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The Sant Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Sant Foundation

Its FY2020 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$12k
Granted FY2019
26
Grants FY2019
3
States reached
$2k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead

Read this first · the figures below need context

99% of The Sant Foundation’s FY2020 grant dollars went to Bank Of America Charitable Gift Fd, not to grantees.

Its money now reaches organizations through that sponsor, which does not report who recommended each grant. FY2020 names 0 organizations directly, so a portfolio cannot be read from it. Everything below is therefore FY2019, the last year The Sant Foundation named its own grantees at scale: 18 organizations, $12k. It is dated, not current.

Organizations named directly on the return

6
’17
5
’18
18
’19
0
’20

Amber years are those where most dollars went to a sponsor.

01What it funds
0196% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2020.

Philanthropy$187kEducation$4kReligion$3kArts & Culture$2kFood & Nutrition$2kHealth$1kEnvironment$1kHuman Services$1kOther$0
02FY2019 · 26 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$300
Median grant
3
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
DONALD DANFORTH PLANT SCIENCE CENTER$2,225
WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST LOUIS$1,050
MISSOURI VETERANS COMMISSION$1,000
ROTARY CLUB OF ST LOUIS$1,000
SALEM METHODIST PRESCHOOL$1,000
ST JOHN'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH$650
MARY INSTITUTE AND ST LOUIS COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL$550
ST LOUIS PUBLIC RADIO$500
ST LUKES HOSPITAL$500
INDEPENDENCE CENTER$500
CITY ACADEMY$350
AMERICAN DANCE TROUPE$300
TIP OF THE MITT WATERSHED COUNCIL$300
THE REPERTORY THEATRE OF ST LOUIS$300
LITTLE TRAVERSE CONSERVANCY$300
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 (FY17–20) land where the poverty rate runs at 16%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%BANK OF AMERICA CHARITABLE GIFT FUND: $187k → 16%THE MASTERS SCHOOL: $100 → 9%LITTLE TRAVERSE CONSERVANCY: $300 → 9%MISSOURI VETERANS COMMISSION: $1k → 10%AMERICAN DANCE TROUPE: $1k → 11%KANAKUK MINISTRIES: $50 → 14%THE SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION OF ST LOUIS: $250 → 21%PRINCETON UNIVERSITY: $10 → 11%TIP OF THE MITT WATERSHED COUNCIL: $300 → 9%ST LUKES HOSPITAL: $500 → 11%URBAN LEAGUE OF METROPOLITAN SAINT LOUIS INC: $150 → 21%MCLAREN NORTHER MICHIGAN FOUNDATION: $100 → 9%AMERICAN DANCE TROUPE: $300 → 11%HAWTHORN LEADERSHIP SCHOOL FOR GIRLS: $150 → 21%AMERICAN PARKINSON DISEASE: $50 → 11%FOREST PARK FOREVER: $200 → 21%MS FOUNDATION: $100 → 11%ST LOUIS ZOO: $200 → 21%SALEM METHODIST PRESCHOOL: $1k → 11%ST LOUIS PUBLIC RADIO: $500 → 21%CHURCH OF THE GOOD SHEPARD: $576 → 11%ST LOUIS ZOO: $200 → 21%GIRLS INC OF ST LOUIS: $100 → 11%INDEPENDENCE CENTER: $500 → 21%MARY INSTITUTE AND ST LOUIS COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL: $550 → 11%FOUNDATION FOR BARNES JEWISH HOSPITAL: $100 → 21%MARY INSTITUTE AND ST LOUIS COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL: $200 → 11%NINE NETWORK: $250 → 21%JOHN BURROUGHS SCHOOL: $100 → 11%ST LOUIS ART MUSEUM: $50 → 21%WALKER LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE: $1k → 11%ROTARY CLUB OF ST LOUIS: $1k → 21%THE REPERTORY THEATRE OF ST LOUIS: $300 → 11%ST JOHN'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH: $1k → 21%OPERA THEATRE: $75 → 11%ST JOHN'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH: $680 → 21%OPERA THEATRE: $50 → 11%ST JOHN'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH: $650 → 21%TRIPLE A YOUTH FOUNDATION: $25 → 11%CITY ACADEMY: $350 → 21%WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST LOUIS: $1k → 11%WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST LOUIS: $55 → 11%DONALD DANFORTH PLANT SCIENCE CENTER: $2k → 11%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.

