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Christensen Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Christensen 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.

$12k
Granted FY2025still arriving
2
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$7k
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 2024.

Environment$65kReligion$64kArts & Culture$36kSocial Science$22kEducation$21kCivil Rights$7kHealth$5kHousing & Shelter$4kOther$0
02FY2025 · 2 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$7,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$530k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
ADVOCATES FOR THE WEST$7,000
SAWTOOTH BOTANICAL GARDEN$5,000
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 (FY17–18, $10k) land where the poverty rate runs at 7%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%SUN VALLEY INSTITUTE FOR RESILENCE: $7k → 7%SUN VALLEY INSTITUTE FOR RESILENCE: $3k → 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.

Which US states its grants reach

ID
MT
NY
MA
OR
IA
PA
NJ
CA
UT
CO
DC
AL
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.

92%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$222k · 34 repeat orgs$20k to everyone else

34 repeat relationships: 2 still active in FY2025, 32 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

34
18

Total granted

$222k
$20k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+40%
+43%

Still filing today

85%
33%

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
EnvironmentEducationAnimalsHuman ServicesCivil RightsHousing & ShelterOther
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

  • SUN VALLEY WRITERS' CONFERENCE INC
    5× · 2017–2022 · $30k · revenue +89%
  • AF
    ADVOCATES FOR THE WEST INC
    4× · 2019–2025 · $28k · revenue +169%
  • IR
    IDAHO RIVERS UNITED
    4× · 2017–2022 · $12k · revenue +85%

Funded once

  • TF
    THE FUND FOR IDAHO
    one grant, 2017 · $7k · revenue -52%
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2024 · $6k
  • BS
    BOISE STATE U FOUNDATION INC
    one grant, 2019 · $3k
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
Idaho Wildlife Federation

The Idaho Wildlife Federation (IWF) promotes the conservation of Idaho's wildlife heritage and legacy of sporting opportunities for the current and future generations.

Animals
2
Western Resource Advocates

Western Resource Advocates (WRA) is a regional nonprofit advocacy organization fighting climate change and its impacts to sustain the environment, economy, and people of the West. As the region's go-to experts for more than three decades,…

Crime & Legal
3
World Wildlife Fund Inc

Wwf's mission is to conserve nature and reduce the most pressing threats to the diversity of life on earth. (continued on schedule o)

Environment
4
Swan Valley Connections

Maintain the swan valley's unique natural resources and ensure that a vibrant human community can sustain itself through stewardship, education, economic viability, and conservation on public and private lands.

Environment
5
Washington Water Trust

Wwt's mission is to protect and restore water in rivers and streams across washington state. washington water trust restores and protects water in rivers and streams and promotes sustainable freshwater management in washington, and, more…

Environment
6
Ecosystem Sciences Foundation Inc

River and watershed restoration

Environment
7
Project Big Wood a Nonprofit Corporation

Project big wood is organized to improve the environmental health and ecology of the big wood river basin in central idaho by protecting, enhancing, sustaining and reconnecting the big wood river, its tributaries and its watershed.

Environment
8
Cascadia Wildlands

Cascadia wildlands defends and restores cacasia's wild ecosystems in the forests,in the courts, and in the streets. we envision vast old-growth forests, rivers full of wild salmon, wolves howling in the backcountry, a stable climate, and…

Environment
9
Idaho Forest Restoration Partnership
Environment
10
Wyoming Wildlife Advocates

To promote science-based wildlife management that fosters ecosystem health and dynamic equilibrium between species throughout the state of wyoming.

Animals
11
World Resources Institute

Wri is committed to creating change that improves people's lives and ensures the natural world can thrive. (see schedule o)wri's bold vision requires a formula for success we call "count it. change it. scale it.": - count it: our work is…

International
12
Institute for Journalism & Natural Resources

The organization pursues higher standards of news coverage of natural resources and the environment -- standards of accuracy, fairness, balance, depth and context.

