The Shepherds Hand

The Shepherds Hand is a small, family-run private foundation (EIN 38-2092191) based in Lakeland, FL, operated entirely by volunteer officers — President Richard Porter, Secretary/Treasurer Sharon Porter, and Vice President Amanda Nielsen — none of whom draw more than $15,000-19,000 in annual compensation. There is no program staff, no online portal, and no published RFP; the foundation's own instructions state simply that an organization "should send information, tax status, needs, area of ministry, website, and brochures" to the foundation's Lakeland address. This is a relationship-light, mail-in model: first-time applicants should expect a straightforward document review rather than a multi-stage LOI-to-site-visit pipeline. The foundation's giving is heavily weighted toward evangelical Christian nonprofits — the top-50 grantee list is dominated by missions organizations (Village Ministries International, $60,000 across 3 grants; SAT-7, $55,000), youth and camp ministries (Bair Lake Bible Camp, $55,000; Camp Hemlock, $46,000), campus ministries (His House Christian Fellowship, $45,000; Cru, $17,750), and Christian advocacy/legal groups (Alliance Defending Freedom, $40,000; Students for Life of America, $23,000). Nearly all top grantees received 3-4 grants apiece over the observed period, indicating the foundation strongly favors renewing relationships with known ministries over funding new applicants — first-time organizations should apply expecting a smaller initial gift ($500-$5,000 range) with the possibility of graduating to repeat, larger support if the relationship proves durable. Geographic concentration is notable: despite a nationwide grantee footprint (368 grants across at least 10 states), Michigan (81 grants) and Florida (66 grants) together account for roughly 40% of grant volume, reflecting the Porter family's Michigan roots and Florida operating base. Organizations with a presence in either state, or an explicit evangelical Christian mission (missions, evangelism, Christian education, pregnancy resource centers, prison/rescue ministries), are the clearest fit.

Across 368 recorded grants totaling $2,069,604, the average grant is $5,624, closely matching the foundation's self-reported typical grant size (median $5,000; average $5,245; range $500-$15,000; based on 93 grants). External sources corroborate this: Cause IQ's FY2024 snapshot shows 98 grants totaling roughly $524,000 (median $4,000), while GrantStation's earlier FY2022 snapshot shows 92 grants totaling $605,000 (median $5,000, average $6,600) — indicating grant sizes and volume have been remarkably stable across at least three reporting years. The foundation's own Form 990-PF financial history shows total giving fluctuating in a band of roughly $437,000 (FY2011) to a one-time high of $1,312,100 (FY2014, likely a large one-off distribution), settling into a consistent $572,000-$732,000 range from FY2019-FY2022 before dipping to $649,401 in FY2023. Total assets have held steady around $8.3M-$11.3M over the past decade, currently reported at $10.3M-$13M depending on filing year, funded primarily by net investment income (e.g., $3.3M in FY2022, driving that year's $3.4M total revenue) rather than new contributions — the foundation received $0 in contributions in every year reported from 2019-2023, confirming it operates purely as an endowed grantmaking vehicle, not a fundraising charity. By program area, the top-50 grantee list is dominated by missions/evangelism (roughly 30% of top-50 dollars), youth/camp ministries (~20%), education and campus ministry (~15%), and pregnancy-center/pro-life and legal-advocacy organizations (~10%), with smaller allocations to prison/rescue ministries and family counseling. Geographically, Michigan and Florida together represent 106 of 368 grants (29% of grant count), with Illinois (27), Colorado (25), Arizona (19), Georgia (15), California (15), Texas (13), Virginia (13), and DC (12) rounding out the top ten states.

The Shepherds Hand sits within a cluster of similarly sized Philanthropy & Grantmaking foundations, each holding roughly $10.3M in assets but differing sharply in mission focus and application posture.

Asset size is coincidentally near-identical across this peer set (all clustered at $10.3M, reflecting how the peer list was generated rather than a meaningful market segment), but The Shepherds Hand is distinguished by having a clear, publicly documented giving pattern: a faith-based mission, a defined geographic tilt toward Michigan and Florida, and a specific, if informal, application pathway. Peers with undisclosed giving data and no public grantee history are effectively opaque to outside applicants, making The Shepherds Hand comparatively easier to research and target despite its lack of a formal online process.

Public web coverage of The Shepherds Hand is thin — as a fully volunteer-run, non-fundraising private foundation, it does not issue press releases or maintain an active news presence. The most current third-party data (Cause IQ, profile refreshed 2025-07-03) shows FY2024 activity of 98 grants totaling approximately $524,000, with assets at $13 million — both consistent with the foundation's decade-long pattern of steady, unflashy giving rather than any new initiative or strategic shift. GrantStation's listing of "recent 2024 grants" shows continuity with the foundation's historical grantee profile: A Door of Hope ($3,000 for foster care), A Woman's Choice Inc ($5,000 for pregnancy center services, also a top-50 historical grantee at $19,000 across 4 grants), and A Thousand Hills ($5,000 for missions work). No leadership changes were found — Richard Porter, Sharon Porter, and Amanda Nielsen have held their respective President, Secretary/Treasurer, and Vice President roles across every filing year reviewed, with officer compensation flat at $14,000-$15,000 annually for Porter and $0 for the other two officers. No new program announcements, name changes, or major single grants outside the established $500-$15,000 range were identified. The website listed for the foundation in public records (theshepherdshand.org) resolves to an unrelated LLC in a different state and should not be relied upon for outreach — applicants should use the mailing address and phone number on file instead.

There is no online application, LOI form, or published deadline — the foundation's own instructions are to mail "information, tax status, needs, area of ministry, website, and brochures" directly to The Shepherds Hand Inc, 2333 Little Cypress Dr, Lakeland, FL 33810, or call (248) 207-7580 to confirm the current contact. Because the board consists of three volunteers spending roughly 12 combined hours per week on foundation business, submissions should be lean: a one-to-two page cover letter, proof of 501(c)(3) status, a one-paragraph description of the specific ministry need, and a link or brochure describing the organization — do not send a full multi-attachment grant proposal packet, as it is unlikely to be fully reviewed by a part-time volunteer board. Alignment language matters more than program complexity: grantee purposes in the data are almost uniformly framed in explicitly Christian/evangelical terms ("Christian evangelistic ministry," "foreign missions," "kids camp ministry," "rescue mission") rather than secular equivalents, so applicants should lead with their faith mission and specific ministry category rather than generic nonprofit outcomes language. Geographic framing helps: since Michigan and Florida together account for nearly 30% of grant volume, an applicant based in or serving either state should say so explicitly in the first paragraph. The most common mistake for a funder like this is treating it like a large institutional foundation — sending a 990-style budget narrative, a logic model, or requesting a size of grant well above the observed $15,000 ceiling will likely be a mismatch; requests should be framed in the $500-$15,000 range, with $5,000 as a realistic median ask for a first-time relationship. The grantee data shows the foundation renews support for organizations it trusts (most top grantees received 3-4 separate gifts), so treat a first grant as an opening to build a multi-year relationship: send a brief thank-you/impact update after using the funds, even though no formal reporting requirement is documented, since repeat funding appears to depend on the foundation's informal familiarity with the organization rather than a competitive annual cycle.