Skip to content
Helen Close Charitable Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Helen Close Charitable Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$288k
Granted FY2024still arriving
20
Grants FY2024still arriving
2
States reached
$53k
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.

Youth Development$612kEducation$513kAnimals$274kPublic Safety & Disaster$175kHuman Services$138kPhilanthropy$132kArts & Culture$125kHealth$105kOther$0
02FY2024 · 20 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k8 grants · $41k
  • $10k–50k11 grants · $194k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $53k
$10,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$5.6M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
SIERRA NEVADA JOURNEYS$53,250
UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA-RENO FOUNDATION$40,000
SIERRA NEVADA JOURNEYS$25,000
THE EMPOWERMENT CENTER$25,000
EXPERIENCE EDUCATION DBA BRAIN HEALTH LEADERSHIP FOUNDATION$20,000
COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF NORTHERN NEVADA$16,772
HUMANE SOCIETY OF TRUCKEE-TAHOE$15,000
Individual grant recipient$12,500
WALKER BASIS CONSERVANCY$10,000
CANINE REHABILITATION CENTER AND CAT SANCTUARY$10,000
CARE CHEST OF SIERRA NEVADA$10,000
CHANNEL 5 PUBLIC BROADCASTING$10,000
LEAST RESISTANCE TRAINING CONCEPTS INC$8,300
GREAT BASIN COLLEGE FOUNDATION$7,500
WESTERN NEVADA COLLEGE FOUNDATION$7,500
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:

Its human-services grants (FY17–24, $413k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%GOOD SHEPHERD'S CLOTHES CLOSET: $5k → 10%FRIENDS IN SERVICE HELPING EMERGENCY REFERRAL SERVICE: $3k → 13%EMPOWERMENT CENTER: $25k → 10%THE EMPOWERMENT CENTER: $25k → 10%RIDGE HOUSE INC: $15k → 10%RIDGE HOUSE INC: $15k → 10%RIDGE HOUSE INC: $15k → 10%RIDGE HOUSE INC: $15k → 10%AMERICAN RED CROSS OF NORTHERN NEVADA: $100k → 10%DOMESTIC VIOLENCE RESOURCE: $20k → 10%DOMESTIC VIOLENCE RESOURCE CENTER: $15k → 10%DOMESTIC VIOLENCE RESOURCE CENTER: $15k → 10%THE CHILDREN'S CABINET: $15k → 10%DOMESTIC VIOLENCE RESOURCE CENTER: $10k → 10%THE CHILDREN'S CABINET: $10k → 10%DOMESTIC VIOLENCE RESOURCE CENTER: $8k → 10%DOMESTIC VIOLENCE RESOURCE CENTER: $8k → 10%DOMESTIC VIOLENCE RESOURCE CENTER: $5k → 10%SAFE TALKS FOR TEENS: $5k → 10%SAFE TALKS FOR TEEN: $5k → 10%SAFE TALK FOR TEENS: $5k → 10%SAFE TALK FOR TEENS: $5k → 10%ASSISTANCE LEAGUE OF RENO-SPARKS: $15k → 10%ASSISTANCE LEAGUE OF RENO-SPARKS: $15k → 10%ASSISTANCE LEAGUE OF RENO-SPARKS: $15k → 10%ASSISTANCE LEAGUE OF RENO-SPARKS: $10k → 10%ASSISTANCE LEAGUE OF RENO-SPARKS: $10k → 10%GOOD SHEPHERDS CLOTHES CLOSET: $5k → 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
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

87%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.9M · 34 repeat orgs$280k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +55% since the first grant, against +27% for those funded once.

34 repeat relationships: 14 still active in FY2024, 20 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

34
17

Total granted

$1.9M
$235k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+55%
+27%

Still filing today

85%
71%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 83% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $45k 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
Human ServicesAnimalsEducationYouth DevelopmentHealthRecreation & SportsOther
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

  • SN
    SIERRA NEVADA JOURNEYS
    8× · 2017–2024 · $443k · revenue +55%
  • UO
    University of Nevada Reno Foundation
    8× · 2017–2024 · $260k · revenue +35%
  • HS
    HUMANE SOCIETY OF TRUCKEE-TAHOE
    7× · 2017–2024 · $120k · revenue +145%

Funded once

  • AN
    American National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches
    one grant, 2018 · $100k · revenue +9%
  • MV
    MASON VALLEY FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT
    one grant, 2020 · $30k
  • ST
    Sky Tavern Incgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $25k · revenue +59%
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
Healthy Nevada
Health
2
Westcare Nevada Inc

To provide substance abuse prevention & treatment.

Health
3
Nevada Wild Horses

Wild horse protection, preservation, rescue and care work.

Animals
4
Nevada Wildlife Federation

The Nevada Wildlife Federation is the Oldest 501(c)(3) statewide conservation organization dedicated to sustaining Nevada's wildlife through conservation and education.

