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Pham Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Pham 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.

$14k
Granted FY2025still arriving
19
Grants FY2025still arriving
3
States reached
$2k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2021 to 2025.

Education$12kScience & Tech$4kAnimals$4kEnvironment$3kArts & Culture$2kHuman Services$2kInternational$1kRecreation & Sports$1kOther$0
02FY2025 · 19 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$650
Median grant
3
States reached
$629k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco$2,160
Individual grant recipient$2,000
California Academy of Science$1,164
Conservation Society of California$1,000
The Gardens of Golden Park$1,000
The University of California Berkeley$1,000
The Exploratorium$938
Monterey Bay Aquarium$844
Happy Hollow Zoo&Park$664
Iron Horse Middle School$650
Dougherty Valley High School$575
Unicef$500
Tracy High School$500
Iron Horse Middle School Ed Fund$400
DVHS Education Fund$400
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY21–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 92% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%Tracy High School: $500 → 10%Happy Hollow Zoo&Park: $664 → 8%The Marine Mammal Center: $200 → 8%De La Salle Institute: $100 → 9%Chabot Elementary: $500 → 9%Dublin High School-Consumer & Family Studies: $200 → 10%Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco: $2k → 10%Monterey Bay Aquarium: $844 → 12%Joshua's House Volunteer Hospice: $515 → 12%Unicef: $500 → 17%National Public Radio: $50 → 14%Happy Hollow Zoo&Park: $664 → 8%DVHS Snap Raise: $2k → 9%The University of California Berkeley: $1k → 10%California Academy of Science: $1k → 10%Monterey Bay Aquarium: $844 → 12%Unicef: $500 → 17%Hakone Garden: $450 → 8%DVHS Snap Raise: $2k → 9%The University of California Berkeley: $500 → 10%California Academy of Science: $1k → 10%Hakone Garden: $200 → 8%Dougherty Valley High School: $575 → 9%The University of California Berkeley: $200 → 10%The Exploratorium: $938 → 10%DVHS Education Fund: $500 → 9%Conservation Society of California: $1k → 10%The Exploratorium: $938 → 10%DVHS Sports Donation: $500 → 9%Smile Day School: $500 → 10%The Gardens of Golden Park: $1k → 10%DVHS Education Fund: $400 → 9%Conservation Society of California: $1k → 10%The Gardens of Golden Gate Park: $1k → 10%Iron Horse Middle School: $650 → 9%KQED: $200 → 10%Twin Creek Elementary: $500 → 9%Twin Creek Elementary: $500 → 9%Iron Horse Middle School Ed Fund: $500 → 9%Iron Horse Middle School Ed Fund: $400 → 9%Twin Creek Elementary: $380 → 9%Twin Creek Elementary: $300 → 9%San Ramon Valley Unified School District: $100 → 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.

70%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$20k · 12 repeat orgs$9k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue 0% since the first grant, against -2% for those funded once.

12 repeat relationships: 11 still active in FY2025, 1 since wound down; 8 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

12
8

Total granted

$20k
$3k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

0%
-2%

Still filing today

42%
38%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 63% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $5k went to new ones.

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

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

’21’22’23’24’25
Arts & CultureAnimalsEnvironmentInternationalEducationOther
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

  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    2× · 2024–2025 · $4k
  • CA
    CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
    2× · 2024–2025 · $3k · revenue -1%
  • CS
    CONSERVATION SOCIETY OF CALIFORNIA
    2× · 2024–2025 · $2k · revenue +11%

Funded once

  • SF
    SAN FRANCISCO BOTANICAL GARDEN SOCIETY AT STRYBING ARBORETUM
    one grant, 2024 · $1k · revenue -2%
  • JH
    Joshua's House Volunteer Hospice
    one grant, 2022 · $515
  • SD
    SMILES DAY SCHOOL A CALIFORNIA CORP
    one grant, 2024 · $500 · revenue +5%
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
American Museum of Natural History

The museum's mission statement is: "to discover, interpret, and disseminate - through scientific research and education - knowledge about human cultures, the natural world, and the universe."

Arts & Culture
2
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
—
3
Oakland Museum of California

The museum's mission is to inspire all californians to create a more vibrant future for themselves and their communities. through collections, exhibitions, education programs, and public dialogue, we inspire people of all ages and…

Arts & Culture
4
The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia

The mission is "to understand the natural world and inspire everyone to care for it." the academy implements its mission through understanding the diversity of life; developing and applying science to protect the environment; and informing…

Science & Tech
5
Denver Zoological Foundation

Inspiring communities to save wildlife for future generations.

