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The Shepard Family Private Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Shepard Family Private 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.

$1.2M
Granted FY2025still arriving
31
Grants FY2025still arriving
15
States reached
$252k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0199% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Health$1.3MPublic Benefit$762kEducation$760kHuman Services$648kReligion$351kCommunity Improvement$301kPhilanthropy$251kFood & Nutrition$216kOther$0
02FY2025 · 31 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k4 grants · $20k
  • $10k–50k19 grants · $254k
  • $50k–250k7 grants · $656k
  • $250k+1 grant · $252k
$10,000
Median grant
15
States reached
$3.4M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Memorial Hermann Foundation$252,481
Texas Public Policy Foundation$130,162
Catholic Charities$112,205
Tunnels to Towers$104,850
US Chamber of Commerce$104,850
Frontera Healthcare Network$103,987
SAN ANGELO AREA FOUNDATION$50,000
FRIENDS OF MASON COUNTY SHERIFF$50,000
RURAL HEALTH INITIATIVE$30,000
UT MD Anderson Cancer Center$25,999
Johns Hopkins Ciccarone Ctr$21,813
Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation$20,708
George W Bush Presidential Center$15,000
National Foundation for Facial Reconstruction$10,000
Savannah Wildlife Rescue Center$10,000
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 (FY17–25, $461k) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 77% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%SUNSHINE ACRES CHILDRENS HOME: $10k → 11%Committ Foundation: $25k → 10%THE JENSEN PROJECT: $10k → 14%Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs Inc: $12k → 16%Jensen Project: $102k → 14%The Jensen Project: $10k → 14%Kid Net Foundation Jonathans Place: $5k → 14%Angel Reach: $20k → 9%Angel Reach: $20k → 9%Angel Reach: $10k → 9%GOD'S GARAGE: $10k → 9%Jonathan's Place: $5k → 14%GOD'S GARAGE: $10k → 9%Catholic Charities: $112k → 19%Catholic Charities: $100k → 19%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
ID
MT
ND
IL
NY
IA
CA
KY
WV
VA
MD
AZ
TN
NC
DC
LA
MS
GA
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.

74%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$4.1M · 48 repeat orgs$1.4M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +44% since the first grant, against +13% for those funded once.

48 repeat relationships: 24 still active in FY2025, 24 since wound down; 6 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

48
37

Total granted

$4.1M
$1.3M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+44%
+13%

Still filing today

71%
49%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 88% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $136k 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
HealthEducationHuman ServicesArts & CultureAnimalsPublic BenefitOther
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

  • MH
    Memorial Hermann Foundation
    8× · 2018–2025 · $700k · revenue +158%
  • TP
    TEXAS PUBLIC POLICY FOUNDATION
    8× · 2018–2025 · $542k · revenue +110%
  • STEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION
    4× · 2022–2025 · $361k · revenue +83%

Funded once

  • CC
    Catholic Charites DAF
    one grant, 2022 · $351k
  • CC
    CATHOLIC CHARITIES DAF
    one grant, 2023 · $150k
  • DW
    Delta Waterfowl Foundation
    one grant, 2023 · $100k · revenue +1%
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
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.

—
2
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
3
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
4
University of Maryland Neurosurgeryassociates Pa

Under the medical service plan of the university of maryland school of medicine, medical services are rendered by the members of the faculty on behalf of the school of medicine in connection with their duties to provide clinical…

Education
5
University of Maryland Anesthesiology Associates Pa

Under the medical service plan of the university of maryland school of medicine, medical services are rendered by the members of the faculty on behalf of the school of medicine in connection with their duties to provide clinical…

—
6
American Academy of Neurology

The Academy's mission is to enhance member career fulfillment and promote brain health for all.

Community Improvement
7
University Hospital & Clinics Inc

The organization provides medical care to improve, maintain, and restore the health of the people in the communities we serve.

Health
8
University of Maryland Physicians Pa

Under the medical service plan of the university of maryland school of medicine, medical services are rendered by the members of the faculty on behalf of the school of medicine in connection with their duties to provide clinical…

—
9
University of Maryland Surgical Associates Pa

Under the medical service plan of the university of maryland school of medicine, medical services are rendered by the members of the faculty on behalf of the school of medicine in connection with their duties to provide clinical…

Health
10
University of Maryland Dermatologists Pa

Under the medical service plan of the university of maryland school of medicine, medical services are rendered by the members of the faculty on behalf of the school of medicine in connection with their duties to provide clinical…

Health
11
St Martin Hospital Inc

To improve, maintain and restore the health of the people in the communities we serve.

