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Plinth

· Private foundation

Willard C Tilson Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$290k
Granted FY2024still arriving
11
Grants FY2024still arriving
1
States reached
$50k
Largest
01What you fund
0185% classified

What you funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year — across FY20172024.

Education$645kYouth Development$200kHuman Services$116kArts & Culture$101kRecreation & Sports$75kHousing & Shelter$65kFood & Nutrition$35kEnvironment$20kOther$0
02FY2024 · 11 grants

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $10k–50k10 grants · $240k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $50k
$25,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$4.9M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
The Waring School$50,000
Elevated Thought$40,000
The Cornerstone Creative$25,000
Raw Art Works$25,000
Individual grant recipient$25,000
Individual grant recipient$25,000
The Haven Project Inc$25,000
Someone Cares New England$20,000
Building Bridges Through Music$20,000
Greater Lawrence Community Boating$20,000
Top Notch Scholars$15,000
02The need
03

Do your dollars go where the need is?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, then read against the area’s typical level.

show:

Your human-services grants (FY18–23, $106k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of your grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%BUDGET BUDDIES: $20k → 8%Budget Buddies: $10k → 8%Womens Money Matters: $10k → 16%WELLSPRING HOUSE INC: $20k → 10%URBAN BRIDGES INC: $20k → 10%PATHWAYS FOR CHILDREN: $5k → 10%URBAN BRIDGES INC: $10k → 10%PATHWAY FOR CHILDREN: $1k → 10%Urban Bridges: $10k → 10%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount

Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty linein the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP; grantee ZIP can differ from where services are delivered.

US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are actually delivered. Need from public data — U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA — shown as context about the area, never attributed to your giving.

03Your edge
repeat funding

Who you back again

Which organizations you funded more than once, and which you funded a single time. Each grantee is matched to its own filings.

91%of every dollar goes to organizations you’ve funded before.
$1.3M · 18 repeat orgs$138k to everyone else

And the relationships you keep tend to grow: grantees you re-up on have seen median revenue of +69% since the first grant, against +50% for the ones you funded once.

18 repeat relationships — 10 still active in FY2024, 8 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

18
8

Total granted

$1.3M
$113k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+69%
+50%

Still filing today

72%
38%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 91% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $25k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
Human ServicesEducationArts & CultureYouth DevelopmentReligionFood & NutritionOther

First-time = a grantee’s first year in your filing window; renewed = funded in an earlier year too. As a portfolio matures the renewed share naturally climbs — once funded, an org stays “renewable” — so the signal is the years that buck it (a new-grantee intake wave). 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

  • WS
    WARING SCHOOL INC
    7× · 2017–2024 · $495k · revenue +23%
  • ELEVATED THOUGHT INC
    7× · 2018–2024 · $140k · revenue +486%
  • The Haven Project Inc
    4× · 2020–2024 · $65k · revenue +177%

Funded once

  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2021 · $25k
  • WELLSPRING HOUSE INCgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $20k · revenue +107%
  • GI
    GREENROOTS INCgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $20k · revenue +50%

Repeat = funded in two or more distinct years; growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Your field

The map has a center of gravity: the average direction from the rest of the sector toward the organizations the foundation funds — the shape of its giving. Scoring every nonprofit along that direction surfaces the ones that look most like the portfolio. These are the closest matchesthat aren’t grantees — a resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Boston Arts Summer Institute Inc
Recreation & Sports
2
Apprentice Learning Inc

Apprentice learning provides real-world work experiences for middle school students. we leverage career exploration to teach skills and to nuture dreams.

Youth Development
3
Digital Ready Inc

Digital Ready activates the creative potential of young adults, especially low-income residents, to build tangible pathways to economic opportunities in Boston's innovation economy.

Education
4
Wide Angle Youth Media Inc

Through media arts education, wide angle youth media collaborates with and amplifies the voices of baltimore youth to engage audiences across social divides. our programs inspire creativity and instill confidence in young people,…

Arts & Culture
5
Elevate New England Inc

Build long term, life changing relationships with urban youth, equipping them for a plan for the future to thrive and contribute to their community.

