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Cottonwood Foundation Inc at a glance

· Private foundation

Cottonwood Foundation Inc

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$38k
Granted FY2023
4
Grants FY2023
1
States reached
$10k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0194% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Human Services$50kYouth Development$36kEducation$31kArts & Culture$27kFood & Nutrition$18kReligion$15kHousing & Shelter$14kInternational$13kOther$0
02FY2023 · 4 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2023

  • Under $10k1 grant · $8k
  • $10k–50k3 grants · $30k
$10,100
Median grant
1
States reached
$604k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
SIXTH STREET COMMUNITY CENTER$10,100
THE LOWER EAASTSIDE GIRLS CLUB$10,100
COVENANT HOUSE NEW YORK$10,100
WIDE RAINBOW$8,000
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 (FY20–23, $42k) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 83% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%Building One Community: $2k → 9%Education for Liberation Network: $5k → 4%Hands on Hartford: $5k → 11%Sixth Street Community Center: $10k → 17%SIXTH STREET COMMUNITY CENTER: $10k → 17%Covenant House: $10k → 17%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

ME
VT
NH
IL
NY
MA
PA
NJ
CT
CA
MD
NC
DC
GA
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.

20%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$53k · 4 repeat orgs$207k to everyone else

4 repeat relationships: 2 still active in FY2023, 2 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2023 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

4
41

Total granted

$53k
$187k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+12%
+89%

Still filing today

100%
41%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2023, 47% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $20k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23
Human ServicesYouth DevelopmentArts & CultureEducationEnvironmentInternationalOther
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

  • SS
    SIXTH STREET COMMUNITY CENTER INC
    2× · 2022–2023 · $20k · revenue +12%
  • WR
    Wide Rainbow Corporation
    2× · 2022–2023 · $16k · revenue -56%
  • HC
    HOWLAND CHAMBER MUSIC CIRCLE INC
    2× · 2017–2020 · $9k · revenue +64%

Funded once

  • THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA FOUNDATION INCgraduated
    one grant, 2019 · $10k · revenue +75%
  • TL
    The Lower Eastside Girls Club of NY
    one grant, 2022 · $10k
  • CH
    COVENANT HOUSE
    one grant, 2022 · $10k · revenue -39%
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
Harlem Arts Foundation

The Harlem Art''s Foundation''s Mission Is To Showcase And Preserve Harlem''s Tradition Of Rich Culture And Community By Working With Our Local Partners To Strategically Shape The Physical And Social Opportunities Of Our Neighborhood…

—
2
Living City Project Inc

The living city project, inc. is an educational and community service non-profit that offers city-based experiences for public high schoolers, college-age students, and adults to address urgent challenges and opportunities facing the city…

Social Science
3
Carribean Equality Project Inc

The Caribbean Equality Project is an NYC-based community organization that empowers, advocates for, and represents Afro and Indo-Caribbean LGBTQ+ immigrants in New York City.

Human Services
4
Hot Bread Kitchen Ltd

Hot bread kitchen creates economic opportunity through culinary job skills training and placement, food entrepreneurship, and an ecosystem of support for individuals who face barriers to meaningful careers.

Human Services
5
On This Spot Nyc Stories of Pioneering Women Artists Inc

On this spot nyc: stories of pioneering women arists is a nonprofit 501(c) (3) organization committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion. it focuses on women artists, a group that continues to be marginalized. on this spot is conceived as…

Arts & Culture
6
Habitatmap Incorporated

Habitatmap is a non-profit environmental health justice organization whose goal is to raise awareness about the impact the environment has on human health. our online mapping and social networking platforms are designed to maximize the…

Environment
7
The Neue Galerie New York
Arts & Culture
8
El Puente De Williamsburg Inc

The mission of el puente is to inspire and nurture leadership for peace and justice, working as a human rights institution in nyc and puerto rico with national and international impact. el puente creates community-led movements of self…

—
9
Prime Produce Limited

Prime produce limited (ppl) is organized to encourage and support other persons and exempt organizations, empowering future philanthropists through programs and projects.

Philanthropy
10
Apex Art Curatorial Program Inc

Apex Art Curatorial Program is a resolutely noncommercial visual art exhibition space which provides curators and artists with a venue dedicated to ideas that are often too provocative or too small in scope for display elsewhere. Apex Art…

Arts & Culture
11
New York Hall of Science

Nysci's mission is to nurture generations of passionate learners, critical thinkers, and active citizens through design make play - an approach to learning and engagement that is deeply rooted in research on stem learning and guides the…

Arts & Culture
12
Community Development Project Inc

Takeroot justice provides legal, participatory research and policy support to strengthen the work of grassroots and community-based groups in new york city to dismantle racial, economic and social oppression.

