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Tom and Barbara Lyon Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Tom and Barbara Lyon 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.

$85k
Granted FY2025still arriving
8
Grants FY2025still arriving
4
States reached
$15k
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, FY2017 to 2025.

Religion$131kEducation$129kRecreation & Sports$116kEnvironment$95kHealth$65kAnimals$20kYouth Development$10kArts & Culture$10k
02FY2025 · 8 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k3 grants · $10k
  • $10k–50k5 grants · $75k
$15,000
Median grant
4
States reached
$1.2M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
COTTONWOODS CANYON FOUNDATION$15,000
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY - WOMEN'S BASKETBALL$15,000
MARKLUND CHILDREN'S HOME$15,000
ST OLAF COLLEGE$15,000
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF WILMETTE$15,000
SCENIC UTAH$5,000
HERITAGE CENTER AT MOSSY CREEK$2,500
CHICAGO JESUIT ACADEMY$2,500
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, $65k) land where the poverty rate runs at 8%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%MARKLUND CHILDREN'S HOME: $15k → 8%MARKLUND CHILDREN'S HOME: $10k → 8%MARKLUND CHILDREN'S HOME: $10k → 8%MARKLUND CHILDREN'S HOME: $10k → 8%MARKLUND CHILDREN'S HOME: $10k → 8%MARKLUND CHILDREN'S HOME: $10k → 8%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.
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.

88%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$508k · 8 repeat orgs$68k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +33% since the first grant, against +30% for those funded once.

8 repeat relationships: 6 still active in FY2025, 2 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

8
9

Total granted

$508k
$50k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+33%
+30%

Still filing today

75%
67%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 79% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $18k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
EducationEnvironmentRecreation & SportsAnimalsHuman ServicesArts & CultureOther
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

  • SO
    ST OLAF COLLEGE
    8× · 2018–2025 · $115k · revenue +17%
  • CC
    COTTONWOOD CANYONS FOUNDATION
    7× · 2019–2025 · $85k · revenue +205%
  • Northwestern University
    6× · 2018–2023 · $81k · revenue +33%

Funded once

  • T
    TRUENU
    one grant, 2024 · $15k · revenue -72%
  • NI
    NORTHEAST ILLINOIS COUNCIL (BOY SCOUTS)
    one grant, 2018 · $6k
  • LU
    LOYOLA UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGOgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $5k · revenue +30%
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
Nebraska Wesleyan University

Nebraska wesleyan university is an academic community dedicated to intellectual and personal growth within the context of a liberal arts education and in an environment of christian concern.

Education
2
Saint Xavier University

Saint xavier university, a catholic institution inspired by the heritage of the sisters of mercy, educates persons to search for truth, think critically, communicate effectively and serve wisely and compassionately in support of human…

Education
3
Trinity University

Trinity university is an independent co-educational university whose mission is excellence in the interrelated areas of teaching, research and services.

Education
4
Dordt University

As an institution of higher education committed to the reformed christian perspective, dordt university equips students, alumni, and the broader community to work effectively toward christ-centered renewal in all aspects of contemporary…

Education
5
St Marys University of Minnesota

Enriched by the lasallian catholic heritage, saint mary's university of minnesota awakens, nurtures, and empowers learners to ethical lives of service and leadership.

Education
6
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
7
North Central College

North central college prepares students to become curious, engaged, ethical, and purposeful citizens and leaders in local, national and global contexts. the college serves approximately 3,000 fulltime and part-time students. about 1,250…

Education
8
Xavier University

Xavier is a jesuit catholic university rooted in the liberal arts tradition. our mission is to educate each student intellectually, morally, and spiritually. we create learning opportunities through rigorous academic and professional…

Education
9
Trustees of Tufts College

Education and Research

Education
10
Southwestern Law School

For more than a century, southwestern has educated lawyers ready to serve clients, the profession, and our society with excellence. we empower students to reach their potential. we cultivate inclusion and belonging. we promote equity and…

Education
11
North Central University

North central university is a christian university with a commitment to academic excellence.

Education
12
President-Board of Trustees Santa Clara College

Scu is a catholic and jesuit institution that makes student learning its central focus, promotes faculty and staff learning in its various forms, and exhibits organizational learning.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Northwestern University; the most unlike its peers is Scenic Utah. 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

12 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. 12 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)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
12/12
Grantees still filing
11/12
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH: $127,000 · OtherFIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHNORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY - WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: $15,000 · OtherNORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY - WOMEN'S…NORTHEAST ILLINOIS COUNCIL (BOY SCOUTS): $6,000 · Other+5 more: $20,500 · Other+5 moreST OLAF COLLEGE: $115,000 · EducationST OLAF COLLEGELOYOLA UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO: $5,000 · Education+2 more: $6,000 · EducationCOTTONWOOD CANYONS FOUNDATION: $85,000 · EnvironmentCOTTONWOOD CANYONS…Scenic Utah: $10,000 · EnvironmentScenic UtahNorthwestern University: $81,000 · Recreation & SportsNorthwestern Un…MARKLUND CHILDRENS HOME: $65,000 · Human ServicesMARKLUND CHI…SANTA PAULA ANIMAL RESCUE CENTER INC: $20,200 · AnimalsTRUENU: $15,000 · PhilanthropyANDREW JACKSON FOUNDATION FKA LADIES' HERMITAGE ASSOCIATION: $5,000 · Arts & Culture
Other$168,500Education$126,000Environment$95,000Recreation & Sports$81,000Human Services$65,000Animals$20,200Philanthropy$15,000Arts & Culture$5,000

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetST OLAF COLLEGE: $115,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetCOTTONWOOD CANYONS FOUNDATION: $85,000 over 7y, 2.4% of budgetNorthwestern University: $81,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetMARKLUND CHILDRENS HOME: $65,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetSANTA PAULA ANIMAL RESCUE CENTER INC: $20,200 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetTRUENU: $15,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetScenic Utah: $10,000 over 2y, 3.9% of budgetLOYOLA UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWILMETTE BASEBALL ASSOCIATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetANDREW JACKSON FOUNDATION FKA LADIES' HERMITAGE ASSOCIATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetOPPORTUNITY GRANTED INC: $3,000 over 1y, 3.7% of budgetNEW TRIER EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION: $3,000 over 1y, 1.0% 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 ST OLAF COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds COTTONWOOD CANYONS FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Northwestern University ↗
  • Who funds MARKLUND CHILDRENS HOME ↗
  • Who funds SANTA PAULA ANIMAL RESCUE CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds TRUENU ↗
  • Who funds Scenic Utah ↗
  • Who funds LOYOLA UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO ↗
  • Who funds WILMETTE BASEBALL ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds ANDREW JACKSON FOUNDATION FKA LADIES' HERMITAGE ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds OPPORTUNITY GRANTED INC ↗
  • Who funds NEW TRIER EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION ↗

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.

Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Donor Advised Charitable Giving IncCO6.3× affinity7 shared granteesties to 2 of 2Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile Foundation

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 Tom and Barbara Lyon Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Tom and Barbara Lyon Family 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%5%10%15%20%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    2report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–20%
    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 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 Tom and Barbara Lyon Family’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