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Castaways Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Castaways 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.

$180k
Granted FY2025still arriving
77
Grants FY2025still arriving
14
States reached
$20k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0196% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Education$346kHealth$297kAnimals$225kYouth Development$119kRecreation & Sports$80kEnvironment$60kHuman Services$60kArts & Culture$59kOther$0
02FY2025 · 77 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k75 grants · $148k
  • $10k–50k2 grants · $32k
$1,000
Median grant
14
States reached
$2.6M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CHILDREN INTERNATIONAL$20,000
DENVER POLICE BROTHERHOOD YOUTH BOXING TEAM$12,000
CALLIES BACKYARD FOUNDATION$7,500
TULANE UNIVERSITY$7,500
TULANE UNIVERSITY$7,500
FEEDING COLORADO$6,000
IMMIGRANT FREEDOM FUND$6,000
SHEDD AQUARIUM$6,000
UNIVERSITY OF DENVER$5,000
SHIRLEY RYAN ABILITY LAB$5,000
CANINE THERAPY CORPS$5,000
NATIONAL JEWISH HEALTH$5,000
NEW VENTURE FUND$4,000
COLORADO IMMIGRANT RIGHTS COALITION$4,000
PAWS CHICAGO$4,000
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 (FY17–25, $85k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 66% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%CHALLENGE ASPEN: $1k → 6%BESSIE'S HOPE: $1k → 12%CHRISTMAS COMMANDOS: $500 → 13%INTERNATIONAL HEARING DOG INC: $500 → 10%CHRISTMAS COMMANDOS: $500 → 13%CHALLENGE ASPEN: $1k → 6%INTERNATIONAL HEARING DOG INC: $500 → 10%SOX PLACE: $12k → 12%INTERNATIONAL HEARING DOG INC: $500 → 10%GRANT STREET SETTLEMENT: $500 → 17%YOUTH ZONE: $1k → 10%CHALLENGE ASPEN: $1k → 6%FREEDOM SERVICE DOGS: $500 → 8%CHALLENGE ASPEN: $500 → 6%FREEDOM SERVICE DOGS: $500 → 8%IMMIGRANT FREEDOM FUND: $6k → 12%SAFE PLACE FOR PETS: $3k → 9%SAFE PLACE FOR PETS: $3k → 9%SAFE PLACE FOR PETS: $3k → 9%SAFE PLACE FOR PETS: $3k → 9%SAFE PLACE FOR PETS: $2k → 9%MARYVILLE ACADEMY: $2k → 14%MARYVILLE ACADEMY: $2k → 14%MARYVILLE ACADEMY: $2k → 14%MARYVILLE ACADEMY: $2k → 14%MARYVILLE ACADEMY: $2k → 14%MARYVILLE ACADEMY: $2k → 14%THE PLACE: $1k → 9%MARYVILLE ACADEMY: $2k → 14%MARYVILLE ACADEMY: $2k → 14%SAFE PLACE FOR PETS: $1k → 9%COLORADO JUVENILE DEFENDER CENTER: $2k → 12%MARYVILLE ACADEMY: $2k → 14%COLORADO JUVENILE DEFENDER CENTER: $2k → 12%SAFE PLACE FOR PETS: $1k → 9%THE PLACE: $1k → 9%THE PLACE: $1k → 9%THE PLACE: $1k → 9%COLORADO JUVENILE DEFENDER CENTER: $1k → 12%COLORADO JUVENILE DEFENDER CENTER: $1k → 12%COLORADO JUVENILE DEFENDER CENTER: $1k → 12%COLORADO JUVENILE DEFENDER CENTER: $1k → 12%TRANSFORMATIVE JUSTICE PROJECT OF CO: $1k → 12%TRANSFORMATIVE JUSTICE PROJECT OF CO: $1k → 12%RESPONSE: $1k → 6%RESPONSE: $1k → 6%CASA DE PAZ: $1k → 12%CHICAGO FURNITURE BANK: $5k → 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.

Which US states its grants reach

MN
IL
WI
NY
MA
OR
NV
SD
IN
PA
NJ
CA
CO
MO
VA
MD
NM
TN
NC
DC
LA
AL
TX
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.