Animals
5
Community Services of Nevada

CSNV is engaged in comprehensive community development projects that promote neighborhood revitalization and economic development, community education and civic action, housing, development; cultural awareness, equity and

Housing & Shelter
6
Valley Humane SocietyInc

Valley Humane Society (VHS) creates a brighter future for cats and dogs by encouraging and strengthening the bond between people and pets. VHS rescues and rehabilitates companion animals, champions responsible caretaking, shares pets'…

Animals
7
Safe Embrace

Safe Embrace is committed to ending the cycle of domestic and sexual violence with innovative prevention and intervention services. We help victims of domestic abuse, sexual assault, and human trafficking become survivors by providing…

Health
8
Nevada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

Nevada spca saves the lives of southern nevada's most vulnerable pets, inspires human companions to uphold the best possible care and increases the human-animal bond through adoption, foster and preventative care.

Animals
9
Working Dogs of Nevada Rescue

Our mission is to save, rehabilitate and rehome animals which may otherwise be euthanized at shelters due to their behavioural issues.

—
10
Nevada Health Centers Inc

NVHC provides health services throughout the State of Nevada. Health services include OB/GYN, Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, Primary medical, Behavioral Health and dental care services. NVHC operates a mobile mammography clinic, two mobile…

Health
11
Shelter Providers of Southern Nevada Inc Dba Homeaid Southern Nevada

Promote and facilitate the construction of housing for transitionally homeless men, women, and children

—
12
Nevada Casa Association Inc

The organization supports Nevada local CASA programs which recruit, train, retain and deploy volunteers to advocate for abused or neglected children.

Youth Development
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Children's Cabinet Inc; the most unlike its peers is Boys and Girls Club of Mason Valley. 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

46 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. 46 of the 56 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)
17
Early backer (in before they grew)
45/46
Grantees still filing
35/46
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

SIERRA NEVADA JOURNEYS: $443,158 · Youth DevelopmentSIERRA NEVADA JOURNEYSBIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS OF NOTHERN NEVADA INC: $22,600 · Youth Development+2 more: $20,000 · Youth DevelopmentGIRL SCOUTS OF THE SIERRA NEVADA INC: $95,000 · OtherGIRL SCOUTS OF THE SIERRA …THE NEVADA DISCOVERY MUSEUM: $90,000 · OtherTHE NEVADA DISCOVERY MUSEU…WESTERN NEVADA COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $52,500 · OtherWESTERN NEVADA COLLEGE FOU…MASON VALLEY FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT: $30,000 · OtherMASON VALLEY FIRE PROTECTI…WASHOE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT: $28,000 · OtherSPECIAL RECREATION SERVICES INC: $25,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $22,500 · OtherAMERICAN RED CROSS: $22,500 · OtherEXPERIENCE EDUCATION DBA BRAIN HEALTH LEADERSHIP FOUNDATION: $20,000 · OtherCHANNEL 5 PUBLIC BROADCASTING INC: $35,000 · OtherCHANNEL 5 PUBLIC BROADCAST…Sky Tavern Inc: $25,000 · Other+12 more: $84,420 · Other+12 moreAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $100,000 · Human ServicesAmerican National Red…DOMESTIC VIOLENCE RESOURCE CENTER: $80,000 · Human ServicesDOMESTIC VIOLENCE RES…THE 1701 GROUP FKA ASSISTANCE LEAGUE OF RENO-SPARKS: $65,000 · Human ServicesTHE 1701 GROUP FKA AS…RIDGE HOUSE INC: $60,000 · Human ServicesRIDGE HOUSE INCTHE EMPOWERMENT CENTER: $50,000 · Human ServicesTHE EMPOWERMENT CENTE…THE CHILDREN'S CABINET INC: $25,000 · Human ServicesTHE CHILDREN'S CABINE…SAFE TALK FOR TEENS: $20,000 · Human ServicesFAMILY RESPITE CARE OF NEVADA: $15,000 · Human Services+2 more: $12,500 · Human ServicesUniversity of Nevada Reno Foundation: $260,000 · EducationUniversity of Nevada…TRUCKEE MEADOWS COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $65,000 · EducationTRUCKEE MEADOWS COMM…GREAT BASIN COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $40,000 · EducationGREAT BASIN COLLEGE …URBAN ROOTS GARDEN CLASSROOMS: $30,069 · EducationURBAN ROOTS GARDEN C…LEAST RESISTANCE TRAINING CONCEPTS INC: $25,300 · EducationLEAST RESISTANCE TRA…HUMANE SOCIETY OF TRUCKEE-TAHOE: $120,000 · AnimalsHUMANE SOCI…INSTITUTE OF THE RANGE & THE AMERICAN MUSTANG: $70,000 · AnimalsINSTITUTE O…Douglas Animal Welfare Group: $17,500 · AnimalsDouglas Ani…Canine Rehabilitation Center and Cat Sanctuary: $10,000 · Animals+4 more: $17,500 · Animals+4 moreCARE CHEST OF SIERRA NEVADA: $55,000 · HealthNorthern Nevada HIV Outpatient Program Education and Services: $35,000 · HealthQuest Counseling & Consulting Inc: $15,000 · Health+1 more: $2,775 · HealthCommunity Foundation of Northern Nevada: $66,772 · PhilanthropyCOLLEGE OF SOUTHERN NEVADA FOUNDATION INC: $15,000 · Philanthropy
Youth Development$485,758Other$529,920Human Services$427,500Education$420,369Animals$235,000Health$107,775Philanthropy$81,772

