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Excellent Schools Washington at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Public charity

Excellent Schools Washington

Our mission is to accelerate the growth and sustainability of high-quality schools in the state of washington that foster equitable access and innovation for families and students who have been systemically underserved.

$6.6M
Granted FY2026still arriving
34
Grants FY2026still arriving
8
States reached
$1.6M
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, FY2024 to 2025.

Education$2.3MCommunity Improvement$525k
02FY2026 · 34 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 34 grants below total $6,410,361, the rows itemized in this filing. The $6,587,257 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $176,896 is giving the schedule does not break out (grants under the $5,000 itemization floor, grants to individuals, grants on other schedules). Every figure below describes the itemized rows only.

By grant size · FY2026

  • $10k–50k11 grants · $323k
  • $50k–250k15 grants · $1.5M
  • $250k+8 grants · $4.5M
$96,873
Median grant
8
States reached
$9.5M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
IMPACT PUBLIC SCHOOLS$1,553,500
WHY NOT YOU ACADEMY$818,000
SPOKANE INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY$612,000
SCHOOLOPS LLC$467,406
BRIDGE PUBLIC SCHOOLS$307,334
TURNERDEV LLC$279,389
CATALYST PUBLIC SCHOOLS$250,500
CEDAR GROVE PUBLIC SCHOOLS$250,000
CAMBIAR EDUCATION$228,000
RAINIER PREP$179,000
MAKSE GROUP LLC$165,000
MARIPOSA CONSULTING GROUP LLC$128,749
PINNACLES PREP CHARTER SCHOOL$114,500
INNOVATION HIGH SCHOOL$113,500
WASHINGTON SPECTRUM SCHOOLS$100,000
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 (FY26–26, $90k) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%HOPELINK: $30k → 9%OPEN DOORS FOR MULTICULTURAL FAMILIES: $30k → 9%REFUGEE WOMEN'S ALLIANCE: $30k → 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

WA
MN
IL
NY
MA
NV
CA
CO
VA
MD
DC
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.

62%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$5.7M · 15 repeat orgs$3.5M to everyone else

15 repeat relationships: 13 still active in FY2026, 2 since wound down; 21 grantees were first funded in FY2026 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

15
8

Total granted

$5.7M
$746k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

0%
+0%

Still filing today

27%
25%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2026, 56% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $2.8M went to new ones.

50%100%’24’25’26
RenewedFirst-time

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

’24’25’26
EducationHuman ServicesArts & CultureCommunity ImprovementHealthOther
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

  • IP
    Impact Public Schools
    2× · 2024–2026 · $1.8M · revenue 0%
  • SL
    SCHOOLOPS LLC
    3× · 2024–2026 · $1.4M
  • SI
    Spokane International Academy
    2× · 2024–2026 · $737k · revenue 0%

Funded once

  • AB
    ALWAYS BE LEARNING INC
    one grant, 2025 · $261k
  • Teach for America Inc
    one grant, 2025 · $250k · revenue 0%
  • CC
    CLARITY CONSULTING GROUP LLC
    one grant, 2024 · $80k
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
Cascades Academy of Central Oregon

Cascades academy is an engaged, vibrant community that weaves challenging academics with experiential learning to inspire socially responsible individuals ready for a diverse and changing world.

Education
2
Puget Sound Community School

Founded in 1994, PSCS is a small, independent middle and high school located in the Chinatown/International District of downtown Seattle. PSCS is committed to co-creating a brave space for community-centered education, critical curriculum,…

—
3
Spruce Street School

Spruce Street School is a nurturing educational community that instills in a broad range of children the social, emotional, and intellectual skills for lifelong participation in a diverse society. We offer kindergarten through fifth grade…

Education
4
Pacific Charter Institute Inc

The mission of PCI is to provide students an individualized educational program based on the academic triad. The teacher parent and student work together to develop a unique program specific to the students needs. Our goal is to equip each…

Education
5
Washington Leadership Academy Public Charter School

Wla combines best practices in teaching and learning, with the latest in educational technology to create an unparalleled high school experience. students will graduate from wla prepared for college, career, and lives of public leadership.

