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Waffle House Foundation Inc at a glance

· Private foundation

Waffle House Foundation Inc

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$288k
Granted FY2025still arriving
29
Grants FY2025still arriving
2
States reached
$25k
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, FY2021 to 2025.

Health$307kHuman Services$237kRecreation & Sports$151kEducation$139kHousing & Shelter$121kFood & Nutrition$73kYouth Development$61kReligion$57kOther$0
02FY2025 · 29 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k12 grants · $46k
  • $10k–50k17 grants · $243k
$10,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$185k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CHRISTIAN CITY$25,000
OPERATION WARM$20,000
CATALYST SPORTS$20,000
LIGHTHOUSE FAMILY RETREAT$20,000
MUST MINISTRIES$20,000
AGAPE YOUTH AND FAMILY CENTER$15,000
SONGS FOR KIDS FOUNDATION$15,000
ANGEL FLIGHT$15,000
CAMP TWIN LAKES$12,500
BREAKTHROUGH ATLANTA$10,000
HOMESTRETCH$10,000
AUDITORY VERBAL CENTER$10,000
NORTH METRO MIRACLE LEAGUE$10,000
STANDUP FOR KIDS$10,000
ATLANTA MISSION$10,000
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, $272k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 69% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%OPERATION WARM: $20k → 10%Gulf Coast Kid's House Inc: $1k → 16%Goshen Valley Foundation: $7k → 6%Camp Southern Grounds: $15k → 6%Lift Up Atlanta Inc: $5k → 8%MUST MINISTRIES: $20k → 8%Heirborn Servants: $10k → 9%Families 4 Families: $10k → 11%Camp Southern Grounds: $15k → 6%Must Ministries: $9k → 8%North Gwinnett Co-Op: $10k → 9%Jumpstart Automotive Training Center: $15k → 13%Camp Southern Grounds: $15k → 6%jambos: $5k → 9%Family Promise of Hall County: $10k → 12%Ser Familia Inc: $5k → 9%Aurora Day Camp: $15k → 13%INTOWN CARES: $10k → 13%Across the Bridge Inc: $20k → 9%CaringWorks Inc: $10k → 14%Friends of Disabled Adults and Children: $10k → 14%ATLANTA MISSION: $10k → 13%Crossroads Community Ministries: $10k → 13%LEAD Inc: $5k → 13%Central Outreach and Advocacy Center: $10k → 13%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.

38%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$491k · 25 repeat orgs$815k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +23% since the first grant, against +7% for those funded once.

25 repeat relationships: 11 still active in FY2025, 14 since wound down; 18 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

25
80

Total granted

$491k
$648k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+23%
+7%

Still filing today

84%
79%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 42% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $167k 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 ServicesHealthEducationRecreation & SportsPhilanthropyFood & NutritionOther
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

  • BA
    BREAKTHROUGH ATLANTA
    4× · 2021–2025 · $55k · revenue +1%
  • CS
    CAMP SOUTHERN GROUND INC
    2× · 2022–2023 · $45k · revenue +17%
  • OW
    Operation Warm Inc
    2× · 2022–2025 · $40k · revenue +78%

Funded once

  • FT
    FEED THE CHILDREN INC
    one grant, 2023 · $25k · revenue -23%
  • SV
    St Vincent DePaul Society
    one grant, 2022 · $20k
  • AT
    ACROSS THE BRIDGE INC
    one grant, 2024 · $20k · revenue +11%
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
Hope Atlanta Inc

Hope atlanta seeks to help georgians avoid homelessness and hunger through a comprehensive approach that equips them with the tools for lifelong stability.our vision is to end hunger and homelessness for every georgian.

—
2
Enable of Georgia Inc

Supporting people with special needs to lead fulfilled lives.

Housing & Shelter
3
Georgia Court Appointed Special Advocates Inc

Georgia Court Appointed Special Advocates, Inc. (the Organization) is a nonprofit organization which strengthens and supports court-sanctioned, affiliate CASA programs that empower community volunteers who advocate for abused or neglected…

Civil Rights
4
Mom Community Inc

To provide low-cost transitional living and life skill programs to pregnant mothers and new moms between the ages of 18 and 24

Human Services
5
Girls on the Run Georgia Inc

Girls on the Run Georgia empowers girls with vital social-emotional skills to help them succeed in school, at home, and within friendships. Our programs, Girls on the Run (3rd-5th grade) and Heart & Sole (6th-8th grade) are taught by…

Youth Development
6
Families First Inc

Families first strengthens family resiliency so children and families can thrive. through a prevention-based, two-generation approach, the organization provides behavioral health services, intensive navigation and case management, and…

Human Services
7
Family Counseling Center of Central Georgia Inc

Strengthen and preserve the well-being of individuals, couples, and families through easy, affordable access to professional counseling services.