84%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.3M · 129 repeat orgs$242k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +49% since the first grant, against +22% for those funded once.

129 repeat relationships: 60 still active in FY2025, 69 since wound down; 15 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

129
62

Total granted

$1.3M
$194k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+49%
+22%

Still filing today

70%
65%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 73% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $48k 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
EducationHealthHuman ServicesAnimalsArts & CultureRecreation & 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

  • TA
    THE ADMINISTRATORS OF THE TULANE EDUCATIONAL FUND
    9× · 2017–2025 · $112k · revenue +72%
  • CS
    COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION
    3× · 2018–2021 · $51k · revenue +25%
  • UO
    UNIVERSITY OF DENVER
    9× · 2017–2025 · $49k · revenue +33%

Funded once

  • DA
    Denver Animal Foundation
    one grant, 2023 · $25k · revenue -10%
  • DA
    DENVER ANIMAL SHELTER
    one grant, 2022 · $25k
  • DA
    DENVER ANIMAL SHELTERDENVER ANIMAL PROTECTION
    one grant, 2020 · $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
Colorado Legal Services

To provide meaningful access to high quality, civil legal services in the pursuit of justice for as many low income persons and members of vulnerable populations throughout colorado as possible.

Crime & Legal
2
Aia Colorado

AIA Colorado,is the voice of the architecture profession in Colorado. Through advocacy, leadership development, education and resources for architects, the organization supports architecture professionals in designing a better world where…

—
3
Rocky Mountain Wild

Rocky mountain wild works to protect, connect, and restore wildlife and wild lands in the southern rocky mountain region. we work to secure the biodiversity of the mountains, plains, and desert ecosystems of colorado, wyoming, utah, and…

Environment
4
Colorado Center On Law and Policy

Colorado center on law and policy is an antipoverty organization advancing the rights of every coloradan.

Crime & Legal
5
Aspen Valley Land Trust

Protecting the open land and special places of the roaring fork and middle colorado river valleys for wildlife, agriculture, and community forever.

Environment
6
Colorado Gives Foundation

We connect people, ideas, and nonprofits to make good happen. our vision is that all of jeffco is thriving.

Philanthropy
7
Colorado Museum of Natural History

Be a catalyst! Ignite our community's passion for nature and science.

Arts & Culture
8
Colorado Fiscal Institute

To provide timely, credible and accessible analyses of fiscal and economic issues facing colorado to inform public policy debates and promote economic prosperity

Community Improvement
9
Colorado Nonprofit Association

Colorado nonprofit association strengthens colorado's nonprofits through education, connection and advocacy.

Community Improvement
10
Colorado Animal Rescue Inc

C.A.R.E's mission is practicing excellence in the animal care, education, and advocacy to connect pets to their people.

Animals
11
Colorado Jobs With Justice Inc

Advance workers rights & social justice through building sustained relationships and taking direct action to create concrete change in the lives of working families

Employment
12
Colorado Agricultural Leadership Program

To develop leaders that will become a strong, unified voice for agricultural issues.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Denver Dumb Friends League; the most unlike its peers is Sky Cliff Stroke Center. 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

142 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. 142 of the 207 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)
41
Early backer (in before they grew)
141/142
Grantees still filing
103/142
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

