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Gro Foundation at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Private foundation

Gro Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$133k
Granted FY2024still arriving
11
Grants FY2024still arriving
6
States reached
$40k
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, FY2017 to 2024.

Education$841kInternational$495kReligion$125kAnimals$53kRecreation & Sports$48kFood & Nutrition$12k
02FY2024 · 11 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k6 grants · $30k
  • $10k–50k5 grants · $103k
$7,500
Median grant
6
States reached
$3.3M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Individual grant recipient$40,000
THE AKANKSHA FUND INC$33,000
SAVE THE CHILDREN$10,000
UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO$10,000
COLORADO COLLEGE$10,000
RIVERSIDE PARK CONSERVANCY$7,500
CENTRAL PARK CONSERVANCY$7,500
GREENER BY DEFAULT$5,000
Individual grant recipient$5,000
FAIRFIELD PREP$2,500
WILLAMETTE UNIVERSITY$2,500
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 (FY17–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 16%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 96% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%WILLIAMS COLLEGE: $25k → 12%VIPASSANA MEDITATION CENTER: $100k → 14%AVANTI FELLOWS: $5k → 10%SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA VIPASSANA CENTE: $25k → 14%MERCY FOR ANIMALS: $3k → 14%NORTHERN CALIFORNIA VIPASSANA CENTE: $25k → 17%COALITION HEALTHY SCHOOL FOOD: $3k → 9%HUMANE SOCIETY US: $50k → 14%WILLAMETTE UNIVERSITY: $10k → 14%SAVE THE CHILDREN: $10k → 9%COLORADO COLLEGE: $25k → 9%GREENER BY DEFAULT: $5k → 14%WILLIAMS COLLEGE: $20k → 12%REDUCETARIAN FOUNDATION: $5k → 14%RIVERSIDE PARK CONSERVANCY: $10k → 17%WILLIAMETTE UNIVERSITY: $5k → 14%COLORADO COLLEGE: $10k → 9%UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO: $10k → 14%WILLIAMS COLLEGE: $10k → 12%RIVERSIDE PARK CONSERVANCY: $10k → 17%COLORADO COLLEGE: $10k → 9%UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO: $10k → 14%JOHN DEWEY ACADEMY: $50k → 12%RIVERSIDE PARK CONSERVANCY: $8k → 17%CENTRAL PARK CONSERVANCY: $10k → 17%CENTRAL PARK CONSERVANCY: $8k → 17%THE AKANKSHA FUND INC: $83k → 17%THE AKANKSHA FUND INC: $83k → 17%THE AKANKSHA FUND INC: $83k → 17%THE AKANKSHA FUND INC: $70k → 17%THE AKANKSHA FUND INC: $42k → 17%THE AKANKSHA FUND INC: $38k → 17%THE AKANKSHA FUND INC: $33k → 17%THE AKANKSHA FUND INC: $33k → 17%SPEAK UP AFRICA: $15k → 17%THE SPENCE SCHOOL: $150k → 17%THE SPENCE SCHOOL: $10k → 17%COLLEGIATE SCHOOL: $25k → 17%COLLEGIATE SCHOOL: $10k → 17%COLLEGIATE SCHOOL: $150k → 17%COLLEGIATE SCHOOL: $10k → 17%COLLEGIATE SCHOOL: $10k → 17%AMERICAN INDIA FOUNDATION: $5k → 17%TEACH FOR INDIA: $60k → 17%FRIENDS OF TEACH FOR INDIA: $50k → 17%FRIENDS OF TEACH FOR INDIA: $50k → 17%TEACH FOR INDIA: $48k → 17%TEACH FOR INDIA: $40k → 17%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

IL
NY
MA
OR
CT
CA
CO
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.

81%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.3M · 12 repeat orgs$302k to everyone else

12 repeat relationships: 8 still active in FY2024, 4 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

12
11

Total granted

$1.3M
$282k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+21%
+86%

Still filing today

83%
45%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 85% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $20k 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
EducationInternationalFood & NutritionPublic Safety & DisasterAnimalsEnvironmentOther
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

  • COLLEGIATE SCHOOL INC
    5× · 2017–2023 · $205k · revenue +37%
  • TS
    THE SPENCE SCHOOL
    2× · 2017–2018 · $160k · revenue +12%
  • FO
    FRIENDS OF TEACH FOR INDIA INC
    2× · 2019–2020 · $100k · revenue +193%

Funded once

  • VM
    VIPASSANA MEDITATION CENTER
    one grant, 2017 · $100k
  • HS
    HUMANE SOCIETY US
    one grant, 2017 · $50k
  • JD
    JOHN DEWEY ACADEMY
    one grant, 2020 · $50k
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
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The mission of mit is to advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century.

Education
2
Boston Architectural College

The bac is committed to provide excellence in design education grounded in practice and accessible to diverse communities.

—
3
Columbia College Chicago

The organization's mission is to educate students for creative occupations in diverse fields of arts and media.

