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Gowest Foundation at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Public charity

Gowest Foundation

Powered by a network of credit unions, we are uniquely positioned to harness and deliver resources that strengthen the financial lives of people and communities operating in arizona, colorado, idaho, oregon, washington and wyoming.

$11M
Granted FY2024still arriving
9
Grants FY2024still arriving
5
States reached
$136k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0196% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Housing & Shelter$667kHuman Services$461kCommunity Improvement$326kScience & Tech$233kPublic Safety & Disaster$139kYouth Development$76kInternational$69kPhilanthropy$59kOther$0
02FY2024 · 9 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 9 grants below total $315,500, the rows itemized in this filing. The $11,253,477 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $10,937,977 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

  • $10k–50k8 grants · $180k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $136k
$20,000
Median grant
5
States reached
$12M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
URBAN LEAGUE$136,000
CLARITY CREDIT UNION$45,000
MAPS COMMUNITY FOUNDATION$37,500
VANTAGE WEST$20,000
MID OREGON FCU$20,000
LEAP CHARITIES$20,000
NATIONAL CREDIT UNION FOUNDATION$15,000
WORLDWIDE FOUNDATION FOR CREDIT UNIONS$12,000
NATIONAL CREDIT UNION FOUNDATION$10,000
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, $434k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 99% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%URBAN LEAGUE: $141k → 12%YMCA: $5k → 9%URBAN LEAGUE OF PORTLAND: $137k → 12%URBAN LEAGUE: $136k → 12%FINANCIAL BEGINNINGS: $10k → 12%FINANCIAL BEGINNINGS: $5k → 12%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
ID
WI
OR
WY
CO
AZ
DC
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.

76%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.7M · 15 repeat orgs$539k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +46% since the first grant, against +5% for those funded once.

15 repeat relationships: 5 still active in FY2024, 10 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

15
21

Total granted

$1.7M
$454k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+46%
+5%

Still filing today

53%
38%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 73% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $85k 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
InternationalHuman ServicesHousing & ShelterPublic BenefitOther
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

  • URBAN LEAGUE OF PORTLAND INC
    3× · 2021–2024 · $414k · revenue +138%
  • CW
    CENTRAL WILLAMETTE CREDIT UNION
    3× · 2018–2021 · $140k · revenue +124%
  • MA
    MARION AND POLK SCHOOLS CREDIT UNION
    3× · 2022–2024 · $113k · revenue +39%

Funded once

  • NF
    NUVISTA FCU
    one grant, 2023 · $100k
  • SC
    SOUND CREDIT UNIONgraduated
    one grant, 2019 · $88k · revenue +85%
  • FC
    Frontier Credit Uniongraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $50k · revenue +35%
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
Credit Unions in the State of Washington

The credit union operated without profit for mutual purposes

—
2
Credit Union of America

Provide lending, savings, and financial services for mutual purpose, including consumer loans, real estate loans, credit cards, savings and certificate accounts, investment options, and multiple methods for member access to their financial…

—
3
Credit Unions in the State of Washington

As a cooperative we bring people together to improve the financial well-being of our members and their communities.

—
4
Credit Unions in the State of Washington

Our mission is is to collaborate with community to create access to financial opportunities. we provide affordable credit union financial services to low and moderate income people in washington state. this enables people in washington to…

—
5
Superior Credit Union Inc

We promise to simplify your life. we promise to work in your best interest. we promise to help you build your financial future. we promise to provide products and services relevant to your needs. we promise to protect your privacy.

Arts & Culture
6
West Community Credit Union

To be our members' lifelong financial partner by truly understanding their stories and delivering smart solutions.

—
7
GreenState Credit Union

GreenState Credit Union exists to create lasting value by strengthening the financial wellbeing of its members and communities. Founded in 1938, the credit union delivers member focused financial services while returning value through…

—
8
Gowest Credit Union Association

Provide products and services to arizona, colorado, idaho, oregon, washington and wyoming credit unions that enable credit unions to better serve their members.

—
9
Credit Unions in the State of California Sierra Central Credit Union

As your financial institution, we pledge to serve you and our community faithfully. we will be friendly, helpful, and professional, and we will provide great products and competitive rates.

