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Three Lakes Foundation Trust at a glance

· Private foundation

Three Lakes Foundation Trust

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.

$417k
Granted FY2025still arriving
1
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$417k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead

Read this first · the figures below need context

100% of Three Lakes Foundation Trust’s FY2025 grant dollars went to New Venture Fund, not to grantees.

Its money now reaches organizations through that sponsor, which does not report who recommended each grant. FY2025 names 0 organizations directly, so a portfolio cannot be read from it.

Organizations named directly on the return

3
’20
2
’21
4
’22
3
’23
2
’24
0
’25

Amber years are those where most dollars went to a sponsor.

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.

Health$7.9MEducation$2.3MPhilanthropy$834kScience & Tech$3k
02FY2025 · 1 grant

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$417,445
Median grant
1
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
New Venture Fund$417,445
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 (FY20–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 96% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%MAYO CLINIC: $348k → 9%University of Pittsburgh: $457k → 11%Wescoe Foundation for PF: $3k → 11%CORNELL UNIVERSITY - WEILL MEDICAL: $88k → 17%BAYLOR SCOTT & WHITE DALLAS FOUNDATION: $156k → 14%New Venture Fund: $417k → 14%Vanderbilt University Medical Center: $616k → 14%University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus: $10k → 10%Yale University Development: $471k → 11%PULMONARY FIBROSIS FOUNDATION: $565k → 14%Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology: $3k → 8%JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: $30k → 19%UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH: $457k → 11%The Dallas Foundation: $103k → 14%VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER: $546k → 14%YALE UNIVERSITY DEVELOPMENT: $458k → 11%INNOVATION DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE: $722k → 14%UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH: $424k → 11%The Dallas Foundation: $103k → 14%VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER: $347k → 14%YALE UNIVERSITY DEVELOPMENT: $324k → 11%AMERICAN COLLEGE OF CHEST PHYSICIANS: $906k → 14%UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH: $424k → 11%THE DALLAS FOUNDATION: $75k → 14%VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER: $62k → 14%AMERICAN COLLEGE OF CHEST PHYSICIANS: $691k → 14%THE DALLAS FOUNDATION: $74k → 14%American College of Chest Physicians: $590k → 14%THE DALLAS FOUNDATION: $32k → 14%American College of Chest Physicians: $197k → 14%THE DALLAS FOUNDATION: $30k → 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

MN
IL
NY
MA
PA
CT
CO
MD
TN
DC
TX
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.
04

Where the work is directed

The same grants placed two ways: where each recipient sits, and where its stated purpose sends the money.

About 12% of Three Lakes Foundation Trust’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address.

Three Lakes Foundation Trustlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address · 4.6% directed abroad (not shown)
How this is measured
Recipient view: each grant at its grantee’s ZIP, mapped to a county. Directed view: each grant at the county its stated purpose names, falling back to the recipient’s county when the purpose names no place; US grants only. A county shows only if it carries the top 95% of that view’s dollars. Purposes are read from the funder’s own 990 grant descriptions.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

78%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$7.3M · 5 repeat orgs$2.1M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +40% since the first grant, against +21% for those funded once.

5 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2024, 4 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

5
8

Total granted

$7.3M
$2.1M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+40%
+21%

Still filing today

60%
63%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 98% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $13k went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24
HealthEducationOther
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

  • AC
    American College of Chest Physicians
    2× · 2022–2023 · $2.4M · revenue +40%
  • UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH
    3× · 2021–2023 · $1.8M · revenue +11%
  • VU
    Vanderbilt University Medical Center
    3× · 2021–2024 · $1.6M · revenue +56%

Funded once

  • ID
    INNOVATION DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE INC
    one grant, 2020 · $722k · revenue +21%
  • PF
    PULMONARY FIBROSIS FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2020 · $565k · revenue -14%
  • LF
    LUNG FOUNDATION AUSTRALIA
    one grant, 2021 · $334k
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
University of Maryland Anesthesiology Associates Pa

Under the medical service plan of the university of maryland school of medicine, medical services are rendered by the members of the faculty on behalf of the school of medicine in connection with their duties to provide clinical…

—
2
University of Maryland Oncology Associates Pa

Under the medical service plan of the university of maryland school of medicine, medical services are rendered by the members of the faculty on behalf of the school of medicine in connection with their duties to provide clinical…

Health
3
University of Maryland Physicians Pa

Under the medical service plan of the university of maryland school of medicine, medical services are rendered by the members of the faculty on behalf of the school of medicine in connection with their duties to provide clinical…

—
4
University of Maryland Dermatologists Pa

Under the medical service plan of the university of maryland school of medicine, medical services are rendered by the members of the faculty on behalf of the school of medicine in connection with their duties to provide clinical…

Health
5
University of Maryland Neurosurgeryassociates Pa

Under the medical service plan of the university of maryland school of medicine, medical services are rendered by the members of the faculty on behalf of the school of medicine in connection with their duties to provide clinical…

Education
6
Stony Brook Internists University Faculty Practice Corporation

Provide clinical instruction to and supervision of medical school students, interns and residents and, incident thereto, rendering professional services.

