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Ben B Cheney Foundation Inc at a glance

· Private foundation

Ben B Cheney Foundation Inc

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$3.4M
Granted FY2024still arriving
136
Grants FY2024still arriving
13
States reached
$525k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
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.

Health$3.3MEducation$2.0MHuman Services$1.3MHousing & Shelter$1.3MYouth Development$1.2MRecreation & Sports$1.1MArts & Culture$954kFood & Nutrition$783kOther$0
02FY2024 · 136 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k84 grants · $225k
  • $10k–50k41 grants · $836k
  • $50k–250k7 grants · $525k
  • $250k+4 grants · $1.8M
$5,000
Median grant
13
States reached
$69M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
MULTICARE HEALTH FOUNDATIONS$525,000
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY TACOMAPIERCE COUNTY$500,000
TACOMA RESCUE MISSION$500,000
PACIFIC LUTHERAN UNIVERSITY$300,000
PENINSULA METROPOLITAN PARK DISTRICT (GREATER TACOMA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION)$100,000
YMCA OF PIERCE AND KITSAP COUNTIES$100,000
GRAND CINEMA$80,000
MERCY FOUNDATION NORTH$75,000
UNIVERSITY OF PUGET SOUND$60,000
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON TACOMA$60,000
THE CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF SOUTHERN OREGON (KID TIME CHILDREN'S MUSEUM)$50,000
GOODROOTS NORTHWEST (BONNEY LAKE FOOD BANK)$48,065
THE SALVATION ARMY A CALIFORNIA CORPORATION OPERATING AT MEDFORD OREGON$43,000
PACIFIC INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE$40,000
YMCA OF PIERCE AND KITSAP COUNTIES$35,000
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 (FY21–24, $1.1M) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 15% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%HOSPICE OF HUMBOLDT: $13k → 18%WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT: $412 → 14%SIBLING STRONG: $5k → 10%WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT: $400 → 14%SOUTH KITSAP HELPLINE: $5k → 10%COFFEE OASIS: $75k → 10%YMCA OF PIERCE & KITSAP COUNTIES: $200k → 9%SET FREE SERVICES: $8k → 13%YMCA OF PIERCE AND KITSAP COUNTIES: $200k → 9%JACKSONVILLE COMMUNITY CENTER: $12k → 13%YMCA OF PIERCE AND KITSAP COUNTIES: $100k → 9%MULTICULTURAL CHILD & FAMILY HOPE CENTER: $40k → 9%SOUTHERN OREGON FRIENDS OF HOSPICE: $40k → 13%YMCA OF PIERCE AND KITSAP COUNTIES: $35k → 9%YMCA OF PIERCE AND KITSAP COUNTIES: $30k → 9%YMCA OF PIERCE AND KITSAP COUNTIES: $30k → 9%YMCA OF PIERCE AND KITSAP COUNTIES: $30k → 9%TACOMA COMMUNITY HOUSE: $15k → 9%SOUND OUTREACH: $15k → 9%YMCA OF PIERCE AND KITSAP COUNTIES: $500 → 9%GIG HARBOR PENINSULA FISH: $8k → 9%GIG HARBOR PENINSULA FISH: $8k → 9%GIG HARBOR PENINSULA FISH: $8k → 9%GIG HARBOR KIWANIS FOUNDATION: $3k → 9%GIG HARBOR KIWANIS FOUNDATION: $250 → 9%NW FURNITURE BANK: $30k → 9%NW FURNITURE BANK: $3k → 9%HOPESPARKS: $40k → 9%NW FURNITURE BANK: $100 → 9%HOPESPARKS: $3k → 9%FRANKE TOBEY JONES: $10k → 9%STEP BY STEP FAMILY SUPPORT CENTER: $5k → 9%STEP BY STEP FAMILY SUPPORT CENTER: $104 → 9%GIG HARBOR PENINSULA FISH: $100k → 9%GIG HARBOR PENINSULA FISH: $8k → 9%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

WA
ID
MT
IL
NY
OR
PA
CT
CA
UT
CO
MO
VA
MD
AZ
NC
AL
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.
04

Where the work is directed

The same grants placed two ways: where each recipient sits, and where its stated purpose sends the money.

