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Rao Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Rao Family 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.

$37k
Granted FY2025still arriving
21
Grants FY2025still arriving
8
States reached
$6k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0194% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

International$104kEducation$101kHealth$92kEnvironment$81kArts & Culture$71kCivil Rights$40kPhilanthropy$32kHuman Services$20kOther$0
02FY2025 · 21 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$1,000
Median grant
8
States reached
$12k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
TRIANGLE LAND CONSERVANCY$5,500
PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AM$5,000
TBGF - SCULPTURE IN TRHE GARDEN$5,000
UNC - CAROLINA PERFORMING ARTS$3,000
AMERICARES$3,000
AGA RESEARCH FOUNDATION$3,000
Individual grant recipient$2,000
SEHGAL FOUNDATION$2,000
THE YMCA OF THE TRIANGLE AREA$1,500
NASPGHAN FOUNDATION$1,000
ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND$1,000
UNC HEALTH - DON POWELL FUND$1,000
Individual grant recipient$600
Individual grant recipient$500
JUBILEE HEALING FARM$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 (FY17–25, $26k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 46% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants spread fairly evenly across need levels.

area typical 10%SAFE ALLIANCE: $500 → 10%ALAMANCE COUNTY COMMUNITY YMCA: $1k → 13%IIT MADRAS FOUNDATION: $2k → 8%SAFE ALLIANCE: $500 → 10%ALAMANCE COUNTY COMMUNITY YMCA: $500 → 13%IIT MADRAS FOUNDATION: $2k → 8%SAFE ALLIANCE: $500 → 10%ALAMANCE COUNTY COMMUNITY YMCA: $500 → 13%YMCA OF THE TRIANGLE AREA: $2k → 8%YMCA OF THE TRIANGLE AREA: $2k → 8%YMCA OF THE TRIANGLE AREA: $2k → 8%YMCA OF THE TRIANGLE AREA: $2k → 8%THE YMCA OF THE TRIANGLE AREA: $2k → 8%YMCA OF THE TRIANGLE AREA: $1k → 8%THE FOREST AT DUKE: $500 → 11%THE FOREST AT DUKE: $300 → 11%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $2k → 14%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $1k → 14%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $1k → 14%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $1k → 14%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $1k → 14%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $1k → 14%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $1k → 14%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $165 → 14%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

NH
IL
NY
MA
OR
SD
IA
IN
PA
CT
CA
CO
NE
VA
MD
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.

89%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$544k · 108 repeat orgs$66k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +69% since the first grant, against +18% for those funded once.

108 repeat relationships: 17 still active in FY2025, 91 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

108
34

Total granted

$544k
$61k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+69%
+18%

Still filing today

68%
32%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 87% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $5k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
InternationalEnvironmentHuman ServicesHealthPhilanthropyArts & CultureOther
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

  • PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC
    8× · 2017–2025 · $35k · revenue +12%
  • AG
    AMERICAN GASTROENTEROLOGICAL ASSOCIATION INSTITUTE
    8× · 2018–2025 · $32k · revenue +4%
  • PU
    PRATHAM USA
    8× · 2017–2024 · $26k · revenue +20%

Funded once

  • IM
    IIT MADRAS FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2023 · $21k
  • TU
    THE UNIVERESITY OF MELBORNE
    one grant, 2018 · $18k
  • UO
    UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON
    one grant, 2017 · $5k
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
Conservation International Foundation

Ci works to spotlight and secure the critical benefits that nature provides to humanity.

Environment
2
American Association for the Advancement of Science

Advance science, engineering, and innovation throughout the world for the benefit of all. the world's largest multidisciplinary scientific society and a leading publisher of cutting-edge research through its science family of journals,…

Science & Tech
3
World Wildlife Fund Inc

Wwf's mission is to conserve nature and reduce the most pressing threats to the diversity of life on earth. (continued on schedule o)

Environment
4
National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners

Founded in 1889, the national association of regulatory utility commisioners (naruc) is a non-profit organization dedicated to representing the state public service commisions who regulate the utilities that provide essential services such…

—
5
Project Drawdown

Project drawdown's mission is to drive meaningful climate action by advancing science-based solutions and strategies. project drawdown's work is focused on three pillars: science - advancing science-based climate solutions and strategies;…

Education
6
Actionaid Usa

Actionaid is an international network building a just, equitable, and sustainable world in solidarity with communities on the frontlines of poverty and injustice. actionaid usa is the u.s. branch of actionaid international, which works in…

Social Science
7
United States Pharmacopeial Convention

Usp's mission is to improve global health through public standards and related programs that help ensure the quality, safety, and benefit of medicines and foods.

Health
8
National Association of Clean Water Agencies

Nacwa is the national voice of public clean water utilities, shaping water policy, convening a vibrant peer network, and empowering water leaders.

