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Aaron Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Aaron Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$7k
Granted FY2024still arriving
4
Grants FY2024still arriving
1
States reached
$5k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0192% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Recreation & Sports$18kPhilanthropy$12kArts & Culture$8kHealth$5kPublic Safety & Disaster$2kInternational$1kPublic Benefit$1kCommunity Improvement$600Other$0
02FY2024 · 4 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$1,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$240k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Tehachapi Mountain Rodeo Associatio$5,000
Bakersfield Mem Hospital Found$1,000
Bakersfield Art Foundation Inc$700
The Monday Clubhouse Conservancy$100
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 18%, against an area that typically sits at 15%. 99% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 15%Inspire Arts and Music Inc: $200 → 16%Chapman Estate Foundation: $300 → 12%Tehachapi Mountain Rodeo Associatio: $5k → 18%CHEMPI CA-Hawaii Major Elks Project: $15 → 19%National Museum Of The US Army Fund: $50 → 7%Tehachapi Mountain Rodeo Associatio: $5k → 18%Tehachapi Mountain Rodeo Associatio: $5k → 18%Tehachapi Mountain Rodeo Associatio: $3k → 18%African Children's Schools: $1k → 18%Bakersfield Homeless Center: $250 → 18%Kern Co Museum Foundation: $3k → 18%Bakersfield Art Foundation Inc: $2k → 18%BPOE: $2k → 18%Bakersfield Mem Hospital Found: $1k → 18%Bakersfield Mem Hospital Found: $1k → 18%Bakersfield Mem Hospital Found: $1k → 18%BPOE: $1k → 18%Bakersfield Mem Hospital Found: $1k → 18%Bakersfield Mem Hospital Found: $1k → 18%Bakersfield Art Foundation Inc: $800 → 18%Bakersfield Art Foundation Inc: $700 → 18%Bakersfield Art Foundation Inc: $700 → 18%Bakersfield Art Foundation Inc: $700 → 18%BPOE: $500 → 18%Bakersfield Art Foundation Inc: $300 → 18%Bakersfield Art Foundation Inc: $300 → 18%The Salvation Army: $50 → 18%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

85%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$43k · 6 repeat orgs$8k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +86% since the first grant, against +32% for those funded once.

6 repeat relationships: 4 still active in FY2024, 2 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

6
12

Total granted

$43k
$8k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+86%
+32%

Still filing today

50%
33%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
Arts & CultureRecreation & SportsCommunity ImprovementPhilanthropyOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • TM
    TEHACHAPI MOUNTAIN RODEO ASSOCIATION
    4× · 2021–2024 · $18k · revenue +133%
  • BA
    Bakersfield Art Foundation Inc DBA Bakersfield Museum of Art
    7× · 2017–2024 · $5k · revenue +48%
  • TM
    THE MONDAY CLUBHOUSE CONSERVANCY
    3× · 2017–2024 · $600 · revenue +86%

Funded once

  • KC
    KERN COUNTY MUSEUM FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2018 · $3k · revenue +22%
  • PC
    President's Circle Bakersfield Memo
    one grant, 2018 · $1k
  • GO
    Glenn or Cheryl Mock
    one grant, 2018 · $1k
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Museum of Art and History At the Mcpherson Center

The museum of art and history was founded in 1996 to promote a greater understanding of contemporary art and the history of santa cruz county. its mission is to bring people together through art and local history to explore our diverse…

Arts & Culture
2
Maturango Museum

The museum offers a variety of public tours, educational events, lectures, field trips and exhibits that promote the increased knowledge and appreciation of the cultural and natural history of the upper mojave desert.

Arts & Culture
3
Monterey Museum of Art

The monterey museum of art cultivates curiosity in the visual arts and engages community with the diversity of california art - past, present, and future.

Arts & Culture
4
The California Museum for History Women and the Arts

The california museum - home of the california hall of fame - engages, educates and enlightens people about california's rich history, its diversity, and its unique influence on the world of ideas, innovation, art, and culture. through…

—
5
Chase Ranch Foundation
Human Services
6
San Luis Obispo Museum of Art

Art matters: we enrich our community by using art as a doorway to deeper insight and connection.

Arts & Culture
7
Charles W Bowers Museum Corporation

The bowers museum enriches lives through the world's finest arts and cultures.

