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The Nancy & Victor S Johnson Jr Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Nancy & Victor S Johnson Jr 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.

$442k
Granted FY2025still arriving
104
Grants FY2025still arriving
12
States reached
$25k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0194% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Education$539kArts & Culture$129kPhilanthropy$101kHealth$86kAnimals$81kCrime & Legal$76kReligion$68kHuman Services$67kOther$0
02FY2025 · 104 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k93 grants · $286k
  • $10k–50k11 grants · $160k
$3,000
Median grant
12
States reached
$4.9M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
ABE'S GARDEN$25,000
WORKING DOGS FOR VETS$20,000
CUMBERLAND HEIGHTS FOUNDATION$20,000
SECOND HARVEST FOOD BANK$20,000
TRUSTEES OF HAMILTON COLLEGE$14,000
FRANK THEATRE$11,000
NASHVILLE CHILDREN'S ALLIANCE$10,000
NASHVILLE CHILDREN'S ALLIANCE$10,000
ENSWORTH SCHOOL ANNUAL FUND$10,000
SEXUAL ASSAULT CENTER$10,000
UNITED WAY OF GREATER NASHVILLE$10,000
Individual grant recipient$7,000
GRINNELL COLLEGE RELATIONS$7,000
FRIENDS OF MACC$6,000
ST HENRY CATHOLIC CHURCH$6,000
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 (FY20–25, $25k) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%MAGNOLIA FOUNDATION: $3k → 19%MAGNOLIA FOUNDATION: $1k → 19%CORNER TO CORNER: $1k → 14%MUSIC CITY RECOVERY RESOURCES: $1k → 14%BLOOM FAMILY DESIGNS: $500 → 14%Bloom Family Designs: $500 → 14%Music City Recovery Resources: $1k → 14%FAMILY & CHILDREN'S SERVICES: $1k → 14%Family & Children's Services: $1k → 14%Bloom Family Designs: $750 → 14%Insight Counseling: $750 → 14%INSIGHT COUNSELING CENTERS: $750 → 14%INSIGHT COUNSELING CENTERS: $750 → 14%INSIGHT COUNSELING CENTERS: $750 → 14%ALIVE HOSPICE INC: $3k → 14%FIFTY FORWARD: $3k → 14%ALIVE HOSPICE INC: $3k → 14%ALIVE HOSPICE INC: $3k → 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

MN
MI
NY
MA
IA
OH
CT
MO
KY
TN
DC
HI
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.

82%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.4M · 114 repeat orgs$298k to everyone else

114 repeat relationships: 73 still active in FY2025, 41 since wound down; 17 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

114
66

Total granted

$1.4M
$213k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+22%
+55%

Still filing today

52%
6%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 80% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $85k went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24’25
EducationAnimalsHuman ServicesArts & CultureCrime & LegalHousing & ShelterOther
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

  • BU
    Belmont University
    6× · 2020–2025 · $89k · revenue +53%
  • TV
    THE VICTOR S JOHNSON III NASHVILLE CHILDREN'S ALLIANCE INC
    6× · 2020–2025 · $54k · revenue +101%
  • SA
    SEXUAL ASSAULT CENTER
    6× · 2020–2025 · $54k · revenue +22%

Funded once

  • TO
    Trustees of Hamilton College
    one grant, 2020 · $26k
  • FT
    Frank Theatre
    one grant, 2020 · $11k
  • BU
    Belmont Univ - Motion Picture Endowment
    one grant, 2020 · $10k
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 Safe Haven Family Shelter Inc

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

Housing & Shelter
3
Union University

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

Education
4
Furman University

The primary mission of furman as a liberal arts institution is to provide a distinctive education in fine arts, humanities, social sciences, mathematics and the sciences, as well as selected professional disciplines.

Education
5
Harpeth Conservancy

To restore and protect clean water and healthy ecosystems for rivers in tennessee by employing scientific expertise and collaborative relationships to develop, promote, and support broad community stewardship and action.

Environment
6
Tennessee Health Care Association

To maintain high standards for nursing homes in the state of tennessee and to seek the solutions to problems common to members of the association.

—
7
Nashville Cares

Nashville cares exists to end the hiv epidemic, promote comprehensive sexual health and end sexual health stigmatization and discrimination through prevention, education, treatment, support, advocacy, and strategic partnership.

Health
8
Animal Care Trust

Saving animals.helping people. - to eliminate animal overpopulation, cruelty, and neglect. to create a culture of compassionate care, community engagement & advocacy for animals.

Animals
9
The Land Trust for Tennessee Inc

To conserve the unique character of tennessee's natural and historic landscapes and sites for future generations.

Environment
10
Humane Society of the Tennessee Valley Inc

Humane society of the tennessee valley, inc. is dedicated to providing lifesaving programs and resources to enrich the lives of people and companion animals in the communities we serve.

