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Raven Trust Fund at a glance

· Private foundation

Raven Trust Fund

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.

$3.9M
Granted FY2024still arriving
65
Grants FY2024still arriving
3
States reached
$3.6M
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, FY2017 to 2024.

Environment$13MHuman Services$3.7MPhilanthropy$1.5MAnimals$626kEducation$335kArts & Culture$298kHealth$296kSocial Science$127kOther$0
02FY2024 · 65 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k53 grants · $165k
  • $10k–50k11 grants · $131k
  • $250k+1 grant · $3.6M
$5,000
Median grant
3
States reached
$53M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
OXBOW CENTER$3,570,000
WOODLAND PARK ZOO$25,000
DISCOVERY INSTITUTE$15,000
TECHNOLOGY ACCESS FOUNDATION$11,227
SEATTLE TIMES INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM FUND$10,000
STEWARDSHIP PARTNERS$10,000
PATH FOR GLOBAL HEALTH$10,000
TEACH FOR AMERICA$10,000
UNITED WAY OF KING COUNTY$10,000
ARTSFUND (CCA)$10,000
PACIFIC SCIENCE CENTER FOUNDATION$10,000
FARESTART$10,000
UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO$5,000
SEATTLE ART MUSEUM$5,000
FRED HUTCHINSON CANCER CENTER$5,000
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 (FY20–24, $126k) land where the poverty rate runs at 8%, against an area that typically sits at 7%. 92% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 7%WOOD RIVER ABILITY PROGRAM: $2k → 7%TAKE THE NEXT STEP: $5k → 9%WOOD RIVER ABILITY PROGRAM: $2k → 7%TAKE THE NEXT STEP: $5k → 9%WOOD RIVER ABILITY PROGRAM: $2k → 7%WOOD RIVER ABILITY PROGRAM: $2k → 7%WOOD RIVER ABILITY PROGRAM: $2k → 7%MOCKINGBIRD SOCIETY: $5k → 9%MOCKINGBIRD SOCIETY: $5k → 9%MOCKINGBIRD SOCIETY: $5k → 9%MOCKINGBIRD SOCIETY: $5k → 9%MOCKINGBIRD SOCIETY: $5k → 9%HOPELINK: $5k → 9%HOPELINK: $5k → 9%HOPELINK: $5k → 9%HOPELINK: $5k → 9%HOPELINK: $5k → 9%ALPHA SUPPORTED LIVING SERVICES: $25k → 9%ALPHA SUPPORTED LIVING SERVICES: $25k → 9%ALPHA SUPPORTED LIVING SERVICES: $5k → 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.

81%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$15M · 70 repeat orgs$3.7M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +42% since the first grant, against +19% for those funded once.

70 repeat relationships: 52 still active in FY2024, 18 since wound down; 10 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

70
19

Total granted

$15M
$68k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+42%
+19%

Still filing today

69%
84%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 7% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $3.6M went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
Arts & CultureEducationHealthEnvironmentHuman ServicesAnimalsOther
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

  • OC
    OXBOW CENTER FOR SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE AND THE ENVIRONMENT
    7× · 2017–2023 · $13M · revenue +217% · 74% of their budget
  • TS
    THE SEATTLE AQUARIUM SOCIETY
    5× · 2020–2024 · $525k · revenue +156%
  • FH
    FRED HUTCHINSON CANCER RESEARCH CENTER
    4× · 2020–2023 · $128k · revenue +11%

Funded once

  • CF
    CENTER FOR DISEASE DYNAMICS ECONOMICS & POLICY INC
    one grant, 2021 · $10k · revenue -77%
  • FO
    FRIENDS OF ODESSA BROWN CHILDREN'S CLINIC
    one grant, 2020 · $10k
  • RP
    RAINIER PREPgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $10k · revenue +45%
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
Fsc I&P

Fsc i&p promotes environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial, and economically viable management of the world's forests. this mission aligns with the forest stewardship council (fsc), its network of offices, and other organizations.…

Philanthropy
2
The Seattle Academy of Arts & Sciences

Seattle academy is a dynamic community that challenges students to question, imagine, and create in order to contribute to a changing world.

