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Perkins Charitable Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Perkins Charitable Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$2.7M
Granted FY2025still arriving
166
Grants FY2025still arriving
24
States reached
$320k
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, FY2020 to 2025.

Arts & Culture$2.6MEnvironment$2.2MEducation$2.1MAnimals$1.8MHealth$1.7MPhilanthropy$1.5MHuman Services$348kFood & Nutrition$307kOther$0
02FY2025 · 166 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k104 grants · $245k
  • $10k–50k46 grants · $981k
  • $50k–250k15 grants · $1.2M
  • $250k+1 grant · $320k
$5,000
Median grant
24
States reached
$16M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
THE MADEIRA SCHOOL$320,000
TALL TIMBERS FOUNDATION PROJECT COORDINATOR$135,000
TALL TIMBERS -LEIGH PERKINS CONSERVATION ED CTR$120,000
CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY$115,000
ARCHBOLD FOUNDATION$90,750
GREATER CLEVELAND FOOD BANK$85,530
AMERICAN BIRD CONSERVANCY$75,000
PROPERTY & ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH CENTER$75,000
Individual grant recipient$73,500
HANNA PERKINS CENTER$71,060
Individual grant recipient$70,000
PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA$60,000
CLEVELAND METROPARKS$60,000
PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF NORTH CENTRAL FLORIDA$60,000
CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY$50,500
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 (FY20–25, $55k) 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%LIVINGSTON HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION: $2k → 10%CHALLENGED ATHLETES FOUNDATION: $1k → 11%CLIMB: $250 → 10%PATHWAYS VERMONT: $2k → 10%PATHWAYS VERMONT: $1k → 10%PATHWAYS VERMONT: $1k → 10%PATHWAYS VERMONT: $1k → 10%PATHWAYS VERMONT: $1k → 10%PATHWAYS VERMONT: $1k → 10%WYOMING IMMIGRANT ADVOCACY PROJECT: $1k → 5%ONE22 INC: $1k → 5%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $20k → 14%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $12k → 14%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $10k → 14%THOMASVILLE COMMUNITY RESOURCE CENTER: $600 → 20%THOMASVILLE COMMUNITY RESOURCE CENTER: $400 → 20%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

ME
VT
NH
WA
ID
MT
ND
MN
IL
WI
NY
MA
OR
WY
IA
OH
PA
NJ
CT
CA
CO
MO
KY
VA
MD
KS
TN
NC
DC
OK
AL
GA
TX
FL
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.

86%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$11M · 190 repeat orgs$1.9M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +27% since the first grant, against +14% for those funded once.

190 repeat relationships: 129 still active in FY2025, 61 since wound down; 34 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

190
86

Total granted

$11M
$1.4M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+27%
+14%

Still filing today

71%
56%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 81% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $520k went to new ones.

50%100%’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’20’21’22’23’24’25
EnvironmentEducationArts & CultureAnimalsHealthHuman ServicesOther
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

  • JM
    JOHNNY MORRIS' WONDERS OF WILDLIFE FOUNDATION
    6× · 2020–2025 · $682k · revenue +97%
  • The Madeira School
    6× · 2020–2025 · $585k · revenue +226%
  • CM
    CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
    6× · 2020–2025 · $470k · revenue +76%

Funded once

  • TT
    TALL TIMBERS LHP FUND CONSERVATION EDUCATION CENTER
    one grant, 2022 · $650k
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2024 · $233k
  • TT
    TALL TIMBERS LHP ED CTR ENDOWMENT
    one grant, 2023 · $106k
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
Wildlands Trust Inc

The wildlands trust works throughout southeastern massachusetts to conserve and permanently protect native habitats, farmland, and lands of high ecologic and scenic value that serve to keep our communities healthy and our residents…

Environment
2
Harvard Conservation Trust

To preserve the unique character and natural resources of harvard.

Environment
3
Rainforest Trust

Rainforest trust saves endangered wildlife and protects our planet by creating rainforest reserves through partnerships, community engagement, and donor support.

International
4
Wetlands America Trust Inc

Wetlands america trust, inc. is a nonprofit organization formed in 1985 to expand ducks unlimited, inc's mission to provide leadership in the protection of the natural balance of wetlands ecosystems ensuring the future viability of…

Environment
5
Western Pennsylvania Conservancy

The western pennsylvania conservancy protects and restores exceptional places to provide our region with clean waters and healthy forests, wildlife and natural areas for the benefit of present and future generations. the conservancy…

Environment
6
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation

To sustain, restore, and enhance the nation's fish, wildlife, plants, and habitats.

Animals
7
Harpeth Conservancy

To restore and protect clean water and healthy ecosystems for rivers in tennessee by employing scientific expertise and collaborative relationships to develop, promote, and support broad community stewardship and action.

Environment
8
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
9
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
10
The Water Research Foundation

The purpose of the water research foundation (wrf) is a definitive research organization to advance the science of all things water to better meet the evolving needs of its subscribers and the water sector. to engage exclusively in…

Environment
11
Glacier National Park Conservancy

The glacier national park conservancy works to preserve and protect glacier national park for future generations.

