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Erickson Family Charitable Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Erickson Family Charitable Foundation

Its FY2020 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$2.1M
Granted FY2020
17
Grants FY2020
5
States reached
$1.2M
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 2020.

Education$1.7MArts & Culture$455kSocial Science$310kCivil Rights$270kCrime & Legal$235kPublic Benefit$230kEnvironment$155kInternational$50kOther$0
02FY2020 · 17 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2020

  • Under $10k1 grant · $8k
  • $10k–50k7 grants · $92k
  • $50k–250k8 grants · $815k
  • $250k+1 grant · $1.2M
$50,000
Median grant
5
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
LA JOLLA AQUATIC COMPLEX FOUNDATION$1,200,000
FOUNDATION FOR INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS IN$150,000
AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE$150,000
THE FEDERALIST SOCIETY$125,000
THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION$110,000
LA JOLLA HISTORICAL SOCIETY$100,000
KAHN ACADEMY$80,000
TRANSCENDENCE THEATRE COMPANY$50,000
LA JOLLA HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI ASSOCIA$50,000
WHITE BUFFALO LAND TRUST$25,000
DIRECT RELIEF$17,000
UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII FOUNDATION$10,000
Individual grant recipient$10,000
SONOMA LAND TRUST$10,000
SONOMA ECOLOGY CENTER$10,000
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 (FY17–20) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 78% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%FOUNDATION FOR INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS IN: $150k → 22%GLEN ELLEN KEENWOOD ROTARY FOUNDATI: $20k → 9%LA JOLLA AQUATIC COMPLEX FOUNDATION: $1.2M → 11%GLEN HELEN FORUM: $10k → 14%CATALINA ISLAND CONSERVANCY: $20k → 14%WHITE BUFFALO LAND TRUST: $25k → 14%UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII FOUNDATION: $10k → 9%AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE: $150k → 14%ST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITA: $15k → 17%THE FEDERALIST SOCIETY: $125k → 9%HARBOR HISTORY MUSEUM: $50k → 9%FOUNDATION FOR INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS IN: $80k → 22%SONOMA LAND TRUST: $10k → 9%LA JOLLA AQUATIC COMPLEX FOUNDATION: $250k → 11%CATALINA ISLAND CONSERVANCY: $10k → 14%UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII FOUNDATION: $10k → 9%THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION: $110k → 14%THE FEDERALIST SOCIETY: $70k → 9%HARBOR HISTORY MUSEUM: $20k → 9%FOUNDATION FOR INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS IN: $20k → 22%SONOMA LAND TRUST: $10k → 9%LA JOLLA AQUATIC COMPLEX FOUNDATION: $50k → 11%CATALINA ISLAND CONSERVANCY: $10k → 14%UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII FOUNDATION: $10k → 9%THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION: $80k → 14%THE FEDERALIST SOCIETY: $20k → 9%HARBOR HISTORY MUSEUM: $20k → 9%FOUNDATION FOR INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS IN: $20k → 22%SONOMA LAND TRUST: $10k → 9%LA JOLLA HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI ASSOCIA: $50k → 11%MIKEROWEWORKS FOUNDATION: $10k → 14%DIRECT RELIEF: $17k → 14%AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE: $80k → 14%THE FEDERALIST SOCIETY: $20k → 9%FOSS WATERWAY SEAPORT: $20k → 9%SONOMA LAND TRUST: $10k → 9%DIRECT RELIEF: $15k → 14%AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE: $40k → 14%FOSS WATERWAY SEAPORT: $20k → 9%TRANSCENDENCE THEATRE COMPANY: $50k → 9%AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE: $40k → 14%TRANSCENDENCE THEATRE COMPANY: $50k → 9%THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION: $20k → 14%TRANSCENDENCE THEATRE COMPANY: $25k → 9%THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION: $20k → 14%SONOMA ECOLOGY CENTER: $20k → 9%TRANSCENDENCE THEATRE COMPANY: $15k → 9%SONOMA COUNTY REGIONAL PARKS FOUNDA: $20k → 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.
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.

94%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$3.3M · 19 repeat orgs$218k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +125% since the first grant, against +89% for those funded once.

19 repeat relationships: 13 still active in FY2020, 6 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2020 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

19
4

Total granted

$3.3M
$53k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+125%
+89%

Still filing today

84%
50%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2020, 92% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $165k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20
EducationEnvironmentHealthArts & CultureYouth DevelopmentSocial ScienceOther
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

  • LJ
    LA JOLLA AQUATIC COMPLEX FOUNDATION
    3× · 2018–2020 · $1.5M · revenue +71% · 59% of their budget
  • AE
    AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY RESEARCH
    4× · 2017–2020 · $310k · revenue +0%
  • THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION
    4× · 2017–2020 · $230k · revenue +63%

Funded once

  • SC
    Sonoma County Regional Parks Foundation
    one grant, 2017 · $20k · revenue -100%
  • GE
    GLEN ELLEN KEENWOOD ROTARY FOUNDATI
    one grant, 2017 · $20k
  • TL
    THE LAND TRUST FOR SANTA BARBARA
    one grant, 2019 · $8k
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
Aquarium of the Pacific Corporation

The aquarium of the pacific's mission is to instill a sense of wonder, respect, and stewardship for the pacific ocean, its inhabitants, and ecosystems.

Animals
2
United States Naval Institute

Provide an independent forum for those who dare to read, think, speak, and write to advance the professional, literary, and scientific understanding of sea power and other issues critical to global security.

