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Good Ventures at a glance

· Public charity

Good Ventures

To help humanity thrive

$99M
Granted FY2018
4
Grants FY2018
3
States reached
$97M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead

Read this first · the figures below need context

98% of Good Ventures’s FY2018 grant dollars went to Silicon Valley Community Foundation, not to grantees.

Its money now reaches organizations through that sponsor, which does not report who recommended each grant. FY2018 names 3 organizations directly, so a portfolio cannot be read from it.

Organizations named directly on the return

12
’17
3
’18

Amber years are those where most dollars went to a sponsor.

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 2018.

Philanthropy$269MInternational$5.0MHealth$3.1MScience & Tech$1.7MFood & Nutrition$1.4MPublic Safety & Disaster$900k
02FY2018 · 4 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$780,000
Median grant
3
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
SILICON VALLEY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION$97,286,600
LIFE SCIENCES RESEARCH FOUNDATION$780,000
MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL$760,000
MULTIDISCIPLINARY ASSOCIATION FOR PSYCHEDELIC STUDIES$500,000
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 (FY17–18) land where the poverty rate runs at 8%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 3% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%PROJECT HEALTHY CHILDREN: $250k → 8%MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL: $760k → 16%SILICON VALLEY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $172.0M → 8%REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY: $1.1M → 10%LIVING GOODS: $250k → 10%MULTIDISCIPLINARY ASSOCIATION FOR PSYCHEDELIC STUDIES: $500k → 13%NEW INCENTIVES: $820k → 14%DRUG POLICY ALLIANCE: $300k → 17%GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: $900k → 14%UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON: $700k → 9%LIFE SCIENCES RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $780k → 19%SILICON VALLEY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $97.3M → 8%REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY: $18k → 10%IDINSIGHT: $2.3M → 10%MULTIDISCIPLINARY ASSOCIATION FOR PSYCHEDELIC STUDIES: $500k → 13%LIFE SCIENCES RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $195k → 19%GIVEWELL: $19k → 10%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
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
International Aids Vaccine Initiative Inc

A nonprofit scientific research organization that develops vaccines and antibodies for hiv, tuberculosis, and emerging infectious diseases.

International
2
MRIGlobal

To improve the lives of people through innovative scientific and engineering research.

Science & Tech
3
International Biomedical Research Alliance

Our mission is to invest in and accelerate the development of the most promising future leaders in biomedical research with global impact.

Health
4
International Food Policy Research Institute

International food policy research institute's (ifpri) vision is a world free of hunger and malnutrition. ifpri's mission is to provide research-based policy solutions that sustainably reduce poverty and end hunger and malnutrition.

Food & Nutrition
5
The California Medical Innovations Institute Inc

The Institute is a scientific research center dedicated to conducting basic and applied research to advance the understanding of human disease and the improvement of human health. The Institute fosters an innovative research environment…

Education
6
Fajr Scientific

To provide multi-specialty surgical care, humanitarian aid and educational support to people in low- and middle-income countries.

Science & Tech
7
Center for Global Development

Reduce global poverty and improve lives through innovative economic research that drives better policy and practice by the world's top decision makers. we focus on the intersection of developing countries and the governments, institutions…

Human Services
8
Global Alliance for Tb Drug Development Inc

Tb alliance is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the discovery, development and delivery of better, faster-acting and affordable tuberculosis drugs that are available to those who need them.

Health
9
Partnersglobal

Partnersglobal (partners) works through a global network to support local leaders and create partnerships that transform conflict, strengthen democratic institutions, and achieve sustainable development.

International
10
Partners in Food Solutions

Improve the food value chain in developing countries by mobilizing corporate volunteers to share knowledge and expertise with small and growing food processors.

International
11
Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research

Foundation for food and agriculture research connects funders, researchers and farmers through public-private partnerships to support audacious research addressing the biggest food and agriculture challenges.

Food & Nutrition
12
International Budget Partnership

Ibp works with civil society, governments, international institutions and the private sector to bring about a world in which empowered citizens participate in open, inclusive public budgeting processes to shape policies and practices that…

International
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Evidence Action; the most unlike its peers is Life Sciences Research 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

11 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. 11 of the 14 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)
1
Early backer (in before they grew)
11/11
Grantees still filing
8/11
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Silicon Valley Community Foundation: $269,286,600 · PhilanthropySilicon Valley Community Foundation+1 more: $18,597 · PhilanthropyEVIDENCE ACTION: $2,642,300 · InternationalID INSIGHT INC: $2,321,617 · InternationalNEW INCENTIVES: $820,000 · InternationalLIVING GOODS: $250,000 · InternationalPROJECT HEALTHY CHILDREN INC: $250,000 · InternationalREGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT BERKELEY: $1,122,259 · OtherLIFE SCIENCES RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $975,000 · OtherMASS GENERAL BRIGHAM INCORPORATED: $760,000 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON: $700,000 · OtherMULTIDISCIPLINARY ASSOCIATION FOR PSYCHEDELIC STUDIES INC: $1,000,000 · HealthDRUG POLICY ALLIANCE: $300,000 · HealthGEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: $900,000 · Education
Philanthropy$269,305,197International$6,283,917Other$3,557,259Health$1,300,000Education$900,000

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 budgetSilicon Valley Community Foundation: $269,286,600 over 2y, 7.1% of budgetEVIDENCE ACTION: $2,642,300 over 1y, 4.1% of budgetID INSIGHT INC: $2,321,617 over 1y, 32% of budgetMULTIDISCIPLINARY ASSOCIATION FOR PSYCHEDELIC STUDIES INC: $1,000,000 over 2y, 9.5% of budgetLIFE SCIENCES RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $975,000 over 2y, 19% of budgetGEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: $900,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetNEW INCENTIVES: $820,000 over 1y, 12% of budgetDRUG POLICY ALLIANCE: $300,000 over 1y, 2.3% of budgetLIVING GOODS: $250,000 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetPROJECT HEALTHY CHILDREN INC: $250,000 over 1y, 19% of budgetTHE CLEAR FUND: $18,597 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.

Silicon Valley Commun…The Clear FundGood Ventures Foundat…Gs Donor Advised Phil…National Philanthropi…Vanguard Charitable E…American Online Givin…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Silicon Valley Community FoundationCA14.5× affinity5 shared granteesties to 9 of 9Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Silicon Valley Community Foundation · The Clear Fund · Good Ventures Foundation · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving 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 Good Ventures funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Good Ventures. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%4%8%11%15%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    1get no government money at all
    4report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–15%
    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 Good Ventures?

    Find your warmest path to Good Ventures 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 14 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 2018, released 2018. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Good Ventures’ 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