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· Private foundation

Nancy Webb Ruskin 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.

$81k
Granted FY2025still arriving
21
Grants FY2025still arriving
6
States reached
$16k
Largest
01What it funds
0192% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Animals$238kEnvironment$100kArts & Culture$93kFood & Nutrition$60kRecreation & Sports$58kInternational$56kHealth$44kHousing & Shelter$20kOther$0
02FY2025 · 21 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k19 grants · $54k
  • $10k–50k2 grants · $28k
$2,000
Median grant
6
States reached
$1.2M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
SAN FRANCISCO ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY$15,500
KQED$12,000
MONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM$8,000
ALAMEDA COUNTY FOOD BANK$6,000
ST JUDE'S CHILDRENS HOSP$6,000
NATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION$5,000
SPECIAL OLYMPICS$3,000
Individual grant recipient$3,000
DOCTOR'S WITHOUT BORDERS$3,000
ABODE SERVICES$2,500
CA STATE PARKS FOUDATION$2,000
CENTRAL CA FOOD BANK$2,000
SAVE THE CHILDREN$2,000
WORLD WILDLIFE FOUNDATION$2,000
MEALS ON WHEELS ALAMEDA COUNTY$2,000
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 96% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%SPECIAL OLYMPICS: $4k → 9%MONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM: $8k → 12%DOCTOR'S WITHOUT BORDERS: $3k → 17%HEIFER INTERNATIONAL: $3k → 17%SAVE THE CHILDREN: $3k → 9%ST JUDE'S CHILDRENS HOSP: $6k → 17%SPECIAL OLYMPICS: $3k → 9%MONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM: $8k → 12%ST JUDE'S CHILDRENS HOSP: $5k → 17%MONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM: $8k → 12%ST JUDE'S CHILDRENS HOSP: $5k → 17%MONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM: $8k → 12%NATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION: $5k → 14%ST JUDE'S CHILDRENS HOSP: $5k → 17%SAN FRANCISCO ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $28k → 10%MONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM: $8k → 12%NATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION: $4k → 14%ST JUDE'S CHILDRENS HOSP: $5k → 17%SAN FRANCISCO ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $26k → 10%MONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM: $8k → 12%NATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION: $4k → 14%ST JUDE'S CHILDRENS HOSP: $5k → 17%SAN FRANCISCO ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $25k → 10%MONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM: $8k → 12%NATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION: $4k → 14%ST JUDE'S CHILDRENS HOSP: $5k → 17%SAN FRANCISCO ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $25k → 10%MONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM: $8k → 12%NATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION: $4k → 14%ST JUDE'S CHILDRENS HOSP: $4k → 17%SAN FRANCISCO ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $25k → 10%MONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM: $8k → 12%ST JUDE'S CHILDRENS HOSP: $4k → 17%SAN FRANCISCO ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $25k → 10%SAN FRANCISCO ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $25k → 10%SAN FRANCISCO ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $25k → 10%SAN FRANCISCO ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $16k → 10%CA STATE PARKS FOUDATION: $4k → 10%CA STATE PARKS FOUDATION: $4k → 10%KQED: $12k → 10%KQED: $8k → 10%KQED: $8k → 10%KQED: $8k → 10%KQED: $8k → 10%KQED: $8k → 10%KQED: $8k → 10%KQED: $7k → 10%KQED: $7k → 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.

Which US states its grants reach

NY
SD
IA
CT
CA
AR
TN
DC
GA
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.

99%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$727k · 30 repeat orgs$6k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +52% since the first grant, against +46% for those funded once.

30 repeat relationships: 18 still active in FY2025, 12 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

30
2

Total granted

$727k
$3k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+52%
+46%

Still filing today

60%
100%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 96% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $4k 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
AnimalsArts & CultureEducationInternationalFood & NutritionScience & TechOther
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

  • MONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM FOUNDATION
    9× · 2017–2025 · $70k · revenue +105%
  • ALAMEDA COUNTY COMMUNITY FOOD BANK
    9× · 2017–2025 · $32k · revenue +87%
  • NP
    NATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION
    9× · 2017–2025 · $30k · revenue +117%

Funded once

  • TA
    THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS
    one grant, 2022 · $2k · revenue +19%
  • HW
    Humane World for Animals Incgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $1k · revenue +46%
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 San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

To ensure every companion animal has access to quality medical care, compassionate shelter, and a loving home.

Animals
2
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

See schedule osfmoma believes the art of our time is vital and shares it with passion and purpose, and that art and the creative process can open minds and help build a better world. for that reason, we assemble unparalleled collections,…

Arts & Culture
3
World Animal Protection

World animal protection is a global organization working to end factory farming and wildlife exploitation. we expose cruel systems, promote animal-friendly alternatives, and influence policy change. for over 75 years, we've been rewriting…

Animals
4
American Humane Association

Founded in 1877, american humane association, dba american humane society (american humane) is committed to ensuring the safety, welfare and well-being of animals. our leadership programs are first to serve in promoting and nurturing the…

Animals
5
San Jose Museum of Art Association

Nurture empathy and connection by engaging communities with socially relevant contemporary art

Arts & Culture
6
Conservation Society of California

Through management of oakland zoo, the conservation society of california deepens connection with animals, saves wildlife, and inspires champions for the natural world.

Animals
7
American Museum of Natural History

The museum's mission statement is: "to discover, interpret, and disseminate - through scientific research and education - knowledge about human cultures, the natural world, and the universe."

Arts & Culture
8
Oakland Museum of California

The museum's mission is to inspire all californians to create a more vibrant future for themselves and their communities. through collections, exhibitions, education programs, and public dialogue, we inspire people of all ages and…

Arts & Culture
9
World Wildlife Fund Inc

Wwf's mission is to conserve nature and reduce the most pressing threats to the diversity of life on earth. (continued on schedule o)

Environment
10
Denver Zoological Foundation

Inspiring communities to save wildlife for future generations.

Animals
11
Wildlife Conservation Society

The wildlife conservation society (wcs) saves wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, conservation action, education, and inspiring people to value nature.

Animals
12
Sweet Farm Foundation

Sweet farm is the world's first nonprofit sanctuary to address the devastating impact that factory farming has on climate change from the perspective of animals, plants, and the planet. we must first understand how these pieces are…

Animals
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is San Francisco Zoological Society; the most unlike its peers is Humanities West. 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

22 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. 22 of the 35 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)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
22/22
Grantees still filing
15/22
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

SAN FRANCISCO ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $219,350 · AnimalsSAN FRANCISCO ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETYMONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM FOUNDATION: $70,000 · AnimalsMONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM FOUNDATION+4 more: $15,000 · AnimalsST JUDE'S CHILDRENS HOSP: $43,500 · OtherST JUDE'S CHILDRENS HOSPALAMEDA COUNTY COMMUNITY FOOD BANK: $32,000 · OtherALAMEDA COUNTY COMMUNITY FOOD BANKIndividual grant recipient: $30,500 · OtherIndividual grant recipientNATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION: $30,000 · OtherNATIONAL PARK FOUNDATIONSPECIAL OLYMPICS: $23,000 · OtherSPECIAL OLYMPICSCA STATE PARKS FOUDATION: $21,000 · OtherCA STATE PARKS FOUDATIONHEIFER INTERNATIONAL: $18,570 · OtherHEIFER INTERNATIONALHABITAT FOR HUMANITY: $13,500 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $11,700 · OtherTOYS FOR TOTS: $11,500 · OtherCENTRAL CA COMMUNITY FOOD BANK: $11,500 · Other+4 more: $7,750 · OtherKQED INC: $73,000 · Arts & CultureKQED INCHUMANITIES WEST: $10,000 · Arts & CultureHUMANITIES WES…SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION: $6,000 · Arts & CultureSMITHSONIAN IN…+2 more: $3,000 · Arts & CultureMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $20,000 · InternationalSave The Children Federation Inc: $17,500 · InternationalACCESS MAMMOTH: $14,000 · EducationNATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY: $3,966 · EducationSTEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION: $2,000 · EducationMEALS ON WHEELS OF ALAMEDA COUNTY: $12,000 · Food & NutritionCENTRAL CALIFORNIA FOOD BANK: $2,000 · Food & NutritionABODE SERVICES: $6,500 · Housing & ShelterCHABOT SPACE & SCIENCE CENTER FOUNDATION: $4,000 · Science & Tech
Animals$304,350Other$254,520Arts & Culture$92,000International$37,500Education$19,966Food & Nutrition$14,000Housing & Shelter$6,500Science & Tech$4,000

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

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetSAN FRANCISCO ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $219,350 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetKQED INC: $73,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetMONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM FOUNDATION: $70,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetALAMEDA COUNTY COMMUNITY FOOD BANK: $32,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION: $30,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $20,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetSave The Children Federation Inc: $17,500 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetACCESS MAMMOTH: $14,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetMEALS ON WHEELS OF ALAMEDA COUNTY: $12,000 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetHUMANITIES WEST: $10,000 over 4y, 1.7% of budgetEAST BAY SPCA: $9,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetABODE SERVICES: $6,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION: $6,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetCHABOT SPACE & SCIENCE CENTER FOUNDATION: $4,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetNATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY: $3,966 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetHUMANE SOCIETY SILICON VALLEY: $3,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCENTRAL CALIFORNIA FOOD BANK: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCRAZY HORSE MEMORIAL FOUNDATION: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSTEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS: $1,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetOLIVE HYDE ART GUILD INC: $1,000 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetHumane World for Animals Inc: $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.

  • Who funds SAN FRANCISCO ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds KQED INC ↗
  • Who funds MONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds ALAMEDA COUNTY COMMUNITY FOOD BANK ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC ↗
  • Who funds Save The Children Federation Inc ↗
  • Who funds ACCESS MAMMOTH ↗
  • Who funds MEALS ON WHEELS OF ALAMEDA COUNTY ↗
  • Who funds HUMANITIES WEST ↗
  • Who funds EAST BAY SPCA ↗
  • Who funds ABODE SERVICES ↗
  • Who funds SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION ↗
  • Who funds CHABOT SPACE & SCIENCE CENTER FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds HUMANE SOCIETY SILICON VALLEY ↗
  • Who funds CENTRAL CALIFORNIA FOOD BANK ↗
  • Who funds CRAZY HORSE MEMORIAL FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds STEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS ↗
  • Who funds OLIVE HYDE ART GUILD INC ↗
  • Who funds Humane World for Animals Inc ↗

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 Intuit FoundationCA13.3× affinity4 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Intuit Foundation · East Bay Community Foundation · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · The Pfizer Foundation Inc · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · American Endowment Foundation · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Network for Good · 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 Nancy Webb Ruskin Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Nancy Webb Ruskin 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 →median 30%
  • Save the Children Federation Inc: 30% of 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 · 0–40%
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 35 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

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