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Clarke Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Clarke Family Foundation

Its FY2023 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$27k
Granted FY2018
8
Grants FY2018
1
States reached
$15k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead

Read this first · the figures below need context

72% of Clarke Family Foundation’s FY2023 grant dollars went to Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund, not to grantees.

Its money now reaches organizations through that sponsor, which does not report who recommended each grant. FY2023 names 4 organizations directly, so a portfolio cannot be read from it. Everything below is therefore FY2018, the last year Clarke Family Foundation named its own grantees at scale: 8 organizations, $27k. It is dated, not current.

Organizations named directly on the return

3
’17
8
’18
1
’20
0
’21
4
’23

Amber years are those where most dollars went to a sponsor.

01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2023.

Philanthropy$185kEducation$102kAnimals$40kArts & Culture$15kRecreation & Sports$8kEnvironment$3kHealth$2kHousing & Shelter$1kOther$0
02FY2018 · 8 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2018

  • Under $10k7 grants · $12k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $15k
$1,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Cascades Academy$15,000
Chimps Inc$5,000
Forest Park Conservancy$2,500
Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch$1,000
Cloverdale Volunteer Fire Fighters Association$1,000
Make-A-Wish Foundation$1,000
Housecall Providers$1,000
St Charles Foundation$500
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–23) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 79% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND: $175k → 16%West Coast Equine Foundation: $5k → 12%The University of Albany Foundation: $2k → 14%HILLSBORO COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $10k → 8%NELSON HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS BASKETBALL: $2k → 8%Cascade Academy: $25k → 10%DE LA SALLE NORTH CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL: $10k → 12%Cloverdale Volunteer Fire Fighters Association: $1k → 13%Cascades Academy: $15k → 10%Forest Park Conservancy: $3k → 12%Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch: $1k → 10%ST JUDE'S CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL: $200 → 12%St Charles Foundation: $500 → 10%Make-A-Wish Foundation: $1k → 12%Housecall Providers: $1k → 12%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.
04

Where the work is directed

The same grants placed two ways: where each recipient sits, and where its stated purpose sends the money.

About 82% of Clarke Family Foundation’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address. By recipient address, 31% of the giving stays in WA; by stated purpose, 22%.

Clarke Family Foundationlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address
How this is measured
Recipient view: each grant at its grantee’s ZIP, mapped to a county. Directed view: each grant at the county its stated purpose names, falling back to the recipient’s county when the purpose names no place; US grants only. A county shows only if it carries the top 95% of that view’s dollars. Purposes are read from the funder’s own 990 grant descriptions.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

32%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$55k · 3 repeat orgs$116k to everyone else

3 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2018, 2 since wound down; 12 grantees were first funded in FY2018 (too recent to call). Read against FY2018, the last year this funder named its own grantees directly; its giving has since run through a sponsor, which reports no donor behind each grant.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

3
3

Total granted

$55k
$32k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

-49%
+169%

Still filing today

33%
67%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2023, 7% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $62k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’20’21’23
EducationHealthAnimalsRecreation & SportsArts & CultureEnvironmentOther
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

  • CS
    COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY
    2× · 2020–2021 · $20k
  • CI
    CHIMPS INC
    2× · 2017–2018 · $20k · revenue -84%
  • SI
    SUSTAINABILITY INSTITUTE INC
    2× · 2020–2023 · $15k · revenue -49%

Funded once

  • CA
    Cascade Academy
    one grant, 2017 · $25k
  • WC
    WEST COAST EQUINE FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2017 · $5k · revenue -92%
  • UA
    UNIVERSITY AT ALBANY FOUNDATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $2k · revenue +169%
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
Ucsf Foundation Investment Company

The organization provides professional investment management services for endowed gifts and financial assets entrusted to the ucsf foundation.

Education
2
Cascade Climate Inc

To accelerate progress in interventions that harness Earths natural systems to stabilize the climate.

