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The Sledge Foundation Inc at a glance

· Private foundation

The Sledge Foundation Inc

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.

$53k
Granted FY2025still arriving
29
Grants FY2025still arriving
8
States reached
$20k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0192% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Education$94kHealth$33kArts & Culture$29kEnvironment$23kYouth Development$7kPublic Benefit$6kAnimals$5kInternational$3kOther$0
02FY2025 · 29 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k28 grants · $33k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $20k
$1,000
Median grant
8
States reached
$251k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
ROPER ST FRANCIS FOUNDATION$20,000
Individual grant recipient$5,000
LOWCOUNTRY OPEN LAND TRUST$5,000
CHATHAM HALL SCHOOL$4,500
Individual grant recipient$2,500
PORTER GAUD SCHOOL$2,000
EAST OF THE COOPER YOUNG LIFE$1,500
AMERICAN CIVIL WAR MUSEUM$1,500
STRATFORD HALL$1,200
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON$1,000
BEYOND DEMENTIA COALITION$1,000
HIGHLANDS-CASHIERS LAND TRUST$1,000
Individual grant recipient$1,000
SWEET BRIAR COLLEGE$1,000
OGLETHORPE UNIVERSITY$1,000
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY20–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 97% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%MD ANDERSON CANCER CENTER: $5k → 16%NEMOURS WILDLIFE FDN: $1k → 10%CHARLESTON DAY SCHOOL: $2k → 12%COLLETON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $8k → 20%SOUTHEASTERN LEGAL FOUNDATION: $1k → 11%HIGHLANDS-CASHIERS LAND TRUST: $1k → 12%MERRIE WOODE FOUNDATION: $5k → 13%HIGHLANDS NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION INC: $3k → 20%SAMARITANS PURSE: $3k → 21%BEYOND DEMENTIA COALITION: $1k → 12%EMORY UNIVERSITY: $10k → 14%GORDONSVILLE GRAYS CAMP 2301: $1k → 11%WOODBERRY FOREST: $3k → 11%SWEET BRIAR COLLEGE: $5k → 13%CHATHAM HALL SCHOOL: $11k → 14%R E LEE MEMORIAL ASSOC: $1k → 16%THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR MUSEUM: $2k → 22%NEMOURS WILDLIFE FDN: $1k → 10%CHARLESTON DAY SCHOOL: $1k → 12%CCHAPS WALTERBORO: $5k → 20%HIGHLANDS-CASHIERS LAND TRUST: $1k → 12%EMORY UNIVERSITY: $10k → 14%WOODBERRY FOREST: $3k → 11%SWEET BRIAR COLLEGE: $3k → 13%CHATHAM HALL SCHOOL: $5k → 14%AMERICAN CIVIL WAR MUSEUM: $2k → 22%EMORY UNIVERSITY: $10k → 14%WOODBERRY FOREST: $3k → 11%SWEET BRIAR COLLEGE: $2k → 13%CHATHAM HALL SCHOOL: $5k → 14%THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR MUSEUM: $2k → 22%WOODBERRY FOREST: $3k → 11%CHATHAM HALL SCHOOL: $3k → 14%WOODBERRY FOREST: $3k → 11%CHATHAM HALL SCHOOL: $3k → 14%PORTER GAUD SCHOOL: $2k → 12%CHATHAM HALL SCHOOL: $3k → 14%PORTER GAUD SCHOOL: $2k → 12%THE SOCIETY OF CINCINNATI: $2k → 14%OGLETHORPE UNIVERSITY: $2k → 14%COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON: $3k → 12%OGLETHORPE UNIVERSITY: $1k → 14%ROPER ST FRANCIS FOUNDATION: $20k → 12%LOWCOUNTRY OPEN LAND TRUST: $8k → 12%LOWCOUNTRY OPEN LAND TRUST: $5k → 12%ROPER ST FRANCIS FOUNDATION: $4k → 12%EAST OF THE COOPER YOUNG LIFE: $2k → 12%LOWCOUNTRY OPEN LAND TRUST: $1k → 12%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

MN
IL
CO
MO
VA
NC
SC
DC
AL
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.

85%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$196k · 34 repeat orgs$35k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +66% since the first grant, against +13% for those funded once.

34 repeat relationships: 20 still active in FY2025, 14 since wound down; 9 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

34
30

Total granted

$196k
$25k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+66%
+13%

Still filing today

62%
47%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 82% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $10k went to new ones.

