Skip to content
Nepheli Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Nepheli 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.

$63k
Granted FY2025still arriving
18
Grants FY2025still arriving
4
States reached
$55k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0198% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Environment$2.0MHuman Services$177kHealth$60kEducation$43kCommunity Improvement$12kFood & Nutrition$3kArts & Culture$2kInternational$2kOther$0
02FY2025 · 18 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k17 grants · $8k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $55k
$500
Median grant
4
States reached
$22M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
METRICS FOR MANAGEMENT$54,675
POSSIBILITY LABS$2,000
PLANNED PARENTHOOD MAR MONTE$1,000
ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION COMMITTEE OF WEST MARIN (EAC)$1,000
WEST MARIN COMMUNITY SERVICES$500
THE PLAYWRIGHTS WORKSHOP$500
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY FOUNDATION$500
BAY CITY NEWS FOUNDATION$500
KQED$500
COMMONWEALTH SCHOOL$258
PROSPECT SIERRA SCHOOL$250
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL$250
BROADSTREET INSTITUTE$200
SHADY HILL FUND$150
AMERICAN HIMALAYAN FOUNDATION$150
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.

US giving: 13% of grant dollars ($309k). The need read here covers only this US portion; the 87% that went abroad ($2.0M) is mapped below.

show:

Its human-services grants (FY20–25, $175k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 99% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%POSSIBILITY LABS: $2k → 9%METRICS FOR MANAGEMENT: $25k → 10%METRICS FOR MANAGEMENT: $25k → 10%METRICS FOR MANAGEMENT: $55k → 10%METRICS FOR MANAGEMENT: $13k → 10%METRICS FOR MANAGEMENT: $50k → 10%METRICS FOR MANAGEMENT: $5k → 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

VT
NH
WI
NY
MA
NV
CA
MD
DE
DC
HI

Beyond the US: 87% of all-years giving ($2.0M)

2 countries, by the recipient’s country on the filing.

grant dollars sentlessmore
Canada$2.0M · 1 grant
United Kingdom$440 · 2 grants
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. International giving is mapped by the recipient’s country from the same 990 filings; comparable need data isn’t available at that grain.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

12%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$273k · 22 repeat orgs$2.0M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +20% since the first grant, against +17% for those funded once.

22 repeat relationships: 9 still active in FY2025, 13 since wound down; 9 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

22
27

Total granted

$273k
$2.0M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+20%
+17%

Still filing today

55%
48%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 93% 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
EducationInternationalEnvironmentRecreation & SportsHealthArts & CultureOther
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

  • MF
    METRICS FOR MANAGEMENT
    6× · 2020–2025 · $173k · revenue +231%
  • CS
    CALIFORNIA SCHOOL OF MECHANICAL ARTS
    4× · 2017–2021 · $25k · revenue +10%
  • WM
    WEST MARIN COMMUNITY SERVICES
    4× · 2020–2025 · $3k · revenue +20%

Funded once

  • TG
    THE GORDON FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2024 · $2.0M
  • PA
    President and Fellows of Middlebury Collegegraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $10k · revenue +47%
  • M4
    METRICS 4 MANAGEMENT
    one grant, 2018 · $8k
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
Ucsf Foundation Investment Company

The organization provides professional investment management services for endowed gifts and financial assets entrusted to the ucsf foundation.

Education
2
California Forward

Ca fwd drives action to identify solutions that can be taken to scale to meet the challenges the state is facing. the organization is driven by the belief that regional solutions across the state will help ensure economic, environmental,…

Public Benefit
3
The Uc Davis Foundation

The mission of the uc davis foundation is to secure, steward and manage private gifts for uc davis.

Education
4
Uc Santa Barbara Foundation

The uc santa barbara foundation actively works to further the goals of the university of california, santa barbara. the foundation seeks to maintain and nurture the university's quality and distinction. on behalf of the campus, the…

Education
5
Marin Humane Society

Marin humane transforms lives through exceptional animal care, humane education, and advocacy. every day, marin humane inspires compassion and positive relationships between people and animals.

Animals
6
San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory

The San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory is dedicated to the conservation of birds and their habitats through science and outreach.

Environment
7
Silicon Schools Fund Inc

The mission of the silicon schools fund is to improve education through supporting the launch of excellent new schools, improving academic instruction in existing schools, and by funding some of the boldest innovations in education…

Education
8
The American Institute of Architects California

The AIA California, in collaboration with local components, is the voice of the architectural profession.

