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Original Art Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Original Art 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.

$274k
Granted FY2025still arriving
15
Grants FY2025still arriving
3
States reached
$100k
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, FY2024 to 2025.

Education$137kRecreation & Sports$110kArts & Culture$56kPublic Benefit$53kInternational$40kPublic Safety & Disaster$10kFood & Nutrition$10kHealth$7kOther$0
02FY2025 · 15 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k9 grants · $29k
  • $10k–50k3 grants · $45k
  • $50k–250k3 grants · $200k
$5,000
Median grant
3
States reached
$4.3M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
SEATTLE TENNIS & EDUCATION FOUNDATION$100,000
DEMOCRACY FORWARD FOUNDATION$50,000
PRO PUBLICA INC$50,000
DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS USA$25,000
UNIVERSITY DISTRICT FOOD BANK$10,000
SEATTLE COLLEGES FOUNDATION$10,000
ALLIANCE FOR EDUCATION$5,000
SEATTLE CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION$5,000
INVESTED$5,000
REFUGEE ARTISAN INITIATIVE$2,500
ARTIST TRUST$2,500
OPENSECRETS$2,500
SEATTLE THEATRE GROUP$2,500
PROGRESSIVE ANIMAL WELFARE SOCIETY$2,500
SEATTLE MUSICIANS ACCESS TO SUSTAINABLE HEALTHCARE$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 (FY25–25, $10k) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%UNIVERSITY DISTRICT FOOD BANK: $10k → 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.

65%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$279k · 5 repeat orgs$151k to everyone else

5 repeat relationships: 5 still active in FY2025, 0 since wound down; 10 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

5
6

Total granted

$279k
$20k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

0%
0%

Still filing today

100%
67%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 52% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $131k went to new ones.

50%100%’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’24’25
InternationalArts & CultureEducationAnimalsRecreation & SportsPhilanthropyOther
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

  • SC
    SEATTLE COLLEGES FOUNDATION
    2× · 2024–2025 · $115k · revenue -25%
  • ST
    SEATTLE TENNIS & EDUCATION
    2× · 2024–2025 · $110k · revenue 0%
  • MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC
    2× · 2024–2025 · $35k · revenue 0%

Funded once

  • WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC
    one grant, 2024 · $10k · revenue 0%
  • FC
    FABRETTO CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION INC
    one grant, 2024 · $5k · revenue +10%
  • SA
    SEATTLE ACADEMY
    one grant, 2024 · $2k
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
Seattle JazzED

Through Jazz education that liberates and inspires, Seattle JazzED increase access in the music room, celebrates student expression, and builds lasting connection rooted in community.

Arts & Culture
2
Siff

Siff is a seattle-based 501(c)(3) arts nonprofit dedicated to the creation of vibrant experiences and spaces that champion film discovery and arts education.

Youth Development
3
Seattle Architectural Foundation

The Seattle Architecture Foundation connects people to the architecture, design, and history of Seattle. We believe the more you engage with design, the more you feel connected to your changing city. As a volunteer driven organization, we…

Arts & Culture
4
Invest in Washington Now Campaign

Advocate for tax policy in Washington State

—
5
The Humane Society for Seattleking County

Seattle humane promotes the human-animal bond by saving and serving pets in need, regardless of age, ability, circumstance or geography.

Animals
6
King County Sexual Assault Resource Center

KCSARC is the largest and most comprehensive non-profit provider of sexual assault services in King County and Washington State. Our vision is a community free of sexual violence. Our mission is to: give voice to victims, their families,…

—
7
Clean Energy Transition Institute

The Clean Energy Transition Institute (CETI) is an independent, nonpartisan research and analysis nonprofit whose mission is to accelerate an equitable clean energy transition in the Northwest.

Education
8
Working Washington

We are workers, united across different industries to improve our working conditions and our lives. We come together as working people to build power through education, organizing, and enforcement. We work to raise and uphold standards in…

—
9
Earthcorps

To cultivate leaders and community partnerships to advance environmental justice.

