Skip to content
Colson Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Colson 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.

$100k
Granted FY2024still arriving
1
Grants FY2024still arriving
1
States reached
$100k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2024.

Religion$1.2MEducation$1.2MInternational$699kHealth$480kFood & Nutrition$100kPhilanthropy$100kHuman Services$65kArts & Culture$40k
02FY2024 · 1 grant

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$100,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$6.1M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
GEM RESOURCES INTERNATIONAL$100,000
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 (FY20–20, $25k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%SILVERTON AREA COMMUNITY AID INC: $25k → 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

AK
WA
MI
OR
CA
MD
AZ
NC
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 24% of Colson Family Foundation’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address.

Colson 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.

75%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$2.6M · 6 repeat orgs$849k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +16% since the first grant, against +4% for those funded once.

6 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2024, 5 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

6
16

Total granted

$2.6M
$849k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+16%
+4%

Still filing today

67%
56%

New vs renewed · share of each year

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

50%100%’20’21’22’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’20’21’22’24
InternationalEducationReligionHealthHuman ServicesFood & NutritionOther
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

  • AU
    ANDREWS UNIVERSITY
    2× · 2020–2021 · $425k · revenue +16%
  • RC
    RECOVERY CAFE
    2× · 2020–2021 · $75k · revenue +75%
  • BM
    BARNABAS MINISTRY INC
    2× · 2021–2022 · $40k · revenue +11% · 36% of their budget

Funded once

  • WW
    WALLA WALLA UNIVERSITY
    one grant, 2020 · $240k · revenue +4%
  • AD
    ADVENTIST DEVELOPMENT & RELIEF AGENCY INTERNATIONAL
    one grant, 2022 · $144k · revenue -37%
  • LA
    LIVINGSTONE ADVENTIST ACADEMY
    one grant, 2020 · $85k
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
Regent University

Regent University serves as a center of Christian thought and action to provide excellent education through a Biblical perspective and global context equipping Christian leaders to change the world.

—
2
Manna University

Manna University is a biblical higher education institution dedicated to educating, equipping, and empowering emerging leaders to change the world.

Education
3
Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences

Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences educates and trains health care professionals emphasizing service among rural and medically under-served communities throughout the Northwest.

Education
4
Northwest University

We, the people of northwest university, carry the call of god by continually building a learning community dedicated to spiritual vitality, academic excellence, and empowered engagement with human need.

—
5
Ashland University

Ashland university, guided by our christian heritage, is a comprehensive, private university that provides a transformative learning experience, shaping graduates who work, serve and lead with integrity in their local, national, and global…

Education
6
Los Angeles Pacific University

Los angeles pacific university exists to deliver high quality, accessible christ-centered education to learners everywhere.

Education
7
Washington Adventist University

Washington adventist university is a learning community committed to the seventh-day adventist christian vision of excellence and service. this cosmopolitan institution challenges students to seize the opportunities for learning in the…

Education
8
World Impact Network

WIN's primary mission is delivering affordable, accessible, quality Christian higher education to leaders in the emerging world through the new international university.

Human Services
9
Olivet University

Providing guality Christian education to the network generation

Education
10
Pacific Union College

Pacific union college is a seventh-day adventist learning community offering an excellent christ-centered education that prepares its students for productive lives of useful human service and uncompromising personal integrity.

Education
11
Augustana University Association

Inspired by lutheran scholarly tradition and the liberal arts, augustana provides an education of enduring worth that challenges the intellect, fosters integrity and integrates faith with learning and service in a diverse world.

Education
12
World Hunger Relief Institute

World hunger relief institute equips people to alleviate hunger through education, research, and sustainable agriculture.

International
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Walla Walla University; the most unlike its peers is Barnabas Ministry Inc. 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

15 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. 15 of the 24 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.

2
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
15/15
Grantees still filing
10/15
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

GENERAL CONFERENCE OF SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST: $1,200,000 · OtherGENERAL CONFERENCE OF SEVENTH DAY ADVENTISTMAYO CLINIC: $400,000 · OtherMAYO CLINICUNITED WAY OF THE MID-WILLAMETTE VALLEY: $100,000 · OtherLIVINGSTONE ADVENTIST ACADEMY: $85,000 · Other+8 more: $185,475 · Other+8 moreLOMA LINDA UNIVERSITY: $425,000 · EducationLOMA LINDA UNIVERSITYANDREWS UNIVERSITY: $425,000 · EducationANDREWS UNIVERSITYWALLA WALLA UNIVERSITY: $240,025 · EducationWALLA WALLA UNIVERSITY+1 more: $4,000 · EducationGEM Resources International: $450,000 · InternationalGEM Resources Inter…ADVENTIST DEVELOPMENT & RELIEF AGENCY INTERNATIONAL: $144,000 · InternationalADVENTIST DEVELOPME…ADVENTIST WORLD AVIATION INC: $80,000 · InternationalADVENTIST WORLD AVI…ALASKA CHRISTIAN COLLEGE: $60,000 · ReligionBARNABAS MINISTRY INC: $40,000 · ReligionRECOVERY CAFE: $75,000 · HealthSILVERTON AREA COMMUNITY AID INC: $25,000 · Human ServicesMARION-POLK FOOD SHARE INC: $25,000 · Food & Nutrition
Other$1,970,475Education$1,094,025International$674,000Religion$100,000Health$75,000Human Services$25,000Food & Nutrition$25,000

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 budgetGEM Resources International: $450,000 over 3y, 65% of budgetLOMA LINDA UNIVERSITY: $425,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetANDREWS UNIVERSITY: $425,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetWALLA WALLA UNIVERSITY: $240,025 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetADVENTIST DEVELOPMENT & RELIEF AGENCY INTERNATIONAL: $144,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetUNITED WAY OF THE MID-WILLAMETTE VALLEY: $100,000 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetADVENTIST WORLD AVIATION INC: $80,000 over 1y, 8.6% of budgetRECOVERY CAFE: $75,000 over 2y, 1.5% of budgetALASKA CHRISTIAN COLLEGE: $60,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetBARNABAS MINISTRY INC: $40,000 over 2y, 36% of budgetSILVERTON AREA COMMUNITY AID INC: $25,000 over 1y, 2.0% of budgetMARION-POLK FOOD SHARE INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetWATER FIRST INTERNATIONAL: $25,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetPORTLAND ART MUSEUM: $10,000 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 …The Blackbaud Giving …Baird Foundation IncMorgan Stanley Global…American Endowment Fo…Vanguard Charitable E…Raymond James Charita…Natl Christian Charit…Network for GoodAmerican Online Givin…The Bank of America C…Donor Advised Charita…
The Oregon Community FoundationOR13.9× affinity5 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Oregon Community Foundation · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · Baird Foundation Inc · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · American Endowment Foundation · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Raymond James Charitable Endowment Fund · Natl Christian Charitable Fdn Inc · Network for Good · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%5%19%42%75%funder's share of their income ↑0%13%25%38%50%share of the org’s income from government →median 6%
  • Adventist Development & Relief Agency International: 35% of income from government
  • United Way of the Mid-Willamette Valley: 6% of income from government
  • Marion-Polk Food Share Inc: 5% of income from government
  • Portland Art Museum: 1% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get 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 · 0–50%
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.
05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Colson Family Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Colson 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 24 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.

Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2025) is on record and reports no grant expense, so the figures above are from FY2024, the most recent year this funder made grants.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Colson 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