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Cascade Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Cascade 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.

$735k
Granted FY2024still arriving
34
Grants FY2024still arriving
10
States reached
$80k
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, FY2018 to 2024.

Health$1.6MArts & Culture$1.1MAnimals$288kEducation$230kInternational$158kEnvironment$154kHuman Services$95kRecreation & Sports$83kOther$0
02FY2024 · 34 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k11 grants · $33k
  • $10k–50k18 grants · $321k
  • $50k–250k5 grants · $382k
$15,000
Median grant
10
States reached
$13M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
FRAXA RESEARCH FOUNDATION$80,000
NATIONAL FRAGILE X FOUNDATION$80,000
FRIENDS OF THE STRAND THEATER$76,813
ATLANTIC SALMON FEDERATION$75,000
KNOX COUNTY HEALTH CLINIC$70,000
VICTORIA MANSION$25,000
MAINE FAMILY PLANNING$25,000
PLEASANT RIVER FISH & GAME$25,000
PLANNED PARENTHOOD$25,000
MERCER MUSEUM$25,000
SMITHSONIAN LIBRARIES$25,000
WAYFINDER SCHOOLS$20,000
MEDSHARE INTERNATIONAL$20,000
REEF RELIEF$15,000
FARNSWORTH ART MUSEUM$15,000
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 (FY18–24, $226k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%WAYFINDER SCHOOLS: $21k → 11%WAYFINDER SCHOOLS: $20k → 11%WAYFINDER SCHOOLS: $20k → 11%WAYFINDER SCHOOLS: $10k → 11%WAYFINDER SCHOOL: $10k → 11%WAYFINDER SCHOOLS: $10k → 11%WAYFINDER SCHOOLS: $5k → 11%KNOX COUNTY HOMELESS COALITION: $15k → 11%NEW HOPE MIDCOAST: $15k → 11%KNOX COUNTY HOMELESS COALITION: $15k → 11%NEW HOPE FOR WOMEN: $15k → 11%NEW HOPE FOR WOMEN: $15k → 11%NEW HOPE FOR WOMEN: $15k → 11%NEW HOPE FOR WOMEN: $15k → 11%NEW HOPE FOR WOMEN: $10k → 11%NEW HOPE FOR WOMEN: $10k → 11%KNOX COUNTY HOMELESS COALITION: $5k → 11%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
VT
NH
IL
NY
MA
WY
IN
OH
PA
CT
CO
VA
MD
AZ
TN
DC
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.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

94%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$3.6M · 43 repeat orgs$224k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +45% since the first grant, against +43% for those funded once.

43 repeat relationships: 27 still active in FY2024, 16 since wound down; 7 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

43
20

Total granted

$3.6M
$177k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+45%
+43%

Still filing today

79%
50%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 94% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $47k went to new ones.

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

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

’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
Arts & CultureHealthEnvironmentAnimalsInternationalHuman ServicesOther
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
    THE NATIONAL FRAGILE X FOUNDATION
    6× · 2019–2024 · $415k · revenue +46%
  • Atlantic Salmon Federation (US) Inc
    6× · 2019–2024 · $280k · revenue +272%
  • MH
    MID-COAST HEALTH NET INC
    7× · 2018–2024 · $240k · revenue +223%

Funded once

  • PB
    PENN BAY MEDICAL CENTER
    one grant, 2020 · $73k
  • SI
    SMITHSONIAN INSTUTION LIBRARIES
    one grant, 2019 · $20k
  • SL
    SMITHSONIAN LIBRARIES & ARCHIVES
    one grant, 2022 · $15k
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
American Museum of Natural History

The museum's mission statement is: "to discover, interpret, and disseminate - through scientific research and education - knowledge about human cultures, the natural world, and the universe."

Arts & Culture
2
Maine Historical Society

Maine Historical Society, founded in 1822, is a private non-profit whose mission is to preserve and share Maine's story. Based in Portland, we work closely with communities and partners throughout the state, and serve a statewide and…

Arts & Culture
3
Museum of Modern Art

The Museum of Modern Art is a private, non-profit institution chartered by the State of New York Department of Education in 1929 to foster public awareness of modern and contemporary art. (Continued in Schedule O)

Arts & Culture
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
The Pierpont Morgan Library

The Morgan Library & Museum celebrates and shares the history and process of human creativity from antiquity to the present day through the preservation, study, and interpretation of a dynamic and growing collection.

Education
6
Museum of Arts and Design

To collect, display and interpret objects in craft art and design.

