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Denver Families for Public Schools at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

Denver Families for Public Schools

To reimagine an equitable public education system in denver by increasing civic engagement, shaping education policy, and developing the next generation of grassroots and civic leaders.

$640k
Granted FY2023
10
Grants FY2023
1
States reached
$150k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its fieldRead
04Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
01FY2023 · 10 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2023

  • $10k–50k3 grants · $82k
  • $50k–250k7 grants · $558k
$74,150
Median grant
1
States reached
$356k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
FAITHBRIDGE$150,000
KIPP COLORADO PUBLIC SCHOOLS$75,000
DSST PUBLIC SCHOOLS$75,000
UNIVERSITY PREPARATORY SCHOOLS$75,000
ROCKY MOUNTAIN PREP$74,150
ACADEMY OF URBAN LEARNING$59,000
EDUCATION REFORM NOW$50,000
HIGHLINE ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOLS$35,000
ROOTED DENVER$27,840
WYATT ACADEMY$19,200
02The need
02

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 (FY23–23) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%ROCKY MOUNTAIN PREP: $74k → 12%ACADEMY OF URBAN LEARNING: $59k → 12%DSST PUBLIC SCHOOLS: $75k → 12%FAITHBRIDGE: $150k → 12%UNIVERSITY PREPARATORY SCHOOLS: $75k → 12%WYATT ACADEMY: $19k → 12%HIGHLINE ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOLS: $35k → 12%KIPP COLORADO PUBLIC SCHOOLS: $75k → 12%EDUCATION REFORM NOW: $50k → 12%ROOTED DENVER: $28k → 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.
03Its 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
Ascend College Prep

Ascend College Prep is a public high school for 10-12th grade students in Colorado Springs and the surrounding area. Our Mission is to "Prepare and inspire students to become lifelong learners and responsible citizens through rigorous…

Education
2
Denver School of Science and Technology Inc

Dsst public schools transforms urban public education by eliminating educational inequity and preparing all students for success in college and the 21st century.

Education
3
Strive Preparatory Schools

Success for every student through a demanding education of high standards, structure and accountability. rocky mountain preparatory schools prepare students for educational success from elementary through high school.

Education
4
Denver Academy of Torah

Denver academy of torah (the "school")provides education to students from kindergarten through high school. the school's mission is to nuture students to be torah-observant role models and future leaders through an intellectually rigorous…

Education
5
Goal Academy

GOAL Academy is an alternative education online blended high school serving students across the state of Colorado. GOAL's mission statement is "to develop productive members of society". GOAL's vision statement is "to help all students…

Education
6
Pikes Peak School of Expeditionary Learning

Provide education for students in Pre-K through 8th grade, benefitting approximately 415 students.

Education
7
Denver Academy Inc

Education of students with learning differences

Education
8
Omar D Blair Charter School

To educate and provide all scholars the opportunities and supports to acquire and apply knowledge and skills so that they are prepared for continued success in the high schools, and therefore the colleges and universities of their choice.

Education
9
Soar Charter School

Soar charter school was founded in 2010 and is built on the premise that we should "expect more" from our public schools. soar students create full and meaningful lives, enrich our democracy, and contribute to a more just society.

Education
10
Elevate Academy

Public Education.

Education
11
Urban Pathways 6-12 Charter School

Charter school providing education to students from sixth through twelfth grade.

Education
12
Denver Jewish Day School

To ensure a jewish future by challenging minds and nurturing souls with a focus on academic excellence and jewish learning.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Rooted; the most unlike its peers is Academy of Urban Learning. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
03the grantee network

10 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.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
10/10
Grantees still filing
7/10
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

FaithBridge: $150,000 · EducationFaithBridgeKIPP Colorado Schools: $75,000 · EducationKIPP Colorado SchoolsDSST PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOUNDATION: $75,000 · EducationDSST PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOUNDATIONUNIVERSITY PREPARATORY SCHOOLS: $75,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY PREPARATORY SCHOOLSEDUCATION REFORM NOW INC: $50,000 · EducationEDUCATION REFORM NOW INCHIGHLINE ACADEMY: $35,000 · EducationHIGHLINE ACADEMYROOTED: $27,840 · EducationROOTEDWyatt Academy: $19,200 · EducationROCKY MOUNTAIN PREPARATORY SCHOOLS: $74,150 · OtherROCKY MOUNTAI…ACADEMY OF URBAN LEARNING: $59,000 · Youth DevelopmentACADEMY OF…
Education$507,040Other$74,150Youth Development$59,000

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetFaithBridge: $150,000 over 1y, 25% of budgetKIPP Colorado Schools: $75,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetDSST PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOUNDATION: $75,000 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetUNIVERSITY PREPARATORY SCHOOLS: $75,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetROCKY MOUNTAIN PREPARATORY SCHOOLS: $74,150 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetACADEMY OF URBAN LEARNING: $59,000 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetEDUCATION REFORM NOW INC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetHIGHLINE ACADEMY: $35,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetROOTED: $27,840 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetWyatt Academy: $19,200 over 1y, 0.5% 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 Denver FoundationRootedCharter Fund Inc D/B/…Rose Community Founda…Gary PhilanthropyDaniels FundColorado Schools FundLouis Calder Foundati…The Anschutz Foundati…Temple Hoyne Buell Fo…Gates Family Foundati…Mile High United Way …
The Denver FoundationCO23.1× affinity9 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Denver Foundation · Rooted · Charter Fund Inc D/B/A Charter School Growth Fund · Rose Community Foundation · Gary Philanthropy · Daniels Fund · Colorado Schools Fund · Louis Calder Foundation · The Anschutz Foundation · Temple Hoyne Buell Foundation · Gates Family Foundation · Mile High United Way 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 Denver Families for Public Schools funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Denver Families for Public Schools. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%2%6%14%25%funder's share of their income ↑0%1%3%4%5%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    6report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–5%
    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.
    04Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to Denver Families for Public Schools?

    Find your warmest path to Denver Families for Public Schools 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 10 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 e-file return for fiscal year 2023, released 2023. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Denver Families for Public Schools’ 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