C Spire Foundation
Ridgeland, MS · EIN 20-3426826. Reported 110 grants totalling $1,525,025 to 67 recipients across tax years 2023-2025. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.
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. C Spire 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.
How big are its grants?
The median grant is $6,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $5,000 and $15,000; the smallest was $714 and the largest $180,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.
Every organization it funded
This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Recipients are grouped by name and state as they were written on the returns, so an organization entered under two different names appears twice. Years funded is the number of separate tax years in which that name received money.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friends of Russell C Davis Planetarium | Jackson, MS | $200,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Mississippi State University Center for Cyber Education | Mississippi State, MS | $193,000 | 3 | 2 | 2025 |
| Base Camp Academy | Water Valley, MS | $150,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| University of Ms Foundation | University, MS | $77,500 | 8 | 2 | 2025 |
| Bean Path | Jackson, MS | $60,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Eudora Welty Foundation | Jackson, MS | $60,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Mississippi Childrens Museum | Jackson, MS | $51,328 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Pinola Community Center | Pinola, MS | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Mississippi State University Foundation | Mississippi State, MS | $40,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Alcorn State University Foundation | Alcorn State, MS | $31,500 | 3 | 2 | 2025 |
| University of Southern Mississippi | Hattiesburg, MS | $30,714 | 3 | 2 | 2025 |
| Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi | Hernando, MS | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Jackson State University | Jackson, MS | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Mission First | Jackson, MS | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Mississippi State University | Mississippi State, MS | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Ole Miss Womens Council for Philanthropy | Oxford, MS | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Troy University Foundation | Troy, AL | $26,000 | 3 | 2 | 2025 |
| American Red Cross | Flowood, MS | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| We Will Go Ministries | Jackson, MS | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Community Foundation for Mississippi | Jackson, MS | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Jackson State University Development Foundation Idc | Jackson, MS | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Scripps National Spelling Bee | Cincinnati, OH | $15,500 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Secretary of State Student Ambassadors | Jackson, MS | $15,083 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Chatech | Chattanooga, TN | $15,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Jackson State University Development Foundation | Jackson, MS | $15,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Tougaloo College | Tougaloo, MS | $14,900 | 4 | 2 | 2025 |
| Samaritans Purse | Boone, NC | $12,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Delta State University | Cleveland, MS | $12,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Ms University for Women | Columbus, MS | $12,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Ms Valley State University | Itta Bena, MS | $12,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Arise Ms | Oxford, MS | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Bpo International | Clinton, MS | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Common Ground Troy | Troy, AL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Educate Learning Center | Como, MS | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Ole Miss Office of Pre-College Programs | University, MS | $10,000 | 2 | 1 | 2023 |
| Piney Woods School Alumni Association | Jackson, MS | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| University of Mississippi Medical Center | Jackson, MS | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Ibma Trust Fund | Nashville, TN | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Mississippi Arts & Entertainment Experience | Meridian, MS | $7,500 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Same-Army Engineering & Construction Camp | Vicksburg, MS | $7,500 | 2 | 1 | 2023 |
| Um Center for Innovation & Enterprenuership | University, MS | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| University of Mississippi Museum | University, MS | $7,500 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Copiahlincoln Junior College Foundation Inc | Wesson, MS | $6,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| American Heart Association | Jackson, MS | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Ballard Health Foundation | Johnson City, TN | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Computer Science Teacher Assoc Ms | Jackson, MS | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Homewood City Schools Foundation | Birmingham, AL | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Magnolia Speech School | Madison, MS | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Mississippi Museum of Art | Jackson, MS | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Palmer Home | Columbus, MS | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Pine Grove Association Inc | Canton, MS | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Valiant Cross Academy | Montgomery, AL | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Jackson Prep Pat | Flowood, MS | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Junior Achievement of Middle Tn Inc | Nashville, TN | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Called 2 Teach Educational Consultation | Richton, MS | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Highland Elementary | Ridgeland, MS | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Jackson Friends of the Library | Jackson, MS | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Jackson State Universitydevelopment Foundation | Jackson, MS | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Jackson Symphony League | Jackson, MS | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Mississippi Spelling Bee | Columbus, MS | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Northwest Community College Foundation | Senatobia, MS | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| St Augustine School | Ridgeland, MS | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Wade H Creekmore SR Itpa | Meadville, MS | $2,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Alsac St Jude | Memphis, TN | $1,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Holmes County Consolidated School District | Lexington, MS | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Ms Council of Teachers of Mathmatics | Florence, MS | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Pillow Academy | Greenwood, MS | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
27 of 67 (40%) received money in more than one year over the 3 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 40%, across 2 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is less consistent than most. This measures how often it paid the same organizations again. It says nothing about whether it would consider a new one.
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.
- Mississippi State University Center for Cyber Education
Computer Science Courses for Teachers & Students - Base Camp Academy
Sustaining Sponsor Base Camp Coding Academy STEM - Eudora Welty Foundation
Scholastic Writing Awards - We Will Go Ministries
We Will Go Anniversary Gala - Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi
Global Teaching Project STEM - Community Foundation for Mississippi
National Folk Festival Family Area
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 48 grants where we could match the recipient to a registered organization. The categories are the IRS's. The match, made from the name and address on the return, is ours.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 14 | $58,505 | $4,000 |
| 2024 | 55 | $849,957 | $6,000 |
| 2025 | 41 | $616,563 | $7,500 |
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
93% of its giving went to organizations in Mississippi. If your organization is based elsewhere, look in the recipient list for grants to your area before writing.
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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 a sign of overlapping priorities and nothing more: they do not show that any of these funders would consider a new organization. Each page says what its filings show.
How to approach this foundation
- Check you are its size. The median grant is $6,000. A request many times that size asks for something it has rarely or never given.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in Mississippi.
- 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.
- 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.
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from C Spire Foundation's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 5 returns (tax years 2021-2025). Grant figures are from its returns. Matching recipients to registered organizations, their IRS classifications, the retention rate and the funders that support the same organizations are our own calculations, described in how we build this.
Address of record on the latest return: 1018 Highland Colony Pkwy Ste 700, Ridgeland, MS, 39157. 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 20-3426826 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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