Arts & Culture
7
Museum of Science

The mission of the museum of science is to inspire a lifelong love of science in everyone. through exhibits, curricula, programs, and events, both live and virtual, we aim to make science and scientific thinking accessible, engaging, and…

Arts & Culture
8
Connecticut Aeronautical Historical Association Inc

The new england air museum's mission is to preserve and present the story of aviation and aerospace, with an emphasis on new england's role, and the genius and inspiration that made it possible. the museum also seeks to inspire young…

Arts & Culture
9
Children's Museum and Theatre of Maine

At the children's museum & theatre of maine, we set the stage for every child to imagine and learn through play.

Arts & Culture
10
New York Botanical Garden

The new york botanical garden is a museum of plants and a scientific research center devoted to the study of plants and their uses. it is the garden's mission to improve public understanding of the natural world, horticulture, and the…

Environment
11
Delaware Museum of Nature and Science Inc

The museum is an educational corporation formed to ignite a life-long passion for exploring, discovering, and valuing nature and science.

—
12
MRIGlobal

To improve the lives of people through innovative scientific and engineering research.

Science & Tech
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Stepping Stones Museum for Children Inc; the most unlike its peers is Wildlife Conservation Society. 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

48 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. 48 of the 70 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)
47/48
Grantees still filing
35/48
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE NATIONAL FRAGILE X FOUNDATION: $415,000 · HealthTHE NATIONAL FRAGILE X FOUNDATIONMID-COAST HEALTH NET INC: $240,000 · HealthMID-COAST HEALTH NET INCFRAXA Research Foundation Inc: $190,000 · HealthFRAXA Research Foundation IncFAMILY PLANNING ASSOCIATION OF MAINE INC: $185,000 · HealthFAMILY PLANNING ASSOCIATION OF MAIN…THE JACKSON LABORATORY: $95,000 · HealthTHE JACKSON LABORATORYPLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC: $75,000 · HealthPLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AM…+4 more: $8,000 · HealthMERCER MUSEUM: $253,500 · OtherMERCER MUSEUMIndividual grant recipient: $245,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientPLANNED PARENTHOOD: $75,000 · OtherPLANNED PARENTHOODPENN BAY MEDICAL CENTER: $73,000 · OtherPENN BAY MEDICAL CENTERSMITHSONIAN LIBRARIES: $70,000 · OtherSMITHSONIAN LIBRARIESMEALS ON WHEELS: $65,000 · OtherReef Relief Inc: $100,000 · OtherReef Relief IncMEGUNTICOOK ROWING: $83,400 · OtherMEGUNTICOOK ROWING+27 more: $267,100 · Other+27 moreTHE WILLIAM A FARNSWORTH LIBRARY AND ART MUSEUM INC: $180,611 · Arts & CultureTHE WILLIAM A FARN…FRIENDS OF THE STRAND THEATRE INC: $141,813 · Arts & CultureFRIENDS OF THE STR…Victoria Mansion: $130,000 · Arts & CultureVictoria MansionMaine Maritime Museum: $65,000 · Arts & CultureMaine Maritime Mus…The Owls Head Transportation Museum: $40,000 · Arts & CultureThe Owls Head Tran…+10 more: $60,060 · Arts & Culture+10 moreAtlantic Salmon Federation (US) Inc: $280,000 · Animals+2 more: $7,240 · AnimalsWAYFINDER SCHOOLS: $95,500 · Human ServicesNEW HOPE FOR WOMEN INC: $95,000 · Human ServicesHomeworthy: $35,000 · Human ServicesMEDSHARE INTERNATIONAL INC: $100,000 · InternationalPartners for World Health: $45,000 · InternationalSave The Children Federation Inc: $13,000 · InternationalTHE UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT FOUNDATION INC: $113,162 · Education
Health$1,208,000Other$1,232,000Arts & Culture$617,484Animals$287,240Human Services$225,500International$158,000Education$113,162