Health
12
Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States Inc

The fsmb serves as the voice for state medical boards, supporting them through education, assessment, research and advocacy while providing services and initiatives that promote patient safety, quality health care and regulatory best…

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Heritage Foundation; the most unlike its peers is The Jensen Project Inc. 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

56 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. 56 of the 93 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)
7
Early backer (in before they grew)
55/56
Grantees still filing
42/56
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Catholic Charites DAF: $350,815 · OtherCatholic Charites DAFUS Chamber of Commerce: $308,745 · OtherUS Chamber of CommerceCATHOLIC CHARITIES DAF: $150,250 · OtherCATHOLIC CHARITIES DAFSOME INC: $110,000 · OtherGEORGE HW BUSH PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY: $100,000 · OtherGEORGE W BUSH PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY: $100,000 · OtherFRIENDS OF MASON COUNTY COURTHOUSE: $100,000 · OtherJohns Hopkins Ciccarone Ctr: $93,301 · Other+48 more: $1,008,551 · Other+48 moreMemorial Hermann Foundation: $699,528 · HealthMemorial Hermann Foun…Frontera Healthcare Network: $208,647 · HealthFrontera Healthcare N…+8 more: $156,486 · Health+8 moreSTEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION: $360,678 · EducationSTEPHEN SILLER …US Chamber of Commerce Foundation: $200,000 · EducationUS Chamber of C…MARINE CORPS-LAW ENFORCEMENT FOUNDA FOUNDATION INC: $102,275 · EducationMARINE CORPS-LA…THE GEORGE W BUSH FOUNDATION: $35,000 · EducationTHE GLOUCESTER INSTITUTE INC: $30,000 · Education+4 more: $40,416 · EducationTEXAS PUBLIC POLICY FOUNDATION: $541,918 · Public BenefitTEXAS PUBLI…+1 more: $10,000 · Public BenefitASSOCIATED CATHOLIC CHARITIES INC: $212,313 · Human ServicesASSOCIATE…THE JENSEN PROJECT INC: $121,979 · Human ServicesTHE JENSE…ANGEL REACH: $50,000 · Human ServicesANGEL REA…THE COMMIT FOUNDATION: $25,000 · Human ServicesTHE COMMI…Gods Garage Inc: $20,000 · Human Services+3 more: $32,023 · Human Services+3 moreZACH JOHNSON FOUNDATION: $130,885 · PhilanthropySAN ANGELO AREA FOUNDATION: $50,000 · PhilanthropyGREATER CEDAR RAPIDS COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $50,000 · PhilanthropyTeneo Network Inc: $20,443 · PhilanthropyDelta Waterfowl Foundation: $100,000 · AnimalsTHE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS: $30,596 · AnimalsSAVANNAH WILDLIFE RESCUE CENTER INC: $20,000 · AnimalsBEAGLE FREEDOM PROJECT: $10,000 · Animals
Other$2,321,662Health$1,064,661Education$768,369Public Benefit$551,918Human Services$461,315Philanthropy$251,328Animals$160,596

