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Adams Fund at a glance

· Private foundation

Adams Fund

Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$1.3M
Granted FY2025still arriving
57
Grants FY2025still arriving
11
States reached
$300k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0196% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Health$2.4MEducation$1.9MArts & Culture$561kHousing & Shelter$493kCommunity Improvement$308kEmployment$308kPhilanthropy$288kReligion$269kOther$0
02FY2025 · 57 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k30 grants · $82k
  • $10k–50k18 grants · $365k
  • $50k–250k8 grants · $559k
  • $250k+1 grant · $300k
$7,500
Median grant
11
States reached
$2.3M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
HOAG HOSPITAL$300,000
HAVARD WESTLAKE SCHOOL$100,000
ST FRANCIS HIGH SCHOOL$98,900
CATHOLIC EDUCATION FOUNDATION$75,000
KILLEBREW-THOMPSON MEMORIAL FUND$68,000
BREAKTHROUGH T1D$55,600
JSERRA CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL$55,000
SANTA YNEZ BAND OF CHUMASH INDIANS$54,000
CALIFORNIA ART CLUB$52,000
WORLD BUSINESS ACADEMY$30,000
CHILDRENS HOSPITAL$27,500
ST BEDE THE VENERABLE PARISH$25,000
DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS$25,000
HOLLENBECK PALMS$25,000
SCHOOLPOWER$25,000
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:

Its human-services grants (FY17–25, $350k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%UNION RESCUE MISSION: $500 → 14%IMAGINE LA: $250 → 14%THE JESTER & PHARLEY PHUND: $250 → 14%HILLSIDES: $1k → 14%HILLSIDES: $1k → 14%GOLDEN STATE OPPORTUNITY FOUNDATION: $2k → 14%SAFE PLACE FOR YOUTH: $400 → 14%CATHOLIC CHARITIES OF LOS ANGELES: $1k → 14%MEANING FOUNDATION: $150k → 14%MEANING FOUNDATION: $100k → 14%THE MEANING FOUNDATION: $47k → 14%SILVER LAKE INDEPENDENT JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER: $15k → 14%SILVER LAKE INDEPENDENT JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER: $10k → 14%SILVER LAKE INDEPENDENT JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER: $4k → 14%SILVER LAKE INDEPENDENT JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER: $3k → 14%MEANING FOUNDATION: $10k → 14%LOS ANGELES YOUTH NETWORK: $6k → 14%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.

Which US states its grants reach

VT
NH
WA
ID
MN
IL
MI
NY
MA
PA
NJ
CT
CA
UT
CO
MO
KY
VA
MD
AZ
NC
DC
HI
GA
FL
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.

88%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$7.1M · 101 repeat orgs$946k to everyone else

101 repeat relationships: 39 still active in FY2025, 62 since wound down; 17 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

101
102

Total granted

$7.1M
$848k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+23%
+29%

Still filing today

55%
59%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 93% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $97k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
EducationArts & CultureHealthHuman ServicesYouth DevelopmentPublic BenefitOther
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

  • HK
    HARMON KILLEBREW-DANNY THOMPSON MEMORIAL CANCER FOUNDATION INC
    9× · 2017–2025 · $561k · revenue +63%
  • MF
    Meaning Foundation
    4× · 2019–2025 · $307k · revenue +112%
  • PS
    POLYTECHNIC SCHOOL
    6× · 2017–2022 · $233k · revenue +72%

Funded once

  • KS
    KECK SCHOOL OF MEDICINE OF USC
    one grant, 2019 · $50k
  • KS
    KENTUCKY STATE TREASURER
    one grant, 2021 · $50k
  • YP
    YWCA - PASADENA
    one grant, 2019 · $50k
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
Association of California School Administrators

The association serves its members by creating resources that enable california school administrators to develop and apply creative leadership and management skills and in turn, improve the educational process for all students.

—
2
California College of the Arts

California college of the arts educates students to shape culture and society through the practice and critical study of art, architecture, design, and writing. benefitting from its san francisco bay area location, the college prepares…

Education
3
The Seven Hills School

The institution provides educational instruction and activities to students ranging from preschool through 8th grade.

—
4
Pitzer College

Pitzer College produces engaged socially responsible citizens of the world through an academically rigorous, interdisciplinary liberal arts education emphasizing social justice, intercultural understanding and environmental sensitivity.…

Education
5
California Dental Association

The california dental association is committed to the success of our members in service to their patients and the public.

Community Improvement
6
California Dental Association Foundation

The foundation's mission is to improve the oral health of all californians by supporting the dental profession and its efforts to meet community needs.

