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Foundation for Tacoma Students at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

Foundation for Tacoma Students

To increase by 50% both the graduation rate of tacoma public schools students and those who complete a college degree or technical certificate.

$1.2M
Granted FY2024still arriving
34
Grants FY2024still arriving
2
States reached
$351k
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 2024.

Education$1.9MYouth Development$1.1MArts & Culture$582kHuman Services$453kHousing & Shelter$312kRecreation & Sports$219kCommunity Improvement$98kCrime & Legal$83kOther$0
02FY2024 · 34 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 34 grants below total $1,006,464, the rows itemized in this filing. The $1,155,842 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $149,378 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 · FY2024

  • Under $10k8 grants · $62k
  • $10k–50k24 grants · $518k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $75k
  • $250k+1 grant · $351k
$17,500
Median grant
2
States reached
$846k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
FIRST 5 FUNDAMENTALS$351,453
BRIGHTSPARK EARLY LEARNING SERVICES$75,000
PACIFIC LUTHERAN UNIVERSITY (V)$49,060
FRANKLIN PIERCE SCHOOL DIST NO 402$43,500
PENINSULA SCHOOL DISTRICT$33,700
THE GAME TIME WAY$30,000
IMAGINE JUSTICE$28,000
RISE CENTER$24,500
NORTHWEST EDUCATION ACCESS$23,500
CLOVER PARK TECHNICAL COLLEGE (V)$22,831
ASIA PACIFIC CULTURAL CENTER (V)$22,500
ENHANCED PREP$22,500
KBTC PUBLIC TELEVISION$20,000
MI CHIANTLA$19,000
PRICELESS INSPIRATION FOUNDATION$19,000
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 (FY17–24, $495k) 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 its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%THE ZONE PROJECT: $8k → 12%THE MULTICULTURAL CENTER: $44k → 9%CHILD CARE RESOURCES: $20k → 9%MULTICULTURAL CHILD AND FAMILY HOPE CNTR: $40k → 9%MULTICULTURAL CHILD AND FAMILY HOPE CNTR: $25k → 9%TACOMA URBAN LEAGUE: $25k → 9%BRIGHTSPARK EARLY LEARNING SERVICES: $75k → 9%YMCA: $25k → 9%RISE CENTER: $25k → 9%YMCA: $20k → 9%CENTRO LATINO: $20k → 9%YMCA: $15k → 9%TACOMA URBAN LEAGUE: $12k → 9%CENTRO LATINO: $5k → 9%TACOMA URBAN LEAGUE: $5k → 9%THE MULTICULTURAL CENTER: $5k → 9%YMCA OF PIERCE AND KITSAP COUNTY: $4k → 9%THE MULITCULTURAL CENTER: $3k → 9%YMCA OF PIERCE AND KITSAP COUNTY: $3k → 9%HOPES AND DREAMS FOUNDATION: $20k → 9%HOPES AND DREAMS FOUNDATION: $5k → 9%THE GAME TIME WAY: $30k → 9%THE GAME TIME WAY: $30k → 9%HOPESPARKS: $25k → 9%OUR SISTERS' HOUSE: $5k → 9%THE REACH CENTER: $3k → 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.

74%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$3.7M · 46 repeat orgs$1.3M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +37% since the first grant, against +24% for those funded once.

46 repeat relationships: 24 still active in FY2024, 22 since wound down; 10 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

46
61

Total granted

$3.7M
$1.2M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+37%
+24%

Still filing today

80%
57%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 86% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $142k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
EducationHuman ServicesArts & CultureYouth DevelopmentPhilanthropyCommunity ImprovementOther
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

  • FF
    FIRST FIVE FUNDAMENTALS
    2× · 2019–2024 · $386k · revenue +235%
  • G
    GREENTRIKE
    5× · 2018–2024 · $276k · revenue +49%
  • TH
    TACOMA HOUSING DEVELOPMENT GROUP
    3× · 2019–2021 · $231k · revenue +272% · 67% of their budget

Funded once

  • TC
    TACOMA COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2020 · $60k · revenue +14%
  • GM
    Greater Metro Parks Foundation dba Tacoma Parks Foundation
    one grant, 2023 · $50k · revenue -20%
  • CO
    CITY OF FIFE
    one grant, 2023 · $48k
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
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,…

—
2
Rainier Scholars

Cultivates the academic potential and leadership skills of underrepresented students. by creating access to opportunities and holistic support, we increase college graduation rates and empower new generations of leaders.

Education
3
Washington Ethnic Studies Now

Washington Ethnic Studies Now WAESN is a multigenerational majority POC-led nonprofit advancing Ethnic Studies and racial justice in Washington. We center people of color build youth-centered leadership and learning and organize…

Education
4
Rainier Beach Cummunity Empowerment Coalition

Rainier Beach Action Coalition is a grassroot, Black-led organization devoted to locally driven development. It promotes quality education, living wage jobs, affordable transportation and housing, and building community capacity in…

Community Improvement
5
Communities in Schools of Puyallup

The mission of communities in schools of puyallup (cisp) is to surround students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life.

