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Thomas R Brown Family Private Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Thomas R Brown Family Private Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$2.8M
Granted FY2024still arriving
16
Grants FY2024still arriving
4
States reached
$2.1M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0199% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Philanthropy$12MEducation$5.4MPublic Benefit$363kCommunity Improvement$315kArts & Culture$105kHealth$75kRecreation & Sports$60kHuman Services$55kOther$0
02FY2024 · 16 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k2 grants · $10k
  • $10k–50k9 grants · $158k
  • $50k–250k4 grants · $455k
  • $250k+1 grant · $2.1M
$25,000
Median grant
4
States reached
$46M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA FOUNDATION$2,144,598
CENTER FOR THE FUTURE OF ARIZONA$150,000
ARIZONA TOWN HALL$150,000
UNITE AMERICA INSTITUTE$100,000
EDUCATIONAL ENRICHMENT FOUNDATION$55,000
LITERACY CONNECTS$25,000
SWEDISH MEDICAL CENTER FOUNDATION$25,000
COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF SOUTHERN AZ$25,000
PIMA JTED FOUNDATION$22,500
SUNNYSIDE FOUNDATION$20,000
SCHOLARSHIPS A-Z$10,000
ONE WEST EDUCATION & RESEARCH FOUNDATION$10,000
HARRIS FAMILY FOUNDATION$10,000
THE CLEARITY FOUNDATION$10,000
JUNIOR LEAGUE OF TUCSON$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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 99% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%CENTER FOR THE FUTURE OF ARIZONA: $155k → 11%HARRIS FAMILY FOUNDATION: $20k → 15%AMERIND FOUNDATION INC: $10k → 18%DANA FARBER CANCER INSTITUTE: $10k → 7%THE CLEARITY FOUNDATION: $10k → 11%WEST POINT ASSOCIATION OF GRADUATES: $10k → 14%UNITE AMERICA INSTITUTE: $100k → 12%FORT BRANCH ALUMNI ASSOCIATION: $50k → 10%PURDUE RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $10k → 19%SWEDISH MEDICAL CENTER FOUNDATION: $25k → 9%CENTER FOR THE FUTURE OF ARIZONA: $150k → 11%HARRIS FAMILY FOUNDATION: $10k → 15%ONE WEST EDUCATION & RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $10k → 10%UNITE AMERICA INSTITUTE: $100k → 12%FORT BRANCH ALUMNI ASSOCIATION: $10k → 10%SWEDISH MEDICAL CENTER FOUNDATION: $10k → 9%HARRIS FAMILY FOUNDATION: $10k → 15%SWEDISH MEDICAL CENTER FOUNDATION: $10k → 9%UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA FOUNDATION: $2.1M → 15%UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA FOUNDATION: $620k → 15%UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA FOUNDATION: $20k → 15%UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA FOUNDATION: $15k → 15%PIMA JTED FOUNDATION: $2.0M → 15%UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA FOUNDATION: $10k → 15%PIMA JTED FOUNDATION: $250k → 15%PIMA JTED FOUNDATION: $23k → 15%SCHOLARSHIPS A-Z: $10k → 15%LA FRONTERA: $10k → 15%SCHOLARSHIPS A-Z: $10k → 15%COMMUNITY FOUNDATION FOR SOUTHERN AZ: $300k → 15%SALPOINTE CATHOLIC EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $100k → 15%CATALINA COUNCIL BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA: $10k → 15%SALPOINTE CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL: $10k → 15%SALPOINTE CATHOLIC EDUCATION FOUNDA: $10k → 15%TANQUE VERDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PTG: $10k → 15%TANQUE VERDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PTG: $10k → 15%TVES PARENT-TEACHER GROUP: $10k → 15%TANQUE VERDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: $10k → 15%LITERACY CONNECTS: $25k → 15%LITERACY CONNECTS: $25k → 15%COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF SOUTHERN AZ: $675k → 15%COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF SOUTHERN AZ: $300k → 15%COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF SOUTHERN AZ: $100k → 15%EDUCATIONAL ENRICHMENT FOUNDATION: $55k → 15%COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF SOUTHERN AZ: $25k → 15%SUNNYSIDE FOUNDATION: $20k → 15%TUCSON ARIZONA BOYS CHORUS: $50k → 15%THE ASSISTANCE LEAGUE: $50k → 15%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

WA
IL
NY
MA
IN
CA
CO
AZ
DC
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.

