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· Private foundation

Norman J Fisher and Doris Fisher 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.

$1.3M
Granted FY2025still arriving
57
Grants FY2025still arriving
8
States reached
$254k
Largest
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.

Arts & Culture$2.9MEnvironment$2.3MHealth$1.3MHousing & Shelter$294kFood & Nutrition$224kRecreation & Sports$167kEducation$132kInternational$52kOther$0
02FY2025 · 57 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k40 grants · $168k
  • $10k–50k12 grants · $177k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $200k
  • $250k+3 grants · $754k
$5,000
Median grant
8
States reached
$7.4M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
WATERSHED STEWARDS ACADEMY$254,000
ANNAPOLIS OPERA COMPANY$250,000
MARYLAND HALL FOR THE CREATIVE ARTS$250,000
GOOD SAMARITAN HAVEN$150,000
SCENIC RIVERS LAND TRUST$50,000
CENTER FOR AN AGRICULTURAL ECONOMY$30,000
ANNAPOLIS FILM FESTIVAL$25,000
ONION RIVER COMMUNITY ACCESS MEDIA INC$20,000
AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY INC$18,000
NATURE CONSERVANCY MDDC$12,000
FRIENDS OF THE PETER A KRUSCH NATURE PRESERVE$12,000
PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART$10,000
COMMITTEE ON TEMPORARY SHELTER$10,000
PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF GREATER TEXAS$10,000
CHESAPEAKE ARTS CENTER$10,000
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 (FY17–25, $66k) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 96% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%ONE FAMILY INC: $3k → 7%LA COLABORATIVA: $3k → 16%LA COLABORATIVA: $3k → 16%HEARTBEAT LIFESHARING INC: $5k → 12%HEARTBEAT LIFESHARING INC: $5k → 12%WHEELOCK MOUNTAIN FARM: $2k → 14%HEARTBEAT LIFESHARING INC: $5k → 12%WHEELOCK MOUNTAIN FARM: $2k → 14%RURAL ARTS COLLABORATIVE: $4k → 14%WHEELOCK MOUNTAIN FARM: $2k → 14%RURAL ARTS COLLABORATIVE: $4k → 14%WHEELOCK MOUNTAIN FARM: $1k → 14%RURAL ARTS COLLABORATIVE: $4k → 14%HEARTBEAT LIFESHARING INC: $5k → 12%HEARTBEAT LIFESHARING INC: $5k → 12%HEARTBEAT LIFESHARING INC: $5k → 12%HEARTBEAT LIFESHARING INC: $5k → 12%HEARTBEET LIFESHARING INC: $3k → 12%HEARTBEAT LIFESHARING INC: $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.

Which US states its grants reach

VT
WI
MI
NY
MA
OR
OH
PA
CA
WV
VA
MD
NC
DC
TX
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.

97%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$7.3M · 87 repeat orgs$214k to everyone else

87 repeat relationships: 49 still active in FY2025, 38 since wound down; 7 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

87
35

Total granted

$7.3M
$157k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+44%
+55%

Still filing today

70%
54%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 96% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $57k 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
Arts & CultureEnvironmentHealthEducationHuman ServicesFood & NutritionOther
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
    ANNAPOLIS OPERA COMPANY
    9× · 2017–2025 · $1.6M · revenue +62% · 69% of their budget
  • SR
    SCENIC RIVERS LAND TRUST INC
    9× · 2017–2025 · $1.5M · revenue +189% · 58% of their budget
  • Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc
    8× · 2017–2024 · $705k · revenue +162%

Funded once

  • VA
    VT ASSOCIATION OF SNOW TRAVELERS INC
    one grant, 2019 · $20k · revenue +7%
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2022 · $15k
  • PP
    PLANNED PARENTHOOD
    one grant, 2017 · $10k
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
Vermont Public Co

Vermont public informs, educates, and entertains through public service journalism and enlightening content rooted in vermont. our storytelling enriches lives and fosters community connection and understanding.

Arts & Culture
2
Native Plant Trust Inc

The organization's mission is to conserve and promote new england's native plants to ensure healthy, biologically diverse landscapes.

