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Plinth

· Public charity

Gowest Foundation

Powered by a network of credit unions, we are uniquely positioned to harness and deliver resources that strengthen the financial lives of people and communities operating in arizona, colorado, idaho, oregon, washington and wyoming.

$11M
Granted FY2024still arriving
9
Grants FY2024still arriving
5
States reached
$136k
Largest
01What you fund
0196% classified

What you funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year — across FY20172024.

Housing & Shelter$667kHuman Services$461kCommunity Improvement$326kScience & Tech$233kPublic Safety & Disaster$139kYouth Development$76kInternational$69kPhilanthropy$59kOther$0
02FY2024 · 9 grants

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

The 9 grants below total $315,500 — the rows itemised in this filing. The $11,253,477 headline is the total grant expense reported on the return, so the remaining $10,937,977 is giving the schedule does not break out: grants under the $5,000 itemisation floor, grants to individuals, and grants reported on other schedules. Every figure below describes the itemised rows only.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $10k–50k8 grants · $180k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $136k
$20,000
Median grant
5
States reached
$12M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
URBAN LEAGUE$136,000
CLARITY CREDIT UNION$45,000
MAPS COMMUNITY FOUNDATION$37,500
VANTAGE WEST$20,000
LEAP CHARITIES$20,000
MID OREGON FCU$20,000
NATIONAL CREDIT UNION FOUNDATION$15,000
WORLDWIDE FOUNDATION FOR CREDIT UNIONS$12,000
NATIONAL CREDIT UNION FOUNDATION$10,000
02The need
03

Do your dollars go where the need is?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, then read against the area’s typical level.

show:

Your human-services grants (FY17–24, $434k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 99% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of your grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%URBAN LEAGUE: $141k → 12%YMCA: $5k → 9%URBAN LEAGUE OF PORTLAND: $137k → 12%URBAN LEAGUE: $136k → 12%FINANCIAL BEGINNINGS: $10k → 12%FINANCIAL BEGINNINGS: $5k → 12%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount

Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty linein the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP; grantee ZIP can differ from where services are delivered.

Which US states your grants reach

WA
ID
WI
OR
WY
CO
AZ
DC

US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are actually delivered. Need from public data — U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA — shown as context about the area, never attributed to your giving.

03Your edge
repeat funding

Who you back again

Which organizations you funded more than once, and which you funded a single time. Each grantee is matched to its own filings.

76%of every dollar goes to organizations you’ve funded before.
$1.7M · 15 repeat orgs$539k to everyone else

And the relationships you keep tend to grow: grantees you re-up on have seen median revenue of +46% since the first grant, against +5% for the ones you funded once.

15 repeat relationships — 5 still active in FY2024, 10 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

15
21

Total granted

$1.7M
$454k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+46%
+5%

Still filing today

53%
38%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 73% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $85k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
InternationalHuman ServicesHousing & ShelterPublic BenefitOther

First-time = a grantee’s first year in your filing window; renewed = funded in an earlier year too. As a portfolio matures the renewed share naturally climbs — once funded, an org stays “renewable” — so the signal is the years that buck it (a new-grantee intake wave). 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

  • URBAN LEAGUE OF PORTLAND INC
    3× · 2021–2024 · $414k · revenue +138%
  • CW
    CENTRAL WILLAMETTE CREDIT UNION
    3× · 2018–2021 · $140k · revenue +124%
  • MA
    MARION AND POLK SCHOOLS CREDIT UNION
    3× · 2022–2024 · $113k · revenue +39%

Funded once

  • NF
    NUVISTA FCU
    one grant, 2023 · $100k
  • SC
    SOUND CREDIT UNIONgraduated
    one grant, 2019 · $88k · revenue +85%
  • FC
    Frontier Credit Uniongraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $50k · revenue +35%

Repeat = funded in two or more distinct years; growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Your field

The map has a center of gravity: the average direction from the rest of the sector toward the organizations the foundation funds — the shape of its giving. Scoring every nonprofit along that direction surfaces the ones that look most like the portfolio. These are the closest matchesthat aren’t grantees — a resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Credit Unions in the State of Washington

The credit union operated without profit for mutual purposes

2
Credit Union of America

Provide lending, savings, and financial services for mutual purpose, including consumer loans, real estate loans, credit cards, savings and certificate accounts, investment options, and multiple methods for member access to their financial…

3
Credit Unions in the State of Washington

As a cooperative we bring people together to improve the financial well-being of our members and their communities.

