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· Private foundation

Tucker Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$4.3M
Granted FY2022
77
Grants FY2022
10
States reached
$818k
Largest

Read this first · the figures below need context

52% of Tucker Foundation’s FY2024 grant dollars went to The Community Foundation Of Greater Chattanooga Inc, not to grantees.

Its money now reaches organizations through that sponsor, which does not report who recommended each grant. FY2024 names 54 organizations directly, so a portfolio cannot be read from it. Everything below is therefore FY2022, the last year Tucker Foundation named its own grantees at scale: 56 organizations, $4M. It is dated, not current.

Organizations named directly on the return

49
’20
51
’21
56
’22
70
’23
54
’24

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

01What it funds
0199% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2024.

Philanthropy$5.6MEnvironment$2.6MEducation$2.4MHealth$1.7MYouth Development$1.4MArts & Culture$1.3MFood & Nutrition$1.1MHuman Services$875kOther$0
02FY2022 · 77 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2022

  • Under $10k28 grants · $98k
  • $10k–50k28 grants · $538k
  • $50k–250k16 grants · $1.6M
  • $250k+5 grants · $2.1M
$11,500
Median grant
10
States reached
$69M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF CLEVELAND AND BRADLEY CO$817,819
VANDERBILT MEDICAL CENTER$500,000
ON POINT$266,700
OPEN SPACE INSTITUTE LAND TRUST$250,000
YOUNG WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP ACADEMY FOUNDATION$250,000
THE LAND TRUST FOR TENNESSEE$225,000
ERLANGER HEALTH SYSTEMS FOUNDATION$200,000
UT FOUNDATION$200,000
LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN CONSERVANCY$140,000
BUFFALO BILL CENTER OF THE WEST$138,644
BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION WORKFORCE CENTER$125,000
SOUTHEASTERN GRASSLANDS INSTITUTE$100,000
LEE UNIVERSITY$60,000
THE CARING PLACE$60,000
BRADLEY CLEVELAND PUBLIC EDUCATION FOUNDATION$55,000
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 (FY20–24, $234k) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%NORTHSIDE NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE: $15k → 14%NORTHSIDE NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE: $15k → 14%NORTHSIDE NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE: $15k → 14%NORTHSIDE NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE: $15k → 14%NORTHSIDE NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE: $15k → 14%CARIDAD CENTER INC: $1k → 11%ORANGE GROVE CENTER: $8k → 12%LA PAZ CHATTANOOGA: $8k → 12%LA PAZ CHATTANOOGA: $8k → 12%TROUSDALE SCHOOL: $70k → 13%BETHEL BIBLE VILLAGE: $20k → 12%BETHEL BIBLE VILLAGE: $15k → 12%BETHEL BIBLE VILLAGE: $15k → 12%BETHEL BIBLE VILLAGE: $15k → 12%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

ID
MI
NY
WY
OH
UT
KY
VA
MD
AZ
TN
NC
DC
GA
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.
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 19% of Tucker Foundation’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address. By recipient address, 87% of the giving stays in TN; by stated purpose, 80%.

Tucker Foundationlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address · 3.7% 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.

83%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$11M · 92 repeat orgs$2.3M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +48% since the first grant, against +25% for those funded once.

92 repeat relationships: 67 still active in FY2022, 25 since wound down; 50 grantees were first funded in FY2022 (too recent to call). Read against FY2022, the last year this funder named its own grantees directly; its giving has since run through a sponsor, which reports no donor behind each grant.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

92
31

Total granted

$11M
$1.1M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+48%
+25%

Still filing today

74%
35%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 77% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $540k 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
EducationHealthRecreation & SportsEnvironmentHuman ServicesAnimalsOther
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

  • OP
    ON POINT
    5× · 2020–2024 · $1.1M · revenue +6%
  • OS
    OPEN SPACE INSTITUTE LAND TRUST INC
    2× · 2021–2022 · $500k · revenue +65%
  • TL
    THE LAND TRUST FOR TENNESSEE INC
    3× · 2020–2023 · $260k · revenue +76%

Funded once

  • CH
    CHATTANOOGA HISTORY CENTER
    one grant, 2020 · $500k
  • TT
    THE TENNESSEE RIVER GORGE TRUST INCgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $300k · revenue +107%
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2021 · $75k
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
Harpeth Conservancy

To restore and protect clean water and healthy ecosystems for rivers in tennessee by employing scientific expertise and collaborative relationships to develop, promote, and support broad community stewardship and action.

