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Rotary Club of Bellingham Foundation at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Public charity

Rotary Club of Bellingham Foundation

Provide grants to nonprofits in the local community and scholarships for local students.

$193k
Granted FY2026still arriving
5
Grants FY2026still arriving
1
States reached
$71k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0195% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Education$576kRecreation & Sports$269kHousing & Shelter$230kHealth$165kHuman Services$100kInternational$75kCommunity Improvement$54kOther$0
02FY2026 · 5 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 5 grants below total $160,068, the rows itemized in this filing. The $193,095 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $33,027 is giving the schedule does not break out (grants under the $5,000 itemization floor, grants to individuals, grants on other schedules). Every figure below describes the itemized rows only.

By grant size · FY2026

  • Under $10k3 grants · $21k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $139k
$8,648
Median grant
1
States reached
$2.1M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Skookum Kids$70,785
Whatcom Community Foundation$68,024
IPA Foundation$8,648
Children of the Nations$6,611
Bellingham Technical College Foundation$6,000
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 (FY20–26, $214k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%Children of the Nations: $7k → 10%IPA Foundation: $9k → 11%OPPORTUNITY COUNCIL: $100k → 12%IPA FOUNDATION: $16k → 12%IPA FOUNDATION: $12k → 12%Skookum Kids: $71k → 12%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.

13%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$126k · 5 repeat orgs$861k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +162% since the first grant, against +77% for those funded once.

5 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2026, 4 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2026 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

5
11

Total granted

$126k
$783k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+162%
+77%

Still filing today

60%
55%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2026, 10% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $77k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’25’26
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’25’26
Human ServicesRecreation & SportsInternationalOther
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

  • IF
    IPA FOUNDATION
    4× · 2020–2026 · $46k · revenue +194%
  • MH
    MERCY HOUSING NORTHWEST
    3× · 2021–2025 · $21k · revenue +138%
  • RISE AGAINST HUNGER INC
    2× · 2018–2019 · $11k · revenue +162%

Funded once

  • LM
    LIGHTHOUSE MISSION MINISTRIES
    one grant, 2025 · $165k
  • MH
    MAX HIGBEE COMMUNITY RECREATION CENTERgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $108k · revenue +88%
  • SC
    SUN COMMUNITY SERVICEgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $106k · revenue +47%
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
South Whidbey Homeless Coalition

We provide community members facing homlessness with chelter, resurces, and advoccy to create a strong and thriving widbey island.

Housing & Shelter
2
Rainier Beach Cummunity Empowerment Coalition

Rainier Beach Action Coalition is a grassroot, Black-led organization devoted to locally driven development. It promotes quality education, living wage jobs, affordable transportation and housing, and building community capacity in…

Community Improvement
3
Welcome Home Coalition

Welcome Home is a diverse coalition in the Portland metropolitan region that uses its collective resources to create healthy communities by ensuring everyone has an affordable and stable home. We use community education and collaboration…

Community Improvement
4
Ronald McDonald House Charities of Western Washington & Alaska

Ronald McDonald House Charities of Western Washington & Alaska supports families with seriously ill children by providing a caring home-away-from-home at the SEattle Ronald McDonald House and operating a house and a van service in…

Health
5
Interfaith Coalition of Whatcom County

To break the cycle of family homelessness and poverty in Whatcom County by providing emergency shelter and transitional housing services with case management and connection to other community resources. Interfaith Coalition carries out its…

Health
6
Urban Impact

Urban Impact cultivates thriving communities, by creating access, opportunity, and lasting change. Our vision is that all people and every neighborhood are rooted and thriving in community.

Religion
7
Young Women's Christian Association of Bellingham

YWCA Bellingham is part of a national network of programs with the shared mission of eliminating racism, empowering women, and promoting peace, justice, and freedom for all.

Human Services
8
Lutheran Community Services Northwest

LCSNW partners with individuals, families and communities for health, justice and hope. LCSNW provides a wide variety of social services in Oregon, Washington and Idaho and serves people of all ages, cultures and faiths.

Human Services
9
Recovery Cafe Skagit

Provide a safe, healing, and restorative community that empowers long-term transformation through human connection for those recovering from the trauma of homelessness, addictions, and mental health challenges.

Education
10
Habitat for Humanity - Spokane

Seeking to put God's love into action, Habitat for Humanity brings people together to build homes, communities and hope to realize our vision of a world where everyone has a decent place to live. Habitat for Humanity-Spokane adheres to a…

Housing & Shelter
11
Mid-Columbia Community Action Council

To alleviate the causes and conditions of poverty in Wasco, Hood River, and Sherman Counties. The purpose of MCCAC shall be the promotion of self sufficiency in families and individuals within the low income economic ranges in the three…

—
12
Impact Nw

Impact nw prevents homelessness by supporting people as they navigate their journey to stability and strength. founded in portland in 1966, impact nw now serves 26,944 people a year in the greater portland, oregon metro area, including…

Human Services
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Whatcom Community Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Ipa 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

14 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

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 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 14 of the 21 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)
7
Early backer (in before they grew)
14/14
Grantees still filing
13/14
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

LIGHTHOUSE MISSION MINISTRIES: $165,036 · OtherLIGHTHOUSE MISSION MINISTRIESMAX HIGBEE COMMUNITY RECREATION CENTER: $107,751 · OtherMAX HIGBEE COMMUNITY RECREATION CENTERSUN COMMUNITY SERVICE: $105,794 · OtherSUN COMMUNITY SERVICELYDIA PLACE: $102,908 · OtherLYDIA PLACEOTHERS: $25,577 · Other11 OTHER GRANTS UNDER 5 K: $22,605 · OtherMERCY HOUSING NORTHWEST: $21,000 · Other+4 more: $40,926 · Other+4 moreWHATCOM COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $515,138 · PhilanthropyWHATCOM COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONOPPORTUNITY COUNCIL: $100,000 · Human ServicesOPPORTUNITY COU…Skookum Kids: $70,785 · Human ServicesSkookum KidsIPA FOUNDATION: $45,514 · Human ServicesIPA FOUNDATION+1 more: $6,611 · Human ServicesWhatcom Mountain Bike Coalition: $86,221 · Recreation & SportsWhatcom Mou…Bellingham Bay Community Boating Center: $74,802 · Recreation & SportsBellingham …Bellingham Technical College Foundation: $124,685 · EducationTHE ROTARY FOUNDATION OF ROTARY INTERNATIONAL: $26,540 · InternationalRISE AGAINST HUNGER INC: $11,241 · International
Other$591,597Philanthropy$515,138Human Services$222,910Recreation & Sports$161,023Education$124,685International$37,781

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 budgetWHATCOM COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $515,138 over 10y, 0.8% of budgetBellingham Technical College Foundation: $124,685 over 9y, 1.6% of budgetMAX HIGBEE COMMUNITY RECREATION CENTER: $107,751 over 1y, 15% of budgetSUN COMMUNITY SERVICE: $105,794 over 1y, 22% of budgetLYDIA PLACE: $102,908 over 1y, 4.3% of budgetOPPORTUNITY COUNCIL: $100,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetWhatcom Mountain Bike Coalition: $86,221 over 1y, 16% of budgetBellingham Bay Community Boating Center: $74,802 over 1y, 5.6% of budgetIPA FOUNDATION: $45,514 over 4y, 6.0% of budgetTHE ROTARY FOUNDATION OF ROTARY INTERNATIONAL: $26,540 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMERCY HOUSING NORTHWEST: $21,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetRISE AGAINST HUNGER INC: $11,241 over 2y, 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.

Whatcom Community Fou…Mount Baker FoundationEleanor and Henry Jan…Puget Sound Energy Fo…United Way of Whatcom…Chuckanut Health Foun…First Fed FoundationNorth Sound Accountab…Thomas & Martina Horn…Alternatives to Hunge…Little Family Legacy …Jerry H Walton Founda…
Whatcom Community FoundationWA26.2× affinity10 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Whatcom Community Foundation · Mount Baker Foundation · Eleanor and Henry Jansen Foundation · Puget Sound Energy Foundation · United Way of Whatcom County · Chuckanut Health Foundation · First Fed Foundation · North Sound Accountable Community of Health · Thomas & Martina Horn Foundation · Alternatives to Hunger Bellingham Food Bank · Little Family Legacy Foundation · Jerry H Walton 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 Rotary Club of Bellingham Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Rotary Club of Bellingham Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%5%11%20%funder's share of their income ↑0%8%15%22%30%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    4report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–30%
    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 Rotary Club of Bellingham Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Rotary Club of Bellingham 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 21 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 e-file return for fiscal year 2026, released 2026. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Rotary Club of Bellingham’s filings →

    More from the funding graph

    The unnamed billions
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    The regranting layer
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    The endowment market
    who holds foundation money, and what just moved
    The camps
    funders cluster by geography, not ideology
    By state
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