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The Thomasson Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Thomasson Foundation

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.

$387k
Granted FY2025still arriving
34
Grants FY2025still arriving
13
States reached
$100k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Education$1.4MReligion$658kPhilanthropy$169kHealth$52kInternational$32kHuman Services$13kArts & Culture$6kRecreation & Sports$6kOther$0
02FY2025 · 34 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k16 grants · $42k
  • $10k–50k17 grants · $245k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $100k
$10,000
Median grant
13
States reached
$165k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CEDARVILLE UNIVERSITY$100,260
TAYLOR UNIVERSITY$30,000
THE CRU FOUNDATION$26,250
MAYO FOUNDATION FOR MEDICAL EDUCATION & RESEARCH$25,000
WHEATON COLLEGE$20,000
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY$20,000
MISSION STREAM$13,500
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA$10,000
ANDERSON UNIVERSITY$10,000
SOUTHERN METHODIST UNIVERSITY$10,000
GRACE COLLEGE$10,000
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA$10,000
JOHN BROWN UNIVERSITY$10,000
PURDUE UNIVERSITY$10,000
UNIVERSITY OF AKRON$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:

Its human-services grants (FY20–25, $17k) land where the poverty rate runs at 16%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%CITY STEP ORG INC: $750 → 17%THE JULIAN CENTER: $3k → 16%CITY STEP ORG INC: $750 → 17%THE JULIAN CENTER: $3k → 16%CITY STEP ORG INC: $750 → 17%THE JULIAN CENTER: $3k → 16%CITY STEP ORG INC: $750 → 17%THE JULIAN CENTER: $1k → 16%CITY STEP ORG INC: $750 → 17%THE JULIAN CENTER: $1k → 16%CITY STEP ORG INC: $750 → 17%EXODUS REFUGEE IMMIGRATION: $1k → 16%EXODUS REFUGEE IMMIGRATION: $1k → 16%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

AK
MN
IL
WI
MI
NY
OR
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CA
CO
VA
AR
TN
NC
SC
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.

92%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.8M · 38 repeat orgs$162k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +27% since the first grant, against +20% for those funded once.

38 repeat relationships: 25 still active in FY2025, 13 since wound down; 6 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

38
13

Total granted

$1.8M
$106k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+27%
+20%

Still filing today

42%
77%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 83% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $56k 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
EducationReligionHuman ServicesRecreation & SportsArts & CultureInternationalOther
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

  • CU
    Cedarville University
    6× · 2020–2025 · $349k · revenue +51%
  • LU
    LIBERTY UNIVERSITY INC
    5× · 2020–2024 · $79k · revenue +44%
  • GS
    Grace Schools
    5× · 2020–2025 · $45k · revenue +102%

Funded once

  • Harding University Inc
    one grant, 2024 · $10k · revenue +16%
  • UO
    University of Michigangraduated
    one grant, 2024 · $10k · revenue +30%
  • JU
    JUDSON UNIVERSITY A BAPTIST INSTITUTIONgraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $9k · revenue +27%
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
Regent University

Regent University serves as a center of Christian thought and action to provide excellent education through a Biblical perspective and global context equipping Christian leaders to change the world.

—
2
Reformed University Inc

Provide education in theology, divinity, religious education, ministerial training, business and organizational leadership.

Education
3
Union University

Union university provides christ-centered education that promotes excellence and character development in service to church and society.

Education
4
Roberts Wesleyan University

As new york's leading university for character education, rwu is a community of learners committed to historic christianity which seeks to prepare thoughtful, spiritually mature, service-oriented people who will transform society.

Education
5
Olivet University

Providing guality Christian education to the network generation

Education
6
Franklin University

Since 1902, Franklin University has been a pioneer in meeting the needs of adult students who have the ambition to continue their education in combination with other responsibilities, receiving its status as a tax exempt organization in…

—
7
Erskine College and Theological Seminary

Erskine College exists to glorify God as a Christian academic community where students are equipped to flourish as whole persons for lives of service through the pursuit of undergraduate liberal arts and graduate theological education.

Education
8
Benedictine University

Benedictine University is an inclusive academic community dedicated to teaching and learning, scholarship and service, truth and justice, as inspired by the Catholic intellectual tradition, the social teaching of the Church, and the…

Education
9
Greensboro College

Greensboro College provides a liberal arts education grounded in the traditions of the United Methodist Church and fosters the intellectual, social, and spiritual development of all students while supporting their individual needs.

