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· Private foundation

William a Stern 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.

$132k
Granted FY2025still arriving
59
Grants FY2025still arriving
6
States reached
$15k
Largest
01What it funds
0192% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Education$239kHuman Services$130kArts & Culture$118kPhilanthropy$87kEnvironment$78kReligion$77kHealth$49kHousing & Shelter$39kOther$0
02FY2025 · 59 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k57 grants · $105k
  • $10k–50k2 grants · $27k
$1,000
Median grant
6
States reached
$2.1M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CONE HEALTH$15,000
CHURCH WORLD SERVICES GREENSBORO$12,000
JUNIOR LEAGUE OF HIGH POINT$5,000
GREENSBORO JEWISH FEDERATION$5,000
COMMUNITIES IN SCHOOL$5,000
GREENSBORO URBAN MINISTRY$5,000
CONE HEALTH PHILANTHROPY$5,000
WESTCHESTER COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL$4,000
UNCG$3,000
NEWCOMERS SCHOOL$3,000
CHILDRENS HOME SOCIETY OF NC$3,000
CAPE FEAR COMMUNITY COLLEGE$3,000
Individual grant recipient$2,500
PRESERVATION GREENSBORO INC$2,500
SANCTUARY HOUSE$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 (FY17–25, $72k) land where the poverty rate runs at 17%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%CREATING A FAMILY: $250 → 13%BOYS & GIRLS HOME OF NC: $2k → 21%BOYS & GIRLS HOME OF NC: $1k → 21%BOYS & GIRLS HOME OF NC: $1k → 21%BOYS & GIRLS HOME OF NC: $1k → 21%BOYS & GIRLS HOME OF NC: $1k → 21%BOYS & GIRLS HOME OF NC: $500 → 21%GREENSBORO URBAN MINISTRY: $10k → 16%GREENSBORO URBAN MINISTRY: $10k → 16%GREENSBORO URBAN MINISTRY: $10k → 16%GREENSBORO URBAN MINISTRY: $5k → 16%GREENSBORO URBAN MINISTRY: $5k → 16%GREENSBORO URBAN MINISTRY: $5k → 16%GREENSBORO URBAN MINISTRY: $5k → 16%GREENSBORO URBAN MINISTRY: $5k → 16%GREENSBORO URBAN MINISTRY: $5k → 16%FAMILY SERVICES OF THE PIEDMONT: $1k → 16%FAMILY SERVICES OF THE PIEDMONT: $1k → 16%FAMILY SERVICES OF THE PIEDMONT: $1k → 16%FAMILY SERVICES OF THE PIEDMONT: $1k → 16%FAMILY SERVICES OF THE PIEDMONT: $1k → 16%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.

92%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$920k · 84 repeat orgs$79k to everyone else

84 repeat relationships: 53 still active in FY2025, 31 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

84
25

Total granted

$920k
$54k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+26%
+46%

Still filing today

42%
44%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 80% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $25k 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
Human ServicesArts & CultureEducationEnvironmentHealthRecreation & SportsOther
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

  • GU
    GREENSBORO URBAN MINISTRY
    9× · 2017–2025 · $60k · revenue +38%
  • CF
    CAPE FEAR COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC
    7× · 2017–2023 · $47k · revenue +989%
  • THE INTERACTIVE RESOURCE CENTER INC
    7× · 2017–2023 · $32k · revenue +45%

Funded once

  • NORTH CAROLINA COASTAL LAND TRUST
    one grant, 2018 · $10k · revenue -63%
  • TH
    THE HEALING GARDENS AT WESLEY LONG
    one grant, 2024 · $10k
  • TJ
    THE JUNIOR LEAGUE OF GREENSBORO NC INC
    one grant, 2023 · $5k · revenue -13%
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
Greensboro Historical Museum Inc

Together with its diverse communities, the organization collects objects and stories, connects generations, and challenges people to explore our city's past, present and future. the museum sparks wonder through bold exhibitions and…

Arts & Culture
2
Greater Winston-Salem Development Corp

To recruit new businesses to winston-salem and forsyth county in order to facilitate growth and economic diversification in the area.

Community Improvement
3
Goodwill Industries of Central North Car

Goodwill industries of central north carolina, inc.'s mission is improving lives and enriching communities through the power of work

Employment
4
Greensboro College

Greensboro College provides a liberal arts education grounded in the traditions of the United Methodist Church and fosters the intellectual, social, and spiritual development of all students while supporting their individual needs.

Education
5
North Carolina Symphony Society Inc

To be north carolina's state orchestra, an orchestra achieving the highest level of artistic quality and performance standards, and embracing its dual legacies of statewide service and music education.