Education
3
Life Science Washington

Life science washington is a non-profit trade and professional association dedicated to promoting innovation and responsible growth in the life sciences and biomedical industries in the state of washington. promotion and education are…

—
4
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
5
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
6
Association of Washington Cities

The association of washington cities builds connections between our state's diverse cities and towns, while providing our members with the support needed to thrive through delivery of data-driven education, nationally recognized pooling…

—
7
Great Peninsula Conservancy

Preserve in perpetuity the natural habitats, rural landscapes, and open spaces of the great peninsula of washington's puget sound.

Environment
8
Aquarium of the Pacific Corporation

The aquarium of the pacific's mission is to instill a sense of wonder, respect, and stewardship for the pacific ocean, its inhabitants, and ecosystems.

Animals
9
Seattle Symphony Orchestra Inc

To present symphonic music of the highest quality in a distinctive way for the cultural enrichment, education, engagement and enjoyment of the people of our community.

Arts & Culture
10
School's Out Washington

School's out washington (sowa) drives positive systemic change so that all washington's children and youth, particularly those furthest from justice, have access to a robust ecosystem of high-quality expanded learning programs.

Youth Development
11
Puget Sound Restoration Fund

To restore habitat, water quality and native species in the puget sound

Environment
12
Disability Rights Washington

Disability rights washington's mission is to advance the dignity, equality, and self determination of people with disabilities. we work to pursue justice on matters related to human and legal rights.

Human Services
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Seattle Public Library Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Oxbow Center for Sustainable Agriculture and the Environment. 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

73 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. 73 of the 102 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.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
12
Early backer (in before they grew)
72/73
Grantees still filing
48/73
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

OXBOW CENTER FOR SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE AND THE ENVIRONMENT: $12,943,000 · EducationOXBOW CENTER FOR SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE AND THE ENVIRONMENT+8 more: $93,000 · EducationOXBOW CENTER: $3,570,000 · OtherOXBOW CENTER+62 more: $1,157,275 · Other+62 moreTHE SEATTLE AQUARIUM SOCIETY: $525,000 · AnimalsWOODLAND PARK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $96,000 · Animals+2 more: $25,000 · AnimalsPACIFIC SCIENCE CENTER FOUNDATION: $91,000 · Arts & CultureBURKE MUSEUM ASSOCIATION: $35,000 · Arts & CultureSEATTLE ART MUSEUM: $25,000 · Arts & CultureNORTHWEST AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUM: $22,000 · Arts & CulturePATH WITH ART: $21,000 · Arts & CultureCLASSICAL 981: $13,000 · Arts & Culture+6 more: $17,000 · Arts & CultureStewardship Partners: $95,000 · EnvironmentFORTERRA NW: $45,000 · EnvironmentNATIONAL TROPICAL BOTANICAL GARDEN: $25,000 · EnvironmentISLANDWOOD: $25,000 · Environment+3 more: $11,000 · EnvironmentALPHA SUPPORTED LIVING SERVICES: $55,750 · Human ServicesHOPELINK: $25,000 · Human ServicesTHE MOCKINGBIRD SOCIETY: $25,000 · Human ServicesWOOD RIVER ABILITY PROGRAM: $10,000 · Human ServicesTAKE THE NEXT STEP: $10,000 · Human ServicesSEATTLE FOUNDATION: $65,000 · PhilanthropyUNITED WAY OF KING COUNTY: $60,000 · Philanthropy
Education$13,036,000Other$4,727,275Animals$646,000Arts & Culture$224,000Environment$201,000Human Services$125,750Philanthropy$125,000

