Skip to content
Knowles Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Knowles 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.

$5k
Granted FY2025still arriving
1
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$5k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
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.

Environment$243kEducation$212kFood & Nutrition$130kPhilanthropy$126kHealth$64kHousing & Shelter$25kRecreation & Sports$11kCrime & Legal$10kOther$0
02FY2025 · 1 grant

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$5,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$2.3M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
HARMON RECOVERY FUND$5,000
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 (FY21–21, $102k) land where the poverty rate runs at 7%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%SPUR COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $95k → 7%SPUR COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $7k → 7%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.
04

Where the work is directed

The same grants placed two ways: where each recipient sits, and where its stated purpose sends the money.

About 25% of Knowles Family Foundation’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address.

Knowles Family Foundationlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address
How this is measured
Recipient view: each grant at its grantee’s ZIP, mapped to a county. Directed view: each grant at the county its stated purpose names, falling back to the recipient’s county when the purpose names no place; US grants only. A county shows only if it carries the top 95% of that view’s dollars. Purposes are read from the funder’s own 990 grant descriptions.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

30%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$152k · 6 repeat orgs$348k to everyone else

6 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2025, 5 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

6
9

Total granted

$152k
$348k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+1%
+25%

Still filing today

50%
78%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
EnvironmentHealthArts & CultureAnimalsEmploymentMembership 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

  • CO
    CHILDREN OF THE CALIFORNIAS
    2× · 2020–2022 · $75k
  • SL
    ST LUKES WOOD RIVER HOSPITAL FOUNDATION
    2× · 2023–2024 · $29k
  • HR
    HARMON RECOVERY FOUNDATION
    4× · 2017–2021 · $20k · revenue +68%

Funded once

  • WR
    WOOD RIVER LAND TRUST COgraduated
    one grant, 2024 · $201k · revenue +35%
  • CO
    CHILDREDN OF THE CALIFORNIAS
    one grant, 2019 · $55k
  • LD
    LIVING DESERT THEgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $42k · revenue +84%
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
The Jmt Wilderness Conservancy

Working to restore the watersheds, wilderness, and wildlife in the high sierra nevada following the john muir trail (est. 1915) for all life in california.

Environment
2
Usc Arcadia Hospital Foundation

Mission statement the mission of usc arcadia hospital foundation educates and inspires the community to generously support quality medical care at usc arcadia hospital.

Health
3
Sutter Bay Hospitals

MISSION STATEMENT: MISSION: CARING FOR OUR PATIENTS FIRST AND OUR PEOPLE ALWAYS. VISION: TO BE THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE, INTEGRATED AND CONNECTED HEALTH SYSTEM FOR GETTING AND STAYING WELL. VALUES: EXCELLENCE - We deliver high-quality,…

Health
4
Sempervirens Fund

To ensure coast redwood forests in the santa cruz mountains thrive for generations to come. since 1900, sempervirens has protected more than 36,000 acres. learn more about our mission, vision, and strategic plan through 2030 at:…

Environment
5
Nature Collective

Nature collective's mission is to drive a passion for nature for all. we think inclusively and diversely when serving those devoid of nature those who remember nature and want to connect back to it and those who have an affinity with…

Environment
6
California Trout Inc

Caltrout's mission is ensuring healthy water and resilient wild fish for a better california. we share a common vision of a california where healthy waters flow from headwaters to sea. where the diversity and resilience of our waters and…

Animals
7
Teton Regional Land Trust Inc

The mission of the teton regional land trust is to conserve working farms and ranches, fish and wildlife habitat, and scenic open spaces in eastern idaho for this and future generations.

Environment
8
John Muir Health

The mission of john muir is to improve the health of the communities we serve with quality and compassion.

Health
9
Washington Water Trust

Wwt's mission is to protect and restore water in rivers and streams across washington state. washington water trust restores and protects water in rivers and streams and promotes sustainable freshwater management in washington, and, more…

Environment
10
Shasta Land Trust

Conserve the beauty, character, and diversity of significant lands in far northern california. currently shasta land trust holds conservation easements that permanently protect about 66,000 acres of land.

Environment
11
Santa Clara River Conservancy

The Santa Clara River Conservancy represents the diverse interests of the Santa Clara River, from the flood plain to the highest tributaries, and seeks to secure, sustain, and manage significant lands and waters that provide habitat for…

Environment
12
Council for Watershed Health

Council for watershed health advances the health and sustainability of the region's watersheds, rivers, streams, and habitats - in both natural areas and urban neighborhoods - through science-based research, education, and inclusive…

Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is St Luke's Wood River Foundation Inc; the most unlike its peers is Harmon Recovery Foundation. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
05the grantee network

13 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. 13 of the 18 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)
1
Early backer (in before they grew)
13/13
Grantees still filing
10/13
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

WOOD RIVER LAND TRUST CO: $200,532 · EnvironmentWOOD RIVER LAND TRUST COLIVING DESERT THE: $42,365 · EnvironmentLIVING DESERT THETHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $206,695 · EducationTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE…CHILDREN OF THE CALIFORNIAS: $74,866 · OtherCHILDREN OF THE CALIFORNIASCHILDREDN OF THE CALIFORNIAS: $54,932 · OtherCHILDREDN OF THE CALIFORNIASST LUKES WOOD RIVER HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $29,423 · OtherST LUKES WOOD RIVER HOSPITAL…HARMON RECOVERY FUND: $15,000 · OtherHARMON RECOVERY FUNDST LUKE'S WOOD RIVER FOUNDATION INC: $9,500 · Other+6 more: $29,000 · Other+6 moreSPUR COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $101,622 · Human ServicesSPUR COMMUNIT…ARCH COMMUNITY HOUSING TRUST INC: $25,000 · Housing & ShelterDESERT COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $24,582 · PhilanthropyHARMON RECOVERY FOUNDATION: $20,000 · Arts & Culture
Environment$242,897Education$206,695Other$212,721Human Services$101,622Housing & Shelter$25,000Philanthropy$24,582Arts & Culture$20,000

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 budgetTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $206,695 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetWOOD RIVER LAND TRUST CO: $200,532 over 1y, 3.7% of budgetSPUR COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $101,622 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetLIVING DESERT THE: $42,365 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetARCH COMMUNITY HOUSING TRUST INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetDESERT COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $24,582 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetHARMON RECOVERY FOUNDATION: $20,000 over 4y, 2.9% of budgetST LUKE'S WOOD RIVER FOUNDATION INC: $9,500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetSAN DIEGO HUMANE SOCIETY AND SPCA: $7,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetUSSGA MEMORIAL FUND INC: $6,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetHIGHER GROUND USA INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetEisenhower Medical Center: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCHP 11-99 FOUNDATION: $1,000 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.

Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …
Donor Advised Charitable Giving IncCO7.3× affinity4 shared granteesties to 1 of 1Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: 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 Knowles Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Knowles 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%10%20%30%40%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    2report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–40%
    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 18 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 Knowles 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