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The Philip J & Carol J Lyons Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Philip J & Carol J Lyons 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.

$495k
Granted FY2025still arriving
61
Grants FY2025still arriving
12
States reached
$56k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0190% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Philanthropy$185kInternational$68kHuman Services$47kHealth$33kEducation$30kFood & Nutrition$28kEnvironment$26kHousing & Shelter$21kOther$0
02FY2025 · 61 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k53 grants · $164k
  • $10k–50k4 grants · $120k
  • $50k–250k4 grants · $211k
$2,500
Median grant
12
States reached
$1.4M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES$56,000
UNIVERSITY OF AZ FOUNDATION$55,000
SCHOLARSHIP A-Z$50,000
JOHN VALENZUELA YOUTH CENTER$50,000
STEP STUDENT EXPEDITION PROGRAM$30,000
FLOWING WELLS FOUNDATION$30,000
HIGHER GROUND$30,000
LEAD GUITAR$30,000
FLAGSTAFF SHELTER SERVICES$7,500
FLAGSTAFF FAMILY FOOD CENTER$7,500
JEWISH UNITED FUND$6,100
HEARTLAND HUMAN CARE SERVICES$5,000
HEAL PALESTINE$5,000
TUCSON MUSEUM OF ART$5,000
GRAND CANYON YOUTH$5,000
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, $27k) land where the poverty rate runs at 16%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%WOUNDED WARRIOR FAMILY SUPPORT: $2k → 12%BEYOND BEDTIME: $3k → 17%PAJAMA PROGRAM: $3k → 17%PAJAMA PROGRAM: $1k → 17%PUPPIES BEHIND BARS: $2k → 17%PUPPIES BEHIND BARS: $1k → 17%HEARTLAND HUMAN CARE SERVICES: $5k → 14%FREEDOM OF THE PRESS FOUNDATION: $3k → 20%PUPPIES BEHIND BARS: $1k → 17%A CHANCE IN LIFE: $3k → 17%WORLD FOOD PROGRAM: $3k → 14%WORLD FOOD PROGRAM: $2k → 14%WORLD FOOD PROGRAM: $750 → 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
IL
MI
NY
MA
OH
PA
NJ
CA
CO
NE
MO
VA
MD
AZ
KS
DC
OK
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.

47%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$490k · 60 repeat orgs$562k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +23% since the first grant, against +20% for those funded once.

60 repeat relationships: 28 still active in FY2025, 32 since wound down; 33 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

60
60

Total granted

$490k
$191k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+23%
+20%

Still filing today

77%
53%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 25% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $371k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
InternationalEnvironmentEducationArts & CultureHealthHuman ServicesOther
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

  • SZ
    SCHOLARSHIPSA Z
    2× · 2024–2025 · $55k · revenue +1%
  • FS
    FLAGSTAFF SHELTER SERVICES INC
    2× · 2024–2025 · $18k · revenue +53%
  • GREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY
    4× · 2020–2023 · $15k · revenue +17%

Funded once

  • VU
    VARIOUS UNSOLICITATED CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS (DETAIL AVAILABLE)
    one grant, 2017 · $55k
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2020 · $15k
  • US
    U S-UKRAINE FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2024 · $10k · revenue 0%
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
The Union of Concerned Scientists Inc

The union of concerned scientists puts rigorous, independent science into action, developing solutions and advocating for a healthy, safe, and just future.

International
2
Actionaid Usa

Actionaid is an international network building a just, equitable, and sustainable world in solidarity with communities on the frontlines of poverty and injustice. actionaid usa is the u.s. branch of actionaid international, which works in…

Social Science
3
International Center for Research On Women

The international center for research for women (icrw) is a global research institute, with a mission to advance rights and opportunities for women, girls, and structurally excluded populations with actionable evidence and solutions.

International
4
Asociacion Interamericana Para La Defensa Del Ambiente

To strenghten people's ability to guarantee their individual and collective right to a healthy environment, via the development, implementation, and effective enforcement of national and international law.

Crime & Legal
5
The Fund for Peace Inc

Building bridges across diverse sectors, and developing innovative technologies and tools for policy makers. a leader in the conflict assessment and early warning field, the fund for peace focuses on the problems of weak and failing…

International
6
American Gas Association

American gas association's (the association) mission is to develop and advocate for informed, innovative, and durable policy that fulfills our nation's energy needs, environmental aspirations and economic potential. we are committed to…

—
7
Open Markets Institute

The open markets institute works to help people relearn how to use competition policy to build stronger democracies, more just and equitable societies, more innovative and sustainable economies, and a more secure and peaceful world.

