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Thornton Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Thornton Family 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.

$160k
Granted FY2025still arriving
16
Grants FY2025still arriving
5
States reached
$30k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0197% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2021 to 2024.

Food & Nutrition$150kInternational$99kReligion$84kHuman Services$79kEducation$45kEnvironment$41kHealth$35kHousing & Shelter$20kOther$0
02FY2025 · 16 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k7 grants · $35k
  • $10k–50k9 grants · $125k
$10,000
Median grant
5
States reached
$2.9M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
GIVING TREE ACRES COMMUNITY FARM$30,000
FEED MY STARVING CHILDREN$20,000
MATTHEW 10 INTERNATIONAL$15,000
BONTON FARMS$10,000
DECISION POINT$10,000
CAMPUS CRUSADE FOR CHRIST$10,000
INTERNATIONAL GENEROSITY FOUNDATION$10,000
THE DALLAS FOUNDATION$10,000
TIM TEBOW FOUNDATION$10,000
JACO BOOYENS MINISTRIES$5,000
FOOD FOR THE SOUL$5,000
FAMILY GATEWAY INC$5,000
HIGHLAND PARK PRESBYTERIAN DAYSCHOOL$5,000
BUCKNER CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES INC$5,000
COUNCIL FOR LIFE$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 (FY21–25, $134k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, 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%MATTHEW 10 INTERNATIONAL: $15k → 12%MATTHEW 10 INTERNATIONAL: $10k → 12%MATTHEW 10 INTERNATIONAL: $10k → 12%INTERFAITH FAMILY SERVICES: $10k → 14%BEHIND EVERY DOOR: $10k → 14%DFW REFUGEE OUTREACH SERVICES: $5k → 14%THE HUMAN IMPACT: $5k → 14%OUR CALLING: $5k → 14%THE FAMILY PLACE: $14k → 14%COUNCIL FOR LIFE: $10k → 14%CONNECTING POINT OF PARK CITIES: $10k → 14%CLAYTON DABNEY FOR KIDS WITH CANCER: $5k → 14%COUNCIL FOR LIFE: $5k → 14%CLAYTON DABNEY FOR KIDS WITH CANCER: $5k → 14%COUNCIL FOR LIFE: $5k → 14%HOPE SUPPLY CO: $5k → 14%BUCKNER CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES INC: $5k → 14%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
MN
IL
NY
MA
OR
NJ
CA
CO
MO
KS
TN
NC
DC
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.

48%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$365k · 13 repeat orgs$400k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +15% since the first grant, against +1% for those funded once.

13 repeat relationships: 9 still active in FY2025, 4 since wound down; 6 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

13
37

Total granted

$365k
$335k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+15%
+1%

Still filing today

69%
78%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 57% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $65k went to new ones.

50%100%’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’21’22’23’24’25
Human ServicesInternationalReligionPhilanthropyEnvironmentCivil RightsOther
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

  • FM
    FEED MY STARVING CHILDREN INC
    5× · 2021–2025 · $70k · revenue +40%
  • M1
    Matthew 10 International Ministry Inc Attn Dr Pete Sulack
    3× · 2023–2025 · $35k · revenue +18%
  • DP
    DECISION POINT MINISTRIES
    2× · 2023–2025 · $30k · revenue +11%

Funded once

  • GE
    GREATER EUROPE MISSION
    one grant, 2022 · $25k · revenue +12%
  • HF
    Heal Food Alliance
    one grant, 2024 · $20k
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2021 · $15k
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
Dallas International University

As a christian university, we provide education and research opportunities preparing global leaders to partner with local communities.

Education
2
Biglife International Inc

Biglife international inc. empowers believers worldwide to reach and disciple their own people for jesus christ.

Recreation & Sports
3
Global Outreach International Inc

To get the good news to every nation this generation by showing and sharing god's love by providing opportunities and supporting christian missionaries in over fifty seven countries around the world.

International
4
Youth for Christ International Ministries

As part of the body of christ, to see that every young person in every people group in every nation has the opportunity to make an informed decision to be a follower of jesus christ and become a part of the local church.