34%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$6k · 6 repeat orgs$12k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +84% since the first grant, against +62% for those funded once.

6 repeat relationships: 5 still active in FY2019, 1 since wound down; 23 grantees were first funded in FY2019 (too recent to call). Read against FY2019, the last year this funder named its own grantees directly; its giving has since run through a sponsor, which reports no donor behind each grant.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

6
9

Total granted

$6k
$2k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+84%
+62%

Still filing today

33%
67%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2020, 0% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $1k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20
EducationEnvironmentHealthScience & TechArts & CultureYouth DevelopmentOther
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

  • SJ
    ST JOHNS EPISCOPAL CHURCH
    3× · 2017–2019 · $2k
  • AD
    AMERICAN DANCE TROUPE
    2× · 2018–2019 · $1k
  • WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
    2× · 2017–2019 · $1k · revenue +76%

Funded once

  • CO
    CHURCH OF THE GOOD SHEPARD
    one grant, 2018 · $576
  • AP
    AMERICAN PRAIRIE FOUNDATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $500 · revenue +162%
  • TF
    THE FOUNDATION FOR BARNES-JEWISH HOSPITAL
    one grant, 2017 · $100 · revenue -41%
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
Thomas Jefferson School

Thomas jefferson school engages its students in the education necessary to live as responsible citizens of the world. through the strongest possible college-prepatory program and within a nurturing community, students develop a…

—
2
Boston Architectural College

The bac is committed to provide excellence in design education grounded in practice and accessible to diverse communities.

—
3
Wilson College

Wilson college empowers students to be confident and critical thinkers, creative visionaries, effective communicators, honorable leaders, and agents of justice.

Education
4
Mitchell Hamline School of Law

Mitchell hamline school of law is an independent law school that advances its mission through a combination of legal education, public service, and community engagement. it is dedicated to preparing students to practice law, while also…

Education
5
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
6
Columbia College

Columbia college improves lives by providing quality education to both traditional and nontraditional students, helping them achieve their true potential.

Education
7
Marietta College

Marietta college (mc) provides a strong foundation for a lifetime of leadership, critical thinking, and problem solving. we achieve this mission by offering undergraduates a contemporary liberal arts education and graduate students an…

Education
8
Williams College

Williams College strives to achieve educational excellence by fostering a community of learning in collaboration with students, faculty, staff, devoted alumni and parents.

Education
9
President and Trustees of Bates College

Bates is a college of the liberal arts and sciences, and is a coeducational, nonsectarian, residential college with special commitments to academic rigor, and to assuring in all of its efforts the dignity of each individual, and access to…

Education
10
Lake Forest Academy

Lake forest academy strives to embody in its practices - and to cultivate in its students -excellence of character, scholarship, citizenship, and responsibility.

Education
11
University of the Sciences in Philadelphia

University of the sciences prepares students to become leaders, innovators, and skilled practitioners in the sciences, the health professions, and related disciplines. we deliver excellence in teaching, research, and service through a safe…

—
12
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The mission of mit is to advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Scholarship Foundation of St Louis; the most unlike its peers is Masters School. 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

23 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. 23 of the 39 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)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
22/23
Grantees still filing
17/23
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