Education
8
American Flood Coalition Inc

To drive transformational adaptation to protect communities across the country from higher seas, stronger storms, and more frequent flooding.

Environment
9
Center for Strategic and International Studies

The center for strategic and international studies (csis) is a bipartisan, nonprofit policy research organization dedicated to advancing practical ideas to address the world's greatest challenges.

International
10
Waterorg

Water.org's goal is to bring safe water and sanitation to the world through access to small, affordable loans.

International
11
Partners in Food Solutions

Improve the food value chain in developing countries by mobilizing corporate volunteers to share knowledge and expertise with small and growing food processors.

International
12
American Association for the Advancement of Science

Advance science, engineering, and innovation throughout the world for the benefit of all. the world's largest multidisciplinary scientific society and a leading publisher of cutting-edge research through its science family of journals,…

Science & Tech
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Hope for Ukraine Inc; the most unlike its peers is Athens County Humane Society. 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

105 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

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 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 105 of the 157 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)
9
Early backer (in before they grew)
105/105
Grantees still filing
58/105
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

VARIOUS UNSOLICITED CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS (DETAIL AVAILABLE): $119,293 · OtherVARIOUS UNSOLICITED CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS (DETAIL AVAILABLE)VARIOUS UNSOLICITATED CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS (DETAIL AVAILABLE): $55,000 · OtherVARIOUS UNSOLICITATED CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS (DETAIL AVAILABLE)UNIVERSITY OF AZ FOUNDATION: $55,000 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF AZ FOUNDATIONJOHN VALENZUELA YOUTH CENTER: $50,000 · OtherJOHN VALENZUELA YOUTH CENTERFLOWING WELLS FOUNDATION: $30,000 · OtherHIGHER GROUND: $30,000 · Other+102 more: $331,350 · Other+102 moreSCHOLARSHIPSA Z: $55,000 · EducationSCHOLARSHIP…STEP STUDENT EXPEDITION PROGRAM INC: $30,000 · EducationSTEP STUDEN…EDUCATIONAL ENRICHMENT FOUNDATION: $7,500 · EducationEDUCATIONAL…BROOKLYN PUBLIC LIBRARY: $6,000 · EducationBROOKLYN PU…+4 more: $6,000 · Education+4 moreMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $14,500 · InternationalMEDECINS S…International Rescue Committee INC: $12,500 · InternationalInternatio…U S-UKRAINE FOUNDATION: $10,000 · InternationalU S-UKRAIN…PALESTINE CHILDREN'S RELIEF FUND: $8,000 · InternationalPALESTINE …ALIGHT: $8,000 · InternationalALIGHTAMERICAN NEAR EAST REFUGEE AID: $7,500 · InternationalAMERICAN N…WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $7,000 · InternationalWORLD CENT…Women for Afghan Women Inc: $6,000 · InternationalWomen for …NEW ISRAEL FUND: $5,600 · InternationalNEW ISRAEL…SAKHI FOR SOUTH ASIAN SURVIVORS INC: $5,000 · InternationalHEAL PALESTINE INC: $5,000 · International+7 more: $10,500 · International+7 moreLEAD GUITAR: $30,000 · Arts & CultureTucson Symphony Society: $10,000 · Arts & CultureTUCSON CHILDREN'S MUSEUM INC DBA CHILDREN'S MUSEUM TUCSON: $5,000 · Arts & CultureTUCSON MUSEUM OF ART AND HISTORIC BLOCK INC: $5,000 · Arts & CulturePBS FOUNDATION: $2,500 · Arts & CultureNATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO INC: $2,500 · Arts & Culture+2 more: $2,000 · Arts & CultureLUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES OF THE SOUTHWEST: $56,000 · ReligionENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND INCORPORATED: $11,000 · EnvironmentATHENS CONSERVANCY: $7,000 · EnvironmentTREES WATER AND PEOPLE: $6,750 · EnvironmentCENTER FOR CLIMATE AND ENERGY SOLUTIONS INC: $5,000 · EnvironmentWoodstock Land Conservancy Inc: $3,000 · EnvironmentCARY INSTITUTE OF ECOSYSTEM STUDIES INC: $3,000 · EnvironmentNATIONAL PARKS CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION: $2,500 · EnvironmentFRIENDS OF THE EARTH: $2,500 · Environment+1 more: $1,000 · EnvironmentFLAGSTAFF SHELTER SERVICES INC: $17,500 · Housing & ShelterALTERNATIVES FOR GIRLS: $5,500 · Housing & ShelterHOMES FOR OUR TROOPS INC: $5,000 · Housing & ShelterSHELTER ASSOCIATION OF WASHTENAW COUNTY: $5,000 · Housing & ShelterDEBORAH'S PLACE: $3,250 · Housing & Shelter
Other$670,643Education$104,500International$99,600Arts & Culture$57,000Religion$56,000Environment$41,750Housing & Shelter$36,250