HIGH LINE CANAL CONSERVANCY: $46,000 · OtherHIGH LINE CANAL CONSERVANCYLURIE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF CHICAGO: $28,000 · OtherDENVER ANIMAL SHELTER: $25,000 · OtherNORTHWESTERN MEMORIAL HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $22,500 · Other+119 more: $522,200 · Other+119 moreTHE ADMINISTRATORS OF THE TULANE EDUCATIONAL FUND: $112,000 · EducationTHE ADMINISTRATORS OF T…COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $51,000 · EducationCOLORADO STATE UNIVERSI…UNIVERSITY OF DENVER: $49,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF DENVERIllinois Institute of Technology: $27,000 · EducationIllinois Institute of T…Educating Children of Color Inc: $26,500 · EducationEducating Children of C…+14 more: $44,500 · Education+14 moreRehabilitation Institute of Chicago: $43,500 · HealthRehabilitation …CANINE THERAPY CORPS INC: $40,500 · HealthCANINE THERAPY …Denver Animal Foundation: $25,000 · HealthDenver Animal F…NATIONAL JEWISH HEALTH: $24,750 · HealthNATIONAL JEWISH…DAWG Nation Hockey Foundation: $21,000 · HealthDAWG Nation Hoc…COLORADO HEALTH NETWORK INC: $8,000 · HealthASPEN HOPE CENTER: $7,500 · HealthA Way Out Inc: $7,000 · Health+11 more: $27,000 · Health+11 moreSHEDD AQUARIUM SOCIETY: $46,500 · AnimalsSHEDD AQU…PAWS CHICAGO: $30,500 · AnimalsPAWS CHIC…LINCOLN PARK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $28,000 · AnimalsLINCOLN P…SOUL DOG RESCUE: $8,000 · AnimalsSOUL DOG …SPAYTODAY: $6,000 · AnimalsFARM SANCTUARY INC: $6,000 · Animals+7 more: $6,550 · AnimalsMaryville Academy: $16,000 · Human ServicesSAFE PLACE INC: $14,000 · Human ServicesSox Place Inc: $12,000 · Human ServicesColorado Juvenile Defender Center DBA Transformative Justice Proj of Colo: $10,000 · Human ServicesImmigrant Freedom Fund: $6,000 · Human ServicesCHALLENGE ASPEN: $5,500 · Human ServicesCHICAGO FURNITURE BANK: $5,000 · Human ServicesResponse - Help for Survivors of Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault: $4,500 · Human ServicesThe Place: $4,000 · Human Services+8 more: $9,850 · Human ServicesCallie's Backyard Foundation: $26,000 · Crime & LegalLegal Aid Foundation of Colorado: $22,500 · Crime & LegalALPINE LEGAL SERVICES INC: $7,500 · Crime & LegalForge Evolution: $6,000 · Crime & LegalFAMILY VISITOR PROGRAM OF GARFIELD COUNTY INC: $5,000 · Crime & Legal+1 more: $1,000 · Crime & LegalDENVER POLICE BROTHERHOOD YOUTH BOXING: $56,000 · Youth DevelopmentINSIDE OUT YOUTH SERVICES: $5,500 · Youth Development+1 more: $2,000 · Youth Development
Other$643,700Education$310,000Health$204,250Animals$131,550Human Services$86,850Crime & Legal$68,000Youth Development$63,500

