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Plinth

· Private foundation

Carl W Johnson Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$520k
Granted FY2024still arriving
16
Grants FY2024still arriving
2
States reached
$100k
Largest
01What you fund
01100% classified

What you funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year — across FY20172024.

Human Services$645kScience & Tech$468kEducation$400kHealth$380kAnimals$220kYouth Development$220kFood & Nutrition$203kPublic Benefit$93kOther$0
02FY2024 · 16 grants

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k2 grants · $10k
  • $10k–50k8 grants · $160k
  • $50k–250k6 grants · $350k
$30,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$3.6M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
NEW DIRECTIONS$100,000
LOS ANGELES REGIONAL FOOD BANK$50,000
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY LONG BEACH$50,000
THE PAINTED TURTLE$50,000
CANINE COMPANIONS FOR INDEPENDENCE$50,000
CHRYSALIS$50,000
CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL LOS ANGELES FOUNDATION$30,000
FRIENDS OF THE OBSERVATORY$30,000
CITY OF HOPE$25,000
HOLLENBECK PALMS$20,000
GREATER LOS ANGELES ZOO ASSOCIATION$15,000
THE ACHIEVABLE FOUNDATION$15,000
HEARING HEALTH FOUNDATION$15,000
LOS ANGELES HABILITATION HOUSE$10,000
TAKING THE REINS$5,000
02The need
03

Do your dollars go where the need is?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, then read against the area’s typical level.

show:

Your human-services grants (FY17–24, $275k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 55% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Your grants spread fairly evenly across need levels.

area typical 11%CANINE COMPANIONS FOR INDEPENDENCE: $50k → 9%CANINE COMPANIONS FOR INDEPENDENCE: $15k → 9%CANINE COMPANIONS FOR INDEPENDENCE: $10k → 9%CANINE COMPANIONS FOR INDEPENDENCE: $10k → 9%CANINE COMPANIONS FOR INDEPENDENCE: $10k → 9%CANINE COMPANIONS FOR INDEPENDENCE: $10k → 9%CANINE COMPANIONS FOR INDEPENDENCE: $10k → 9%CANINE COMPANIONS FOR INDEPENDENCE: $10k → 9%THE ACHIEVABLE FOUNDATION: $15k → 14%THE ACHIEVABLE FOUNDATION: $15k → 14%THE ACHIEVABLE FOUNDATION: $15k → 14%THE ACHIEVABLE FOUNDATION: $15k → 14%THE ACHIEVABLE FOUNDATION: $15k → 14%THE ACHIEVABLE FOUNDATION: $15k → 14%THE ACHIEVABLE FOUNDATION: $10k → 14%THE ACHIEVABLE FOUNDATION: $10k → 14%TAKING THE REINS: $5k → 14%TAKING THE REINS: $5k → 14%TAKING THE REINS: $5k → 14%TAKING THE REINS: $5k → 14%TAKING THE REINS: $5k → 14%TAKING THE REINS: $5k → 14%TAKING THE REINS: $5k → 14%TAKING THE REINS: $5k → 14%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount

Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty linein the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP; grantee ZIP can differ from where services are delivered.

US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are actually delivered. Need from public data — U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA — shown as context about the area, never attributed to your giving.

03Your edge
repeat funding

Who you back again

Which organizations you funded more than once, and which you funded a single time. Each grantee is matched to its own filings.

100%of every dollar goes to organizations you’ve funded before.
$2.8M · 17 repeat orgs$7k to everyone else

And the relationships you keep tend to grow: grantees you re-up on have seen median revenue of +37% since the first grant, against -20% for the ones you funded once.