4
Credit Unions in the State of Washington

Our mission is is to collaborate with community to create access to financial opportunities. we provide affordable credit union financial services to low and moderate income people in washington state. this enables people in washington to…

5
Superior Credit Union Inc

We promise to simplify your life. we promise to work in your best interest. we promise to help you build your financial future. we promise to provide products and services relevant to your needs. we promise to protect your privacy.

Arts & Culture
6
West Community Credit Union

To be our members' lifelong financial partner by truly understanding their stories and delivering smart solutions.

7
GreenState Credit Union

GreenState Credit Union exists to create lasting value by strengthening the financial wellbeing of its members and communities. Founded in 1938, the credit union delivers member focused financial services while returning value through…

8
Gowest Credit Union Association

Provide products and services to arizona, colorado, idaho, oregon, washington and wyoming credit unions that enable credit unions to better serve their members.

9
Credit Unions in the State of California Sierra Central Credit Union

As your financial institution, we pledge to serve you and our community faithfully. we will be friendly, helpful, and professional, and we will provide great products and competitive rates.

10
Neighbors Credit Union

Providing awesome member experiences through innovative products, superior service and trusted advice, while strengthening our community with financial education. we are dedicated to the success of our members and employees to ensure we…

11
Skyward Credit Union

Provide cooperative financial services to members

12
Guardian Credit Union

Guardian credit union is a not-for-profit member owned financial cooperative dedicated to being the member's primary financial institution by providing superior, comprehensive, courteous and prompt services.

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Vantage West Credit Union and the most unlike its peers is Urban League of Portland 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

23 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each one resolved to its own IRS returns and tracked year by year — your grant beside their revenue from every source. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

Counted here: distinct organizations you funded across 20172025, not grant rows in a single year — so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 23 of the 39 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile; the rest are funded organizations whose filings we could not track year by year.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
1
Early backer (in before they grew)
19/23
Grantees still filing
12/23
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

Individual grant recipient — $232,811 · OtherIndividual grant recipientCENTRAL WILLAMETTE CREDIT UNION — $140,000 · OtherCENTRAL WILLAMETTE CREDIT UNIONMID OREGON FCU — $129,157 · OtherMID OREGON FCUMARION AND POLK SCHOOLS CREDIT UNION — $112,863 · OtherMARION AND POLK SCHOOLS CREDIT UNIONPENINSULA COMMUNITY FCU — $111,424 · OtherPENINSULA COMMUNITY FCUCONSOLIDATED COMMUNITY CU — $110,900 · OtherCONSOLIDATED COMMUNITY CUNATIONAL CREDIT UNION FOUNDATION — $107,500 · OtherNATIONAL CREDIT UNION FOUNDATIONIndividual grant recipient — $104,287 · OtherIndividual grant recipientNUVISTA FCU — $100,000 · OtherNUVISTA FCUSOUND CREDIT UNION — $88,000 · OtherSOUND CREDIT UNIONConnections Credit Union — $85,128 · Other+19 more — $308,054 · Other+19 moreURBAN LEAGUE OF PORTLAND INC — $413,500 · Human ServicesURBAN LEAGUE OF PORTL…FINANCIAL BEGINNINGS — $15,000 · Human Services+1 more — $5,000 · Human ServicesWORLDWIDE FOUNDATION FOR CREDIT UNIONS INC — $59,000 · InternationalLEAP CHARITIES INC — $20,000 · InternationalJUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF WASHINGTON — $15,000 · InternationalJUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF OREGON AND SW WASHINGTON INC — $7,500 · InternationalGREATER SPOKANE LOW INCOME HOUSING — $65,000 · Housing & ShelterFrontier Credit Union — $50,000 · Public Benefit
Other$1,630,124Human Services$433,500International$101,500Housing & Shelter$65,000Public Benefit$50,000

