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Red String Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Red String Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$64k
Granted FY2025still arriving
14
Grants FY2025still arriving
2
States reached
$10k
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.

Youth Development$71kHuman Services$67kEducation$56kRecreation & Sports$17kEnvironment$9kReligion$7kScience & Tech$5kFood & Nutrition$3kOther$0
02FY2025 · 14 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k13 grants · $54k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $10k
$4,308
Median grant
2
States reached
$1.3M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
INTERNATIONAL TRADE EDUCATION PROGRAMS DBA EXP$10,000
JUBILEE REACH$6,000
CITY SURF PROJECT$6,000
HEART OF IDA$5,500
Individual grant recipient$5,000
MISSION SCIENCE WORKSHOP$5,000
BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF SANTA MONTICA$4,308
KIDWORKS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION$4,000
SUNSET YOUTH SERVICES$4,000
RAINIER SCHOLARS$4,000
SOUND GENERATIONS$3,585
JAZZ ANGELS$3,000
DENISE LOUIE EDUCATION CENTER$2,700
ORANGE COUNTY BUDDIST CHURCH$1,000
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 (FY20–25, $55k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 79% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%HEART OF IDA: $6k → 14%SOUND GENERATIONS: $4k → 9%HEART OF IDA: $2k → 14%SOUND GENERATIONS: $4k → 9%J-SEI: $8k → 10%SOUND GENERATIONS: $2k → 9%SOUND GENERATIONS: $2k → 9%J-SEI: $2k → 10%LARKIN STREET YOUTH SERVICES: $2k → 10%KIDWORKS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $4k → 10%J-SEI: $2k → 10%KIDWORKS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $4k → 10%KIMOCHI INC: $2k → 10%KIDWORKS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $2k → 10%J-SEI: $2k → 10%KIDWORKS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $2k → 10%KIDWORKS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $2k → 10%JAPANESE COMMUNITY YOUTH COUNCIL: $750 → 10%YMCA OF SAN FRANCISCO: $2k → 10%YMCA OF SAN FRANCISCO: $1k → 10%YMCA OF SAN FRANCISCO: $1k → 10%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.

88%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$209k · 22 repeat orgs$28k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +38% since the first grant, against +16% for those funded once.

22 repeat relationships: 11 still active in FY2025, 11 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

22
6

Total granted

$209k
$10k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+38%
+16%

Still filing today

73%
67%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 72% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $18k 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
Human ServicesEducationYouth DevelopmentRecreation & SportsEnvironmentFood & NutritionOther
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

  • JR
    Jubilee REACH
    5× · 2021–2025 · $18k · revenue +14%
  • RS
    RAINIER SCHOLARS
    5× · 2021–2025 · $18k · revenue +109%
  • CS
    City Surf Project
    4× · 2022–2025 · $17k · revenue +36%

Funded once

  • WS
    WOMENS SHELTER
    one grant, 2024 · $3k
  • MO
    MEALS ON WHEELS
    one grant, 2024 · $2k
  • LS
    Larkin Street Youth Services
    one grant, 2022 · $2k · revenue +7%
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
Enterprise for Youth

Enterprise for youth empowers under-resourced san francisco youths to reach their potential through transformative paid internship experiences supported by a community of employers, caring adults, and peers.

Youth Development
2
California School-Age Consortium Inc

The California School-Age Consortium (CalSAC) builds professional networks that provide training, leadership development and advocacy to ensure that all young people have access to high quality out-of-school time programs and to create a…

—
3
East Bay Agency for Children

For more than 70 years, East Bay Agency for Children continues to improve the well-being of children, youth and families by reducing the impact of trauma and social inequalities.

Health
4
Children's Council of San Francisco

By advocating for quality early care and education, empowering families with information and financial support, and building the capabilities of educators, Children's Council of San Francisco ensures that every child in San Francisco has…

Human Services
5
Asian Youth Center

Ayc's mission is to meet the educational and social service needs of low-income, immigrant, at-risk, and adjudicated youth and families of all ethnicities, with a special cultural and linguistic competence with asian americans. by…

Human Services
6
Telegraph Hill Neighborhood Association

Telegraph Hill Neighborhood Center's mission is to provide opportunities for the individuals and families in the North Beach, Chinatown,Fisherman's wharf and Mission Bay neighborhoods to enrich their quality of life.

Community Improvement
7
Jobs with Justice San Francisco

A long-term, strategic alliance of labor, community, faith-based, and student organizations working together to build greater economic power for workers and community members through employee rights at work and access to good jobs,…

Employment
8
San Diego Jewish Academy

San Diego Jewish Academy empowers each student to learn for life, guided by Jewish values and rooted in strength of community.

Education
9
Boys and Girls Clubs of Silicon Valley

To inspire and empower all young people, especially those who need us most, to realize their full potential as productive, responsible and caring adults.

Youth Development
10
Junior Achievement of Sacramento Inc

Provide in school programs that educate and inspire young people to value free enterprise, understand business, economics and improve the quality of their lives.

