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· Private foundation

Robert & Elizabeth Fergus Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$133k
Granted FY2024still arriving
62
Grants FY2024still arriving
11
States reached
$10k
Largest
01What it funds
0198% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Arts & Culture$358kEnvironment$306kEducation$160kInternational$79kCivil Rights$75kHealth$61kHousing & Shelter$31kHuman Services$22kOther$0
02FY2024 · 62 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k60 grants · $113k
  • $10k–50k2 grants · $20k
$1,500
Median grant
11
States reached
$2.8M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
ALFRED BRAUN HUT SYSTEM$10,000
THEATERWORKS$10,000
CONSERVATION NORTHWEST$8,000
RIOS TO RIVERS$6,125
BEYOND FISTULA$5,000
WELLESLEY COLLEGE$5,000
PICKFORD FILM CENTER$5,000
MULTICULTURAL MUSIC FELLOWSHIP$5,000
CAF AMERICA (CAMERAS WITHOUT BORDERS)$3,000
BALLETMET$3,000
EARTH ISLAND INSTITUTE (SACRED LANDS)$3,000
UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO GRAHAM SCHOOL$3,000
MIDDLEBURY$2,500
UNIVERSITY CLUB SCHOLARSHIP FUND$2,500
METHOW CONSERVANCY$2,500
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 (FY17–24, $23k) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 23% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%FREEDOM READS: $2k → 12%TEEN LIVING PROGRAMS: $500 → 14%TEEN LIVING PROGRAMS: $500 → 14%TEEN LIVING PROGRAMS: $200 → 14%SHE HAS A NAME: $600 → 15%HUCKLEBERRY HOUSE: $1k → 15%HUCKLEBERRY HOUSE: $500 → 15%BEYOND FISTULA: $5k → 8%BEYOND FISTULA: $5k → 8%BEYOND FISTULA: $5k → 8%BEYOND FISTULA: $3k → 8%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

VT
WA
IL
MI
NY
MA
OH
PA
CT
CA
UT
CO
MO
VA
MD
DC
AL
GA
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.

94%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.1M · 100 repeat orgs$66k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +40% since the first grant, against +22% for those funded once.

100 repeat relationships: 44 still active in FY2024, 56 since wound down; 16 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

100
20

Total granted

$1.1M
$31k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+40%
+22%

Still filing today

67%
35%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 74% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $35k 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
EnvironmentArts & CultureEducationHuman ServicesInternationalHealthOther
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

  • CN
    CONSERVATION NW
    8× · 2017–2024 · $64k · revenue +79%
  • UO
    UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO FOUNDATION
    5× · 2017–2021 · $50k · revenue +79%
  • WC
    Wellesley College
    8× · 2017–2024 · $46k · revenue +63%

Funded once

  • PA
    PALO ALTO RECREATION FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2019 · $5k · revenue -4%
  • P
    PROMUSICA
    one grant, 2022 · $3k
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2017 · $3k
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
Rainforest Trust

Rainforest trust saves endangered wildlife and protects our planet by creating rainforest reserves through partnerships, community engagement, and donor support.

International
2
Environmental Investigation Agency

To establish and promote programs to protect the global climate, forests, wildlife and the natural environment, through research, advocacy, and investigation.

International
3
Asociacion Interamericana Para La Defensa Del Ambiente

To strenghten people's ability to guarantee their individual and collective right to a healthy environment, via the development, implementation, and effective enforcement of national and international law.

Crime & Legal
4
CarbonPlan

Improving the transparency and scientific integrity of climate solutions through open data and tools.

Environment
5
Colorado Museum of Natural History

Be a catalyst! Ignite our community's passion for nature and science.

Arts & Culture
6
Grist Magazine Inc

Grist is an independent, non profit media organization dedicated to reporting on climate change.

Environment
7
Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide

Educational & charitable. to provide legal and scientific information to public interest attorneys and scientists in numerous countries.

—
8
World Resources Institute

Wri is committed to creating change that improves people's lives and ensures the natural world can thrive. (see schedule o)wri's bold vision requires a formula for success we call "count it. change it. scale it.":- count it: our work is…

International
9
Native Plant Trust Inc

The organization's mission is to conserve and promote new england's native plants to ensure healthy, biologically diverse landscapes.

Environment
10
The Union of Concerned Scientists Inc

The union of concerned scientists puts rigorous, independent science into action, developing solutions and advocating for a healthy, safe, and just future.

