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Ellison Foundation at a glance

· 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 it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2024.

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

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

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
SUN VALLEY TOUR DE FORCE$100,000
VINE MAPLE PLACE$100,000
UNITED WAY OF KING COUNTY$100,000
SEATTLE CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION$100,000
BROTHERS FOR LIFE$100,000
SEATTLE UNIVERSITY$50,000
SALVATION ARMY$50,000
VISION HOUSE$50,000
CAMP KOREY$50,000
NORTHWEST EDUCATION ACCESS$50,000
KIDVANTAGE$50,000
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 (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. Its 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%VISION HOUSE: $15k → 9%BELLEVUE LIFESPRING: $25k → 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%KIDVANTAGE: $50k → 9%ELIZABETH GREGORY HOME: $15k → 9%KIDVANTAGE: $50k → 9%EASTSIDE BABY CORNER: $50k → 9%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

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

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

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +24% since the first grant, against 0% for those 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
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

  • 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
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
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
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Make-a-Wish Foundation of Alaska & Washington; 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.
04the grantee network

143 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. 143 of the 260 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.

2
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
22
Early backer (in before they grew)
141/143
Grantees still filing
83/143
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and 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…SAINT FRANCES CABRINI CHARITABLE SERVICES: $100,000 · Human ServicesSAINT FRANCES …INTREPID EVENTS INC: $100,000 · Human ServicesINTREPID EVENT…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 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%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's 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 budgetSeattle Children's Foundation: $300,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetNORTHWEST EDUCATION ACCESS: $300,000 over 5y, 3.4% 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 budgetSAINT FRANCES CABRINI CHARITABLE SERVICES: $100,000 over 1y, 25% of budgetINSTITUTE FOR MEDIA ANALYSIS INC: $100,000 over 2y, 14% of budgetMONTPELIER DOWNTOWN COMMUNITY ASSOC: $100,000 over 1y, 9.0% of budgetFIND VENTURES CO: $100,000 over 1y, 12% of budgetINTREPID EVENTS INC: $100,000 over 1y, 15% 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 budgetFAMILY LAW CASA OF KING COUNTY: $65,000 over 5y, 1.7% of budgetRAINIER ATHLETES: $65,000 over 5y, 2.2% of budgetBOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF KING COUNTY: $60,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetLifeWire: $60,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetCONGREGATIONS FOR THE HOMELESS: $60,000 over 2y, 0.6% 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 budgetVENTURES: $55,000 over 4y, 0.6% of budgetEASTSIDE LEGAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM: $55,000 over 4y, 0.8% of budgetDEGREES OF CHANGE: $50,000 over 4y, 0.7% of budgetCOYOTE CENTRAL: $50,000 over 1y, 3.5% of budgetGlobal Impact: $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSPUR COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetLITTLE BIT THERAPEUTIC RIDING CENTER: $50,000 over 5y, 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 Norcliffe Foundat…Seattle FoundationPuget Sound Energy Fo…Moccasin Lake Foundat…United Way of King Co…Medina FoundationCredit Unions in the …Aven FoundationLucky Seven FoundationHarnish FoundationM J Murdock Charitabl…Grousemont Foundation
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

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • High Desert Museum: 11% of income from government
  • Girls Inc of the Pacific Northwest: 4% of income from government
  • Migrant Justice Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Pan-Massachusetts Challenge Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Wounded Warrior Project Inc: 0% of income from government
  • The Vermont Community Foundation: 0% 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, 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 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 from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 260 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 Ellison’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