FundersMichigan

The Simpson Foundation

Detroit, MI · EIN 57-6017451. Reported 121 grants totalling $7,123,000 to 49 organizations across tax years 2021-2024. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.

Yesaccepts unsolicited requests
$20,000median grant
$7,123,000granted, 2021-2024
49organizations funded
88%of grantees funded again the next year
$37.2Massets, latest filing

Does this foundation accept applications?

Yes -- on its own tax return. Form 990-PF asks every private foundation whether it makes grants only to organizations it selects itself. Of the 91,758 foundations in our data that made a grant and answered, 78% said yes -- and applying to those is wasted effort. The Simpson Foundation did not check that box on its most recent filing, which puts it in the minority that is at least open to being approached.

This is the foundation's own statement to the IRS, not our judgement, and it says nothing about whether they have a form, a deadline, or an appetite for new grantees. Treat it as the reason this foundation is worth your research time, not as an invitation. Many small foundations of this kind have no website and no application process -- a letter of inquiry is the normal first step.

How big are its grants?

The median grant is $20,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $5,000 and $45,000; the smallest was $1,000 and the largest $1,100,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.

$1,000 - $5,000
6 grants
$5,000 - $10,000
26 grants
$10,000 - $25,000
38 grants
$25,000 - $50,000
21 grants
$50,000 - $100,000
11 grants
$100,000 and Up
19 grants

Every organization it funded

This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Years funded is the number of separate tax years in which the organization received money -- more than one means a real relationship rather than a one-off.

OrganizationLocationTotal receivedGrantsYears fundedLast
Brookgreen GardensPawleys Isl, SC$2,350,000442024
Miracle Hill Ministries IncGreenville, SC$1,050,000442024
Samaritans PurseBoone, NC$825,000442024
Presbyterian College Bonnie Blue ScholarshipClinton, SC$550,000442024
Converse CollegeSpartanburg, SC$245,000332024
Anderson UniversityAnderson, SC$180,000222024
Law Enforcement Chaplaincy for South CarolinaColumbia, SC$180,000442024
Bon Secours St Francis Health SystemsGreenville, SC$150,000222024
Converse College Save Wilson HallSpartanburg, SC$150,000112021
Christ Community Church Montreat Morning School ScholarshipsMontreat, NC$140,000442024
Naples Historical Society Inc Protection of Historic Palm CottageNaples, FL$125,000442024
Pcsc FoundationColumbia, SC$115,000442024
Williams PlaceColumbia, SC$90,000332023
Healthnetwork Foundation Campaign for ExcellenceChagrin Falls, OH$85,000442024
The Salvation Army Greenville CountyGreenville, SC$75,000222023
Young LifeGreenville, SC$72,500332024
Crossover Communications InternationalColumbia, SC$70,000442024
Harold C Jennings FoundationGreenville, SC$70,000332024
The Museum Association IncGreenville, SC$60,000442024
Camperdown Academy IncGreenville, SC$50,000112021
Theology MattersGreenwood, SC$50,000222024
Community Care Clinic of Highlands Cashiers IncHighlands, NC$40,000332024
Neighborhood Health Clinic IncNaples, FL$40,000442024
Presbyterians for Faith Family and MinistryGreenwood, SC$40,000222022
Protestant Episcopal High School in VirginiaAlexandria, VA$40,000442024
Bob Jones University Museum and Gallery IncGreenville, SC$25,000112021
Highlands Emergency CouncilHighlands, NC$25,000112024
The Bascom CorpHighlands, NC$25,000442024
The Shelter for Abused Women and Children IncNaples, FL$25,000442024
Performing Arts Center IncHighlands, NC$20,000332024
BrooklinkGermantown, WI$15,000222024
Highland Community Child Development Center IncHighlands, NC$15,000332024
Literacy Council of Highlands IncHighlands, NC$15,000332024
Moorings Park FoundationNaples, FL$13,000112024
First Presbyterian Church of NaplesNaples, FL$11,000222024
Clemson University FoundationClemson, SC$10,000112024
Columbia International UniversityColumbia, SC$10,000112021
Highlands Cashiers Health FoundationHighlands, NC$10,000222024
Hospice House Foundation of Wnc IncFranklin, NC$10,000112021
The Julie Valentine CenterGreenville, SC$10,000112021
Artis NaplesNaples, FL$5,000112021
Carolina VillageHendersonville, NC$5,000112023
Greenville Tech Foundation Inc Anne Prentiss Moore ScholarshipGreenville, SC$5,000112021
Naples Botanical GardenNaples, FL$5,000112021
Star Ability FoundationNaples, FL$5,000112024
Shephard Center Foundation Attn Jessica WilliamsAtlanta, GA$5,000112022
Voice of Naples IncBonita Springs, FL$5,000112023
Bellarmine University Vicki B Owsley Nursing ScholarshipLouisville, KY$4,000442024
Mitchell Road Christian AcademyGreenville, SC$2,500112021