International
11
The International School of San Francisco

Guided by the principles of academic rigor and diversity, the international school of san francisco offers programs of study in french and english to prepare its graduates for a world in which the ability to think critically and to…

Education
12
Achievekids

Achievekids schools provide individualized and multi-disciplinary programs that deliver special education, mental health, and family support services for students ages 5 to 22 who have complex and often severe developmental, emotional, and…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Kidworks Community Development Corp; the most unlike its peers is Heart of Ida. 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

22 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. 22 of the 31 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)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
22/22
Grantees still filing
17/22
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Jubilee REACH: $18,100 · EducationJubilee REACHRAINIER SCHOLARS: $17,850 · EducationRAINIER SCHOLARSINTERNATIONAL TRADE EDUCATION PROGRAMS INC DBA EXP: $10,000 · EducationINTERNATIONAL TRADE EDUCATIO…NORTHWEST EDUCATION ACCESS: $7,000 · EducationNORTHWEST EDUCATION ACCESSLONG BEACH DAY NURSERY: $4,500 · EducationLONG BEACH DAY NURSERYDenise Louie Education center: $2,700 · EducationSUNSET YOUTH SERVICES: $14,500 · OtherSUNSET YOUTH SERVICESIndividual grant recipient: $10,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientORANGE COUNTY BUDDIST CHURCH: $6,660 · OtherORANGE COUNTY BUDDIST CHUR…Individual grant recipient: $5,200 · OtherIndividual grant recipientSHAREFEST: $5,000 · OtherSHAREFESTMISSION SCIENCE WORKSHOP: $5,000 · OtherMISSION SCIENCE WORKSHOPEXP: $4,400 · OtherEXPWOMENS SHELTER: $3,000 · OtherWOMENS SHELTERMEALS ON WHEELS: $2,000 · OtherKIDWORKS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORP: $14,675 · Human ServicesKIDWORKS COMMUNITY DEVELOP…J-SEI INC: $13,507 · Human ServicesJ-SEI INCSOUND GENERATIONS: $11,785 · Human ServicesSOUND GENERATIONSHeart of Ida: $7,500 · Human ServicesHeart of IdaYOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF SAN FRANCISCO: $3,600 · Human ServicesYOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSO…Larkin Street Youth Services: $2,000 · Human Services+2 more: $2,250 · Human ServicesBOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF SANTA MONICA INC: $12,308 · Youth DevelopmentBOYS AND GIRLS…Collective Impact: $7,000 · Youth DevelopmentCollective Imp…United Playaz: $5,500 · Youth DevelopmentUnited PlayazEAST BAY ASIAN YOUTH CENTER: $5,500 · Youth DevelopmentEAST BAY ASIAN…City Surf Project: $16,500 · Recreation & SportsJazz Angel Inc: $9,250 · Arts & CultureEarth Island Institute Inc: $9,000 · EnvironmentMeals on Wheels by ACC: $1,000 · Food & Nutrition
Education$60,150Other$55,760Human Services$55,317Youth Development$30,308Recreation & Sports$16,500Arts & Culture$9,250Environment$9,000Food & Nutrition$1,000

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 budgetJubilee REACH: $18,100 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetRAINIER SCHOLARS: $17,850 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetCity Surf Project: $16,500 over 4y, 0.9% of budgetKIDWORKS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORP: $14,675 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetJ-SEI INC: $13,507 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetBOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF SANTA MONICA INC: $12,308 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetSOUND GENERATIONS: $11,785 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetINTERNATIONAL TRADE EDUCATION PROGRAMS INC DBA EXP: $10,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetJazz Angel Inc: $9,250 over 3y, 1.3% of budgetEarth Island Institute Inc: $9,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetHeart of Ida: $7,500 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetNORTHWEST EDUCATION ACCESS: $7,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetCollective Impact: $7,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetUnited Playaz: $5,500 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetEAST BAY ASIAN YOUTH CENTER: $5,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetLONG BEACH DAY NURSERY: $4,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetYOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF SAN FRANCISCO: $3,600 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetLarkin Street Youth Services: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetKIMOCHI INC: $1,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMeals on Wheels by ACC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetJAPANESE COMMUNITY YOUTH COUNCIL: $750 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.

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.

Kaiser Foundation Hos…Metta FundAsian Pacific FundUnited Way of King Co…The California Endowm…The Albertsons Compan…The San Francisco Fou…Seattle FoundationThe Blackbaud Giving …Tides FoundationMightycause Charitabl…Silicon Valley Commun…
Kaiser Foundation HospitalsCA16.4× affinity6 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Kaiser Foundation Hospitals · Metta Fund · Asian Pacific Fund · United Way of King County · The California Endowment · The Albertsons Companies Foundation · The San Francisco Foundation · Seattle Foundation · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · Tides Foundation · Mightycause Charitable Foundation · Silicon Valley Community 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 Red String Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Red String 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%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get 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.
    05Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to Red String Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Red String 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 31 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 Red String’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