96%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$17M · 18 repeat orgs$815k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +21% since the first grant, against +16% for those funded once.

18 repeat relationships: 9 still active in FY2024, 9 since wound down; 7 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

18
23

Total granted

$17M
$560k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+21%
+16%

Still filing today

78%
48%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 91% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $255k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
EducationArts & CultureHealthPublic BenefitCommunity ImprovementPhilanthropyOther
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

  • University of Arizona Foundation
    6× · 2017–2024 · $2.8M · revenue +109%
  • PJ
    PIMA JTED FOUNDATION
    3× · 2022–2024 · $2.2M · revenue +59% · 36% of their budget
  • UA
    UNITE AMERICA INSTITUTE INC
    2× · 2022–2024 · $200k · revenue +150%

Funded once

  • CF
    COMMUNITY FOUNDATION FOR SOUTHERN AZ
    one grant, 2019 · $300k
  • TA
    TUCSON ARIZONA BOYS CHORUS
    one grant, 2022 · $50k · revenue -3%
  • TA
    THE ASSISTANCE LEAGUE
    one grant, 2021 · $50k
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
Arizona Community Foundation

To lead, serve and collaborate to mobilize enduring philanthropy for a better arizona.

Philanthropy
2
Science Foundation Arizona

Science foundation arizona's mission is to diversify arizona's economy by investing in scientific and engineering research linked to industry needs and investing in education to create a work force with 21st centrury skills.

Philanthropy
3
Arizona Educational Foundation Inc

To celebrate excellence and cultivate opportunity in pk-12th grade arizona public education.

—
4
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
5
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research

See schedule ouniversity corporation for atmospheric research (ucar), on behalf of, and in cooperation with its member university members, is engaged in the management of long-term atmospheric and related research and educational…

Science & Tech
6
Arizona Aerospace Foundation

The foundation's mission is to create unlimited horizons in aerospace education through the preservation and presentation of the history of flight. both the pima air & space museum and the titan missile museum have strong commitments to…

Arts & Culture
7
Education Forward Arizona

To advocate for and act on education improvements that advance the quality of life for all arizonans.

—
8
Arizona Cpa Foundation for Education and Innovation

The arizona cpa foundation for education and innovationin coordination with the arizona society of cpas supports programs and initiatives in education and practice which enhance excellence and innovation in the profession of accountancy.

Philanthropy
9
Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona

The Arts Foundation mission is to advance artistic expression, civic participation, and equitable economic growth of our diverse community by supporting, promoting, and advocating for arts and culture in our region.

Arts & Culture
10
Augustana College

Rooted in the liberal arts & sciences & lutheran expression of the christian faith, & is committed to offering a challenging education that develops qualities of mind, spirit, & body necessary for a rewarding life of leadership & service…

Education
11
Arizona Forward Association

Arizona Forward brings business and civic leaders together to promote cooperative efforts to improve the environmental sustainability and economic vitality of our state and local regions.

Community Improvement
12
The Uc Davis Foundation

The mission of the uc davis foundation is to secure, steward and manage private gifts for uc davis.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is University of Arizona Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Harris Family Foundation. 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

30 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. 30 of the 48 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.