Arts & Culture
6
Foundation for the Carolinas

Inspiring philanthropy and strengthening our region through innovative community initiatives and quality services to donors and constituents.

Philanthropy
7
NourishNC Inc

NourishNC, Inc.'s goal is to provide healthy food to hungry children, empowering them to succeed in the classroom and in their community

Food & Nutrition
8
North Carolina Conservation Network

The north carolina conservation network supports, trains, and coordinates diverse groups and directly advocates to achieve equitable and sustainable solutions for our environment.

Environment
9
Equality Nc

Securing equality and justice for lgbtq north carolinians.

Civil Rights
10
CleanAIRE Nc

To advocate for the health of all North Carolinians by pursuing equitable and collaborative solutions that address climate change and air pollution.

Environment
11
TreesCharlotte

Public/private collaborative to plant trees, raise awareness of the canopy, and educate about tree care.

Environment
12
North Carolina Theatre Conference

To strengthen nc's vibrant theatre industry and engage tomorrow's artist, audiences, and advocates.

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is North Carolina Folk Festival; the most unlike its peers is Friends of Sauratown Mountains. 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

52 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. 52 of the 115 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)
11
Early backer (in before they grew)
51/52
Grantees still filing
31/52
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

UNITED WAY OF GREATER GSO: $36,000 · OtherUNITED WAY OF GREATER GSOCHURCH WORLD SERVICES GREENSBORO: $32,000 · OtherCHURCH WORLD SERVICES GREENSBOROCOASTAL LAND TRUST: $31,000 · OtherUNCG DEPT CLASSICAL STUDIES: $31,000 · OtherNEWCOMERS SCHOOL: $24,000 · OtherUNCG FLORA STERN SCHOLARSHIP: $20,500 · OtherMOSES H CONE MEMORIAL HOSPITAL OPERATING CORPORATION: $20,000 · Other+75 more: $404,684 · Other+75 moreGREENSBORO URBAN MINISTRY: $60,000 · Human ServicesGREENSBORO URBAN…THE INTERACTIVE RESOURCE CENTER INC: $32,000 · Human ServicesTHE INTERACTIVE …Children's Home Society of North Carolina Inc: $27,000 · Human ServicesChildren's Home …Sanctuary House Inc: $11,000 · Human ServicesSanctuary House …BOYS & GIRLS HOMES OF NC INC: $6,500 · Human ServicesROOM AT THE INN INC: $5,000 · Human ServicesFAMILY SERVICE OF THE PIEDMONT INC: $5,000 · Human Services+2 more: $2,250 · Human ServicesCAPE FEAR COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC: $47,000 · EducationCAPE FEAR COM…UNCW CORPORATION: $21,000 · EducationUNCW CORPORAT…GUILFORD COLLEGE: $20,500 · EducationGUILFORD COLL…BENNETT COLLEGE: $16,000 · EducationBENNETT COLLE…Westchester Country Day School Inc: $13,000 · EducationWestchester C…+3 more: $8,000 · Education+3 morePreservation Greensboro Inc: $22,500 · Arts & CultureNORTH CAROLINA FOLK FESTIVAL: $10,000 · Arts & CultureEASTERN MUSIC FESTIVAL INC: $9,000 · Arts & CultureDOWNTOWN GREENSBORO FOUNDATION: $5,000 · Arts & CultureUNITED ARTS COUNCIL OF GREENSBORO INC: $3,000 · Arts & CultureTHE NATURAL SCIENCE CENTER OF GREENSBORO INC DBA GREENSBORO SCIENCE CENTER: $3,000 · Arts & CultureAFRICAN SERVICES COMMITTEE INC: $2,000 · Arts & CultureTHE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA PRESS INC: $2,000 · Arts & Culture+1 more: $250 · Arts & CultureGREENSBORO JEWISH FEDERATION: $42,000 · PhilanthropyPIEDMONT LAND CONSERVANCY: $17,000 · EnvironmentNORTH CAROLINA COASTAL LAND TRUST: $10,000 · EnvironmentFRIENDS OF THE MOUNTAINS-TO-SEA TRAIL: $5,500 · EnvironmentGREENSBORO BEAUTIFUL INC: $4,000 · EnvironmentGREENSBORO PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION INC: $26,000 · Recreation & SportsFRIENDS OF SAURATOWN MOUNTAINS: $8,000 · Recreation & Sports
Other$599,184Human Services$148,750Education$125,500Arts & Culture$56,750Philanthropy$42,000Environment$36,500Recreation & Sports$34,000

