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Ellis Center for Educational Excellence at a glance

· Public charity

Ellis Center for Educational Excellence

To perform the functions of, or to carry out the purposes of the arizona community foundation, an az nonprofit corporation, so long as the arizona community foundation, inc.

$1.8M
Granted FY2024still arriving
12
Grants FY2024still arriving
4
States reached
$696k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead

Read this first · the figures below need context

100% of Ellis Center for Educational Excellence’s FY2025 grant dollars went to Arizona Community Foundation, not to grantees.

Its money now reaches organizations through that sponsor, which does not report who recommended each grant. FY2025 names 0 organizations directly, so a portfolio cannot be read from it. Everything below is therefore FY2024, the last year Ellis Center for Educational Excellence named its own grantees at scale: 12 organizations, $2M. It is dated, not current.

Organizations named directly on the return

26
’17
12
’18
9
’19
20
’20
26
’21
28
’22
20
’23
12
’24
0
’25

Amber years are those where most dollars went to a sponsor.

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 2025.

Education$5.7MPhilanthropy$5.4MYouth Development$1.2MCommunity Improvement$795kArts & Culture$580kEnvironment$572kHuman Services$496kPublic Benefit$434kOther$0
02FY2024 · 12 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $10k–50k1 grant · $15k
  • $50k–250k10 grants · $1.1M
  • $250k+1 grant · $696k
$100,000
Median grant
4
States reached
$42M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
ARIZONA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION$696,300
EDUCATION FORWARD ARIZONA$200,000
TNTP INC$130,000
MAKE WAY FOR BOOKS$115,000
UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA FOUNDATION$115,000
FRIENDS OF THE CHILDREN - PHOENIX$100,000
EDUCATION DESIGN LAB$100,000
ARIZONA CENTER FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN RESOURCES$90,000
ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION$80,000
MILLION DOLLAR TEACHER PROJECT$75,000
ADVOCACY31NINE$50,000
COMPUTER SCIENCE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION$15,000
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 (FY17–24, $950k) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%ALIENTO EDUCATION FUND: $50k → 11%EARN TO LEARN: $150k → 15%EARN TO LEARN: $150k → 15%EARN TO LEARN: $150k → 15%live the solution: $50k → 15%ARIZONA CENTER FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN RESOURCES: $100k → 11%ARIZONA CENTER FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN RESOURCES: $90k → 11%INSTITUTO LAB: $100k → 11%INSTITUTO LAB: $100k → 11%Phoenix Indian Center: $10k → 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.

Which US states its grants reach

IL
NY
MA
OH
NJ
CA
AZ
DC
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.
04

Where the work is directed

The same grants placed two ways: where each recipient sits, and where its stated purpose sends the money.

About 12% of Ellis Center for Educational Excellence’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address. By recipient address, 90% of the giving stays in AZ; by stated purpose, 96%.

Ellis Center for Educational Excellencelessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address
How this is measured
Recipient view: each grant at its grantee’s ZIP, mapped to a county. Directed view: each grant at the county its stated purpose names, falling back to the recipient’s county when the purpose names no place; US grants only. A county shows only if it carries the top 95% of that view’s dollars. Purposes are read from the funder’s own 990 grant descriptions.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

75%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$9.3M · 37 repeat orgs$3.1M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +47% since the first grant, against +20% for those funded once.

37 repeat relationships: 10 still active in FY2024, 27 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call). Read against FY2024, the last year this funder named its own grantees directly; its giving has since run through a sponsor, which reports no donor behind each grant.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

37
52

Total granted

$9.3M
$2.3M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+47%
+20%

Still filing today

89%
73%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 53% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $826k 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
EducationHuman ServicesPhilanthropyCommunity ImprovementYouth DevelopmentArts & CultureOther
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

  • ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION FOR A NEW AMERICAN UNIVERSITY
    8× · 2017–2024 · $1.3M · revenue +196%
  • LT
    LIVE THE SOLUTION DBA EARN TO LEARN
    4× · 2017–2022 · $500k · revenue +156%
  • CF
    CENTER FOR THE FUTURE OF ARIZONA
    2× · 2018–2020 · $425k · revenue +115%

Funded once

  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2019 · $209k
  • ER
    EDUCATION RESOURCE STRATEGIES INCgraduated
    one grant, 2018 · $165k · revenue +56%
  • AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION INCgraduated
    one grant, 2018 · $154k · revenue +110%
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
Arizona Center for Afterschool Excellence Inc

The arizona center for afterschool excellence is dedicated to the enhancement of child and youth development and educational achievement through quality afterschool programming.

Education
2
Arizona Educational Foundation Inc

To celebrate excellence and cultivate opportunity in pk-12th grade arizona public education.

—
3
Arizona Leads

We facilitate effective, bipartisan partnerships needed to achieve educational excellence and scale success across arizona's public schools - both district and charter.

