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The Swearingen Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Swearingen Foundation

Its FY2021 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$527k
Granted FY2021
36
Grants FY2021
12
States reached
$50k
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, FY2018 to 2021.

Education$302kHealth$204kReligion$123kArts & Culture$93kPublic Benefit$64kHousing & Shelter$43kHuman Services$32kRecreation & Sports$30kOther$0
02FY2021 · 36 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2021

  • Under $10k7 grants · $31k
  • $10k–50k27 grants · $397k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $100k
$10,000
Median grant
12
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
THE HOOVER INSTITUTION$50,000
DUKE UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF NEUROLOGY$50,000
MCLAREN N MICHIGAN HOSPITAL FOUNDATION$30,000
HERITAGE FOUNDATION$30,000
ACKLAND MUSEUM - CHAPEL HILL$30,000
INDIAN RIVER AREA LIBRARY$30,000
INDIAN RIVER UNITED METHODIST CHURCH$20,000
SECU FAMILY HOUSE OF CHAPEL HILL$20,000
CHRIST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH - VENICE FL$20,000
RESCUE MISSIONS MINISTRIES INC$16,840
VT BAJA RACE TEAM$15,000
VIRGINIA TECH - DEPARTMENT OF FOOD & SCIENCE ENGINEERING$15,000
AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY$10,000
ST JUDE'S CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL$10,000
SOUTH CAROLINA SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF AND THE BLIND FOUNDATION INC$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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY18–21) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 84% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%THE HOOVER INSTITUTION: $50k → 8%NYU TISCH PERFORMANCE STUDIES: $10k → 17%SOUTH CAROLINA SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF AND THE BLIND FOUNDATION INC: $10k → 15%UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING: $10k → 16%HERITAGE FOUNDATION: $30k → 14%HABITAT FOR HUMANITY - VENICE FL: $10k → 9%SE GUIDE DOGS FOR THE BLIND: $10k → 10%MCLAREN N MICHIGAN HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $30k → 9%INDIAN RIVER AREA LIBRARY: $30k → 12%ST JUDE'S CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL: $10k → 17%RESCUE MISSIONS MINISTRIES INC: $17k → 11%ACKLAND MUSEUM - CHAPEL HILL: $30k → 13%SECU FAMILY HOUSE OF CHAPEL HILL: $20k → 15%SAMARATINS PURSE: $10k → 21%DEPAUW UNIVERSITY: $10k → 10%MEDIA RESEARCH CENTER FOUNDATION: $5k → 6%VIRGINIA TECH - DEPARTMENT OF FOOD & SCIENCE ENGINEERING: $15k → 21%THE HOOVER INSTITUTION: $10k → 8%SOUTH CAROLINA SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF AND THE BLIND FOUNDATION INC: $5k → 15%UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING: $10k → 16%HERITAGE FOUNDATION: $5k → 14%HABITAT FOR HUMANITY - VENICE FL: $5k → 9%SE GUIDE DOGS FOR THE BLIND: $5k → 10%MCLAREN N MICHIGAN HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $5k → 9%INDIAN RIVER UNITED METHODIST CHURCH: $20k → 12%VT BAJA RACE TEAM: $15k → 21%THE HOOVER INSTITUTION: $10k → 8%FOILS - FRIENDS OF INLAND LAKES SCHOOLS: $10k → 12%THE HOOVER INSTITUTION: $10k → 8%INLAND LAKES EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION: $10k → 12%THE FISHER CENTER FOR ALZHEIMER'S RESEARCH: $10k → 17%CHRIST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH - VENICE FL: $20k → 9%AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY: $10k → 10%INDIAN RIVER AREA LIBRARY: $9k → 12%THE FISHER CENTER FOR ALZHEIMER'S RESEARCH: $10k → 17%CHRIST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH - VENICE FL: $9k → 9%INDIAN RIVER UNITED METHODIST CHURCH: $9k → 12%CHRIST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH - VENICE FL: $9k → 9%INDIAN RIVER UNITED METHODIST CHURCH: $9k → 12%TIDWELL FOUNDATION INC: $10k → 9%INDIAN RIVER UNITED METHODIST CHURCH: $9k → 12%JOHN LOCKE FOUNDATION: $7k → 8%UNC LINDBERGER COMPREHENSIVE CANCER CENTER: $10k → 13%CHRIST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH - VENICE FL: $7k → 9%INDIAN RIVER AREA LIBRARY: $9k → 12%SARASOTA MEMORIAL HOSPITAL: $10k → 9%THE HOSPITAL VOLUNTEERS OF VENICE: $10k → 9%MEALS ON WHEELS: $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.