4
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
5
Early backer (in before they grew)
30/30
Grantees still filing
17/30
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THOMAS R BROWN FAMILY FOUNDATION: $10,360,000 · PhilanthropyTHOMAS R BROWN FAMILY FOUNDATIONUniversity of Arizona Foundation: $2,814,598 · EducationUniversity of Arizona FoundationPIMA JTED FOUNDATION: $2,245,774 · EducationPIMA JTED FOUNDATION+9 more: $197,500 · EducationCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF SOUTHERN AZ: $1,100,000 · OtherCOMMUNITY FO…COMMUNITY FOUNDATION FOR SOUTHERN AZ: $300,000 · OtherCOMMUNITY FO…ARIZONA TOWN HALL: $150,000 · OtherARIZONA TOWN…SALPOINTE CATHOLIC EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $115,000 · OtherSALPOINTE CA…+18 more: $297,500 · Other+18 moreCENTER FOR THE FUTURE OF ARIZONA: $305,000 · Community Improvement+1 more: $5,000 · Community ImprovementUNITE AMERICA INSTITUTE INC: $200,000 · Public BenefitASSOCIATION OF THE GRADUATES OF THE UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY: $10,000 · Public BenefitTUCSON ARIZONA BOYS CHORUS: $50,000 · Arts & CultureTHE ADLER PLANETARIUM: $15,000 · Arts & CultureTUCSON MUSEUM OF ART AND HISTORIC BLOCK INC: $10,000 · Arts & CultureMudlark Theater Company NFP: $10,000 · Arts & Culture+2 more: $5,000 · Arts & CultureSWEDISH MEDICAL CENTER FOUNDATION: $45,000 · HealthDana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc: $10,000 · HealthThe Clearity Foundation: $10,000 · HealthCommunity Food Bank Inc: $5,000 · Food & Nutrition
Philanthropy$10,360,000Education$5,257,872Other$1,962,500Community Improvement$310,000Public Benefit$210,000Arts & Culture$90,000Health$65,000Food & Nutrition$5,000

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 budgetTHOMAS R BROWN FAMILY FOUNDATION: $10,360,000 over 5y, 96% of budgetUniversity of Arizona Foundation: $2,814,598 over 6y, 0.9% of budgetPIMA JTED FOUNDATION: $2,245,774 over 3y, 36% of budgetCENTER FOR THE FUTURE OF ARIZONA: $305,000 over 2y, 2.1% of budgetUNITE AMERICA INSTITUTE INC: $200,000 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetARIZONA TOWN HALL: $150,000 over 1y, 33% of budgetSALPOINTE CATHOLIC EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $115,000 over 3y, 44% of budgetEDUCATIONAL ENRICHMENT FOUNDATION: $55,000 over 1y, 6.2% of budgetTUCSON ARIZONA BOYS CHORUS: $50,000 over 1y, 8.5% of budgetLITERACY CONNECTS: $50,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetSWEDISH MEDICAL CENTER FOUNDATION: $45,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetHarris Family Foundation: $40,000 over 3y, 1.1% of budgetSCHOLARSHIPSA Z: $20,000 over 2y, 3.0% of budgetThe Amerind Foundation Inc: $17,500 over 2y, 1.7% of budgetTHE ADLER PLANETARIUM: $15,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTUCSON MUSEUM OF ART AND HISTORIC BLOCK INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetPurdue Research Foundation: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCATALINA COUNCIL BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA: $10,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetASSOCIATION OF THE GRADUATES OF THE UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetDana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Clearity Foundation: $10,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetMudlark Theater Company NFP: $10,000 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetThe Panetta Institute for Public Policy: $7,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetARIZONA CHAMBER FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetNORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCommunity Food Bank Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetJunior League of Tucson Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 2.5% of budgetARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION FOR A NEW AMERICAN UNIVERSITY: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMARINES' MEMORIAL FOUNDATION: $2,500 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetMuseum of Northern Arizona Inc: $2,500 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.

United Way of Tucson …Community Foundation …Arizona Community Fou…Absolon FoundationMarshall FoundationDonald Pitt Family Fo…Frederick Gardner Cot…Connie Hillman Family…The Hs Lopez Family F…The Chicago Community…Texas Instruments Fou…Gs Donor Advised Phil…
United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona IncAZ26.1× affinity10 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona Inc · Community Foundation for Southern Arizona · Arizona Community Foundation · Absolon Foundation · Marshall Foundation · Donald Pitt Family Foundation · Frederick Gardner Cottrell Foundation · Connie Hillman Family Foundation · The Hs Lopez Family Foundation · The Chicago Community Trust · Texas Instruments Foundation · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management 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 Thomas R Brown Family Private Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Thomas R Brown Family Private Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%10%20%30%40%share of the org’s income from government →median 7%
  • Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc: 7% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
11report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–40%
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 Thomas R Brown Family Private Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Thomas R Brown Family Private 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.

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 48 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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Thomas R Brown Family Private’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