Religion
5
Christianity Today International

Christianity Today is a global community inspired by evangelical conviction to advance the stories and ideas of the kingdom of God. Our mission is to elevate the storytellers and sages of the global church.

Religion
6
Feed the Hunger Inc

Feeding the spiritual and physical hunger, especially in at-risk children.

—
7
Kingdom Advisors Inc

Kingdom advisors is a discipleship ministry serving christian financial professionals. the organization encourages, educates, and empowers christian financial professionals with biblical wisdom to be effective disciples of jesus christ in…

Religion
8
Christian Mission for the United Nations Community

Christian Mission for the United Nations Community is a ministry aimed at leading the head of every nation and other top leaders to faith in Jesus Christ and helping them to walk in dependence upon God as they discharge the…

—
9
Blue Letter Bible

The specific purpose of this corporation is to present a biblical, christian ministry of the gospel, hope, encouragement and strength to as many people as possible. the intent of those who will conduct this corporation's work is to present…

—
10
Life International

To partner with leaders globally to boldly proclaim the biblical truth of the father's heart for life, champion the gospel of jesus christ, and establish life-giving ministries.

Health
11
Walk Thru the Bible Ministries Inc

Walk thru the bible (wtb) ignites passion for god's word. by developing a global network of influential pastors and leaders and then resourcing them with tools and training, wtb fulfills its role in the great commission.

Religion
12
Food for the Hungry Inc

Food for the hungry is a christian humanitarian aid and global development organization that has designed, developed and delivered solutions for more than 50 years so that children, families and communities can flourish. (continued on…

International
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Feed My Starving Children Inc; the most unlike its peers is Cool Earth Action Usa 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

46 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. 46 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)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
44/46
Grantees still filing
26/46
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

BONTON FARMS: $55,000 · OtherBONTON FARMSTHE NEELY SCHOOL FOR BUSINESS AT TCU: $30,000 · OtherTHE NEELY SCHOOL FOR BUSINESS AT TCUFOOD FOR THE SOUL: $25,000 · OtherFOOD FOR THE SOULFamily Legacy Missions International: $25,000 · OtherFamily Legacy Missions InternationalIndividual grant recipient: $15,000 · OtherTHE DAY SCHOOL AT HIGHLAND PARK PRESBYTERIAN: $15,000 · OtherThe Land Institute: $13,750 · Other+18 more: $128,750 · Other+18 moreMatthew 10 International Ministry Inc Attn Dr Pete Sulack: $35,000 · Human ServicesMatthew 10 Internatio…COUNCIL FOR LIFE: $20,000 · Human ServicesCOUNCIL FOR LIFEBUCKNER INTERNATIONAL: $13,750 · Human ServicesBUCKNER INTERNATIONALThe Family Place: $13,750 · Human ServicesThe Family PlaceCLAYTON DABNEY FOR KIDS WITH CANCER: $10,000 · Human ServicesCLAYTON DABNEY FOR KI…INTERFAITH FAMILY SERVICES: $10,000 · Human ServicesINTERFAITH FAMILY SER…CONNECTING POINT OF PARK CITIES: $10,000 · Human ServicesCONNECTING POINT OF P…BEHIND EVERY DOOR MINISTRIES INC: $10,000 · Human ServicesBEHIND EVERY DOOR MIN…+6 more: $30,000 · Human Services+6 moreFEED MY STARVING CHILDREN INC: $70,000 · InternationalFEED MY STARVING C…WORLD VISION INC: $10,000 · InternationalWORLD VISION INCWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $10,000 · InternationalWORLD CENTRAL KITC…CONVOY OF HOPE: $10,000 · InternationalCONVOY OF HOPEEXILE INTERNATIONAL INC: $10,000 · InternationalEXILE INTERNATIONA…Save The Children Federation Inc: $10,000 · InternationalSave The Children …AMERICAN FRIENDS OF MAGEN DAVID ADOM: $10,000 · InternationalAMERICAN FRIENDS O…DECISION POINT MINISTRIES: $30,000 · PhilanthropyDECISION POI…Heal Food Alliance: $20,000 · PhilanthropyHeal Food Al…TIM TEBOW FOUNDATION INC: $20,000 · PhilanthropyTIM TEBOW FO…THE DALLAS FOUNDATION: $10,000 · PhilanthropyTHE DALLAS F…ELIZABETH TOON CHARITIES: $5,000 · PhilanthropyELIZABETH TO…NORTH CAROLINA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $5,000 · PhilanthropyNORTH CAROLI…GREATER EUROPE MISSION: $25,000 · ReligionGREATER E…SAMARITAN'S PURSE: $20,000 · ReligionSAMARITAN…East-West Ministries International: $12,500 · ReligionEast-West…PROVERBS 31 MINISTRY INC: $5,000 · ReligionPROVERBS …BIBLEPROJECT: $2,500 · ReligionGiving Tree Acres Community Farm: $30,000 · Food & NutritionCOOL EARTH ACTION USA INC: $15,000 · EnvironmentCLEAN AIR TASK FORCE INC: $10,000 · Environment
Other$307,500Human Services$152,500International$130,000Philanthropy$90,000Religion$65,000Food & Nutrition$30,000Environment$25,000

