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Bill and Dinah Ruch Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Bill and Dinah Ruch Family Foundation

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.

$500k
Granted FY2025still arriving
1
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$500k
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, FY2017 to 2025.

Health$1.8MEducation$1.5MRecreation & Sports$400kCrime & Legal$400kYouth Development$59kPublic Safety & Disaster$25kArts & Culture$18k
02FY2025 · 1 grant

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$500,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$11M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
SANFORD BURNHAM PREBYS MEDICAL DISCOVERY INSTITUTE$500,000
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 57% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%SANFORD BURNHAM PREBYS MEDICAL DISCOVERY INSTITUTE: $500k → 11%BLUE JAY JAZZ FOUNDATION: $8k → 14%BRIGHT STAR SCHOOLS: $155k → 14%ST BERNARD PROJECT INC: $25k → 23%SANFORD BURNHAM PREBYS MEDICAL DISCOVERY INSTITUTE: $500k → 11%BRIGHT STAR SCHOOLS: $150k → 14%LIVE OAK WILDERNESS CAMP: $20k → 23%SANFORD BURNHAM PREBYS MEDICAL DISCOVERY INSTITUTE: $500k → 11%BRIGHT STAR SCHOOLS: $100k → 14%LIVE OAK WILDERNESS CAMP: $15k → 23%SANFORD BURNHAM PREBYS MEDICAL DISCOVERY INSTITUTE: $150k → 11%HEART OF LOS ANGELES YOUTH INC: $30k → 14%LIVE OAK WILDERNESS CAMP: $15k → 23%SANFORD BURNHAM PREBYS MEDICAL DISCOVERY INSTITUTE: $130k → 11%HEART OF LOS ANGELES YOUTH INC: $25k → 14%LIVE OAK WILDERNESS CAMP: $10k → 23%SHANES INSPIRATION: $340k → 14%HEART OF LOS ANGELES YOUTH INC: $4k → 14%THINKING NATION CORP: $360k → 14%THINKING NATION CORP: $250k → 14%THINKING NATION CORP: $150k → 14%THINKING NATION CORP: $150k → 14%SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PUBLIC RADIO: $10k → 14%BRIGHT STAR SCHOOLS: $150k → 14%GALS THE GIRLS ATHLETIC LEADERSHIP SCHOOLS: $25k → 14%LEVITT & QUINN FAMILY LAW CENTER: $50k → 14%LEVITT & QUINN FAMILY LAW CENTER: $25k → 14%LEVITT & QUINN FAMILY LAW CENTER: $25k → 14%INNER CITY LAW CENTER: $100k → 14%INNER CITY LAW CENTER: $100k → 14%INNER CITY LAW CENTER: $100k → 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.
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.

90%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$3.8M · 7 repeat orgs$408k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +116% since the first grant, against 0% for those funded once.

7 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2025, 6 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

7
5

Total granted

$3.8M
$408k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+116%
0%

Still filing today

100%
100%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 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
EducationCrime & LegalArts & CultureHealthYouth DevelopmentRecreation & 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

  • TN
    THINKING NATION CORP
    4× · 2020–2024 · $910k · revenue +220% · 72% of their budget
  • BS
    BRIGHT STAR SCHOOLS
    3× · 2018–2020 · $555k · revenue +166%
  • IC
    Inner City Law Center
    3× · 2018–2023 · $300k · revenue +116%

Funded once

  • IM
    Inclusion Matters by Shanes Inspiration
    one grant, 2017 · $340k · revenue -12%
  • TS
    THE ST BERNARD PROJECT INC
    one grant, 2023 · $25k · revenue -23%
  • GA
    GIRLS ATHLETIC LEADERSHIP SCHOOLS
    one grant, 2023 · $25k · revenue 0% · 45% of their budget
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
The Language Academy of Sacramento

The las mission is to create a learning community where students: utilize bilingualism and biliteracy (spanish and english) to achieve academic excellence and apply skills in real-world situations and diverse settings; develop and exhibit…

Education
2
Presidio Hill School

Presidio hill school is a co-ed k-8 independent, progressive school. learning is collaborative and an active experience with an emphasis on inquiry. students are engaged in their own learning and guided by an expert faculty through a…

Education
3
Sarah Lawrence College

At sarah lawrence college, our mission is to graduate citizens of the world who are diverse in every definition of the word, who take intellectual and creative risks, and who are able to focus exceptional intellectual discipline (continued…

Education
4
La Scuola International School

Inspire brave learners to shape the future.