—
9
California Dental Association Foundation

The foundation's mission is to improve the oral health of all californians by supporting the dental profession and its efforts to meet community needs.

Science & Tech
10
Aquarium of the Pacific Corporation

The aquarium of the pacific's mission is to instill a sense of wonder, respect, and stewardship for the pacific ocean, its inhabitants, and ecosystems.

Animals
11
Kaiser Foundation for the Advancement of Integrated Health Care

Kaiser foundation for the advancement of integrated health care is a nonprofit 501(c)(4) advocacy organization to engage in proactive advocacy to promote understanding of the benefits of integrated care and coverage, and support of the…

Health
12
Marin Academy

Marin academy asks every individual to think, question, and create in an environment of encouragement and compassion, and challenges each person to accept the responsibilities posed by education in a democratic society.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Wikimedia Foundation Inc; the most unlike its peers is Bettertogether Forever. 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

31 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. 31 of the 59 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)
3
Early backer (in before they grew)
31/31
Grantees still filing
21/31
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE GORDON FOUNDATION: $2,000,000 · OtherTHE GORDON FOUNDATION+37 more: $28,741 · OtherMETRICS FOR MANAGEMENT: $172,675 · Human Services+1 more: $2,000 · Human ServicesUNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO FOUNDATION: $53,000 · EducationCALIFORNIA SCHOOL OF MECHANICAL ARTS: $25,000 · EducationPresident and Fellows of Middlebury College: $10,000 · Education+5 more: $4,908 · EducationPLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC: $2,200 · HealthPLANNED PARENTHOOD MAR MONTE INC: $2,050 · HealthNational Women's Health Network: $2,000 · HealthWEST MARIN COMMUNITY SERVICES: $2,500 · PhilanthropyENVIRONMENTAL ACTION COMMITTEE OF WEST MARIN: $1,500 · Environment350ORG: $560 · EnvironmentKROKA EXPEDITIONS INC: $250 · EnvironmentThe American Himalayan Foundation: $650 · InternationalMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $500 · InternationalPacific Links Foundation: $400 · InternationalAMNESTY INTERNATIONAL OF THE USA INC: $250 · International
Other$2,028,741Human Services$174,675Education$92,908Health$6,250Philanthropy$2,500Environment$2,310International$1,800

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 budgetMETRICS FOR MANAGEMENT: $172,675 over 6y, 5.7% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO FOUNDATION: $53,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCALIFORNIA SCHOOL OF MECHANICAL ARTS: $25,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetPresident and Fellows of Middlebury College: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUCLA FOUNDATION: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWEST MARIN COMMUNITY SERVICES: $2,500 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetALAMEDA COUNTY COMMUNITY FOOD BANK: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC: $2,200 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD MAR MONTE INC: $2,050 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetNational Women's Health Network: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetENVIRONMENTAL ACTION COMMITTEE OF WEST MARIN: $1,500 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetKQED INC: $1,050 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetTHE COMMONWEALTH SCHOOL INC: $758 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetThe American Himalayan Foundation: $650 over 2y, 0.0% of budget350ORG: $560 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMAUI FOOD BANK INC: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWIKIMEDIA FOUNDATION INC: $500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY FOUNDATION: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFOUNDATION FOR FREE FLIGHT: $400 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetPacific Links Foundation: $400 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetKROKA EXPEDITIONS INC: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPROSPECT SIERRA SCHOOL: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBETTERTOGETHER FOREVER: $170 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBREAKTHROUGH GREATER BOSTON INC: $150 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMOUNTAIN PLAY ASSOCIATION: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCALIFORNIA STATE PARKS FOUNDATION: $50 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBERKELEY PARTNERS FOR PARKS: $50 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.

United Way WorldwideMarin Community Found…The San Francisco Fou…Boston Foundation IncTides FoundationAmerican Endowment Fo…Silicon Valley Commun…Vanguard Charitable E…Morgan Stanley Global…American Online Givin…Donor Advised Charita…Network for Good
United Way WorldwideVA13× affinity5 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: United Way Worldwide · Marin Community Foundation · The San Francisco Foundation · Boston Foundation Inc · Tides Foundation · American Endowment Foundation · Silicon Valley Community Foundation · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Network for Good

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%3%5%8%10%share of the org’s income from government →median 2%
  • Breakthrough Greater Boston Inc: 2% of income from government
  • President and Fellows of Middlebury College: 1% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
2get no government money at all
6report 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.
05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Nepheli Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Nepheli 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 59 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 Nepheli’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