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The Mills Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Mills 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.

$320k
Granted FY2025still arriving
4
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$294k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead

Read this first · the figures below need context

92% of The Mills Foundation’s FY2025 grant dollars went to Athens Area Community Foundation Inc, not to grantees.

Its money now reaches organizations through that sponsor, which does not report who recommended each grant. FY2025 names 1 organization directly, so a portfolio cannot be read from it.

Organizations named directly on the return

1
’18
0
’19
2
’20
3
’21
2
’22
2
’23
2
’24
1
’25

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, FY2018 to 2025.

Philanthropy$303kHealth$33kYouth Development$6kHuman Services$5kHousing & Shelter$4kEnvironment$2kAnimals$1kInternational$1kOther$0
02FY2025 · 4 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k2 grants · $2k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $25k
  • $250k+1 grant · $294k
$25,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
ATHENS AREA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION$293,650
ALSACST JUDE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL$25,000
NUCI'S SPACE$1,500
ST MARY ON THE HILL$250
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY18–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 25%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 99% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%FANTASY CARES: $1k → 6%OUTPOST NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION: $500 → 14%LEUKEMIA AND LYMPHOMA SOCIETY: $1k → 9%DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS: $1k → 17%MOTHER JONES: $500 → 16%ROPER ST FRANCIS FOUNDATION: $5k → 12%THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF WNC: $1k → 12%ALSACST JUDE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL: $25k → 14%ST MARY ON THE HILL: $250 → 18%ATHENS AREA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $294k → 27%UNBRIDLED CHARITY FOUNDATION: $5k → 15%BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF ATHENS: $5k → 27%UNBRIDLED CHARITY FOUNDATION INC: $3k → 15%CINE ATHENS: $5k → 27%UNBRIDLED CHARITY FOUNDATION: $500 → 15%ATHENS AREA HOMELESS SHELTER: $3k → 27%NUCI'S SPACE: $2k → 27%BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF ATHENS: $1k → 27%ATHENS AREA HOMELESS SHELTER: $1k → 27%ATHENS AREA HUMANE SOCIETY: $1k → 27%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
MN
NY
CA
KY
NC
SC
GA
TX
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.

30%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$18k · 3 repeat orgs$44k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +94% since the first grant, against +25% for those funded once.

3 repeat relationships: 0 still active in FY2025, 3 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

3
10

Total granted

$18k
$17k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+94%
+25%

Still filing today

67%
70%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 0% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $27k went to new ones.

50%100%’18’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’18’20’21’22’23’24’25
HealthYouth DevelopmentAnimalsHousing & ShelterPublic BenefitInternationalOther
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

  • UC
    UNBRIDLED CHARITY FOUNDATION
    3× · 2021–2024 · $8k
  • BG
    BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF ATHENS INC
    2× · 2020–2021 · $6k · revenue +94%
  • AA
    ATHENS AREA HOMELESS SHELTER INC
    2× · 2020–2021 · $4k · revenue +5%

Funded once

  • RS
    Roper St Francis Foundationgraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $5k · revenue +25%
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2018 · $5k
  • AA
    ATHENS AREA HUMANE SOCIETY OF CLARKE COUNTY AND SPCA INCgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $1k · revenue +41%
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
Ucsf Foundation Investment Company

The organization provides professional investment management services for endowed gifts and financial assets entrusted to the ucsf foundation.

Education
2
Mercy Health

Mercy Health will provide assistance, support and direction to all of the health care institutions and activities operated and maintained by its Subsidiaries. The mission of Mercy Health in performing these activities shall be to provide a…

—
3
Watsi Inc

Watsi, inc. is a san francisco-based non-profit organization that directly connects people through technology to fund life-changing healthcare for patients around the world. since launching in 2012, the organization has helped more than…

Health
4
The Foundation of Firsthealth Inc

Provide philanthropic support to firsthealth of the carolinas, inc., a healthcare system exempt from income tax under irs section 501c(3) and 170(b)(1)(a)(iii).