Animals
11
Nashville Bar Association

Nashville bar association is organized to improve the practice of law through education, service & fellowship

—
12
Northeast Tenn Assoc of Realtors

Our mission is to serve our members through education, professionalism, and legislative involvement

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Nashville Conflict Resolution Ctr; the most unlike its peers is Snooty Giggles Dog Rescue. 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

74 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. 74 of the 198 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)
17
Early backer (in before they grew)
73/74
Grantees still filing
50/74
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

GRINNELL COLLEGE RELATIONS: $68,000 · OtherGRINNELL COLLEGE RELATIONSCOTTAGE COVE COMPANY: $36,000 · Other+155 more: $896,750 · Other+155 moreTrustees of Hamilton College: $131,000 · EducationTrustees of Hamilton Coll…Belmont University: $89,000 · EducationBelmont UniversityVanderbilt University: $49,250 · EducationVanderbilt UniversityNASHVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION: $28,000 · EducationNASHVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY …THE WILLISTON NORTHAMPTON SCHOOL: $20,000 · EducationAMHERST COLLEGE TRUSTEES: $19,000 · EducationMEHARRY MEDICAL COLLEGE: $18,000 · EducationTRUSTEES OF DEERFIELD ACADEMY: $15,000 · Education+7 more: $38,000 · Education+7 moreFRANK THEATRE: $50,500 · Arts & CultureTURNIP GREEN CREATIVE REUSE: $11,500 · Arts & CultureFISHTOWN PRESERVATION SOCIETY INC: $10,000 · Arts & CultureCHEEKWOOD BOTANICAL GARDEN AND MUSEUM OF ART: $8,000 · Arts & CultureLeelanau Historical Society: $6,000 · Arts & CultureANDREW JACKSON FOUNDATION FKA LADIES' HERMITAGE ASSOCIATION: $5,000 · Arts & Culture+1 more: $3,000 · Arts & CultureSEXUAL ASSAULT CENTER: $53,500 · HealthCUMBERLAND HEIGHTS FOUNDATION INC: $26,500 · HealthINTERFAITH DENTAL CLINIC OF NASHVILLE: $7,500 · HealthTHE VICTOR S JOHNSON III NASHVILLE CHILDREN'S ALLIANCE INC: $54,000 · Crime & LegalTENNESSEE JUSTICE CENTER INC: $22,000 · Crime & LegalJudge Seth Norman Recovery Foundation: $4,500 · Crime & LegalNASHVILLE CONFLICT RESOLUTION CTR: $3,000 · Crime & LegalNASHVILLE HUMANE ASSOCIATION AKA NASHVILLE HUMANE SOCIETY: $18,000 · AnimalsPROVERBS 1210 ANIMAL RESCUE AND ADOPTION: $13,000 · AnimalsOLD FRIENDS SENIOR DOGS INC: $12,000 · AnimalsNASHVILLE ZOO INC: $9,500 · AnimalsSNOOTY GIGGLES DOG RESCUE: $9,000 · AnimalsHAVAHEART RESCUE: $7,000 · AnimalsFRIENDS OF MACC: $6,000 · AnimalsSPCA OF TENNESSEE: $3,000 · AnimalsWILLIAMSON ANIMAL SERVICES INC: $3,000 · Animals+1 more: $2,500 · AnimalsUNITED WAY OF MIDDLE TENNESSEE INC: $60,000 · PhilanthropyMAUI UNITED WAY: $10,000 · Philanthropy
Other$1,000,750Education$407,250Arts & Culture$94,000Health$87,500Crime & Legal$83,500Animals$83,000Philanthropy$70,000