50%100%’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’20’21’22’23’24’25
Arts & CultureEducationHealthEnvironmentAnimalsScience & TechOther
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

  • RS
    Roper St Francis Foundation
    4× · 2022–2025 · $25k · revenue +176%
  • LL
    LOWCOUNTRY LAND TRUST INC
    6× · 2020–2025 · $16k · revenue +804%
  • SB
    SWEET BRIAR INSTITUTE
    5× · 2020–2025 · $12k · revenue +17%

Funded once

  • SC
    SOUTH CAROLINA BATTLEGROUND PRESERVATION TRUST
    one grant, 2021 · $5k
  • Merrie-Woode Foundation Incgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $5k · revenue +156%
  • SP
    SAMARITAN'S PURSE
    one grant, 2024 · $3k · revenue 0%
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
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
2
Harvard Conservation Trust

To preserve the unique character and natural resources of harvard.

Environment
3
The American Chestnut Foundation

To return the iconic american chestnut to its native range.

Environment
4
The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel

Enhance the ability of actec members to provide the most efficient and highest quality services to their clients; develop qualified trust and estate counselors; improve and reform probate, trust and tax laws, procedures, and standards of…

Community Improvement
5
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
6
The Land Trust for Tennessee Inc

To conserve the unique character of tennessee's natural and historic landscapes and sites for future generations.

Environment
7
National Association of College and University Attorneys

To advance the practice of higher education attorneys for the benefit of the institutions they serve.

—
8
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission On Colleges Inc

The southern association of colleges and schools commission on colleges is the regional body for the accreditation of degree-granting higher education institutions in the southern states. the commission's mission is the enhancement of…

Education
9
Columbia College

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

Education
10
American Antiquarian Society

Supports and maintains a research library of american history and culture. the american antiquarian society cultivates a deeper understanding of the american past, grounded in its ever-growing collection of printed and manuscript sources.…

Education
11
The Wildlife Society

The wildlife society's mission is to inspire, empower, and enable wildlife professionals to sustain wildlife populations and habitats through science-based management and conservation.

Animals
12
Lake Champlain Land Trust Inc

The mission of the lake champlain land trust is to save the scenic beauty, natural communities, and recreational amenities of lake champlain by permanently preserving significant islands, shoreline areas, and natural communities in the…

Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Lowcountry Land Trust Inc; the most unlike its peers is Atlanta Lab rescue 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

41 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. 41 of the 75 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)
10
Early backer (in before they grew)
41/41
Grantees still filing
27/41
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

EMORY UNIVERSITY: $30,700 · OtherEMORY UNIVERSITYIndividual grant recipient: $12,500 · OtherIndividual grant recipientCOLLETON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $7,800 · OtherCOLLETON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETYCOLLEGE OF CHARLESTON: $7,600 · OtherCOLLEGE OF CHARLESTONMD ANDERSON CANCER CENTER: $5,350 · OtherSOUTH CAROLINA BATTLEGROUND PRESERVATION TRUST: $5,000 · OtherMerrie-Woode Foundation Inc: $5,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $5,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $4,000 · OtherPORTER-GAUD SCHOOL: $4,000 · OtherTHE SOCIETY OF CINCINNATI: $4,000 · Other+32 more: $20,775 · Other+32 moreCHATHAM HALL: $27,000 · EducationCHATHAM HALLSWEET BRIAR INSTITUTE: $11,500 · EducationSWEET BRIAR INSTITUTEOGLETHORPE UNIVERSITY INC: $4,850 · EducationOGLETHORPE UNIVERSITY IN…CHARLESTON DAY SCHOOLINC: $3,937 · EducationCHARLESTON DAY SCHOOLINC+4 more: $3,605 · Education+4 moreRoper St Francis Foundation: $25,000 · HealthRoper St Fran…BEYOND DEMENTIA COALITION LLC: $1,000 · Health+5 more: $1,450 · HealthLOWCOUNTRY LAND TRUST INC: $16,100 · EnvironmentLOWCOUNTR…Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust Inc: $2,000 · EnvironmentHighlands…THE LONGLEAF ALLIANCE INC: $1,500 · EnvironmentTHE LONGL…+1 more: $100 · EnvironmentTHE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR MUSEUM: $5,250 · Arts & CultureSTRATFORD HALL: $5,200 · Arts & CultureHIGHLANDS HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC: $1,500 · Arts & CultureTHE SOCIETY OF THE CINCINNATI: $500 · Arts & CultureTHE GENERALS REDOUBT: $500 · Arts & Culture+4 more: $925 · Arts & CultureFriends of Colleton County Animal Shelter: $2,350 · AnimalsCASHIERS HIGHLANDS HUMANE SOCIETY: $2,000 · AnimalsAtlanta Lab rescue Inc: $1,000 · AnimalsSAMARITAN'S PURSE: $3,000 · Religion
Other$111,725Education$50,892Health$27,450Environment$19,700Arts & Culture$13,875Animals$5,350Religion$3,000

