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Empty Cages Forever Charitable Trust at a glance

· Private foundation

Empty Cages Forever Charitable Trust

Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$315k
Granted FY2025still arriving
20
Grants FY2025still arriving
9
States reached
$45k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0198% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2021 to 2025.

Animals$1.5MOther$0
02FY2025 · 20 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k7 grants · $27k
  • $10k–50k13 grants · $288k
$16,000
Median grant
9
States reached
$4.2M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Almost Home Wellness Center$45,000
The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust USA$40,000
No Dogs Left Behind Inc$30,000
Muva Rufferz Rescue Inc$25,000
Home for Good Dog Rescue Inc$22,000
Big Oaks Rescue Farm$20,000
Paws of War Inc$20,000
Friends of Screven County Animals$18,000
Helping Hands Humane Society Inc$17,000
Palmetto Animal Welfare Services Inc$16,000
Sweet Onion Animal Protection Society$15,000
No Trouble at All Animal Outreach$10,000
Keeper Of the Wild Wildlife Rescue$10,000
Peaceful Fields Sanctuary$5,000
Big Dog Haven Inc$5,000
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY21–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 60% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%Four Paws International Inc: $25k → 16%The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust USA: $50k → 10%Paws of War Inc: $30k → 7%No Dogs Left Behind Inc: $40k → 17%The Sato Project Inc: $50k → 20%No Trouble at All Animal Outreach: $10k → 12%Almost Home Wellness Center: $45k → 17%Big Oaks Rescue Farm: $35k → 18%Keeper Of the Wild Wildlife Rescue: $10k → 20%Always and Furever Midwest Animal: $10k → 7%Friends of Screven County Animals: $18k → 19%Helping Hands Humane Society Inc: $24k → 20%Sweet Onion Animal Protection Society: $16k → 21%Home for Good Dog Rescue Inc: $35k → 10%Peaceful Fields Sanctuary: $10k → 7%PETS WITH DISABILITIES: $20k → 5%Four Paws International Inc: $25k → 16%The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust USA: $50k → 10%Paws of War Inc: $30k → 7%No Dogs Left Behind Inc: $40k → 17%The Sato Project Inc: $25k → 20%Almost Home Wellness Center: $20k → 17%Big Oaks Rescue Farm: $30k → 18%Muva Rufferz Rescue Inc: $25k → 32%FRIENDS OF SCREVEN: $18k → 19%Helping Hands Humane Society Inc: $17k → 20%Sweet Onion Animal Protection Society: $16k → 21%Home for Good Dog Rescue Inc: $22k → 10%The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust USA: $40k → 10%Paws of War Inc: $20k → 7%No Dogs Left Behind Inc: $30k → 17%Almost Home Wellness Center: $20k → 17%Big Oaks Rescue Farm: $20k → 18%Friends of Screven County Animals: $18k → 19%Helping Hands Humane Society Inc: $17k → 20%Sweet Onion Animal Protection Society: $15k → 21%Home for Good Dog Rescue Inc: $20k → 10%The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust USA: $40k → 10%Paws of War Inc: $20k → 7%No Dogs Left Behind Inc: $30k → 17%FRIENDS OF SCREVEN: $15k → 19%Helping Hands Humane Society Inc: $14k → 20%Sweet Onion Animal Protection Society: $13k → 21%The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust USA: $40k → 10%Paws of War Inc: $20k → 7%No Dogs Left Behind Inc: $30k → 17%Helping Hands Humane Society Inc: $12k → 20%Sweet Onion Animal Protection Society: $12k → 21%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

NY
MA
NJ
CT
CA
VA
MD
KS
TN
SC
GA
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.

97%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.5M · 29 repeat orgs$48k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +11% since the first grant, against -22% for those funded once.

29 repeat relationships: 18 still active in FY2025, 11 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

29
3

Total granted

$1.5M
$13k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+11%
-22%

Still filing today

69%
33%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 89% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $35k went to new ones.