—
8
Creative Community Services Inc

Creative community services (ccs) improves the quality of life for children teens and adults with developmental disabilities and mental health needs, and their families, by providing direct services and community-based support throughout…

—
9
Advocates for Children Inc

Our new mission is: advocates for children is an organization of dedicated, skilled professionals and compassionate volunteers committed to the well-being of children, youth and families. through comprehensive advocacy and unwavering…

—
10
The Georgia Center for Nonprofits

Our mission is to create thriving communities by helping nonprofits succeed. our work revolves around four primary areas of focus.1. we are a hub for social innovation 2. we are a capacity accelerator for organizations and their people3.…

Community Improvement
11
Covenant Care Services Inc

Covenant Care Services, Inc. is a non-profit faith-based adoption agency serving birthmothers and adoptive families in the state of Georgia. The Organization counsels women experiencing unplanned pregancy and educates them about the option…

Human Services
12
Easter Seals East Georgia Inc

Easter Seals East Georgia's mission is to provide exceptional services to ensure that people with disabilities and barriers to employment maximize their potential for employment and independence and broaden their opportunities for full…

Human Services
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Atlanta Union Mission Corporation; the most unlike its peers is The Hope Box 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

98 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. 98 of the 123 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.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
12
Early backer (in before they grew)
98/98
Grantees still filing
57/98
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Christian City Inc: $25,000 · OtherSt Vincent DePaul Society: $20,000 · OtherFCS URBAN MINISTRIES INC: $30,000 · OtherFCS URBAN MINISTRIES INCSONGS FOR KIDS FOUNDATION INC: $20,000 · OtherFEED THE CHILDREN INC: $25,000 · Other+52 more: $385,450 · Other+52 moreCAMP SOUTHERN GROUND INC: $45,000 · Human ServicesCAMP SOUTHERN GROUND INCOperation Warm Inc: $40,000 · Human ServicesOperation Warm IncMust Ministries Inc: $33,500 · Human ServicesMust Ministries IncACROSS THE BRIDGE INC: $20,000 · Human ServicesACROSS THE BRIDGE INCSUNRISE DAY CAMPS ASSOCIATION INC: $15,000 · Human ServicesAUTOMOTIVE TRAINING CENTER CORPORATION: $15,000 · Human Services+17 more: $138,000 · Human Services+17 moreLighthouse Family Retreat Inc: $20,000 · HealthLighthouse Fa…LEKOTEK OF GEORGIA INC: $20,000 · HealthLEKOTEK OF GE…NO LONGER BOUND INC: $20,000 · HealthNO LONGER BOU…EAGLE RANCH INC: $15,500 · HealthEAGLE RANCH I…SUNSHINE ON A RANNEY DAY INCORPORATED: $15,000 · HealthSUNSHINE ON A…CLUBHOUSE ATLANTA INC: $15,000 · HealthCLUBHOUSE ATL…BREAKTHRU HOUSE INC: $12,000 · HealthBREAKTHRU HOU…SWEET RELIEF MUSICIANS FUND: $10,000 · HealthSWEET RELIEF …CLARKSTON COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER: $10,000 · HealthCLARKSTON COM…+6 more: $19,500 · Health+6 moreBREAKTHROUGH ATLANTA: $55,000 · EducationBREAKTHROU…INROADS INC: $10,000 · EducationINROADS IN…Brookhaven Innovation Academy: $10,000 · EducationBrookhaven…ATLANTA PARTNERSHIP OF BUSINESS AND EDUCATION INC: $10,000 · EducationATLANTA PA…THE ELAINE CLARK CENTER INC: $10,000 · EducationTHE ELAINE…The Hirsch Academy Inc: $9,000 · EducationThe Hirsch…HOPE Inc Helping Other People be Empowered: $5,000 · EducationEverybody Wins Atlanta Inc: $5,000 · Education+4 more: $4,250 · EducationCAMP TWIN LAKES INC: $25,000 · Recreation & SportsAgape Community Center: $25,000 · Recreation & SportsCatalyst Sports Inc: $20,000 · Recreation & SportsNORTH METRO MIRACLE LEAGUE INC: $10,000 · Recreation & SportsSPECIAL OLYMPICS GEORGIA INC: $6,500 · Recreation & SportsAtlanta Braves Foundation: $5,000 · Recreation & Sports+1 more: $2,000 · Recreation & SportsTHE GIVING KITCHEN INITIATIVE INC: $23,500 · PhilanthropyTHE GRADY HEALTH FOUNDATION INC: $22,500 · PhilanthropyHands on Atlanta Inc: $15,000 · PhilanthropyRALLY FOUNDATION INC: $10,000 · PhilanthropyBREATHESTRONG CF INC: $6,000 · PhilanthropyMINISTRIES OF GRACE INC - GA: $15,000 · Food & NutritionATLANTA COMMUNITY FOOD BANK INC: $13,000 · Food & NutritionGLOBAL GROWERS NETWORK INC: $10,000 · Food & NutritionNeighborhood Meals on Wheels Inc: $10,000 · Food & Nutrition
Other$505,450Human Services$306,500Health$157,000Education$118,250Recreation & Sports$93,500Philanthropy$77,000Food & Nutrition$48,000