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 budgetOXBOW CENTER FOR SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE AND THE ENVIRONMENT: $12,943,000 over 7y, 74% of budgetTHE SEATTLE AQUARIUM SOCIETY: $525,000 over 5y, 1.0% of budgetFRED HUTCHINSON CANCER RESEARCH CENTER: $128,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetDISCOVERY INSTITUTE: $125,000 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetWOODLAND PARK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $96,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetStewardship Partners: $95,000 over 5y, 4.0% of budgetPACIFIC SCIENCE CENTER FOUNDATION: $91,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetSEATTLE FOUNDATION: $65,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetUNITED WAY OF KING COUNTY: $60,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetRAINIER SCHOLARS: $56,000 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetALPHA SUPPORTED LIVING SERVICES: $55,750 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetTECHNOLOGY ACCESS FOUNDATION: $54,250 over 5y, 0.8% of budgetFARESTART: $45,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetFORTERRA NW: $45,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetBURKE MUSEUM ASSOCIATION: $35,000 over 5y, 0.6% of budgetPLYMOUTH HOUSING GROUP AND SUBSIDIARIES: $32,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetTREEHOUSE: $26,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetFred Hutchinson Cancer Center: $25,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSEATTLE ART MUSEUM: $25,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetHOPELINK: $25,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL TROPICAL BOTANICAL GARDEN: $25,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetTHE MOCKINGBIRD SOCIETY: $25,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetISLANDWOOD: $25,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetMaris Place: $25,000 over 5y, 2.4% of budgetNORTHWEST AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUM: $22,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetPATH WITH ART: $21,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetLONG LIVE THE KINGS: $20,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetSEATTLE PARKS FOUNDATION: $15,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetCLASSICAL 981: $13,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetWORLDREADERORG: $12,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetCENTER FOR DISEASE DYNAMICS ECONOMICS & POLICY INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSALISH SEA EXPENDITIONS: $10,000 over 5y, 1.5% of budgetRAINIER PREP: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetWOOD RIVER ABILITY PROGRAM: $10,000 over 5y, 3.0% of budgetTAKE THE NEXT STEP: $10,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetWASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSNOQUALMIE VALLEY PRESERVATION ALLIANCE: $9,000 over 5y, 1.4% of budgetCenter For Wooden Boats: $9,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetSEATTLE PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetHEDGEBROOK: $5,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE SAN JUANS: $5,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetBLOOD CANCER UNITED INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBREAKTHROUGH T1D: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetRICHARD HUGO HOUSE: $5,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetCAMP KOREY: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetARBORETUM FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $5,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetTHE HUMANE SOCIETY FOR SEATTLEKING COUNTY: $5,000 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 OXBOW CENTER FOR SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE AND THE ENVIRONMENT ↗
  • Who funds THE SEATTLE AQUARIUM SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds FRED HUTCHINSON CANCER RESEARCH CENTER ↗
  • Who funds DISCOVERY INSTITUTE ↗
  • Who funds WOODLAND PARK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds Stewardship Partners ↗
  • Who funds PACIFIC SCIENCE CENTER FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds SEATTLE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds UNITED WAY OF KING COUNTY ↗
  • Who funds RAINIER SCHOLARS ↗
  • Who funds ALPHA SUPPORTED LIVING SERVICES ↗
  • Who funds TECHNOLOGY ACCESS FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds FARESTART ↗
  • Who funds FORTERRA NW ↗
  • Who funds BURKE MUSEUM ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds PLYMOUTH HOUSING GROUP AND SUBSIDIARIES ↗
  • Who funds TREEHOUSE ↗
  • Who funds Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center ↗
  • Who funds SEATTLE ART MUSEUM ↗
  • Who funds HOPELINK ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL TROPICAL BOTANICAL GARDEN ↗
  • Who funds THE MOCKINGBIRD SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds ISLANDWOOD ↗
  • Who funds Maris Place ↗
  • Who funds NORTHWEST AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUM ↗
  • Who funds PATH WITH ART ↗
  • Who funds LONG LIVE THE KINGS ↗

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 FoundationThe Norcliffe Foundat…M J Murdock Charitabl…Gates FoundationPuget Sound Energy Fo…Wyman Youth TrustUnited Way of King Co…The Satterberg Founda…The Hugh and Jane Fer…Gs Donor Advised Phil…ArtsfundMedina Foundation
Seattle FoundationWA62.6× affinity36 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Seattle Foundation · The Norcliffe Foundation · M J Murdock Charitable Trust · Gates Foundation · Puget Sound Energy Foundation · Wyman Youth Trust · United Way of King County · The Satterberg Foundation Inc · The Hugh and Jane Ferguson Foundation · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · Artsfund · Medina 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 Raven Trust Fund funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Raven Trust Fund. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%5%19%42%75%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 16%
  • Center for Disease Dynamics Economics & Policy Inc: 16% of income from government
  • President and Fellows of Harvard College: 7% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
31report 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.
05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Raven Trust Fund?

Find your warmest path to Raven Trust Fund 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 102 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 Raven’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