Education
4
Arizona Wins

Az wins is a coalition of organizations dedicated to achieving public policies that benefit working arizona families and advancing an inclusive, engaged, just and equitable state for all arizonans. in 2024 az wins substantially reduced its…

Civil Rights
5
Arizona Center for Community College Success

To bring arizona's community colleges together to share ideas, collaborate, and drive meaningful change. we act as a statewide hub providing colleges best practices, annual convenings, and professional development.

Education
6
Arizona Education Association

To elevate the education profession and promote the cause of education and to provide member support in arizona.

—
7
Arizona Technology Council

To connect and strengthen arizona's technology industry and community, promote state and federal policies that enhance arizona's technology industry, deliver quality content and events to educate those working in arizona's expanding…

—
8
Arizona Latin-American Medical Association
Unclassified
9
The Arizona Charter Schools Association

To provide support and services to arizona's charter schools while promoting high student achievement through quality charter schools.

Education
10
Accelerated Elementary and Secondary Schools

Operation of a private school

Education
11
Arizona Council On Economic Educat

To reach and teach every arizona student to become financially and economically responsible in work and life.

Education
12
American Council of Engineering Companies of Arizona

To assist member firms in achieving higher professional, ethical business and economic standards, enabling member firms to provide quality consulting and engineering services for their clients and the public.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Greater Phoenix Chamber Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Instituto Lab. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
05the grantee network

79 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. 79 of the 92 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.

4
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
23
Early backer (in before they grew)
74/79
Grantees still filing
52/79
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

ARIZONA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $4,167,769 · PhilanthropyARIZONA COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONAFC PUBLIC FOUNDATION: $696,300 · PhilanthropyAFC PUBLIC FOUNDATIONCREIGHTON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $375,000 · PhilanthropyCREIGHTON COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONMARICOPA COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT FOUNDATION: $344,600 · PhilanthropyMARICOPA COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTR…GREATER PHOENIX CHAMBER FOUNDATION: $200,000 · Philanthropy+1 more: $50,000 · PhilanthropyARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION FOR A NEW AMERICAN UNIVERSITY: $1,349,090 · EducationARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDA…ARIZONA TECHNOLOGY COUNCIL FOUNDATION: $375,000 · EducationARIZONA TECHNOLOGY COUNCIL FOUN…Make Way For Books: $345,000 · EducationMake Way For BooksUniversity of Arizona Foundation: $332,000 · EducationUniversity of Arizona Foundatio…Teach for America Inc: $225,000 · EducationEDUCATION DESIGN LAB: $200,000 · EducationNorthbridge College Success Program: $199,000 · EducationEDUCATION RESOURCE STRATEGIES INC: $165,000 · EducationJobs for Arizona's Graduates: $160,000 · Education+19 more: $1,206,000 · Education+19 moreThe Arizona Republic: $417,000 · OtherThe Arizona RepublicNational Center for Youth Law: $340,000 · OtherNational Center for Y…EDUCATION FORWARD ARIZONA: $240,000 · OtherEDUCATION FORWARD ARI…State of Arizona: $225,000 · OtherState of ArizonaIndividual grant recipient: $208,500 · OtherIndividual grant reci…CHILDRENS ACTION ALLIANCE INC: $125,000 · OtherADVOCACY 31NINE: $125,000 · OtherARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY: $122,713 · OtherAMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION INC: $154,400 · OtherACLU FOUNDATION OF ARIZONA: $154,400 · OtherARIZONA CENTER FOR LAW IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST: $150,000 · OtherMillion Dollar Teacher Project: $175,000 · OtherMillion Dollar Teache…+28 more: $681,765 · Other+28 moreCENTER FOR THE FUTURE OF ARIZONA: $425,000 · Community ImprovementPARTNERSHIP FOR ECONOMIC INNOVATION INC: $375,000 · Community ImprovementARIZONA COMMUNITY COLLEGE COORDINATING COUNCIL: $150,000 · Community Improvement+2 more: $45,000 · Community ImprovementLIVE THE SOLUTION DBA EARN TO LEARN: $500,000 · Human ServicesInstituto Lab: $200,000 · Human ServicesARIZONA CENTER FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN RESOURCES: $190,000 · Human ServicesAliento Education Fund: $50,000 · Human Services+1 more: $10,000 · Human ServicesCOMMON SENSE MEDIA: $360,000 · Arts & CultureARIZONA CENTER FOR INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING: $225,000 · Arts & CultureSOUNDS ACADEMY: $60,000 · Arts & CultureCULTURAL COALITION INC: $25,000 · Arts & CultureFRIENDS OF THE CHILDREN - PHOENIX: $200,000 · Youth DevelopmentSTAND FOR CHILDREN LEADERSHIP CENTER INC: $150,000 · Youth DevelopmentSTAND FOR CHILDREN INC: $125,000 · Youth Development+1 more: $10,000 · Youth Development
Philanthropy$5,833,669Education$4,556,090Other$3,118,778Community Improvement$995,000Human Services$950,000Arts & Culture$670,000Youth Development$485,000

