Skip to content
Cowan Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Cowan Family Foundation

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.

$105k
Granted FY2024still arriving
15
Grants FY2024still arriving
4
States reached
$12k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0188% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Education$111kHealth$78kReligion$56kHuman Services$27kEnvironment$20kArts & Culture$19kFood & Nutrition$17kHousing & Shelter$14kOther$0
02FY2024 · 15 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k8 grants · $26k
  • $10k–50k7 grants · $79k
$6,500
Median grant
4
States reached
$2.3M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
ALI FORNEY CENTER INC$12,000
CHILDREN OF FALLEN PATRIOTS FOUNDATION$12,000
SPRING STREET CLIMATE FUND INC$12,000
PINK AID INC$12,000
CHAI LIFELINE INC$11,000
NEIGHBORHOOD TRUST FINANCIAL PARTNERS INC$10,000
BREAKTHROUGH NEW YORK INC$10,000
TREES NEW YORK INC$6,500
SAVVY LADIES INC$5,000
CHANGE MACHINE$5,000
WEST SIDE CENTER FOR COMMUNITY LIFE$2,500
CITY REPORT INC$2,500
PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF GREATER NEW YORK INC$2,500
SHOWER POWER INC$1,000
OPEN HANDS LEGAL SERVICES INC$1,000
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 (FY18–24, $16k) land where the poverty rate runs at 17%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 87% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%FOUNDATION FOR WOMAN WARRIORS: $500 → 14%CHANGE MACHINE: $5k → 20%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $500 → 14%COMFORT CASES: $2k → 8%GOOD FOUNDATION: $3k → 17%SAVVY LADIES INC: $5k → 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

MN
IL
NY
MA
IA
IN
PA
NJ
CT
CA
MO
WV
VA
MD
AZ
KS
TN
NC
DC
OK
TX
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.

60%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$285k · 31 repeat orgs$191k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +27% since the first grant, against +20% for those funded once.

31 repeat relationships: 0 still active in FY2024, 31 since wound down; 15 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

31
52

Total granted

$285k
$86k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+27%
+20%

Still filing today

61%
38%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 0% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $105k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
HealthHuman ServicesInternationalEducationPhilanthropyEnvironmentOther
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

  • TA
    The American College
    6× · 2017–2023 · $62k · revenue +35%
  • CITY HARVEST INC
    2× · 2020–2023 · $12k · revenue +3%
  • THE BREAST CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION INC
    5× · 2019–2023 · $11k · revenue +29%

Funded once

  • FD
    FAIRIELEIGH DICKERSIN UNIVERSITY
    one grant, 2017 · $10k
  • NC
    NY CARES
    one grant, 2020 · $10k
  • TK
    THE KOBY MANDELL FOUNDATION INCgraduated
    one grant, 2019 · $8k · revenue +37%
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
New York Genome Center Inc

Operate a state-of-the-art, world-class genomic research center that creates and uses advanced genomics to understand the genetic basis of disease. for more information, see schedule o.

Health
2
The Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Fdn Group

Susan g. komen 's mission is to save lives by meeting the most critical needs in our communities & investing in breakthrough research to prevent & cure breast cancer.

—
3
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc

The mission of dfci is to provide expert, compassionate, and equitable care to children, adults, and their families, while advancing the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, cure, and prevention of cancer and related diseases. we train new…

Health
4
New York University

Nyu is a private university with approximately 60,000 matriculating students in 20 schools and institutes. nyu's primary missions are education, research and scholarship, and patient care.

Education
5
New York Blood Center Inc

As one of the most preeminent and comprehensive blood centers in theworld, nybc operates under a four-part mission. for more information,see sch. o and part iii, 4a-c.

Health
6
The Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Inc

Susan g. komen has an unmatched, comprehensive 360-degree approach to fighting breast cancer across all fronts and supporting millions of people in the u.s. and in countries worldwide. we advocate for policies to protect patients, drive…

Health
7
Cancer Research Institute Inc

See schedule ocri is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing cancer immunotherapy through scientific discovery and global collaboration. since 1953, cri has funded research that deepens understanding of the immune system and its…

Health
8
Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation

The samuel waxman cancer research foundation (the "foundation") funds innovative research to bring faster cures to patients. in addition to supporting ongoing collaborative research in specific cancers, our scientists are investigating the…

—
9
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

Leadership in the prevention, treatment, and cure of cancer through excellence, vision and cost effectiveness in patient care, outreach programs, research, and education.

Health
10
The Population Council Inc

We generate ideas, produce evidence, and design solutions to improve the lives of underserved populations around the world. we take a multidisciplinary, intergenerational, life-cycle approach that contributes to (see schedule o)four global…

International
11
Physician Affiliate Group of New York Pc

To provide accountable, responsive quality care with the highest degree of sensitivity to the needs of our diverse, multilingual population while fulfilling the professional and educational needs of our members.

