· Private foundation
The Nelson 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.
What it funded, over time
Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.
Where the money goes
Grants by size, and the largest recipients.
By grant size · FY2025
- Under $10k33 grants · $29k
- $10k–50k1 grant · $10k
| Recipient | Amount |
|---|---|
| UNITED WAY OF NORTHWEST LOUISIANA | $10,100 |
| ST MARK'S EPISCOPAL CATHEDRAL | $9,300 |
| RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE | $3,332 |
| CENTENARY COLLEGE | $3,300 |
| COMMUNITY RENEWAL INTERNATIONAL | $1,000 |
| SHRINERS HOSPITAL FOR CHILDREN | $1,000 |
| THE ARC OF CADDO BOSSIER FOUNDATION | $1,000 |
| COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF NORTH LOUISIANA | $1,000 |
| Individual grant recipient | $1,000 |
| HOLY ANGELS | $1,000 |
| SEA CREST SCHOOL | $1,000 |
| ST LUKES EPISCOPAL MOBILE MEDICAL | $800 |
| GINGERBREAD HOUSE | $500 |
| GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY | $500 |
| HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL | $500 |
Does the money reach high-need areas?
Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.
Its human-services grants (FY17–25, $11k) land where the poverty rate runs at 22%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.
How this is measured
Which US states its grants reach
How this is measured
Who it funds again
Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.
22 repeat relationships: 15 still active in FY2025, 7 since wound down; 18 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).
How the two cohorts compare
Organizations
Total granted
Median revenue growth · since first grant
Still filing today
New vs renewed · share of each year
In FY2025, 85% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $6k went to new ones.
Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant
How this is measured
Backed again, and grew
- RMRONALD MCDONALD HOUSE CHARITIES OF ARKANSAS & NORTH LOUISIANA INC3× · 2023–2025 · $10k · revenue +79%
- TATHE ARC CADDO-BOSSIER FOUNDATION9× · 2017–2025 · $9k · revenue +125%
- SSSHREVEPORT SYMPHONY INC7× · 2018–2024 · $8k · revenue +5%
Funded once
- LMLOUISIANA METHODIST CHILDREN'S HOMEone grant, 2017 · $2k
- SGSHREVEPORT GARDEN STUDY CLUBone grant, 2024 · $1k · revenue 0%
- TGThe Glen Retirement Systemgraduatedone grant, 2017 · $1k · revenue +56%
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.
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.
The sole mission of the foundation is to support, enhance and assist the lsu health sciences center at shreveport in its many endeavors.
The University of New Orleans Foundation's mission is to promote the well-being and advancement of the University of New Orleans and all the colleges, schools, departments, and divisions comprising it, and to develop, expand, and improve…
The mission of the foundation is to inspire donors to invest in the lsu health sciences center - new orleans ("hsc-no") and its future, to properly steward those contributions, and to help meet the ever evolving needs of the lsuhsc-no by…
All functions of the foundation are dedicated to supporting lsu health sciences center at shreveport.
The mission is to protect, promote, and foster the welfare of louisiana state university and to create and nurture mutually beneficial relationships between the university and its alumni and friends. the association, using the talents and…
Loyola University New Orleans, a Jesuit and Catholic institution of higher education, welcomes students of diverse backgrounds and prepares them to lead meaningful lives with and for others; to pursue truth, wisdom, and virtue; and to work…
-To support any and all programs, facilities, research, and educational opportunities offered by the University of New Orleans and the University of Louisiana System.-To encourage teaching, research, scholarship, and services, and increase…
Using direct representation and advocacy, we fight to keep children out of the justice system so that they can thrive in their homes and communities.
To promote excellence in science, technology, and education by supporting education and research projects that enhance the economy of louisiana.
To be a provider of top quality education to a highly diverse student body. it will prepare all students for success in college, equip them with the ability and desire for lifelong learning, and strengthen their civic, ethical, and moral…
To assist in improving healthcare in Beauregard Parish, Louisiana.
To provide sound analysis of state fiscal issues to promote economic prosperity, a rising standard of living, and the opportunity for all citizens to reach their highest potential.
How this is measured
28 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. 28 of the 52 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.
Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee
Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing
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 UNITED WAY OF NORTHWEST LOUISIANA ↗
- Who funds RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE CHARITIES OF ARKANSAS & NORTH LOUISIANA INC ↗
- Who funds THE ARC CADDO-BOSSIER FOUNDATION ↗
- Who funds SHREVEPORT SYMPHONY INC ↗
- Who funds THE ADMINISTRATORS OF THE TULANE EDUCATIONAL FUND ↗
- Who funds COMMUNITY RENEWAL INTERNATIONAL INC ↗
- Who funds GINGERBREAD HOUSE BOSSIERCADDO CHILDREN'S ADVOCACY CENTER INC ↗
- Who funds C E BYRD FOUNDATION INC ↗
- Who funds GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY ↗
- Who funds ST LUKES EPISCOPAL MOBILE MEDICAL MINISTRY INC ↗
- Who funds SHREVEPORT GARDEN STUDY CLUB ↗
- Who funds COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF NORTH LOUISIANA ↗
- Who funds Red River Film Society Inc ↗
- Who funds The Glen Retirement System ↗
- Who funds SEA CREST SCHOOL INC ↗
- Who funds LSU FOUNDATION ↗
- Who funds JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT ↗
- Who funds Arts Council of New Orleans ↗
- Who funds VOLUNTEERS FOR YOUTH JUSTICE ↗
- Who funds YOUTH ENRICHMENT PROGRAM ↗
- Who funds CHILDREN AND ARTHRITIS ↗
- Who funds ROBINSONS RESCUE INC ↗
- Who funds JACKSON ACADEMY INC ↗
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.
Open a dossier: Community Foundation of North Louisiana · The Powers Foundation Inc · Grayson Foundation Inc · Carolyn W & Charles T Beaird Family Foundation · Zadeck Family Foundation · Willis-Knighton Medical Center · The Crow Foundation · The Alta and John Franks Foundation · J B Atkins Foundation · Noel Foundation Inc · United Way of Northwest Louisiana · Poindexter Foundation Inc
How this is measured
How much its grantees rely on government
Each dot is one organization The Nelson Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Nelson Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.
How this is measured
Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus
How do I get to The Nelson Foundation?
Find your warmest path to The Nelson 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.
Play a game based on Nelson’s filings →