Youth Development
6
Studio in a School Association Inc

From classrooms to careers, studio in a school expands access to visual arts education and professions in the arts by partnering with practicing artists, schools, and cultural institutions.

7
Resilient Coders Inc

Training young adults from low income communities for high growth careers as software engineers, and connecting them with jobs.

Employment
8
More Than Words Inc

Our mission is to empower youth who are in foster care, court involved, homeless or out of school to take charge of their lives by taking charge of a business.

9
Pathways Adult Education & Training Inc

To provide a supportive educational environment for adult learners from the greater lynn area, provide opportunities for non-native english speakers to learn english and improve their english language arts and math skills, and to…

10
Trinity Academy for the Performing Arts

Trinity academy for the performing arts utilizes an interdisciplinary arts-integrated program to prepare our artist-scholars for collegiate and professional success.

Education
11
YouthBuild Newark Inc

To harness the intelligence and positive energy of low-income young people to rebuild their community and their lives.

Youth Development
12
Juxtaposition Arts Inc

Juxtaposition arts (jxta) is a visual art and design organization, rooted in north minneapolis for over 30 years. we expand access to creative education and career pathways by engaging emerging artisits in rigorous traning, mentorship and…

Youth Development

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Pathways for Childreninc and the most unlike its peers is The Cornerstone Creative 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

16 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each one resolved to its own IRS returns and tracked year by year — your grant beside their revenue from every source. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

Counted here: distinct organizations you funded across 20172025, not grant rows in a single year — so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 16 of the 27 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile; the rest are funded organizations whose filings we could not track year by year.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
10
Early backer (in before they grew)
16/16
Grantees still filing
16/16
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

WARING SCHOOL INC — $495,000 · EducationWARING SCHOOL INCELEVATED THOUGHT INC — $140,000 · EducationELEVATED THOUGHT INCTOP NOTCH SCHOLARS INC — $65,000 · EducationTOP NOTCH SCHOLARS INCGreater Lawrence Community Boating — $70,000 · OtherGreater Lawrence Community BoatingIndividual grant recipient — $65,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientThe Haven Project Inc — $65,000 · OtherThe Haven Project IncIndividual grant recipient — $55,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientSi Se Puede Inc — $40,000 · OtherSi Se Puede IncRAW ART WORKS INC — $35,000 · OtherRAW ART WORKS INCSomeone Cares New England — $30,000 · OtherSomeone Cares New EnglandIndividual grant recipient — $25,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientIndividual grant recipient — $25,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientIndividual grant recipient — $20,000 · Other+4 more — $33,000 · Other+4 moreURBAN BRIDGES INC — $40,000 · Human ServicesWOMEN'S MONEY MATTERS INC — $40,000 · Human ServicesWELLSPRING HOUSE INC — $20,000 · Human ServicesPATHWAYS FOR CHILDRENINC — $6,000 · Human ServicesThe Cornerstone Creative Inc — $60,000 · Youth DevelopmentBUILDING BRIDGES THROUGH MUSIC INC — $50,000 · ReligionCAPE ANN ART HAVEN INC — $32,500 · Arts & CultureGLOUCESTER STAGE COMPANY INC — $5,000 · Arts & CultureSOMEBODY CARES NEW ENGLAND INC — $35,000 · Food & NutritionGREENROOTS INC — $20,000 · Environment
Education$700,000Other$463,000Human Services$106,000Youth Development$60,000Religion$50,000Arts & Culture$37,500Food & Nutrition$35,000Environment$20,000

