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· Private foundation

The Sheppard Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$1.1M
Granted FY2024still arriving
4
Grants FY2024still arriving
3
States reached
$850k
Largest
01What you fund
01100% classified

What you funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year — across FY20172024.

Human Services$2.5MArts & Culture$462kEducation$412kEnvironment$325kPublic Safety & Disaster$287kPhilanthropy$218kCrime & Legal$208kReligion$28kOther$0
02FY2024 · 4 grants

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $10k–50k1 grant · $10k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $257k
  • $250k+1 grant · $850k
$206,869
Median grant
3
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
THE JOHN & LYNN SHEPPARD FAMILY FD$850,191
THE JOHN & LYNN SHEPPARD FAMILY FD$206,869
AMERICAN RED CROSS$50,000
COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF SOUTH GEORG$10,000
02The need
03

Do your dollars go where the need is?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, then read against the area’s typical level.

show:

Your human-services grants (FY17–24, $280k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of your grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $50k → 11%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $45k → 11%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $50k → 9%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $40k → 9%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $30k → 9%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $25k → 9%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $20k → 9%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $20k → 9%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount

Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty linein the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP; grantee ZIP can differ from where services are delivered.

Which US states your grants reach

NY
WY
OH
PA
CT
CA
MO
MD
TN
GA

US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are actually delivered. Need from public data — U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA — shown as context about the area, never attributed to your giving.

03Your edge
repeat funding

Who you back again

Which organizations you funded more than once, and which you funded a single time. Each grantee is matched to its own filings.

90%of every dollar goes to organizations you’ve funded before.
$3.8M · 17 repeat orgs$421k to everyone else

17 repeat relationships — 2 still active in FY2024, 15 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

17
5

Total granted

$3.8M
$421k

Still filing today

71%
0%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
EducationEnvironmentHuman ServicesArts & CultureCommunity ImprovementPhilanthropyOther

First-time = a grantee’s first year in your filing window; renewed = funded in an earlier year too. As a portfolio matures the renewed share naturally climbs — once funded, an org stays “renewable” — so the signal is the years that buck it (a new-grantee intake wave). 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

  • AH
    AMAGANSETT HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION
    7× · 2017–2023 · $320k · revenue ×11 · 84% of their budget
  • TT
    THE TAFT SCHOOL CORPORATION
    7× · 2017–2023 · $282k · revenue +135%
  • AN
    American National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches
    8× · 2017–2024 · $280k · revenue +46%

Funded once

  • TW
    THE WADE SHEPPARD & GRACE GAO-
    one grant, 2023 · $208k
  • TA
    THE ANN & FRANK MORES FAMILY FUND
    one grant, 2023 · $208k
  • MI
    MONTEREY INST OF INTERNATIONAL STUD
    one grant, 2017 · $3k

Repeat = funded in two or more distinct years; growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Your field

The map has a center of gravity: the average direction from the rest of the sector toward the organizations the foundation funds — the shape of its giving. Scoring every nonprofit along that direction surfaces the ones that look most like the portfolio. These are the closest matchesthat aren’t grantees — 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
Dutchess Land Conservancy Inc

Dutchess land conservancy (dlc) is dedicated to preserving the scenic, agricultural and environmental resources of dutchess county, new york, and the surrounding area. dlc, as a private non-profit land conservation organization, carries…

Environment
3
Harvard Conservation Trust

To preserve the unique character and natural resources of harvard.

Environment
4
Hampden-Sydney College

Since 1775, the mission of Hampden-Sydney College has been to form good men and good citizens in an atmosphere of sound learning.

Education
5
American Foreign Service Association

American foreign service association (afsa) is both the principal advocate for the long-term institutional wellbeing of the professional career foreign service and responsible for safeguarding the interest of afsa members. (continued on…

6
Saint Anselm College

Saint anselm is a catholic, benedictine college providing all of its students a distinctive liberal arts education that incorporates opportunities for professional and career preparation. it does so in a learning community that encourages…

Education
7
New Canaan Land Conservation Trust Inc

The mission of the new canaan land trust is to foster a connection between the new canaan community and its natural resources through the conservation and sustainable stewardship of our open space.

8
Northeast College of Health Sciences

Northeast college of health sciences (the college) is committed to academic excellence, leadership, and professional best practices in the health sciences.

Education
9
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…

10
Us Naval Academy Foundation Inc

To support, promote, and advance the mission of the naval academy.