Health
12
City of Hope

City of Hope's mission is to make hope a reality for all touched by cancer and diabetes. PLEASE SEE SCHEDULE O FOR A CONTINUATION OF OUR MISSION

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is March of Dimes Inc; the most unlike its peers is Humane World for Animals 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

54 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. 54 of the 98 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)
5
Early backer (in before they grew)
54/54
Grantees still filing
33/54
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Individual grant recipient: $78,300 · OtherIndividual grant recipientCENTRAL SYNAGOGUE: $51,200 · OtherCENTRAL SYNAGOGUEFDU: $15,500 · OtherFDUFAIRIELEIGH DICKERSIN UNIVERSITY: $10,000 · OtherNY CARES: $10,000 · OtherNEIGHBORHOOD TRUST FINANCIAL PARTNERS INC: $10,000 · OtherCITY HARVEST INC: $12,000 · OtherTHE BREAST CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION INC: $10,500 · Other+56 more: $83,900 · Other+56 moreThe American College: $62,000 · EducationThe American CollegeChildren of Fallen Patriots Foundation: $12,000 · EducationChildren of Fallen P…BREAKTHROUGH NEW YORK INC: $10,000 · EducationBREAKTHROUGH NEW YOR…+1 more: $250 · EducationCHAI LIFELINE INC: $11,000 · HealthST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $4,500 · HealthTHE THANC FOUNDATION INC: $3,000 · HealthPLANNED PARENTHOOD OF GREATER NEW YORK INC: $2,500 · HealthLUNG CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $2,000 · HealthThe Rogosin Institute Inc: $2,000 · HealthAmerican Heart Association Inc: $1,750 · HealthNational Kidney Foundation Inc: $1,250 · HealthTHE SHRINERS' HOSPITAL FOR CHILDREN: $1,250 · Health+3 more: $1,300 · HealthSANCTUARY FOR FAMILIES INC: $7,500 · Human ServicesSAVVY LADIES INC: $5,000 · Human ServicesChange Machine: $5,000 · Human ServicesGOOD PLUS FOUNDATION INC: $2,500 · Human ServicesCOMFORT CASES INC: $2,000 · Human ServicesSHOWER POWER INC: $1,000 · Human Services+2 more: $1,100 · Human ServicesPINK AID INC: $12,000 · PhilanthropyTHE KOBY MANDELL FOUNDATION INC: $8,000 · PhilanthropySTAND UP TO CANCER: $1,000 · Philanthropy+1 more: $250 · PhilanthropySPRING STREET CLIMATE FUND INC: $12,000 · EnvironmentTREES NEW YORK INC: $6,500 · EnvironmentPECONIC BAYKEEPER INC: $750 · Environment+1 more: $500 · EnvironmentALI FORNEY CENTER INC: $12,000 · Housing & ShelterXAVIER MISSION INC: $2,100 · Housing & Shelter
Other$281,400Education$84,250Health$30,550Human Services$24,100Philanthropy$21,250Environment$19,750Housing & Shelter$14,100

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 budgetThe American College: $62,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetALI FORNEY CENTER INC: $12,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCITY HARVEST INC: $12,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetChildren of Fallen Patriots Foundation: $12,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSPRING STREET CLIMATE FUND INC: $12,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetPINK AID INC: $12,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetCHAI LIFELINE INC: $11,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE BREAST CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION INC: $10,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetBREAKTHROUGH NEW YORK INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetNEIGHBORHOOD TRUST FINANCIAL PARTNERS INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE KOBY MANDELL FOUNDATION INC: $8,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetSANCTUARY FOR FAMILIES INC: $7,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetTREES NEW YORK INC: $6,500 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetSAVVY LADIES INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetChange Machine: $5,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $4,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetPHYSICIANS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS INC: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE THANC FOUNDATION INC: $3,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetGOOD PLUS FOUNDATION INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWEST SIDE CENTER FOR COMMUNITY LIFE: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD OF GREATER NEW YORK INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCity Report Inc: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetXAVIER MISSION INC: $2,100 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetLUNG CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Rogosin Institute Inc: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCOMFORT CASES INC: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican Heart Association Inc: $1,750 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetNational Kidney Foundation Inc: $1,250 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE SHRINERS' HOSPITAL FOR CHILDREN: $1,250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE SKIN CANCER FOUNDATION INC: $1,100 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSHOWER POWER INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetGLOBALGIVING FOUNDATION INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetOpen Hands Legal Services Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetGIFT OF LIFE MARROW REGISTRY INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCENTRAL PARK CONSERVANCY INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPECONIC BAYKEEPER INC: $750 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $600 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMDRC: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFUND FOR PARK AVENUE NEW YORK INC: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFOUNDATION FOR WOMEN WARRIORS: $500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetAMERICAN COMMITTEE FOR SHAARE ZEDEK HOSPITAL IN JERUSALEM INC: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN KIDNEY FUND INC: $350 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPEOPLE FOR THE ETHICAL TREATMENT OF ANIMALS INC: $300 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetHumane World for Animals Inc: $250 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMercy Ships International: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetRUTGERS UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUNITED JEWISH APPEAL-FEDERATION OF JEWISH PHILANTHROPIES OF NEW YORK INC: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHOLE IN THE WALL GANG FUND INC: $200 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.

Jpmorgan Chase Founda…Jewish Communal FundThe Hyde and Watson F…The Goldman Sachs Cha…Select Equity Group F…Vanguard Charitable E…National Philanthropi…The Blackbaud Giving …The Bank of America C…American Online Givin…American Endowment Fo…The Pfizer Foundation…
Jpmorgan Chase FoundationNY17.6× affinity11 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Jpmorgan Chase Foundation · Jewish Communal Fund · The Hyde and Watson Foundation · The Goldman Sachs Charitable Gift Fund · Select Equity Group Foundation · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · National Philanthropic Trust · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · American Endowment Foundation · The Pfizer 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 Cowan Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Cowan Family Foundation. 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%23%45%68%90%share of the org’s income from government →median 1%
  • The Shriners' Hospital for Children: 6% of income from government
  • Feed the Children Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Comfort Cases Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Rutgers University Foundation: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
5get no government money at all
12report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–90%
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 Cowan Family Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Cowan 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 98 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.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Cowan 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