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 budgetSIERRA NEVADA JOURNEYS: $443,158 over 8y, 1.6% of budgetUniversity of Nevada Reno Foundation: $260,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetHUMANE SOCIETY OF TRUCKEE-TAHOE: $120,000 over 7y, 2.8% of budgetAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $100,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGIRL SCOUTS OF THE SIERRA NEVADA INC: $95,000 over 6y, 1.4% of budgetTHE NEVADA DISCOVERY MUSEUM: $90,000 over 5y, 0.9% of budgetDOMESTIC VIOLENCE RESOURCE CENTER: $80,000 over 5y, 1.3% of budgetINSTITUTE OF THE RANGE & THE AMERICAN MUSTANG: $70,000 over 4y, 1.8% of budgetCommunity Foundation of Northern Nevada: $66,772 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetTRUCKEE MEADOWS COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $65,000 over 6y, 0.8% of budgetTHE 1701 GROUP FKA ASSISTANCE LEAGUE OF RENO-SPARKS: $65,000 over 5y, 1.6% of budgetRIDGE HOUSE INC: $60,000 over 3y, 0.9% of budgetCARE CHEST OF SIERRA NEVADA: $55,000 over 6y, 0.6% of budgetWESTERN NEVADA COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $52,500 over 8y, 0.8% of budgetTHE EMPOWERMENT CENTER: $50,000 over 2y, 1.5% of budgetGREAT BASIN COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $40,000 over 6y, 0.8% of budgetNorthern Nevada HIV Outpatient Program Education and Services: $35,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCHANNEL 5 PUBLIC BROADCASTING INC: $35,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetURBAN ROOTS GARDEN CLASSROOMS: $30,069 over 2y, 4.3% of budgetLEAST RESISTANCE TRAINING CONCEPTS INC: $25,300 over 3y, 23% of budgetSPECIAL RECREATION SERVICES INC: $25,000 over 5y, 2.1% of budgetSky Tavern Inc: $25,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetTHE CHILDREN'S CABINET INC: $25,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS OF NOTHERN NEVADA INC: $22,600 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetSAFE TALK FOR TEENS: $20,000 over 4y, 3.3% of budgetDouglas Animal Welfare Group: $17,500 over 4y, 9.1% of budgetQuest Counseling & Consulting Inc: $15,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetCOLLEGE OF SOUTHERN NEVADA FOUNDATION INC: $15,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetFAMILY RESPITE CARE OF NEVADA: $15,000 over 2y, 1.6% of budgetJUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF NORTHERN NEVADA: $10,920 over 2y, 1.9% of budgetBOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF TRUCKEE MEADOWS: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetWALKER BASIN CONSERVANCY: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetGOOD SHEPHERD'S CLOTHES CLOSET: $10,000 over 2y, 6.7% of budgetCanine Rehabilitation Center and Cat Sanctuary: $10,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetSOROPTIMIST INTL OF TRUCKEE MEADOWS: $9,500 over 4y, 1.7% of budgetTRUCKEE MEADOWS PARKS FOUNDATION: $7,500 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetNORTH VALLEY ANIMAL DISASTER GROUP: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetNEVADA HUMANE SOCIETY: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetWYLIE ANIMAL RESCUE FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetSOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS OF NORTHERN NV: $5,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetAwaken INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetFood Bank of Northern Nevada Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetProject Help Network: $2,775 over 1y, 2.7% of budgetFRIENDS IN SERVICE HELPING EMERGENCY REFERRAL SERVICE: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAll About Equine Animal Rescue Inc: $2,500 over 1y, 0.5% 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.

NV Energy Charitable …The E L Cord Foundati…Community Foundation …Dermody Properties Fo…Thelma B & Thomas P H…The Nell J Redfield F…Robert Z Hawkins Foun…John Ben Snow Memoria…Renown HealthTahoe Community Found…Peek Family Charitabl…William N Pennington …
NV Energy Charitable FoundationNV60.5× affinity27 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: NV Energy Charitable Foundation · The E L Cord Foundation · Community Foundation of Northern Nevada · Dermody Properties Foundation · Thelma B & Thomas P Hart Foundation · The Nell J Redfield Foundation · Robert Z Hawkins Foundation · John Ben Snow Memorial Tr Uw #839158 · Renown Health · Tahoe Community Foundation · Peek Family Charitable Foundation · William N Pennington 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 Helen Close Charitable Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Helen Close Charitable 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%8%15%22%30%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    19report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–30%
    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 Helen Close Charitable Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Helen Close Charitable 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 56 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 Helen Close’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