International
10
Washington Progress Fund

Washington Progress Fund is building a permanent and powerful social change movement in Washington state supported by a network of committed donors. WPF envisions a Washington state where government serves the public interest and we all…

Philanthropy
11
SFMade Inc

Our mission is to help manufacturers thrive, innovate, and create good jobs, for a more diverse and sustainable Bay Area.

Community Improvement
12
Washington Wildlife & Recreation Coalition

Creating a greener, healthier, more equitable, and better Washington for all through community outreach, network building, and advocacy for conservation and outdoor recreation funding.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Alliance for Education; the most unlike its peers is Sarvey Wildlife Care Center. 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

19 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. 19 of the 21 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)
6
Early backer (in before they grew)
19/19
Grantees still filing
8/19
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

SEATTLE COLLEGES FOUNDATION: $115,000 · EducationSEATTLE COLLEGES FOUNDATIONAlliance for Education: $5,000 · EducationSEATTLE TENNIS & EDUCATION: $110,000 · Recreation & SportsSEATTLE TENNIS & EDUCATIONPRO PUBLICA INC: $50,000 · Arts & CulturePRO PUBLICA IN…Artist Trust: $2,500 · Arts & CultureSEATTLE THEATRE GROUP: $2,500 · Arts & CultureDEMOCRACY FORWARD FOUNDATION: $50,000 · Crime & LegalDEMOCRACY FOR…MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $35,000 · InternationalMEDECINS SANS…WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $10,000 · InternationalWORLD CENTRAL…FABRETTO CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION INC: $5,000 · InternationalFABRETTO CHIL…INVESTED: $15,000 · PhilanthropyUNIVERSITY DISTRICT SERVICE LEAGUE: $10,000 · Human ServicesSeattle Children's Foundation: $5,000 · OtherSEATTLE ACADEMY: $2,000 · OtherHolocaust Center For Humanity: $1,000 · OtherNATIONAL MS SOCIETY: $1,000 · OtherRefugee Artisan Initative: $3,500 · OtherProgressive Animal Welfare Society aka PAWS: $2,500 · OtherSARVEY WILDLIFE CARE CENTER: $1,000 · OtherOPENSECRETS: $2,500 · OtherSEATTLE MUSICIANS ACCESS TO SUSTAINABLE HEALTHCARE: $1,000 · Other
Education$120,000Recreation & Sports$110,000Arts & Culture$55,000Crime & Legal$50,000International$50,000Philanthropy$15,000Human Services$10,000Other$19,500

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 budgetSEATTLE COLLEGES FOUNDATION: $115,000 over 2y, 1.4% of budgetSEATTLE TENNIS & EDUCATION: $110,000 over 2y, 9.8% of budgetDEMOCRACY FORWARD FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $35,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetINVESTED: $15,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetUNIVERSITY DISTRICT SERVICE LEAGUE: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSeattle Children's Foundation: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFABRETTO CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetRefugee Artisan Initative: $3,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetArtist Trust: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetHolocaust Center For Humanity: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSARVEY WILDLIFE CARE CENTER: $1,000 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.

Seattle FoundationPuget Sound Energy Fo…Mightycause Charitabl…Gs Donor Advised Phil…Satya and Rao Remala …Grousemont FoundationMoccasin Lake Foundat…Raikes FoundationMorgan Stanley Global…ArtsfundM J Murdock Charitabl…Gates Foundation
Seattle FoundationWA24× affinity10 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Seattle Foundation · Puget Sound Energy Foundation · Mightycause Charitable Foundation · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · Satya and Rao Remala Foundation · Grousemont Foundation · Moccasin Lake Foundation · Raikes Foundation · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · Artsfund · M J Murdock Charitable Trust · Gates Foundation

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%15%30%45%60%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    8report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–60%
    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 Original Art Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Original Art 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 21 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 Original Art’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