—
3
The Trust for Public Land

The trust for public land creates parks and protects land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come. in the past year, we helped communities to plan for parks and conservation, fund parks and conservation,…

Environment
4
Santa Lucia Conservancy

To protect and steward in perpetuity the unique natural, cultural, and asthetic resources of the preserve and serve as a model of ecologically sustainable development to committees outside the preserve.

Environment
5
California Ocean Science Trust

California ocean science trust (ost) is a non-profit organization dedicated to accelerating progress towards a healthy and productive ocean future for california. created by state legislation, ost bridges the gap between cutting-edge…

Environment
6
The Union of Concerned Scientists Inc

The union of concerned scientists puts rigorous, independent science into action, developing solutions and advocating for a healthy, safe, and just future.

International
7
The Water Research Foundation

The purpose of the water research foundation (wrf) is a definitive research organization to advance the science of all things water to better meet the evolving needs of its subscribers and the water sector. to engage exclusively in…

Environment
8
Uc Santa Barbara Foundation

The uc santa barbara foundation actively works to further the goals of the university of california, santa barbara. the foundation seeks to maintain and nurture the university's quality and distinction. on behalf of the campus, the…

Education
9
Uhiwai O Haleakala

The mission of the corporation shall be to work with partners to protect and restore native ecosystems and watersheds, to improve the quality and quantity of freshwater resources to perpetuate hawaiian cultural resources and practices, to…

Environment
10
Ucla Foundation

The ucla foundation is the giving, receiving, and investing arm of the ucla campus. the foundation enables private donors to help build, sustain and advance one of the world's finest academic and research institutions. private philanthropy…

Education
11
Sustainable Conservation

Sustainable Conservation advances the collaborative stewardship of Californias land, air, and water for the benefit of nature and people. For over three decades, Sustainable Conservation has built coalitions of people with different…

Environment
12
Los Angeles Conservancy

The los angeles conservancy is a nonprofit membership organization that works through education and advocacy to recognize, preserve, and revitalize the historic architectural and cultural resources of los angeles county.

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Heritage Foundation; the most unlike its peers is La Jolla Aquatic Complex Foundation. 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

20 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. 20 of the 27 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)
10
Early backer (in before they grew)
20/20
Grantees still filing
18/20
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

LA JOLLA AQUATIC COMPLEX FOUNDATION: $1,500,000 · EducationLA JOLLA AQUATIC COMPLEX FOUNDATIONKHAN ACADEMY INC: $80,000 · Education+1 more: $30,000 · EducationFOUNDATION FOR INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS IN: $270,000 · OtherFOUNDATION FOR INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS…THE FEDERALIST SOCIETY: $235,000 · OtherTHE FEDERALIST SOCIETYLa Jolla Historical Society: $175,000 · OtherLa Jolla Historical SocietyGIG HARBOR PENINSULA HISTORICAL SOC: $90,000 · OtherGIG HARBOR PENINSULA HISTORICAL …LA JOLLA HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI ASSOCIA: $50,000 · OtherSANTA CATALINA ISLAND CONSERVANCY: $40,000 · Other+10 more: $160,500 · Other+10 moreAMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY RESEARCH: $310,000 · Social ScienceAMERICAN …THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION: $230,000 · Public BenefitTRANSCENDENCE THEATRE COMPANY: $140,000 · Arts & CultureFOSS WATERWAY SEAPORT: $50,000 · Arts & CultureSonoma Ecology Center: $50,000 · EnvironmentSONOMA LAND TRUST: $40,000 · EnvironmentWHITE BUFFALO LAND TRUST: $25,000 · EnvironmentDIRECT RELIEF: $49,500 · International
Education$1,610,000Other$1,020,500Social Science$310,000Public Benefit$230,000Arts & Culture$190,000Environment$115,000International$49,500

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

25%50%75%100%$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetLA JOLLA AQUATIC COMPLEX FOUNDATION: $1,500,000 over 3y, 59% of budgetAMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY RESEARCH: $310,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetTHE HERITAGE FOUNDATION: $230,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetLa Jolla Historical Society: $175,000 over 4y, 26% of budgetTRANSCENDENCE THEATRE COMPANY: $140,000 over 4y, 2.6% of budgetGIG HARBOR PENINSULA HISTORICAL SOC: $90,000 over 3y, 5.2% of budgetKHAN ACADEMY INC: $80,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetFOSS WATERWAY SEAPORT: $50,000 over 3y, 2.0% of budgetSonoma Ecology Center: $50,000 over 4y, 0.9% of budgetDIRECT RELIEF: $49,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetSANTA CATALINA ISLAND CONSERVANCY: $40,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetSONOMA LAND TRUST: $40,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF HAWAII FOUNDATION: $30,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetWHITE BUFFALO LAND TRUST: $25,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $22,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSonoma County Regional Parks Foundation: $20,000 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetMIKEROWEWORKS FOUNDATION: $20,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetWilderness Youth Project Inc: $12,500 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetBLADDER CANCER ADVOCACY NETWORK INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% 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.

Marin Community Found…National Philanthropi…Vanguard Charitable E…American Endowment Fo…Donor Advised Charita…American Online Givin…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Marin Community FoundationCA12.9× affinity4 shared granteesties to 7 of 7Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Marin Community Foundation · National Philanthropic Trust · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · American Endowment Foundation · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile 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 Erickson Family Charitable Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Erickson Family Charitable Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%4%15%34%60%funder's share of their income ↑0%10%20%30%40%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    1get no government money at all
    7report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–40%
    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 27 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 2020, released 2020. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Erickson Family’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