50%100%’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’21’22’23’24’25
AnimalsEducationOther
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

  • TD
    THE DAVID SHELDRICK WILDLIFE TRUST USA INC
    5× · 2021–2025 · $220k · revenue +183%
  • PO
    PAWS OF WAR INC
    5× · 2021–2025 · $120k · revenue +73%
  • HF
    Home For Good Dog Rescue Inc
    3× · 2023–2025 · $78k · revenue +2%

Funded once

  • CR
    CANINE RESCUE
    one grant, 2022 · $10k · revenue -22%
  • MC
    Marion County Animal Shelter
    one grant, 2021 · $2k
  • CB
    Cotton Branch Farm Animal Sanctuary
    one grant, 2023 · $1k
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
Raskels Rescue
Animals
2
Pets Without Partners

Find homes for homeless/abandoned dogs. Provide full vet car and housing while awaiting adoption,

Animals
3
St Clouds Rescue
Animals
4
Hope Fur Paws Rescue

To help injured, abandoned and unwanted animals. We provide food, vet care that includes heartworm prevention and spay or neuter services, shelter and anything else needed.

Animals
5
Paws Animal Rescue Center

To help rescue unwanted pets

Animals
6
Forgotten Tails Animal Rescue Inc

Saving dogs

Animals
7
Where the Wild Things Are Rescue in

The rescue and rehabilitation of canines.

Animals
8
Animal Rescue and Adoption Agency Inc

An animal rescue/adoption Agency. Rescued animals are from kill shelters or owner surrenders facing hardship then rehabbed/medical completed while in foster care then adopted into loving homes.

Animals
9
Shelters and Shelves Rescue Inc

foster based dog rescue working with shelters to save dogs

Animals
10
Gone to the Dogs Rescue Inc

Animal rescue

Animals
11
Adoptable Paws Rescue Inc

House unwanted abandoned domestic animal

—
12
Anas Safe Haven Rescue Inc

Animal Welfare

Animals
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is No Dogs Left Behind Inc; the most unlike its peers is Four Paws International 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

21 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. 21 of the 34 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.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
3
Early backer (in before they grew)
21/21
Grantees still filing
11/21
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE DAVID SHELDRICK WILDLIFE TRUST USA INC: $220,000 · AnimalsTHE DAVID SHELDRICK WILDLIFE TRUST USA INCNO DOGS LEFT BEHIND INC: $170,000 · AnimalsNO DOGS LEFT BEHIND INCPAWS OF WAR INC: $120,000 · AnimalsPAWS OF WAR INCBIG OAKS RESCUE FARM: $85,000 · AnimalsBIG OAKS RESCUE FARMAlmost Home Wellness Center: $85,000 · AnimalsAlmost Home Wellness CenterHome For Good Dog Rescue Inc: $77,500 · AnimalsHome For Good Dog Rescue IncTHE SATO PROJECT: $75,000 · AnimalsTHE SATO PROJECTSWEET ONION ANIMAL PROTECTION SOCIETY: $72,000 · AnimalsSWEET ONION ANIMAL PROTECTION SOCIETYFOUR PAWS INTERNATIONAL INC: $50,000 · Animals+10 more: $205,000 · Animals+10 moreHELPING HANDS HUMANE SOCIETY INCORPORATED: $84,000 · OtherHELPING HANDS HUMANE SOC…PALMETTO ANIMAL WELFARE SERVICES INC: $70,000 · OtherPALMETTO ANIMAL WELFARE …Always and Furever Midwest Animal: $35,000 · OtherAlways and Furever Midwe…Individual grant recipient: $33,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipie…NO TROUBLE AT ALL ANIMAL OUTREACH: $30,000 · OtherNO TROUBLE AT ALL ANIMAL…MUVA RUFFERZ RESCUE INC: $25,000 · OtherMUVA RUFFERZ RESCUE INCMUTTS AND MITTENS MANOR: $12,000 · OtherJENKINS COUNTY K-9-1-1 RESCUE: $12,000 · Other+5 more: $24,500 · Other+5 moreDOGS DESERVE BETTER INC: $20,000 · EducationCANINE RESCUE: $10,000 · Education
Animals$1,159,500Other$325,500Education$30,000

