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THE SMITH-DENISON FOUNDATION co S WELLS SMITH at a glance

· Private foundation

THE SMITH-DENISON FOUNDATION co S WELLS SMITH

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$75k
Granted FY2025still arriving
9
Grants FY2025still arriving
3
States reached
$10k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0197% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Education$131kFood & Nutrition$101kEnvironment$96kHealth$77kArts & Culture$69kYouth Development$27kHuman Services$25kPhilanthropy$15kOther$0
02FY2025 · 9 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k3 grants · $15k
  • $10k–50k6 grants · $60k
$10,000
Median grant
3
States reached
$685k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
UPPER SACO VALLEY LAND TRUST$10,000
VISITING NURSE AND HOSPICE FOR VTNH$10,000
GIBSON CENTER FOR SENIOR SERVICES$10,000
SQUAM LAKES NATURAL SCIENCE CENTER$10,000
909 WBUR$10,000
NEW HAMPSHIRE FOOD BANK$10,000
KINGSWOOD YOUTH CENTER$5,000
SAFELINE INC$5,000
NEW HAMPSHIRE BOAT MUSEUM$5,000
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, $121k) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 71% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%NEW HAMPSHIRE FOOD BANK: $10k → 7%NH Food Bank: $10k → 7%New Hampshire Food Bank: $5k → 7%New Hampshire Food Bank: $5k → 7%NEW HAMPSHIRE FOOD BANK: $5k → 7%The Gibson Center for Senior Services Inc: $10k → 9%The Gibson Center for Senior Services Inc: $10k → 9%The Gibson Center for Senior Services Inc: $10k → 9%The Gibson Center for Senior Services Inc: $10k → 9%GIBSON CENTER FOR SENIOR SERVICES: $10k → 9%GIBSON CENTER FOR SENIOR SERVICES: $10k → 9%The Gibson Center for Senior Services Inc: $10k → 9%The Gibson Center for Senior Services Inc: $8k → 9%The Gibson Center for Senior Services Inc: $8k → 9%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.

85%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$487k · 13 repeat orgs$88k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +15% since the first grant, against 0% for those funded once.

13 repeat relationships: 7 still active in FY2025, 6 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

13
11

Total granted

$487k
$68k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+15%
0%

Still filing today

85%
45%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 73% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $20k 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
EducationArts & CultureHuman ServicesHealthFood & NutritionYouth 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

  • US
    UPPER SACO VALLEY LAND TRUST
    8× · 2017–2025 · $86k · revenue +73%
  • GC
    GIBSON CENTER FOR SENIOR SERVICES INC
    9× · 2017–2025 · $86k · revenue +46%
  • SI
    SAFELINE INC
    9× · 2017–2025 · $45k · revenue +4%

Funded once

  • Care Dimensions Inc
    one grant, 2024 · $20k · revenue 0%
  • DM
    DeCordova Museum
    one grant, 2021 · $10k
  • ST
    Support the Soupman Corp
    one grant, 2020 · $10k · 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
Vermont Public Co

Vermont public informs, educates, and entertains through public service journalism and enlightening content rooted in vermont. our storytelling enriches lives and fosters community connection and understanding.

Arts & Culture
2
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
3
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
4
Natural History Institute

Natural History Institute is organized to provide leadership and resources for a revitalized practice of natural history that integrates art, science, and humanities to promote the health and well-being of humans and the rest of the…

Arts & Culture
5
Saratoga Care Inc

To serve the people of the Saratoga region by providing them access to excellence in healthcare in a supportive and caring environment.

Health
6
United Children's Services of Bennington County Inc

Children's services

Human Services
7
Native Plant Trust Inc

The organization's mission is to conserve and promote new england's native plants to ensure healthy, biologically diverse landscapes.

Environment
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
Shaker Bridge Theatre Inc

To foster and support the performing arts in the upper valley and lakes region of new hampshire

Arts & Culture
10
Camp Casco Inc

Camp Casco builds community for families affected by childhood cancer in New England through free camps and social opportunities.

Recreation & Sports
11
Northeast Human Resources Association Inc

The mission of the northeast human resources association is to lead, advance and influence the management of human resources and its impact on organizational success.

—
12
Concord Hospital - Laconia

CH-Laconia is a charitable organization which exists to meet the health needs of individuals within the communities it serves.