17 repeat relationships — 16 still active in FY2024, 1 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

17
3

Total granted

$2.8M
$7k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+37%
-20%

Still filing today

71%
67%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
Human ServicesAnimalsScience & TechYouth DevelopmentEmploymentHealthOther

First-time = a grantee’s first year in your filing window; renewed = funded in an earlier year too. As a portfolio matures the renewed share naturally climbs — once funded, an org stays “renewable” — so the signal is the years that buck it (a new-grantee intake wave). 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

  • GO
    GRIFFITH OBSERVATORY FOUNDATION
    8× · 2017–2024 · $200k · revenue +61%
  • CC
    CANINE COMPANIONS FOR INDEPENDENCE INC
    8× · 2017–2024 · $125k · revenue +76%
  • THE ACHIEVABLE FOUNDATION
    8× · 2017–2024 · $110k · revenue +185%

Funded once

  • HS
    HUMANE SOCIETY OF VENTURA COUNTY
    one grant, 2018 · $3k · revenue -45%
  • BA
    BUTTE AGRICULTURE FOUNDATION INC
    one grant, 2018 · $3k · revenue -20%
  • WC
    WLACC - CAMP EMERALD BAY
    one grant, 2017 · $2k

Repeat = funded in two or more distinct years; growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Your field

The map has a center of gravity: the average direction from the rest of the sector toward the organizations the foundation funds — the shape of its giving. Scoring every nonprofit along that direction surfaces the ones that look most like the portfolio. These are the closest matchesthat aren’t grantees — a resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce

Chamber's mission: design and advance opportunities and solutions for a thriving regional economy that are inclusive and globally competitive. 1) advocacy - be a bold advocate for business as a driver of a strong economy that enables…

2
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
3
Altamed Health Services Corporation

To eliminate disparities in health care access and outcomes by providing superior quality health and human services through an integrated world-class delivery system for latino, multi-ethnic underserved communities in southern california.

Health
4
Los Angeles Conservancy

The los angeles conservancy is a nonprofit membership organization that works through education and advocacy to recognize, preserve, and revitalize the historic architectural and cultural resources of los angeles county.

Arts & Culture
5
Ucla Foundation

The ucla foundation is the giving, receiving, and investing arm of the ucla campus. the foundation enables private donors to help build, sustain and advance one of the world's finest academic and research institutions. private philanthropy…

Education
6
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
7
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…

8
The Humane Society for Seattleking County

Seattle humane promotes the human-animal bond by saving and serving pets in need, regardless of age, ability, circumstance or geography.

Animals
9
Greater Los Angeles Veterans Research and Education Foundation

Building partnerships to advance research and education for the health of our nation's veterans.

Health
10
Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy

To improve the skills, wages, and working conditions of workers in the tourism industry and to assure that the benefits of tourism contribute equitably to the economic and social development of all communities in the greater los angeles…

Health
11
Hollywood Food Coalition

Hollywood food coalition welcomes people to dinner each night. we rescue and redistribute food daily to other organizations. we care for our immediate community through our wellness program. we build community with and through our…

12
Santa Barbara Humane Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

Santa barbara humane operates two campuses located in santa barbara and santa maria providing care for community-owned and homeless animals. both campuses offer affordable high quality veterinary care, compassionate behavior training…

Animals

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Canine Companions for Independence Inc and the most unlike its peers is Seal Beach Swim Club. 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

14 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each one resolved to its own IRS returns and tracked year by year — your grant beside their revenue from every source. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

Counted here: distinct organizations you funded across 20172025, not grant rows in a single year — so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 14 of the 20 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile; the rest are funded organizations whose filings we could not track year by year.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
3
Early backer (in before they grew)
14/14
Grantees still filing
8/14
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

NEW DIRECTIONS INC — $420,000 · OtherNEW DIRECTIONS INCCALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY LONG BEACH — $400,000 · OtherCALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY LONG BEACHUNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT BERKELEY SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING — $267,763 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT BERKELEY SCHOOL OF ENGINEERINGCITY OF HOPE — $225,000 · OtherCITY OF HOPECHILDREN'S HOSPITAL LOS ANGELES FOUNDATION — $205,000 · OtherCHILDREN'S HOSPITAL LOS ANGELES FOUNDATIONLOS ANGELES REGIONAL FOOD BANK — $200,000 · OtherLOS ANGELES REGIONAL FOOD BANKCHRYSALIS — $92,500 · Other+4 more — $94,500 · OtherCANINE COMPANIONS FOR INDEPENDENCE INC — $125,000 · Human ServicesCANINE COMP…THE ACHIEVABLE FOUNDATION — $110,000 · Human ServicesTHE ACHIEVA…TAKING THE REINS — $40,000 · Human ServicesTAKING THE …GRIFFITH OBSERVATORY FOUNDATION — $200,000 · Science & TechTHE PAINTED TURTLE — $180,000 · Youth DevelopmentGREATER LOS ANGELES ZOOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION — $92,500 · Animals+1 more — $2,500 · AnimalsLOS ANGELES HABILITATION HOUSE INC — $80,000 · EmploymentHEARING HEALTH FOUNDATION — $65,000 · Health
Other$1,904,763Human Services$275,000Science & Tech$200,000Youth Development$180,000Animals$95,000Employment$80,000Health$65,000