—
5
American Cancer Society Inc

Improve the lives of people with cancer and their families through advocacy, research, and patient support, to ensure everyone has an opportunity to prevent, detect, treat, and survive cancer.

Health
6
Arbor Research Collaborative for Health

Arbor research collaborative for health is committed to improving patient care through research that shapes medical policies and practice. in particular, arbor research conducts health outcomes research on chronic disease and end-stage…

Health
7
Foundation for Women's Cancer

To support and empower all affected by gynecologic cancers through education, research, and public awareness.

Health
8
The Humane Society for Seattleking County

Seattle humane promotes the human-animal bond by saving and serving pets in need, regardless of age, ability, circumstance or geography.

Animals
9
Washington Humane Society

The washington humane society protects animals, supports families, and advocates for positive change to create a world where all animals can thrive. we enrich the humanity of our communities by promoting compassion and encouraging people…

Animals
10
Amalgamated Charitable Foundation Inc

ACF is dedicated to supporting and increasing philanthropy by making grants to tax exempt organizations for their charitable, educational, scientific, literary or other 501c3 activities; promoting donor education and engagement, and civic…

Philanthropy
11
Catalytic Impact Foundation Inc

To use philanthropic funds to support and accelerate innovation in life sciences and healthcare.

Philanthropy
12
Donor Alliance Inc

Donor Alliance saves and heals lives through organ and tissue donation. Donor Alliance is one of 55 Federally designated, non-profit organ procurement organizations serving Colorado and most of Wyoming. Additionally, it is a member of the…

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Athens Area Community Foundation Inc; the most unlike its peers is The Nuci Phillips Memorial Foundation 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

12 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. 12 of the 18 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)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
12/12
Grantees still filing
8/12
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Athens Area Community Foundation Inc: $293,650 · PhilanthropyAthens Area Community Foundation Inc+1 more: $1,000 · PhilanthropyALSACST JUDE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL: $25,000 · OtherALSACST JUDE …UNBRIDLED CHARITY FOUNDATION: $8,125 · OtherUNBRIDLED CHA…Individual grant recipient: $5,000 · OtherIndividual gr…+5 more: $3,250 · Other+5 moreRoper St Francis Foundation: $5,000 · HealthTHE NUCI PHILLIPS MEMORIAL FOUNDATION INC: $1,500 · HealthBLOOD CANCER UNITED INC: $1,000 · HealthBOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF ATHENS INC: $6,167 · Youth DevelopmentFantasy Cares: $1,000 · Youth DevelopmentATHENS AREA HOMELESS SHELTER INC: $4,167 · Housing & ShelterATHENS AREA HUMANE SOCIETY OF CLARKE COUNTY AND SPCA INC: $1,167 · AnimalsMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $1,000 · International
Philanthropy$294,650Other$41,375Health$7,500Youth Development$7,167Housing & Shelter$4,167Animals$1,167International$1,000

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 budgetAthens Area Community Foundation Inc: $293,650 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetBOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF ATHENS INC: $6,167 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetRoper St Francis Foundation: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetATHENS AREA HOMELESS SHELTER INC: $4,167 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetATHENS AREA HUMANE SOCIETY OF CLARKE COUNTY AND SPCA INC: $1,167 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetBLOOD CANCER UNITED INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFantasy Cares: $1,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetFriends of Katahdin Woods & Waters: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Center for Investigative Reporting formrly Foundation for National Progress: $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.

Athens Area Community…Raymond James Charita…Paypal Charitable Giv…Vanguard Charitable E…American Online Givin…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Athens Area Community Foundation IncGA13.6× affinity4 shared granteesties to 7 of 7Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Athens Area Community Foundation Inc · Raymond James Charitable Endowment Fund · Paypal Charitable Giving Fund · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving 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 Mills Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Mills Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%1%3%4%5%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    3report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–5%
    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 18 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 Mills’ 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