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 budgetARIZONA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $4,167,769 over 8y, 0.9% of budgetARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION FOR A NEW AMERICAN UNIVERSITY: $1,349,090 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetLIVE THE SOLUTION DBA EARN TO LEARN: $500,000 over 4y, 6.1% of budgetCENTER FOR THE FUTURE OF ARIZONA: $425,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetARIZONA TECHNOLOGY COUNCIL FOUNDATION: $375,000 over 3y, 20% of budgetPARTNERSHIP FOR ECONOMIC INNOVATION INC: $375,000 over 3y, 4.9% of budgetCREIGHTON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $375,000 over 3y, 71% of budgetCOMMON SENSE MEDIA: $360,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetMake Way For Books: $345,000 over 3y, 4.3% of budgetMARICOPA COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT FOUNDATION: $344,600 over 3y, 2.2% of budgetNational Center for Youth Law: $340,000 over 4y, 1.5% of budgetUniversity of Arizona Foundation: $332,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetEDUCATION FORWARD ARIZONA: $240,000 over 2y, 2.8% of budgetTeach for America Inc: $225,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetARIZONA CENTER FOR INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING: $225,000 over 3y, 39% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE CHILDREN - PHOENIX: $200,000 over 2y, 21% of budgetEDUCATION DESIGN LAB: $200,000 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetInstituto Lab: $200,000 over 2y, 13% of budgetGREATER PHOENIX CHAMBER FOUNDATION: $200,000 over 3y, 5.5% of budgetMillion Dollar Teacher Project: $175,000 over 2y, 24% of budgetEDUCATION RESOURCE STRATEGIES INC: $165,000 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetJobs for Arizona's Graduates: $160,000 over 5y, 4.5% of budgetAMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION INC: $154,400 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetACLU FOUNDATION OF ARIZONA: $154,400 over 1y, 6.2% of budgetARIZONA COMMUNITY COLLEGE COORDINATING COUNCIL: $150,000 over 3y, 18% of budgetVISTA COLLEGE PREPARATORY INC: $150,000 over 1y, 2.3% of budgetARIZONA CENTER FOR LAW IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST: $150,000 over 2y, 9.5% of budgetSTAND FOR CHILDREN LEADERSHIP CENTER INC: $150,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetSAVE OUR SCHOOLS ARIZONA NETWORK: $150,000 over 2y, 36% of budgetARIZONA BUSINESS & EDUCATION COALITION: $135,000 over 2y, 6.6% of budgetTNTP INC: $130,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCHILDRENS ACTION ALLIANCE INC: $125,000 over 2y, 4.2% of budgetADVOCACY 31NINE: $125,000 over 2y, 8.3% of budgetSTAND FOR CHILDREN INC: $125,000 over 2y, 1.9% of budgetCity Center for Collaborative Learning: $100,000 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetREAD BETTER BE BETTER: $100,000 over 1y, 6.4% of budgetNEW CLASSROOMS INNOVATION PARTNERS INC: $75,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetNORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $60,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetSOUNDS ACADEMY: $60,000 over 1y, 7.7% of budgetPHOENIX PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION: $55,000 over 1y, 5.1% of budgetVALLEY OF THE SUN UNITED WAY: $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetEXPECT MORE ARIZONA: $50,000 over 1y, 3.0% of budgetARIZONA LATINO LEADERS IN EDUCATION: $50,000 over 1y, 2.0% of budgetAliento Education Fund: $50,000 over 1y, 2.8% of budgetPRESCOTT COLLEGE INC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetCOMPUTER SCIENCE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION LLC: $40,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetTHE SCIENCE VORTEX OF VERDE VALLEY: $36,025 over 2y, 11% of budgetBE A LEADER FOUNDATION: $35,000 over 2y, 1.6% 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.

Arizona Community Fou…Burton Family Foundat…Virginia G Piper Char…Valley of the Sun Uni…Helios Education Foun…Thunderbirds CharitiesNina Mason Pulliam Ch…The Foundation for Co…Phoenix Community Dev…John F Long Foundatio…Garcia Family Foundat…BHHS Legacy Foundation
Arizona Community FoundationAZ91.1× affinity58 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Arizona Community Foundation · Burton Family Foundation · Virginia G Piper Charitable Trust · Valley of the Sun United Way · Helios Education Foundation · Thunderbirds Charities · Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust · The Foundation for Community and Health Advancement · Phoenix Community Development and Investment Corporation · John F Long Foundation Inc · Garcia Family Foundation · BHHS Legacy 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 Ellis Center for Educational Excellence funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Ellis Center for Educational Excellence. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 30%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 4%
  • Education Resource Strategies Inc: 4% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
3get no government money at all
28report 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 92 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.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Ellis Center for Educational Excellence’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