Recreation & Sports
12
Conservation Farms & Ranches

Preserving and enhancing the habitat of wildlife, such as sandhill cranes, waterfowl, raptors, which habitat expenses are supported by agricultural activities.

Housing & Shelter
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Wilderness Society; the most unlike its peers is Minority Outdoor Alliance. 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

210 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

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 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 210 of the 313 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.

3
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
41
Early backer (in before they grew)
208/210
Grantees still filing
144/210
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

TALL TIMBERS RESEARCH STATION: $927,000 · OtherTALL TIMBERS RESEARCH STATIONTALL TIMBERS LHP FUND CONSERVATION EDUCATION CENTER: $650,000 · OtherTALL TIMBERS LHP FUND CONSERVATION EDUCATION CENTERPLANNED PARENTHOOD OF NORTH CENTRAL FLORIDA: $340,000 · OtherHANNA PERKINS CENTER: $257,095 · OtherTALL TIMBERS RED HILLS: $252,000 · OtherGREATER CLEVELAND FOOD BANK INC: $279,720 · OtherPROPERTY AND ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH CENTER: $255,000 · Other+93 more: $4,293,371 · Other+93 moreJOHNNY MORRIS' WONDERS OF WILDLIFE FOUNDATION: $681,740 · Arts & CultureJOHNNY MORRIS' W…CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY: $470,400 · Arts & CultureCLEVELAND MUSEUM…LAKE ERIE NATURE AND SCIENCE CENTER: $95,000 · Arts & CultureTHOMASVILLE CULTURAL CENTER INC: $90,075 · Arts & CultureCENTER THEATRE GROUP OF LOS ANGELES: $90,000 · Arts & CulturePlayhouse Square Foundation: $87,000 · Arts & CultureAUCILLA RESEARCH INSTITUTE INC: $82,000 · Arts & Culture+15 more: $357,825 · Arts & Culture+15 moreThe Madeira School: $585,000 · EducationThe Madeira …CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY: $225,000 · EducationCASE WESTERN…CONNECTICUT COLLEGE: $170,000 · EducationCONNECTICUT …COLLEGE NOW GREATER CLEVELAND INC: $105,000 · EducationCOLLEGE NOW …HATHAWAY BROWN SCHOOL: $81,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY SCHOOL: $74,989 · Education+15 more: $280,844 · Education+15 moreTALL TIMBERS FOUNDATION INC: $266,000 · EnvironmentNATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY INC: $170,000 · EnvironmentCAPTAINS FOR CLEAN WATER INC: $99,500 · EnvironmentNATIVE ECOSYSTEMS COUNCIL: $90,000 · EnvironmentWOOD RIVER LAND TRUST CO: $60,000 · EnvironmentWESTERN RESERVE LAND CONSERVANCY: $36,500 · Environment+23 more: $263,917 · EnvironmentARCHBOLD FOUNDATION INC: $394,550 · HealthPLANNED PARENTHOOD OF GREATER OHIO: $186,000 · HealthPLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC: $185,000 · HealthSOUTHWESTERN VERMONT HEALTH CARE CORPORATION: $61,375 · HealthPROJECT HEALING WATERS FLY FISHING INC: $57,500 · Health+5 more: $31,500 · HealthAmerican Bird Conservancy: $225,000 · AnimalsTHEODORE ROOSEVELT CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIP INC: $92,425 · AnimalsCLEVELAND ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $60,000 · Animals+9 more: $62,350 · AnimalsCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF JACKSON HOLE: $208,500 · PhilanthropyOLD JOE CLUB CHARITIES INC: $32,990 · PhilanthropyUNITED WAY OF GREATER CLEVELAND: $31,000 · PhilanthropyIN THE MOMENT: $20,000 · Philanthropy+2 more: $7,300 · Philanthropy
Other$7,254,186Arts & Culture$1,954,040Education$1,521,833Environment$985,917Health$915,925Animals$439,775Philanthropy$299,790

Showing the 200 largest grantees by grant value.

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 budgetJOHNNY MORRIS' WONDERS OF WILDLIFE FOUNDATION: $681,740 over 6y, 1.1% of budgetThe Madeira School: $585,000 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetCLEVELAND MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY: $470,400 over 6y, 1.7% of budgetARCHBOLD FOUNDATION INC: $394,550 over 6y, 6.4% of budgetGREATER CLEVELAND FOOD BANK INC: $279,720 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetTALL TIMBERS FOUNDATION INC: $266,000 over 2y, 6.4% of budgetPROPERTY AND ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH CENTER: $255,000 over 6y, 1.0% of budgetPATHFINDER INTERNATIONAL: $240,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetCASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY: $225,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican Bird Conservancy: $225,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF JACKSON HOLE: $208,500 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetBREVARD MUSIC CENTER INCORPORATED: $190,075 over 6y, 0.7% of budgetUNITED WAY OF THOMAS COUNTY: $189,000 over 6y, 13% of budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD OF GREATER OHIO: $186,000 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC: $185,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY INC: $170,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCONNECTICUT COLLEGE: $170,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCOLLEGE NOW GREATER CLEVELAND INC: $105,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetCAPTAINS FOR CLEAN WATER INC: $99,500 over 4y, 3.5% of budgetLAKE ERIE NATURE AND SCIENCE CENTER: $95,000 over 6y, 1.2% of budgetTHEODORE ROOSEVELT CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIP INC: $92,425 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetTHOMASVILLE CULTURAL CENTER INC: $90,075 over 6y, 2.2% of budgetNATIVE ECOSYSTEMS COUNCIL: $90,000 over 6y, 27% of budgetCENTER THEATRE GROUP OF LOS ANGELES: $90,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetPlayhouse Square Foundation: $87,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetAUCILLA RESEARCH INSTITUTE INC: $82,000 over 2y, 62% of budgetHATHAWAY BROWN SCHOOL: $81,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetUNIVERSITY SCHOOL: $74,989 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetBLUECOATS INC: $67,100 over 6y, 2.4% of budgetVAGABOND SCHOOL OF THE DRAMA INC: $65,010 over 6y, 0.8% of budgetArts For Life: $64,500 over 6y, 2.6% of budgetVOCATIONAL GUIDANCE SERVICES: $62,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetSOUTHWESTERN VERMONT HEALTH CARE CORPORATION: $61,375 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetCLEVELAND ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $60,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetWOOD RIVER LAND TRUST CO: $60,000 over 6y, 0.4% of budgetPROJECT HEALING WATERS FLY FISHING INC: $57,500 over 6y, 0.7% of budgetCLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART: $53,270 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetBIKE CLEVELAND: $50,500 over 4y, 3.8% of budgetAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $42,700 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHOMAS UNIVERSITY: $40,350 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetKHAN ACADEMY INC: $38,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCLEVELAND HEARING AND SPEECH CENTER: $37,500 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetWESTERN RESERVE LAND CONSERVANCY: $36,500 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetHOBART AND WILLIAM SMITH COLLEGES: $36,350 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetOLD JOE CLUB CHARITIES INC: $32,990 over 5y, 17% of budgetUNITED WAY OF GREATER CLEVELAND: $31,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetTHOMASVILLE LANDMARKS INC: $31,000 over 6y, 2.3% of budgetEARTHJUSTICE: $29,000 over 5y, 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 JOHNNY MORRIS' WONDERS OF WILDLIFE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds The Madeira School ↗
  • Who funds CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ↗
  • Who funds ARCHBOLD FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds GREATER CLEVELAND FOOD BANK INC ↗
  • Who funds TALL TIMBERS FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds PROPERTY AND ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH CENTER ↗
  • Who funds PATHFINDER INTERNATIONAL ↗
  • Who funds CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds American Bird Conservancy ↗
  • Who funds COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF JACKSON HOLE ↗
  • Who funds BREVARD MUSIC CENTER INCORPORATED ↗
  • Who funds UNITED WAY OF THOMAS COUNTY ↗
  • Who funds PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF GREATER OHIO ↗
  • Who funds PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY INC ↗
  • Who funds CONNECTICUT COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds COLLEGE NOW GREATER CLEVELAND INC ↗
  • Who funds CAPTAINS FOR CLEAN WATER INC ↗
  • Who funds LAKE ERIE NATURE AND SCIENCE CENTER ↗

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 loosely connected circle, clustered around a few shared anchors.

Community Foundation …The Louise H & David …The Cleveland Foundat…Parker Poe Charitable…William Howard Flower…The Anne & Leigh Perk…PatagoniaorgThomasville Antiques …Karl M Johnson Founda…Williams Family Found…The Orvis Charitable …Hughes Charitable Fou…
Community Foundation of Jackson HoleWY38.5× affinity18 shared granteesties to 7 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Community Foundation of Jackson Hole · The Louise H & David S Ingalls Fdn · The Cleveland Foundation · Parker Poe Charitable Trust · William Howard Flowers Jr Foundation Inc · The Anne & Leigh Perkins Foundation (Formerly the Leigh H Perkins Fdn) · Patagoniaorg · Thomasville Antiques Show Foundation Inc · Karl M Johnson Foundation · Williams Family Foundation of Georgia Inc · The Orvis Charitable Foundation · Hughes Charitable 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 Perkins Charitable Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Perkins Charitable Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 290%5%19%42%75%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 2%
  • Pathways Vermont Inc: 65% of income from government
  • Smokey House Center: 54% of income from government
  • Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing Inc: 46% of income from government
  • Northshire Day School: 39% of income from government
  • Oregon Wildlife Heritage Foundation: 16% of income from government
  • Vermont Childrens Trust Foundation: 8% of income from government
  • Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc: 7% of income from government
  • Burr & Burton Seminary: 2% of income from government
  • Planned Parenthood of Northern New England Inc: 2% of income from government
  • The Trustees of Reservations: 2% of income from government
  • Feed the Children Inc: 1% of income from government
  • President and Fellows of Middlebury College: 1% of income from government
  • Wilton Library Association Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Connecticut College: 0% of income from government
  • The Epiphany School Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Wounded Warrior Project Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
29get no government money at all
56report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
2rely 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 Perkins Charitable Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Perkins Charitable 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 313 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 Perkins’ 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