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· Private foundation

Ernest L and Ruth W Finley Foundation

Its FY2022 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$270k
Granted FY2022
1
Grants FY2022
1
States reached
$270k
Largest
01What you fundRead
02The needRead
03Your edgeRead
04Your fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
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 FY2017–2022.

Health$5.5MHuman Services$3.3MArts & Culture$2.7MEducation$1.7MHousing & Shelter$1.6MReligion$1.0MYouth Development$950kPhilanthropy$500kOther$0
02FY2022 · 1 grant

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

$270,262
Median grant
1
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Angela Merici John Henry Newman Fou$270,262
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 (FY17–20, $850k) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of your grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%YWCA of Sonoma County: $100k → 9%Becoming Independent: $500k → 9%Canine Companions for Independence: $100k → 9%Canine Companions for Independence: $100k → 9%Canine Companions for Independence: $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.

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.

65%of every dollar goes to organizations you’ve funded before.
$12M · 19 repeat orgs$6.5M to everyone else

19 repeat relationships — 1 still active in FY2022, 18 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

19
25

Total granted

$12M
$6.5M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+51%
+74%

Still filing today

68%
48%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2022, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’22
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’22
Human ServicesEducationArts & CultureYouth DevelopmentFood & NutritionPhilanthropyOther

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

  • LB
    LUTHER BURBANK MEMORIAL FOUNDATION
    2× · 2017–2020 · $875k · revenue +48%
  • CO
    COMMITTEE ON THE SHELTERLESS
    3× · 2017–2020 · $790k · revenue +158%
  • SR
    SANTA ROSA SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION
    4× · 2017–2020 · $310k · revenue +51%

Funded once

  • CC
    Catholic Charities-Diocese of Santa
    one grant, 2020 · $2.0M
  • WF
    Wells Fargo Center for the Arts
    one grant, 2017 · $1.0M
  • BI
    Becoming Independentgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $500k · revenue +32%

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
Sonoma Botanical Garden
—
2
Sonoma Applied Village Services

Address the homeless crisis in California.

Housing & Shelter
3
Sonoma Mountain Institute
Environment
4
Homes for California Dba Homes for Sonoma

Homes for Sonoma is a nonprofit developer creating quality workforce housing options that support safe and sustainable community, and finds efficient, scalable solutions to address the housing crisis in Sonoma County and throughout…

Housing & Shelter
5
Solano Affordable Housing Foundation
Housing & Shelter
6
Council on Aging Services for Seniors

To enhance the quality of life for our aging community by providing services that promote wellbeing and maintain independence.

—
7
Community Housing Sonoma County

Community Housing Sonoma County creates supportive housing communities for people living with disabling conditions, especially veterans.

Housing & Shelter
8
Casa of Solano County

Advocates for abused, neglected and other identified children within the court system, with the belief that every child is entitled to a safe and stable home.

Civil Rights
9
Sutter Bay Hospitals

MISSION STATEMENT: MISSION: CARING FOR OUR PATIENTS FIRST AND OUR PEOPLE ALWAYS. VISION: TO BE THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE, INTEGRATED AND CONNECTED HEALTH SYSTEM FOR GETTING AND STAYING WELL. VALUES: EXCELLENCE - We deliver high-quality,…

Health
10
Sonoma Ecology Center

The Mission of Sonoma Ecology Center is to work with our community to enhance and sustain ecological health in the Sonoma valley.

Environment
11
Sonoma Valley Health & Recreation Association

Sonoma Valley Health and recreation Association (Sonoma Splash) is dedicated to providing a sustainable state of the art multi-use aquatic and recreation facility accessible to all Sonoma Valley residents for aquatic education and safety,…

Recreation & Sports
12
Sonoma Overnight Support Inc

Provided food to people in need in Sonoma Valley, CA, both housed and homeless, measured by the number of meals served and pantry goods provided.

