Skip to content
Argonaut Charitable Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Argonaut Charitable Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$137k
Granted FY2024still arriving
82
Grants FY2024still arriving
15
States reached
$10k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2024.

Education$103kEnvironment$84kHealth$83kPhilanthropy$81kReligion$73kArts & Culture$69kAnimals$53kPublic Safety & Disaster$14kOther$0
02FY2024 · 82 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k81 grants · $132k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $10k
$1,000
Median grant
15
States reached
$959k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
ST JOHN'S FOUNDATION HOSPITAL$10,000
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON FOUNDATION$8,500
HARVEY MUDD COLLEGE$5,000
MALIBU GATHERING CHURCH$5,000
SAINT MONICA'S SCHOOL$5,000
Individual grant recipient$5,000
ART CENTER COLLEGE OF DESIGN$4,000
OUR LADY OF MALIBU$3,500
THOMAS MEMORIAL LIBRARY FOUNDATION$3,000
BARBARA BUSH CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL$3,000
COASTAL MAINE BOTANIAL GARDENS$3,000
PORTLAND MUSEUM OF ART$3,000
AMERICAN RED CROSS$2,500
CAPE ELIZABETH LAND TRUST$2,500
LOYOLA HIGH SCHOOL$2,500
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 (FY20–24, $24k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 79% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%WAY OF COMPASSION FOUNDATION: $2k → 6%WAY OF COMPASSION FOUNDATION: $1k → 6%WAY OF COMPASSION FOUNDATION: $1k → 6%WAY OF COMPASSION FOUNDATION: $1k → 6%DIRECT RELIEF FOUNDATION: $5k → 14%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $5k → 14%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $5k → 14%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $3k → 14%THE AMERICAN RED CROSS: $500 → 14%THE AMERICAN RED CROSS: $500 → 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

ME
ID
WI
NY
MA
OR
IN
PA
CA
CO
MO
VA
MD
TN
DC
OK
TX
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.

95%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$559k · 94 repeat orgs$27k to everyone else

94 repeat relationships: 72 still active in FY2024, 22 since wound down; 10 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

94
8

Total granted

$559k
$13k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+32%
+47%

Still filing today

59%
50%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 90% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $14k went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24
EnvironmentEducationArts & CultureAnimalsHealthRecreation & SportsOther
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

  • HM
    Harvey Mudd College
    5× · 2020–2024 · $17k · revenue +41%
  • AC
    ART CENTER COLLEGE OF DESIGN
    5× · 2020–2024 · $17k · revenue +30%
  • SB
    SANTA BARBARA WILDLIFE CARE NETWORK
    5× · 2020–2024 · $15k · revenue +116%

Funded once

  • DR
    DIRECT RELIEF FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2022 · $5k · revenue -13%
  • MC
    MERCY CRUSADE INCgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $3k · revenue +47%
  • PF
    PARENTS FORUM CAPE ELIZABETH
    one grant, 2022 · $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
Sustainable Conservation

Sustainable Conservation advances the collaborative stewardship of Californias land, air, and water for the benefit of nature and people. For over three decades, Sustainable Conservation has built coalitions of people with different…

Environment
2
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
—
3
California Institute of Environmental Studies

The institute is dedicated to scientific research, the results of which are used to promote public awareness and education in the areas of conservation biology and ecology,including the wise use of natural resources.

Animals
4
Marine Biological Laboratory

The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) is a world-renowned center for biological discovery and training that is notably affiliated with more than 60 Nobel Prize winners. Research is conducted by full-time faculty as well as hundreds of the…

Science & Tech
5
California Ocean Science Trust

California ocean science trust (ost) is a non-profit organization dedicated to accelerating progress towards a healthy and productive ocean future for california. created by state legislation, ost bridges the gap between cutting-edge…

Environment
6
Rainforest Trust

Rainforest trust saves endangered wildlife and protects our planet by creating rainforest reserves through partnerships, community engagement, and donor support.

International
7
The Land Trust for Santa Barbara County

To conserve natural resources, agricultural land and open spaces for present and future generations.

Environment
8
San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory

The San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory is dedicated to the conservation of birds and their habitats through science and outreach.

Environment
9
Aquarium of the Pacific Corporation

The aquarium of the pacific's mission is to instill a sense of wonder, respect, and stewardship for the pacific ocean, its inhabitants, and ecosystems.

Animals
10
Wildcoast

The mission of wildcoast is to conserve coastal and marine ecosystems and address climate change through natural solutions. our staff is dedicated to conserving threatened and endangered coastlines and wildlife in california and mexico.…

Environment
11
California Coastkeeper dba California Coastkeeper Alliance

California Coastkeeper Alliance unites Waterkeeper programs statewide to fight for swimmable, fishable, and drinkable waters for all Californians.

