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The Pfeffer Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Pfeffer 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.

$86k
Granted FY2025still arriving
47
Grants FY2025still arriving
10
States reached
$19k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0197% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2025.

Education$225kReligion$196kYouth Development$109kArts & Culture$95kHousing & Shelter$20kHuman Services$17kCommunity Improvement$12kInternational$12kOther$0
02FY2025 · 47 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k46 grants · $67k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $19k
$1,000
Median grant
10
States reached
$40k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION$19,000
NASHVILLE SYMPHONY$9,625
LEADERSHIP NASHVILLE$7,500
FELLOWSHIP OF CHRISTIAN ATHLETES$6,000
CHRIST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH$5,000
BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA - WEST TENNESSEE$4,156
LIPSCOMB UNIVERISTY$4,000
EASTER SEALS$3,000
AMAZIMA MINISTRIES$2,578
LINCOLN HERITAGE COUNCIL$2,000
TURNING POINT USA$2,000
SCOUNTING ART COLLECTION RECOVERY PROJECT INC$2,000
NASHVILLE ZOO$1,500
TUCKER'S HOUSE$1,500
BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA MIDDLE TENNESSEE COUNCIL$1,450
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 (FY21–25, $1k) land where the poverty rate runs at 7%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 25% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $250 → 14%GRACEWORKS MINISTRIES INC: $250 → 4%GRACEWORKS MINISTRIES INC: $250 → 4%GRACE WORKS MINISTRIES: $250 → 4%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
MT
MN
IL
NY
MA
PA
CT
CA
MO
KY
VA
TN
NC
DC
LA
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.

88%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$649k · 53 repeat orgs$87k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +41% since the first grant, against +26% for those funded once.

53 repeat relationships: 24 still active in FY2025, 29 since wound down; 21 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

53
32

Total granted

$649k
$64k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+41%
+26%

Still filing today

68%
63%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 72% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $24k 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
EducationArts & CultureReligionPublic BenefitYouth DevelopmentHealthOther
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

  • LU
    LIPSCOMB UNIVERSITY
    5× · 2020–2025 · $121k · revenue +41%
  • NS
    Nashville Symphony Association
    5× · 2020–2025 · $48k · revenue +76%
  • SI
    SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION
    5× · 2020–2025 · $39k · revenue +123%

Funded once

  • OA
    OPERATION ANDREW GROUP INC
    one grant, 2020 · $20k · revenue +24%
  • OA
    OLANCHO AID FOUNDATION INC
    one grant, 2020 · $6k · revenue -33%
  • MG
    MCGOWAN GLOBAL INSTITUTEgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $5k · revenue +26%
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
Union University

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

Education
2
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
3
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
4
United States Naval Institute

Provide an independent forum for those who dare to read, think, speak, and write to advance the professional, literary, and scientific understanding of sea power and other issues critical to global security.

—
5
Evangel University

Evangel is a comprehensive christian university that is committed to excellence in educating and equipping students to become spirit empowered servants of god who will impact the church and society globally.

Education
6
George Fox University

George fox university, a christ centered community, prepares students spiritually, academically, and professionally to think with clarity, act with integrity, and serve with passion.

Education
7
National Committee for Quality Assurance

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

Health
8
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
9
Lehigh University

The university's goal in the coming decade is to advance learning through the integration of teaching, research and service to others. the core of this goal is to prepare graduates to engage with the world and lead lives of meaning. to do…

Education
10
Npr Foundation

The npr foundation ("foundation") is organized and operated exclusively for the benefit of its sole supported organization, national public radio, inc. ("npr inc."). the foundation supports npr inc. through various activities such as…

—
11
Augustana College

Rooted in the liberal arts & sciences & lutheran expression of the christian faith, & is committed to offering a challenging education that develops qualities of mind, spirit, & body necessary for a rewarding life of leadership & service…

Education
12
National Public Radio Inc

National public radio, inc. ("npr") works collaboratively with member public radio station licensees ("member stations") to create a more informed public, one that is challenged and invigorated by a deeper understanding and appreciation of…

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Heritage Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Heritage Plantation 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

67 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. 67 of the 109 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)
8
Early backer (in before they grew)
66/67
Grantees still filing
49/67
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

