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Feather Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Feather Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$44k
Granted FY2025still arriving
6
Grants FY2025still arriving
2
States reached
$10k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0194% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Recreation & Sports$56kHuman Services$47kEnvironment$30kEducation$27kArts & Culture$24kAnimals$6kReligion$6kYouth Development$5kOther$0
02FY2025 · 6 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k4 grants · $24k
  • $10k–50k2 grants · $20k
$7,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$514k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CHATHAM EDUCATION FOUNDATION$10,000
FISHTOWN PRESERVATION SOCIETY INC$10,000
NOAH'S ANIMAL RESCUE CENTER$7,000
BAY HOCKEY ASSOCIATION INC$6,000
Individual grant recipient$6,000
LELAND PUBLIC SCHOOL$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 (FY17–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 8%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 12% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%BAY HOCKEY ASSOCIATION INC: $6k → 7%TRAVERSE BAY ARE YOUTH SOCCER: $8k → 10%CRYSTAL COMMUNITY SKI CLUB: $10k → 10%CHATHAM EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $10k → 9%BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF CENTRAL CAROLINA INC: $5k → 16%NATIONAL WRITERS SERIES: $6k → 7%NOAH'S ANIMAL RESCUE CENTER: $7k → 10%CRYSTAL COMMUNITY SKI CLUB: $10k → 10%CHATHAM EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $10k → 9%TRAVERSE CITY JUNIOR GOLF ASSOCIATION: $5k → 7%TITLE TRACK: $15k → 10%CRYSTAL COMMUNITY SKI CLUB: $5k → 10%PITTSBORO PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH: $6k → 9%TART TRAILS INC: $5k → 7%GRAND TRAVERSE HOCKEY ASSOCIATION: $5k → 10%CHATUM COUNTY SCHOOLS: $5k → 9%MICHAEL'S PLACE: $2k → 7%TRAVERSE BAY ARE YOUTH SOCCER: $4k → 10%GEORGE MOSES HORTON MIDDLE SCHOOL: $4k → 9%LEELANAU COUNTY SOCCER CLUB: $4k → 7%PITTSBORO ELEMENTARY PTA: $1k → 9%LEELANAU CHRISTIAN NEIGHBORS: $11k → 7%LEELANAU CHRISTIAN NEIGHBORS: $10k → 7%LEELANAU CHRISTIAN NEIGHBORS: $9k → 7%LEELANAU CHRISTIAN NEIGHBORS: $5k → 7%LEELANAU CHRISTIAN NEIGHBORS: $5k → 7%WINGS OF WONDER: $6k → 7%LEELANAU CHRISTIAN NEIGHBORS: $5k → 7%INLAND SEAS EDUCATION ASSOCIATION: $5k → 7%INLAND SEAS EDUCATION ASSOCIATION: $5k → 7%FISHTOWN PRESERVATION SOCIETY INC: $10k → 7%FISHTOWN PRESERVATION SOCIETY INC: $10k → 7%FISHTOWN PRESERVATION SOCIETY INC: $5k → 7%LELAND PUBLIC SCHOOL: $5k → 7%LEELANAU CONSERVANCY: $5k → 7%LELAND PUBLIC SCHOOL: $5k → 7%FISHTOWN PRESERVATION SOCIETY INC: $5k → 7%FISHTOWN PRESERVATION SOCIETY INC: $4k → 7%FISHTOWN PRESERVATION: $3k → 7%FISHTOWN PRESERVATION: $2k → 7%LELAND PUBLIC SCHOOL: $2k → 7%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.

60%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$150k · 7 repeat orgs$99k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +132% since the first grant, against +44% for those funded once.

7 repeat relationships: 3 still active in FY2025, 4 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

7
15

Total granted

$150k
$80k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+132%
+44%

Still filing today

71%
67%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 57% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $19k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
Recreation & SportsEnvironmentReligionArts & CulturePhilanthropyYouth DevelopmentOther
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

  • LC
    LEELANAU CHRISTIAN NEIGHBORS INC
    6× · 2017–2023 · $45k · revenue +355%
  • FP
    FISHTOWN PRESERVATION SOCIETY INC
    5× · 2019–2025 · $34k · revenue +132%
  • CC
    CRYSTAL COMMUNITY SKI CLUB
    3× · 2019–2024 · $25k · revenue +222%

Funded once

  • TT
    Title Track
    one grant, 2021 · $15k · revenue -60%
  • TB
    TRAVERSE BAY ARE YOUTH SOCCER
    one grant, 2017 · $8k
  • PP
    PITTSBORO PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
    one grant, 2021 · $6k
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
West Michigan Riptide Athletics Inc

Youth sports

—
2
Michigan State Youth Soccer Assoc

To foster the physical, mental and emotional growth and development of michigan's youth through the sport of soccer by providing the governing structure to administer youth soccer in the state of michigan and to provide information to…

Recreation & Sports
3
Vasa Ski Club

The mission of Vasa Ski Club is to promote access and enjoyment of Nordic skiing through instruction, recreation, and community.

Recreation & Sports
4
Little Traverse Conservancy Conservation Trust

To protect scenic and natural lands in northern Michigan.

