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The Robert J Sullivan Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Robert J Sullivan Family Foundation

Its FY2021 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$4.8M
Granted FY2021
1
Grants FY2021
1
States reached
$4k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0191% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2021.

Health$1.1MEducation$293kReligion$115kHousing & Shelter$60kYouth Development$44kHuman Services$40kInternational$18kPhilanthropy$10kOther$0
02FY2021 · 1 grant

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 1 grants below total $4,185, the rows itemized in this filing. The $4,761,510 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $4,757,325 is giving the schedule does not break out (grants under the $5,000 itemization floor, grants to individuals, grants on other schedules). Every figure below describes the itemized rows only.
$4,185
Median grant
1
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Young Life$4,185
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 (FY17–21) land where the poverty rate runs at 6%, against an area that typically sits at 7%. 5% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 7%Khan Academy: $10k → 8%Henry Schein Cares Foundation: $10k → 7%Miracle Corners of the World: $13k → 17%Hope Center Inc: $30k → 5%St Alphonsus Parish: $10k → 17%Dental Trade Alliance Foundation: $1.0M → 7%Miracle Corners of the World: $3k → 17%Hope Center: $10k → 5%St Alphonsus Parish: $10k → 17%Dental Trade Alliance Foundation: $25k → 7%Miracle Corners of the World: $3k → 17%See statement attached: $4.7M → 5%MacCanon Brown Homeless Sanctuary Inc: $30k → 17%Dental Trade Alliance Foundation: $25k → 7%See statement attached: $4k → 5%Marquette University: $100k → 17%Clinician Task Force: $30k → 7%Young Life: $10k → 5%Sisters of the Divine Savior: $35k → 17%Young Life: $4k → 5%Sisters of the Divine Savior: $30k → 17%Sisters of the Divine Savior: $30k → 17%SecuresFutures: $30k → 17%Milwaukee Lutheran High School Association: $40k → 17%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.
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.

92%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.5M · 9 repeat orgs$140k to everyone else

9 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2021, 8 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

9
5

Total granted

$1.5M
$140k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+59%
+128%

Still filing today

67%
60%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2021, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21
EducationHealthYouth DevelopmentPublic BenefitInternationalPhilanthropyOther
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

  • MU
    Marquette University
    4× · 2017–2020 · $173k · revenue +46%
  • KA
    KHAN ACADEMY INC
    3× · 2017–2020 · $80k · revenue +123%
  • HC
    Hope Center Inc
    2× · 2018–2020 · $40k · revenue +87%

Funded once

  • ML
    Milwaukee Lutheran High School Association
    one grant, 2018 · $40k
  • CT
    Clinician Task Force
    one grant, 2017 · $30k · revenue -23% · 35% of their budget
  • MacCANON BROWN HOMELESS SANCTUARY INCgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $30k · revenue +205%
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
My Community Dental Centers Inc

My Community Dental Centers, Inc. is a Michigan non-profit organization established to provide dental services by creating and managing dental clinics on behalf of local public health departments to deliver services to the Medicaid and…

Health
2
The Medical College of Wisconsin Inc

The medical college of wisconsin (mcw) is a distinguished leader and innovator in the education and development of the next generation of physicians, (continued in schedule o)

Education
3
Minnesota Center for Health Care Ethics

Assisting individuals in ethically informed decision making by generating and communication ethical concepts, principles and frameworks; exploring and researching diverse cultural perspectives; and promoting health care ethics education…

Health
4
Minnesota Council on Foundations

MCF is a vibrant philanthropic community connecting, strengthening and mobilizing the power of philanthropy to advance prosperity and equity.

—
5
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…

—
6
Open Cities Health Center Inc

Open Cities Health Center is a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) whose mission is to provide culturally competent primary and preventive healthcare services to a largely underserved population in the Twin Cities metropolitan area.

Health
7
Mercy Dental Missions Inc

To restore hope, health, and opportunity by providing quality dental care to the uninsured and underinsured across Wisconsin. We aim to address health equity concerns, eliminate barriers to access, and make a positive impact through our…

Health
8
Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations

Joint Commission evaluates and accredits health care organizations and programs across the United States to ensure compliance with rigorous standards of quality and safety, including the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)…

Health
9
Care Providers of Minnesota Foundation

To promote quality care in long term health care facilities through education and research.

—
10
Health Strategy and Delivery Foundation

To be the leading thought partner and trusted advisor to a multitude of stakeholders for developing effective solutions and driving transformative impact in the health and social sector in Nigeria and the African Continent.

International
11
Mha Health Institute

Assist hospitals and other healthcare-related organizations in the effective management and utilization of human resources and in developing education programs designed to meet the educational requirements of over 5,000 hospital personnel.…

—
12
Oral Healthcare for All Foundations
—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Miracle Corners of the World Inc; the most unlike its peers is Marquette University. 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

9 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. 9 of the 14 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.

2
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
3
Early backer (in before they grew)
9/9
Grantees still filing
7/9
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Dental Trade Alliance Foundation: $1,050,000 · EducationDental Trade Alliance FoundationMarquette University: $172,500 · EducationMarquette UniversityKHAN ACADEMY INC: $80,000 · EducationKHAN ACADEMY INCSISTERS OF THE DIVINE SAVIOR: $95,000 · OtherSISTERS OF THE D…Hope Center Inc: $40,000 · OtherHope Center IncMilwaukee Lutheran High School Association: $40,000 · OtherMilwaukee Luther…SecuresFutures: $30,000 · OtherSecuresFuturesST ALPHONSUS PARISH: $20,000 · OtherST ALPHONSUS PAR…Young Life: $14,185 · OtherYoung LifeClinician Task Force: $30,000 · HealthYOUNG LIFE: $30,000 · Youth DevelopmentMacCANON BROWN HOMELESS SANCTUARY INC: $30,000 · Public BenefitMIRACLE CORNERS OF THE WORLD INC: $17,500 · InternationalHENRY SCHEIN CARES FOUNDATION INC: $10,000 · Philanthropy
Education$1,302,500Other$239,185Health$30,000Youth Development$30,000Public Benefit$30,000International$17,500Philanthropy$10,000

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 budgetDental Trade Alliance Foundation: $1,050,000 over 3y, 55% of budgetMarquette University: $172,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetKHAN ACADEMY INC: $80,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetHope Center Inc: $40,000 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetClinician Task Force: $30,000 over 1y, 35% of budgetYOUNG LIFE: $30,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetHENRY SCHEIN CARES FOUNDATION INC: $10,000 over 1y, 1.7% 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 Dental Trade Alliance Foundation ↗
  • Who funds Marquette University ↗
  • Who funds KHAN ACADEMY INC ↗
  • Who funds Hope Center Inc ↗
  • Who funds Clinician Task Force ↗
  • Who funds YOUNG LIFE ↗
  • Who funds MacCANON BROWN HOMELESS SANCTUARY INC ↗
  • Who funds MIRACLE CORNERS OF THE WORLD INC ↗
  • Who funds HENRY SCHEIN CARES FOUNDATION 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.

American Endowment Fo…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
American Endowment FoundationOH10.7× affinity5 shared granteesties to 3 of 3Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: American Endowment Foundation · 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 Robert J Sullivan Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Robert J Sullivan Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2023
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%3%5%8%10%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    1report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–10%
    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 Robert J Sullivan Family Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to The Robert J Sullivan Family 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 14 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 2021, released 2021. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

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    More from the funding graph

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