Environment
2
Nashville Public Radio

Nashville public radio's mission is to be the most trusted & independent nashville voice, connecting our communities through non-partisan journalism, compelling storytelling, civil conversation and music discovery.

Arts & Culture
3
Lake Champlain Land Trust Inc

The mission of the lake champlain land trust is to save the scenic beauty, natural communities, and recreational amenities of lake champlain by permanently preserving significant islands, shoreline areas, and natural communities in the…

Environment
4
Tennessee Health Care Association

To maintain high standards for nursing homes in the state of tennessee and to seek the solutions to problems common to members of the association.

—
5
Barton College

Founded in 1902, barton college is a four-year, private, liberal arts college located in wilson, n.c. the barton experience focuses on academic excellence within a wide range of professional and liberal arts programs leading to…

Education
6
Tulsa Regional Chamber (Fka Metropolitan Tulsa Chamber of Commerce)

The tulsa regional chamber transforms the tulsa region by attracting and retaining employers, talent and tourism for long-term prosperity.

—
7
Conservation Legacy

Conservation legacy engages future leaders who protect, restore, and enhance our nation's lands through community-based service.in 2024, conservation legacy engaged 2,524 participants who completed over 1.5 million service hours on public…

Youth Development
8
Nashville Zoo Inc

In fulfillment of our mission to inspire a culture of understanding and discovery of our natural world through conservation, innovation and leadership, our goal is to build a first class zoo for middle tennessee and to develop a facility…

Animals
9
Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art

Cheekwood's mission is to celebrate and preserve cheekwood as a historical landmark where beauty and excellence in art and horticulture nurture the spirit and serve as inspiration for a diverse and broad audience.cheekwood will be a…

Arts & Culture
10
Tennessee Performing Arts Center (Tpac) Management Corporation

To provide facilities, services, and programs of the highest quality for the greatest benefit of the people, institutions, and communities of the state, and to take a leadership role in fostering the performing arts, arts education,…

Arts & Culture
11
Grand Teton Association

The mission of the association is to inspire "deeper connection, better understanding, and enduring support for our public lands."

Arts & Culture
12
The College School Association

To explore the world through authentic experiences, empowering students to engage deeply and be ready for what is next.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga Inc; the most unlike its peers is Hands of Hope the Foundation of Cancer and Hematology Centers of Western Mi. 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

109 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. 109 of the 176 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.

2
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
27
Early backer (in before they grew)
108/109
Grantees still filing
74/109
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