Community Improvement
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Fareground Community Kitchen Inc; the most unlike its peers is Jambo Tanzania Inc. 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

26 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. 26 of the 47 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)
12
Early backer (in before they grew)
22/26
Grantees still filing
17/26
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

The Lower Eastside Girls Club of NY: $10,100 · OtherThe Lower Eastside Girls Club of NYCOVENANT HOUSE NEW YORK: $10,100 · OtherCOVENANT HOUSE NEW YORKTHE SUPPERS PROGRAMS INC DBA EATING FOR YOUR HEALTH: $8,250 · OtherTHE SUPPERS PROGRAMS INC DBA EATING FOR YOUR HEALTHBarrio Ed Project Nourishing Sanctu: $5,000 · OtherTemple Beth El - Welcoming the Stra: $5,000 · OtherVermont Educators of Color Associat: $5,000 · OtherGIRLS WHO CLICK: $5,000 · OtherBlack Lives Matter At School: $5,000 · OtherVictory Temple Fellowship Church: $5,000 · OtherPentecost Evangelical Missonary Bap: $5,000 · OtherTHE GRADUATE CENTER FOUNDATION INC: $4,900 · OtherNIKA PROJECT: $4,900 · OtherCommon Ground Farm Mutual Aid Beaco: $4,900 · OtherMAINE PRISONER ADVOCACY COALITION: $5,000 · OtherFAREGROUND COMMUNITY KITCHEN INC: $4,800 · Other+13 more: $45,985 · Other+13 moreSIXTH STREET COMMUNITY CENTER INC: $20,200 · Human ServicesSIXTH STREET COMMU…COVENANT HOUSE: $10,100 · Human ServicesCOVENANT HOUSEHANDS ON HARTFORD INC: $5,000 · Human ServicesHANDS ON HARTFORD …EDUCATION FOR LIBERATION NETWORK: $5,000 · Human ServicesEDUCATION FOR LIBE…BUILDING ONE COMMUNITY CORP: $2,000 · Human ServicesWide Rainbow Corporation: $16,000 · Arts & CultureWide Rainbo…HOWLAND CHAMBER MUSIC CIRCLE INC: $8,750 · Arts & CultureHOWLAND CHA…TRENTON COMMUNITY A-TEAM INC: $2,700 · Arts & CultureTRENTON COM…THE LOWER EAST SIDE GIRLS CLUB OF NEW YORK INC: $10,100 · Youth DevelopmentTHE LOWER…How Our Lives Link Altogether Inc: $5,000 · Youth DevelopmentHow Our L…BUILDING MEN PROGRAM INC: $3,350 · Youth DevelopmentBUILDING …Tillies Touch: $2,700 · Youth DevelopmentTillies T…THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA FOUNDATION INC: $10,300 · EducationEDUCATIONAL PRAXIS INC: $4,000 · EducationTRINITY ACADEMY HARTFORD INC: $3,700 · EducationONONDAGA EARTH CORPS INC: $4,900 · EnvironmentRESERVA THE YOUTH LAND TRUST INC: $4,000 · EnvironmentHEALING FOR HAITI INC: $4,500 · InternationalJAMBO TANZANIA INC: $3,750 · International
Other$133,935Human Services$42,300Arts & Culture$27,450Youth Development$21,150Education$18,000Environment$8,900International$8,250

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 budgetSIXTH STREET COMMUNITY CENTER INC: $20,200 over 2y, 2.3% of budgetWide Rainbow Corporation: $16,000 over 2y, 4.3% of budgetTHE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA FOUNDATION INC: $10,300 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCOVENANT HOUSE: $10,100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE LOWER EAST SIDE GIRLS CLUB OF NEW YORK INC: $10,100 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetTHE SUPPERS PROGRAMS INC DBA EATING FOR YOUR HEALTH: $8,250 over 2y, 3.2% of budgetMAINE PRISONER ADVOCACY COALITION: $5,000 over 1y, 3.9% of budgetHANDS ON HARTFORD INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetEDUCATION FOR LIBERATION NETWORK: $5,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetHow Our Lives Link Altogether Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetTHE GRADUATE CENTER FOUNDATION INC: $4,900 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetONONDAGA EARTH CORPS INC: $4,900 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetA TINY HOME FOR GOOD INC: $4,250 over 1y, 5.0% of budgetSAVING SPECIES INC: $4,100 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetEDUCATIONAL PRAXIS INC: $4,000 over 1y, 49% of budgetRESERVA THE YOUTH LAND TRUST INC: $4,000 over 1y, 3.8% of budgetJAMBO TANZANIA INC: $3,750 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetTRINITY ACADEMY HARTFORD INC: $3,700 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetBUILDING ONE COMMUNITY CORP: $2,000 over 1y, 0.1% 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.

Central New York Comm…ImpactassetsincMorgan Stanley Global…Vanguard Charitable E…American Endowment Fo…Paypal Charitable Giv…Network for GoodNational Philanthropi…The Bank of America C…Fidelity Investments …American Online Givin…Donor Advised Charita…
Central New York Community Foundation IncNY13.1× affinity4 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Central New York Community Foundation Inc · Impactassetsinc · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · American Endowment Foundation · Paypal Charitable Giving Fund · Network for Good · National Philanthropic Trust · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · American Online Giving 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 Cottonwood Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Cottonwood Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 50%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%6%13%19%25%share of the org’s income from government →median 20%
  • Hands On Hartford Inc: 20% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
5get no government money at all
4report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–25%
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 Cottonwood Foundation Inc?

Find your warmest path to Cottonwood Foundation Inc 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 47 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 2023, released 2023. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2024) is on record and reports no grant expense, so the figures above are from FY2023, the most recent year this funder made grants.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Cottonwood’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