Education
4
New York School of Interior Design

New york school of interior design provides the most innovative, immersive, and transformative interior design education in the world, demonstrating the impact of professionally designed interiors on the health, happiness, and well-being…

Education
5
President and Trustees of Bates College

Bates is a college of the liberal arts and sciences, and is a coeducational, nonsectarian, residential college with special commitments to academic rigor, and to assuring in all of its efforts the dignity of each individual, and access to…

Education
6
Wheaton College

Wheaton college provides a transformative liberal arts education, combining theory and practice, for intellectually curious students within a collaborative and vibrant extended community and network that values and strives to create an…

Education
7
Augustana College

Rooted in the liberal arts & sciences & lutheran expression of the christian faith, & is committed to offering a challenging education that develops qualities of mind, spirit, & body necessary for a rewarding life of leadership & service…

Education
8
Manhattanville University

To educate students to be ethical and socially responsible leaders in a global community.

Education
9
Randolph College Inc

See detailed description of organization's primary mission provided on schedule o

Education
10
Columbia College

Columbia college improves lives by providing quality education to both traditional and nontraditional students, helping them achieve their true potential.

Education
11
University of New Haven

The University of New Haven is a student-centered comprehensive university with an emphasis on excellence in liberal arts and professional education. Our mission is to prepare our students to lead purposeful and fulfilling lives in a…

Education
12
The Common Application Inc

The common application is a not-for-profit membership organization of over 1,100 colleges and universities across the globe committed to access, equity, and integrity in the college admission process. every year, over 1.5 million students…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Akanksha Education Fund Inc; the most unlike its peers is Northern California Vipassana Center. 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 26 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)
3
Early backer (in before they grew)
17/17
Grantees still filing
13/17
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

COLLEGIATE SCHOOL INC: $205,000 · EducationCOLLEGIATE SCHOOL INCTHE SPENCE SCHOOL: $160,000 · EducationTHE SPENCE SCHOOLFRIENDS OF TEACH FOR INDIA INC: $100,000 · EducationFRIENDS OF TEACH FOR INDIA INCWilliams College: $55,000 · EducationWilliams CollegeTHE COLORADO COLLEGE: $45,000 · EducationTHE COLORADO COLLEGENorthern California Vipassana Center: $25,000 · Education+2 more: $40,000 · Education+2 moreAKANKSHA EDUCATION FUND INC: $465,166 · InternationalAKANKSHA EDUCATION FUND INC+2 more: $25,000 · InternationalIndividual grant recipient: $148,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientVIPASSANA MEDITATION CENTER: $100,000 · OtherVIPASSANA MEDITATION CENTERHUMANE SOCIETY US: $50,000 · OtherHUMANE SOCIETY USJOHN DEWEY ACADEMY: $50,000 · OtherJOHN DEWEY ACADEMYSOUTHERN CALIFORNIA VIPASSANA CENTE: $25,000 · OtherSOUTHERN CALIFORNIA VIPASSA…+4 more: $15,000 · OtherRIVERSIDE PARK CONSERVANCY INC: $27,500 · EnvironmentCENTRAL PARK CONSERVANCY INC: $20,000 · Recreation & SportsGREENER BY DEFAULT: $5,000 · Food & NutritionREDUCETARIAN FOUNDATION INC: $4,500 · Food & NutritionTHE AMERICAN INDIA FOUNDATION: $5,000 · Public Safety & DisasterMERCY FOR ANIMALS INC: $2,500 · Animals
Education$630,000International$490,166Other$388,000Environment$27,500Recreation & Sports$20,000Food & Nutrition$9,500Public Safety & Disaster$5,000Animals$2,500

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 budgetAKANKSHA EDUCATION FUND INC: $465,166 over 8y, 5.4% of budgetCOLLEGIATE SCHOOL INC: $205,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetTHE SPENCE SCHOOL: $160,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetFRIENDS OF TEACH FOR INDIA INC: $100,000 over 2y, 21% of budgetWilliams College: $55,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE COLORADO COLLEGE: $45,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetRIVERSIDE PARK CONSERVANCY INC: $27,500 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetNorthern California Vipassana Center: $25,000 over 1y, 4.6% of budgetCENTRAL PARK CONSERVANCY INC: $20,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetWILLAMETTE UNIVERSITY: $20,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetUniversity of Chicago: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSPEAK UP AFRICA INC: $15,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetSave The Children Federation Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGREENER BY DEFAULT: $5,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetTHE AMERICAN INDIA FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetREDUCETARIAN FOUNDATION INC: $4,500 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetMERCY FOR ANIMALS INC: $2,500 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.

Vanguard Charitable E…National Philanthropi…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …
Vanguard Charitable Endowment ProgramPA10.2× affinity5 shared granteesties to 3 of 3Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · National Philanthropic Trust · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%2%6%14%25%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 1%
  • Save the Children Federation Inc: 30% of income from government
  • Willamette University: 1% of income from government
  • Williams College: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get 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
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 Gro Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Gro 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 26 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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Gro’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