Environment
12
Santa Lucia Conservancy

To protect and steward in perpetuity the unique natural, cultural, and asthetic resources of the preserve and serve as a model of ecologically sustainable development to committees outside the preserve.

Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Heal the Ocean Inc; the most unlike its peers is Thomas Memorial Library 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

67 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. 67 of the 113 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)
12
Early backer (in before they grew)
67/67
Grantees still filing
52/67
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

MALIBU GATHERING CHURCH: $36,000 · OtherMALIBU GATHERING CHURCHST JOHN'S FOUNDATION: $30,000 · OtherST JOHN'S FOUNDATIONLOYOLA HIGH SCHOOL: $20,000 · OtherLOYOLA HIGH SCHOOLIndividual grant recipient: $20,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientST JOHN'S FOUNDATION HOSPITAL: $20,000 · OtherST JOHN'S FOUNDATION HOSPITALIndividual grant recipient: $15,500 · OtherBARBARA BUSH CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL: $14,000 · Other+55 more: $177,000 · Other+55 moreHarvey Mudd College: $17,000 · EducationHarvey Mudd C…ART CENTER COLLEGE OF DESIGN: $16,500 · EducationART CENTER CO…UNIVERSITY OF OREGON FOUNDATION: $13,500 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF…OPUS ARCHIVES AND RESEARCH CENTER INC: $6,500 · EducationOPUS ARCHIVES…NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY: $5,000 · EducationNATIONAL GEOG…KHAN ACADEMY INC: $5,000 · EducationKHAN ACADEMY …THOMAS MEMORIAL LIBRARY FOUNDATION: $4,000 · EducationTHOMAS MEMORI…+3 more: $5,000 · Education+3 morePROTECT OUR WINTERS: $9,000 · EnvironmentPROTECT OUR W…Maine Coast Heritage Trust: $9,000 · EnvironmentMaine Coast H…SANTA BARBARA AUDUBON SOCIETY: $8,000 · EnvironmentSANTA BARBARA…SANTA BARBARA BOTANIC GARDEN: $6,000 · EnvironmentSANTA BARBARA…SANTA BARBARA CHANNELKEEPER INC: $5,000 · EnvironmentSANTA BARBARA…Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens Inc: $5,000 · EnvironmentCoastal Maine…Ojai Raptor Center: $5,000 · EnvironmentOjai Raptor C…DOWNEAST COASTAL CONSERVANCY: $5,000 · EnvironmentDOWNEAST COAS…Cape Elizabeth Land Trust: $4,000 · EnvironmentCape Elizabet…Maine Audubon Society: $4,000 · EnvironmentMaine Audubon…Coastal Ranches Conservancy: $3,500 · EnvironmentCLEAN AIR TASK FORCE INC: $3,000 · Environment+3 more: $3,500 · EnvironmentSANTA BARBARA WILDLIFE CARE NETWORK: $15,000 · AnimalsNATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION: $5,000 · AnimalsANIMAL WELFARE INSTITUTE: $4,000 · AnimalsAUSTIN PETS ALIVE INC: $3,000 · AnimalsLast Chance for Animals: $3,000 · AnimalsMERCY CRUSADE INC: $2,500 · Animals+1 more: $1,000 · AnimalsSANTA BARBARA MARITIME MUSEUM: $5,500 · Arts & CultureSANTA BARBARA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATION: $5,000 · Arts & CulturePORTLAND ART MUSEUM: $4,500 · Arts & CultureSANTA BARBARA MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY: $4,000 · Arts & CulturePORTLAND MAINE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: $4,000 · Arts & CultureMUSIC ACADEMY OF THE WEST: $3,000 · Arts & CultureMarine Mammals of Maine: $2,000 · Arts & CultureONE LONGFELLOW SQUARE: $2,000 · Arts & CultureSANTA BARBARA TRUST FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION: $2,000 · Arts & CultureAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $13,500 · Human ServicesDIRECT RELIEF FOUNDATION: $5,000 · Human ServicesWAY OF COMPASSION FOUNDATION: $5,000 · Human ServicesTHERASURF: $1,000 · Human ServicesSanta Barbara Cottage Hospital: $10,000 · HealthChildren's Hospital Los Angeles: $4,000 · HealthCLAIRE'S PLACE FOUNDATION INC: $4,000 · HealthMedicine for Humanity: $3,000 · HealthAMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY INC: $2,500 · HealthTHIS LITTLE LIGHT: $1,000 · Health
Other$332,500Education$72,500Environment$70,000Animals$33,500Arts & Culture$32,000Human Services$24,500Health$24,500