Housing & Shelter

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Redwood Empire Food Bank and the most unlike its peers is Elsie Allen High School 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

26 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 2017–2025, not grant rows in a single year — so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 26 of the 44 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.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
10
Early backer (in before they grew)
25/26
Grantees still filing
19/26
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

SANTA ROSA MEMORIAL HOSPITAL — $5,000,000 · OtherSANTA ROSA MEMORIAL HOSPITALAngela Merici John Henry Newman Fou — $2,270,262 · OtherAngela Merici John Henry Newman FouCatholic Charities-Diocese of Santa — $2,000,000 · OtherCatholic Charities-Diocese of SantaWells Fargo Center for the Arts — $1,000,000 · OtherWells Fargo Center for the ArtsLUTHER BURBANK MEMORIAL FOUNDATION — $875,000 · OtherLUTHER BURBANK MEMORIAL FOUNDATIONCOMMITTEE ON THE SHELTERLESS — $790,000 · Other+25 more — $3,510,000 · Other+25 moreBecoming Independent — $500,000 · Human ServicesTHE CERES COMMUNITY PROJECT — $287,340 · Human ServicesCANINE COMPANIONS FOR INDEPENDENCE INC — $250,000 · Human ServicesForget Me Not Childrens Services — $100,000 · Human ServicesTHE YOUNG WOMEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF SONOMA COUNTY — $100,000 · Human ServicesREDWOOD CREDIT UNION COMMUNITY FUND INC — $500,000 · PhilanthropyFree to Be — $250,000 · Youth DevelopmentDemeo Teen Club Inc — $200,000 · Youth DevelopmentSANTA ROSA SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION — $310,000 · Arts & CultureMUSEUM OF SONOMA COUNTY — $50,000 · Arts & CultureElsie Allen High School Foundation — $250,000 · EducationLITERACYWORKS — $85,000 · EducationSANTA ROSA COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS — $300,000 · Health
Other$15,445,262Human Services$1,237,340Philanthropy$500,000Youth Development$450,000Arts & Culture$360,000Education$335,000Health$300,000

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 budgetSANTA ROSA MEMORIAL HOSPITAL — $5,000,000 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetLUTHER BURBANK MEMORIAL FOUNDATION — $875,000 over 2y, 4.7% of budgetCOMMITTEE ON THE SHELTERLESS — $790,000 over 3y, 10% of budgetBecoming Independent — $500,000 over 1y, 3.6% of budgetREDWOOD CREDIT UNION COMMUNITY FUND INC — $500,000 over 1y, 8.6% of budgetSANTA ROSA SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION — $310,000 over 4y, 2.5% of budgetSANTA ROSA COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS — $300,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetCourt Appointed Special Advocates — $295,000 over 4y, 13% of budgetTHE CERES COMMUNITY PROJECT — $287,340 over 4y, 3.0% of budgetCANINE COMPANIONS FOR INDEPENDENCE INC — $250,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetFree to Be — $250,000 over 4y, 74% of budgetPEP Housing — $250,000 over 1y, 7.3% of budgetHUMANE SOCIETY OF SONOMA COUNTY — $200,000 over 1y, 3.9% of budgetDemeo Teen Club Inc — $200,000 over 3y, 12% of budgetWomens Recovery ServicesA Unique Place — $200,000 over 2y, 10% of budgetREDWOOD EMPIRE FOOD BANK — $150,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetForget Me Not Childrens Services — $100,000 over 4y, 7.6% of budgetTHE YOUNG WOMEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF SONOMA COUNTY — $100,000 over 1y, 4.1% of budgetCommunity Support Network — $100,000 over 1y, 2.9% of budgetLITERACYWORKS — $85,000 over 1y, 25% of budgetSonoma County Regional Parks Foundation — $60,000 over 2y, 4.8% of budgetMUSEUM OF SONOMA COUNTY — $50,000 over 1y, 2.9% of budgetFOOD FOR THOUGHT — $30,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetSonoma County Library Foundation — $25,000 over 1y, 12% of budgetFISH OF THE SANTA ROSA AREA INC — $10,000 over 1y, 4.0% 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.

Sonoma County Communi…Sonoma County Vintner…McNabb FoundationThe Heck FoundationBothin FoundationThe William G Irwin C…Marin Community Found…Exchange Bank Foundat…Codding FoundationSonoma Valley Vintner…Trione FoundationKaiser Foundation Hos…
Sonoma County Community FoundationCA50.5× affinity22 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Sonoma County Community Foundation · Sonoma County Vintners Foundation · McNabb Foundation · The Heck Foundation · Bothin Foundation · The William G Irwin Charity Foundation · Marin Community Foundation · Exchange Bank Foundation · Codding Foundation · Sonoma Valley Vintners & Growers Foundation · Trione Foundation · Kaiser Foundation Hospitals

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 Ernest L and Ruth W Finley 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
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%5%19%42%75%your share of their income ↑0%6%13%19%25%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    10report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–25%
    typical government reliance, FY20–25

    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 Ernest L and Ruth W Finley Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Ernest L and Ruth W Finley 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 44 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 2022, released 2022. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    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