Elizabeth Buford Shepherd Scholarship
Birmingham, AL · EIN 62-6047221. Reported 110 grants totalling $307,500 to 61 organizations across tax years 2021-2024. 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. Elizabeth Buford Shepherd Scholarship 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 $1,500. Half of everything it gave fell between $1,500 and $3,000; the smallest was $1,500 and the largest $24,000. 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. 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.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Tennessee - Knoxville | Knoxville, TN | $45,000 | 3 | 2 | 2023 |
| The University of Tn Knoxville | Knoxville, TN | $24,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| University of Tennessee at Knoxville | Knoxville, TN | $18,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| University | Pittsburgh, PA | $13,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| University of Alabama | Tuscaloosa, AL | $13,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Lee University | Cleveland, TN | $10,500 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Middle Tennessee State University | Mufreesboro, TN | $9,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| University of Mississippi | University, MS | $9,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Vanderbilt University | Nashville, TN | $7,500 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Berry College | Mount Berry, GA | $6,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Georgia Institute of Technology | Atlanta, GA | $6,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Tennessee Technological University | Cookeville, TN | $6,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| University of Rochester | Rochester, NY | $6,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Bryan College | Dayton, TN | $4,500 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Georgetown University | Washington, DC | $4,500 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Syracuse University | Syracuse, NY | $4,500 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Tennessee Technological University Financial Aid Office | Cookeville, TN | $4,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| The University of Memphis | Memphis, TN | $4,500 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| The University of Tn Chattanooga | Chattanooga, TN | $4,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Tn Technological University | Cookeville, TN | $4,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| University of Alabama Huntsville | Huntsville, AL | $4,500 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| University of Chicago | Chicago, IL | $4,500 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| University of Tennessee - Chattanooga | Chattanooga, TN | $4,500 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| University of Tennessee at Chattanooga | Chattanooga, TN | $4,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Wake Forest University | Winstonsalem, NC | $4,500 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Austin Peay State University | Clarksville, TN | $3,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Bowling Green State University | Bowling Green, OH | $3,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Brown University | Providence, RI | $3,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Columbia University | New York City, NY | $3,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Duke University | Durham, NC | $3,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| East Tn State University | Johnson City, TN | $3,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Keiser University Flagship Campus | West Palm Beach, FL | $3,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Milligan College | Milligan College, TN | $3,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| North Carolina State University | Raleigh, NC | $3,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Northwestern University | Evanston, IL | $3,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| St Louis University | St Louis, MO | $3,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| United States Military Academy | West Point, NY | $3,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| University of California - Los Angeles | Los Angeles, CA | $3,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| University of South Carolina | Columbia, SC | $3,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Uthsc College of Pharmacy | Memphis, TN | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Uthsc College of Pharmacy Financial Aid Office | Memphis, TN | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Yale University | New Haven, CT | $3,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Belmont University | Nashville, TN | $1,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Bowling Green State University Financial Aid Office | Bowling Green, OH | $1,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| College of William and Mary | Williamsburg, VA | $1,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| East Tn State University Financial Aid Office | Johnson City, TN | $1,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Emory University | Atlanta, GA | $1,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Florida State University | Tallahassee, FL | $1,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Institute of Technology | Brooklyn, NY | $1,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Jacksonville State University | Jacksonville, AL | $1,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Lipscomb University | Nashville, TN | $1,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Murray State University | Murray, KY | $1,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Stanford University | Stanford, CA | $1,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| The College of William & Mary Bursar's Office | Williamsburg, VA | $1,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| University of Al at Birmingham | Birmingham, AL | $1,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| University of Alabama Birmingham | South Birmingham, AL | $1,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| University of Mississippi | University, MI | $1,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia, PA | $1,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Ut Health & Science Center | Memphis, TN | $1,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Ut Health & Science Center College of | Memphis, TN | $1,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Villanova University | Villanova, PA | $1,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
33 of 61 (54%) 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 35%, across 3 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is less consistent than most. 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 kind of organizations it funds
By the recipient's own IRS classification, for the 50 grants where we could identify the organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 31 | $81,000 | $1,500 |
| 2022 | 34 | $90,000 | $1,500 |
| 2023 | 22 | $76,500 | $1,500 |
| 2024 | 23 | $60,000 | $1,500 |
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
Foundations concentrate geographically far more than their mission statements suggest. 57% of this one's giving went to organizations in Tennessee. If you are outside its footprint, that matters more than how well your programme fits.
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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.
How to approach this foundation
- Check you are its size. The median grant is $1,500. Asking for ten times that is the most common way small organizations waste a submission.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in Tennessee.
- 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 Elizabeth Buford Shepherd Scholarship'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: P O Box 11647, Birmingham, AL, 35202. 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 62-6047221 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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