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Robert and Elizabeth Ellis Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Robert and Elizabeth Ellis Family 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.

$10k
Granted FY2024still arriving
1
Grants FY2024still arriving
1
States reached
$10k
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.

Arts & Culture$245kYouth Development$240kEducation$90kHuman Services$30kHealth$25kRecreation & Sports$15kPublic Benefit$5k
02FY2024 · 1 grant

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$10,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$493k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
RIDGEFIELD LIBRARY ASSOCIATION INC$10,000
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.

None of its grants could be placed against low income need for this view.

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.

91%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$590k · 8 repeat orgs$60k to everyone else

8 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2024, 7 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

8
2

Total granted

$590k
$60k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+49%
+92%

Still filing today

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

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

’18’19’20’21’22’24
Arts & CultureEducationYouth DevelopmentHuman ServicesPublic BenefitOther
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

  • BG
    BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF RIDGEFIELD
    5× · 2018–2022 · $240k · revenue +86%
  • TR
    THE RIDGEFIELD PLAYHOUSE FOR MOVIES AND THE PERFORMING ARTS INC
    4× · 2018–2022 · $160k · revenue +39%
  • RL
    Ridgefield Library Association Inc
    3× · 2018–2024 · $80k · revenue +20%

Funded once

  • RP
    RIDGEFIELD PLAYHOUSE FOR MOVIES & PERFORMING ARTS
    one grant, 2019 · $55k
  • RV
    RIDGEFIELD VETERANS' MEMORIAL COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION INCgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $5k · revenue +92%
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
Land Conservancy of Ridgefield Inc

The Land Conservancy of Ridgefield, Inc. ("the Land Conservancy"), founded in 1967, preserves and protects, for the general benefit of the public, Ridgefield, Connecticut's natural resources including land and water resources, the plant…

Environment
2
Richfield Community Center
—
3
Ridgefield Community Kindergarten Inc

To provide preschool education for children ages 2-5.

—
4
Riverton Free Library Association
—
5
Richfield Foundation

To receive and administer grants, gifts, donations and bequests in a manner designed to promote the activities of richfield living and ridgecrest at richfield.

—
6
Litchfield Historical Society

Museum

—
7
Ridgefield Chamber of Commerce

The mission of ridgefield chamber of commerce is to promote the economic vitality of the town of ridgefield ct through member engagement, hospitality.

—
8
Ridgefield Fresh Air Association
—
9
Friends of Ridgefield Community Programs Inc

Support civic activities in the town of ridgefield, ct

Community Improvement
10
Ridgewood Public Library Foundation

The foundation will develop a basis of perpetual financial support to ensure that the library will always provide outstanding information, education, and culture in a user-friendly, state of the art facility.

Education
11
Peterborough Retirement Community At Upland Farm Inc

Rivermead is a progressive not-for-profit continuing care retirement community that advocates for an enriched lifestyle with cultural and educational opportunities. continued on schedule "o".we continuously strive to provide high-quality,…

Human Services
12
Ridgefield Main Street

Ridgefield Main Street is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the cultural heritage of downtown Ridgefield, while advocating advocating for its future through economic development, community events, public and private…

Unclassified
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Ridgefield Library Association Inc; the most unlike its peers is The Ridgefield Playhouse for Movies and the Performing Arts Inc. 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

9 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. 9 of the 10 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)
3
Early backer (in before they grew)
9/9
Grantees still filing
7/9
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF RIDGEFIELD: $240,000 · Youth DevelopmentBOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF RIDGEFIELDTHE RIDGEFIELD PLAYHOUSE FOR MOVIES AND THE PERFORMING ARTS INC: $160,000 · Arts & CultureTHE RIDGEFIELD PLAYHOUSE FOR MOVI…KEELER TAVERN: $30,000 · Arts & CultureKEELER TAVERNRIDGEFIELD PLAYHOUSE FOR MOVIES & PERFORMING ARTS: $55,000 · OtherRIDGEFIELD PLAYHOUS…KIDS IN CRISIS INC: $30,000 · OtherKIDS IN CRISIS INCRVNAHEALTH INC: $25,000 · OtherRVNAHEALTH INCRidgefield Library Association Inc: $80,000 · EducationRidgefield Libr…NORWALK COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC: $10,000 · EducationNORWALK COMMUNI…Founders Hall Foundation Inc: $15,000 · Human ServicesRIDGEFIELD VETERANS' MEMORIAL COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION INC: $5,000 · Public Benefit
Youth Development$240,000Arts & Culture$190,000Other$110,000Education$90,000Human Services$15,000Public Benefit$5,000

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

25%50%75%100%$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetBOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF RIDGEFIELD: $240,000 over 5y, 3.3% of budgetTHE RIDGEFIELD PLAYHOUSE FOR MOVIES AND THE PERFORMING ARTS INC: $160,000 over 4y, 1.1% of budgetRidgefield Library Association Inc: $80,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetKEELER TAVERN: $30,000 over 2y, 2.7% of budgetKIDS IN CRISIS INC: $30,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetRVNAHEALTH INC: $25,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetFounders Hall Foundation Inc: $15,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetNORWALK COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC: $10,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetRIDGEFIELD VETERANS' MEMORIAL COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.8% 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.

Ge Aerospace Foundati…Ridgefield Thrift Sho…Patrick FoundationThe Ayco Charitable F…The Barker Welfare Fo…Fairfield County's Co…Synchrony FoundationElizabeth Murray Elli…Taylor-Zemo Foundatio…Anne S Richardson Fun…The Goldstone Family …Union Savings Bank Fo…
Ge Aerospace FoundationCT19.5× affinity8 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Ge Aerospace Foundation · Ridgefield Thrift Shop Inc · Patrick Foundation · The Ayco Charitable Foundation · The Barker Welfare Foundation · Fairfield County's Community Foundation Inc · Synchrony Foundation · Elizabeth Murray Ellis Family Foundation · Taylor-Zemo Foundation Inc · Anne S Richardson Fund Xxxxx3004 · The Goldstone Family Foundation · Union Savings Bank Foundation Inc

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 Robert and Elizabeth Ellis Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Robert and Elizabeth Ellis 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%15%30%45%60%share of the org’s income from government →median 2%
  • Kids in Crisis Inc: 49% of income from government
  • Rvnahealth Inc: 2% of income from government
  • The Ridgefield Playhouse for Movies and the Performing Arts Inc: 1% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
4get no government money at all
2report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–60%
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 10 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

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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