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Early Milestones Colorado at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

Early Milestones Colorado

EARLY MILESTONES COLORADO is a nonprofit organization that advances success for young children across the state by accelerating innovation, use of best practices and systemic change.

$331k
Granted FY2024still arriving
7
Grants FY2024still arriving
1
States reached
$50k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Human Services$15MEducation$4.7MHealth$681kAnimals$265kCommunity Improvement$178kInternational$160kPhilanthropy$99kFood & Nutrition$83kOther$0
02FY2024 · 7 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $10k–50k3 grants · $131k
  • $50k–250k4 grants · $200k
$50,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$2.1M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
COLORADO STATEWIDE PARENT COALITION$50,000
IMMUNIZE COLORADO$50,000
MILE HIGH UNITED WAY INC$50,000
GOOD FOOD COLLECTIVE$50,000
CO PERINATAL CARE QUALITY COLLAB$49,881
ASPEN COMMUNITY FOUNDATION$49,000
HUNGER FREE COLORADO$32,500
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 (FY17–24, $3.9M) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 7%. 83% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 7%EAGLES' NEST EARLY LEARNING CENTER: $34k → 6%OURAY COUNTY SCHOOLS COMMUNITY RESO: $37k → 7%EARLY CHILDHOOD OPTIONS: $143k → 9%CHAFFEE COUNTY CHILDCARE INITIATIVE: $30k → 10%LITTLE SPROUTS LEARNING CENTER: $86k → 11%GOOD FOOD COLLECTIVE: $110k → 12%EARLY CHILDHOOD COUNCIL FOR YUMA W: $41k → 13%SUNSHINE CHILDCARE CENTER AT NE: $56k → 15%MONTELORES EARLY CHILDHOOD COUNCIL: $25k → 15%EARLY CHILDHOOD COUNCIL OF THE SAN: $180k → 17%BRIGHT FUTURES: $40k → 7%EAGLE VALLEY CHILD CARE ASSOCIATION: $65k → 7%EARLY CHILDHOOD OPTIONS: $72k → 9%EARLY CHILDHOOD COUNCIL FOR YUMA W: $39k → 13%SUNSHINE CHILDCARE CENTER AT NE: $54k → 15%FOCUS POINTS FAMILY RESOURCE CENTER: $130k → 3%YOUNG TRACKS PRESCHOOL AND CHILD CA: $40k → 6%Bright Futures for Early Childhood & Families: $25k → 7%EARLY CHILDHOOD NETWORK: $80k → 8%EARLY CONNECTIONS LEARNING CENTERS: $95k → 9%LITTLE MAVERICKS LEARNING CENTER: $130k → 11%EARLY CHILDHOOD COUNCIL OF THE SAN: $45k → 17%EARLY CHILDHOOD COUNCIL LEADERSHIP: $46k → 7%FAMILY LEARNING CENTER: $41k → 7%EARLY CONNECTIONS LEARNING CENTERS: $80k → 9%LITTLE MAVERICKS LEARNING CENTER (L: $80k → 11%HEALTHY CHILD CARE COLORADO: $136k → 12%EARLY CHILDHOOD COUNCIL OF LARIMER: $122k → 11%GOOD FOOD COLLECTIVE: $25k → 12%EARLY CHILDHOOD COUNCIL OF LARIMER: $103k → 11%EARLY CHILDHOOD COUNCIL LEADERSHIP: $21k → 7%THE FAMILY CENTERLA FAMILIA: $89k → 11%BRIGHT BEGINNINGS DBA BRIGHT BY TEX: $50k → 12%THE FAMILY CENTERLA FAMILIA: $47k → 11%IMMUNIZE COLORADO: $50k → 10%BRIGHT BEGINNINGS DBA BRIGHT BY TEX: $50k → 12%HEALTHY CHILD CARE COLORADO: $32k → 12%BOULDER JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER: $116k → 12%BOULDER JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER: $44k → 12%FAMILY VOICES COLORADO: $39k → 7%CLAYTON EARLY LEARNING: $332k → 12%IREE: $53k → 8%CLAYTON EARLY LEARNING: $128k → 12%FAMILY RESOURCE CENTER ASSOCIATION: $100k → 12%IREE: $47k → 8%FAMILY RESOURCE CENTER ASSOCIATION: $25k → 12%RENAISSANCE CHILDREN'S CENTERCOLOR: $22k → 12%FOCUS POINTS FAMILY RESOURCE CENTER: $70k → 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 grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