Education
6
The Island School

The Island School provides a flexible learning environment where each child is known and celebrated.

Education
7
Yuba River Charter School

Yuba River Charter School provides K-8 public Waldorf education that nurtures the physical, emotional and intellectual capacities of the child through a developmentally appropriate curriculum. YRCS brings forth the academic, social,…

Education
8
Burien Cooperative Education Project

The Bridge School is a cooperative, multi-age, progressive elementary school program that fosters authentic learning through whole child development.

—
9
The Seattle Academy of Arts & Sciences

Seattle academy is a dynamic community that challenges students to question, imagine, and create in order to contribute to a changing world.

Education
10
Pocatello Community Charter School

Public Education.

Education
11
Sonoma Charter School

Sonoma charter school seeks to achieve academic excellence through engaged learning in a setting that involves students, teachers, and parents.

Education
12
Idaho Science & Technology Charter

Public Education.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Summit Public Schools Washington; the most unlike its peers is Ace Academy. 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

22 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. 22 of the 44 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.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
14
Early backer (in before they grew)
22/22
Grantees still filing
17/22
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Impact Public Schools: $1,803,500 · EducationImpact Public SchoolsCascade Public Schools Why Not You Academy: $818,000 · EducationCascade Public Schools Why Not You AcademySpokane International Academy: $737,000 · EducationSpokane International AcademyCatalyst Public Schools: $291,500 · EducationCatalyst Public SchoolsTeach for America Inc: $250,000 · EducationCAMBIAR EDUCATION: $228,000 · EducationRAINIER PREP: $179,000 · Education+7 more: $481,639 · Education+7 moreSCHOOLOPS LLC: $1,368,506 · OtherSCHOOLOPS LLCTURNERDEV LLC: $528,889 · OtherTURNERDEV LLCBRIDGE PUBLIC SCHOOLS: $307,334 · OtherBRIDGE PUBLIC SCHOOLSALWAYS BE LEARNING INC: $261,000 · OtherALWAYS BE LEARNING INCMARIPOSA CONSULTING GROUP LLC: $256,949 · OtherMARIPOSA CONSULTING GROUP LLCCEDAR GROVE PUBLIC SCHOOLS: $250,000 · OtherCEDAR GROVE PUBLIC SCHOOLSMAKSE GROUP LLC: $165,000 · OtherCATALYST CONNECTIONS LLC: $150,000 · Other+16 more: $977,115 · Other+16 moreOPEN DOORS FOR MULTICULTURAL FAMILIES: $30,000 · Human ServicesRefugee Womens Alliance: $30,000 · Human ServicesHOPELINK: $30,000 · Human ServicesNORTHWEST MARITIME CENTER: $40,000 · Arts & CultureKOREAN COMMUNITY SERVICE CENTER: $30,000 · Community ImprovementFRIENDS OF YOUTH: $30,000 · Health
Education$4,788,639Other$4,264,793Human Services$90,000Arts & Culture$40,000Community Improvement$30,000Health$30,000

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 budgetImpact Public Schools: $1,803,500 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetSpokane International Academy: $737,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetCatalyst Public Schools: $291,500 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetTeach for America Inc: $250,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSUMMIT PUBLIC SCHOOLS WASHINGTON: $55,000 over 1y, 0.3% 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.

Washington State Char…Charter Fund Inc D/B/…Gates FoundationAmazonsmile Foundation
Washington State Charter Schools AssociationWA13.6× affinity4 shared granteesties to 3 of 3Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Washington State Charter Schools Association · Charter Fund Inc D/B/A Charter School Growth Fund · Gates Foundation · 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 Excellent Schools Washington funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Excellent Schools Washington. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    5report 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 Excellent Schools Washington?

    Find your warmest path to Excellent Schools Washington 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 44 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 e-file return for fiscal year 2026, released 2026. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Excellent Schools Washington’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