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 budgetTHE NATIONAL FRAGILE X FOUNDATION: $415,000 over 6y, 4.5% of budgetAtlantic Salmon Federation (US) Inc: $280,000 over 6y, 1.4% of budgetMID-COAST HEALTH NET INC: $240,000 over 7y, 10% of budgetFRAXA Research Foundation Inc: $190,000 over 3y, 4.3% of budgetFAMILY PLANNING ASSOCIATION OF MAINE INC: $185,000 over 7y, 0.3% of budgetTHE WILLIAM A FARNSWORTH LIBRARY AND ART MUSEUM INC: $180,611 over 7y, 1.2% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE STRAND THEATRE INC: $141,813 over 7y, 8.9% of budgetVictoria Mansion: $130,000 over 7y, 5.0% of budgetTHE UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT FOUNDATION INC: $113,162 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetReef Relief Inc: $100,000 over 7y, 7.8% of budgetMEDSHARE INTERNATIONAL INC: $100,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetWAYFINDER SCHOOLS: $95,500 over 6y, 3.2% of budgetTHE JACKSON LABORATORY: $95,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetNEW HOPE FOR WOMEN INC: $95,000 over 7y, 1.2% of budgetMEGUNTICOOK ROWING: $83,400 over 7y, 16% of budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC: $75,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMaine Maritime Museum: $65,000 over 6y, 0.5% of budgetPartners for World Health: $45,000 over 3y, 0.9% of budgetThe Owls Head Transportation Museum: $40,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetHomeworthy: $35,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetORPHAN FOUNDATION OF AMERICA D/B/A FOSTER CARE TO SUCCESS FOUNDATION: $20,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCOTA - Children's Organ Transplant Association: $20,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetAbbe Museum: $17,000 over 3y, 1.1% of budgetMONTESSORI DISCOVERY SCHOOL INC: $14,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetSave The Children Federation Inc: $13,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetTHE HEARD MUSEUM: $12,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetPortland Museum of Art: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetPENOBSCOT MARINE MUSEUM: $10,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetSARAH FOUNDATION INC: $10,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetAVIAN HAVEN: $7,000 over 2y, 1.5% of budgetMAINE SCHOOL OF MASONRY: $6,000 over 1y, 4.3% of budgetFIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetConnecticut Foundation for Dental Outreach Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 2.6% of budgetMAINE ORGANIC FARMERS AND GARDENERS ASSOCIATION: $3,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetNORMAN ROCKWELL MUSEUM AT STOCKBRIDGE INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTUCSON DESERT ART MUSEUM INC: $1,500 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetTUCSON BOTANICAL GARDENS: $1,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE MICHAEL J FOX FOUNDATION FOR PARKINSON'S RESEARCH: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetJACKSON HOLE CONSERVATION ALLIANCE: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTransplant Foundation Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetJEKYLL ISLAND FOUNDATION INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE KELLY S BRUSH FOUNDATION INC: $1,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWyoming Star Gazing: $1,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetSTEPPING STONES MUSEUM FOR CHILDREN INC: $800 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetDESERT BOTANICAL GARDEN INC: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE MARITIME AQUARIUM AT NORWALK INC: $260 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWildlife Conservation Society: $240 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.

  • Who funds THE NATIONAL FRAGILE X FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Atlantic Salmon Federation (US) Inc ↗
  • Who funds MID-COAST HEALTH NET INC ↗
  • Who funds FRAXA Research Foundation Inc ↗
  • Who funds FAMILY PLANNING ASSOCIATION OF MAINE INC ↗
  • Who funds THE WILLIAM A FARNSWORTH LIBRARY AND ART MUSEUM INC ↗
  • Who funds FRIENDS OF THE STRAND THEATRE INC ↗
  • Who funds Victoria Mansion ↗
  • Who funds THE UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds Reef Relief Inc ↗
  • Who funds MEDSHARE INTERNATIONAL INC ↗
  • Who funds WAYFINDER SCHOOLS ↗
  • Who funds THE JACKSON LABORATORY ↗
  • Who funds NEW HOPE FOR WOMEN INC ↗
  • Who funds MEGUNTICOOK ROWING ↗
  • Who funds PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC ↗
  • Who funds Maine Maritime Museum ↗
  • Who funds Partners for World Health ↗
  • Who funds The Owls Head Transportation Museum ↗
  • Who funds Homeworthy ↗
  • Who funds ORPHAN FOUNDATION OF AMERICA D/B/A FOSTER CARE TO SUCCESS FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds COTA - Children's Organ Transplant Association ↗
  • Who funds Abbe Museum ↗
  • Who funds MONTESSORI DISCOVERY SCHOOL INC ↗
  • Who funds Save The Children Federation Inc ↗
  • Who funds THE HEARD MUSEUM ↗
  • Who funds Portland Museum of Art ↗

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.

Maine Community Found…Davis Family Foundati…Fisher Charitable Fou…Arthur K Watson Trust…Libra FoundationMorton-Kelly Charitab…Middlecott FoundationOnion FoundationStephen & Tabitha Kin…Elmina B Sewall Found…Bangor Savings Bank F…Ibm International Fou…
Maine Community Foundation IncME28.5× affinity13 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Maine Community Foundation Inc · Davis Family Foundation · Fisher Charitable Foundation · Arthur K Watson Trust Xxxxx5001 · Libra Foundation · Morton-Kelly Charitable Trust · Middlecott Foundation · Onion Foundation · Stephen & Tabitha King Foundation Inc · Elmina B Sewall Foundation · Bangor Savings Bank Foundation · Ibm International 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 Cascade Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Cascade Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 40%1%5%11%20%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 5%
  • Save the Children Federation Inc: 30% of income from government
  • The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk Inc: 5% of income from government
  • Stepping Stones Museum for Children Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Norman Rockwell Museum at Stockbridge Inc: 1% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
4get no government money at all
10report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely 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.

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 70 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 Cascade’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