96%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$20M · 180 repeat orgs$816k to everyone else

180 repeat relationships: 2 still active in FY2024, 178 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

180
26

Total granted

$20M
$634k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+14%
+21%

Still filing today

62%
62%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 35% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $182k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’22’23’24
EducationHuman ServicesHealthCommunity ImprovementPhilanthropyYouth DevelopmentOther
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

  • JI
    JOINT INITIATIVES FOR YOUTH AND FAMILIES
    2× · 2022–2023 · $493k · revenue +5%
  • GW
    GEORGE W CLAYTON TRUST
    2× · 2022–2023 · $460k · revenue +14%
  • UO
    UNIVERSITY OF DENVER
    2× · 2022–2023 · $441k · revenue +4%

Funded once

  • TC
    THE CHILDREN'S WORLD SCHOOL
    one grant, 2022 · $146k
  • PP
    PARENT POSSIBLEgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $100k · revenue +40%
  • TH
    Thunderridge High School
    one grant, 2022 · $35k
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
Seeds of Learning

Seeds of Learning is a stand-alone, NAEYC accredited early care and education center, that serves children ages 30 months through age 5. As a community-based facility, Seeds offers parenting classes, educational opportunities for families…

Education
2
Hope Center Inc

The organization provides childcare, preschool programs, gifted programs, vocational training, and therapy for the developmentally disabled.

Human Services
3
Early Childhood Council of Boulder County

To expand and improve the comprehensive system of quality early childhood services for families in boulder county. the organization acts as the countywide convener for strategic planning for early childhood programs and services.

Human Services
4
Limon Child Development Center

Head start and preschool services.

Human Services
5
The Children's Center Inc

Early childhood education

Education
6
Broomfield Early Childhood Council

Build a comprehensive system of care and service to support the health and education of young children, their families and their care providers.

Human Services
7
Little Giants Learning Center

Our mission is to serve the community by providing the best quality care in a safe environment, whereby each child is enriched with experiences that are conductive to their social-emotional, physical, cultural, and cognitive development.

Human Services
8
The Early Childhood Council

The Early Childhood Council is a collaborative system that promotes and values high quality early care and education opportunities for children birth through age eight and their families where families are valued and children are healthy…

Human Services
9
Early Childhood Collective of Douglas County Inc

Early Childhood Collective connects the coalition of early childhood resources that serves growing families in Douglas County. ECCo serves as the fiscal agent and administrative hub for community-based early childhood programs that provide…

Education
10
Early Childhood University

The organization's mission is to provide low-cost preschool and daycare services for low-income families in the greeley, colorado, area.

Education
11
A Shared Vision Partners in Pediatric Blindness and Visual Imp

A Shared Vision educates, inspires, and empowers families to nurture the development of their young children who are blind or visually impaired. We provide early intervention vision services in families' homes and community settings…

Health
12
Steamboat Springs Discovery Learning Center

The goal of all those working under the Family Development Center umbrella is to provide parents with the supports they need to be the best parents they can be.Discovery Learning Center's mission is to provide quality early childhood care…

Human Services
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Healthy Child Care Colorado; the most unlike its peers is National Wildlife Federation. 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

138 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

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 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 138 of the 212 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.

7
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
28
Early backer (in before they grew)
134/138
Grantees still filing
100/138
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