Which US states its grants reach

IL
MI
NY
MA
IN
OH
CA
VA
MD
TN
NC
SC
DC
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.

86%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$770k · 41 repeat orgs$122k to everyone else

41 repeat relationships: 28 still active in FY2021, 13 since wound down; 7 grantees were first funded in FY2021 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

41
2

Total granted

$770k
$2k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+46%
+68%

Still filing today

41%
50%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2021, 75% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $120k went to new ones.

50%100%’18’19’20’21
RenewedFirst-time

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

’18’19’20’21
HealthEducationArts & CulturePublic BenefitPhilanthropyYouth 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

  • THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION
    4× · 2018–2021 · $45k · revenue +65%
  • IL
    INLAND LAKES EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION
    4× · 2018–2021 · $25k · revenue +113%
  • DePauw University
    4× · 2018–2021 · $21k · revenue +31%

Funded once

  • MG
    MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL
    one grant, 2018 · $2k
  • CHATHAM OUTREACH ALLIANCE INCgraduated
    one grant, 2018 · $500 · revenue +68%
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
Lehigh University

The university's goal in the coming decade is to advance learning through the integration of teaching, research and service to others. the core of this goal is to prepare graduates to engage with the world and lead lives of meaning. to do…

Education
2
Dickinson College

Dickinson college provides a useful, innovative and interdisciplinary education in the liberal arts and sciences to prepare students to lead rich and fulfilling lives of engaged global citizenship

Education
3
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
4
Duke University

To provide a superior liberal education, to prepare future members of learned professions, to advance the frontiers of knowledge, and to help those who suffer, cure disease, and promote health

Education
5
University of Southern California

The central mission of the university of southern california is the development of human beings and society as a whole through the cultivation and enrichment of the human mind and spirit. the principal means by which our mission is…

Education
6
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
7
Lincoln Memorial University

Lincoln memorial university is a values-based learning community dedicated to providing educational experiences in the liberal arts and professional studies.

Education
8
Endicott College

Endicott college offers students a vibrant academic environment that remains true to its founding principle of integrating professional and liberal arts with experiential learning. for more information see schedule o.

Education
9
Institute for Advanced Study - Louis Bamberger & Mrs Felix Fuld Foundation

The institute for advanced study (the institute) is one of the world's leading centers for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. see schedule o.

Science & Tech
10
Albright College

As a diverse community of learners, we cultivate integrity, curiosity, connection and resilience.

Education
11
Trustees of Dartmouth College

Dartmouth College educates the most promising students and prepares them for a lifetime of learning and of responsible leadership, through a faculty dedicated to teaching and the creation of knowledge.

Education
12
Manhattanville University

To educate students to be ethical and socially responsible leaders in a global community.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Heritage Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Samaritan's Purse. 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

21 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. 21 of the 52 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)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
21/21
Grantees still filing
17/21
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