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 budgetBREAKTHROUGH ATLANTA: $55,000 over 4y, 1.3% of budgetCAMP SOUTHERN GROUND INC: $45,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetOperation Warm Inc: $40,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetMust Ministries Inc: $33,500 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetFCS URBAN MINISTRIES INC: $30,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetFEED THE CHILDREN INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetChristian City Inc: $25,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCAMP TWIN LAKES INC: $25,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetAgape Community Center: $25,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetTHE GIVING KITCHEN INITIATIVE INC: $23,500 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetTHE GRADY HEALTH FOUNDATION INC: $22,500 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetACROSS THE BRIDGE INC: $20,000 over 1y, 6.1% of budgetSONGS FOR KIDS FOUNDATION INC: $20,000 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetLEKOTEK OF GEORGIA INC: $20,000 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetNO LONGER BOUND INC: $20,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetEAGLE RANCH INC: $15,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetBOY WITH A BALL GLOBAL INC: $15,000 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetSUNRISE DAY CAMPS ASSOCIATION INC: $15,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMINISTRIES OF GRACE INC - GA: $15,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetHands on Atlanta Inc: $15,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetSUNSHINE ON A RANNEY DAY INCORPORATED: $15,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetCLUBHOUSE ATLANTA INC: $15,000 over 1y, 3.5% of budgetAUTOMOTIVE TRAINING CENTER CORPORATION: $15,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetATLANTA COMMUNITY FOOD BANK INC: $13,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBREAKTHRU HOUSE INC: $12,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetThe Hope Box Inc: $12,000 over 1y, 41% of budgetFAMILIES OF CHILDREN UNDER STRESS INC: $11,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetNEIGHBORHOOD COOPERATIVE MINISTRIES INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetTHE URBAN LEAGUE OF GREATER ATLANTA INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetINROADS INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetGEORGIA AGAPE INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetBrookhaven Innovation Academy: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetStandUp for Kids: $10,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetHEIRBORN SERVANTS INC: $10,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetRALLY FOUNDATION INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetFOSTER CARE SUPPORT FOUNDATION INC: $10,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetFRIENDS OF DISABLED ADULTS & CHILDREN TOO INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetGeorgia Council on Economic Education: $10,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetATLANTA PARTNERSHIP OF BUSINESS AND EDUCATION INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetTHE ELAINE CLARK CENTER INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetGLOBAL GROWERS NETWORK INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetThe Bedford School Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCHILDREN'S DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetFAMILY PROMISE OF HALL COUNTY: $10,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetTransformations By Atlanta Angels: $10,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetSWEET RELIEF MUSICIANS FUND: $10,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetNational Incarceration Assoc Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetNORTH GWINNETT COOPERATIVE INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.3% 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.

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.

The Imlay Foundation …The Community Foundat…Tr Uw Charles I BrananUnited Way of Greater…Atl Fdn-W Peters MainGeorgia Power Foundat…The Scott Hudgens Fam…Community Foundation …Ryan Ida Alice Tuw Ma…Frances Wood Wilson F…Tw Marian W Ottley At…The Waterfall Foundat…
The Imlay Foundation IncGA79.2× affinity37 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Imlay Foundation Inc · The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta Inc · Tr Uw Charles I Branan · United Way of Greater Atlanta Inc · Atl Fdn-W Peters Main · Georgia Power Foundation Inc · The Scott Hudgens Family Foundation Inc · Community Foundation for Northeast Georgia · Ryan Ida Alice Tuw Main · Frances Wood Wilson Foundation Inc · Tw Marian W Ottley Atlanta Main · The Waterfall 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 Waffle House Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Waffle House Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%3%13%28%50%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 16%
  • Gulf Coast Kid's House Inc: 16% of income from government
  • Feed the Children Inc: 1% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
27report 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 Waffle House Foundation Inc?

Find your warmest path to Waffle House Foundation Inc 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 123 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 Waffle House’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