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Bowman Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Bowman Family Foundation

Its FY2018 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$349k
Granted FY2018
16
Grants FY2018
3
States reached
$88k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0197% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2018.

Public Benefit$218kEducation$158kArts & Culture$143kPhilanthropy$38kHuman Services$36kReligion$30kYouth Development$30kEnvironment$25kOther$0
02FY2018 · 16 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2018

  • Under $10k5 grants · $11k
  • $10k–50k9 grants · $197k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $141k
$15,200
Median grant
3
States reached
$269k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
WOODSIDE-PORTOLA VALLEY FP FOUNDATION$88,163
WOODSIDE SCHOOL FOUNDATION$53,290
SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY$46,500
LEAGUE TO SAVE LAKE TAHOE$25,000
REDWOOD CITY 330 SQUAD CLUB INC$25,000
OPEN HANDS INC$25,000
SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART$20,000
ST BEBE'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH$15,200
WARRIORS COMMUNITY FOUNDATION$15,000
CHILDFAMILY RESEARCH&TRAINING INSTITUTE$15,000
WENDER WEIS FOUNDATION FOR CHILDREN$10,000
STANFORD UNIVERSITY - UNDER ONE UMBRELLA$5,000
THE HENRY COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION$2,500
CONSERVATION AMBASSADORS - WOWS$1,500
PETERSEN AUTOMOTIVE MUSEUM$1,308
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 (FY18–18, $40k) land where the poverty rate runs at 7%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%REDWOOD CITY 330 SQUAD CLUB INC: $25k → 7%CHILDFAMILY RESEARCH&TRAINING INSTITUTE: $15k → 7%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.

51%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$327k · 8 repeat orgs$310k to everyone else

8 repeat relationships: 8 still active in FY2018, 0 since wound down; 6 grantees were first funded in FY2018 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

8
8

Total granted

$327k
$150k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+39%
+69%

Still filing today

75%
38%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2018, 52% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $160k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18
Arts & CultureEducationHuman ServicesReligionAnimalsOther
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

  • WS
    WOODSIDE SCHOOL FOUNDATION
    2× · 2017–2018 · $73k · revenue +11%
  • SF
    SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART
    2× · 2017–2018 · $43k · revenue +37%
  • WW
    WENDER WEIS FOUNDATION FOR CHILDREN
    2× · 2017–2018 · $15k · revenue +72%

Funded once

  • CG
    COLORADO GRAND INCgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $35k · revenue +144%
  • LU
    LEHIGH UNIVERSITYgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $25k · revenue +69%
  • RC
    REDWOOD CITY 330 CLUB INC
    one grant, 2017 · $25k
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
President-Board of Trustees Santa Clara College

Scu is a catholic and jesuit institution that makes student learning its central focus, promotes faculty and staff learning in its various forms, and exhibits organizational learning.

Education
2
California Academy of Sciences

The academy is a renowned scientific and educational institution with a mission to regenerate the natural world through science, learning, and collaboration. based in san francisco's golden gate park, it is home to a world-class aquarium,…

Arts & Culture
3
San Francisco Opera Association

We believe opera is a uniquely compelling, entertaining and emotionally thrilling art form. our mission is to bring together growing audiences to experience opera's transformative power.

Arts & Culture
4
University of Southern California

The central mission of the university of southern california is the development of human beings and society as a whole through the cultivation and enrichment of the human mind and spirit. the principal means by which our mission is…

Education
5
San Francisco Challenge dba AmericaOne
Recreation & Sports
6
University of California Irvine Foundation

The mission of the university of california, irvine foundation (uc irvine foundation) is to raise and manage private funds to support uc irvine's broader mission of excellence in teaching, research and public service. to this end, the uc…

Education
7
University of California San Francisco Foundation

Organization's mission ====================== the university of california, san francisco(ucsf) is among the world's leading universities dedicated to advancing health worldwide through biomedical research, graduate-level education in the…

Education
8
The San Francisco School

A private school that cultivates and celebrates the intellectual, imaginative, and humanitarian promise of each student in a community that practices mutual respect, embraces diversity, and inspires passion for learning.

—
9
The Uc Davis Foundation

The mission of the uc davis foundation is to secure, steward and manage private gifts for uc davis.