BANK OF AMERICA CHARITABLE GIFT FD: $187,322 · PhilanthropyBANK OF AMERICA CHARITABLE GIFT FDST JOHNS EPISCOPAL CHURCH: $2,430 · OtherAMERICAN DANCE TROUPE: $1,300 · OtherSALEM METHODIST PRESCHOOL: $1,000 · OtherROTARY CLUB OF ST LOUIS: $1,000 · OtherWALKER LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE: $1,000 · OtherMISSOURI VETERANS COMMISSION: $1,000 · OtherCHURCH OF THE GOOD SHEPARD: $576 · OtherINDEPENDENCE CENTER: $500 · OtherST LUKES HOSPITAL: $500 · OtherST LOUIS PUBLIC RADIO: $500 · OtherST LOUIS ZOO: $400 · Other+13 more: $1,450 · OtherWASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: $1,105 · EducationMary Institute and St Louis Country Day School: $750 · EducationCITY ACADEMY INC: $350 · EducationJOHN BURROUGHS SCHOOL: $100 · Education+1 more: $10 · EducationDONALD DANFORTH PLANT SCIENCE CENTER: $2,225 · Science & TechAMERICAN PRAIRIE FOUNDATION: $500 · EnvironmentTIP OF THE MITT WATERSHED COUNCIL: $300 · EnvironmentLittle Traverse Conservancy Inc: $300 · EnvironmentForest Park Forever Inc: $200 · EnvironmentTHE REPERTORY THEATRE OF ST LOUIS: $300 · Arts & CultureTHE FOUNDATION FOR BARNES-JEWISH HOSPITAL: $100 · HealthTHE MICHAEL J FOX FOUNDATION FOR PARKINSON'S RESEARCH: $100 · HealthMCLAREN NORTHERN MICHIGAN FOUNDATION: $100 · Health
Philanthropy$187,322Other$11,656Education$2,315Science & Tech$2,225Environment$1,300Arts & Culture$300Health$300

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 budgetDONALD DANFORTH PLANT SCIENCE CENTER: $2,225 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: $1,105 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMary Institute and St Louis Country Day School: $750 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetINDEPENDENCE CENTER: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN PRAIRIE FOUNDATION: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTIP OF THE MITT WATERSHED COUNCIL: $300 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLittle Traverse Conservancy Inc: $300 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE REPERTORY THEATRE OF ST LOUIS: $300 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION OF ST LOUIS: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetForest Park Forever Inc: $200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHAWTHORN LEADERSHIP SCHOOL FOR GIRLS: $150 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE FOUNDATION FOR BARNES-JEWISH HOSPITAL: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGIRLS INCORPORATED OF ST LOUIS: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetJOHN BURROUGHS SCHOOL: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE MICHAEL J FOX FOUNDATION FOR PARKINSON'S RESEARCH: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMCLAREN NORTHERN MICHIGAN FOUNDATION: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMASTERS SCHOOL: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetKanakuk Ministries: $50 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUNITED SERVICE ORGANIZATION USO OF MISSOURI INC: $50 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTRIPLE A YOUTH FOUNDATION: $25 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetThe Trustees of Princeton University: $10 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.

St Louis Community Fo…St Louis Community Fo…The Lilly Christy Bus…Pershing Charitable T…United Way of Greater…Commerce Bancshares F…Stanley & Lucy Lopata…Edward Jones Foundati…Enterprise Holdings F…The Blackbaud Giving …The Bank of America C…Morgan Stanley Global…
St Louis Community Foundation IncMO21.4× affinity8 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: St Louis Community Foundation Inc · St Louis Community Foundation · The Lilly Christy Busch Hermann Foundation · Pershing Charitable Trust · United Way of Greater St Louis Inc · Commerce Bancshares Foundation · Stanley & Lucy Lopata Foundation · Edward Jones Foundation · Enterprise Holdings Foundation · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc

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 Sant Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Sant Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%10%20%30%40%share of the org’s income from government →median 11%
  • The Trustees of Princeton University: 11% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
6report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–40%
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 Sant Foundation?

Find your warmest path to The Sant 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 39 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 2019, released 2019. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Sant’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