE: $262,000 · EducationKIPP NASHVILLE: $225,000 · EducationPENCIL FOUNDATION: $125,000 · EducationNASHVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION: $70,000 · Education+7 more: $71,487 · EducationSEXUAL ASSAULT CENTER: $825,000 · HealthRENEWAL HOUSE INC: $635,000 · HealthTHE ADDIS CLINIC INC: $307,200 · Health+9 more: $210,000 · HealthMARTHA O'BRYAN CENTER INC: $1,733,519 · Religion+1 more: $25,000 · Religion
Other$10,209,140International$5,185,500Human Services$3,380,976Food & Nutrition$2,623,000Education$2,099,171Health$1,977,200Religion$1,758,519

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetInternational Rescue Committee INC: $3,850,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetCITY HARVEST INC: $2,400,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetMARTHA O'BRYAN CENTER INC: $1,733,519 over 4y, 2.2% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $1,325,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetCOLLIER COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $1,320,000 over 3y, 2.0% of budgetBelmont University: $989,184 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetTHE CHILDREN'S AID SOCIETY: $962,476 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetNATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC: $950,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetANCORATN FKA END SLAVERY TENNESSEE INC: $850,000 over 4y, 13% of budgetSEXUAL ASSAULT CENTER: $825,000 over 5y, 4.5% of budgetTENNESSEE JUSTICE CENTER INC: $805,000 over 5y, 9.2% of budgetRENEWAL HOUSE INC: $635,000 over 5y, 5.0% of budgetJEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER OF NASHVILLE: $510,000 over 3y, 3.1% of budgetNASHVILLE ZOO INC: $500,000 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetHABITAT FOR HUMANITY OF GREATER NASHVILLE: $389,978 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetSANCTUARY FOR FAMILIES INC: $375,000 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetTHE HARPETH HALL SCHOOL: $356,500 over 4y, 0.9% of budgetCOMMUNITY RESOURCE CENTER: $325,000 over 5y, 9.0% of budgetTHE ADDIS CLINIC INC: $307,200 over 5y, 26% of budgetAMERICAN IMMIGRATION COUNCIL: $300,000 over 5y, 0.7% of budgetTRUSTEES OF BOSTON COLLEGE: $262,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetKIPP NASHVILLE: $225,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetTHE CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS INC: $200,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetMANNA FOOD BANK INC: $200,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF SOUTH CENTRAL KENTUCKY INC: $150,000 over 2y, 2.1% of budgetTHE FAMILY CENTER INC: $150,000 over 3y, 4.3% of budgetTENNESSEE INNOCENCE PROJECT: $140,000 over 4y, 2.5% of budgetPENCIL FOUNDATION: $125,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetINTERNATIONAL SNOW LEOPARD TRUST: $105,000 over 3y, 2.3% of budgetSENIOR CITIZENS INC: $100,000 over 4y, 0.7% of budgetTENNESSEANS FOR ALTERNATIVES TO THE DEATH PENALTY: $90,000 over 5y, 8.2% of budgetTHE CONSERVANCY OF SOUTHWEST FLORIDA: $75,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetNASHVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION: $70,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetNASHVILLE RESCUE MISSION: $60,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetChildrens Oncology Services Inc: $55,000 over 4y, 0.7% of budgetOASIS CENTER INC: $50,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetHOSPITAL HOSPITALITY HOUSE CORPORATION: $50,000 over 1y, 3.3% of budgetABE'S GARDEN: $50,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetTHE DOE FUND INC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetNASHVILLE CARES: $40,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican Therapeutic Riding Center: $37,500 over 4y, 5.6% of budgetROAD DOGS & RESCUE: $30,000 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetAMPUTEE COALITION OF AMERICA INC: $30,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetNashville Symphony Association: $30,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetAMERICAN FOUNDATION FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION: $30,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCHINA RESCUE DOGS INC: $30,000 over 3y, 1.2% of budgetChristian Herald Association Inc: $25,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetFAMILY & CHILDREN'S SERVICE: $25,000 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.

  • Who funds International Rescue Committee INC ↗
  • Who funds CITY HARVEST INC ↗
  • Who funds MARTHA O'BRYAN CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC ↗
  • Who funds COLLIER COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds Belmont University ↗
  • Who funds THE CHILDREN'S AID SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC ↗
  • Who funds ANCORATN FKA END SLAVERY TENNESSEE INC ↗
  • Who funds SEXUAL ASSAULT CENTER ↗
  • Who funds TENNESSEE JUSTICE CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds RENEWAL HOUSE INC ↗
  • Who funds JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER OF NASHVILLE ↗
  • Who funds NASHVILLE ZOO INC ↗
  • Who funds HABITAT FOR HUMANITY OF GREATER NASHVILLE ↗
  • Who funds SANCTUARY FOR FAMILIES INC ↗
  • Who funds THE HARPETH HALL SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds COMMUNITY RESOURCE CENTER ↗
  • Who funds THE ADDIS CLINIC INC ↗
  • Who funds AMERICAN IMMIGRATION COUNCIL ↗
  • Who funds TRUSTEES OF BOSTON COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds KIPP NASHVILLE ↗
  • Who funds THE CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS INC ↗
  • Who funds MANNA FOOD BANK INC ↗
  • Who funds COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF SOUTH CENTRAL KENTUCKY INC ↗
  • Who funds THE FAMILY CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds TENNESSEE INNOCENCE PROJECT ↗
  • Who funds PENCIL FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds INTERNATIONAL SNOW LEOPARD TRUST ↗
  • Who funds SENIOR CITIZENS INC ↗
  • Who funds TENNESSEANS FOR ALTERNATIVES TO THE DEATH PENALTY ↗

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.

Hca Healthcare Founda…Memorial Foundation I…Dorothy Cate and Thom…The Community Foundat…The Frist FoundationUnited Way of Middle …Dettwiller FoundationJoe C Davis FoundationThe Steven & Laurie E…The Annette & Irwin E…The Healing Trust For…Nashville Predators F…
Hca Healthcare FoundationTN53.3× affinity25 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Hca Healthcare Foundation · Memorial Foundation Inc · Dorothy Cate and Thomas F Frist Foundation · The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee Inc · The Frist Foundation · United Way of Middle Tennessee Inc · Dettwiller Foundation · Joe C Davis Foundation · The Steven & Laurie Eskind Family Foundation · The Annette & Irwin Eskind Family Foundation · The Healing Trust Formerly Baptist Healing Hospital Trust · Nashville Predators 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 Melkus Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Melkus Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%2%8%17%30%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 6%
  • Ellie Fund Inc: 15% of income from government
  • Arlington Eats Inc: 6% of income from government
  • Trustees of Boston College: 3% of income from government
  • Gulfshore Playhouse Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
2get no government money at all
22report 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.

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 136 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 Melkus 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