Animals
6
Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden Inc

We harness the power of plants for humankind and share the joy and beauty of tropical gardening with everyone. fairchild tropical botanic garden is a museum of tropical plants within a world famous, 83-acre designed landscape. it was…

Environment
7
San Jose Children's Discovery Museum

Children's discovery museum of san jose inspires creativity, curiosity and lifelong learning.

Arts & Culture
8
Science Museum of Minnesota

The museum's mission statement is "turn on the science: inspire learning. inform policy. improve lives."

Arts & Culture
9
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

See schedule osfmoma believes the art of our time is vital and shares it with passion and purpose, and that art and the creative process can open minds and help build a better world. for that reason, we assemble unparalleled collections,…

Arts & Culture
10
Sonoma Botanical Garden
—
11
The Adler Planetarium

The adler planetarium ('adler') is a not-for-profit cultural institution whose mission is to connect people to the universe and each other under the sky we all share. it aspires to be the world's premier center for engaging in astronomy…

Arts & Culture
12
Museum of Science

The mission of the museum of science is to inspire a lifelong love of science in everyone. through exhibits, curricula, programs, and events, both live and virtual, we aim to make science and scientific thinking accessible, engaging, and…

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Exploratorium; the most unlike its peers is Smiles Day School a California Corp. 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

10 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. 10 of the 28 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)
0
Early backer (in before they grew)
10/10
Grantees still filing
3/10
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Individual grant recipient: $4,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientThe University of California Berkeley: $1,700 · OtherThe University of California BerkeleyIndividual grant recipient: $1,680 · OtherIndividual grant recipientHappy Hollow Zoo&Park: $1,328 · OtherHappy Hollow Zoo&ParkThe Gardens of Golden Park: $1,000 · OtherThe Gardens of Golden ParkIron Horse Middle School Ed Fund: $900 · OtherIron Horse Middle School Ed FundDVHS Education Fund: $900 · OtherDVHS Education FundHakone Garden: $650 · OtherIron Horse Middle School: $650 · OtherDougherty Valley High School: $575 · Other+8 more: $2,465 · Other+8 moreCALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES: $2,567 · Arts & CultureCALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIE…CORPORATION OF THE FINE ARTS MUSEUMS: $2,160 · Arts & CultureCORPORATION OF THE FINE AR…THE EXPLORATORIUM: $1,876 · Arts & CultureTHE EXPLORATORIUM+1 more: $200 · Arts & CultureCONSERVATION SOCIETY OF CALIFORNIA: $2,000 · AnimalsCONSERVATION SO…MONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM FOUNDATION: $1,688 · AnimalsMONTEREY BAY AQ…THE MARINE MAMMAL CENTER: $200 · AnimalsSAN FRANCISCO BOTANICAL GARDEN SOCIETY AT STRYBING ARBORETUM: $1,000 · EnvironmentUNITED STATES FUND FOR UNICEF: $1,000 · InternationalSMILES DAY SCHOOL A CALIFORNIA CORP: $500 · Education
Other$15,848Arts & Culture$6,803Animals$3,888Environment$1,000International$1,000Education$500

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetCALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES: $2,567 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCORPORATION OF THE FINE ARTS MUSEUMS: $2,160 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCONSERVATION SOCIETY OF CALIFORNIA: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE EXPLORATORIUM: $1,876 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM FOUNDATION: $1,688 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSAN FRANCISCO BOTANICAL GARDEN SOCIETY AT STRYBING ARBORETUM: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUNITED STATES FUND FOR UNICEF: $1,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSMILES DAY SCHOOL A CALIFORNIA CORP: $500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE MARINE MAMMAL CENTER: $200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetKQED INC: $200 over 1y, 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 CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES ↗
  • Who funds CORPORATION OF THE FINE ARTS MUSEUMS ↗
  • Who funds CONSERVATION SOCIETY OF CALIFORNIA ↗
  • Who funds THE EXPLORATORIUM ↗
  • Who funds MONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds SAN FRANCISCO BOTANICAL GARDEN SOCIETY AT STRYBING ARBORETUM ↗
  • Who funds UNITED STATES FUND FOR UNICEF ↗
  • Who funds SMILES DAY SCHOOL A CALIFORNIA CORP ↗
  • Who funds THE MARINE MAMMAL CENTER ↗
  • Who funds KQED INC ↗

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Pham Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Pham Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%3%5%8%10%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get 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 · 0–10%
    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.

    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 28 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 Pham’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