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Plinth

· Private foundation

Ellison Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$2.6M
Granted FY2024still arriving
103
Grants FY2024still arriving
11
States reached
$252k
Largest
01What you fund
01100% classified

What you funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year — across FY20202024.

Health$4.2MEducation$2.7MArts & Culture$1.8MHuman Services$1.4MPhilanthropy$889kHousing & Shelter$616kFood & Nutrition$614kYouth Development$416kOther$0
02FY2024 · 103 grants

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k39 grants · $138k
  • $10k–50k48 grants · $803k
  • $50k–250k15 grants · $1.4M
  • $250k+1 grant · $252k
$10,000
Median grant
11
States reached
$46M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
MARY'S PLACE$252,000
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON FOUNDATION$200,000
OVERLAKE MEDICAL CENTER FOUNDATION$200,000
FRED HUTCHINSON CANCER RESEARCH$150,000
UNITED WAY OF KING COUNTY$100,000
SEATTLE CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION$100,000
BROTHERS FOR LIFE$100,000
SUN VALLEY TOUR DE FORCE$100,000
VINE MAPLE PLACE$100,000
NORTHWEST EDUCATION ACCESS$50,000
SEATTLE UNIVERSITY$50,000
KIDVANTAGE$50,000
VISION HOUSE$50,000
SALVATION ARMY$50,000
CAMP KOREY$50,000
02The need
03

Do your dollars go where the need is?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, then read against the area’s typical level.

show:

Your human-services grants (FY20–24, $1.8M) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 11% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Your grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%INNOVATIONS HTC: $10k → 9%SCARLET ROAD: $10k → 10%LA CASA HOGAR: $105k → 17%LA CASA HOGAR: $50k → 17%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $12k → 14%INTREPID EVENTS: $100k → 7%SPUR COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $50k → 7%WESTSIDE BABY: $30k → 9%WESTSIDE BABY: $30k → 9%WESTSIDE BABY: $25k → 9%WESTSIDE BABY: $20k → 9%WESTSIDE BABY: $15k → 9%LIFEWIRE: $15k → 9%LIFEWIRE: $15k → 9%LIFEWIRE: $15k → 9%LIFEWIRE: $15k → 9%BELLEVUE LIFESPRING: $80k → 9%BELLEVUE LIFESPRING: $50k → 9%VISION HOUSE: $50k → 9%BELLEVUE LIFESPRING: $27k → 9%VISION HOUSE: $25k → 9%VISION HOUSE: $25k → 9%BELLEVUE LIFESPRING: $25k → 9%VISION HOUSE: $15k → 9%STOLEN YOUTH: $20k → 9%VINE MAPLE PLACE: $100k → 9%STOLEN YOUTH: $11k → 9%VINE MAPLE PLACE: $50k → 9%VINE MAPLE PLACE: $40k → 9%VINE MAPLE PLACE: $20k → 9%BUSINESSES ENDING SLAVERY & TRAFFICKING: $15k → 9%BUSINESSES ENDING SLAVERY & TRAFFICKING: $15k → 9%ST VINCENT DE PAUL: $100k → 9%RWANDA GIRLS INITIATIVE: $26k → 9%RWANDA GIRLS INITIATIVE: $25k → 9%RWANDA GIRLS INITIATIVE: $25k → 9%RWANDA GIRLS INITIATIVE: $25k → 9%FAMILY LAW CASA: $15k → 9%FAMILY LAW CASA: $15k → 9%FAMILY LAW CASA: $15k → 9%EASTSIDE BABY CORNER: $55k → 9%FAMILY LAW CASA: $15k → 9%EASTSIDE BABY CORNER: $50k → 9%ELIZABETH GREGORY HOME: $16k → 9%EASTSIDE BABY CORNER: $50k → 9%ELIZABETH GREGORY HOME: $15k → 9%KIDVANTAGE: $50k → 9%KIDVANTAGE: $50k → 9%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount

Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty linein the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP; grantee ZIP can differ from where services are delivered.