International
11
Partnership for Policy Integrity

Partnership for Policy Integrity (PFPI) uses data-driven advocacy and litigation to fight for forests, communities and the climate.

Environment
12
Center for International Environmental Law Inc

To investigate, research, write, publish, present conferences and teach with respect to global, regional, transboundary, and comparative environmental issues and to make the findings from such activities available to the general public; to…

International
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Trust for Public Land; the most unlike its peers is Court Theatre Fund. 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

86 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. 86 of the 138 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)
19
Early backer (in before they grew)
84/86
Grantees still filing
58/86
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THEATERWORKS: $61,500 · OtherTHEATERWORKSWHATCOM FILM ASSOCIATION: $50,000 · OtherWHATCOM FILM ASSOCIATIONWELLESLEY COLLEGE FRIENDS OF ART: $34,000 · OtherWELLESLEY COLLEGE FRIENDS OF ARTMULTICULTURAL MUSIC FELLOWSHIP: $33,000 · OtherMULTICULTURAL MUSIC FELLOWSHIPHUMANS RIGHT'S WATCH: $31,000 · OtherRocky Mountain Institute: $27,000 · Other+76 more: $373,985 · Other+76 moreCONSERVATION NW: $64,000 · EnvironmentCONSERVATION NWLittle Traverse Conservancy Inc: $23,000 · EnvironmentLittle Traverse Conser…Earth Island Institute Inc: $21,000 · EnvironmentEarth Island Institute…SKAGIT LAND TRUST: $17,500 · EnvironmentSKAGIT LAND TRUSTNorth Cascades Institute: $14,500 · EnvironmentNorth Cascades Institu…SIERRA CLUB FOUNDATION: $12,500 · EnvironmentASPEN CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES: $12,500 · EnvironmentWHATCOM LAND TRUST: $10,000 · EnvironmentCanopy: $9,000 · EnvironmentEARTHJUSTICE: $8,500 · EnvironmentEnvironmental Volunteers Inc: $8,000 · Environment+10 more: $34,875 · Environment+10 moreUNIVERSITY OF COLORADO FOUNDATION: $50,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY …Wellesley College: $46,000 · EducationWellesley C…THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO: $9,950 · EducationTHE ART INS…STEPHENS COLLEGE: $6,500 · EducationSTEPHENS CO…WIKIMEDIA FOUNDATION INC: $4,600 · Education+2 more: $3,500 · EducationKQED INC: $23,025 · Arts & CultureKQED INCCOLUMBUS MUSEUM OF ART: $14,585 · Arts & CultureCOLUMBUS M…GERMAN VILLAGE SOCIETY: $13,000 · Arts & CultureGERMAN VIL…PICKFORD FILM CENTER: $10,000 · Arts & CulturePICKFORD F…BALLET METROPOLITAN INC: $9,000 · Arts & CultureBALLET MET…NORTHWEST FILM FORUM: $9,000 · Arts & CultureNORTHWEST …Primary Stages Company Inc: $8,000 · Arts & CulturePrimary St…ROCKY MOUNTAIN PUBLIC MEDIA INC: $6,000 · Arts & CultureROCKY MOUN…METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART: $5,750 · Arts & Culture+8 more: $10,300 · Arts & Culture+8 moreMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $32,000 · InternationalGLOBAL AIDS INTERFAITH ALLIANCE (GAIA): $13,000 · InternationalSCHOOL FUND: $12,000 · International+1 more: $1,000 · InternationalTHE PALO ALTO COMMUNITY FUND: $14,000 · PhilanthropyCHARITIES AID FOUNDATION AMERICA: $14,000 · PhilanthropyIMPACT GRANTS CHICAGO: $1,350 · Philanthropy+1 more: $1,000 · PhilanthropyPLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC: $20,000 · HealthPlanned Parenthood of Illinois: $3,365 · HealthPLANNED PARENTHOOD OF GREATER OHIO: $1,000 · Health
Other$610,485Environment$235,375Education$120,550Arts & Culture$108,660International$58,000Philanthropy$30,350Health$24,365