32 of 49 (65%) received money in more than one year over the 4 years we hold.

Measured the way we measure every foundation -- what share of one year's grantees are funded again the next -- this one retains 88%, across 3 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is unusually consistent. A high number means its list is close to settled and a newcomer has to displace someone; a low one means it is still moving money around, which is where an opening is.

What the money was for

Taken verbatim from the purpose field of its filings. This is the closest thing to a statement of what this foundation cares about, in its own words.

What kind of organizations it funds

By the recipient's own IRS classification, for the 76 grants where we could identify the organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses.

Education
21 grants
Arts & Culture
13 grants
Human Services
13 grants
Religion
10 grants
Health Care
6 grants
Environment
5 grants
Crime & Legal
4 grants
Youth Development
3 grants

Giving by year

Tax yearGrantsTotalMedian grant
202135$1,506,000$15,000
202221$1,876,000$10,000
202332$1,671,000$20,000
202433$2,070,000$20,000

Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- filings arrive about a year late, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a foundation winding down.

Where its money goes

Foundations concentrate geographically far more than their mission statements suggest. 79% of this one's giving went to organizations in South Carolina. If you are outside its footprint, that matters more than how well your programme fits.

South Carolina
$5.6M
North Carolina
$1.1M
Florida
$234K
Ohio
$85K
Virginia
$40K
Wisconsin
$15K
Georgia
$5K
Kentucky
$4K

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Funders that support the same organizations

These funders gave to organizations this one also funded -- some private foundations, some community foundations and other grantmaking charities. Shared grantees are the strongest available signal that two funders have overlapping priorities, and a funder already backing your peers is a far warmer prospect than one that merely lists your cause.

Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund25 shared recipientsDonor Advised Charitable Giving Inc21 shared recipientsNational Philanthropic Trust14 shared recipientsAmerican Online Giving Foundation Inc13 shared recipientsVanguard Charitable Endowment Program13 shared recipientsNatl Christian Charitable Fdn Inc12 shared recipients

How to approach this foundation

  1. Check you are its size. The median grant is $20,000. Asking for ten times that is the most common way small organizations waste a submission.
  2. Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in South Carolina.
  3. Read the recipient list above for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer, and a cheap one to get.
  4. Look up the current filing before writing. The 990-PF names the foundation's officers and, where one exists, its application procedure. We link it below.

Related guides

Foundations funding education in North CarolinaEvery funder in this group, ranked

Where these numbers come from

Everything above is taken from The Simpson Foundation's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2021-2024). Nothing here is scraped, inferred, or estimated.

Address of record on the latest return: Po Box 75000, Detroit, MI, 48275. This is the address the foundation gave the IRS; many small foundations file through an accountant or a bank trust department, so it may not be where post to a programme officer should go.

EIN 57-6017451 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this

This is history, not an open call. Foundation returns are published about a year after the tax year ends. Nothing on this page is a deadline. It is a record of who this foundation has actually funded, which is the best available predictor of who it will fund next -- and a much better basis for deciding whether to write to them than a mission statement.

Is something here wrong about your foundation? Email hello@funderscope.com and we will correct it.