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Iron Rose Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Iron Rose 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.

$72k
Granted FY2024still arriving
7
Grants FY2024still arriving
2
States reached
$40k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0182% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2018 to 2024.

Health$38kArts & Culture$32kYouth Development$14kEducation$13kHuman Services$10kCommunity Improvement$6kEnvironment$5kRecreation & Sports$5kOther$0
02FY2024 · 7 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k5 grants · $17k
  • $10k–50k2 grants · $55k
$5,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$671k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Individual grant recipient$40,000
THE ARTS CAMPUS AT WILLITS$15,000
HOLY CROSS CATTLEMEN'S ASSOCIATION$6,000
ROARNG FORK RANCH ROPING$5,000
THE TREE FUND$2,500
ADVOCATE SAFEHOUSE PROJECT$2,000
COLORADO ANIMAL RESCUE INC$1,500
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 (FY18–21, $8k) land where the poverty rate runs at 8%, 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%ADVOCATE SAFEHOUSE PROJECT: $2k → 8%ADVOCATE SAFEHOUSE PROJECT: $2k → 8%ADVOCATE SAFEHOUSE PROJECT: $2k → 8%ADVOCATE SAFEHOUSE PROJECT: $2k → 8%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.

80%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$236k · 11 repeat orgs$60k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +85% since the first grant, against +52% for those funded once.

11 repeat relationships: 4 still active in FY2024, 7 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

11
10

Total granted

$236k
$48k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+85%
+52%

Still filing today

82%
50%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 83% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $13k went to new ones.

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

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

’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
HealthYouth DevelopmentEducationArts & CultureHuman ServicesRecreation & 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

  • RB
    RIVER BRIDGE REGIONAL CENTER INC
    4× · 2018–2021 · $12k · revenue +34%
  • AS
    ADVOCATE SAFEHOUSE PROJECT
    5× · 2018–2024 · $10k · revenue +119%
  • BB
    Bridging Bionics Foundation
    3× · 2018–2021 · $8k · revenue +133%

Funded once

  • CM
    COLORADO MELANOMA FOUNDATION INCgraduated
    one grant, 2018 · $10k · revenue +32%
  • NC
    NATIONAL COWGIRL MUSEUM AND HALL OF FAME INCgraduated
    one grant, 2019 · $10k · revenue +159%
  • TB
    THE BUDDY PROGRAM INCgraduated
    one grant, 2019 · $10k · revenue +52%
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
Rocky Mountain Wild

Rocky mountain wild works to protect, connect, and restore wildlife and wild lands in the southern rocky mountain region. we work to secure the biodiversity of the mountains, plains, and desert ecosystems of colorado, wyoming, utah, and…

Environment
2
Animal Rescue of the Rockies

Animal Care and Adoption - ARR's mission is to save the lives of homeless and abandoned dogs and cats. Our goal is reaching a no-kill society in the United States.

Animals
3
Colorado Agricultural Leadership Foundation Inc

CALF is dedicated to connecting all people to agriculture through authentic education programs, community projects and leadership opportunities.

Education
4
Colorado Museum of Natural History

Be a catalyst! Ignite our community's passion for nature and science.

Arts & Culture
5
Wild Rockies Field Institute Inc

To broaden the nature of a liberal arts education; teach critical thinking about social & environmental issues; foster understanding of & respect for natural & human communities; & cultivate a sense of place that encourages personal,…

Education
6
Colorado Veterinary Medical Association

To advance veterinary medicine.

—
7
Advocates for Children

To provide, train and coordinate volunteer services to abused and neglected children in the 18th & 23rd Judicial District, Colorado.

Civil Rights
8
Aspen Valley Land Trust

Protecting the open land and special places of the roaring fork and middle colorado river valleys for wildlife, agriculture, and community forever.

Environment
9
Colorado Rural Electric Association

To enhance and advance the interests of its member electric cooperatives through a united effort.

—
10
Advocates for Recovery Colorado

Recovery from addiction is a process of gaining sobriety and contributing to one's family and community as a healthy productive person. AFRC provides peer coach mentoring to individuals in recovery from substance use disorders.

Human Services
11
San Juan Mountains Association

To empower visitors and locals to explore, learn about and protect the spectacular public lands of Southwest Colorado.

Environment
12
Dolores River Boating Advocates

Dolores River Boating Advocates protects and enriches the recreational and ecological values of the Dolores River through advocacy, stewardship and education.

Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Advocate Safehouse Project; the most unlike its peers is Roaring Fork Schools 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

16 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. 16 of the 24 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)
8
Early backer (in before they grew)
16/16
Grantees still filing
12/16
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Individual grant recipient: $108,500 · OtherIndividual grant recipientIndividual grant recipient: $53,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientTHE BUDDY PROGRAM INC: $10,000 · Other+10 more: $33,000 · Other+10 moreTHE ARTS CAMPUS AT WILLITS: $20,000 · Arts & CultureTHE ARTS CA…NATIONAL COWGIRL MUSEUM AND HALL OF FAME INC: $10,000 · Arts & CultureNATIONAL CO…RIVER BRIDGE REGIONAL CENTER INC: $12,000 · HealthRIVER BRI…COLORADO MELANOMA FOUNDATION INC: $10,000 · HealthCOLORADO …SMILING GOAT RANCH INC: $2,000 · HealthSMILING G…Bridging Bionics Foundation: $7,500 · Youth DevelopmentAndy Zanca Youth Empowerment Program: $3,500 · Youth DevelopmentADVOCATE SAFEHOUSE PROJECT: $10,000 · Human ServicesRoaring Fork Schools Foundation: $6,000 · EducationALLIANCE FOR CHOICE IN EDUCATION: $4,000 · EducationSHINING STARS FOUNDATION: $6,000 · Recreation & Sports
Other$204,500Arts & Culture$30,000Health$24,000Youth Development$11,000Human Services$10,000Education$10,000Recreation & Sports$6,000

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

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetTHE ARTS CAMPUS AT WILLITS: $20,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetRIVER BRIDGE REGIONAL CENTER INC: $12,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetNATIONAL COWGIRL MUSEUM AND HALL OF FAME INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetADVOCATE SAFEHOUSE PROJECT: $10,000 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetBridging Bionics Foundation: $7,500 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetSHINING STARS FOUNDATION: $6,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetHOLY CROSS CATTLEMENS ASSOCIATION: $6,000 over 1y, 9.4% of budgetTREE RESEARCH AND EDUCATION ENDOWMENT FUND: $5,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetALLIANCE FOR CHOICE IN EDUCATION: $4,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCASA OF THE NINTH: $3,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetSMILING GOAT RANCH INC: $2,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetColorado Animal Rescue Inc: $1,500 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.

Colorado Gives Founda…Aspen Community Found…Western Colorado Comm…Rocky Mountain Health…Anschutz Family Found…El Pomar FoundationNational Philanthropi…Fidelity Investments …Donor Advised Charita…Amazonsmile Foundation
Colorado Gives FoundationCO24.2× affinity10 shared granteesties to 9 of 9Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Colorado Gives Foundation · Aspen Community Foundation · Western Colorado Community Foundation Inc · Rocky Mountain Health Foundation · Anschutz Family Foundation · El Pomar Foundation · National Philanthropic Trust · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · 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 Iron Rose Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Iron Rose Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%1%3%4%5%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    8report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–5%
    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 24 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 Iron Rose’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