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 budgetCONSERVATION NW: $64,000 over 8y, 0.3% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF COLORADO FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetWellesley College: $46,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetMULTICULTURAL MUSIC FELLOWSHIP: $33,000 over 8y, 40% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $32,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetRocky Mountain Institute: $27,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetKQED INC: $23,025 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetLittle Traverse Conservancy Inc: $23,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetEarth Island Institute Inc: $21,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC: $20,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetBEYOND FISTULA: $17,500 over 4y, 3.3% of budgetSKAGIT LAND TRUST: $17,500 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetMETHOW CONSERVANCY: $15,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetKULSHAN COMMUNITY LAND TRUST: $15,000 over 8y, 0.7% of budgetCOLUMBUS MUSEUM OF ART: $14,585 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetNorth Cascades Institute: $14,500 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetTHE PALO ALTO COMMUNITY FUND: $14,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetCHARITIES AID FOUNDATION AMERICA: $14,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetGERMAN VILLAGE SOCIETY: $13,000 over 5y, 0.9% of budgetGLOBAL AIDS INTERFAITH ALLIANCE (GAIA): $13,000 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetSIERRA CLUB FOUNDATION: $12,500 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetASPEN CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES: $12,500 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetSCHOOL FUND: $12,000 over 8y, 1.1% of budgetDOWNTOWN BELLINGHAM ASSOCIATION DBA DOWNTOWN BELLINGHAM PARTNERSHIP: $11,500 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetSOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER INC: $11,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetPICKFORD FILM CENTER: $10,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetWHATCOM LAND TRUST: $10,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetTHE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO: $9,950 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCanopy: $9,000 over 5y, 0.7% of budgetBALLET METROPOLITAN INC: $9,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetNORTHWEST FILM FORUM: $9,000 over 8y, 0.2% of budgetCalMatters: $8,500 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetEARTHJUSTICE: $8,500 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetEnvironmental Volunteers Inc: $8,000 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetPrimary Stages Company Inc: $8,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetWILDERNESS WORKSHOP: $6,500 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetSTEPHENS COLLEGE: $6,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budget350ORG: $6,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetRios to Rivers: $6,125 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetROCKY MOUNTAIN PUBLIC MEDIA INC: $6,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetMETROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART: $5,750 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetEQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE: $5,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetASPEN VALLEY LAND TRUST: $5,250 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetPRO MUSICA CHAMBER ORCHESTRA OF COLUMBUS INC: $5,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetPALO ALTO RECREATION FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 6.7% of budgetWIKIMEDIA FOUNDATION INC: $4,600 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetMid-Ohio Foodbank: $4,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetSave The Bay: $4,000 over 3y, 0.1% 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 CONSERVATION NW ↗
  • Who funds UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Wellesley College ↗
  • Who funds MULTICULTURAL MUSIC FELLOWSHIP ↗
  • Who funds MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC ↗
  • Who funds Rocky Mountain Institute ↗
  • Who funds KQED INC ↗
  • Who funds Little Traverse Conservancy Inc ↗
  • Who funds Earth Island Institute Inc ↗
  • Who funds PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC ↗
  • Who funds BEYOND FISTULA ↗
  • Who funds SKAGIT LAND TRUST ↗
  • Who funds METHOW CONSERVANCY ↗
  • Who funds KULSHAN COMMUNITY LAND TRUST ↗
  • Who funds COLUMBUS MUSEUM OF ART ↗
  • Who funds North Cascades Institute ↗
  • Who funds THE PALO ALTO COMMUNITY FUND ↗
  • Who funds CHARITIES AID FOUNDATION AMERICA ↗
  • Who funds GERMAN VILLAGE SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds GLOBAL AIDS INTERFAITH ALLIANCE (GAIA) ↗
  • Who funds SIERRA CLUB FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds ASPEN CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES ↗
  • Who funds SCHOOL FUND ↗
  • Who funds DOWNTOWN BELLINGHAM ASSOCIATION DBA DOWNTOWN BELLINGHAM PARTNERSHIP ↗
  • Who funds SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds PICKFORD FILM CENTER ↗
  • Who funds WHATCOM LAND TRUST ↗
  • Who funds THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO ↗

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 FoundationWA22.6× affinity12 shared granteesties to 10 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Seattle Foundation · L Brands Foundation · The Palo Alto Community Fund · Whatcom Community Foundation · Silicon Valley Community Foundation · Philanthropic Ventures Foundation · Columbus Foundation · American Electric Power Foundation · Palo Alto Rotary Club Annual Charities Inc · Jacob L and Lillian Holtzmann Foundation · Aspen Business Center Foundation · Islands Fund

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 & Elizabeth Fergus Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Robert & Elizabeth Fergus Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%3%10%23%40%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 12%
  • Freedom Reads Inc: 12% of income from government
  • Wellesley College: 1% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
28report 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 Robert & Elizabeth Fergus Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Robert & Elizabeth Fergus 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 138 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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