Science & Tech
7
The Buckley School

The buckley school is a dynamic, nurturing learning community committed to equity and inclusion. our innovative teachers and challenging programs inspire creativity, courage, and collaboration. by promoting a balanced development of mind,…

—
8
Academy of Television Arts and Sciences

The Television Academy is dedicated to celebrating excellence, innovation and the advancement of the telecommunications arts and sciences through recognition, education and leadership, while fostering a diverse, inclusive and accessible…

—
9
The International School of San Francisco

Guided by the principles of academic rigor and diversity, the international school of san francisco offers programs of study in french and english to prepare its graduates for a world in which the ability to think critically and to…

Education
10
The California Channel

To distribute public affairs and other educational information in order to create an electronic bridge between californians and their public officials, and, in the process educate a new generation of voting citizens and civic leaders who…

—
11
University of La Verne

The university of la verne offers a distinctive and relevant educational experience to a diverse population of traditional-age, adult, and graduate learners, preparing them for successful careers and a commitment to lifelong learning…

Education
12
Vistamar School

Vistamar school empowers students, preparing them to contribute and excel in higher education and in life, and commits to: a broad and balanced program that challenges and engages students, building their individual skills and inspiring a…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Saint John's Health Center Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Focused Intensity Foundation. 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

133 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

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 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 133 of the 225 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.

2
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
23
Early backer (in before they grew)
130/133
Grantees still filing
93/133
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

HOAG HOSPITAL: $510,000 · OtherHOAG HOSPITALCITY OF HOPE: $361,000 · OtherCITY OF HOPEHOLLENBECK HOME: $311,300 · OtherHOLLENBECK HOMEHAVARD WESTLAKE SCHOOL: $290,000 · OtherHAVARD WESTLAKE SCHOOLADAMS COWAN FOUNDATION: $224,451 · OtherCATHOLIC EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $221,000 · Other+123 more: $2,728,579 · Other+123 moreHARMON KILLEBREW-DANNY THOMPSON MEMORIAL CANCER FOUNDATION INC: $561,289 · HealthHARMON KILLEBREW…Children's Hospital Los Angeles: $120,000 · HealthChildren's Hospi…Sansum Diabetes Research Institute: $105,000 · HealthSansum Diabetes …Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital Foundation: $100,000 · HealthSanta Barbara Co…BREAKTHROUGH T1D: $91,139 · HealthBREAKTHROUGH T1DSAINT JOHN'S HEALTH CENTER FOUNDATION: $50,000 · Health+10 more: $130,710 · Health+10 moreWORLD BUSINESS ACADEMY: $257,500 · EducationWORLD BUSINES…POLYTECHNIC SCHOOL: $233,042 · EducationPOLYTECHNIC S…HARVARD-WESTLAKE SCHOOL: $169,000 · EducationHARVARD-WESTL…THE CENTER FOR EARLY EDUCATION: $55,000 · EducationTHE CENTER FO…HILLSDALE COLLEGE: $50,000 · EducationLAGUNA BEACH EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $45,000 · EducationMARLBOROUGH SCHOOL: $33,000 · Education+15 more: $98,900 · Education+15 moreCALIFORNIA ART CLUB: $262,400 · Arts & CultureJUNIPERO SERRA CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL: $145,000 · Arts & CulturePETERSEN AUTOMOTIVE MUSEUM FOUNDATION: $25,000 · Arts & CultureSOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PUBLIC RADIO: $21,000 · Arts & Culture+13 more: $49,385 · Arts & CultureMeaning Foundation: $307,000 · Human ServicesSILVERLAKE INDEPENDENT JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER: $31,250 · Human Services+5 more: $20,500 · Human ServicesStand Together Foundation: $105,000 · Public BenefitLibertas Network: $100,000 · Public BenefitCATALYST CALIFORNIA: $26,250 · Public BenefitCATO INSTITUTE: $10,000 · Public Benefit+1 more: $7,500 · Public BenefitHOMEBOY INDUSTRIES: $159,765 · Youth DevelopmentTHE DREAM PROGRAM INC: $60,000 · Youth Development+2 more: $3,500 · Youth Development
Other$4,646,330Health$1,158,138Education$941,442Arts & Culture$502,785Human Services$358,750Public Benefit$248,750Youth Development$223,265

Showing the 200 largest grantees by grant value.