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Western Watershed Projects Inc; the most unlike its peers is Idaho Rivers United. 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

35 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. 35 of the 52 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)
35/35
Grantees still filing
24/35
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

LIGHT ON THE MOUNTAIN: $64,000 · OtherLIGHT ON THE MOUNTAINSUN VALLEY INSTITUTE: $21,500 · OtherSUN VALLEY INSTITUTESIERRA CLUB: $10,000 · OtherSIERRA CLUBIndividual grant recipient: $6,200 · Other+27 more: $19,170 · Other+27 moreSUN VALLEY WRITERS' CONFERENCE INC: $30,000 · EducationSUN VALLEY WRITERS' CO…THE TRUSTEES OF THE SMITH COLLEGE: $11,500 · EducationTHE TRUSTEES OF THE SM…SUN VALLEY WELLNESS INSTITUTE: $2,750 · EducationSUN VALLEY WELLNESS IN…FARWISE INC: $2,000 · EducationBoise State University Foundation Inc: $2,000 · Education+2 more: $200 · EducationADVOCATES FOR THE WEST INC: $28,000 · EnvironmentADVOCATES FOR THE WEST…IDAHO RIVERS UNITED: $12,000 · EnvironmentIDAHO RIVERS UNITEDSAWTOOTH BOTANICAL GARDEN: $5,200 · EnvironmentSAWTOOTH BOTANICAL GAR…+7 more: $3,050 · Environment+7 moreSUN VALLEY INSTITUTE FOR RESILIENCE: $10,000 · Human ServicesTHE FUND FOR IDAHO: $7,000 · Civil RightsARCH COMMUNITY HOUSING TRUST INC: $4,000 · Housing & ShelterBLAINE COUNTY HUNGER COALITION INC: $3,000 · Food & Nutrition
Other$120,870Education$48,450Environment$48,250Human Services$10,000Civil Rights$7,000Housing & Shelter$4,000Food & Nutrition$3,000

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 budgetSUN VALLEY WRITERS' CONFERENCE INC: $30,000 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetADVOCATES FOR THE WEST INC: $28,000 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetIDAHO RIVERS UNITED: $12,000 over 4y, 1.7% of budgetTHE TRUSTEES OF THE SMITH COLLEGE: $11,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetSIERRA CLUB: $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSUN VALLEY INSTITUTE FOR RESILIENCE: $10,000 over 2y, 1.6% of budgetTHE FUND FOR IDAHO: $7,000 over 1y, 7.4% of budgetSAWTOOTH BOTANICAL GARDEN: $5,200 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetARCH COMMUNITY HOUSING TRUST INC: $4,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetIDAHO CONSERVATION LEAGUE INC: $4,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetBLAINE COUNTY HUNGER COALITION INC: $3,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCE CENTER: $3,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetFARWISE INC: $2,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetBoise State University Foundation Inc: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetST LUKE'S WOOD RIVER FOUNDATION INC: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBeyond Pesticides: $1,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWESTERN WATERSHEDS PROJECTS INC: $1,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetYELLOWSTONE TO YUKON: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER INC: $400 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetXERCES SOCIETY INC: $200 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetRESOURCE RENEWAL INSTITUTE: $200 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetLIVING WITH WOLVES LTD: $200 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetNORTH AMERICAN BUTTERFLY ASSOCIATION INC: $200 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetNORTHWEST CENTER FOR ALTERNATIVES TO PESTICIDES: $200 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCENTER FOR NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE IN POLITICS: $200 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSawtooth Interpretive and Historical Association: $200 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetREEF ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLEE PESKY LEARNING CENTER INC: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGREEN AMERICA: $100 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSouthern Utah Wilderness Alliance: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN INDIAN COLLEGE FUND: $100 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWESTERN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER: $100 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetNATION FUND FOR INDEPENDENT JOURNALISMINC: $75 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWATERKEEPER ALLIANCE INC: $50 over 2y, 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.

Spur Community Founda…Idaho Community Found…Marin Community Found…The Pesky Family Foun…Boswell Family Founda…PatagoniaorgThe Nalen FoundationHead & Heart Foundati…Elizabeth a Lynn Foun…Swig FoundationThe Oregon Community …SK2 Fund
Spur Community Foundation IncID19.9× affinity7 shared granteesties to 9 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Spur Community Foundation Inc · Idaho Community Foundation Inc · Marin Community Foundation · The Pesky Family Foundation Inc · Boswell Family Foundation · Patagoniaorg · The Nalen Foundation · Head & Heart Foundation Tr 12319 · Elizabeth a Lynn Foundation · Swig Foundation · The Oregon Community Foundation · SK2 Fund

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 Christensen Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Christensen Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%13%25%38%50%share of the org’s income from government →median 5%
  • Xerces Society Inc: 22% of income from government
  • Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides: 5% of income from government
  • The Trustees of the Smith College: 1% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
2get no government money at all
9report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–50%
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 52 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 Christensen 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