Tennessee · Nonprofit
GARY SINISE FOUNDATION
GARY SINISE FOUNDATION (Tennessee) receives grants from 970 organizations whose IRS filings report $101,869,087 to it, the largest being FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ($9,184,514). 491 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $86M
- Funders on record
- 970
- Grants received
- $102M
- Net assets
- $83M
What Gary Sinise Foundation does
Mission
At the Gary Sinise Foundation, we support our nation's heroes, our veterans, military, those suffering from the invisible wounds of war, first responders, their families, and the families of fallen heroes. (continued on schedule o)we do this by our unique programs that uplift, entertain, and help them in their greatest time of need through building communities of support.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Relief and resiliency outreach supports our nation's defenders, wounded/ill/injured veterans, their loved ones and families of fallen heroes as they cope with trauma and loss. The foundation provided over 566 grants to these individuals in their time of urgent need. The Gary Sinise Foundation hosted 11,424 participants in mental wellness retreats allowing veterans and first responders to experience pathh & struggle well programming this year. In 2024, the foundation hosted 2,587 families of fallen heroes at two annual snowball events (one for military fallen and one for first responder fallen families) and 3,117 attendees at other year-round programming events to engage the families of the fallen all year long.
$26,348,316 spentof which $8,210,604 as grants36% of program spendingThrough our r.I.s.e (restoring independence, supporting empowerment) program, we're constructing one-of-a-kind specially adapted smart homes for our nation's most severely wounded veterans and first responders. This initiative supports our nation's wounded heroes, many who suffer from amputations, traumatic brain injuries (tbi), burns, and post traumatic stress. These 100% mortgage-free homes ease the daily challenges faced by these heroes and their families who sacrifice alongside them. During the fiscal year, the Gary Sinise Foundation completed 4 specially adapted smart homes for wounded heroes. By the end of the year, the foundation had completed 94 homes for our injured heroes and their families since inception. (continued on schedule o)in addition, through the gsf r.I.s.e. Program, the foundation assisted with 43 adapted vehicles, 37 mobility devices, and 41 home modifications for america's injured, wounded, ill/aging defenders.
$21,365,001 spentof which $3,586,024 as grants29% of program spendingCommunity outreach and education worked hard to bring joy & relief to so many across the country, including providing critical financial aid to those in crisis. This includes, but is not limited to, disaster relief efforts in response to wildfires, hurricanes, and other natural disasters. The program also documented oral history stories from ww ii veterans and through continued sponsorship of a historian from the world war ii museum, gsf has helped to develop an ai profile for interviews so that guests can almost ask any question they'd like to ask and get a response. 152,877 active duty, veterans and first responders were served hearty, classic american meals as part of our serving heroes program, closing in on 1,225,780 meals since gsf began this tradition. (continued on schedule o)these meals are a message from grateful americans who appreciate their service and are a reminder that their sacrifices are not forgotten.
$16,521,336 spentof which $10,407,914 as grants22% of program spendingWhether the lt. Dan band is boosting morale on military bases at home and abroad or raising awareness at benefit concerts across the country, the band entertains, educates, inspires and builds communities with its explosive live show everywhere it goes. The mission of every concert remains the same: honor. Gratitude. Rock & roll. The lt. Dan band ended the fiscal year performing 23 concerts for attendees worldwide with more than 48,350 participants.first responders outreach recognized and supports america's firefighters, police and emts nationwide. These men and women are indispensable to maintaining the safety and support of our local communities. Grants assisted first responders with urgent needs from protective gear to safety equipment. In 2024, the program assisted first responder departments throughout the u.s. With over 2,367 pieces of equipment, totaling $5,530,524. Fire departments were also assisted with fire conference attendance, and specialized training for vehicle extrication, rope rescue and mental health support.
$9,675,843 spentof which $5,308,746 as grants$279,706 earned by the program13% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $73,910,496.
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 $61M to $80M (+30%).
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 1% · 2019 0% · 2021 0% · 2022 0% · 2023 1% · 2024 0% · 2025 0%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
90% of GARY SINISE FOUNDATION’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (80% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 1 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.
Chief executive
Donna Mercier
Executive director
Board chair
Gary Sinise
Chairman/founder
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
The chief executive listed changed between the FY2023 and FY2024 filings.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 96 funders to 335 funders, grant income rose $5.0M → $16M.
87 of 970 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 40% 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 GARY SINISE FOUNDATION’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 970 funders by total. 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
GARY SINISE FOUNDATION has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 9% of grant income, and it takes 13 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 13 funders to its left
61% 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 GARY SINISE FOUNDATION.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 31% · 2018 15% · 2019 18% · 2020 30% · 2021 13% · 2022 11% · 2023 12% — diversifying over time.
“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
38% of GARY SINISE FOUNDATION's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 51% 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
GARY SINISE FOUNDATION draws 98% of its grant income from funders outside Tennessee, across 49 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $41M arriving through sponsors registered in 30 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
GARY SINISE FOUNDATION has grown faster than half of the 490 philanthropy nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 490 philanthropy nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2025
Government funding GARY SINISE FOUNDATION receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $120k on record.
- REFUNDS - GENERAL $120k
Federal grants vs contracts are distinguished; state line items keep their reported category. Matched by name + geography (the BMF), so coverage is partial and precision-first.
Organizations like GARY SINISE FOUNDATION
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 Tennessee
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
89% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
97%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 34 states
Part of a family of 2 related entities
- Lt Dan Band LLC · disregarded
- Real Property Holdco LLC · disregarded
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for GARY SINISE FOUNDATION: 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 GARY SINISE FOUNDATION?
- GARY SINISE FOUNDATION (Tennessee) receives grants from 970 organizations whose IRS filings report $101,869,087 to it, the largest being FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ($9,184,514). 491 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does GARY SINISE FOUNDATION have?
- IRS filings report 970 organizations giving $101,869,087 in grants to GARY SINISE FOUNDATION, 491 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of GARY SINISE FOUNDATION?
- FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND is the largest funder on record, with $9,184,514 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like GARY SINISE FOUNDATION find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Tennessee. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
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 970 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 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing