· Private foundation
The Thomas Foundation
Its FY2026 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.
What it funded, over time
Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2022 to 2025.
Where the money goes
Grants by size, and the largest recipients.
By grant size · FY2026
- Under $10k3 grants · $7k
- $10k–50k8 grants · $114k
- $50k–250k1 grant · $95k
| Recipient | Amount |
|---|---|
| BREAKTHROUGH T1D | $95,000 |
| WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY | $31,500 |
| BOLDLI | $15,000 |
| YAD EZRA | $12,000 |
| FORGOTTEN HARVEST | $12,000 |
| GLEANERS COMMUNITY FOOD BANK | $12,000 |
| HIGHER HOPES | $11,000 |
| Individual grant recipient | $10,000 |
| UNITED NEGRO COLLEGE FUND | $10,000 |
| ST VINCENT & SARAH FISHER CENTER | $3,000 |
| SPECIAL OLYMPICS MICHIGAN | $3,000 |
| MICHIGAN AVIATION EDUCATIN FOUNDATI | $1,000 |
Does the money reach high-need areas?
Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.
Its human-services grants (FY22–26, $54k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 28% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.
How this is measured
How this is measured
Who it funds again
Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.
15 repeat relationships: 12 still active in FY2026, 3 since wound down.
How the two cohorts compare
Organizations
Total granted
Still filing today
New vs renewed · share of each year
In FY2026, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.
Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant
How this is measured
Backed again, and grew
FORGOTTEN HARVEST INC5× · 2022–2026 · $50k · revenue +6%- YEYAD EZRA5× · 2022–2026 · $46k · revenue +19%
- GCGLEANERS COMMUNITY FOOD BANK OF SOUTHEASTERN MICHIGAN5× · 2022–2026 · $42k · revenue +3%
Funded once
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.
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.
The organization was founded by a group of concerned citizens, working in cooperation with the detroit city council, to shape food policy and to work for a more localized, more just, and environmentally friendly food system. the…
Detroit food academy partners with local high schools, educators, and food entrepreneurs to facilitate a year-round program. as students develop food-based solutions in their communities, they grow as holistic leaders who are healthy,…
The Food Bank of Eastern Michigan's mission is to be the Food Source for people in need. Partnering with organizations to feed the hungry, we advocate and build a community solution to a community problem. By leveraging an abundance of…
The mission of metro food rescue is simple; waste less, feed more. we rescue food that would otherwise be discarded and deliver it to a network of food partners. thereby, helping to feed individuals and families in need.
Ypsilanti Meals on Wheels provides nutritious meals, social contact and other services to the homebound elderly, ill and disabled in eastern Washtenaw County, to enable them to enjoy healthier, safer, and more independent lives.
Eastern market is organized to combat community deterioration and to lessen the burdens of government in managing its public market that has served detroit since 1891. eastern market operates the market under an agreement with the city of…
The mission of desc is to cultivate local workforce talent to align with the needs of the business community through partnerships with key workforce agencies, faith- and community- based organizations, education and training institutions,…
Alleviate and prevent hunger amongst Michigan residents.
We gather and distribute food to relieve hunger and increase food security in west michigan and the upper peninsula. contributions and net assets consist primarily of donated food for distribution.
Feeding the families in Metro Detroit
How this is measured
8 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.
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 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 8 of the 15 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.
Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee
Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing
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.
How much its grantees rely on government
Each dot is one organization The Thomas Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Thomas Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.
How this is measured
Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus
How do I get to The Thomas Foundation?
Find your warmest path to The Thomas 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.
Play a game based on Thomas’ filings →