—
9
American Gas Association

American gas association's (the association) mission is to develop and advocate for informed, innovative, and durable policy that fulfills our nation's energy needs, environmental aspirations and economic potential. we are committed to…

—
10
Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Foundation

To engage and catalyze global seafood supply chains in rebuilding depleted fish stocks and reducing the environmental impacts of fishing and fish farming.

Animals
11
Rainforest Foundation Inc

The purpose of rainforest foundation us is to support indigenous peoples and forest communities in their efforts to secure their lands, protect their environment, and uphold their rights.

Environment
12
Waterorg

Water.org's goal is to bring safe water and sanitation to the world through access to small, affordable loans.

International
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Save the Children Federation Inc; the most unlike its peers is Sehgal Foundation. 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

87 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. 87 of the 148 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)
11
Early backer (in before they grew)
87/87
Grantees still filing
68/87
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

IIT MADRAS FOUNDATION (USA): $20,600 · OtherIIT MADRAS FOUNDATION (USA)THE UNIVERESITY OF MELBORNE: $18,000 · OtherTHE UNIVERESITY OF MELBORNENC BOTANICAL GARDENS SCULPTURE GARD: $12,500 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON: $12,000 · OtherCAROLINA PERFORMING ARTS: $11,000 · OtherTBGF - SCULPTURE IN TRHE GARDEN: $10,000 · Other+87 more: $160,942 · Other+87 moreMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $22,000 · InternationalMEDECINS SANS FRON…AMERICARES FOUNDATION INC: $22,000 · InternationalAMERICARES FOUNDAT…International Rescue Committee INC: $10,700 · InternationalInternational Resc…COOPERATIVE FOR ASSISTANCE AND RELIEF EVERYWHERE INC: $8,000 · InternationalCOOPERATIVE FOR AS…Save The Children Federation Inc: $7,500 · InternationalSave The Children …POLARIS PROJECT: $7,100 · InternationalPOLARIS PROJECTINTERNATIONAL PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION WESTERN HEMISPHERE REGION: $5,500 · InternationalINTERNATIONAL PLAN…UNITED STATES FUND FOR UNICEF: $3,700 · International+8 more: $13,286 · International+8 morePLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC: $35,000 · HealthPLANNED PARENTH…AMERICAN GASTROENTEROLOGICAL ASSOCIATION INSTITUTE: $32,000 · HealthAMERICAN GASTRO…THE NASPGHAN FOUNDATION: $8,000 · HealthTHE NASPGHAN FO…PARTNERS IN HEALTH A NONPROFIT CORPORATION: $7,300 · HealthPARTNERS IN HEA…+5 more: $3,850 · HealthNORTH CAROLINA BOTANICAL GARDEN FOUNDATION: $25,160 · EnvironmentNORTH CAROLIN…ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND INCORPORATED: $21,500 · EnvironmentENVIRONMENTAL…TRIANGLE LAND CONSERVANCY INC: $19,500 · EnvironmentTRIANGLE LAND…FRIENDS OF THE EARTH: $2,700 · Environment+6 more: $4,613 · Environment+6 morePRATHAM USA: $25,600 · PhilanthropyPRATHAM US…PENNIES FOR EDUCATION & HEALTH: $23,500 · PhilanthropyPENNIES FO…SEHGAL FOUNDATION: $6,000 · PhilanthropySEHGAL FOU…GREATER HOUSTON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $2,000 · Philanthropy+2 more: $600 · PhilanthropyThe Young Men's Christian Association of the Triangle Area Inc (4598): $10,000 · Human ServicesAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $7,665 · Human ServicesIIT MADRAS FOUNDATION: $4,000 · Human ServicesYoung Men's Christian Association of the Greater Houston Area: $3,000 · Human ServicesCOMMUNITY YMCA OF ALAMANCE COUNTY: $2,000 · Human ServicesSafe Alliance Inc: $1,500 · Human Services+4 more: $2,120 · Human ServicesAMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION INC: $17,900 · Civil RightsTHE CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS INC: $1,200 · Civil RightsNAACP LEGAL DEFENSE & EDUC FUND INC: $1,100 · Civil Rights+1 more: $600 · Civil Rights
Other$245,042International$99,786Health$86,150Environment$73,473Philanthropy$57,700Human Services$30,285Civil Rights$20,800