JOINT INITIATIVES FOR YOUTH AND FAMILIES: $493,268 · OtherREGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO: $467,897 · OtherDenver Public Schools: $371,602 · Other+98 more: $9,557,766 · Other+98 moreUNIVERSITY OF DENVER: $440,629 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF DENVERTEACHorg Inc: $278,812 · EducationTEACHorg IncVALLEY SETTLEMENT: $265,000 · EducationVALLEY SETTLEMENTPUBLIC EDUCATION & BUSINESS COALITION: $260,000 · EducationPUBLIC EDUCATION & BUSI…SEWALL CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTER: $225,000 · EducationFAMILY STAR INC: $210,000 · EducationLENA FOUNDATION: $210,000 · EducationDENVER EARLY CHILDHOOD COUNCIL: $192,985 · EducationTeach for America Inc: $160,000 · Education+33 more: $2,189,537 · Education+33 moreGEORGE W CLAYTON TRUST: $459,560 · Human ServicesGEORGE W CLAYTON TRU…NORTHERN COLORADO KIDS THRIVE: $225,000 · Human ServicesNORTHERN COLORADO KI…EARLY CHILDHOOD COUNCIL OF THE SAN LUIS VALLEY INC: $225,000 · Human ServicesEARLY CHILDHOOD COUN…Summit County Child Care Resource & Referral Agency: $215,000 · Human ServicesSummit County Child …MESA COLLEGE DAY CARE ASSOCIATION: $210,000 · Human ServicesMESA COLLEGE DAY CAR…FOCUS POINTS FAMILY RESOURCE CENTER: $200,000 · Human ServicesCOLORADO SPRINGS CHILD NURSERY CENTERS INC: $175,000 · Human ServicesHEALTHY CHILD CARE COLORADO: $168,798 · Human ServicesTHE BOULDER JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER: $160,000 · Human ServicesTHE FAMILY CENTERLA FAMILIA: $135,266 · Human ServicesCOMPANEROS FOUR CORNERS IMMIGRANT RESOURCE CENTER: $135,000 · Human Services+26 more: $1,553,522 · Human Services+26 moreTHE COLORADO NONPROFIT DEVELOPMENT CENTER: $409,581 · Community ImprovementManaus: $141,693 · Community ImprovementSMALL BUSINESS MAJORITY FOUNDATION INC: $85,000 · Community ImprovementENERGIZE COLORADO INC: $45,250 · Community Improvement+2 more: $37,234 · Community ImprovementIMPACT CHARITABLE: $273,339 · PhilanthropyMILE HIGH UNITED WAY INC: $200,000 · PhilanthropyEARLY LEARNING VENTURES: $153,700 · PhilanthropyASPEN COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $49,000 · PhilanthropyABILITY CONNECTION COLORADO INC: $150,000 · HealthKIDS IN NEED OF DENTISTRY: $110,000 · HealthCOLORADO ASSOCIATION FOR INFANT MENTAL HEALTH: $89,275 · HealthALTA VISTA CENTER FOR AUTISM: $85,000 · HealthDEVELOPMENTAL FX DEVELOPMENTAL & FRAGILE X RESOURCE: $60,000 · HealthCOLORADO PERINATAL CARE QUALITY COLLABORATIVE: $49,881 · HealthCommunity Coalition for Families and Children: $21,384 · Health+2 more: $29,234 · HealthROCKY MOUNTAIN PUBLIC MEDIA INC: $310,000 · Arts & Culture
Other$10,890,533Education$4,431,963Human Services$3,862,146Community Improvement$718,758Philanthropy$676,039Health$594,774Arts & Culture$310,000

Showing the 200 largest grantees by grant value.