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Squam Lakes Natural Science Center; the most unlike its peers is Partners in Health a Nonprofit Corporation. 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

19 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. 19 of the 26 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)
3
Early backer (in before they grew)
17/19
Grantees still filing
11/19
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

VISITING NURSE AND HOSPICE FOR VTNH: $55,500 · OtherVISITING NURSE AND HOSPICE FOR VTNHTRUSTEES OF BOSTON UNIVERSITY: $41,000 · OtherTRUSTEES OF BOSTON UNIVERSITYCare Dimensions Inc: $20,000 · OtherCare Dimensions IncWOLFEBORO ROTARY CLUB CHARITIES INC: $15,000 · OtherWOLFEBORO ROTARY CLUB CHARITIES INCDeCordova Museum: $10,000 · Other909 WBUR: $10,000 · OtherSupport the Soupman Corp: $10,000 · OtherSQUAM LAKES NATURAL SCIENCE CENTER: $10,000 · Other+6 more: $26,000 · Other+6 moreGIBSON CENTER FOR SENIOR SERVICES INC: $85,500 · Human ServicesGIBSON CENTER FOR SENIO…New Hampshire Catholic Charities: $35,000 · Human ServicesNew Hampshire Catholic …UPPER SACO VALLEY LAND TRUST: $86,000 · Food & NutritionUPPER SACO VALLE…SAFELINE INC: $45,000 · EducationSAFELINE INCTHE NEW HAMPTON SCHOOL: $40,000 · EducationTHE NEW HAMPTON …+1 more: $1,000 · EducationDECORDOVA AND DANA MUSEUM & PARK: $31,000 · Arts & CultureDECORDOVA…NEW HAMPSHIRE BOAT MUSEUM: $10,000 · Arts & CultureNEW HAMPS…NORTHERN STAGE COMPANY: $6,000 · Arts & CultureNORTHERN …KINGSWOOD YOUTH CENTER INC: $27,000 · Youth DevelopmentPARTNERS IN HEALTH A NONPROFIT CORPORATION: $10,000 · HealthTURNINGPOINT BREAST CANCER REHABILITATION INC: $1,000 · Health
Other$197,500Human Services$120,500Food & Nutrition$86,000Education$86,000Arts & Culture$47,000Youth Development$27,000Health$11,000

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 budgetUPPER SACO VALLEY LAND TRUST: $86,000 over 8y, 2.7% of budgetGIBSON CENTER FOR SENIOR SERVICES INC: $85,500 over 9y, 1.2% of budgetSAFELINE INC: $45,000 over 9y, 1.6% of budgetTRUSTEES OF BOSTON UNIVERSITY: $41,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetTHE NEW HAMPTON SCHOOL: $40,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetNew Hampshire Catholic Charities: $35,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetDECORDOVA AND DANA MUSEUM & PARK: $31,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetKINGSWOOD YOUTH CENTER INC: $27,000 over 5y, 1.9% of budgetCare Dimensions Inc: $20,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSupport the Soupman Corp: $10,000 over 1y, 2.0% of budgetPARTNERS IN HEALTH A NONPROFIT CORPORATION: $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetNEW HAMPSHIRE BOAT MUSEUM: $10,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetNORTHERN STAGE COMPANY: $6,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetPROSPECT SIERRA SCHOOL: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCombined Arms: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetVermont Public Radio: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTURNINGPOINT BREAST CANCER REHABILITATION INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% 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.

New Hampshire Charita…Fidelity FoundationGe Aerospace Foundati…Vanguard Charitable E…The Blackbaud Giving …National Philanthropi…American Endowment Fo…Morgan Stanley Global…Fidelity Investments …The Bank of America C…Donor Advised Charita…American Online Givin…
New Hampshire Charitable FoundationNH21× affinity8 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: New Hampshire Charitable Foundation · Fidelity Foundation · Ge Aerospace Foundation · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · National Philanthropic Trust · American Endowment Foundation · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · American Online Giving Foundation 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 SMITH-DENISON FOUNDATION co S WELLS SMITH funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from THE SMITH-DENISON FOUNDATION co S WELLS SMITH. 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%19%38%56%75%share of the org’s income from government →median 12%
  • Safeline Inc: 64% of income from government
  • Care Dimensions Inc: 14% of income from government
  • Trustees of Boston University: 12% of income from government
  • Northern Stage Company: 5% of income from government
  • Partners in Health a Nonprofit Corporation: 0% of 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)
1rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–75%
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 SMITH-DENISON FOUNDATION co S WELLS SMITH?

Find your warmest path to THE SMITH-DENISON FOUNDATION co S WELLS SMITH 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 26 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 SMITH-DENISON FOUNDATION co S WELLS SMITH’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