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 budgetHarvey Mudd College: $17,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetART CENTER COLLEGE OF DESIGN: $16,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetSANTA BARBARA WILDLIFE CARE NETWORK: $15,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF OREGON FOUNDATION: $13,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $13,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetSanta Barbara Cottage Hospital: $10,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetAWAKENING TO GOD MINISTRIES: $9,000 over 5y, 2.0% of budgetPROTECT OUR WINTERS: $9,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetMaine Coast Heritage Trust: $9,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetSANTA BARBARA AUDUBON SOCIETY: $8,000 over 3y, 1.6% of budgetOPUS ARCHIVES AND RESEARCH CENTER INC: $6,500 over 5y, 19% of budgetSANTA BARBARA BOTANIC GARDEN: $6,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSANTA BARBARA MARITIME MUSEUM: $5,500 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetNATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetSANTA BARBARA CHANNELKEEPER INC: $5,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetCoastal Maine Botanical Gardens Inc: $5,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetOjai Raptor Center: $5,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetDOWNEAST COASTAL CONSERVANCY: $5,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetNATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY: $5,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetDIRECT RELIEF FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetBaja Christian Ministries: $5,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetWAY OF COMPASSION FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 4y, 1.6% of budgetKHAN ACADEMY INC: $5,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetSANTA CATALINA ISLAND CONSERVANCY: $5,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION: $5,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetPORTLAND ART MUSEUM: $4,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCape Elizabeth Land Trust: $4,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $4,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetChildren's Hospital Los Angeles: $4,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetMaine Audubon Society: $4,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCLAIRE'S PLACE FOUNDATION INC: $4,000 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetANIMAL WELFARE INSTITUTE: $4,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetTHOMAS MEMORIAL LIBRARY FOUNDATION: $4,000 over 2y, 3.7% of budgetSANTA BARBARA MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY: $4,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetPORTLAND MAINE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: $4,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCoastal Ranches Conservancy: $3,500 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetLEAGUE TO SAVE LAKE TAHOE: $3,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetIMMACULATE HEART COMMUNITY: $3,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetMUSIC ACADEMY OF THE WEST: $3,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSANTA BARBARA BOWL FOUNDATION: $3,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCLEAN AIR TASK FORCE INC: $3,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetAUSTIN PETS ALIVE INC: $3,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetLast Chance for Animals: $3,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetMedicine for Humanity: $3,000 over 5y, 2.6% of budgetAMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY INC: $2,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMERCY CRUSADE INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetHEAL THE OCEAN INC: $2,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetMarine Mammals of Maine: $2,000 over 2y, 0.1% 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 Harvey Mudd College ↗
  • Who funds ART CENTER COLLEGE OF DESIGN ↗
  • Who funds SANTA BARBARA WILDLIFE CARE NETWORK ↗
  • Who funds UNIVERSITY OF OREGON FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds American National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches ↗
  • Who funds Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital ↗
  • Who funds AWAKENING TO GOD MINISTRIES ↗
  • Who funds PROTECT OUR WINTERS ↗
  • Who funds Maine Coast Heritage Trust ↗
  • Who funds SANTA BARBARA AUDUBON SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds OPUS ARCHIVES AND RESEARCH CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds SANTA BARBARA BOTANIC GARDEN ↗
  • Who funds SANTA BARBARA MARITIME MUSEUM ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds SANTA BARBARA CHANNELKEEPER INC ↗
  • Who funds Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens Inc ↗
  • Who funds Ojai Raptor Center ↗
  • Who funds DOWNEAST COASTAL CONSERVANCY ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds SANTA BARBARA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds DIRECT RELIEF FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Baja Christian Ministries ↗
  • Who funds WAY OF COMPASSION FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds KHAN ACADEMY INC ↗
  • Who funds SANTA CATALINA ISLAND CONSERVANCY ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION ↗

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.

Santa Barbara Foundat…Hutton Foundation Dba…Maine Community Found…Ann Jackson Family Fo…Saco & Biddeford Savi…Pond Family FoundationBucy Family FundBrittingham Family Fo…Mosher FoundationThe Wood-Claeyssens F…Manitou FundCalifornia Community …
Santa Barbara FoundationCA24.3× affinity10 shared granteesties to 9 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Santa Barbara Foundation · Hutton Foundation Dba Hutton Parker Foundation · Maine Community Foundation Inc · Ann Jackson Family Foundation · Saco & Biddeford Savings Charitable Foundation · Pond Family Foundation · Bucy Family Fund · Brittingham Family Foundation · Mosher Foundation · The Wood-Claeyssens Foundation · Manitou Fund · California Community 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 Argonaut Charitable Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Argonaut Charitable Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 30%1%5%11%20%funder's share of their income ↑0%13%25%38%50%share of the org’s income from government →median 1%
  • Northeastern University: 7% of income from government
  • The Pilgrim John Howland Society Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Portland Art Museum: 1% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
3get no government money at all
12report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–50%
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 113 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

Play a game based on Argonaut’s 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