Education
11
University of New Haven

The University of New Haven is a student-centered comprehensive university with an emphasis on excellence in liberal arts and professional education. Our mission is to prepare our students to lead purposeful and fulfilling lives in a…

Education
12
Connecticut Aeronautical Historical Association Inc

The new england air museum's mission is to preserve and present the story of aviation and aerospace, with an emphasis on new england's role, and the genius and inspiration that made it possible. the museum also seeks to inspire young…

Arts & Culture

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Taft School Corporation and the most unlike its peers is The Nature Conservancy. 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

14 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each one resolved to its own IRS returns and tracked year by year — your grant beside their revenue from every source. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

Counted here: distinct organizations you funded across 20172025, not grant rows in a single year — so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 14 of the 24 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile; the rest are funded organizations whose filings we could not track year by year.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
14/14
Grantees still filing
11/14
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

THE JOHN & LYNN SHEPPARD FAMILY FD — $2,372,172 · OtherTHE JOHN & LYNN SHEPPARD FAMILY FDAMAGANSETT HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION — $320,000 · OtherAMAGANSETT HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONTHE WADE SHEPPARD & GRACE GAO- — $207,566 · OtherTHE WADE SHEPPARD & GRACE GAO-THE ANN & FRANK MORES FAMILY FUND — $207,566 · OtherTHE ANN & FRANK MORES FAMILY FUNDTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY — $205,000 · OtherTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY+8 more — $297,000 · Other+8 moreTHE TAFT SCHOOL CORPORATION — $282,000 · EducationTHE TAFT …STEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION — $75,000 · EducationSTEPHEN S…KENYON COLLEGE — $30,000 · EducationKENYON CO…American National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches — $280,000 · Human ServicesDARIEN HISTORICAL SOCIETY — $59,000 · Arts & CultureNATIONAL OUTDOOR LEADERSHIP SCHOOL — $30,000 · EnvironmentAMAGANSETT VILLAGE IMPROVEMENT SOCIETY INC — $25,000 · EnvironmentDarien Community Association Inc — $25,000 · Community ImprovementGARY SINISE FOUNDATION — $10,000 · PhilanthropyCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF SOUTH GEORGIA INC — $10,000 · PhilanthropyBETHESDA-CHEVY CHASE RESCUE SQUAD INC — $7,000 · Health
Other$3,609,304Education$387,000Human Services$280,000Arts & Culture$59,000Environment$55,000Community Improvement$25,000Philanthropy$20,000Health$7,000

Each org by its size and your share of it — top-left is where you’re load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ your share of their budgetAMAGANSETT HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION — $320,000 over 7y, 84% of budgetTHE TAFT SCHOOL CORPORATION — $282,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches — $280,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY — $205,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetFISHER HOUSE FOUNDATION INC — $90,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetSTEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION — $75,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetDARIEN HISTORICAL SOCIETY — $59,000 over 4y, 11% of budgetNATIONAL OUTDOOR LEADERSHIP SCHOOL — $30,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetKENYON COLLEGE — $30,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetAMAGANSETT VILLAGE IMPROVEMENT SOCIETY INC — $25,000 over 3y, 7.0% of budgetDarien Community Association Inc — $25,000 over 3y, 0.9% of budgetGARY SINISE FOUNDATION — $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF SOUTH GEORGIA INC — $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetBETHESDA-CHEVY CHASE RESCUE SQUAD INC — $7,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budget
Go grantee by grantee — a decade per org, and how each moved after you funded them

A decade per grantee — revenue shaded, your grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

  • Who funds AMAGANSETT HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION
  • Who funds THE TAFT SCHOOL CORPORATION
  • Who funds American National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches
  • Who funds THE NATURE CONSERVANCY
  • Who funds FISHER HOUSE FOUNDATION INC
  • Who funds STEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION
  • Who funds DARIEN HISTORICAL SOCIETY
  • Who funds NATIONAL OUTDOOR LEADERSHIP SCHOOL
  • Who funds KENYON COLLEGE
  • Who funds AMAGANSETT VILLAGE IMPROVEMENT SOCIETY INC
  • Who funds Darien Community Association Inc
  • Who funds GARY SINISE FOUNDATION
  • Who funds COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF SOUTH GEORGIA INC
  • Who funds BETHESDA-CHEVY CHASE RESCUE SQUAD INC

Government reliance of your grantees

Every dot is one organization The Sheppard Foundation funds. Left–right is the share of its income from government; up–down is the share from you. Bigger dots raise more. Filter to federal, a single department, or state — and drag the year to watch it move.

2024
202122232425
no gov · 20%6%23%51%90%your share of their income ↑0%6%13%19%25%share of the org’s income from government
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    2get no government money at all
    4report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–25%
    typical government reliance, FY2025

    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 your grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first — a floor, not 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 12–24 months.

    05Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to The Sheppard Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to The Sheppard 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 directly from IRS e-file XML — your own 990/990-PF and the multi-year returns of the 24 grantees we resolved across every year we hold, several hundred filings in all (a different count from the grant rows on the cover, which are one fiscal year)— each linked to its source. Grantee achievements and outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III); we read these as association with sustained funding — the foundation is one of several forces — suppress low-confidence name matches rather than guess, and say so where a figure rests on a single grant or filing. Not everything on this page is a filed figure, and the difference matters. Filed is what you reported on your 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. How we build these →

    Generated from your IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    More from the funding graph