Which US states your grants reach

VT
WA
ID
IL
NY
MA
OR
OH
CT
CA
VA
MD
KS
TN
NC
DC
HI
TX

US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are actually delivered. Need from public data — U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA — shown as context about the area, never attributed to your giving.

03Your edge
repeat funding

Who you back again

Which organizations you funded more than once, and which you funded a single time. Each grantee is matched to its own filings.

79%of every dollar goes to organizations you’ve funded before.
$11M · 85 repeat orgs$2.7M to everyone else

And the relationships you keep tend to grow: grantees you re-up on have seen median revenue of +24% since the first grant, against 0% for the ones you funded once.

85 repeat relationships — 52 still active in FY2024, 33 since wound down; 51 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

85
118

Total granted

$11M
$2.1M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+24%
0%

Still filing today

80%
41%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 75% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $644k went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24
Human ServicesEducationHealthArts & CultureYouth DevelopmentAnimalsOther

First-time = a grantee’s first year in your filing window; renewed = funded in an earlier year too. As a portfolio matures the renewed share naturally climbs — once funded, an org stays “renewable” — so the signal is the years that buck it (a new-grantee intake wave). 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

  • OH
    OVERLAKE HOSPITAL FOUNDATION
    5× · 2020–2024 · $1.0M · revenue +61%
  • UO
    UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON FOUNDATION
    4× · 2021–2024 · $650k · revenue +11%
  • MP
    Maris Place
    5× · 2020–2024 · $481k · revenue +80% · 41% of their budget

Funded once

  • SC
    SEATTLE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL-ODESSA BROWN CAMPAIGN
    one grant, 2020 · $400k
  • CR
    Cristo Rey Jesuit Seattle High School
    one grant, 2023 · $250k
  • SC
    SEATTLE CHILDREN'S
    one grant, 2020 · $200k

Repeat = funded in two or more distinct years; growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Your field

The map has a center of gravity: the average direction from the rest of the sector toward the organizations the foundation funds — the shape of its giving. Scoring every nonprofit along that direction surfaces the ones that look most like the portfolio. These are the closest matchesthat aren’t grantees — a resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
King County Sexual Assault Resource Center

KCSARC is the largest and most comprehensive non-profit provider of sexual assault services in King County and Washington State. Our vision is a community free of sexual violence. Our mission is to: give voice to victims, their families,…

2
The Humane Society for Seattleking County

Seattle humane promotes the human-animal bond by saving and serving pets in need, regardless of age, ability, circumstance or geography.

Animals
3
Disability Rights Washington

Disability rights washington's mission is to advance the dignity, equality, and self determination of people with disabilities. we work to pursue justice on matters related to human and legal rights.

Human Services
4
Siff

Siff is a seattle-based 501(c)(3) arts nonprofit dedicated to the creation of vibrant experiences and spaces that champion film discovery and arts education.

Youth Development
5
Seattle Jobs Initiative

Seattle jobs initiative (sji) creates opportunities for people to support themselves and their families through living-wage careers.

Employment
6
United Way of Snohomish County

United way of snohomish county improves lives for families in snohomish county by bringing people, resources, and strategy together.

Philanthropy
7
Life Science Washington

Life science washington is a non-profit trade and professional association dedicated to promoting innovation and responsible growth in the life sciences and biomedical industries in the state of washington. promotion and education are…

8
Building Changes

Building changes advances equitable responses to homelessness in washington state, with a focus on children, youth, and families. we work at the intersection of housing, education, and health systems, partnering with communities and public…

Health
9
Association of Washington Cities

The association of washington cities builds connections between our state's diverse cities and towns, while providing our members with the support needed to thrive through delivery of data-driven education, nationally recognized pooling…

10
Seattle Economic Development Fund Business Impact Nw

To provide economic development financing to serve the needs of small businesses in the state of washington that would not qualify for private financing under conventional financing criteria.

Community Improvement
11
Washington Area Community Investment Fund Inc

The washington area community investment fund (wacif) is a nonprofit community loan fund focused on increasing equity and economic opportunity in the washington, dc area's underserved communities. wacif's mission is driven is driven by…

12
Earthcorps

To cultivate leaders and community partnerships to advance environmental justice.