VANDERBILT MEDICAL CENTER: $1,000,021 · OtherVANDERBILT MEDICAL CENTERUT FOUNDATION: $804,905 · OtherUT FOUNDATIONERLANGER HEALTH SYSTEMS FOUNDATION: $598,143 · OtherERLANGER HEALTH SYSTEMS FOUNDATIONCHATTANOOGA HISTORY CENTER: $500,000 · OtherCHATTANOOGA HISTORY CENTERTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY OF TENNESSEE: $483,526 · OtherTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY OF TENNESSEEMETROPOLITAN MINISTRIES INC (METMIN): $331,000 · Other+115 more: $3,815,071 · Other+115 moreCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF CLEVELAND AND BRADLEY COUNTY: $3,002,976 · Community ImprovementCOMMUNITY FOUNDATIO…BUILDING & CONSTRUCTION WORKFORCE CENTER: $125,000 · Community ImprovementCITY FIELDS: $115,000 · Community Improvement+1 more: $50,000 · Community ImprovementThe Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga Inc: $2,497,600 · PhilanthropyThe Community Fo…+7 more: $194,500 · Philanthropy+7 moreTHE YOUNG WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP ACADEMY FOUNDATION INC: $500,011 · EducationTHE YOUNG …CHATTANOOGA CHRISTIAN SCHOOL INC: $217,500 · EducationCHATTANOOG…BRADLEY CLEVELAND PUBLIC EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $209,282 · EducationBRADLEY CL…UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH: $175,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY…Teach for America Inc: $125,016 · EducationTeach for …SKYUKA HALL: $125,000 · EducationSKYUKA HAL…BRIGHT SCHOOL INC: $100,000 · EducationBRIGHT SCH…TENNESSEE WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY: $75,000 · Education+10 more: $196,000 · Education+10 moreOPEN SPACE INSTITUTE LAND TRUST INC: $500,011 · EnvironmentOPEN SPACE…LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN CONSERVANCY: $482,318 · EnvironmentLOOKOUT MO…THE TENNESSEE RIVER GORGE TRUST INC: $300,000 · EnvironmentTHE TENNES…THE LAND TRUST FOR TENNESSEE INC: $260,000 · EnvironmentTHE LAND T…SHERIDAN COMMUNITY LAND TRUST: $72,500 · Environment+4 more: $80,000 · EnvironmentON POINT: $1,054,974 · HealthFIRST THINGS FIRST INC: $150,000 · Health+8 more: $41,500 · HealthTHE NEW MUSEUM AT THE BRADFORD BRINTON RANCH: $230,000 · Arts & CultureCreative Discovery Museum: $205,000 · Arts & CultureNATIONAL MUSEUM OF RACING INC: $55,000 · Arts & Culture+3 more: $40,000 · Arts & Culture
Other$7,532,666Community Improvement$3,292,976Philanthropy$2,692,100Education$1,722,809Environment$1,694,829Health$1,246,474Arts & Culture$530,000