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 budgetTrustees of Hamilton College: $131,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetBelmont University: $89,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetUNITED WAY OF MIDDLE TENNESSEE INC: $60,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetTHE VICTOR S JOHNSON III NASHVILLE CHILDREN'S ALLIANCE INC: $54,000 over 6y, 1.1% of budgetSEXUAL ASSAULT CENTER: $53,500 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetFRANK THEATRE: $50,500 over 5y, 7.4% of budgetVanderbilt University: $49,250 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetCOTTAGE COVE COMPANY: $36,000 over 6y, 2.3% of budgetNASHVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION: $28,000 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetCUMBERLAND HEIGHTS FOUNDATION INC: $26,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSECOND HARVEST FOOD BANK OF MIDDLE TN INC: $23,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetNASHVILLE TREE FOUNDATION: $22,000 over 6y, 2.6% of budgetFRIENDS OF RADNOR LAKE: $22,000 over 6y, 0.5% of budgetTENNESSEE JUSTICE CENTER INC: $22,000 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetTHE WILLISTON NORTHAMPTON SCHOOL: $20,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetWORKING DOGS FOR VETS: $20,000 over 1y, 5.7% of budgetTHISTLE FARMS INC: $19,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetAMHERST COLLEGE TRUSTEES: $19,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetMEHARRY MEDICAL COLLEGE: $18,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetNASHVILLE HUMANE ASSOCIATION AKA NASHVILLE HUMANE SOCIETY: $18,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetLEELANAU CONSERVANCY: $17,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE WARNER PARKS INC: $16,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetTRUSTEES OF DEERFIELD ACADEMY: $15,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetPROVERBS 1210 ANIMAL RESCUE AND ADOPTION: $13,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetOLD FRIENDS SENIOR DOGS INC: $12,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetTURNIP GREEN CREATIVE REUSE: $11,500 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetTREVECCA NAZARENE UNIVERSITY: $11,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetURBAN HOUSING SOLUTIONS INC: $10,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetLAKE LEELANAU LAKE ASSOCIATION: $10,000 over 2y, 1.3% of budgetMAUI UNITED WAY: $10,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetFISHTOWN PRESERVATION SOCIETY INC: $10,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetNASHVILLE ZOO INC: $9,500 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetDENISON UNIVERSITY: $9,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetSNOOTY GIGGLES DOG RESCUE: $9,000 over 3y, 0.9% of budgetALIVE HOSPICE INC: $8,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCHEEKWOOD BOTANICAL GARDEN AND MUSEUM OF ART: $8,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetSPECIAL OLYMPICS TENNESSEE INC: $8,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetINTERFAITH DENTAL CLINIC OF NASHVILLE: $7,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetHAVAHEART RESCUE: $7,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetJUDGE DINKINS EDUCATIONAL CENTER: $6,500 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetTHE ENSWORTH SCHOOL: $6,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFRIENDS OF MACC: $6,000 over 1y, 2.5% of budgetARC OF WILLIAMSON COUNTY: $6,000 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetLeelanau Historical Society: $6,000 over 5y, 0.7% of budgetMATTHEW 25 INC: $6,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetDOLPHIN AQUATICS DBA NASHVILLE DOLPHINS: $6,000 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetCUMBERLAND UNIVERSITY: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetANDREW JACKSON FOUNDATION FKA LADIES' HERMITAGE ASSOCIATION: $5,000 over 5y, 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 Trustees of Hamilton College ↗
  • Who funds Belmont University ↗
  • Who funds UNITED WAY OF MIDDLE TENNESSEE INC ↗
  • Who funds THE VICTOR S JOHNSON III NASHVILLE CHILDREN'S ALLIANCE INC ↗
  • Who funds SEXUAL ASSAULT CENTER ↗
  • Who funds FRANK THEATRE ↗
  • Who funds Vanderbilt University ↗
  • Who funds COTTAGE COVE COMPANY ↗
  • Who funds NASHVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds CUMBERLAND HEIGHTS FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds ABE'S GARDEN ↗
  • Who funds SECOND HARVEST FOOD BANK OF MIDDLE TN INC ↗
  • Who funds NASHVILLE TREE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds FRIENDS OF RADNOR LAKE ↗
  • Who funds TENNESSEE JUSTICE CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds THE WILLISTON NORTHAMPTON SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds WORKING DOGS FOR VETS ↗
  • Who funds THISTLE FARMS INC ↗
  • Who funds AMHERST COLLEGE TRUSTEES ↗
  • Who funds MEHARRY MEDICAL COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds NASHVILLE HUMANE ASSOCIATION AKA NASHVILLE HUMANE SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds LEELANAU CONSERVANCY ↗
  • Who funds FRIENDS OF THE WARNER PARKS INC ↗
  • Who funds TRUSTEES OF DEERFIELD ACADEMY ↗
  • Who funds PROVERBS 1210 ANIMAL RESCUE AND ADOPTION ↗

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…The Community Foundat…Memorial Foundation I…The Frist FoundationNashville Predators F…United Way of Middle …Louie M & Betty M Phi…The Steven & Laurie E…Dorothy Cate and Thom…Louise B Wallace Foun…Enchiridion FoundationEbs Foundation
Hca Healthcare FoundationTN51.8× affinity24 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Hca Healthcare Foundation · The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee Inc · Memorial Foundation Inc · The Frist Foundation · Nashville Predators Foundation · United Way of Middle Tennessee Inc · Louie M & Betty M Phillips Foundatn · The Steven & Laurie Eskind Family Foundation · Dorothy Cate and Thomas F Frist Foundation · Louise B Wallace Foundation 19702 · Enchiridion Foundation · Ebs 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 Nancy & Victor S Johnson Jr Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Nancy & Victor S Johnson Jr Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • Amherst College Trustees: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
2get no government money at all
26report 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 Nancy & Victor S Johnson Jr Foundation?

Find your warmest path to The Nancy & Victor S Johnson Jr 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 198 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 Nancy & Victor S Johnson Jr’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