Each org by its size and your share of it — top-left is where you’re load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ your share of their budgetURBAN LEAGUE OF PORTLAND INC — $413,500 over 3y, 1.1% of budgetCENTRAL WILLAMETTE CREDIT UNION — $140,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetMARION AND POLK SCHOOLS CREDIT UNION — $112,863 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetNATIONAL CREDIT UNION FOUNDATION — $107,500 over 6y, 0.4% of budgetSOUND CREDIT UNION — $88,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetConnections Credit Union — $85,128 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetGREATER SPOKANE LOW INCOME HOUSING — $65,000 over 2y, 39% of budgetWORLDWIDE FOUNDATION FOR CREDIT UNIONS INC — $59,000 over 5y, 0.7% of budgetFrontier Credit Union — $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCLARITY CREDIT UNION — $45,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetFINANCIAL BEGINNINGS OREGON — $45,000 over 3y, 2.7% of budgetCREDIT UNION WEST — $45,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetIcon Credit Union — $21,125 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetLEAP CHARITIES INC — $20,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetVANTAGE WEST CREDIT UNION — $20,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFINANCIAL BEGINNINGS — $15,000 over 2y, 1.9% of budgetJUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF WASHINGTON — $15,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetGLOBAL CREDIT UNION — $13,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetJUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF IDAHO INC — $10,500 over 1y, 4.1% of budgetJUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF OREGON AND SW WASHINGTON INC — $7,500 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetYOUNG WOMENS CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF SEATTLE-KING COUNTY-SNOHOMISH COUNTY — $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCREDIT UNIONS IN THE STATE OF WASHINGTON — $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budget
Go grantee by grantee — a decade per org, and how each moved after you funded them

A decade per grantee — revenue shaded, your grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

The grantmakers whose grantees overlap with yours far more than size alone predicts. Each orbits closer the stronger the alignment; the arcs between them show where they also fund each other. Here it reads as a tightly interlocked camp — most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Credit Unions in the State of WashingtonWA17.3× affinity6 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Credit Unions in the State of Washington · Umpqua Bank Charitable Foundation · Wells Fargo Foundation · Onpoint Community Credit Union · First Interstate BancSystem Foundation Inc · Washington Federal Foundation · Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation Trust · National Credit Union Foundation · Opus Community Foundation · M J Murdock Charitable Trust · The Oregon Community Foundation · Jpmorgan Chase Foundation

Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. A research starting point: overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

Government reliance of your grantees

Every dot is one organization Gowest Foundation funds. Left–right is the share of its income from government; up–down is the share from you. Bigger dots raise more. Filter to federal, a single department, or state — and drag the year to watch it move.

2024
202122232425
no gov · 40%3%10%23%40%your share of their income ↑0%13%25%38%50%share of the org’s income from governmentmedian 2%
  • Urban League of Portland Inc33% of income from government
  • Central Willamette Credit Union2% of income from government
  • Financial Beginnings1% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
4get no government money at all
1report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–50%
typical government reliance, FY2025

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 your grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first — a floor, not 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 12–24 months.

On method. Every financial figure here is read directly from IRS e-file XML — your own 990/990-PF and the multi-year returns of the 39 grantees we resolved across every year we hold, several hundred filings in all (a different count from the grant rows on the cover, which are one fiscal year)— each linked to its source. Grantee achievements and outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III); we read these as association with sustained funding — the foundation is one of several forces — suppress low-confidence name matches rather than guess, and say so where a figure rests on a single grant or filing. Not everything on this page is a filed figure, and the difference matters. Filed is what you reported on your 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. How we build these →

Generated from your IRS Form 990 e-file return for fiscal year 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

More from the funding graph