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Phil and Ruth Spano Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Phil and Ruth Spano Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$235k
Granted FY2024still arriving
7
Grants FY2024still arriving
1
States reached
$75k
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, FY2018 to 2024.

Health$426kArts & Culture$300kEducation$200kPhilanthropy$176kAnimals$121kHuman Services$110kYouth Development$50k
02FY2024 · 7 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $10k–50k5 grants · $110k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $125k
$25,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$4.3M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
ASPEN HISTORICAL SOCIETY$75,000
CARUSO FAMILY CHARITIES$50,000
EMMAUS CATHOLIC HOSPICE$25,000
DENVER RESCUE MISSION$25,000
LUTHERAN MEDICAL CENTER FOUNDATION$20,000
CATHOLIC HEALTH INTITAVIES$20,000
CATHOLIC HEALTH INTITAVIES$20,000
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 (FY18–24, $221k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 7%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 7%CANINE PARTNER OF THE ROCKIES INC: $20k → 10%CANINE PARTNERS OF THE ROCKIES INC: $20k → 10%CANINE PARTNERS OF THE ROCKIES INC: $20k → 10%CANINE PARTNER OF THE ROCKIES INC: $20k → 10%CANINE PARTNER OF THE ROCKIES INC: $20k → 10%CANINE PARTNERS OF THE ROCKIES INC: $11k → 10%DENVER RESCUE MISSION: $25k → 12%DENVER RESCUE MISSION: $25k → 12%DENVER RESCUE MISSION: $20k → 12%DENVER RESCUE MISSION: $20k → 12%DENVER RESCUE MISSION: $20k → 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.
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.

96%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.3M · 10 repeat orgs$60k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +60% since the first grant, against +9% for those funded once.

10 repeat relationships: 6 still active in FY2024, 4 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

10
2

Total granted

$1.3M
$60k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+60%
+9%

Still filing today

90%
50%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

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

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

’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
HealthHuman ServicesEducationPhilanthropyYouth DevelopmentOther
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

  • AH
    ASPEN HISTORICAL SOCIETY
    5× · 2020–2024 · $300k · revenue +54%
  • DH
    DOMINICAN HOME HEALTH AGENCY INC
    7× · 2018–2024 · $215k · revenue +60%
  • CF
    CARUSO FAMILY CHARITIES
    7× · 2018–2024 · $176k · revenue +407%

Funded once

  • RM
    ROCKY MOUNTAIN PARTNERSHIP CRADLE TO CAREER
    one grant, 2021 · $50k · revenue +9%
  • HS
    HUMANE SOCIETY OF COZUMEL
    one grant, 2019 · $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
Colorado Health Institute
Health
2
Catholic Charities & Community Serv of the Archdiocese of Denver

As the charitable arm of the archdiocese of denver and inspired by god's love and compassion, catholic charities extends the healing ministry of jesus christ to the poor and those in need. catholic charities of the archdiocese of denver…

Human Services
3
The Colorado Health Foundation
Health
4
Commonspirit Mountain Region

We extend the healing ministry of christ by caring for those who are ill and by nurturing the health of the people in our communities.

Health
5
Hospice of Metro Denver Inc

To encircle those facing advanced illness with unprecedented levels of comfort, compassion, and expertise.

Human Services
6
Longmont United Hospital

We make the healing presence of god known in our world by improving the health of the people we serve, especially those who are vulnerable, while we advance social justice for all.

Health
7
Commonspirit Health Research Institute

As an affiliate of commonspirit health, we make the healing presence of god known in our world by improving the health of the people we serve, especially those who are vulnerable, while we advance social justice for all.

Health
8
Dignity Health Hospital and Professional Liability Self-Insurance Trust

Self-insurance program for related exempt organizations.

—
9
Catholic Health Initiatives Colorado

We make the healing presence of god known in our world by improving the health of the people we serve, especially those who are vulnerable, while we advance social justice for all.

Health
10
Mercy Medical Center

As an affiliate of commonspirit health, we make the healing presence of god known in our world by improving the health of the people we serve, especially those who are vulnerable, while we advance social justice for all.

—
11
Regional West Health Services

Health care services for the people of western nebraska and eastern wyoming.

Health
12
Chs Physician Partners Pc

We, at ch, humbly join together to bring christ's healing mission and the mission of mercy of the catholic church expressed in catholic health care to our communities.

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Denver Rescue Mission; the most unlike its peers is Caruso Family Charities. 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 12 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)
10/10
Grantees still filing
10/10
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

ASPEN HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $300,000 · OtherASPEN HISTORICAL SOCIETYCATHOLIC HEALTH INTITAVIES: $150,000 · OtherCATHOLIC HEALTH INTITAVIES+1 more: $10,000 · OtherDOMINICAN HOME HEALTH AGENCY INC: $215,000 · HealthDOMINICAN HOME HEALTH AGENCY IN…LUTHERAN MEDICAL CENTER FOUNDATION: $120,000 · HealthLUTHERAN MEDICAL CENTER FOUNDAT…COMMONSPIRIT HEALTH: $51,000 · HealthCOMMONSPIRIT HEALTHCANINE PARTNERS OF THE ROCKIES INC: $111,000 · Human ServicesCANINE PARTNERS OF…DENVER RESCUE MISSION: $110,000 · Human ServicesDENVER RESCUE MISS…CARUSO FAMILY CHARITIES: $176,000 · PhilanthropyCARUSO FAMILY …HEARTLIGHT CENTER INC: $75,000 · EducationCHILDREN'S RESOURCE CENTER: $15,000 · EducationROCKY MOUNTAIN PARTNERSHIP CRADLE TO CAREER: $50,000 · Youth Development
Other$460,000Health$386,000Human Services$221,000Philanthropy$176,000Education$90,000Youth Development$50,000

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 budgetASPEN HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $300,000 over 5y, 4.7% of budgetDOMINICAN HOME HEALTH AGENCY INC: $215,000 over 7y, 3.4% of budgetCARUSO FAMILY CHARITIES: $176,000 over 7y, 4.3% of budgetLUTHERAN MEDICAL CENTER FOUNDATION: $120,000 over 6y, 0.7% of budgetCANINE PARTNERS OF THE ROCKIES INC: $111,000 over 6y, 8.5% of budgetDENVER RESCUE MISSION: $110,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetHEARTLIGHT CENTER INC: $75,000 over 3y, 13% of budgetCOMMONSPIRIT HEALTH: $51,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetROCKY MOUNTAIN PARTNERSHIP CRADLE TO CAREER: $50,000 over 1y, 4.3% of budgetCHILDREN'S RESOURCE CENTER: $15,000 over 2y, 0.2% 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 ASPEN HISTORICAL SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds DOMINICAN HOME HEALTH AGENCY INC ↗
  • Who funds CARUSO FAMILY CHARITIES ↗
  • Who funds LUTHERAN MEDICAL CENTER FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds CANINE PARTNERS OF THE ROCKIES INC ↗
  • Who funds DENVER RESCUE MISSION ↗
  • Who funds HEARTLIGHT CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds COMMONSPIRIT HEALTH ↗
  • Who funds ROCKY MOUNTAIN PARTNERSHIP CRADLE TO CAREER ↗
  • Who funds CHILDREN'S RESOURCE 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 tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Colorado Gives Founda…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Colorado Gives FoundationCO16.9× affinity6 shared granteesties to 3 of 3Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Colorado Gives Foundation · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile 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 Phil and Ruth Spano Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Phil and Ruth Spano Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%4%8%15%funder's share of their income ↑0%1%3%4%5%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    4report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–5%
    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 12 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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Phil and Ruth Spano’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