North Carolina · Nonprofit
First In Families of North Carolina
First In Families of North Carolina (North Carolina) receives grants from 9 organizations whose IRS filings report $218,800 to it, the largest being TRIANGLE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC ($98,937). 5 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 50% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2025
- $2.5M
- Funders on record
- 9
- Grants received
- $219k
- Net assets
- $1.1M
What First In Families of North Carolina does
Mission
First In Families of North Carolina (FIFNC) is a catalyst for people with disabilities and their families in NC to meet their self-defined needs by leveraging relationships and resources, and encouraging reciprocity in their communities. 2,542 short and long-term goals were met for 1,846 families impacted by IDD (Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities), Traumatic Brain Injury, Mental Health or Substance Abuse Disorder assisted statewide during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025. Of these 1,846 families, 49% (899) were never previously served by FIFNC. 152 private NC businesses provided discounts on goods or services requested by families.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
All the FIF local Chapters help people with developmental and other disabilities to create the lives they aspire to now and for the future. Families or individuals apply for assistance to meet a short-term or long-term goal or obtain needed goods or services. Most of those assisted do not receive formal services; 1,503 families [or 81%] this year did not get help through the Medicaid waiver. In FY 25 the total Value of Direct Support to families through all thirteen local FIF chapters was $1,086,173, comprised of $600,449 in state funding, $68,562 from private businesses (discounts and donations), $80,871 from grassroots fundraisers by Chapter Leadership Teams, $178,070 from local grants, and $158,221 worth of donated goods provided to families.Families are offered opportunities to give back to other families at the time they apply for assistance or later on; reciprocity by families served ("gave back") for FY 25 was: 34 families donated goods; 102 families donated time, and 2 families donated money. FIF partners with the business community and other families previously served, to meet the need of the applicant at the lowest possible cost. Through such assistance, the need is met,…
$604,124 spentof which $324,356 as grants$7,551 earned by the program29% of program spendingThe Statewide Cross-Area Special Program includes the Quality Assurance and Technical Assistance program (QATA), the Lifeline Project, and the Lifetime Connections program. QATA provides oversight and guidance, technical assistance, strategic planning, maintenance of strong management teams, new staff training, an annual assessment through Core Indicators of Chapter Health, and a comprehensive family support database to all 13 FIF Chapters statewide, including the 11 managed directly by FIFNC. This assistance ensures high-quality, customer-led family support and adherence to the FIF model. QATA support in FY25 included 10 on-site Chapter visits to meet with staff and management teams (policy-setting group), Nine All Chapter Staff (including affiliate chapters) videoconferences, 358 one-to-one Technical Assistance requests resolved, and 6 chapter staff training events. All Chapters scored over 80% on Core Indicators of Chapter Health (benchmark is 75% of the chapters scoring over 80%).
$416,521 spentof which $223,631 as grants$5,206 earned by the program20% of program spendingThe Blue Ridge, Five County, Triad, and Southern Piedmont Chapters funded through Vaya LME/MCO assisted 401 families last year, fulfilling 457 requests. 217 of these families were completely new to First In Families. These four Chapters assisted residents across 32 counties.
$383,338 spentof which $205,815 as grants$4,791 earned by the program18% of program spendingFIF receives funding from NC DMH to operate the FIF- Eastern NC chapter, covering 17 counties in the Northeast and 11 counties in the Southeast.
$217,937 spentof which $117,011 as grants$2,724 earned by the program10% of program spendingThe Partners LME/MCO catchment area includes the Foothills chapter, and a few counties each in our Southern Piedmont and Triad chapters. Partners assisted 211 families last year, fulfilling 257 requests. These three Chapters assisted residents across 15 counties. Sandhills Chapter (funding administered through Alliance) assisted 83 families last year, fulfilling 123 requests. 22 of these families were completely new to First In Families. This Chapter assisted residents across nine counties. Eastern North Carolina chapter (funding administered through Alliance) assisted 241 families, fulfilling 241 requests in 28 counties.Amongst total families supported, 63 families in 21 counties across the state were assisted through by our Partners in Care grant initiative a partnership to provide enhanced system navigation and advocacy opportunities to families experiencing transition related stress.
$443,541 spentof which $238,139 as grants$5,541 earned by the program21% of program spendingLifetime Connections provides future planning support to families who are planning for their child's or sibling's well-being when they are no longer able to provide the support and advocacy needed for successful community life. This includes two core services, Future Planning meetings, and a Personal Network for each member family. Families are assisted to put a comprehensive plan in place, including will(s), special needs trust, and letter of intent, and to develop Personal Networks for current (and future) quality of life and peace of mind. Lifetime Connections has 27 active volunteers who support Personal Networks for 10 member families in 4 counties. These volunteers provide advice, goal-setting, and friendship.
$44,740 spentof which $24,022 as grants$559 earned by the program2% of program spending
The 6 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $2,110,201.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2020 to 2021, from $1.1M to $1.3M (+25%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2017 86% · 2018 87% · 2019 80% · 2020 81% · 2021 85% · 2022 87% · 2023 85% · 2024 78% · 2025 81%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
99% of First In Families of North Carolina’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (81% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 2 of the last 9 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base held at 2 funders, grant income fell $71k → $10k.
4 of 9 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 50% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of First In Families of North Carolina’s funders (the co-funder graph). Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
First In Families of North Carolina leans on a few funders — its largest provides 45% of grant income and the top three 85%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
94% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund First In Families of North Carolina.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 99% · 2018 70% · 2019 85% · 2020 72% · 2021 69% · 2022 66% · 2023 99% — broadly stable.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
40% of First In Families of North Carolina's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 56% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
50% of First In Families of North Carolina's grant income arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors, whose addresses record where the money is held rather than where the donor is. Of the $109k that is directly attributable, 72% of it comes from funders outside North Carolina, across 2 states.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $110k arriving through sponsors registered in 4 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
First In Families of North Carolina is better cushioned than half of the 6,891 human services nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 6,891 human services nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2025
Organizations like First In Families of North Carolina
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In North Carolina
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
87% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
95%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for First In Families of North Carolina: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds First In Families of North Carolina?
- First In Families of North Carolina (North Carolina) receives grants from 9 organizations whose IRS filings report $218,800 to it, the largest being TRIANGLE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC ($98,937). 5 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 50% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does First In Families of North Carolina have?
- IRS filings report 9 organizations giving $218,800 in grants to First In Families of North Carolina, 5 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of First In Families of North Carolina?
- TRIANGLE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC is the largest funder on record, with $98,937 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like First In Families of North Carolina find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in North Carolina. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
Play a game about who funds First In Families of North Carolina →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 9 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing