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Ludlow Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Ludlow Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$40k
Granted FY2025still arriving
11
Grants FY2025still arriving
2
States reached
$8k
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 2025.

Housing & Shelter$103kFood & Nutrition$61kHuman Services$48kHealth$19kCivil Rights$10kReligion$10kYouth Development$6kEducation$3kOther$0
02FY2025 · 11 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$4,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$595k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
WASILLA AREA SENIORS$8,000
TIERRA LEARNING CENTER$5,000
UPPER VALLEY MEND$5,000
GRUB$4,000
REBUILDING TOGETHER THURSTON COUNTY$4,000
HOMES FIRST$4,000
VINE MAPLE PLACE$2,500
ACRES OF DIAMONDS$2,500
PANZA (NEW HORIZON COMMUNITIES)$2,000
BEANS CAFE$2,000
GRIDIRON FOUNDATION$1,000
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 (FY18–25, $44k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, 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%KATIE'S HANDPRINT: $13k → 10%WASILLA AREA SENIORS: $8k → 10%WASILLA AREA SENIORS: $5k → 10%KIDS KUPBOARD: $4k → 10%SAFEPLACE: $2k → 9%KIDS KUPBOARD: $2k → 10%VINE MAPLE PLACE: $3k → 9%VINE MAPLE PLACE: $3k → 9%SAFEPLACE: $2k → 9%INNOVATIONS HUMAN TRAFFICKING COLLABORATIVE: $2k → 9%SAFE PLACE: $1k → 9%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.

67%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$174k · 19 repeat orgs$86k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +52% since the first grant, against +4% for those funded once.

19 repeat relationships: 7 still active in FY2025, 12 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

19
25

Total granted

$174k
$76k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+52%
+4%

Still filing today

68%
40%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 75% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $10k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’23’24’25
Human ServicesHousing & ShelterFood & NutritionHealthPhilanthropyEnvironmentOther
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

  • AO
    Acres of Diamonds
    6× · 2017–2025 · $19k · revenue +242%
  • RT
    REBUILDING TOGETHER THURSTON COUNTY
    7× · 2018–2025 · $16k · revenue +801%
  • FF
    Farms for Life
    5× · 2017–2024 · $13k · revenue +13%

Funded once

  • KH
    KATIE'S HANDPRINTgraduated
    one grant, 2024 · $13k · revenue +101%
  • MV
    MAT-SU VALLEY INTERFAITH HOSPITALITY NETWORK (FAMILY PROMISE)
    one grant, 2021 · $6k
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2021 · $6k
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
House Our Neighbors

House Our Neighbors envisions a future where all people can afford to live and thrive in vibrant, cohesive, and climate resilient communities. To achieve this, we develop, advocate, and mobilize for policy to realize social housing for the…

—
2
Solid Ground Washington

At Solid Ground, we work passionately to end poverty and build a more equitable community. Our services support people experiencing poverty by helping them achieve stability and expand their skills to realize their dreams. And that's just…

Housing & Shelter
3
Recovery Cafe Skagit

Provide a safe, healing, and restorative community that empowers long-term transformation through human connection for those recovering from the trauma of homelessness, addictions, and mental health challenges.

Education
4
Port Angeles Food Bank

Nourishing our community. the port angeles food bank is the main food bank in clallam county, providing food to 13 other area pantries and meal programs as well as providing food to over 5,000 individuals per month.

Food & Nutrition
5
Nourish Pierce County

To provide food to individuals in need with compassion, dignity and respect. No one needing assistance is turned away.

—
6
Transitions

Transitions works to end poverty and homelessness for women and children in Spokane, Washington.

Human Services
7
Westside Interfaith Network

Provide basic goods and services for unsheltered and poor

—
8
Feeding Washington

Create a strong and effective statewide infrastructure that efficiently leverages resources to expand capacity in Washington State's Feeding America network.

Food & Nutrition
9
Washington Housing Alliance Action Fund

The Washington Housing Alliance Action Fund elects candidates, educates voters and decision-makers, and amplifies the voices and priorities of people and communities most impacted by housing instability and homelessness.

Housing & Shelter
10
Queen Anne Helpline

Queen Anne Helpline prevents homelessness and bolsters access to the foundational resources we all need to thrive.

—
11
North West Housing Partnership

Through a fiscally responsible and multi-faceted approach, north west housing partnership nwhp promotes public and private partnerships that create and preserve cost-effective quality diverse housing for low to moderate-income residents…

—
12
Skagit Habitat for Humanity

The organization partners with hard working people in need of affordable housing, by building and renovating houses in an effort to develop permanent, affordable homes for low income families within Skagit County. We also provide volunteer…