Education
5
Southwestern Law School

For more than a century, southwestern has educated lawyers ready to serve clients, the profession, and our society with excellence. we empower students to reach their potential. we cultivate inclusion and belonging. we promote equity and…

Education
6
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,…

—
7
Leadership Public Schools

Our mission is to create inclusive, empowering, and college-preparatory experiences that equip students to succeed in college, career, and as leaders in their communities.

Education
8
Inland Leaders Charter Schools

Ilcs is committed to providing a world-class education for students that will equip them with the critical 21st century skills necessary to be successful in life. this will be accomplished as we: innovate practices, accelerate achievement,…

Education
9
South Shore Charter School

The mission of south shore charter school is to cultivate students the tenacity, integrity, and curiosity needed to become innovative and socially responsible leaders, ready to face and solve the ever-changing challenges facing our…

Education
10
Alternative Schools Inc

To help each child reach his/her full potential by cultivating an active village of parents, community members, and stakeholders involved in providing an individual, personal, and conceptual learning environment for each student.

Education
11
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
12
St Luke's Foundation Inc

An exceptional education that inspires a deep love of learning, a strong moral compass, the commitment to serve, and the confidence to lead.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Thinking Nation Corp; the most unlike its peers is Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute. 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

12 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.

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

2
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
12/12
Grantees still filing
7/12
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

SANFORD BURNHAM PREBYS MEDICAL DISCOVERY INSTITUTE: $1,780,000 · HealthSANFORD BURNHAM PREBYS MEDICAL DISCOVERY INSTITU…THINKING NATION CORP: $910,000 · EducationTHINKING NATION CORPBRIGHT STAR SCHOOLS: $555,000 · EducationBRIGHT STAR SCHOOLSLIVE OAK WILDERNESS CAMP: $60,000 · Education+1 more: $25,000 · EducationInner City Law Center: $300,000 · Crime & LegalInner City…LEVITT & QUINN FAMILY LAW CENTER: $100,000 · Crime & LegalLEVITT & Q…Inclusion Matters by Shanes Inspiration: $340,000 · Recreation & SportsInclusion…HEART OF LOS ANGELES YOUTH INC: $59,400 · Youth DevelopmentTHE ST BERNARD PROJECT INC: $25,000 · Public Safety & DisasterSOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PUBLIC RADIO: $10,000 · Arts & CultureBLUE JAY JAZZ FOUNDATION: $7,500 · Arts & Culture
Health$1,780,000Education$1,550,000Crime & Legal$400,000Recreation & Sports$340,000Youth Development$59,400Public Safety & Disaster$25,000Arts & Culture$17,500

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

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetSANFORD BURNHAM PREBYS MEDICAL DISCOVERY INSTITUTE: $1,780,000 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetTHINKING NATION CORP: $910,000 over 4y, 72% of budgetBRIGHT STAR SCHOOLS: $555,000 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetInner City Law Center: $300,000 over 3y, 1.0% of budgetLEVITT & QUINN FAMILY LAW CENTER: $100,000 over 3y, 4.6% of budgetLIVE OAK WILDERNESS CAMP: $60,000 over 4y, 2.2% of budgetHEART OF LOS ANGELES YOUTH INC: $59,400 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetTHE ST BERNARD PROJECT INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetGIRLS ATHLETIC LEADERSHIP SCHOOLS: $25,000 over 1y, 45% of budgetSOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PUBLIC RADIO: $10,000 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.

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 …Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
California Community FoundationCA12.5× affinity4 shared granteesties to 3 of 3Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: California Community Foundation · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · 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 Bill and Dinah Ruch Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Bill and Dinah Ruch Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%5%19%42%75%funder's share of their income ↑0%19%38%56%75%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    3report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–75%
    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 Bill and Dinah Ruch Family Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Bill and Dinah Ruch Family Foundation 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 12 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 Bill and Dinah Ruch Family’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