About 8% of Ben B Cheney Foundation Inc’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address. By recipient address, 96% of the giving stays in WA; by stated purpose, 76%.

Ben B Cheney Foundation Inclessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address · 16% directed abroad (not shown)
How this is measured
Recipient view: each grant at its grantee’s ZIP, mapped to a county. Directed view: each grant at the county its stated purpose names, falling back to the recipient’s county when the purpose names no place; US grants only. A county shows only if it carries the top 95% of that view’s dollars. Purposes are read from the funder’s own 990 grant descriptions.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

49%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$8.2M · 65 repeat orgs$8.4M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +20% since the first grant, against +12% for those funded once.

65 repeat relationships: 50 still active in FY2024, 15 since wound down; 50 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

65
157

Total granted

$8.2M
$7.0M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+20%
+12%

Still filing today

63%
59%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 59% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $1.4M 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
EducationHuman ServicesArts & CultureHealthYouth DevelopmentHousing & ShelterOther
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

  • MF
    MULTICARE FOUNDATIONS
    4× · 2021–2024 · $2.2M · revenue +59%
  • TR
    THE RESCUE MISSION
    4× · 2021–2024 · $635k · revenue +72%
  • YM
    YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF PIERCE AND KITSAP COUNTIES
    4× · 2021–2024 · $626k · revenue +145%

Funded once

  • S
    SEE
    one grant, 2020 · $3.1M
  • UW
    UNITED WAY OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
    one grant, 2021 · $250k · revenue +6%
  • YO
    YMCA OF PIERCE AND KITSAP COUNTY
    one grant, 2021 · $200k
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
Great Peninsula Conservancy

Preserve in perpetuity the natural habitats, rural landscapes, and open spaces of the great peninsula of washington's puget sound.

Environment
2
United Way of Snohomish County

United way of snohomish county improves lives for families in snohomish county by bringing people, resources, and strategy together.

Philanthropy
3
Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences

Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences educates and trains health care professionals emphasizing service among rural and medically under-served communities throughout the Northwest.

Education
4
The Community Foundation of South Puget Sound

To grow a lasting culture of generosity and well-being in the South Puget Sound through connection, leadership, and investment.

Philanthropy
5
Greater Tacoma Community Foundation

Acting as a catalyst, connector, and knowledge facilitator to build racially equitable, accessible, inclusive pierce county where all people can shape and activate the systems that affect our communities, now and for generations to come.

Philanthropy
6
University Cooperative School

We take a joyful, community-oriented approach to raising engaged citizens, deep learners, and brave adventurers with the skills, creativity, and heart needed to better the world.

—
7
Peninsula College Foundation

Creating access, excellence and success for the peninsula college community by providing funds for students and programs.

Philanthropy
8
Peninsula Community Health Services of Alaska

Strengthening the community by providing accessible and affordable health care.

Health
9
Kuow Puget Sound Public Radio

Kuow/puget sound public radio is a nonprofit organization which operates three radio stations to provide news, information, and cultural programs to the greater seattle area. our mission is to create and serve a more informed public.

Arts & Culture
10
Siff

Siff is a seattle-based 501(c)(3) arts nonprofit dedicated to the creation of vibrant experiences and spaces that champion film discovery and arts education.

Youth Development
11
Association of Washington Cities

The association of washington cities builds connections between our state's diverse cities and towns, while providing our members with the support needed to thrive through delivery of data-driven education, nationally recognized pooling…

—
12
Spokane Regional Sports Commission

Economic and community development through sport tourism. bid to host and create major sporting events, and facility consultation and optimization.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Philanthropy Northwest; the most unlike its peers is Orting Lions Community Park. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
05the grantee network

170 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. 170 of the 275 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.