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 budgetLUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES OF THE SOUTHWEST: $56,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetSCHOLARSHIPSA Z: $55,000 over 2y, 12% of budgetLEAD GUITAR: $30,000 over 1y, 3.6% of budgetFLAGSTAFF SHELTER SERVICES INC: $17,500 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetGREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY: $15,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $14,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetInternational Rescue Committee INC: $12,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND INCORPORATED: $11,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetU S-UKRAINE FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetTucson Symphony Society: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetSUNNYSIDE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION: $10,000 over 1y, 4.2% of budgetRURAL ACTION INC: $9,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican Bird Conservancy: $8,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetPALESTINE CHILDREN'S RELIEF FUND: $8,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetALIGHT: $8,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetBanner Health: $7,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN NEAR EAST REFUGEE AID: $7,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetEDUCATIONAL ENRICHMENT FOUNDATION: $7,500 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetPARENTCHILD INC: $7,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetFLAGSTAFF FAMILY FOOD CENTER: $7,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetATHENS CONSERVANCY: $7,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $7,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetVIOLENCE POLICY CENTER: $6,750 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetTREES WATER AND PEOPLE: $6,750 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetFOOD GATHERERS: $6,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetJEWISH UNITED FUND OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO: $6,100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBEYOND BEDTIME INC: $6,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetBROOKLYN PUBLIC LIBRARY: $6,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetAdvocates for Children of New York: $6,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetWomen for Afghan Women Inc: $6,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetNEW ISRAEL FUND: $5,600 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetALTERNATIVES FOR GIRLS: $5,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetThe Fistula Foundation: $5,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetALLIANCE FOR THE GREAT LAKES: $5,250 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetHOMES FOR OUR TROOPS INC: $5,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetGRAND CANYON YOUTH INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetSHELTER ASSOCIATION OF WASHTENAW COUNTY: $5,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTUCSON CHILDREN'S MUSEUM INC DBA CHILDREN'S MUSEUM TUCSON: $5,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetKings Against Violence Initiative Inc: $5,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetSAKHI FOR SOUTH ASIAN SURVIVORS INC: $5,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCENTER FOR CLIMATE AND ENERGY SOLUTIONS INC: $5,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetExtreme Kids and Crew Inc: $5,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetTUCSON MUSEUM OF ART AND HISTORIC BLOCK INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE WORLD FOOD PROGRAM INC: $4,750 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetPUPPIES BEHIND BARS INC: $4,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetNORTHLAND FAMILY HELP CENTER: $3,750 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetATHENS COUNTY HUMANE SOCIETY: $3,500 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetFLORENCE IMMIGRANT & REFUGEE RIGHTS PROJECT INC: $3,500 over 2y, 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.

Community Foundation …American Express Foun…Jpmorgan Chase Founda…The Ford FoundationThe Kay Family Founda…Athens County Foundat…Bernard and Anne Spit…The Hs Lopez Family F…The Diane and Bruce H…Arizona Community Fou…Network for GoodCharles Stewart Mott …
Community Foundation for Southern ArizonaAZ17.1× affinity6 shared granteesties to 8 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Community Foundation for Southern Arizona · American Express Foundation · Jpmorgan Chase Foundation · The Ford Foundation · The Kay Family Foundation Inc · Athens County Foundation · Bernard and Anne Spitzer Charitable Trust · The Hs Lopez Family Foundation · The Diane and Bruce Halle Foundation · Arizona Community Foundation · Network for Good · Charles Stewart Mott 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 Philip J & Carol J Lyons Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Philip J & Carol J Lyons Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 40%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    4get no government money at all
    19report 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 Philip J & Carol J Lyons Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to The Philip J & Carol J Lyons 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 157 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 Philip J & Carol J Lyons’ 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