Education
10
San Francisco Friends School

At san francisco friends school, students learn in a community grounded in the quaker values of reflection, integrity, peaceful problem-solving and stewardship. our teachers challenge students with a dynamic curriculum that inspires…

Education
11
San Jose Museum of Art Association

Nurture empathy and connection by engaging communities with socially relevant contemporary art

Arts & Culture
12
California Association for Research in Astronomy

To advance the frontiers of astronomy and share our discoveries with the world. the two 10-meter telescopes of keck observatory are the world's largest optical and infrared telescopes. they have revolutionized our understanding of the…

Science & Tech
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Golden State Community Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Wender Weis Foundation for Children. 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

16 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. 16 of the 25 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.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
5
Early backer (in before they grew)
15/16
Grantees still filing
11/16
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

WOODSIDE-PORTOLA VALLEY FP FOUNDATION: $88,163 · OtherWOODSIDE-PORTOLA VALLEY FP FOUNDATIONOPEN HANDS INC: $65,000 · OtherOPEN HANDS INCCOLORADO GRAND INC: $35,000 · OtherCOLORADO GRAND INCST BEBE'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH: $30,200 · OtherST BEBE'S EPISCOPAL CHURCHREDWOOD CITY 330 CLUB INC: $25,000 · OtherREDWOOD CITY 330 CLUB INCCHP 11-22 FOUNDATION: $25,000 · OtherCHP 11-22 FOUNDATIONSAN JOSE POA CHARITABLE FUND: $15,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $15,000 · OtherWENDER WEIS FOUNDATION FOR CHILDREN: $14,500 · Other+3 more: $16,000 · OtherWOODSIDE SCHOOL FOUNDATION: $73,290 · EducationWOODSIDE SCHOOL FOUNDAT…THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $50,000 · EducationTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES O…LEHIGH UNIVERSITY: $25,000 · EducationLEHIGH UNIVERSITYSAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY: $92,000 · Arts & CultureSAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONYSAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART: $42,500 · Arts & CultureSAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM O…KQED INC: $5,000 · Arts & Culture+1 more: $3,751 · Arts & CultureREDWOOD CITY 330 SQUAD CLUB INC: $25,000 · Human ServicesCHILD AND FAMILY RESEARCH AND TRAINING INSTITUTE: $15,000 · Human ServicesGOLDEN STATE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $30,000 · Recreation & SportsLEAGUE TO SAVE LAKE TAHOE: $25,000 · ReligionHENRY COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $2,500 · PhilanthropyCONSERVATION AMBASSADORS INC: $1,500 · Animals
Other$328,863Education$148,290Arts & Culture$143,251Human Services$40,000Recreation & Sports$30,000Religion$25,000Philanthropy$2,500Animals$1,500

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 budgetSAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY: $92,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetWOODSIDE SCHOOL FOUNDATION: $73,290 over 2y, 1.9% of budgetTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $50,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART: $42,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCOLORADO GRAND INC: $35,000 over 1y, 5.8% of budgetGOLDEN STATE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $30,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetLEHIGH UNIVERSITY: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLEAGUE TO SAVE LAKE TAHOE: $25,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetREDWOOD CITY 330 SQUAD CLUB INC: $25,000 over 1y, 33% of budgetCHILD AND FAMILY RESEARCH AND TRAINING INSTITUTE: $15,000 over 1y, 3.3% of budgetWENDER WEIS FOUNDATION FOR CHILDREN: $14,500 over 2y, 1.5% of budgetSAFE & SOUND: $6,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetKQED INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPETERSEN AUTOMOTIVE MUSEUM FOUNDATION: $3,751 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetHENRY COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCONSERVATION AMBASSADORS INC: $1,500 over 1y, 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.

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.

Silicon Valley Commun…American Endowment Fo…Morgan Stanley Global…National Philanthropi…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Silicon Valley Community FoundationCA13.8× affinity5 shared granteesties to 6 of 6Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Silicon Valley Community Foundation · American Endowment Foundation · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · 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 Bowman Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Bowman Family 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%5%10%15%20%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 · 0–20%
    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 25 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 2018, released 2018. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Bowman 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