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 budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC: $35,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN GASTROENTEROLOGICAL ASSOCIATION INSTITUTE: $32,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetPRATHAM USA: $25,600 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetNORTH CAROLINA BOTANICAL GARDEN FOUNDATION: $25,160 over 8y, 0.5% of budgetPENNIES FOR EDUCATION & HEALTH: $23,500 over 7y, 3.9% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $22,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICARES FOUNDATION INC: $22,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND INCORPORATED: $21,500 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetTRIANGLE LAND CONSERVANCY INC: $19,500 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION INC: $17,900 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetInternational Rescue Committee INC: $10,700 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetThe Young Men's Christian Association of the Triangle Area Inc (4598): $10,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetTHE NASPGHAN FOUNDATION: $8,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetCOOPERATIVE FOR ASSISTANCE AND RELIEF EVERYWHERE INC: $8,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $7,665 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetSave The Children Federation Inc: $7,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetPARTNERS IN HEALTH A NONPROFIT CORPORATION: $7,300 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetPOLARIS PROJECT: $7,100 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetNORTH CAROLINA SCHOOL OF SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS FOUNDATION: $6,900 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetSEHGAL FOUNDATION: $6,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetINTERNATIONAL PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION WESTERN HEMISPHERE REGION: $5,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetFeeding America: $5,400 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetFOOD BANK OF CENTRAL & EASTERN NC INC: $5,100 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetUNITED NEGRO COLLEGE FUND INC: $4,600 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetTRIANGLE RESIDENTIAL OPTIONS FOR SUBSTANCE ABUSERS INC: $4,115 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetIIT MADRAS FOUNDATION: $4,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTHE STUDENT CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION INC: $4,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetUNC HEALTH FOUNDATION INC: $3,900 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetUNITED STATES FUND FOR UNICEF: $3,700 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetPATHFINDER INTERNATIONAL: $3,300 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetMercy Corps: $3,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetYoung Men's Christian Association of the Greater Houston Area: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPORCH INC: $2,900 over 5y, 1.0% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE EARTH: $2,700 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetSOCIETY FOR SCIENCE & THE PUBLIC: $2,300 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetRESCUE MISSIONS MINISTRIES INC: $2,200 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetSlow Money NC: $2,000 over 4y, 3.2% of budgetSOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER INC: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGREATER HOUSTON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCOMMUNITY YMCA OF ALAMANCE COUNTY: $2,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetWATERKEEPER ALLIANCE INC: $1,800 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetBoomerang Youth Inc: $1,700 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetNAMI National: $1,650 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN DANCE FESTIVAL INC: $1,600 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetMarian Cheek Jackson Center: $1,600 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetTHE UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS INC: $1,600 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetFEED THE CHILDREN INC: $1,536 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetSafe Alliance Inc: $1,500 over 3y, 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 PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC ↗
  • Who funds AMERICAN GASTROENTEROLOGICAL ASSOCIATION INSTITUTE ↗
  • Who funds PRATHAM USA ↗
  • Who funds NORTH CAROLINA BOTANICAL GARDEN FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds PENNIES FOR EDUCATION & HEALTH ↗
  • Who funds MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC ↗
  • Who funds AMERICARES FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND INCORPORATED ↗
  • Who funds TRIANGLE LAND CONSERVANCY INC ↗
  • Who funds AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds International Rescue Committee INC ↗
  • Who funds The Young Men's Christian Association of the Triangle Area Inc (4598) ↗
  • Who funds THE NASPGHAN FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds COOPERATIVE FOR ASSISTANCE AND RELIEF EVERYWHERE INC ↗
  • Who funds American National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches ↗
  • Who funds Save The Children Federation Inc ↗
  • Who funds PARTNERS IN HEALTH A NONPROFIT CORPORATION ↗
  • Who funds POLARIS PROJECT ↗
  • Who funds NORTH CAROLINA SCHOOL OF SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds SEHGAL FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds INTERNATIONAL PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION WESTERN HEMISPHERE REGION ↗
  • Who funds Feeding America ↗
  • Who funds FOOD BANK OF CENTRAL & EASTERN NC INC ↗
  • Who funds UNITED NEGRO COLLEGE FUND INC ↗
  • Who funds TRIANGLE RESIDENTIAL OPTIONS FOR SUBSTANCE ABUSERS INC ↗

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.

Triangle Community Fo…Duke Energy FoundationThe Pfizer Foundation…Verizon FoundationImpactassetsincGe Aerospace Foundati…The Neisler Foundatio…Strowd Roses IncGrace Jones Richardso…Albemarle FoundationShell USA Company Fou…Vanguard Charitable E…
Triangle Community Foundation IncNC24.7× affinity10 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Triangle Community Foundation Inc · Duke Energy Foundation · The Pfizer Foundation Inc · Verizon Foundation · Impactassetsinc · Ge Aerospace Foundation · The Neisler Foundation TUA · Strowd Roses Inc · Grace Jones Richardson Testamentary Trust C/O Piedmont Trust Co · Albemarle Foundation · Shell USA Company Foundation · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 40%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 3%
  • Mercy Corps: 47% of income from government
  • Save the Children Federation Inc: 30% of income from government
  • The Shriners' Hospital for Children: 6% of income from government
  • American Gastroenterological Association Institute: 3% of income from government
  • Feed the Children Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Americares Foundation Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Partners in Health a Nonprofit Corporation: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
4get no government money at all
13report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely 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.

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 148 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 Rao Family’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