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Contorer Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Contorer 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.

$1k
Granted FY2025still arriving
2
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$1k
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$87kYouth Development$54kCommunity Improvement$34kPublic Safety & Disaster$20kArts & Culture$17kEnvironment$15kHuman Services$15kPublic Benefit$3kOther$0
02FY2025 · 2 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$1,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$118k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF GREATER SAN$1,000
ECOLIFE CONSERVATION$107
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 (FY17–23, $13k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 7%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 7%SD CENTER FOR CHILDREN: $4k → 11%SD CENTER FOR CHILDREN: $3k → 11%SD CENTER FOR CHILDREN: $3k → 11%SD CENTER FOR CHILDREN: $3k → 11%SD CENTER FOR CHILDREN: $1k → 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.
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.

87%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$153k · 8 repeat orgs$23k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +83% since the first grant, against +10% for those funded once.

8 repeat relationships: 2 still active in FY2025, 6 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

8
14

Total granted

$153k
$23k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+83%
+10%

Still filing today

75%
50%

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
Arts & CultureAnimalsEnvironmentCommunity ImprovementPublic Safety & DisasterHuman 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

  • MS
    MCE SOCIAL CAPITAL
    3× · 2017–2019 · $34k · revenue +83%
  • W
    WALKSANDIEGO
    3× · 2017–2020 · $20k · revenue +83%
  • EC
    ECOLIFE CONSERVATION
    5× · 2019–2025 · $14k · revenue +1%

Funded once

  • US
    UC SAN DIEGO FOUNDATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $10k · revenue +33%
  • KS
    KROC SCHOOL
    one grant, 2021 · $3k
  • SZ
    SWEETWATER ZEN CENTER
    one grant, 2017 · $2k
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
San Diego State University Foundation Sdsu Research Foundation

To support and further the research, education and community service objectives of san diego state university.

Education
2
The San Diego Foundation

The san diego foundation inspires enduring philanthropy and enables community solutions to improve the quality of life in our region.

Philanthropy
3
The California Channel

To distribute public affairs and other educational information in order to create an electronic bridge between californians and their public officials, and, in the process educate a new generation of voting citizens and civic leaders who…

—
4
Zoological Society of San Diego

San diego zoo wildlife alliance is committed to saving species worldwide by uniting our expertise in wildlife care and conservation science with our dedication to inspiring passion for nature.

Animals
5
United Way of San Diego County

To spark breakthrough community action that elevates every child and family toward a brighter future.

Philanthropy
6
Site Santa Fe

Guided by artists, rooted in new mexico, site santa fe celebrates contemporary creative expression.

Arts & Culture
7
San Diego Society of Natural History

Conserving nature through science and discovery.

Arts & Culture
8
Biocom California

Accelerating life science success.

—
9
San Diego Municipal Employees Assn

The san diego municipal employees association (sdmea) is dedicated to being a strong and effective advocate for san diego city employees. sdmea is united to improve employees' standard of living and promote their fair treatment by…

—
10
Balboa Park Conservancy

Balboa Park Conservancy (the Conservancy) was organized on November 3, 1923. The Conservancy is the City of San Diegos (the City) partner and advocated for the greater good of Balboa Park (the Park). The Conservancy collaborated with and…

—
11
San Diego Theatres Inc

San Diego Theatres, Inc. (SDTI) is a not-for-profit public benefit corporation established to manage and operate publicly owned performing arts theatres. SDTI was established in 2003 by the San Diego Convention Center Corporation (SDCCC),…

Arts & Culture
12
Ucsf Foundation Investment Company

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

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Uc San Diego Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Send Me Foundation. 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

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 23 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)
3
Early backer (in before they grew)
14/15
Grantees still filing
10/15
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE CAMPANILE FOUNDATION: $75,000 · EducationTHE CAMPANILE FOUNDATIONUC SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION: $9,768 · EducationUC SAN DIEGO FOUNDATIONBOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF GREATER SAN: $52,824 · OtherBOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF GREATER…KROC SCHOOL: $2,500 · Other+11 more: $11,387 · Other+11 moreMCE SOCIAL CAPITAL: $33,945 · Community ImprovementMCE SOCIAL CAPI…WALKSANDIEGO: $20,000 · Public Safety & DisasterWALKSANDI…LA JOLLA MUSIC SOCIETY: $15,594 · Arts & CultureVOICE OF SAN DIEGO: $2,523 · Arts & Culture+2 more: $418 · Arts & CultureECOLIFE CONSERVATION: $13,877 · EnvironmentSAN DIEGO CENTER FOR CHILDREN: $13,275 · Human Services
Education$84,768Other$66,711Community Improvement$33,945Public Safety & Disaster$20,000Arts & Culture$18,535Environment$13,877Human Services$13,275

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 CAMPANILE FOUNDATION: $75,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetMCE SOCIAL CAPITAL: $33,945 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetWALKSANDIEGO: $20,000 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetLA JOLLA MUSIC SOCIETY: $15,594 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetECOLIFE CONSERVATION: $13,877 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetSAN DIEGO CENTER FOR CHILDREN: $13,275 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetUC SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION: $9,768 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetVOICE OF SAN DIEGO: $2,523 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetRocky Mountain Institute: $1,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSEND ME FOUNDATION: $1,220 over 1y, 4.2% of budgetSHELTER TO SOLDIER INC: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCHICANO PARK MUSEUM AND CULTURAL CENTER: $268 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetPETS FOR PATRIOTS INC: $250 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHEATER & ARTS FOUNDATION OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY DBA LA JOLLA PLAYHOUSE: $150 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS INC: $120 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 San Diego Foundat…Sempra FoundationRancho Santa Fe Found…The Cushman FoundationPrice Philanthropies …California Community …American Endowment Fo…National Philanthropi…The Bank of America C…Vanguard Charitable E…Donor Advised Charita…American Online Givin…
The San Diego FoundationCA19.1× affinity7 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The San Diego Foundation · Sempra Foundation · Rancho Santa Fe Foundation · The Cushman Foundation · Price Philanthropies Foundation · California Community Foundation · American Endowment Foundation · National Philanthropic Trust · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · American Online Giving Foundation 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 Contorer Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Contorer Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%3%5%8%10%share of the org’s 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 · 0–10%
    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 23 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 Contorer’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