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 budgetCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF CLEVELAND AND BRADLEY COUNTY: $3,002,976 over 2y, 42% of budgetThe Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga Inc: $2,497,600 over 1y, 5.2% of budgetON POINT: $1,054,974 over 5y, 22% of budgetTHE YOUNG WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP ACADEMY FOUNDATION INC: $500,011 over 2y, 8.0% of budgetOPEN SPACE INSTITUTE LAND TRUST INC: $500,011 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetLOOKOUT MOUNTAIN CONSERVANCY: $482,318 over 5y, 13% of budgetTHE TENNESSEE RIVER GORGE TRUST INC: $300,000 over 1y, 16% of budgetTHE LAND TRUST FOR TENNESSEE INC: $260,000 over 3y, 5.5% of budgetLEE UNIVERSITY: $251,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetTHE NEW MUSEUM AT THE BRADFORD BRINTON RANCH: $230,000 over 4y, 2.5% of budgetCHATTANOOGA CHRISTIAN SCHOOL INC: $217,500 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetBRADLEY CLEVELAND PUBLIC EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $209,282 over 5y, 7.2% of budgetCreative Discovery Museum: $205,000 over 2y, 3.5% of budgetTHE CARING PLACE: $190,032 over 4y, 2.7% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH: $175,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetST ANDREW'S-SEWANEE SCHOOL: $165,000 over 5y, 0.8% of budgetWYOMING STOCK GROWERS LAND TRUST: $151,500 over 2y, 1.9% of budgetCHAMBLISS CENTER FOR CHILDREN: $150,016 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetFIRST THINGS FIRST INC: $150,000 over 4y, 4.8% of budgetTeach for America Inc: $125,016 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSKYUKA HALL: $125,000 over 4y, 1.6% of budgetBUILDING & CONSTRUCTION WORKFORCE CENTER: $125,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetCITY FIELDS: $115,000 over 4y, 3.1% of budgetBRIGHT SCHOOL INC: $100,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetYELLOW BIRD INITIATIVES: $78,000 over 2y, 100% of budgetPLACE OF HOPE INC: $75,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetTHE FOOD GROUP INC: $75,000 over 4y, 2.9% of budgetNORTHSIDE NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE: $75,000 over 5y, 0.6% of budgetTENNESSEE WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY: $75,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetSHERIDAN COMMUNITY LAND TRUST: $72,500 over 4y, 2.7% of budgetMCCOY FARM AND GARDENS: $70,000 over 2y, 12% of budgetThe Trousdale School: $70,000 over 1y, 4.0% of budgetBOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF CHATTANOOGA INC: $70,000 over 3y, 1.4% of budgetBethel Bible Village: $65,000 over 4y, 0.6% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE ZOO INC: $64,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetNATIONAL MUSEUM OF RACING INC: $55,000 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetUNITED WAY OF THE OCOEE REGION: $54,500 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetJOHNSON CO FRIENDS FEEDING FRIENDS: $50,000 over 2y, 9.6% of budgetGRAYSON-JOCKEY CLUB RESEARCH FOUNDATION INC: $50,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetNATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE MIGHTY EIGHTH AIR FORCE INC: $50,000 over 1y, 2.8% of budgetTHE ENTERPRISE CENTER INC: $50,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetCHATTACADEMY COMMUNITY SCHOOLS INC: $50,000 over 1y, 14% of budgetCHATTANOOGA CHAMBER FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetVOLUNTEERS OF AMERICA NORTHERN ROCKIES: $45,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCHATTANOOGA GIRLS LEADERSHIP ACADEMY: $42,000 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetJUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF THE OCOEE REGION: $40,000 over 4y, 12% of budgetYOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF METROPOLITAN CHATTANOOGA: $40,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetTRI-STATE EXHIBITION CENTER: $37,967 over 2y, 5.9% 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 COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF CLEVELAND AND BRADLEY COUNTY ↗
  • Who funds The Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga Inc ↗
  • Who funds ON POINT ↗
  • Who funds THE YOUNG WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP ACADEMY FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds OPEN SPACE INSTITUTE LAND TRUST INC ↗
  • Who funds LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN CONSERVANCY ↗
  • Who funds THE TENNESSEE RIVER GORGE TRUST INC ↗
  • Who funds THE LAND TRUST FOR TENNESSEE INC ↗
  • Who funds LEE UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds THE NEW MUSEUM AT THE BRADFORD BRINTON RANCH ↗
  • Who funds CHATTANOOGA CHRISTIAN SCHOOL INC ↗
  • Who funds BRADLEY CLEVELAND PUBLIC EDUCATION FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Creative Discovery Museum ↗
  • Who funds THE CARING PLACE ↗
  • Who funds UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH ↗
  • Who funds ST ANDREW'S-SEWANEE SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds WYOMING STOCK GROWERS LAND TRUST ↗
  • Who funds CHAMBLISS CENTER FOR CHILDREN ↗
  • Who funds FIRST THINGS FIRST INC ↗
  • Who funds Teach for America Inc ↗
  • Who funds SKYUKA HALL ↗
  • Who funds DOUBLEDAY SPORTS COMPLEX INC ↗
  • Who funds BUILDING & CONSTRUCTION WORKFORCE CENTER ↗
  • Who funds CITY FIELDS ↗
  • Who funds BRIGHT SCHOOL INC ↗
  • Who funds YELLOW BIRD INITIATIVES ↗
  • Who funds PLACE OF HOPE INC ↗
  • Who funds THE FOOD GROUP INC ↗
  • Who funds NORTHSIDE NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE ↗

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.

Chattanooga Christian Community FoundationTN67.6× affinity37 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Chattanooga Christian Community Foundation · Benwood Foundation Inc · The Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga Inc · Robert F Stone Foundation AKA Bobby Stone Foundation · Weldon F Osborne Foundation Inc · The Maclellan Foundation Inc · George R Johnson Family Foundation · Hamico Inc · Robert L & Kathrina H Maclellan Founda Foundation · Lyndhurst Foundation Inc · McKenzie Foundation D/B/A the McKenzie Foundation · Lillian L Colby Charitable Fdn Ia

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 Tucker Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Tucker Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 90%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • Caridad Center Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Place of Hope Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
9get no government money at all
39report 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.
05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Tucker Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Tucker 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 176 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 2022, released 2022. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

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