Skip to content
The Shanks Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Shanks Family 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.

$42k
Granted FY2025still arriving
11
Grants FY2025still arriving
6
States reached
$10k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0188% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Public Safety & Disaster$72kPhilanthropy$20kHealth$20kHuman Services$5kCrime & Legal$3kYouth Development$3kScience & Tech$3kPublic Benefit$3kOther$0
02FY2025 · 11 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k10 grants · $32k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $10k
$2,500
Median grant
6
States reached
$213k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
American Red Cross$10,000
Cerebral Palsy Alliance Research Foundation$6,000
United Cerebral Palsy of Middle Tennessee Inc$6,000
Electronic Frontier Foundation$2,500
March of Dimes$2,500
High Hopes Inc$2,500
Equal Vote Coalition$2,500
CALIFORNIA WESTERN SCHOOL OF LAW$2,500
Pancreatic Cancer Action Network$2,500
NATIONAL PKU ALLIANCE$2,500
Individual grant recipient$2,500
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 (FY23–25, $57k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, 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%American Red Cross: $37k → 14%American Red Cross: $10k → 14%American Red Cross: $10k → 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.
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 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
Critical Path Institute

The critical path institute is a catalyst in the development of new approaches that advance medical innovation and regulatory science. this is achieved by leading teams that share data, knowledge and expertise resulting in sound, consensus…

Health
2
Center for Democracy and Technology

Advocating for public policies that advance democratic values in the digital age.

Civil Rights
3
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation

To cure cf and provide all people with cf the opportunity to lead long, fulfilling lives by funding research and drug development, partnering with the cf community, and advancing high-quality, specialized care.

Health
4
Central Indiana Corporate Partnership Inc

Central indiana corporate partnership (cicp) is an alliance of indiana's business and research university leaders coming together to foster long-term prosperity for the region. cicp's mission is to transform the economy of indiana in order…

Community Improvement
5
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
6
Personal Care Products Council Foundation Inc

The foundation is set up to deliver one program - look good feel better. the mission of this nationwide program is to improve the quality of life of women, men, and teens undergoing cancer treatment by offering advice on how to cope with…

Health
7
Conquering Congenital Heart Disease

At conquering chd we exist to conquerin the most common birth defect. we engage, listen, learn, and act. we create visibility and empower all impacted by chd. we accomplish this through awareness, knowledge, community and research.

Health
8
American Association of Physicists in Medicine

Advancing medicine through excellence in the science, education and professional practice of medical physics. the mission is carried out through driving scientific and clinical innovation in medical physics to improve human health,…

Science & Tech
9
Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute

Sanford burnham prebys medical discovery institute's mission is to advance the biomedical sciences by cultivating the next generation of scientific leaders, providing meaningful opportunities for researchers of all backgrounds to learn,…

Health
10
Public Responsibility in Medicine & Research Inc

Prim&r advances the highest ethical standards in the conduct of biomedical, behavioral and social science research. prim&r accomplishes this mission through education, membership services, professional certification, public policy…

Health
11
California Dental Association

The california dental association is committed to the success of our members in service to their patients and the public.

Community Improvement
12
Electronic Privacy Information Center

Epic's mission is to secure the fundamental right to privacy in the digital age for all people through advocacy, research, and litigation.

Civil Rights
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is March of Dimes Inc; the most unlike its peers is Equal Vote Coalition. 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

11 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. 11 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.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
0
Early backer (in before they grew)
11/11
Grantees still filing
2/11
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

American National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $57,000 · Human ServicesAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chap…Kentucky State Treasurer (Tornado Relief Fund): $15,000 · OtherKentucky State Treasurer…Operation Masks Inc: $5,000 · OtherOperation Masks IncHIGH HOPES INC: $2,500 · OtherHIGH HOPES INCElectronic Frontier Foundation Inc: $2,500 · OtherElectronic Frontier Foun…Individual grant recipient: $2,500 · OtherIndividual grant recipie…THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF MIDDLE TENNESSEE INC: $20,000 · PhilanthropyTHE COMMUNITY FOU…UNITED CEREBRAL PALSY OF MIDDLE TENNESSEE INC: $6,000 · HealthUNITED CEREBRAL P…Cerebral Palsy Alliance Research Foundation: $6,000 · HealthCerebral Palsy Al…MARCH OF DIMES INC: $2,500 · HealthMARCH OF DIMES IN…PANCREATIC CANCER ACTION NETWORK INC: $2,500 · HealthPANCREATIC CANCER…NATIONAL PKU ALLIANCE INC: $2,500 · HealthNATIONAL PKU ALLI…EQUAL VOTE COALITION: $2,500 · Civil RightsCALIFORNIA WESTERN SCHOOL OF LAW: $2,500 · Education
Human Services$57,000Other$27,500Philanthropy$20,000Health$19,500Civil Rights$2,500Education$2,500

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 budgetAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $57,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF MIDDLE TENNESSEE INC: $20,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUNITED CEREBRAL PALSY OF MIDDLE TENNESSEE INC: $6,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetCerebral Palsy Alliance Research Foundation: $6,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetHIGH HOPES INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetElectronic Frontier Foundation Inc: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetEQUAL VOTE COALITION: $2,500 over 1y, 2.7% of budgetPANCREATIC CANCER ACTION NETWORK INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL PKU ALLIANCE INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCALIFORNIA WESTERN SCHOOL OF LAW: $2,500 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.

American Endowment Fo…Paypal Charitable Giv…National Philanthropi…American Online Givin…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
American Endowment FoundationOH9.7× affinity4 shared granteesties to 6 of 6Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: American Endowment Foundation · Paypal Charitable Giving Fund · National Philanthropic Trust · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · 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 Shanks Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Shanks Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2025
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%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
    1get no government money at all
    3report 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.

    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 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Shanks Family’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