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 budgetFEED MY STARVING CHILDREN INC: $70,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetMatthew 10 International Ministry Inc Attn Dr Pete Sulack: $35,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetDECISION POINT MINISTRIES: $30,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetFamily Legacy Missions International: $25,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetGREATER EUROPE MISSION: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCOUNCIL FOR LIFE: $20,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetSAMARITAN'S PURSE: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTIM TEBOW FOUNDATION INC: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCOOL EARTH ACTION USA INC: $15,000 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetBUCKNER INTERNATIONAL: $13,750 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetThe Land Institute: $13,750 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetThe Family Place: $13,750 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCLEAN AIR TASK FORCE INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWORLD VISION INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCLAYTON DABNEY FOR KIDS WITH CANCER: $10,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetTEXAS VALUES: $10,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetINTERFAITH FAMILY SERVICES: $10,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetCONVOY OF HOPE: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBABY2BABY: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCONNECTING POINT OF PARK CITIES: $10,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetDALLAS LIFE INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetCAFE MOMENTUM: $10,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetBEHIND EVERY DOOR MINISTRIES INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetFAMILY GATEWAY INC: $10,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetEXILE INTERNATIONAL INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetSave The Children Federation Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN FRIENDS OF MAGEN DAVID ADOM: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTO BE LIKE ME: $5,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetDFW REFUGEE OUTREACH SERVICES: $5,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetOURCALLING INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetHOPE SUPPLY CO: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetAUSTIN STREET CENTER: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetELIZABETH TOON CHARITIES: $5,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetNORTH TEXAS FOOD BANK: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPROVERBS 31 MINISTRY INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetNORTH CAROLINA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSENIOR CITIZENS OF GREATER DALLAS INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetHIGHLAND PARK PRESBYTERIAN DAY SCHOOL: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE HUMAN IMPACT: $5,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetBIBLEPROJECT: $2,500 over 1y, 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.

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.

Communities Foundatio…Servant FoundationThe Dallas FoundationTexas Instruments Fou…Rowling FoundationCommunity Foundation …Kershaw FoundationLee Ann and Steven Va…Prairie Creek Partner…The Aileen and Jack P…The Rees-Jones Founda…Christian Community F…
Communities Foundation of Texas IncTX29.8× affinity14 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Communities Foundation of Texas Inc · Servant Foundation · The Dallas Foundation · Texas Instruments Foundation · Rowling Foundation · Community Foundation of North Texas (Tax · Kershaw Foundation · Lee Ann and Steven Van Amburgh Foundation · Prairie Creek Partners Charitable Foundation · The Aileen and Jack Pratt Foundation · The Rees-Jones Foundation · Christian Community 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 Thornton Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Thornton Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 30%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%13%25%38%50%share of the org’s income from government →median 30%
  • Save the Children Federation Inc: 30% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
3get no government money at all
6report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–50%
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