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 budgetTHE ADMINISTRATORS OF THE TULANE EDUCATIONAL FUND: $112,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetDENVER POLICE BROTHERHOOD YOUTH BOXING: $56,000 over 9y, 42% of budgetCOLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $51,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF DENVER: $49,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetSHEDD AQUARIUM SOCIETY: $46,500 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetHIGH LINE CANAL CONSERVANCY: $46,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetRehabilitation Institute of Chicago: $43,500 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetCANINE THERAPY CORPS INC: $40,500 over 9y, 1.4% of budgetPAWS CHICAGO: $30,500 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetLINCOLN PARK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $28,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetIllinois Institute of Technology: $27,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetEducating Children of Color Inc: $26,500 over 9y, 4.2% of budgetCallie's Backyard Foundation: $26,000 over 9y, 7.2% of budgetDenver Animal Foundation: $25,000 over 1y, 17% of budgetNATIONAL JEWISH HEALTH: $24,750 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetLegal Aid Foundation of Colorado: $22,500 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetDAWG Nation Hockey Foundation: $21,000 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetROUNDUP RIVER RANCH: $18,000 over 9y, 0.2% of budgetMaryville Academy: $16,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetSAFE PLACE INC: $14,000 over 7y, 1.8% of budgetYOUNG AMERICANS CENTER FOR FINANCIAL EDUCATION: $12,500 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetSox Place Inc: $12,000 over 1y, 2.5% of budgetEXPEDITIONARY LEARNING SCHOOL BOARD OF COOPERATIVE EDUCATIONAL SERVICES: $10,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetColorado Juvenile Defender Center DBA Transformative Justice Proj of Colo: $10,000 over 8y, 1.9% of budgetTHE KEYSTONE SCIENCE SCHOOL INC: $9,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetDIVERS ALERT NETWORK: $9,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL BRAIN TUMOR SOCIETY INC: $8,500 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetMountain Rescue Aspen Inc: $8,500 over 9y, 0.2% of budgetTWO ANGELS FOUNDATION INC: $8,500 over 6y, 1.4% of budgetSOUL DOG RESCUE: $8,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetCOLORADO HEALTH NETWORK INC: $8,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetALPINE LEGAL SERVICES INC: $7,500 over 8y, 0.2% of budgetPROSTATE CANCER FOUNDATION: $7,500 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetASPEN HOPE CENTER: $7,500 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetSHINING STARS FOUNDATION: $7,350 over 8y, 0.3% of budgetRalston House: $7,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetA Way Out Inc: $7,000 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetEnglish in Action: $7,000 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetASPEN VALLEY HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $6,500 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetASPEN JUNIOR GOLF FOUNDATION INC: $6,250 over 7y, 1.1% of budgetSPAYTODAY: $6,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetForge Evolution: $6,000 over 6y, 0.7% of budgetAspen Homeless Shelter: $6,000 over 5y, 0.6% of budgetImmigrant Freedom Fund: $6,000 over 1y, 4.5% of budgetFARM SANCTUARY INC: $6,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMOVEMENT 5280: $6,000 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetTrails and Open Space Coalition: $6,000 over 8y, 0.3% of budgetPROJECT ANGEL HEART: $6,000 over 8y, 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 ADMINISTRATORS OF THE TULANE EDUCATIONAL FUND ↗
  • Who funds DENVER POLICE BROTHERHOOD YOUTH BOXING ↗
  • Who funds COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds UNIVERSITY OF DENVER ↗
  • Who funds SHEDD AQUARIUM SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds HIGH LINE CANAL CONSERVANCY ↗
  • Who funds Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago ↗
  • Who funds CANINE THERAPY CORPS INC ↗
  • Who funds PAWS CHICAGO ↗
  • Who funds LINCOLN PARK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds Illinois Institute of Technology ↗
  • Who funds Educating Children of Color Inc ↗
  • Who funds Callie's Backyard Foundation ↗
  • Who funds Denver Animal Foundation ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL JEWISH HEALTH ↗
  • Who funds Legal Aid Foundation of Colorado ↗
  • Who funds DAWG Nation Hockey Foundation ↗
  • Who funds Children International ↗
  • Who funds ROUNDUP RIVER RANCH ↗
  • Who funds Maryville Academy ↗
  • Who funds SAFE PLACE INC ↗
  • Who funds YOUNG AMERICANS CENTER FOR FINANCIAL EDUCATION ↗
  • Who funds Sox Place Inc ↗
  • Who funds EXPEDITIONARY LEARNING SCHOOL BOARD OF COOPERATIVE EDUCATIONAL SERVICES ↗
  • Who funds Colorado Juvenile Defender Center DBA Transformative Justice Proj of Colo ↗
  • Who funds THE KEYSTONE SCIENCE SCHOOL INC ↗

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.

Colorado Gives Founda…Aspen Community Found…The Colorado Health F…El Pomar FoundationThe Denver FoundationAnschutz Family Found…Rose Community Founda…Mile High United Way …Xcel Energy FoundationWestern Colorado Comm…The Janus Henderson F…Western Union Foundat…
Colorado Gives FoundationCO79.5× affinity59 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Colorado Gives Foundation · Aspen Community Foundation · The Colorado Health Foundation · El Pomar Foundation · The Denver Foundation · Anschutz Family Foundation · Rose Community Foundation · Mile High United Way Inc · Xcel Energy Foundation · Western Colorado Community Foundation Inc · The Janus Henderson Foundation · Western Union 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 Castaways Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Castaways Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%3%13%28%50%funder's share of their income ↑0%19%38%56%75%share of the org’s income from government →median 4%
  • Learning Ally Inc: 4% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
47report 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.

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 207 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 Castaways’ 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