Each org by its size and your share of it — top-left is where you’re load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ your share of their budgetWARING SCHOOL INC — $495,000 over 7y, 1.7% of budgetELEVATED THOUGHT INC — $140,000 over 7y, 3.5% of budgetThe Haven Project Inc — $65,000 over 4y, 2.8% of budgetTOP NOTCH SCHOLARS INC — $65,000 over 6y, 11% of budgetThe Cornerstone Creative Inc — $60,000 over 4y, 13% of budgetBUILDING BRIDGES THROUGH MUSIC INC — $50,000 over 3y, 7.4% of budgetURBAN BRIDGES INC — $40,000 over 3y, 26% of budgetSi Se Puede Inc — $40,000 over 4y, 12% of budgetWOMEN'S MONEY MATTERS INC — $40,000 over 3y, 3.5% of budgetSOMEBODY CARES NEW ENGLAND INC — $35,000 over 2y, 4.2% of budgetRAW ART WORKS INC — $35,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetCAPE ANN ART HAVEN INC — $32,500 over 2y, 12% of budgetWELLSPRING HOUSE INC — $20,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetGREENROOTS INC — $20,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetPATHWAYS FOR CHILDRENINC — $6,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetGLOUCESTER STAGE COMPANY INC — $5,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budget
Go grantee by grantee — a decade per org, and how each moved after you funded them

A decade per grantee — revenue shaded, your grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

  • Who funds WARING SCHOOL INC
  • Who funds ELEVATED THOUGHT INC
  • Who funds The Haven Project Inc
  • Who funds TOP NOTCH SCHOLARS INC
  • Who funds The Cornerstone Creative Inc
  • Who funds BUILDING BRIDGES THROUGH MUSIC INC
  • Who funds URBAN BRIDGES INC
  • Who funds Si Se Puede Inc
  • Who funds WOMEN'S MONEY MATTERS INC
  • Who funds SOMEBODY CARES NEW ENGLAND INC
  • Who funds RAW ART WORKS INC
  • Who funds CAPE ANN ART HAVEN INC
  • Who funds WELLSPRING HOUSE INC
  • Who funds GREENROOTS INC
  • Who funds PATHWAYS FOR CHILDRENINC
  • Who funds GLOUCESTER STAGE COMPANY INC

The grantmakers whose grantees overlap with yours far more than size alone predicts. Each orbits closer the stronger the alignment; the arcs between them show where they also fund each other. Here it reads as a tightly interlocked camp — most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Amelia Peabody FoundationMA26.2× affinity10 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Amelia Peabody Foundation · Essex County Community Foundation Inc · Boston Foundation Inc · Eastern Bank Foundation · Rogers Family Foundation · Cummings Foundation Grants Inc (Fka Oneworld Boston Inc) · Institution for Savings in Newburyport & Its Vicinity Charitable Foundation Inc · United Way Of Massachusetts Bay Inc · The Lenny Zakim Fund · Brace Cove Foundation Inc · Edward S & Winifred G Moseley Foundation · Massachusetts Charitable Society

Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. A research starting point: overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

Government reliance of your grantees

Every dot is one organization Willard C Tilson Foundation funds. Left–right is the share of its income from government; up–down is the share from you. Bigger dots raise more. Filter to federal, a single department, or state — and drag the year to watch it move.

2024
202122232425
no gov · 50%2%8%17%30%your share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from governmentmedian 4%
  • Pathways for Childreninc86% of income from government
  • Building Bridges Through Music Inc19% of income from government
  • Wellspring House Inc9% of income from government
  • Raw Art Works Inc7% of income from government
  • Somebody Cares New England Inc4% of income from government
  • Urban Bridges Inc3% of income from government
  • Greenroots Inc1% of income from government
  • Women's Money Matters Inc1% of income from government
  • Cape Ann Art Haven Inc1% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
5get no government money at all
2report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
1rely on government for over half their income
typical government reliance, FY2025

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 your grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first — a floor, not 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 12–24 months.

05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Willard C Tilson Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Willard C Tilson 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 directly from IRS e-file XML — your own 990/990-PF and the multi-year returns of the 27 grantees we resolved across every year we hold, several hundred filings in all (a different count from the grant rows on the cover, which are one fiscal year)— each linked to its source. Grantee achievements and outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III); we read these as association with sustained funding — the foundation is one of several forces — suppress low-confidence name matches rather than guess, and say so where a figure rests on a single grant or filing. Not everything on this page is a filed figure, and the difference matters. Filed is what you reported on your 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. How we build these →

Generated from your IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

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