—
5
Muskegon Sports Council

Muskegon sports council mission is to provide quality, reliable, year-round recreational sports activities and programs to both muskegon county residents and visitors to the area. to uphold the strict environmental guidelines set forth by…

—
6
Coalition to Protect Michigan Resources

The coalition to protect michigan resources's mission is to be a strong voice for the equitable co-management of michigan's fisheries, with both the great lakes and inland lakes and streams, to insure that conservation principles remain in…

Environment
7
Little Traverse Conservancy Inc

Little Traverse Conservancy protects land in northern Michigan by owning it as Nature Preserves and Working Forest Reserves, and through Conservation Easements (perpetual, voluntary agreements that guard the conservation values of the…

Environment
8
Cold Spring Area Soccer Club
—
9
Top of Michigan Trails Council

We advocate and facilitate the development of a network of multipurpose recreational trails in Northern Lower Michigan.

Recreation & Sports
10
Swedetown Trails Club

Swedetown Trails Club (STC) is dedicated to providing the best trail experiences possible at the Swedetown Recreation Area in Calumet, Michigan. Club members work to connect people to trails, nature, and each other through outdoor…

—
11
Petoskey Youth Soccer Association

Provide youth soccer program for area children.

Recreation & Sports
12
Lake Michigan Sail Racing Federation Inc

Sailing instruction and racing activities

Recreation & Sports
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Traverse City Junior Golf Association; the most unlike its peers is Title Track. 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

17 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. 17 of the 25 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)
10
Early backer (in before they grew)
16/17
Grantees still filing
13/17
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Title Track: $15,000 · OtherTitle TrackLELAND PUBLIC SCHOOL: $12,000 · OtherLELAND PUBLIC SCHOOLTRAVERSE BAY ARE YOUTH SOCCER: $8,000 · OtherTRAVERSE BAY ARE YOUTH SOCCERNOAH'S ANIMAL RESCUE CENTER: $7,000 · OtherNOAH'S ANIMAL RESCUE CENTERPITTSBORO PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH: $6,000 · OtherPITTSBORO PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHIndividual grant recipient: $6,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientTRAVERSE CITY JUNIOR GOLF ASSOCIATION: $5,000 · OtherTRAVERSE CITY JUNIOR GOLF ASSOCIATIONIndividual grant recipient: $5,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientCHATUM COUNTY SCHOOLS: $5,000 · OtherCHATUM COUNTY SCHOOLSTRAVERSE AREA RECREATION & TRANSPORTATION TRAILS INC: $5,000 · OtherTRAVERSE AREA RECREATION & TRANSPORTATIO…Traverse Bay Area Youth Soccer Inc: $4,400 · OtherGEORGE MOSES HORTON MIDDLE SCHOOL: $3,600 · OtherBOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF CENTRAL CAROLINA: $5,000 · OtherBOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF CENTRAL CAROLINA+2 more: $3,100 · OtherLEELANAU CHRISTIAN NEIGHBORS INC: $45,000 · ReligionLEELANAU CHRISTIAN N…CRYSTAL COMMUNITY SKI CLUB: $24,500 · Recreation & SportsCRYSTAL COMMUNITY…BAY HOCKEY ASSOCIATION INC: $6,000 · Recreation & SportsBAY HOCKEY ASSOCI…GRAND TRAVERSE HOCKEY ASSOCIATION: $5,000 · Recreation & SportsGRAND TRAVERSE HO…LEELANAU COUNTY SOCCER CLUB: $4,000 · Recreation & SportsLEELANAU COUNTY S…FISHTOWN PRESERVATION SOCIETY INC: $33,500 · Arts & CultureFISHTOWN PRESER…CHATHAM EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $20,000 · PhilanthropyCHATHAM E…INLAND SEAS EDUCATION ASSOCIATION: $10,000 · EnvironmentLEELANAU CONSERVANCY: $5,000 · EnvironmentWINGS OF WONDER INC: $6,000 · Animals
Other$90,100Religion$45,000Recreation & Sports$39,500Arts & Culture$33,500Philanthropy$20,000Environment$15,000Animals$6,000

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

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetLEELANAU CHRISTIAN NEIGHBORS INC: $45,000 over 6y, 2.1% of budgetFISHTOWN PRESERVATION SOCIETY INC: $33,500 over 5y, 0.9% of budgetCRYSTAL COMMUNITY SKI CLUB: $24,500 over 3y, 8.2% of budgetCHATHAM EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $20,000 over 2y, 3.6% of budgetTitle Track: $15,000 over 1y, 6.0% of budgetINLAND SEAS EDUCATION ASSOCIATION: $10,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetWINGS OF WONDER INC: $6,000 over 1y, 3.0% of budgetBOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF CENTRAL CAROLINA: $5,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetTRAVERSE CITY JUNIOR GOLF ASSOCIATION: $5,000 over 1y, 3.0% of budgetLEELANAU CONSERVANCY: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetGRAND TRAVERSE HOCKEY ASSOCIATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetTRAVERSE AREA RECREATION & TRANSPORTATION TRAILS INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetTraverse Bay Area Youth Soccer Inc: $4,400 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetMICHAEL'S PLACE: $2,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetPittsboro Elementary School PTA: $1,100 over 1y, 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.

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 Art and Mary Schm…Grand Traverse Region…Oleson FoundationHp FoundationLes & Ann Biederman F…Green Brick Foundatio…Rotary Charities of T…Morgan Stanley Global…The Bank of America C…Vanguard Charitable E…Natl Christian Charit…Donor Advised Charita…
The Art and Mary Schmuckal Family FoundationMI17.8× affinity6 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Art and Mary Schmuckal Family Foundation · Grand Traverse Regional Community Foundation · Oleson Foundation · Hp Foundation · Les & Ann Biederman Foundation Inc · Green Brick Foundation Inc · Rotary Charities of Traverse City · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Natl Christian Charitable Fdn Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%13%25%38%50%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
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–50%
    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 Feather Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Feather 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 25 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 Feather’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