—
10
Neighbors Credit Union

Providing awesome member experiences through innovative products, superior service and trusted advice, while strengthening our community with financial education. we are dedicated to the success of our members and employees to ensure we…

—
11
Skyward Credit Union

Provide cooperative financial services to members

—
12
Guardian Credit Union

Guardian credit union is a not-for-profit member owned financial cooperative dedicated to being the member's primary financial institution by providing superior, comprehensive, courteous and prompt services.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Vantage West Credit Union; the most unlike its peers is Urban League of Portland Inc. 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

23 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. 23 of the 39 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)
19/23
Grantees still filing
13/23
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Individual grant recipient: $232,811 · OtherIndividual grant recipientCENTRAL WILLAMETTE CREDIT UNION: $140,000 · OtherCENTRAL WILLAMETTE CREDIT UNIONMID OREGON FCU: $129,157 · OtherMID OREGON FCUMARION AND POLK SCHOOLS CREDIT UNION: $112,863 · OtherMARION AND POLK SCHOOLS CREDIT UNIONPENINSULA COMMUNITY FCU: $111,424 · OtherPENINSULA COMMUNITY FCUCONSOLIDATED COMMUNITY CU: $110,900 · OtherCONSOLIDATED COMMUNITY CUNATIONAL CREDIT UNION FOUNDATION: $107,500 · OtherNATIONAL CREDIT UNION FOUNDATIONIndividual grant recipient: $104,287 · OtherIndividual grant recipientNUVISTA FCU: $100,000 · OtherNUVISTA FCUSOUND CREDIT UNION: $88,000 · OtherSOUND CREDIT UNIONConnections Credit Union: $85,128 · Other+19 more: $308,054 · Other+19 moreURBAN LEAGUE OF PORTLAND INC: $413,500 · Human ServicesURBAN LEAGUE OF PORTL…FINANCIAL BEGINNINGS: $15,000 · Human Services+1 more: $5,000 · Human ServicesWORLDWIDE FOUNDATION FOR CREDIT UNIONS INC: $59,000 · InternationalLEAP CHARITIES INC: $20,000 · InternationalJUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF WASHINGTON: $15,000 · InternationalJUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF OREGON AND SW WASHINGTON INC: $7,500 · InternationalGREATER SPOKANE LOW INCOME HOUSING: $65,000 · Housing & ShelterFrontier Credit Union: $50,000 · Public Benefit
Other$1,630,124Human Services$433,500International$101,500Housing & Shelter$65,000Public Benefit$50,000

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

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetURBAN LEAGUE OF PORTLAND INC: $413,500 over 3y, 1.1% of budgetCENTRAL WILLAMETTE CREDIT UNION: $140,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetMARION AND POLK SCHOOLS CREDIT UNION: $112,863 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetNATIONAL CREDIT UNION FOUNDATION: $107,500 over 6y, 0.4% of budgetSOUND CREDIT UNION: $88,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetConnections Credit Union: $85,128 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetGREATER SPOKANE LOW INCOME HOUSING: $65,000 over 2y, 39% of budgetWORLDWIDE FOUNDATION FOR CREDIT UNIONS INC: $59,000 over 5y, 0.7% of budgetFrontier Credit Union: $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCLARITY CREDIT UNION: $45,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetFINANCIAL BEGINNINGS OREGON: $45,000 over 3y, 2.7% of budgetCREDIT UNION WEST: $45,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetIcon Credit Union: $21,125 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetLEAP CHARITIES INC: $20,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetVANTAGE WEST CREDIT UNION: $20,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetJUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF WASHINGTON: $15,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetFINANCIAL BEGINNINGS: $15,000 over 2y, 1.9% of budgetGLOBAL CREDIT UNION: $13,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetJUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF IDAHO INC: $10,500 over 1y, 4.1% of budgetJUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF OREGON AND SW WASHINGTON INC: $7,500 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetYOUNG WOMENS CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF SEATTLE-KING COUNTY-SNOHOMISH COUNTY: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCREDIT UNIONS IN THE STATE OF WASHINGTON: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% 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.

Credit Unions in the …Umpqua Bank Charitabl…Wells Fargo FoundationOnpoint Community Cre…First Interstate Banc…Washington Federal Fo…Marie Lamfrom Charita…National Credit Union…Opus Community Founda…M J Murdock Charitabl…The Oregon Community …Jpmorgan Chase Founda…
Credit Unions in the State of WashingtonWA17.3× affinity6 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Credit Unions in the State of Washington · Umpqua Bank Charitable Foundation · Wells Fargo Foundation · Onpoint Community Credit Union · First Interstate BancSystem Foundation Inc · Washington Federal Foundation · Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation Trust · National Credit Union Foundation · Opus Community Foundation · M J Murdock Charitable Trust · The Oregon Community Foundation · Jpmorgan Chase 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 Gowest Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Gowest Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 40%3%10%23%40%funder's share of their income ↑0%13%25%38%50%share of the org’s income from government →median 2%
  • Urban League of Portland Inc: 33% of income from government
  • Central Willamette Credit Union: 2% of income from government
  • Financial Beginnings: 1% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
4get no government money at all
1report 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.

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 39 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