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Northwest Harvest Emm; the most unlike its peers is Farms for Life. 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 48 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)
9
Early backer (in before they grew)
24/25
Grantees still filing
16/25
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE SALVATION ARMY: $16,500 · OtherTHE SALVATION ARMYUPPER VALLEY MEND: $10,000 · OtherUPPER VALLEY MENDINTERFAITH WORKS: $10,000 · OtherINTERFAITH WORKSOUR LADY OF THE LAKE CATHOLIC CHURCH: $8,500 · OtherOUR LADY OF THE LAKE CATHOLIC CHURCHYMCA OF THE INLAND NORTHWEST: $7,500 · OtherYMCA OF THE INLAND NORTHWESTMAT-SU VALLEY INTERFAITH HOSPITALITY NETWORK (FAMILY PROMISE): $6,012 · OtherGRUB: $6,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $5,750 · OtherTHE SALVATION ARMY PF SPOKANE - WARMING CENTER: $5,500 · OtherTIERRA LEARNING CENTER: $5,000 · Other+20 more: $42,350 · Other+20 moreKATIE'S HANDPRINT: $13,000 · Human ServicesKATIE'S HANDPRINTWasilla Area Seniors Inc: $13,000 · Human ServicesWasilla Area Seniors…SAFEPLACE: $7,000 · Human ServicesSAFEPLACEKids Kupboard: $6,000 · Human ServicesKids KupboardVINE MAPLE PLACE: $5,000 · Human ServicesVINE MAPLE PLACEInnovations Human Trafficking Collaborative: $2,350 · Human ServicesREBUILDING TOGETHER THURSTON COUNTY: $16,350 · Housing & ShelterREBUILDING …WALLA WALLA ALLIANCE FOR THE HOMELESS: $4,000 · Housing & ShelterWALLA WALLA…THE BANGSUND DWELLING PLACE NFP: $3,000 · Housing & ShelterTHE BANGSUN…Beans Cafe Inc: $2,000 · Housing & ShelterBeans Cafe …+1 more: $500 · Housing & ShelterWest Seattle Food Bank: $8,000 · Food & NutritionFood Bank of Alaska: $6,500 · Food & NutritionGREATER SPOKANE COUNTY MEALS ON WHEELS: $5,000 · Food & NutritionAcres of Diamonds: $18,500 · HealthFarms for Life: $13,000 · PhilanthropyKITCHEN GARDEN PROJECT INC GARDEN-RAISED BOUNTY: $6,850 · EnvironmentHOMES FIRST: $6,350 · Youth Development
Other$123,112Human Services$46,350Housing & Shelter$25,850Food & Nutrition$19,500Health$18,500Philanthropy$13,000Environment$6,850Youth Development$6,350

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

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetAcres of Diamonds: $18,500 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetREBUILDING TOGETHER THURSTON COUNTY: $16,350 over 7y, 3.3% of budgetFarms for Life: $13,000 over 5y, 7.4% of budgetWasilla Area Seniors Inc: $13,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetUPPER VALLEY MEND: $10,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetINTERFAITH WORKS: $10,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetWest Seattle Food Bank: $8,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetSAFEPLACE: $7,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetKITCHEN GARDEN PROJECT INC GARDEN-RAISED BOUNTY: $6,850 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetFood Bank of Alaska: $6,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetHOMES FIRST: $6,350 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetKids Kupboard: $6,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetVINE MAPLE PLACE: $5,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetGREATER SPOKANE COUNTY MEALS ON WHEELS: $5,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetWALLA WALLA ALLIANCE FOR THE HOMELESS: $4,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetNORTHWEST HARVEST EMM: $4,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWest Seattle Helpline: $3,500 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetTHE BANGSUND DWELLING PLACE NFP: $3,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetInnovations Human Trafficking Collaborative: $2,350 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetSOUTH PUGET SOUND HABITAT FOR HUMANITY: $2,350 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetBeans Cafe Inc: $2,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetYWCA of Olympia: $2,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetSidewalk: $2,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetPANZA: $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.

  • Who funds Acres of Diamonds ↗
  • Who funds REBUILDING TOGETHER THURSTON COUNTY ↗
  • Who funds KATIE'S HANDPRINT ↗
  • Who funds Farms for Life ↗
  • Who funds Wasilla Area Seniors Inc ↗
  • Who funds UPPER VALLEY MEND ↗
  • Who funds INTERFAITH WORKS ↗
  • Who funds West Seattle Food Bank ↗
  • Who funds SAFEPLACE ↗
  • Who funds KITCHEN GARDEN PROJECT INC GARDEN-RAISED BOUNTY ↗
  • Who funds Food Bank of Alaska ↗
  • Who funds HOMES FIRST ↗
  • Who funds Kids Kupboard ↗
  • Who funds VINE MAPLE PLACE ↗
  • Who funds GREATER SPOKANE COUNTY MEALS ON WHEELS ↗
  • Who funds WALLA WALLA ALLIANCE FOR THE HOMELESS ↗
  • Who funds NORTHWEST HARVEST EMM ↗
  • Who funds West Seattle Helpline ↗
  • Who funds THE BANGSUND DWELLING PLACE NFP ↗
  • Who funds Innovations Human Trafficking Collaborative ↗
  • Who funds SOUTH PUGET SOUND HABITAT FOR HUMANITY ↗
  • Who funds Beans Cafe Inc ↗
  • Who funds YWCA of Olympia ↗
  • Who funds Sidewalk ↗

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 Community Foundat…The Norcliffe Foundat…Thurston County Econo…Puget Sound Energy Fo…Washington Federal Fo…The Albertsons Compan…Medina FoundationSeattle FoundationDawkins Charitable Tr…Multicare Health Syst…Employees Community F…United Way of Thursto…
The Community Foundation of South Puget SoundWA26× affinity10 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Community Foundation of South Puget Sound · The Norcliffe Foundation · Thurston County Economic Development Cou · Puget Sound Energy Foundation · Washington Federal Foundation · The Albertsons Companies Foundation · Medina Foundation · Seattle Foundation · Dawkins Charitable Trust · Multicare Health System · Employees Community Fund of the Boeing Company · United Way of Thurston County

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 Ludlow Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Ludlow 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%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    9report 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 Ludlow Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Ludlow 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 48 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 Ludlow’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