Education
6
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
7
Rainier Prep

Rainier prep provides public education to students in grades 5-8 in the highline area near seattle/tacoma. rainier prep seeks to prepare students for college, career readiness, and to become leaders in their communities.

Education
8
Impact Public Schools

The mission of Impact Public Schools is to prepare a diverse student population to succeed in college and impact communities as the next generation of equity-driven, innovative leaders. (Continued on Schedule O)Impact Public Schools makes…

Education
9
University Cooperative School

We take a joyful, community-oriented approach to raising engaged citizens, deep learners, and brave adventurers with the skills, creativity, and heart needed to better the world.

—
10
Foundation for International Understanding Through

FIUTS connects university students with local and global communities through cross-cultural experiences, student leadership, and community connections.

International
11
Seattle JazzED

Through Jazz education that liberates and inspires, Seattle JazzED increase access in the music room, celebrates student expression, and builds lasting connection rooted in community.

Arts & Culture
12
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
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Peace Community Center; the most unlike its peers is Mi Chiantla. 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

85 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. 85 of the 118 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)
19
Early backer (in before they grew)
79/85
Grantees still filing
47/85
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

TACOMA PUBLIC SCHOOLS: $155,640 · OtherTACOMA PUBLIC SCHOOLSFranklin Pierce School District No 402: $125,750 · OtherFranklin Pierce School District No 402ENHANCED PREP: $70,000 · OtherCLOVER PARK TECHNICAL COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $65,331 · OtherPEACE COMMUNITY CENTER: $68,825 · OtherSAFE STREETS CAMPAIGN: $58,000 · Other+54 more: $1,141,716 · Other+54 moreDEGREES OF CHANGE: $375,000 · EducationDEGREES OF CHANGECollege Success Foundation: $121,700 · EducationCollege Success Foundati…R MERLE PALMER MINORITY SCHOLARSHIP: $85,350 · EducationR MERLE PALMER MINORITY …Pacific Lutheran University: $81,185 · EducationPacific Lutheran Univers…HILLTOP ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE: $67,200 · EducationHILLTOP ARTISTS IN RESID…TACOMA COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $60,000 · EducationTACOMA COMMUNITY COLLEGE…NORTHWEST EDUCATION ACCESS: $56,000 · EducationCOMMUNITIES IN SCHOOLS OF TACOMA: $52,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON FOUNDATION: $49,000 · Education+10 more: $136,671 · Education+10 moreGREENTRIKE: $275,860 · Arts & CultureGREENTRIKEAsia Pacific Cultural Center: $104,800 · Arts & CultureAsia Pacific C…TACOMA ARTS LIVE: $56,000 · Arts & CultureTACOMA ARTS LI…SHUNPIKE: $41,481 · Arts & CultureSHUNPIKEKBTC ASSOCIATION: $40,000 · Arts & CultureKBTC ASSOCIATI…Tacoma Urban Performing Arts Center: $40,000 · Arts & CultureTacoma Urban P…TACOMA YOUTH SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION: $24,950 · Arts & CultureTacoma Art Museum: $24,000 · Arts & Culture+4 more: $50,000 · Arts & Culture+4 moreFIRST FIVE FUNDAMENTALS: $386,453 · Youth DevelopmentFIRST FIVE FU…BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF SOUTH PUGET SOUND: $72,750 · Youth DevelopmentBOYS AND GIRL…SCHOOL'S OUT WASHINGTON: $57,382 · Youth DevelopmentSCHOOL'S OUT …BUILD 2 LEAD: $46,500 · Youth DevelopmentBUILD 2 LEADCOMMUNITIES IN SCHOOLS OF PENINSULA: $22,033 · Youth Development+1 more: $18,853 · Youth DevelopmentMULTICULTURAL CHILD AND FAMILY HOPE CENTER: $116,900 · Human ServicesMULTICULTUR…Brightspark Early Learning Services: $95,000 · Human ServicesBrightspark…YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF PIERCE AND KITSAP COUNTIES: $66,250 · Human ServicesYOUNG MEN'S…THE GAME TIME WAY: $60,000 · Human ServicesTHE GAME TI…Tacoma Urban League: $41,750 · Human ServicesTacoma Urba…HOPES AND DREAMS FOUNDATION: $25,000 · Human ServicesHopeSparks: $25,000 · Human ServicesMI CENTRO: $25,000 · Human ServicesBrotherhood Rise Center: $24,500 · Human Services+3 more: $15,750 · Human ServicesTACOMA HOUSING DEVELOPMENT GROUP: $230,500 · Housing & ShelterTHE RESCUE MISSION: $35,000 · Housing & ShelterELEMENTS OF EDUCATION PARTNERS: $65,000 · PhilanthropyWRITE253: $54,000 · PhilanthropyTACOMA COMMUNITY BOAT BUILDERS INC: $35,000 · PhilanthropyUNITED WAY OF PIERCE COUNTY: $25,000 · PhilanthropyUNITED WAY OF THE BLUE MOUNTAINS: $8,000 · PhilanthropyKITSAP COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $8,000 · PhilanthropyInnovative Change Makers: $6,852 · Philanthropy
Other$1,685,262Education$1,084,106Arts & Culture$657,091Youth Development$603,971Human Services$495,150Housing & Shelter$265,500Philanthropy$201,852