Arts & Culture
8
The Arts Council of Kern

The mission of the arts council of kern is to provide support and promote arts access, advocacy, and education for all kern county residents and vistors. we are a 501(c)(3) non profit organization and are the designated local arts agency…

Arts & Culture
9
American Museum of Ceramic Art

Amoca believes clay is magic. it is a simple yet extraordinary material from which artistic masterpieces are created and everyday products are made. from dinnerware to sculpture to cell phone chips and cosmetics, clay is a part of…

Arts & Culture
10
California Nature Art Museum

To inspire our community and visitors to enjoy, value and conserve wildlife and natural areas through art. we provide artistic, educational and field experiences of nature for that purpose.

Arts & Culture
11
Pasadena Museum of California Art

To present the breadth of california art and design through exhibitions that explore the cultural dynamics and influence that are unique to california.

—
12
Museum of American Heritage

The museum is dedicated to demonstrating mankind's ability to enhance human life through technological innovation by collecting, preserving and exhibiting mechanical and electrical artifacts.

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Kern County Museum Foundation; the most unlike its peers is African Childrens Schools. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

8 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 8 of the 18 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
7/8
Grantees still filing
7/8
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Friends of Mercy Foundation: $12,000 · OtherFriends of Mercy FoundationBakersfield Mem Hospital Found: $5,000 · OtherBakersfield Mem Hospital FoundBPOE: $3,000 · OtherBPOEPresident's Circle Bakersfield Memo: $1,000 · OtherGlenn or Cheryl Mock: $1,000 · OtherEd or Dayna Mock: $1,000 · Other+6 more: $1,065 · OtherTEHACHAPI MOUNTAIN RODEO ASSOCIATION: $17,500 · Recreation & SportsTEHACHAPI MOUNTAIN RODEO ASSOCIATIONBakersfield Art Foundation Inc DBA Bakersfield Museum of Art: $5,070 · Arts & CultureBakersfield Art F…KERN COUNTY MUSEUM FOUNDATION: $2,500 · Arts & CultureKERN COUNTY MUSEU…CHAPMAN ESTATE FOUNDATION: $300 · Arts & CultureAfrican Childrens Schools: $1,000 · PhilanthropyTHE MONDAY CLUBHOUSE CONSERVANCY: $600 · Community Improvement
Other$24,065Recreation & Sports$17,500Arts & Culture$7,870Philanthropy$1,000Community Improvement$600

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetTEHACHAPI MOUNTAIN RODEO ASSOCIATION: $17,500 over 4y, 1.6% of budgetBakersfield Art Foundation Inc DBA Bakersfield Museum of Art: $5,070 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetKERN COUNTY MUSEUM FOUNDATION: $2,500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetAfrican Childrens Schools: $1,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetTHE MONDAY CLUBHOUSE CONSERVANCY: $600 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetCHAPMAN ESTATE FOUNDATION: $300 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetBETHANY SERVICES INC: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetINSPIRE ARTS AND MUSIC INC: $200 over 1y, 0.0% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

  • Who funds TEHACHAPI MOUNTAIN RODEO ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds Bakersfield Art Foundation Inc DBA Bakersfield Museum of Art ↗
  • Who funds KERN COUNTY MUSEUM FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds African Childrens Schools ↗
  • Who funds THE MONDAY CLUBHOUSE CONSERVANCY ↗
  • Who funds CHAPMAN ESTATE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds BETHANY SERVICES INC ↗
  • Who funds INSPIRE ARTS AND MUSIC INC ↗

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Donor Advised Charita…Amazonsmile Foundation
Donor Advised Charitable Giving IncCO5× affinity4 shared granteesties to 1 of 1Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Amazonsmile Foundation

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Aaron Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Aaron Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%3%5%8%10%share of the org’s income from government →median 1%
  • Inspire Arts and Music Inc: 1% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
1report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–10%
typical government reliance, FY20–25
How this is measured
Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.

On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 18 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

How this is measured
Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

Generated from the IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

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More from the funding graph

The unnamed billions
grants reported with no recipient in the public record
The regranting layer
51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
The DAF merry-go-round
$9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
The endowment market
who holds foundation money, and what just moved
The camps
funders cluster by geography, not ideology
By state
where grant money is based, and what stays home