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 budgetMemorial Hermann Foundation: $699,528 over 8y, 0.5% of budgetTEXAS PUBLIC POLICY FOUNDATION: $541,918 over 8y, 0.7% of budgetSTEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION: $360,678 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetASSOCIATED CATHOLIC CHARITIES INC: $212,313 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetFrontera Healthcare Network: $208,647 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetUS Chamber of Commerce Foundation: $200,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetZACH JOHNSON FOUNDATION: $130,885 over 4y, 2.9% of budgetTHE JENSEN PROJECT INC: $121,979 over 2y, 1.9% of budgetSOME INC: $110,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetMARINE CORPS-LAW ENFORCEMENT FOUNDA FOUNDATION INC: $102,275 over 5y, 0.7% of budgetDelta Waterfowl Foundation: $100,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetAmerican Junior Golf Association Inc: $70,500 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetNATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR FACIAL RECONSTRUCTION INC: $68,373 over 9y, 0.5% of budgetMONTGOMERY COUNTY FOOD BANK INC: $50,212 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetTHE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS FOUNDATION INC: $50,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetGREATER CEDAR RAPIDS COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetANGEL REACH: $50,000 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $35,402 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetMason Volunteer Fire Department Incorporated: $35,000 over 3y, 4.7% of budgetTHE GEORGE W BUSH FOUNDATION: $35,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMASON TENNIS ASSOCIATION: $32,941 over 7y, 11% of budgetTHE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS: $30,596 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetST PAUL'S SCHOOL FOR GIRLS INC: $30,402 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetTHE GLOUCESTER INSTITUTE INC: $30,000 over 3y, 3.4% of budgetAUTISM SPEAKS INC: $29,095 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE SHRINERS' HOSPITAL FOR CHILDREN: $25,438 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetAMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS ASSN: $25,149 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE COMMIT FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetTeneo Network Inc: $20,443 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetSHRINERS HOSPITALS FOR CHILDREN: $20,402 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetSAVANNAH WILDLIFE RESCUE CENTER INC: $20,000 over 2y, 2.9% of budgetGods Garage Inc: $20,000 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetUniversity of Chicago: $15,416 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetCEDAR RAPIDS COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT FOUNDATION: $15,000 over 2y, 1.4% of budgetGUARDIAN ANGELS MEDICAL SERVICE DOGS INC: $11,621 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetODEON PRESERVATION ASSOCIATION INC: $11,000 over 2y, 6.7% of budgetKID NET FOUNDATION JONATHANS PLACE: $10,402 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetTHE HERITAGE FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetANSWER ALS: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE MEDSTAR-GEORGETOWN MEDICAL CENTER INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTexas A&M Foundation: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTREES FOREVER INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetBEAGLE FREEDOM PROJECT: $10,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetAMERICAN STUDIES CENTER: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetJOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSUNSHINE ACRES CHILDREN'S HOME INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE AMERICAN VISIONARY ART MUSEUM INC: $7,373 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetBALTIMORE MUSEUM OF ART: $6,373 over 3y, 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.

  • Who funds Memorial Hermann Foundation ↗
  • Who funds TEXAS PUBLIC POLICY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds STEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds ASSOCIATED CATHOLIC CHARITIES INC ↗
  • Who funds Frontera Healthcare Network ↗
  • Who funds US Chamber of Commerce Foundation ↗
  • Who funds ZACH JOHNSON FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds THE JENSEN PROJECT INC ↗
  • Who funds SOME INC ↗
  • Who funds MARINE CORPS-LAW ENFORCEMENT FOUNDA FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds Delta Waterfowl Foundation ↗
  • Who funds American Junior Golf Association Inc ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR FACIAL RECONSTRUCTION INC ↗
  • Who funds MONTGOMERY COUNTY FOOD BANK INC ↗
  • Who funds SAN ANGELO AREA FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds GREATER CEDAR RAPIDS COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds ANGEL REACH ↗
  • Who funds ST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC ↗
  • Who funds Mason Volunteer Fire Department Incorporated ↗
  • Who funds THE GEORGE W BUSH FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds MASON TENNIS ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS ↗
  • Who funds ST PAUL'S SCHOOL FOR GIRLS INC ↗
  • Who funds THE GLOUCESTER INSTITUTE INC ↗
  • Who funds AUTISM SPEAKS 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.

GreenState Credit Uni…Baltimore Community F…The Blackbaud Giving …National Philanthropi…Gs Donor Advised Phil…Morgan Stanley Global…The Ayco Charitable F…American Endowment Fo…Network for GoodNatl Christian Charit…Vanguard Charitable E…Charities Aid Foundat…
GreenState Credit UnionIA13.4× affinity4 shared granteesties to 10 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: GreenState Credit Union · Baltimore Community Foundation Inc · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · National Philanthropic Trust · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · The Ayco Charitable Foundation · American Endowment Foundation · Network for Good · Natl Christian Charitable Fdn Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Charities Aid Foundation America

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%1%4%8%15%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 6%
  • Johns Hopkins University: 12% of income from government
  • The Maryland Food Bank Inc: 11% of income from government
  • Associated Catholic Charities Inc: 10% of income from government
  • The Shriners' Hospital for Children: 6% of income from government
  • Helping Up Mission Inc: 6% of income from government
  • The American Visionary Art Museum Inc: 6% of income from government
  • Baltimore Museum of Art: 4% of income from government
  • Shriners Hospitals for Children: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
12report 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 93 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 Shepard Family Private’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