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 budgetJOINT INITIATIVES FOR YOUTH AND FAMILIES: $493,268 over 2y, 8.1% of budgetGEORGE W CLAYTON TRUST: $459,560 over 2y, 1.8% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF DENVER: $440,629 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE COLORADO NONPROFIT DEVELOPMENT CENTER: $409,581 over 2y, 1.4% of budgetROCKY MOUNTAIN PUBLIC MEDIA INC: $310,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetTEACHorg Inc: $278,812 over 2y, 4.4% of budgetIMPACT CHARITABLE: $273,339 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetVALLEY SETTLEMENT: $265,000 over 2y, 3.0% of budgetNATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION: $264,844 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetPUBLIC EDUCATION & BUSINESS COALITION: $260,000 over 2y, 2.6% of budgetCOLORADO STATEWIDE PARENT COALITION: $250,000 over 3y, 5.2% of budgetMILE HIGH MONTESSORI EARLY LEARNING CENT: $235,000 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetNORTHERN COLORADO KIDS THRIVE: $225,000 over 2y, 5.8% of budgetEARLY CHILDHOOD COUNCIL OF THE SAN LUIS VALLEY INC: $225,000 over 2y, 4.5% of budgetSEWALL CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTER: $225,000 over 2y, 1.7% of budgetSummit County Child Care Resource & Referral Agency: $215,000 over 2y, 5.8% of budgetFAMILY STAR INC: $210,000 over 2y, 2.4% of budgetLENA FOUNDATION: $210,000 over 2y, 1.3% of budgetMESA COLLEGE DAY CARE ASSOCIATION: $210,000 over 2y, 9.4% of budgetMILE HIGH UNITED WAY INC: $200,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetLUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES OF COLORADO: $200,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetFOCUS POINTS FAMILY RESOURCE CENTER: $200,000 over 2y, 3.4% of budgetSPRING INSTITUTE FOR INTERCULTURAL LEARNING: $193,961 over 2y, 3.5% of budgetDENVER EARLY CHILDHOOD COUNCIL: $192,985 over 2y, 4.6% of budgetCOLORADO SPRINGS CHILD NURSERY CENTERS INC: $175,000 over 2y, 1.5% of budgetHEALTHY CHILD CARE COLORADO: $168,798 over 2y, 5.8% of budgetTHE BOULDER JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER: $160,000 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetAMERICAS ASSOCIATION FOR THE CARE OF CHILDREN: $160,000 over 2y, 17% of budgetTeach for America Inc: $160,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetEARLY LEARNING VENTURES: $153,700 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetSeasons Schoolhouse Inc Wonderland Nature School: $152,266 over 2y, 7.0% of budgetEarly Childhood Education Association of Colorado: $150,000 over 2y, 44% of budgetABILITY CONNECTION COLORADO INC: $150,000 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetROCKY MOUNTAIN PREPARATORY SCHOOLS: $150,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetManaus: $141,693 over 2y, 9.0% of budgetTHE FAMILY CENTERLA FAMILIA: $135,266 over 2y, 3.6% of budgetCOMPANEROS FOUR CORNERS IMMIGRANT RESOURCE CENTER: $135,000 over 2y, 17% of budgetMONTESSORI INTERGENERATIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES: $134,419 over 2y, 40% of budgetEDGEWATER COLLECTIVE: $133,469 over 2y, 19% of budgetACADEMY 360: $131,467 over 2y, 2.4% of budgetFAMILY RESOURCE CENTER ASSOCIATION: $125,000 over 2y, 4.4% of budgetEarly Childhood Partnership of Adams Cou: $118,209 over 4y, 3.5% of budgetSTRATTON AREA FOUNDATION 2 INC: $113,156 over 2y, 81% of budgetDELTA GAMMA ANCHOR CENTER FOR BLIND CHILDREN: $112,962 over 2y, 2.1% of budgetSUNSHINE CHILDCARE CENTER AT NORTHEASTERN: $110,000 over 2y, 12% of budgetMASLOW ACADEMY OF APPLIED LEARNING INC: $110,000 over 2y, 4.1% of budgetKIDS IN NEED OF DENTISTRY: $110,000 over 2y, 4.1% of budgetCommunity Partnership for Child Development: $110,000 over 2y, 0.3% 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.

Temple Hoyne Buell Fo…Rose Community Founda…The Colorado Health F…Caring for Colorado F…The Denver FoundationMile High United Way …Colorado Gives Founda…Delta Dental Plan of …Gates Family Foundati…Daniels FundEl Pomar FoundationRose Foundation
Temple Hoyne Buell FoundationCO168.5× affinity92 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Temple Hoyne Buell Foundation · Rose Community Foundation · The Colorado Health Foundation · Caring for Colorado Foundation · The Denver Foundation · Mile High United Way Inc · Colorado Gives Foundation · Delta Dental Plan of Colorado Foundation Inc · Gates Family Foundation · Daniels Fund · El Pomar Foundation · Rose Foundation

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 Early Milestones Colorado funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Early Milestones Colorado. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%6%23%51%90%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    81report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    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 212 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 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 $347k of grant expense, but none of it to a named recipient. On a Form 990 that can mean grants abroad, filed by region only (Schedule F), grants under $5,000, which are not itemized, or a schedule referenced as an attachment the e-file does not carry. The figures above are therefore from FY2024, the most recent year this funder named its grantees.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Early Milestones Colorado’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