International

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Make-a-Wish Foundation of Alaska & Washington and the most unlike its peers is Institute for Media Analysis Inc. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.

For each theme you fund, this compares how the sector’s money is shifting with how your own giving is shifting.

← shrinkinggrowing →↓ leaning in → pulling backsteadyCommunity College Foundatio…Health Access Advocacy and …Jewish Community Organizati…Women & Girls Leadership De…Community FoundationsYouth Development CentersCancer Support ServicesElementary Literacy TutoringPolicy Research and AdvocacyEquine Therapy ProgramsDevelopmental Disabilities …Youth Sports ProgramsUnited Way AffiliatesVolunteer Fire & Ems Servic…Environmental Conservation …Addiction Recovery ServicesChristian Missionary Organi…Faith-Based Liberal Arts Co…Community Food PantriesSenior Support ServicesAffordable Housing Developm…Domestic Violence ServicesAnimal Rescue and ShelterIndependent K-12 SchoolsCommunity Arts CentersChristian Youth CampsCommunity FoundationsLocal History MuseumsImmigrant Worker SupportFood Banks and Pantries
the sector your giving your giving is ahead of the sector the sector’s ahead of you· dot size = how much the theme matters to each side
Ordered by the change in your giving — leaning in on top, pulling back at the bottom. The bar between the two dots is how out of step you are with the sector. Hover any row for detail.

Sector change and giving change are each shown relative to their own range, growing (right) or shrinking (left); both normalized, so inflation isn’t mistaken for growth.

Your grantees are a median of 26 years old; the field is 16. You back the established end — and your money leans older still.

THE FIELDby orgYOUR GRANTEESby number21%2%<5yr14%8%5–10yr20%20%10–20yr18%36%20–35yr13%21%35–55yr15%13%55yr+
THE FIELDby orgYOUR MONEYby value21%3%<5yr14%4%5–10yr20%13%10–20yr18%33%20–35yr13%27%35–55yr15%21%55yr+

The field is 21% startups (under 5 years old) — 2% of your grantees by number, and just 3% of your money.

Closures · last 5 years

The orgs you fund almost never close 1% lost their exemption, against 12% of the field you don’t fund.

orgs you fund
1%2/155
the rest of the field
12%
4,743/38,813

Age = years since IRS exemption (a founding proxy). “Closed” = auto-revocation for 3 years of non-filing — a floor on closure, not proof, and bigger established orgs lapse least. Association, not causation.

04the grantee network

143 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each one resolved to its own IRS returns and tracked year by year — your grant beside their revenue from every source. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

Counted here: distinct organizations you funded across 20172025, not grant rows in a single year — so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 143 of the 260 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile; the rest are funded organizations whose filings we could not track year by year.

2
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
20
Early backer (in before they grew)
141/143
Grantees still filing
83/143
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