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

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetFIRST FIVE FUNDAMENTALS: $386,453 over 2y, 11% of budgetDEGREES OF CHANGE: $375,000 over 3y, 6.3% of budgetGREENTRIKE: $275,860 over 5y, 4.9% of budgetTACOMA HOUSING DEVELOPMENT GROUP: $230,500 over 3y, 67% of budgetCollege Success Foundation: $121,700 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetMULTICULTURAL CHILD AND FAMILY HOPE CENTER: $116,900 over 5y, 1.2% of budgetAsia Pacific Cultural Center: $104,800 over 6y, 3.6% of budgetBrightspark Early Learning Services: $95,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetR MERLE PALMER MINORITY SCHOLARSHIP: $85,350 over 5y, 3.8% of budgetPacific Lutheran University: $81,185 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF SOUTH PUGET SOUND: $72,750 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetPEACE COMMUNITY CENTER: $68,825 over 4y, 2.2% of budgetHILLTOP ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE: $67,200 over 5y, 2.1% of budgetYOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF PIERCE AND KITSAP COUNTIES: $66,250 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetCLOVER PARK TECHNICAL COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $65,331 over 3y, 4.5% of budgetELEMENTS OF EDUCATION PARTNERS: $65,000 over 2y, 6.3% of budgetTACOMA COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $60,000 over 1y, 3.3% of budgetTHE GAME TIME WAY: $60,000 over 2y, 6.3% of budgetSAFE STREETS CAMPAIGN: $58,000 over 3y, 0.9% of budgetSCHOOL'S OUT WASHINGTON: $57,382 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetTACOMA ARTS LIVE: $56,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetNORTHWEST EDUCATION ACCESS: $56,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetPierce County Aids Foundation: $55,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetWRITE253: $54,000 over 3y, 19% of budgetCOMMUNITIES IN SCHOOLS OF TACOMA: $52,000 over 5y, 7.0% of budgetLEADERSHIP FOUNDATIONS: $50,000 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetGreater Metro Parks Foundation dba Tacoma Parks Foundation: $50,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON FOUNDATION: $49,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetBUILD 2 LEAD: $46,500 over 2y, 8.5% of budgetTacoma Urban League: $41,750 over 3y, 1.3% of budgetSHUNPIKE: $41,481 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetKBTC ASSOCIATION: $40,000 over 2y, 1.7% of budgetTacoma Urban Performing Arts Center: $40,000 over 1y, 17% of budgetTACOMA MINISTERIAL ALLIANCE: $37,500 over 1y, 8.1% of budgetTACOMA COMMUNITY BOAT BUILDERS INC: $35,000 over 2y, 1.7% of budgetSCHOLARSHIP FUND FOR RAINIER SCHOLARS: $35,000 over 1y, 11% of budgetTHE RESCUE MISSION: $35,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetBIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS OF PUGET SOUND: $35,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetKROWNLESS KINGS: $30,000 over 2y, 18% of budgetCAMP FIRE: $30,000 over 1y, 19% of budgetHOPES AND DREAMS FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 2y, 21% of budgetUNITED WAY OF PIERCE COUNTY: $25,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetHopeSparks: $25,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetMI CENTRO: $25,000 over 2y, 2.1% of budgetARK INSTITUTE OF LEARNING: $25,000 over 2y, 1.7% of budgetMETROPOLITAN DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetShared Housing Services: $25,000 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetTACOMA YOUTH SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION: $24,950 over 2y, 1.4% 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.

Greater Tacoma Commun…The Bamford FoundationFuchsg & M Fdn TaiSchool's Out Washingt…Kilworth Florence Cha…Woodworth Family Foun…Puget Sound Energy Fo…The Norcliffe Foundat…Gary E Milgard Family…Heidner Marco J Char …Seattle FoundationMedina Foundation
Greater Tacoma Community FoundationWA106.6× affinity53 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Greater Tacoma Community Foundation · The Bamford Foundation · Fuchsg & M Fdn Tai · School's Out Washington · Kilworth Florence Char Tr Fndn · Woodworth Family Foundation · Puget Sound Energy Foundation · The Norcliffe Foundation · Gary E Milgard Family Foundation- Sunshine · Heidner Marco J Char Trust · Seattle Foundation · Medina 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 Foundation for Tacoma Students funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Foundation for Tacoma Students. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • Portland State University Foundation: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
41report 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.

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 118 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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

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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