3
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
27
Early backer (in before they grew)
165/170
Grantees still filing
111/170
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

SEE: $3,053,881 · OtherSEEMULTICARE HEALTH FOUNDATIONS: $525,000 · OtherMULTICARE HEALTH FOUNDATIONSEMERGENCY FOOD NETWORK OF TACOMA AND PIERCE COUNTY: $382,550 · Other+124 more: $4,770,866 · Other+124 moreMULTICARE FOUNDATIONS: $2,227,100 · HealthMULTICARE FOUNDAT…+10 more: $317,550 · Health+10 moreTHE RESCUE MISSION: $634,813 · Housing & ShelterTACOMAPIERCE COUNTY HABITAT FOR HUMANIT: $524,082 · Housing & ShelterOPPORTUNITIES FOR HOUSING RESOURCES AND: $75,000 · Housing & Shelter+4 more: $56,000 · Housing & ShelterTHE UNIVERSITY OF PUGET SOUND: $437,500 · EducationPacific Lutheran University: $435,000 · EducationSAINT MARTIN'S UNIVERSITY: $100,000 · EducationBOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF GREATER SHASTA: $50,000 · Education+10 more: $211,000 · EducationYOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF PIERCE AND KITSAP COUNTIES: $625,500 · Human ServicesGIG HARBOR PENINSULA FISH: $130,000 · Human ServicesTHE COFFEE OASIS: $75,000 · Human ServicesHopeSparks: $42,500 · Human ServicesSOUTHERN OREGON FRIENDS OF HOSPICE: $40,000 · Human ServicesMULTICULTURAL CHILD AND FAMILY HOPE CENTER: $40,000 · Human Services+9 more: $130,100 · Human ServicesTHE YOUTH MARINE FOUNDATION: $616,600 · Youth DevelopmentTHE BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF THE OLYMPIC PENINSULA: $50,000 · Youth DevelopmentGIRL SCOUTS OF WESTERN WASHINGTON: $35,000 · Youth DevelopmentFELLOWSHIP OF CHRISTIAN ATHLETES: $34,900 · Youth DevelopmentYOUTH 71FIVE MINISTRIES: $30,000 · Youth Development+4 more: $67,500 · Youth DevelopmentAsia Pacific Cultural Center: $140,000 · Arts & CultureLEMAY-AMERICAS CAR MUSEUM: $100,000 · Arts & CultureGREENTRIKE: $90,575 · Arts & CultureSYMPHONY TACOMA: $80,000 · Arts & CultureGRAND TACOMA CINE CLUB DBA THE GRAND CINEMA: $80,000 · Arts & CultureMuseum of Glass: $45,000 · Arts & CultureFOSS WATERWAY SEAPORT: $40,250 · Arts & CultureSEQUIM CITY BAND: $40,000 · Arts & CultureThe Washington Center for the Performing Arts: $40,000 · Arts & CultureGIG HARBOR NOW: $30,000 · Arts & Culture+7 more: $114,000 · Arts & Culture
Other$8,732,297Health$2,544,650Housing & Shelter$1,289,895Education$1,233,500Human Services$1,083,100Youth Development$834,000Arts & Culture$799,825