CHRIST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH INC: $122,314 · OtherCHRIST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH INCLIPSCOMB UNIVERSITY: $120,721 · OtherLIPSCOMB UNIVERSITYALPHA PHI OMEGA: $15,998 · Other+74 more: $138,585 · Other+74 moreNashville Symphony Association: $47,602 · Arts & CultureNashville Symph…CHEEKWOOD BOTANICAL GARDEN AND MUSEUM OF ART: $30,661 · Arts & CultureCHEEKWOOD BOTAN…SCOUTING ART COLLECTION RECOVERY PROJECT INC: $12,000 · Arts & CultureSCOUTING ART CO…RENEWAL MINISTRIES: $4,000 · Arts & CultureFRIST ART MUSEUM: $4,000 · Arts & Culture+1 more: $270 · Arts & CultureSOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $39,463 · EducationSOUTHERN ILLI…MONTGOMERY BELL ACADEMY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NASHVILLE: $23,697 · EducationMONTGOMERY BE…FRANKLIN ROAD ACADEMY INC: $10,743 · EducationFRANKLIN ROAD…OLANCHO AID FOUNDATION INC: $5,715 · EducationOLANCHO AID F…PALO ALTO PARTNERS IN EDUCATION: $4,000 · Education+5 more: $3,200 · EducationBOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA 560 MIDDLE TENNESSEE: $71,328 · Youth DevelopmentBOY SCOUTS O…FELLOWSHIP OF CHRISTIAN ATHLETES: $6,000 · Youth DevelopmentFELLOWSHIP O…+2 more: $2,900 · Youth DevelopmentOPERATION ANDREW GROUP INC: $19,911 · ReligionMCGOWAN GLOBAL INSTITUTE: $5,075 · ReligionSAMARITAN'S PURSE: $5,000 · ReligionMARTHA O'BRYAN CENTER INC: $3,306 · ReligionPrecept: $3,000 · ReligionAmazima Ministries International Education and Empowerment for East: $23,943 · InternationalWORLD VISION INC: $2,000 · InternationalMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $2,000 · InternationalLIFESONG FOR ORPHANS INC: $1,000 · InternationalNASHVILLE RESCUE MISSION: $7,256 · Housing & ShelterABE'S GARDEN: $3,000 · Housing & ShelterTHE NEXT DOOR INC: $1,000 · Housing & Shelter
Other$397,618Arts & Culture$98,533Education$86,818Youth Development$80,228Religion$36,292International$28,943Housing & Shelter$11,256

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 budgetLIPSCOMB UNIVERSITY: $120,721 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetBOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA 560 MIDDLE TENNESSEE: $71,328 over 6y, 0.4% of budgetNashville Symphony Association: $47,602 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetSOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $39,463 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetCHEEKWOOD BOTANICAL GARDEN AND MUSEUM OF ART: $30,661 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetAmazima Ministries International Education and Empowerment for East: $23,943 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetMONTGOMERY BELL ACADEMY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NASHVILLE: $23,697 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetOPERATION ANDREW GROUP INC: $19,911 over 1y, 2.2% of budgetSCOUTING ART COLLECTION RECOVERY PROJECT INC: $12,000 over 2y, 3.5% of budgetFRANKLIN ROAD ACADEMY INC: $10,743 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetHabitat for Humanity: $8,368 over 2y, 12% of budgetLEADERSHIP NASHVILLE FOUNDATION: $7,600 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetNASHVILLE RESCUE MISSION: $7,256 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetFELLOWSHIP OF CHRISTIAN ATHLETES: $6,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetOLANCHO AID FOUNDATION INC: $5,715 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetBEACON CENTER OF TENNESSEE: $5,340 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetMCGOWAN GLOBAL INSTITUTE: $5,075 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetSAMARITAN'S PURSE: $5,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetFAITH FAMILY MEDICAL CENTER INC: $4,955 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetOAK HILL SCHOOL: $4,755 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetNASHVILLE SAILING FOUNDATION INC: $4,500 over 2y, 3.5% of budgetRENEWAL MINISTRIES: $4,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetFRIST ART MUSEUM: $4,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetPALO ALTO PARTNERS IN EDUCATION: $4,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMARTHA O'BRYAN CENTER INC: $3,306 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetPrecept: $3,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetDAYSTAR COUNSELING MINISTRIES INC: $3,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetNASHVILLE ZOO INC: $3,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetJONI AND FRIENDS: $3,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetFeeding America: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetABE'S GARDEN: $3,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTUCKER'S HOUSE: $2,500 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetYOUNG LIFE: $2,400 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWORLD VISION INC: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHonorable Order of Kentucky Colonels Inc: $1,550 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetNASHVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION: $1,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL FOREST FOUNDATION: $1,339 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $1,100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE NEXT DOOR INC: $1,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetVanderbilt University Medical Center: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLIFESONG FOR ORPHANS INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: $750 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetGRACEWORKS MINISTRIES INC: $750 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCarnegie Mellon University: $750 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCOAST GUARD FOUNDATION INC: $600 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetVanderbilt University: $500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetROCKETOWN OF MIDDLE TENNESSEE: $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.

Hca Healthcare Founda…Memorial Foundation I…The Community Foundat…Dettwiller FoundationEnchiridion FoundationEbs FoundationDorothy Cate and Thom…Joe C Davis FoundationServant FoundationMilton and Denice Joh…The Signatry Charitab…Purity Foundation
Hca Healthcare FoundationTN34.6× affinity15 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 · The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee Inc · Dettwiller Foundation · Enchiridion Foundation · Ebs Foundation · Dorothy Cate and Thomas F Frist Foundation · Joe C Davis Foundation · Servant Foundation · Milton and Denice Johnson Family Foundation · The Signatry Charitable Trust · Purity 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 Pfeffer Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Pfeffer Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 30%1%4%8%15%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • Operation Snip Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
3get no government money at all
9report 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 109 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 Pfeffer’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