Environment
3
Alliance for the Shenandoah Valley

Alliance for the shenandoah valley informs and engages people to protect the natural resources, cultural heritages, and rural character of our region.

Community Improvement
4
Vermont Electric Cooperative Inc

Vermont electric cooperative is a member owned not-for-profit whose mission is to provide safe, affordable, and reliable energy services to its members.

—
5
The Adirondack Council Inc

The adirondack council ensures the ecological integrity (clean water and air, wildlife habitat, etc.), wild character (solitude, scenic beauty, etc.), and vibrant communities of new york's six-million-acre adirondack park. the adirondack…

Environment
6
Environmental Investigation Agency

To establish and promote programs to protect the global climate, forests, wildlife and the natural environment, through research, advocacy, and investigation.

International
7
The Commons Inc

To partner with individuals and organizations to access, organize, and share data that inspires action that restores our environment.

—
8
The Trustees of Reservations

Overview - founded in boston by pioneering landscape architect and open space visionary charles eliot in 1891, the trustees is the nation's first and the commonwealth's largest conservation and preservation nonprofit.

Environment
9
Bartlett Arboretum Association Inc

To cultivate and develop an expansive collection of trees, gardens, and plants for all to explore, enjoy and study; and to provide through education and stewardship, a greener, healthier, more beautiful environment.

Environment
10
The Vermont River Conservancy Inc

Protect land along rivers, lakes and wetlands of vt; protect public access, wildlife habitat, scenic natural beauty, and ecological integrity.

Human Services
11
Boston Architectural College

The bac is committed to provide excellence in design education grounded in practice and accessible to diverse communities.

—
12
Virginia Tech Applied Research Corporation

The mission of vt-arc is to extend the impact of the virginia tech research and innovation enterprise, delivering superior analytic and technology solutions to government and non-government customers.

Science & Tech
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Vermont Council On the Arts Inc; the most unlike its peers is Pie R Squared 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

89 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. 89 of the 130 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.

2
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
28
Early backer (in before they grew)
85/89
Grantees still filing
67/89
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

ANNAPOLIS OPERA COMPANY: $1,633,500 · Arts & CultureANNAPOLIS OPERA COMPANYMARYLAND HALL FOR THE CREATIVE ARTS INC: $580,000 · Arts & CultureMARYLAND HALL FOR THE CREATIVE ARTS INCPHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART: $102,000 · Arts & Culture+17 more: $496,500 · Arts & Culture+17 moreSCENIC RIVERS LAND TRUST INC: $1,456,237 · EnvironmentSCENIC RIVERS LAND TRUST INCCENTER FOR AN AGRICULTURAL ECONOMY INC: $182,500 · EnvironmentCENTER FOR AN AGRICULTURAL E…VERMONT LAND TRUST INC: $108,000 · EnvironmentVERMONT LAND TRUST INC+13 more: $193,700 · Environment+13 moreWATERSHED STEWARDS ACADEMY: $398,500 · OtherWATERSHED STEWARDS ACAD…GOOD SAMARITAN HAVEN INC: $195,000 · OtherGOOD SAMARITAN HAVEN IN…THE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $84,000 · OtherTHE NATURE CONSERVANCYAMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY: $55,000 · Other+69 more: $842,000 · Other+69 moreDana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc: $705,000 · HealthDana-Farber Ca…LYMPHOMA RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $84,000 · HealthLYMPHOMA RESEA…AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY INC: $51,000 · HealthJenna Tatro Memorial Fund: $40,000 · HealthPLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC: $40,000 · Health+6 more: $65,500 · Health+6 moreCAMP THORPE INC: $80,500 · Recreation & SportsPARKS AND PEOPLE INC: $27,500 · Recreation & SportsAPPALACHIAN TRAIL CONSERVANCY: $26,000 · Recreation & SportsCOMMITTEE ON TEMPORARY SHELTER INC: $49,500 · Housing & ShelterTHE LIGHT HOUSE INC: $42,000 · Housing & ShelterHEARTBEET LIFESHARING CORPORATION: $40,000 · Human ServicesRURAL ARTS COLLABORATIVE INC: $12,000 · Human ServicesWHEELOCK MOUNTAIN FARM INC: $6,000 · Human ServicesLA COLABORATIVA INC: $5,000 · Human ServicesONE FAMILY INC: $2,500 · Human Services
Arts & Culture$2,812,000Environment$1,940,437Other$1,574,500Health$985,500Recreation & Sports$134,000Housing & Shelter$91,500Human Services$65,500