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 budgetCHATHAM HALL: $27,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetRoper St Francis Foundation: $25,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetLOWCOUNTRY LAND TRUST INC: $16,100 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetSWEET BRIAR INSTITUTE: $11,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetTHE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR MUSEUM: $5,250 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetSTRATFORD HALL: $5,200 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetMerrie-Woode Foundation Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetOGLETHORPE UNIVERSITY INC: $4,850 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCHARLESTON DAY SCHOOLINC: $3,937 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSAMARITAN'S PURSE: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFriends of Colleton County Animal Shelter: $2,350 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetTALL TIMBERS RESEARCH INC: $2,250 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetCASHIERS HIGHLANDS HUMANE SOCIETY: $2,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetHighlands-Cashiers Land Trust Inc: $2,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetRIVERSIDE MILITARY ACADEMY INC: $1,650 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetTHE LONGLEAF ALLIANCE INC: $1,500 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetHIGHLANDS HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC: $1,500 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetYOUNG LIFE: $1,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Historic Preservation Foundation of North Carolina Inc: $1,200 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetBEYOND DEMENTIA COALITION LLC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetAtlanta Lab rescue Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetUNITED DAUGHTERS OF THE CONFEDERACY: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetForest Landowner Foundation Inc: $850 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetTHE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA FOUNDATION: $705 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE SOCIETY OF THE CINCINNATI: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE GENERALS REDOUBT: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMAYO CLINIC: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY INC: $500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetSOUTHERN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSOUTH CAROLINA POLICY COUNCIL EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $400 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetATLANTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC: $400 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL SOCIETY DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION: $375 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetNORTH GEORGIA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $300 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPACE ACADEMY INC: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Camp Cole Foundation Inc: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN FOREST FOUNDATION: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPiedmont Healthcare Foundation Inc: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetALZHEIMER'S DISEASE & RELATED DISORDERS ASSOCIATION INC: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN TRUCK HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL TRUST FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION IN THE UNITED STATES: $50 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.

  • Who funds CHATHAM HALL ↗
  • Who funds Roper St Francis Foundation ↗
  • Who funds LOWCOUNTRY LAND TRUST INC ↗
  • Who funds SWEET BRIAR INSTITUTE ↗
  • Who funds THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR MUSEUM ↗
  • Who funds STRATFORD HALL ↗
  • Who funds Merrie-Woode Foundation Inc ↗
  • Who funds OGLETHORPE UNIVERSITY INC ↗
  • Who funds CHARLESTON DAY SCHOOLINC ↗
  • Who funds SAMARITAN'S PURSE ↗
  • Who funds Friends of Colleton County Animal Shelter ↗
  • Who funds TALL TIMBERS RESEARCH INC ↗
  • Who funds CASHIERS HIGHLANDS HUMANE SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust Inc ↗
  • Who funds RIVERSIDE MILITARY ACADEMY INC ↗
  • Who funds THE LONGLEAF ALLIANCE INC ↗
  • Who funds HIGHLANDS HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC ↗
  • Who funds YOUNG LIFE ↗
  • Who funds The Historic Preservation Foundation of North Carolina Inc ↗
  • Who funds BEYOND DEMENTIA COALITION LLC ↗
  • Who funds Atlanta Lab rescue Inc ↗
  • Who funds UNITED DAUGHTERS OF THE CONFEDERACY ↗
  • Who funds Forest Landowner Foundation Inc ↗
  • Who funds THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA FOUNDATION ↗

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.

The Community Foundat…Coastal Community Fou…The Community Foundat…The Nature ConservancyThe Bell Family Found…Atlantic Services of …The Double Eagle Foun…Foundation for the Ca…Donors Trust IncThe Ayco Charitable F…The Winston-Salem Fou…Charities Aid Foundat…
The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta IncGA22.3× affinity10 shared granteesties to 10 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta Inc · Coastal Community Foundation of South Carolina Inc · The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina Inc · The Nature Conservancy · The Bell Family Foundation · Atlantic Services of Charleston Cha · The Double Eagle Foundation 4191-06-43 · Foundation for the Carolinas · Donors Trust Inc · The Ayco Charitable Foundation · The Winston-Salem Foundation · 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 Sledge Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Sledge Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 10%
  • Tall Timbers Research Inc: 10% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get 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
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 Sledge Foundation Inc?

Find your warmest path to The Sledge Foundation Inc 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 75 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 Sledge’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