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 budgetGREENSBORO URBAN MINISTRY: $60,000 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetCAPE FEAR COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC: $47,000 over 7y, 1.1% of budgetGREENSBORO JEWISH FEDERATION: $42,000 over 9y, 0.2% of budgetTHE INTERACTIVE RESOURCE CENTER INC: $32,000 over 7y, 0.4% of budgetChildren's Home Society of North Carolina Inc: $27,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetGREENSBORO PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION INC: $26,000 over 9y, 5.8% of budgetPreservation Greensboro Inc: $22,500 over 9y, 1.5% of budgetUNCW CORPORATION: $21,000 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetGUILFORD COLLEGE: $20,500 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetPIEDMONT LAND CONSERVANCY: $17,000 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetBENNETT COLLEGE: $16,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetWestchester Country Day School Inc: $13,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE: $13,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetSanctuary House Inc: $11,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetA Safe Place Inc: $11,000 over 6y, 0.7% of budgetNORTH CAROLINA COASTAL LAND TRUST: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetJUNIOR LEAGUE OF HIGH POINT NC INC: $10,000 over 2y, 11% of budgetNORTH CAROLINA FOLK FESTIVAL: $10,000 over 6y, 0.4% of budgetEASTERN MUSIC FESTIVAL INC: $9,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetFRIENDS OF SAURATOWN MOUNTAINS: $8,000 over 8y, 2.0% of budgetBOYS & GIRLS HOMES OF NC INC: $6,500 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetBRIGADE BOYS & GIRLS CLUB INC: $6,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetPEACEHAVEN FARM INC: $6,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE MOUNTAINS-TO-SEA TRAIL: $5,500 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetROOM AT THE INN INC: $5,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetTHE JUNIOR LEAGUE OF GREENSBORO NC INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetFAMILY SERVICE OF THE PIEDMONT INC: $5,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetDOWNTOWN GREENSBORO FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetSTOKES COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC: $4,500 over 9y, 0.8% of budgetElon University: $4,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetVITAMIN ANGEL ALLIANCE INC: $4,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetGREENSBORO BEAUTIFUL INC: $4,000 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetDISABILITY ADVOCACY CENTER: $3,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetTHE MULTIPLE MYELOMA RESEARCH FOUNDATION INC: $3,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetUNITED ARTS COUNCIL OF GREENSBORO INC: $3,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetTHE NATURAL SCIENCE CENTER OF GREENSBORO INC DBA GREENSBORO SCIENCE CENTER: $3,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetGREENSBORO MONTESSORI SCHOOL: $3,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetAFRICAN SERVICES COMMITTEE INC: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA PRESS INC: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTiny House Community Development Inc: $2,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $2,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetJEWISH EDUCATIONAL LOAN FUND INC: $2,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE BARNABAS NETWORK: $2,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetFRIENDS OF OAKDALE CEMETERY INC: $1,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetAMERICAN HEBREW ACADEMY INC: $1,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMissionary Athletes International and Charlotte Eagles Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSPECIAL OLYMPICS NORTH CAROLINA INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSTOKES COUNTY ARTS COUNCIL INC: $500 over 1y, 0.1% 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 GREENSBORO URBAN MINISTRY ↗
  • Who funds CAPE FEAR COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds GREENSBORO JEWISH FEDERATION ↗
  • Who funds THE INTERACTIVE RESOURCE CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds Children's Home Society of North Carolina Inc ↗
  • Who funds GREENSBORO PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds Preservation Greensboro Inc ↗
  • Who funds UNCW CORPORATION ↗
  • Who funds GUILFORD COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds MOSES H CONE MEMORIAL HOSPITAL OPERATING CORPORATION ↗
  • Who funds PIEDMONT LAND CONSERVANCY ↗
  • Who funds BENNETT COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds Westchester Country Day School Inc ↗
  • Who funds AMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE ↗
  • Who funds Sanctuary House Inc ↗
  • Who funds A Safe Place Inc ↗
  • Who funds NORTH CAROLINA COASTAL LAND TRUST ↗
  • Who funds JUNIOR LEAGUE OF HIGH POINT NC INC ↗
  • Who funds NORTH CAROLINA FOLK FESTIVAL ↗
  • Who funds EASTERN MUSIC FESTIVAL INC ↗

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.

Lincoln Financial Foundation IncPA33.4× affinity17 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Lincoln Financial Foundation Inc · Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro Inc · The Hummel Family Fund Inc · Tannenbaum-Sternberger Foundation Inc · Reynolds American Foundation · Duke Energy Foundation · North Carolina Community Foundation · Well-Spring Retirement Community Inc · The Mary Lynn Richardson Fund · The Winston-Salem Foundation · The Cemala Foundation Inc · Foundation for the Carolinas

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 William a Stern Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from William a Stern Foundation. 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%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    17report 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.

    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 115 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

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