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

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetHARMON KILLEBREW-DANNY THOMPSON MEMORIAL CANCER FOUNDATION INC: $561,289 over 9y, 6.5% of budgetMeaning Foundation: $307,000 over 4y, 9.1% of budgetCALIFORNIA ART CLUB: $262,400 over 9y, 10.0% of budgetWORLD BUSINESS ACADEMY: $257,500 over 9y, 15% of budgetPOLYTECHNIC SCHOOL: $233,042 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetADAMS COWAN FOUNDATION: $224,451 over 6y, 79% of budgetHARVARD-WESTLAKE SCHOOL: $169,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetHOMEBOY INDUSTRIES: $159,765 over 8y, 0.2% of budgetJUNIPERO SERRA CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL: $145,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetChildren's Hospital Los Angeles: $120,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $110,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetStand Together Foundation: $105,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetSansum Diabetes Research Institute: $105,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetLibertas Network: $100,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetSanta Barbara Cottage Hospital Foundation: $100,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetBREAKTHROUGH T1D: $91,139 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetHOLLENBECK PALMS: $90,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetTHE DREAM PROGRAM INC: $60,000 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetTHE CENTER FOR EARLY EDUCATION: $55,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetHILLSDALE COLLEGE: $50,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSAINT JOHN'S HEALTH CENTER FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetKore Venture Inc: $50,000 over 1y, 6.3% of budgetPortal Schools: $50,000 over 1y, 5.4% of budgetLAGUNA BEACH EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $45,000 over 3y, 1.7% of budgetSAMARITAN'S PURSE: $45,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetLAS MADRINAS: $39,250 over 4y, 2.4% of budgetPIH Health Good Samaritan Hospital: $35,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetST VINCENT FOUNDATION HOWARD B GROBSTEIN LIQUIDATING TRUSTEE: $35,000 over 6y, 3.8% of budgetMARLBOROUGH SCHOOL: $33,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetSILVERLAKE INDEPENDENT JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER: $31,250 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetMISSION ONE INC: $30,000 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetST JOHN'S HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION: $30,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetFive Acres The Boys and Girls' Aid Society of Los Angeles County: $30,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetCATALYST CALIFORNIA: $26,250 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetNEW VILLAGE CHARTER SCHOOL INC: $25,700 over 8y, 0.2% of budgetPETERSEN AUTOMOTIVE MUSEUM FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetPasadena Hospital Association Ltd: $24,260 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetLife Skills FORE Pasadena YouthInc: $23,950 over 3y, 2.1% of budgetSOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PUBLIC RADIO: $21,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetCAMARILLO ARTS COUNCIL: $20,000 over 4y, 56% of budgetSCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION OF SANTA BARBARA: $20,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetHOSPICE OF SANTA BARBARA INC: $20,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetSHRINERS HOSPITALS FOR CHILDREN: $20,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBACKPACKS FOR LIFE INC: $20,000 over 1y, 7.3% of budgetAmerican Heart Association Inc: $20,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGOLETA VALLEY SOUTH LITTLE LEAGUE INC: $20,000 over 1y, 11% of budgetTHE RAPE FOUNDATION: $17,750 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetYOUTH POLICY INSTITUTE INC: $16,250 over 2y, 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 HARMON KILLEBREW-DANNY THOMPSON MEMORIAL CANCER FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds Meaning Foundation ↗
  • Who funds CALIFORNIA ART CLUB ↗
  • Who funds WORLD BUSINESS ACADEMY ↗
  • Who funds POLYTECHNIC SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds ADAMS COWAN FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds HARVARD-WESTLAKE SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds HOMEBOY INDUSTRIES ↗
  • Who funds JUNIPERO SERRA CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds Children's Hospital Los Angeles ↗
  • Who funds MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC ↗
  • Who funds Stand Together Foundation ↗
  • Who funds Sansum Diabetes Research Institute ↗
  • Who funds Libertas Network ↗
  • Who funds Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital Foundation ↗
  • Who funds BREAKTHROUGH T1D ↗
  • Who funds HOLLENBECK PALMS ↗
  • Who funds THE DREAM PROGRAM INC ↗
  • Who funds THE CENTER FOR EARLY EDUCATION ↗
  • Who funds HILLSDALE COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds SAINT JOHN'S HEALTH CENTER FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Kore Venture 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.

California Community …The Ahmanson Foundati…Weingart FoundationThe Ralph M Parsons F…The Rose Hills Founda…The Annenberg Foundat…Pasadena Community Fo…Orange County Communi…Adams Cowan FoundationLiberty Hill Foundati…The Confidence Founda…Robert a Waller Found…
California Community FoundationCA43.1× affinity35 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: California Community Foundation · The Ahmanson Foundation · Weingart Foundation · The Ralph M Parsons Foundation · The Rose Hills Foundation · The Annenberg Foundation · Pasadena Community Foundation · Orange County Community Foundation · Adams Cowan Foundation · Liberty Hill Foundation · The Confidence Foundation · Robert a Waller 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 Adams Fund funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Adams Fund. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 50%6%23%51%90%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 52%
  • The Dream Program Inc: 100% of income from government
  • Vermont Works for Women Inc: 52% of income from government
  • Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities & Public Policy Inc: 45% of income from government
  • Shriners Hospitals for Children: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
5get no government money at all
34report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
2rely on government for over half their income
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 225 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 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Adams’ filings →

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