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 budgetMULTICARE FOUNDATIONS: $2,227,100 over 4y, 11% of budgetTHE RESCUE MISSION: $634,813 over 4y, 4.2% of budgetYOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF PIERCE AND KITSAP COUNTIES: $625,500 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetTHE YOUTH MARINE FOUNDATION: $616,600 over 4y, 49% of budgetTACOMAPIERCE COUNTY HABITAT FOR HUMANIT: $524,082 over 2y, 2.9% of budgetTHE UNIVERSITY OF PUGET SOUND: $437,500 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetPacific Lutheran University: $435,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetEMERGENCY FOOD NETWORK OF TACOMA AND PIERCE COUNTY: $382,550 over 4y, 0.9% of budgetUNITED WAY OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA: $250,000 over 1y, 5.1% of budgetGreater Metro Parks Foundation dba Tacoma Parks Foundation: $190,000 over 2y, 13% of budgetGoodwill of the Olympics and Rainier Region: $150,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetAsia Pacific Cultural Center: $140,000 over 2y, 2.1% of budgetGIG HARBOR PENINSULA FISH: $130,000 over 4y, 1.7% of budgetPACIFIC INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE: $128,500 over 4y, 54% of budgetANNIE WRIGHT SCHOOLS: $100,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetUNITED WAY OF PIERCE COUNTY: $100,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetLEMAY-AMERICAS CAR MUSEUM: $100,000 over 1y, 2.6% of budgetSAINT MARTIN'S UNIVERSITY: $100,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetGREENTRIKE: $90,575 over 3y, 1.1% of budgetSAFE STREETS CAMPAIGN: $85,000 over 2y, 4.4% of budgetSYMPHONY TACOMA: $80,000 over 2y, 3.9% of budgetNourish Pierce County: $80,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetGRAND TACOMA CINE CLUB DBA THE GRAND CINEMA: $80,000 over 1y, 2.6% of budgetCOMPREHENSIVE MENTAL HEALTH CENTER OF TACOMA-PIERCE COUNTY: $75,500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCOMMUNITY HEALTH CARE: $75,050 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetOPPORTUNITIES FOR HOUSING RESOURCES AND: $75,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetPIERCE COUNTY CENTER FOR DISPUTE RESOLUT: $75,000 over 1y, 3.4% of budgetMERCY FOUNDATION NORTH: $75,000 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetTHE COFFEE OASIS: $75,000 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetCHARLES WRIGHT ACADEMY: $74,700 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetJEFFERSON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $55,000 over 2y, 1.5% of budgetASANTE FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetTHE BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF THE OLYMPIC PENINSULA: $50,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetBOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF GREATER SHASTA: $50,000 over 1y, 6.2% of budgetTHE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND: $50,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNORTHWEST KIDNEY CENTERS: $50,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMuseum of Glass: $45,000 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetHopeSparks: $42,500 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetFOSS WATERWAY SEAPORT: $40,250 over 1y, 2.4% of budgetSOUTHERN OREGON FRIENDS OF HOSPICE: $40,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetMEDICAL TEAMS INTERNATIONAL: $40,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetNORTHWEST EDUCATION ACCESS: $40,000 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetSIMPSON UNIVERSITY: $40,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSEQUIM CITY BAND: $40,000 over 1y, 12% of budgetThe Washington Center for the Performing Arts: $40,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetMULTICULTURAL CHILD AND FAMILY HOPE CENTER: $40,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCENTRALIA COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $35,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetGIRL SCOUTS OF WESTERN WASHINGTON: $35,000 over 1y, 0.2% 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.

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.

Greater Tacoma Commun…The Norcliffe Foundat…The Bamford FoundationFuchsg & M Fdn TaiGary E Milgard Family…Woodworth Family Foun…Kilworth Florence Cha…Forest FoundationThe Russell Family Fo…M J Murdock Charitabl…Sequoia FoundationNames Family Foundati…
Greater Tacoma Community FoundationWA103.1× affinity54 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Greater Tacoma Community Foundation · The Norcliffe Foundation · The Bamford Foundation · Fuchsg & M Fdn Tai · Gary E Milgard Family Foundation- Sunshine · Woodworth Family Foundation · Kilworth Florence Char Tr Fndn · Forest Foundation · The Russell Family Foundation · M J Murdock Charitable Trust · Sequoia Foundation · Names Family 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 Ben B Cheney Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Ben B Cheney Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 50%4%15%34%60%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 6%
  • Northwest Youth Corps: 100% of income from government
  • Living Opportunities Inc: 90% of income from government
  • Youth 71FIVE Ministries: 16% of income from government
  • Medical Teams International: 14% of income from government
  • United Way of Jackson County Inc: 11% of income from government
  • Nonprofit Association of Oregon: 6% of income from government
  • Pacific University: 2% of income from government
  • University of Portland: 1% of income from government
  • Connecticut College: 0% of income from government
  • Southern Oregon Friends of Hospice: 0% of income from government
  • Wounded Warrior Project Inc: 0% 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
61report 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.
05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Ben B Cheney Foundation Inc?

Find your warmest path to Ben B Cheney Foundation Inc through trustees and officers whose names appear on both boards. Search for your organization and Plinth traces the shortest route it can evidence.

Each link is a name appearing on two organizations’ public IRS 990 filings, matched on that name and, where the filings support it, on location. A same-state match has geographic support, which is a second matching feature rather than confirmation that the two are one person; a cross-state one is the likeliest to be two people who share a name. Every hop shows its tier, low-confidence and distant paths are held back rather than guessed, and it is worth confirming the person before you use the introduction.

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 275 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 Ben B Cheney’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