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 budgetANNAPOLIS OPERA COMPANY: $1,633,500 over 9y, 69% of budgetSCENIC RIVERS LAND TRUST INC: $1,456,237 over 9y, 58% of budgetDana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc: $705,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetMARYLAND HALL FOR THE CREATIVE ARTS INC: $580,000 over 9y, 5.5% of budgetGOOD SAMARITAN HAVEN INC: $195,000 over 6y, 0.6% of budgetCENTER FOR AN AGRICULTURAL ECONOMY INC: $182,500 over 8y, 2.9% of budgetVERMONT LAND TRUST INC: $108,000 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetPHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART: $102,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $84,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetLYMPHOMA RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $84,000 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetCAMP THORPE INC: $80,500 over 6y, 12% of budgetANNAPOLIS FILM FESTIVAL: $80,000 over 8y, 3.8% of budgetPHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATION: $77,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetPENNYPACK ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION TRUST: $60,000 over 8y, 0.8% of budgetTHE AMERICAN VISIONARY ART MUSEUM INC: $54,500 over 9y, 0.2% of budgetCRAFTSBURY CHAMBER PLAYERS INC: $51,500 over 8y, 13% of budgetAMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY INC: $51,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetBALTIMORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC: $50,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetCOMMITTEE ON TEMPORARY SHELTER INC: $49,500 over 9y, 0.2% of budgetCHILD HAVEN INTERNATIONAL(USA)INC: $49,000 over 9y, 5.2% of budgetOLD-GROWTH FOREST NETWORK INC: $47,000 over 9y, 2.6% of budgetAWARE Inc: $43,000 over 9y, 2.3% of budgetANNAPOLIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC: $42,500 over 8y, 0.4% of budgetTHE LIGHT HOUSE INC: $42,000 over 8y, 0.2% of budgetJenna Tatro Memorial Fund: $40,000 over 6y, 1.0% of budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC: $40,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetHEARTBEET LIFESHARING CORPORATION: $40,000 over 9y, 0.4% of budgetSOCIETY FOR THE PRESERVATION OF MARYLAND ANTIQUITIES INC: $37,500 over 7y, 0.4% of budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD OF GREATER TEXAS INC: $32,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetPARKS AND PEOPLE INC: $27,500 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetAPPALACHIAN TRAIL CONSERVANCY: $26,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetOYSTER RECOVERY PARTNERSHIP INC: $23,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetSPA CREEK CONSERVANCY INC: $22,500 over 8y, 16% of budgetVermont Public Radio: $21,500 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetLIVEWELL FOUNDATION: $21,000 over 4y, 6.3% of budgetHARDWICK AREA FOOD PANTRY INC: $21,000 over 9y, 1.4% of budgetONION RIVER COMMUNITY ACCESS MEDIA: $20,000 over 1y, 3.8% of budgetHISTORIC ANNAPOLIS INC: $19,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $18,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetMaryland Native Plant Society: $18,000 over 8y, 5.5% of budgetPUBLIC ASSETS INSTITUTE INC: $17,500 over 6y, 1.0% of budgetAMERICAN CHESTNUT LAND TRUST INC: $17,000 over 8y, 0.4% of budgetHARDWICK HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC: $16,500 over 7y, 6.6% of budgetBALTIMORE PUBLIC MEDIA CORPORATION: $14,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetACE MENTOR PROGRAM OF AMERICA INC: $13,800 over 6y, 4.1% of budgetVERMONT COUNCIL ON THE ARTS INC: $13,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetCollege to Congress: $12,500 over 4y, 0.7% of budgetRURAL ARTS COLLABORATIVE INC: $12,000 over 3y, 1.7% 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 ANNAPOLIS OPERA COMPANY ↗
  • Who funds SCENIC RIVERS LAND TRUST INC ↗
  • Who funds Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc ↗
  • Who funds MARYLAND HALL FOR THE CREATIVE ARTS INC ↗
  • Who funds GOOD SAMARITAN HAVEN INC ↗
  • Who funds CENTER FOR AN AGRICULTURAL ECONOMY INC ↗
  • Who funds VERMONT LAND TRUST INC ↗
  • Who funds PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART ↗
  • Who funds THE NATURE CONSERVANCY ↗
  • Who funds LYMPHOMA RESEARCH FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds CAMP THORPE INC ↗
  • Who funds ANNAPOLIS FILM FESTIVAL ↗
