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William T and Frances A Little Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

William T and Frances A Little 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.

$3.6M
Granted FY2025still arriving
46
Grants FY2025still arriving
11
States reached
$200k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its fieldRead
04Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2018 to 2025.

Education$8.5MHuman Services$684kHealth$675kPublic Benefit$350kRecreation & Sports$307kFood & Nutrition$295kAnimals$240kEnvironment$125kOther$0
02FY2025 · 46 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k3 grants · $15k
  • $10k–50k7 grants · $190k
  • $50k–250k36 grants · $3.4M
$60,000
Median grant
11
States reached
$259M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
WILLIAMS SYNDROME ASSOCIATION INC$200,000
MICHIGAN FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE FOUNDATION$200,000
KALAMAZOO JUNIOR GOLF ASSOCIATION$200,000
DOLPHINS PLUS OCEANSIDE MARINE MAMMAL RESPONDER IN$190,000
MAYO CLINIC$180,000
YOUNG WOMENS CHRISTIAN ASSOC OF KALAMAZOO$165,000
KALAMAZOO LOAVES & FISHES$130,000
KALAMAZOO REFUGEE RESOURCE COLLABORATIVE INC$110,000
LAKE MICHIGAN JUNIOR GOLF ASSOCIATION INC$106,500
CULVER EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION$100,000
KALAMAZOO COMMUNITY FOUNDATION$100,000
Kalamazoo Area Math and Science Center$100,000
FCNL EDUCATION FUND$100,000
BAXTER COMMUNITY CENTER$93,500
URBAN ALLIANCE$90,000
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 (FY25–25, $374k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 88% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%BRAVER ANGELS INC: $55k → 17%CHASIN A DREAM FOUNDATION INC: $35k → 10%BAXTER COMMUNITY CENTER: $94k → 11%WARRIOR CANINE CONNECTION INC: $10k → 8%FAMILY & CHILDREN SERVICES INC: $70k → 12%KALAMAZOO REFUGEE RESOURCE COLLABORATIVE INC: $110k → 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

MN
IL
MI
NY
IN
NJ
CT
MD
KS
TN
DC
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.
03Its 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
Kalamazoo College

The mission of kalamazoo college is to prepare its graduates to better understand, live sucessfully within, and provide enlightened leadership to a richly diverse and increasingly complex world. as a highly selective, nationally renowened…

Education
2
Kalamazoo County Humane Society

The mission of the kalamazoo humane society is to nuture the wellbeing of animals and people in our communities.

Animals
3
Land Conservancy of West Michigan

Our mission is conserving West Michigans ecologically critical land. We protect land by creating public nature preserves, providing support to communities and local governments in creating natural areas, and helping private landowners…

Environment
4
Central Indiana Corporate Partnership Inc

Central indiana corporate partnership (cicp) is an alliance of indiana's business and research university leaders coming together to foster long-term prosperity for the region. cicp's mission is to transform the economy of indiana in order…

Community Improvement
5
Business Leaders for Michigan

Business leaders for michigan is a nonprofit, nonpartisan statewide organization driven by ceos from the state's leading employers, all working toward a shared goal: making michigan a top 10 state for jobs, talent and a thriving economy.…

—
6
Central Maine Healthcare Corporation

To provide exceptional healthcare services in a safe and trustful environment through the expertise, committment, and compassion of our family of caregivers.

Health
7
Business Leaders for Michigan Foundation

Business leaders for michigan is a nonprofit, nonpartisan statewide organization driven by ceos from the state's leading employers, all working toward a shared goal: making michigan a top 10 state for jobs, talent and a thriving economy.…

Community Improvement
8
Good Samaritan Foundation

Partnering for healing and a healthy future through philanthropy.

—
9
Lincoln Park Zoological Society

Lincoln park zoo is dedicated to connecting people with nature by providing a free, family-oriented wildlife experience in the heart of chicago and by advancing the highest quality of animal care, horticulture, education, science and…

Animals
10
Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana Inc

Gleaners' mission is to be a leader in the fight against hunger. we do this by joining with others to optimize equitable access to nutritious food for those of us facing hunger and working to overcome the conditions causing food insecurity.

—
11
Michigan Humane Society

To improve and save lives through compassionate care, community engagement and advocacy for animals.

Animals
12
Greater Lansing Food Bank

Partner to alleviate hunger one meal at a time, to create a future where everyone has access to nourishing food.

Food & Nutrition
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Kids' Food Basket Inc; the most unlike its peers is Van Andel Research Institute. 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

38 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. 38 of the 47 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)
8
Early backer (in before they grew)
38/38
Grantees still filing
14/38
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