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

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetTHE DAVID SHELDRICK WILDLIFE TRUST USA INC: $220,000 over 5y, 0.6% of budgetNO DOGS LEFT BEHIND INC: $170,000 over 5y, 2.9% of budgetPAWS OF WAR INC: $120,000 over 5y, 0.9% of budgetBIG OAKS RESCUE FARM: $85,000 over 3y, 21% of budgetAlmost Home Wellness Center: $85,000 over 3y, 9.8% of budgetHome For Good Dog Rescue Inc: $77,500 over 3y, 2.3% of budgetTHE SATO PROJECT: $75,000 over 2y, 1.8% of budgetSWEET ONION ANIMAL PROTECTION SOCIETY: $72,000 over 5y, 11% of budgetFOUR PAWS INTERNATIONAL INC: $50,000 over 2y, 1.4% of budgetFRIENDS OF SCREVEN COUNTY ANIMALS: $36,000 over 2y, 39% of budgetPeaceful Fields Sanctuary Corporation: $35,000 over 5y, 9.4% of budgetPets With Disabilities Inc: $28,000 over 2y, 3.4% of budgetBIG DOG HAVEN INC: $25,000 over 5y, 2.6% of budgetALL BASSETS CHERISHED BASSET HOUND RESCUE INC: $25,000 over 5y, 3.2% of budgetDOGS DESERVE BETTER INC: $20,000 over 2y, 1.8% of budgetGUARDIANS OF RESCUE INC: $20,000 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetReleash Atlanta Inc: $10,000 over 2y, 1.8% of budgetBYRAM ANIMAL RESCUE KINDNESS SQUAD INC: $10,000 over 2y, 3.4% of budgetCAT AROUND TOWN PROJECT: $10,000 over 3y, 3.2% of budgetCANINE RESCUE: $10,000 over 1y, 4.5% of budgetHASTYS HAVEN INC: $6,000 over 3y, 2.0% 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.

  • Who funds THE DAVID SHELDRICK WILDLIFE TRUST USA INC ↗
  • Who funds NO DOGS LEFT BEHIND INC ↗
  • Who funds PAWS OF WAR INC ↗
  • Who funds BIG OAKS RESCUE FARM ↗
  • Who funds Almost Home Wellness Center ↗
  • Who funds Home For Good Dog Rescue Inc ↗
  • Who funds THE SATO PROJECT ↗
  • Who funds SWEET ONION ANIMAL PROTECTION SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds FOUR PAWS INTERNATIONAL INC ↗
  • Who funds FRIENDS OF SCREVEN COUNTY ANIMALS ↗
  • Who funds Peaceful Fields Sanctuary Corporation ↗
  • Who funds Pets With Disabilities Inc ↗
  • Who funds BIG DOG HAVEN INC ↗
  • Who funds ALL BASSETS CHERISHED BASSET HOUND RESCUE INC ↗
  • Who funds DOGS DESERVE BETTER INC ↗
  • Who funds GUARDIANS OF RESCUE INC ↗
  • Who funds Releash Atlanta Inc ↗
  • Who funds BYRAM ANIMAL RESCUE KINDNESS SQUAD INC ↗
  • Who funds CAT AROUND TOWN PROJECT ↗
  • Who funds CANINE RESCUE ↗
  • Who funds HASTYS HAVEN INC ↗

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.

Paypal Charitable Giv…Network for GoodAbbVie FoundationVerizon FoundationThe Pfizer Foundation…The Bank of America C…National Philanthropi…Vanguard Charitable E…American Online Givin…Donor Advised Charita…Amazonsmile FoundationFidelity Investments …
Paypal Charitable Giving FundDC11.7× affinity12 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Paypal Charitable Giving Fund · Network for Good · AbbVie Foundation · Verizon Foundation · The Pfizer Foundation Inc · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Amazonsmile Foundation · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund

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 Empty Cages Forever Charitable Trust funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Empty Cages Forever Charitable Trust. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 40%3%10%23%40%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
    4get no government money at all
    1report 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.

    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 34 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 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Empty Cages Forever’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