SEATTLE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL — $1,200,050 · OtherSEATTLE CHILDREN'S HOSPITALSEATTLE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL-ODESSA BROWN CAMPAIGN — $400,000 · OtherSEATTLE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL-ODESSA BROWN CAMP…Seattle Children's Foundation — $300,000 · OtherSeattle Children's FoundationSALVATION ARMY — $250,000 · OtherSEATTLE CHILDREN'S — $200,000 · OtherFOOD LIFELINE — $200,100 · Other+117 more — $2,901,273 · Other+117 moreUNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON FOUNDATION — $650,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF W…NORTHWEST EDUCATION ACCESS — $300,000 · EducationNORTHWEST EDUCA…Cristo Rey Jesuit Seattle High School — $250,000 · EducationCristo Rey Jesu…RAINIER SCHOLARS — $175,700 · EducationRAINIER SCHOLAR…LITERACY SOURCE A COMMUNITY LEARNING CENTER — $70,000 · Education+14 more — $389,620 · Education+14 moreKIDVANTAGE — $255,000 · Human ServicesKIDVANTAGEVINE MAPLE PLACE — $210,000 · Human ServicesVINE MAPLE PLA…OVERLAKE SERVICE LEAGUE — $181,500 · Human ServicesOVERLAKE SERVI…LA CASA HOGAR — $155,000 · Human ServicesLA CASA HOGARWESTSIDE BABY — $120,000 · Human ServicesWESTSIDE BABYVISION HOUSE — $115,000 · Human ServicesVISION HOUSERwanda Girls Initiative — $100,500 · Human ServicesRwanda Girls I…INTREPID EVENTS INC — $100,000 · Human ServicesINTREPID EVENT…SAINT FRANCES CABRINI CHARITABLE SERVICES — $100,000 · Human ServicesSAINT FRANCES …FAMILY LAW CASA OF KING COUNTY — $65,000 · Human ServicesLifeWire — $60,000 · Human Services+15 more — $299,500 · Human Services+15 moreOVERLAKE HOSPITAL FOUNDATION — $1,000,000 · HealthOVERLAKE HO…RECOVERY CAFE — $135,000 · HealthRECOVERY CA…LAHAI HEALTH — $90,000 · HealthLAHAI HEALT…ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE & RELATED DISORDERS ASSOCIATION INC — $75,500 · HealthALZHEIMER'S…WORLDWIDE FISTULA FUND — $55,000 · Health+3 more — $55,000 · HealthSEATTLE ART MUSEUM — $800,000 · Arts & CultureSEATTLE AR…Brothers for Life — $280,000 · Arts & CultureBrothers f…EXPERIENCE LEARNING COMMUNITY — $42,200 · Arts & Culture+7 more — $90,500 · Arts & Culture+7 moreMaris Place — $480,800 · Youth DevelopmentCAMP KOREY — $350,500 · Youth DevelopmentCHILD ADVOCACY CENTER OF SNOHOMISH COUNTY — $75,000 · Youth DevelopmentRAINIER ATHLETES — $65,000 · Youth Development+4 more — $80,000 · Youth DevelopmentUNITED WAY OF KING COUNTY — $500,000 · PhilanthropySEATTLE FOUNDATION — $250,000 · PhilanthropyTHE VERMONT COMMUNITY FOUNDATION — $50,000 · Philanthropy+3 more — $45,150 · Philanthropy
Other$5,451,423Education$1,835,320Human Services$1,761,500Health$1,410,500Arts & Culture$1,212,700Youth Development$1,051,300Philanthropy$845,150

Showing your 200 largest grantees by grant value.