Health
7
University of Maryland Family Medicine Associates Pa

Under the medical service plan of the university of maryland school of medicine, medical services are rendered by the members of the faculty on behalf of the school of medicine in connection with their duties to provide clinical…

—
8
University of Maryland Neurology Associates Pa

Under the medical service plan of the university of maryland school of medicine, medical services are rendered by the members of the faculty on behalf of the school of medicine in connection with their duties to provide clinical…

—
9
University of Maryland Eye Associates Pa

Under the medical service plan of the university of maryland school of medicine, medical services are rendered by the members of the faculty on behalf of the school of medicine in connection with their duties to provide clinical…

Health
10
University of Maryland Otorhino-Laryngology-Head & Neck Surgery Pa

Under the medical service plan of the university of maryland school of medicine, medical services are rendered by the members of the faculty on behalf of the school of medicine in connection with their duties to provide clinical…

Health
11
University of Maryland Surgical Associates Pa

Under the medical service plan of the university of maryland school of medicine, medical services are rendered by the members of the faculty on behalf of the school of medicine in connection with their duties to provide clinical…

Health
12
Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania

The trustees of the university of pennsylvania (the "university") sees itself as having a public service mission. in such regard, the university aims to provide a rich and diverse educational environment for its students; to pioneer…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is University of Pittsburgh; the most unlike its peers is Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
05the grantee network

13 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. 13 of the 19 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)
1
Early backer (in before they grew)
13/13
Grantees still filing
10/13
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

American College of Chest Physicians: $2,382,800 · OtherAmerican College of Chest PhysiciansYale University Development: $1,253,150 · OtherYale University DevelopmentINNOVATION DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE INC: $721,560 · OtherINNOVATION DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE INCLUNG FOUNDATION AUSTRALIA: $333,905 · OtherLUNG FOUNDATION AUSTRALIALAHEY HOSPITAL AND MEDICAL CENTER LAHEY CLINIC INC: $292,570 · OtherLAHEY HOSPITAL AND MEDICAL CENTER LAHEY CLINIC INC+4 more: $273,366 · OtherVanderbilt University Medical Center: $1,571,720 · HealthVanderbilt University Medic…PULMONARY FIBROSIS FOUNDATION: $564,532 · HealthPULMONARY FIBROSIS FOUNDATI…MAYO CLINIC: $348,094 · HealthMAYO CLINICBaylor Health Care System Foundation: $155,575 · HealthBaylor Health Care System F…+1 more: $2,500 · HealthUNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH: $1,763,806 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURG…Yale University: $524,389 · EducationYale University+1 more: $30,000 · EducationNEW VENTURE FUND: $417,445 · EnvironmentTHE DALLAS FOUNDATION: $416,302 · Philanthropy
Other$5,257,351Health$2,642,421Education$2,318,195Environment$417,445Philanthropy$416,302

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 budgetAmerican College of Chest Physicians: $2,382,800 over 2y, 4.6% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH: $1,763,806 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetVanderbilt University Medical Center: $1,571,720 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetINNOVATION DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE INC: $721,560 over 1y, 14% of budgetPULMONARY FIBROSIS FOUNDATION: $564,532 over 1y, 5.3% of budgetYale University: $524,389 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE DALLAS FOUNDATION: $416,302 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetMAYO CLINIC: $348,094 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBaylor Health Care System Foundation: $155,575 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetJOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: $30,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFEDERATION OF AMERICAN SOCIETIES FOR EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWESCOE FOUNDATION FOR PULMONARY FIBROSIS: $2,500 over 1y, 1.3% 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.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Three Lakes Foundation Trust funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Three Lakes Foundation Trust. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%4%8%15%funder's share of their income ↑0%10%20%30%40%share of the org’s income from government →median 12%
  • Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology: 14% of income from government
  • Johns Hopkins University: 12% of income from government
  • Yale University: 12% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
1report 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 Three Lakes Foundation Trust?

Find your warmest path to Three Lakes Foundation Trust 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 19 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

Play a game based on Three Lakes’ 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