Each org by its size and your share of it — top-left is where you’re load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ your share of their budgetNEW DIRECTIONS INC — $420,000 over 8y, 1.6% of budgetGRIFFITH OBSERVATORY FOUNDATION — $200,000 over 8y, 2.0% of budgetLOS ANGELES REGIONAL FOOD BANK — $200,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetTHE PAINTED TURTLE — $180,000 over 8y, 0.5% of budgetCANINE COMPANIONS FOR INDEPENDENCE INC — $125,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetTHE ACHIEVABLE FOUNDATION — $110,000 over 8y, 0.7% of budgetGREATER LOS ANGELES ZOOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION — $92,500 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetLOS ANGELES HABILITATION HOUSE INC — $80,000 over 8y, 1.1% of budgetHEARING HEALTH FOUNDATION — $65,000 over 8y, 0.3% of budgetHOLLENBECK PALMS — $50,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetTAKING THE REINS — $40,000 over 8y, 1.2% of budgetSEAL BEACH SWIM CLUB — $40,000 over 8y, 3.0% of budgetHUMANE SOCIETY OF VENTURA COUNTY — $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetBUTTE AGRICULTURE FOUNDATION INC — $2,500 over 1y, 0.4% of budget
Go grantee by grantee — a decade per org, and how each moved after you funded them

A decade per grantee — revenue shaded, your grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

  • Who funds NEW DIRECTIONS INC
  • Who funds GRIFFITH OBSERVATORY FOUNDATION
  • Who funds LOS ANGELES REGIONAL FOOD BANK
  • Who funds THE PAINTED TURTLE
  • Who funds CANINE COMPANIONS FOR INDEPENDENCE INC
  • Who funds THE ACHIEVABLE FOUNDATION
  • Who funds GREATER LOS ANGELES ZOOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION
  • Who funds LOS ANGELES HABILITATION HOUSE INC
  • Who funds HEARING HEALTH FOUNDATION
  • Who funds HOLLENBECK PALMS
  • Who funds TAKING THE REINS
  • Who funds SEAL BEACH SWIM CLUB
  • Who funds HUMANE SOCIETY OF VENTURA COUNTY
  • Who funds BUTTE AGRICULTURE FOUNDATION INC

The grantmakers whose grantees overlap with yours far more than size alone predicts. Each orbits closer the stronger the alignment; the arcs between them show where they also fund each other. Here it reads as a tightly interlocked camp — most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

The Ahmanson FoundationCA15.6× affinity5 shared granteesties to 5 of 5Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Ahmanson Foundation · California Community Foundation · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile Foundation

Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. A research starting point: overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

Government reliance of your grantees

Every dot is one organization Carl W Johnson Foundation funds. Left–right is the share of its income from government; up–down is the share from you. Bigger dots raise more. Filter to federal or a single department — and drag the year to watch it move.

2023
202122232425
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%your share of their income ↑0%23%45%68%90%share of the org’s income from government
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    5report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–90%
    typical government reliance, FY2025

    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 your grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first — a floor, not 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 12–24 months.

    05Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to Carl W Johnson Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Carl W Johnson 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 directly from IRS e-file XML — your own 990/990-PF and the multi-year returns of the 20 grantees we resolved across every year we hold, several hundred filings in all (a different count from the grant rows on the cover, which are one fiscal year)— each linked to its source. Grantee achievements and outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III); we read these as association with sustained funding — the foundation is one of several forces — suppress low-confidence name matches rather than guess, and say so where a figure rests on a single grant or filing. Not everything on this page is a filed figure, and the difference matters. Filed is what you reported on your 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. How we build these →

    Generated from your IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

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