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Karl Friedman Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Karl Friedman Family Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$233k
Granted FY2025still arriving
4
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$127k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead

Read this first · the figures below need context

98% of Karl Friedman Family Foundation’s FY2025 grant dollars went to Rose Community Foundation, not to grantees.

Its money now reaches organizations through that sponsor, which does not report who recommended each grant. FY2025 names 2 organizations directly, so a portfolio cannot be read from it.

Organizations named directly on the return

15
’17
4
’18
0
’19
0
’20
0
’21
0
’22
0
’23
2
’24
2
’25

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 2025.

Philanthropy$1.7MPublic Benefit$43kEducation$42kCivil Rights$25kEnvironment$24kHuman Services$13kSocial Science$9kHealth$6kOther$0
02FY2025 · 4 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k2 grants · $6k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $227k
$100,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$3.6M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
ROSE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION$127,000
ASPEN COMMUNITY FOUNDATION$100,000
DENVER HEALTH FOUNDATION$5,000
CHILDRENS HOSPITAL FOUNDATION$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 (FY17–17, $3k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 97% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%COMMUNITY SHARING: $75 → 8%WOMEN'S FOUNDATION OF COLORADO: $3k → 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.
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.

19%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$32k · 3 repeat orgs$139k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +36% since the first grant, against +33% for those funded once.

3 repeat relationships: 0 still active in FY2025, 3 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

3
20

Total granted

$32k
$134k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+36%
+33%

Still filing today

100%
70%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 0% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $6k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’24’25
Civil RightsPublic BenefitEducationCommunity ImprovementHealthRecreation & 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

  • BC
    BICYCLE COLORADO
    2× · 2017–2018 · $20k · revenue +31%
  • TY
    The YESS Institute
    2× · 2017–2018 · $12k · revenue +77%
  • MICHIGAN HUMANE SOCIETY
    2× · 2017–2018 · $150 · revenue +36%

Funded once

  • AA
    All Americans Vote
    one grant, 2024 · $25k · revenue 0%
  • SOUTHERN VISION ALLIANCE
    one grant, 2024 · $25k · revenue 0%
  • NE
    New Era Colorado Foundationgraduated
    one grant, 2018 · $15k · revenue +76%
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
Colorado Museum of Natural History

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

Arts & Culture
2
Aia Colorado

AIA Colorado,is the voice of the architecture profession in Colorado. Through advocacy, leadership development, education and resources for architects, the organization supports architecture professionals in designing a better world where…

—
3
Colorado Legal Services

To provide meaningful access to high quality, civil legal services in the pursuit of justice for as many low income persons and members of vulnerable populations throughout colorado as possible.

Crime & Legal
4
Center for Nonprofit Excellence

The Center for Nonprofit Excellence strengthens Southern Colorado's nonprofit sector through leadership and resource development, advocacy and collaboration. Together, with our partners, we are co-creating a vibrant community in the Pikes…

—
5
Colorado Health Network Inc
Health
6
Colorado Jobs With Justice Inc

Advance workers rights & social justice through building sustained relationships and taking direct action to create concrete change in the lives of working families

Employment
7
Colorado Fiscal Institute

To provide timely, credible and accessible analyses of fiscal and economic issues facing colorado to inform public policy debates and promote economic prosperity

Community Improvement
8
Colorado Association of School Executives

Empower colorado education leaders through advocacy, professional learning and networking to deliver on the promise of public education

—
9
Colorado State University Foundation

See schedule o colorado state university foundation assists in the promotion, development, and enhancement of facilities and educational programs and enhancements of faculty, students, and alumni of colorado state university (csu). this is…

Education
10
Barton Institute for Community Action

The barton institute supports leaders and their communities who are working to develop and foster places for opportunity, connection, and belonging in metro denver.

Philanthropy
11
Colorado Concern

Promote common business interests of its members, including improving the business climate and the economy of the state of colorado.

Community Improvement
12
Arapahoe County Early Childhood Council Inc

Services provided in arapahoe county colorado related to early childhood education intervention issues.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Colorado Gives Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Donnell-Kay Foundation 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

25 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. 25 of the 31 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)
7
Early backer (in before they grew)
25/25
Grantees still filing
19/25
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE DENVER FOUNDATION: $897,000 · PhilanthropyTHE DENVER FOUNDATIONASPEN COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $490,000 · PhilanthropyASPEN COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONRose Community Foundation: $287,000 · PhilanthropyRose Community Foundation+3 more: $41,400 · PhilanthropyAll Americans Vote: $25,000 · Civil RightsNew Era Colorado Foundation: $15,000 · Civil RightsCONSERVATION COLORADO: $10,000 · Civil RightsBICYCLE COLORADO: $20,100 · EducationRISE COLORADO: $10,000 · EducationHIGH LINE CANAL CONSERVANCY: $12,500 · OtherAFRICAN COMMUNITY CENTER: $10,000 · OtherDENVER HEALTH AND HOSPITALS FOUNDATION: $5,000 · OtherTHE WOMEN'S FOUNDATION OF COLORADO INC: $2,500 · OtherTHE COLORADO NONPROFIT DEVELOPMENT CENTER: $2,000 · Other+11 more: $3,375 · OtherSOUTHERN VISION ALLIANCE: $25,000 · Public BenefitNew Leaders Council: $2,500 · Public BenefitThe YESS Institute: $12,000 · Recreation & SportsTHE ASPEN INSTITUTE INC: $9,000 · Social Science
Philanthropy$1,715,400Civil Rights$50,000Education$30,100Other$35,375Public Benefit$27,500Recreation & Sports$12,000Social Science$9,000

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 budgetTHE DENVER FOUNDATION: $897,000 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetASPEN COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $490,000 over 5y, 0.6% of budgetRose Community Foundation: $287,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetHOPEWELL FUND: $30,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAll Americans Vote: $25,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetSOUTHERN VISION ALLIANCE: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetBICYCLE COLORADO: $20,100 over 2y, 1.3% of budgetNew Era Colorado Foundation: $15,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetHIGH LINE CANAL CONSERVANCY: $12,500 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetThe YESS Institute: $12,000 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetDONNELL-KAY FOUNDATION INC: $10,000 over 1y, 2.7% of budgetCONSERVATION COLORADO: $10,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetRISE COLORADO: $10,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetTHE ASPEN INSTITUTE INC: $9,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNew Leaders Council: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE COLORADO NONPROFIT DEVELOPMENT CENTER: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCOLORADO GIVES FOUNDATION: $1,400 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetENVIRONMENTAL LEARNING FOR KIDS: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMICHIGAN HUMANE SOCIETY: $150 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCOLORADO NONPROFIT ASSOCIATION: $125 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican Heart Association Inc: $100 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.

The Colorado Health F…The Denver FoundationColorado Gives Founda…Rose Community Founda…Xcel Energy FoundationMile High United Way …Silicon Valley Commun…The Blackbaud Giving …National Philanthropi…Vanguard Charitable E…American Online Givin…Donor Advised Charita…
The Colorado Health FoundationCO21.3× affinity8 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Colorado Health Foundation · The Denver Foundation · Colorado Gives Foundation · Rose Community Foundation · Xcel Energy Foundation · Mile High United Way Inc · Silicon Valley Community Foundation · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · National Philanthropic Trust · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%3%5%8%10%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    5report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–10%
    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 31 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 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Karl Friedman Family’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