Education
10
Asbury Theological Seminary

Asbury Theological Seminary is a community called to prepare theologically educated, sanctified, Spirit-filled men and women to evangelize and to spread scriptural holiness throughout the world through the love of Jesus Christ, in the…

Education
11
Excelsior University

Excelsior University provides educational opportunity to adult learners with an emphasis on those historically underrepresented in higher education. The University meets students where they are - academically and geographically, offering…

Education
12
Spartanburg Methodist College

SMC Delivers an exceptional education that fuses the empowerment of the liberal arts with crucial career skills. Our mission is to equip our students with the knowledge, skills, virtues, and mindset needed to thrive personally, create…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Wheaton College; the most unlike its peers is Citystep Org 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

32 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. 32 of the 60 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)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
30/32
Grantees still filing
23/32
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Cedarville University: $348,519 · EducationCedarville UniversityThe Moody Bible Institute of Chicago: $130,000 · EducationThe Moody Bible Institute of ChicagoTaylor University: $129,000 · EducationTaylor UniversityWheaton College: $124,000 · EducationWheaton CollegeLIBERTY UNIVERSITY INC: $79,000 · EducationLIBERTY UNIVERSITY INCGrace Schools: $45,000 · Education+15 more: $287,000 · Education+15 moreCOLLEGE PARK CHURCH INC: $303,000 · OtherCOLLEGE PARK CHURCH INCTHE CRU FOUNDATION: $159,250 · OtherTHE CRU FOUNDATIONUNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA: $76,338 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDAUNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA: $45,000 · OtherBOB JONES UNIVERSITY: $43,000 · OtherMAYO FOUNDATION FOR MEDICAL EDUCATION & RESEARCH: $42,000 · OtherEVANGELICAL ALLIANCE MISSION: $40,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $37,000 · OtherWORLD GOSPEL MISSION: $36,000 · Other+21 more: $291,000 · Other+21 moreGLOBAL FELLOWSHIP INC: $76,000 · ReligionResourcing Christian Education International: $36,000 · ReligionInterVarsity Christian FellowshipUSA: $10,500 · ReligionTHE JULIAN CENTER INC: $10,000 · Human ServicesCITYSTEP ORG INC: $4,500 · Human ServicesExodus Refugee Immigration Inc: $2,500 · Human ServicesFreedom 4 24: $11,500 · InternationalCAMPTOWN INC: $6,000 · Recreation & SportsMetropolitan Indianapolis Public Media Inc: $6,000 · Arts & Culture
Education$1,142,519Other$1,072,588Religion$122,500Human Services$17,000International$11,500Recreation & Sports$6,000Arts & Culture$6,000

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 budgetCedarville University: $348,519 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetThe Moody Bible Institute of Chicago: $130,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetTaylor University: $129,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetWheaton College: $124,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetLIBERTY UNIVERSITY INC: $79,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetGrace Schools: $45,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetANDERSON UNIVERSITY: $38,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetResourcing Christian Education International: $36,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetPALM BEACH ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY INC: $34,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCornerstone University: $33,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetWESTMONT COLLEGE: $33,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetButler University: $33,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetGreenville College: $27,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetGEORGE FOX UNIVERSITY: $24,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetFreedom 4 24: $11,500 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetInterVarsity Christian FellowshipUSA: $10,500 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetTHE JULIAN CENTER INC: $10,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetSouthern Methodist University: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHarding University Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUniversity of Michigan: $10,000 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetJUDSON UNIVERSITY A BAPTIST INSTITUTION: $9,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetRIDER UNIVERSITY: $9,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBRYAN COLLEGE: $9,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBERRY COLLEGE INC: $7,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLANCASTER BIBLE COLLEGE: $7,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetToccoa Falls College Inc: $7,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCAMPTOWN INC: $6,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetMetropolitan Indianapolis Public Media Inc: $6,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetCITYSTEP ORG INC: $4,500 over 6y, 0.6% of budgetExodus Refugee Immigration Inc: $2,500 over 2y, 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 Cedarville University ↗
  • Who funds The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago ↗
  • Who funds Taylor University ↗
  • Who funds Wheaton College ↗
  • Who funds LIBERTY UNIVERSITY INC ↗
  • Who funds GLOBAL FELLOWSHIP INC ↗
  • Who funds Grace Schools ↗
  • Who funds ANDERSON UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds Resourcing Christian Education International ↗
  • Who funds PALM BEACH ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY INC ↗
  • Who funds Cornerstone University ↗
  • Who funds WESTMONT COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds Butler University ↗
  • Who funds Greenville College ↗
  • Who funds GEORGE FOX UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds Freedom 4 24 ↗
  • Who funds InterVarsity Christian FellowshipUSA ↗
  • Who funds THE JULIAN CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds Southern Methodist University ↗
  • Who funds Harding University Inc ↗
  • Who funds University of Michigan ↗

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.

Lilly Endowment IncRenaissance Charitabl…Christian Community F…Raymond James Charita…Natl Christian Charit…Central Indiana Commu…The Palmer Family Fou…The Blackbaud Giving …Hamilton County Commu…Nicholas H Noyes Jr M…American Endowment Fo…United Way of Central…
Lilly Endowment IncIN20× affinity8 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Lilly Endowment Inc · Renaissance Charitable Foundation Inc · Christian Community Foundation Inc · Raymond James Charitable Endowment Fund · Natl Christian Charitable Fdn Inc · Central Indiana Community Foundation Inc · The Palmer Family Foundation · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · Hamilton County Community Foundation Inc · Nicholas H Noyes Jr Memorial Foundation · American Endowment Foundation · United Way of Central Indiana 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 Thomasson Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Thomasson 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%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 1%
  • George Fox University: 2% of income from government
  • Rider University: 1% of income from government
  • Palm Beach Atlantic University Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
9report 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.

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 60 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

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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