Each org by its size and your share of it — top-left is where you’re load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ your share of their budgetOVERLAKE HOSPITAL FOUNDATION — $1,000,000 over 5y, 2.0% of budgetSEATTLE ART MUSEUM — $800,000 over 4y, 0.7% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON FOUNDATION — $650,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetUNITED WAY OF KING COUNTY — $500,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetMaris Place — $480,800 over 5y, 41% of budgetCAMP KOREY — $350,500 over 5y, 2.9% of budgetNORTHWEST EDUCATION ACCESS — $300,000 over 5y, 3.4% of budgetSeattle Children's Foundation — $300,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetBrothers for Life — $280,000 over 5y, 0.7% of budgetKIDVANTAGE — $255,000 over 5y, 0.9% of budgetSEATTLE FOUNDATION — $250,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetVINE MAPLE PLACE — $210,000 over 4y, 1.4% of budgetFOOD LIFELINE — $200,100 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetOVERLAKE SERVICE LEAGUE — $181,500 over 4y, 2.2% of budgetRAINIER SCHOLARS — $175,700 over 5y, 1.2% of budgetSEATTLE UNIVERSITY — $175,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetBLAINE COUNTY HUNGER COALITION INC — $160,000 over 3y, 1.1% of budgetLA CASA HOGAR — $155,000 over 2y, 5.7% of budgetRECOVERY CAFE — $135,000 over 5y, 0.8% of budgetKINDERING CENTER — $125,500 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetWESTSIDE BABY — $120,000 over 5y, 0.7% of budgetVISION HOUSE — $115,000 over 4y, 0.7% of budgetBELLEVUE BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS INC — $110,000 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetRwanda Girls Initiative — $100,500 over 4y, 4.7% of budgetINTREPID EVENTS INC — $100,000 over 1y, 15% of budgetSAINT FRANCES CABRINI CHARITABLE SERVICES — $100,000 over 1y, 25% of budgetMONTPELIER DOWNTOWN COMMUNITY ASSOC — $100,000 over 1y, 9.0% of budgetFIND VENTURES CO — $100,000 over 1y, 12% of budgetINSTITUTE FOR MEDIA ANALYSIS INC — $100,000 over 2y, 14% of budgetLAHAI HEALTH — $90,000 over 5y, 1.3% of budgetALZHEIMER'S DISEASE & RELATED DISORDERS ASSOCIATION INC — $75,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCHILD ADVOCACY CENTER OF SNOHOMISH COUNTY — $75,000 over 3y, 1.9% of budgetLITERACY SOURCE A COMMUNITY LEARNING CENTER — $70,000 over 5y, 1.7% of budgetRAINIER ATHLETES — $65,000 over 5y, 2.2% of budgetFAMILY LAW CASA OF KING COUNTY — $65,000 over 5y, 1.7% of budgetCONGREGATIONS FOR THE HOMELESS — $60,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetLifeWire — $60,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetBOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF KING COUNTY — $60,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetTHE UNIVERSITY OF PUGET SOUND — $56,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetElizabeth Home — $55,500 over 5y, 1.1% of budgetWORLDWIDE FISTULA FUND — $55,000 over 3y, 2.3% of budgetEASTSIDE LEGAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM — $55,000 over 4y, 0.8% of budgetVENTURES — $55,000 over 4y, 0.6% of budgetSPUR COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC — $50,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetDEGREES OF CHANGE — $50,000 over 4y, 0.7% of budgetGlobal Impact — $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE VERMONT COMMUNITY FOUNDATION — $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCOYOTE CENTRAL — $50,000 over 1y, 3.5% of budget
Go grantee by grantee — a decade per org, and how each moved after you funded them

A decade per grantee — revenue shaded, your grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

The grantmakers whose grantees overlap with yours far more than size alone predicts. Each orbits closer the stronger the alignment; the arcs between them show where they also fund each other. Here it reads as a tightly interlocked camp — most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

The Norcliffe FoundationWA89.4× affinity48 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Norcliffe Foundation · Seattle Foundation · Puget Sound Energy Foundation · Moccasin Lake Foundation · United Way of King County · Medina Foundation · Credit Unions in the State of Washington · Aven Foundation · Lucky Seven Foundation · Harnish Foundation · M J Murdock Charitable Trust · Grousemont Foundation

Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. A research starting point: overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

Government reliance of your grantees

Every dot is one organization Ellison Foundation funds. Left–right is the share of its income from government; up–down is the share from you. Bigger dots raise more. Filter to federal or a single department — and drag the year to watch it move.

2024
202122232425
no gov · 20%6%25%56%100%your share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from governmentmedian 0%
  • High Desert Museum11% of income from government
  • Girls Inc of the Pacific Northwest4% of income from government
  • Migrant Justice Inc0% of income from government
  • Pan-Massachusetts Challenge Inc0% of income from government
  • Wounded Warrior Project Inc0% of income from government
  • The Vermont Community Foundation0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
2get no government money at all
49report 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, FY2025

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 your grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first — a floor, not 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 12–24 months.

05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Ellison Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Ellison 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 directly from IRS e-file XML — your own 990/990-PF and the multi-year returns of the 260 grantees we resolved across every year we hold, several hundred filings in all (a different count from the grant rows on the cover, which are one fiscal year)— each linked to its source. Grantee achievements and outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III); we read these as association with sustained funding — the foundation is one of several forces — suppress low-confidence name matches rather than guess, and say so where a figure rests on a single grant or filing. Not everything on this page is a filed figure, and the difference matters. Filed is what you reported on your 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. How we build these →

Generated from your IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

More from the funding graph