Environment
3
Washington State University Foundation

The mission of the Foundation is to promote, accept, and maximize private support for programs, initiatives, and properties of Washington State University and its regional campuses. The Foundation also prudently manages, invests, and…

Education
4
Cascades Carnivore Project

Our mission is to study and restore carnivore populations at risk of extinction and the mountain ecosystems they call home through innovative science, strong partnerships and local community action.

Science & Tech
5
Cowiche Canyon Conservancy

Protecting our shrub-steppe and connecting people to this vanishing landscape.

—
6
The Oregon Zoo Foundation

To foster community pride and involvement in the oregon zoo and to secure financial support for the zoo's conservation, education and animal well-being programs.

Animals
7
Colorado Museum of Natural History

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

Arts & Culture
8
Alaska Whale Foundation

Alaska Whale Foundation is dedicated to marine mammal conservation through research monitoring and education.

Environment
9
Uc Santa Barbara Foundation

The uc santa barbara foundation actively works to further the goals of the university of california, santa barbara. the foundation seeks to maintain and nurture the university's quality and distinction. on behalf of the campus, the…

Education
10
Wild Rockies Field Institute Inc

To broaden the nature of a liberal arts education; teach critical thinking about social & environmental issues; foster understanding of & respect for natural & human communities; & cultivate a sense of place that encourages personal,…

Education
11
Spokane Parks Foundation

The Spokane Parks Foundation cultivates the health, growth, and continued enjoyment of our communities by inspiring giving and passion for our parks.

—
12
The Sierra Fund

The Sierra Fund (TSF) is a non-profit organization with a mission to restore ecosystem and community resiliency in the Sierra Nevada.

Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Colorado State University Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Cascades Academy of Central Oregon. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
05the grantee network

13 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. 13 of the 20 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)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
12/13
Grantees still filing
8/13
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND: $175,228 · Community ImprovementFIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUNDCascade Academy: $25,000 · OtherCascade AcademyCOLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY: $20,000 · OtherCOLORADO STATE UNIVERSITYCHIMPS INC: $20,000 · OtherCHIMPS INCDE LA SALLE NORTH CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL: $10,000 · OtherDE LA SALLE NORTH CATHOLIC HI…THE HILLSBORO COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $10,000 · OtherTHE HILLSBORO COMMUNITY FOUND…+7 more: $6,700 · Other+7 moreCOLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $30,000 · EducationCOLORADO STATE…Cascades Academy of Central Oregon: $15,000 · EducationCascades Acade…UNIVERSITY AT ALBANY FOUNDATION: $2,000 · EducationFREEDOM FOR GREAT APES INC: $20,000 · AnimalsSUSTAINABILITY INSTITUTE INC: $15,000 · Arts & CultureWEST COAST EQUINE FOUNDATION: $5,000 · Recreation & SportsTHE FOREST PARK CONSERVANCY: $2,500 · Environment
Community Improvement$175,228Other$91,700Education$47,000Animals$20,000Arts & Culture$15,000Recreation & Sports$5,000Environment$2,500

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 budgetFIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND: $175,228 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCOLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $30,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFREEDOM FOR GREAT APES INC: $20,000 over 1y, 4.2% of budgetCHIMPS INC: $20,000 over 2y, 3.4% of budgetCascades Academy of Central Oregon: $15,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetSUSTAINABILITY INSTITUTE INC: $15,000 over 2y, 2.3% of budgetTHE HILLSBORO COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetWEST COAST EQUINE FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetUNIVERSITY AT ALBANY FOUNDATION: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCrystal Peaks Youth Ranch Co: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSt Charles Foundation Inc: $500 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.

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.

The Oregon Community …Maybelle Clark Macdon…OCF Joseph E Weston P…American Online Givin…National Philanthropi…Morgan Stanley Global…Vanguard Charitable E…Fidelity Investments …Donor Advised Charita…Amazonsmile Foundation
The Oregon Community FoundationOR18× affinity7 shared granteesties to 9 of 9Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Oregon Community Foundation · Maybelle Clark Macdonald Fund · OCF Joseph E Weston Public Foundation · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · 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 Clarke Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Clarke Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 70%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
    7get 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.
    05Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to Clarke Family Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Clarke Family 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 from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 20 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 Clarke 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