INDIAN RIVER AREA LIBRARY: $53,000 · OtherINDIAN RIVER AREA LIBRARYDUKE UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF NEUROLOGY: $50,000 · OtherDUKE UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF NEUROLOGYINDIAN RIVER UNITED METHODIST CHURCH: $47,000 · OtherINDIAN RIVER UNITED METHODIST CHURCHMCLAREN N MICHIGAN HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $45,000 · OtherMCLAREN N MICHIGAN HOSPITAL FOUNDATIONCHRIST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH - VENICE FL: $45,000 · OtherCHRIST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH - VENICE FLACKLAND MUSEUM - CHAPEL HILL: $33,000 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING: $30,000 · OtherVT BAJA RACE TEAM: $30,000 · OtherSECU FAMILY HOUSE OF CHAPEL HILL: $27,500 · OtherFOILS - FRIENDS OF INLAND LAKES SCHOOLS: $25,000 · OtherHABITAT FOR HUMANITY - VENICE FL: $25,000 · OtherINLAND LAKES EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION: $25,000 · OtherTHE FISHER CENTER FOR ALZHEIMER'S RESEARCH: $25,000 · OtherSE GUIDE DOGS FOR THE BLIND: $25,000 · OtherSOUTH CAROLINA SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF AND THE BLIND FOUNDATION INC: $25,000 · Other+22 more: $207,090 · Other+22 moreTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $80,000 · EducationTHE BOARD OF T…DePauw University: $21,000 · EducationDePauw Univers…Lake Forest College: $11,500 · EducationLake Forest Co…DENISON UNIVERSITY: $7,500 · EducationDENISON UNIVER…+1 more: $3,000 · EducationTHE HERITAGE FOUNDATION: $45,000 · Public BenefitAMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY INC: $25,000 · HealthST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $15,000 · HealthNATIONAL MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SOCIETY: $2,250 · HealthNORTH CAROLINA MUSEUM OF ART FOUNDATION: $14,000 · Arts & CultureNORTH CAROLINA OPERA: $7,000 · Arts & CultureNORTH CAROLINA SYMPHONY FOUNDATION: $5,000 · Arts & CultureSAMARITAN'S PURSE: $15,000 · ReligionCHATHAM EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $3,000 · PhilanthropyTHE JESSE HELMS CENTER FOUNDATION: $3,000 · Youth Development
Other$717,590Education$123,000Public Benefit$45,000Health$42,250Arts & Culture$26,000Religion$15,000Philanthropy$3,000Youth Development$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 budgetTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $80,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetTHE HERITAGE FOUNDATION: $45,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY INC: $25,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetINLAND LAKES EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 4y, 2.0% of budgetDePauw University: $21,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetRESCUE MISSIONS MINISTRIES INC: $16,840 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE JOHN LOCKE FOUNDATION INC: $15,500 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $15,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSAMARITAN'S PURSE: $15,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetNORTH CAROLINA MUSEUM OF ART FOUNDATION: $14,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetLake Forest College: $11,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetDENISON UNIVERSITY: $7,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetNORTH CAROLINA OPERA: $7,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetNORTH CAROLINA SYMPHONY FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetFISHER HOUSE FOUNDATION INC: $4,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCHATHAM EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $3,000 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetRONALD MCDONALD HOUSE OF CHAPEL HILL INC: $3,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetHILLSDALE COLLEGE: $3,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE JESSE HELMS CENTER FOUNDATION: $3,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetNATIONAL MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SOCIETY: $2,250 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 THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY INC ↗
  • Who funds INLAND LAKES EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds DePauw University ↗
  • Who funds RESCUE MISSIONS MINISTRIES INC ↗
  • Who funds THE JOHN LOCKE FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds ST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC ↗
  • Who funds SAMARITAN'S PURSE ↗
  • Who funds NORTH CAROLINA MUSEUM OF ART FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Lake Forest College ↗
  • Who funds DENISON UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds NORTH CAROLINA OPERA ↗
  • Who funds NORTH CAROLINA SYMPHONY 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.

Duke Energy FoundationTriangle Community Fo…Natl Christian Charit…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Duke Energy FoundationNC15.8× affinity6 shared granteesties to 5 of 5Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Duke Energy Foundation · Triangle Community Foundation Inc · Natl Christian Charitable Fdn 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 Swearingen Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Swearingen Foundation. 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%6%13%19%25%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    2report 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, 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 52 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 2021, released 2021. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Swearingen’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