  • Who funds PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds PENNYPACK ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION TRUST ↗
  • Who funds THE AMERICAN VISIONARY ART MUSEUM INC ↗
  • Who funds CRAFTSBURY CHAMBER PLAYERS INC ↗
  • Who funds AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY INC ↗
  • Who funds BALTIMORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC ↗
  • Who funds COMMITTEE ON TEMPORARY SHELTER INC ↗
  • Who funds CHILD HAVEN INTERNATIONAL(USA)INC ↗
  • Who funds OLD-GROWTH FOREST NETWORK INC ↗
  • Who funds AWARE Inc ↗
  • Who funds ANNAPOLIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC ↗
  • Who funds THE LIGHT HOUSE INC ↗
  • Who funds Jenna Tatro Memorial Fund ↗
  • Who funds PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC ↗
  • Who funds HEARTBEET LIFESHARING CORPORATION ↗
  • Who funds SOCIETY FOR THE PRESERVATION OF MARYLAND ANTIQUITIES INC ↗
  • Who funds PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF GREATER TEXAS INC ↗
  • Who funds PARKS AND PEOPLE INC ↗
  • Who funds APPALACHIAN TRAIL CONSERVANCY ↗
  • Who funds OYSTER RECOVERY PARTNERSHIP 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 Vermont Community FoundationVT35.7× affinity18 shared granteesties to 7 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Vermont Community Foundation · Community Foundation of Anne Arundel Co · Ben & Jerry's Foundation Inc · The Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment Inc · The Jm Kaplan Fund Inc · The Helena Foundation Inc · Arts Council of Anne Arundel County Inc · The Windham Foundation Inc · France-Merrick Foundation Inc · National Life Group Charitable Foundation Inc · Harris & Frances Block Foundation Inc · Lintilhac Foundation 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 Norman J Fisher and Doris Fisher Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Norman J Fisher and Doris Fisher Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 190%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 13%
  • Good Samaritan Haven Inc: 63% of income from government
  • Cooperative Development Institute Inc: 58% of income from government
  • Aware Inc: 58% of income from government
  • Committee On Temporary Shelter Inc: 52% of income from government
  • Society for the Preservation of Maryland Antiquities Inc: 50% of income from government
  • Historic Annapolis Inc: 45% of income from government
  • Parks and People Inc: 43% of income from government
  • Vermont Rural Education Collaborative Inc: 43% of income from government
  • Vermont Land Trust Inc: 42% of income from government
  • La Colaborativa Inc: 34% of income from government
  • Vt Association of Snow Travelers Inc: 26% of income from government
  • Vermont Council On the Arts Inc: 20% of income from government
  • Arundel Rivers Federation Inc: 19% of income from government
  • Local Motion Inc: 19% of income from government
  • Heartbeet Lifesharing Corporation: 13% of income from government
  • Center for an Agricultural Economy Inc: 12% of income from government
  • Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Inc: 11% of income from government
  • Vermont Farm-to-School Inc: 7% of income from government
  • Chesapeake Arts Center Inc: 7% of income from government
  • Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc: 7% of income from government
  • The American Visionary Art Museum Inc: 6% of income from government
  • Oyster Recovery Partnership Inc: 3% of income from government
  • St Johnsbury Academy: 3% of income from government
  • Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts Inc: 3% of income from government
  • St John's College: 2% of income from government
  • One Family Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Center for Arts & Learning Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Vermont Journalism Trust Ltd: 0% of income from government
  • Onion River Community Access Media: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
19get no government money at all
15report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
4rely 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 Norman J Fisher and Doris Fisher Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Norman J Fisher and Doris Fisher 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 130 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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