CHOATE ROSEMARY HALL FOUNDATION INCORPORATED: $8,000,001 · EducationCHOATE ROSEMARY HALL FOUNDATION INCORPORATED+1 more: $100,000 · EducationMICHIGAN FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE FOUNDATION: $200,000 · OtherMICHIGAN FRATERNA…MAYO CLINIC: $180,000 · OtherMAYO CLINICYOUNG WOMEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF KALAMAZOO MI: $165,000 · OtherYOUNG WOMEN'S CHR…Kalamazoo Area Math and Science Center: $100,000 · OtherKalamazoo Area Ma…SOUTH MICHIGAN FOOD BANK: $70,000 · OtherWESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY: $70,000 · OtherGRAND VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY: $70,000 · OtherSHARE OUR STRENGTH: $60,000 · OtherSENIOR SERVICES INC: $60,000 · OtherHOSPITAL HOSPITALITY HOUSE OF SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN INC: $60,000 · OtherSALVATION ARMY: $60,000 · OtherDOLPHIN LIFE INC: $190,000 · OtherDOLPHIN LIFE INCSOUTHWEST MICHIGAN LAND CONSERVENCY INC: $75,000 · OtherFCNL EDUCATION FUND: $100,000 · OtherFCNL EDUCATION FU…RIGHTSHARINGOFWORLDRESOURCES INC: $60,000 · Other+8 more: $270,000 · Other+8 moreWILLIAMS SYNDROME ASSOCIATION INC: $200,000 · HealthChristian Healthcare Centers Inc: $75,000 · HealthGRYPHON PLACE: $70,000 · HealthST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $60,000 · HealthSHRINERS HOSPITALS FOR CHILDREN: $60,000 · Health+1 more: $5,000 · HealthKALAMAZOO REFUGEE RESOURCE COLLABORATIVE INC: $110,000 · Human ServicesBAXTER COMMUNITY CENTER: $93,500 · Human ServicesFAMILY & CHILDREN SERVICES INC: $70,000 · Human ServicesBraver AngelsInc: $55,000 · Human ServicesCHASIN A DREAM FOUNDATION INC: $35,000 · Human Services+1 more: $10,000 · Human ServicesKALAMAZOO JUNIOR GOLF ASSOCIATION: $200,000 · Recreation & SportsLAKE MICHIGAN JUNIOR GOLF ASSOCIATION: $106,500 · Recreation & SportsKALAMAZOO LOAVES & FISHES INC: $130,000 · Food & NutritionGLEANERS COMMUNITY FOOD BANK OF SOUTHEASTERN MICHIGAN: $60,000 · Food & NutritionTWELVE BASKETS: $50,000 · Food & NutritionMINISTRY WITH COMMUNITY INC: $30,000 · Food & Nutrition+1 more: $5,000 · Food & NutritionKALAMAZOO COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $100,000 · PhilanthropyUrban Alliance Inc: $90,000 · PhilanthropyGARY SINISE FOUNDATION: $50,000 · Philanthropy
Education$8,100,001Other$1,790,000Health$470,000Human Services$373,500Recreation & Sports$306,500Food & Nutrition$275,000Philanthropy$240,000

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

25%50%75%100%$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetCHOATE ROSEMARY HALL FOUNDATION INCORPORATED: $8,000,001 over 4y, 2.5% of budgetKALAMAZOO LOAVES & FISHES INC: $130,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetLAKE MICHIGAN JUNIOR GOLF ASSOCIATION: $106,500 over 1y, 6.9% of budgetCulver Educational Foundation: $100,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetFCNL EDUCATION FUND: $100,000 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetSOUTHWEST MICHIGAN LAND CONSERVENCY INC: $75,000 over 1y, 2.8% of budgetChristian Healthcare Centers Inc: $75,000 over 1y, 2.6% of budgetGRYPHON PLACE: $70,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetSOUTH MICHIGAN FOOD BANK: $70,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetRIGHTSHARINGOFWORLDRESOURCES INC: $60,000 over 1y, 5.5% of budgetSENIOR SERVICES INC: $60,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetGLEANERS COMMUNITY FOOD BANK OF SOUTHEASTERN MICHIGAN: $60,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $60,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGARY SINISE FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetKalamazoo Nature Center: $50,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetCOMMUNITIES IN SCHOOLS OF KALAMAZOO: $30,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetMINISTRY WITH COMMUNITY INC: $30,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetFELLOWSHIP OF RECONCILIATION INC: $25,000 over 1y, 2.5% of budgetWARRIOR CANINE CONNECTION INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetKIDS' FOOD BASKET INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetGRAND RAPIDS PUBLIC MUSEUM: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% 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.

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.

Harold and Grace Upjo…Kalamazoo Community F…Marvin and Rosalie Ok…Irving S Gilmore Foun…United Way of South C…Tyler-Little Family F…Dorothy U Dalton Foun…John E Fetzer Institu…Consumers Energy Foun…Mike and Sharon Seely…The Burdick-Thorne Fo…Suzanne Upjohn Delano…
Harold and Grace Upjohn FoundationMI34.5× affinity14 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Harold and Grace Upjohn Foundation · Kalamazoo Community Foundation · Marvin and Rosalie Okun Foundation · Irving S Gilmore Foundation · United Way of South Central Michigan · Tyler-Little Family Foundation · Dorothy U Dalton Foundation Inc · John E Fetzer Institute Inc · Consumers Energy Foundation · Mike and Sharon Seelye Family Foundation · The Burdick-Thorne Foundation · Suzanne Upjohn Delano Parish 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 William T and Frances A Little Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from William T and Frances A Little Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%8%15%22%30%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • Warrior Canine Connection Inc: 5% of income from government
  • Shriners Hospitals for Children: 0% of income from government
  • Choate Rosemary Hall Foundation Incorporated: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
2get no government money at all
12report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–30%
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.
04Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to William T and Frances A Little Foundation?

Find your warmest path to William T and Frances A Little 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 47 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 William T and Frances A Little’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