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Rugged Elegance Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Rugged Elegance 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.

$291k
Granted FY2024still arriving
18
Grants FY2024still arriving
9
States reached
$55k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0199% classified

What it funded, over time

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

International$723kReligion$445kEducation$343kHealth$322kArts & Culture$308kHuman Services$130kPhilanthropy$119kRecreation & Sports$118kOther$0
02FY2024 · 18 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k9 grants · $24k
  • $10k–50k7 grants · $163k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $105k
$10,000
Median grant
9
States reached
$8.2M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
MLIFE$55,000
SHE-CAN GLOBAL INC$50,000
UNITY SAN FRANCISCO$40,000
VOLUNTEERS OF AMERICA INC$25,000
ROOTS AFRICA INC$25,000
GRASSROOT SOCCER INC$25,000
THE PHILANTHROPY WORKSHOP INC$20,000
BARNARD COLLEGE$17,694
LOVE LIGHT AND MELODY A NOT FOR PROFIT CORPORATION$10,000
MYRIAD USA INC$5,000
STANFORD UNIVERSITY$4,900
BATTERY FOUNDATION$4,000
CAMPAIGN FOR THE FAIR SENTENCING OF YOUTH$3,200
ABOVE BOARD ALL HANDS ON DECK INC$3,000
GRAMEEN FOUNDATION USA$2,000
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 (FY17–24, $354k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 8% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%MEKONG INC: $300 → 28%CODE PINK PRODUCTIONS INC: $100 → 5%SDG IMPACT FUND INC: $120k → 10%LOVE LIGHT AND MELODY A NOT FOR PROFIT CORPORATION: $1k → 12%SAVING INNOCENCE INC: $10k → 14%CAMP FOR CHANGE INC: $1k → 12%LESBIAN AND GAY COMMUNITY SERVICES CENTER INC: $500 → 17%LOVE LIGHT AND MELODY A NOT FOR PROFIT CORPORATION: $10k → 12%LOVE LIGHT AND MELODY A NOT FOR PROFIT CORPORATION: $2k → 12%MLIFE FOUNDATION: $4k → 10%LOVE LIGHT AND MELODY A NOT FOR PROFIT CORPORATION: $2k → 12%MAMA HOPE: $3k → 10%MLIFE: $55k → 10%MLIFE: $30k → 10%MLIFE: $15k → 10%REIMAGINE INC: $50k → 10%REIMAGINE INC: $50k → 10%CRIME VICTIMS TREATMENT CENTER INC: $1k → 17%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

ME
VT
NH
MN
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
OR
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CT
CA
UT
CO
NE
MO
VA
MD
AZ
KS
AR
TN
NC
DC
LA
MS
AL
GA
TX
FL
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.

64%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.8M · 33 repeat orgs$1.0M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +37% since the first grant, against +24% for those funded once.

33 repeat relationships: 8 still active in FY2024, 25 since wound down; 8 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

33
124

Total granted

$1.8M
$902k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+37%
+24%

Still filing today

82%
75%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 65% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $99k 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
HealthCivil RightsInternationalArts & CultureHuman ServicesEducationOther
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

  • M
    MLife
    5× · 2020–2024 · $219k · revenue +39% · 75% of their budget
  • SG
    SHE-CAN GLOBAL INC
    6× · 2018–2024 · $198k · revenue +234%
  • PT
    Pathways to Peace
    3× · 2019–2021 · $175k · revenue +270% · 78% of their budget

Funded once

  • IS
    IOTAS SAVING HEALING IMPROVING EMPOWERING LIVES DA
    one grant, 2021 · $65k
  • TP
    THE PEACE STUDIO
    one grant, 2021 · $60k · revenue -65%
  • CREATIVE VISIONS FOUNDATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2018 · $60k · revenue +908%
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
Forward Together

Forward Together is a national reproductive justice organization that centers people, families, and communities who experience reproductive oppression. They prioritize queer, trans, Black, Indigenous, and other peoples of color and utilize…

Health
2
Population Action International

Pai advances evidence, policies and programs to enable women, youth and at-risk communities to access sexual and reproductive health as core to health equity, climate resilience, economic well-being and gender equality.

Health
3
Actionaid Usa

Actionaid is an international network building a just, equitable, and sustainable world in solidarity with communities on the frontlines of poverty and injustice. actionaid usa is the u.s. branch of actionaid international, which works in…

Social Science
4
Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington Dc Inc

Ppmw provides high-quality, compassionate healthcare, including reproductive care; promote sexual health; and advocate for reproductive rights and health equity for all.

Health
5
Planned Parenthood Global Inc

To advance the planned parenthood mission internationally, including support for the provision and protection of sexual and reproductive health services and rights, and ensuring that all people have access to reproductive and sexual…

Health
6
Pathfinder International

Pathfinder expands access to sexual and reproductive health services, opening the door to opportunities for women and all individuals to thrive-economically, educationally, and civically. driven by our country-led leadership and local…

International
7
Common Future

Common future is a network of pioneering leaders across the u.s. and canada who work deeply within their communities to create alternative approaches to business, philanthropy, and investing. we envision an economy that has transitioned…

Community Improvement
8
Partnership On Ai to Benefit People and Society

Bringing diverse voices together across global sectors, disciplines, and demographics so developments in ai advance positive outcomes for people and society.

Science & Tech
9
CarbonPlan

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

Environment
10
Partnership for Policy Integrity

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

Environment
11
Equality Now Inc

To achieve legal and systematic change that addresses violence and discrimination against women and girls around the world.

International
12
Pact Inc

Pact is a nonprofit organization that builds evidence-based, data-driven, and community-led solutions for human development (continued in schedule o)

International
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky Inc; the most unlike its peers is Cinema Napa Valley. 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

143 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. 143 of the 170 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.

4
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
26
Early backer (in before they grew)
130/143
Grantees still filing
88/143
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

IOTAS SAVING HEALING IMPROVING EMPOWERING LIVES DA: $65,000 · OtherIOTAS SAVING HEALING IMPROVING EMPOWERIN…CITY CHURCH SAN FRANCISCO - A CONGREGATION OF REFO: $61,920 · OtherCITY CHURCH SAN FRANCISCO - A CONGREGATI…EMERGING MINISTRIES INC: $60,000 · OtherEMERGING MINISTRIES INCGRASSROOTS ALLIANCE: $58,000 · OtherGRASSROOTS ALLIANCETRINITY GRACE CHURCH TRIBECA: $50,000 · OtherMANNA ENERGY FOUNDATION: $50,000 · OtherCITY EMBRACE COUNSELING CENTER INC: $46,000 · OtherBambini Yoga Project: $45,000 · OtherGravity A Center for Contemplative Activism: $42,000 · OtherUNITY SAN FRANCISCO: $40,000 · OtherFJC: $35,000 · OtherLegacy Global Programs: $50,000 · OtherTHE PHILANTHROPY WORKSHOP INC DBA FORWARD GLOBAL: $40,000 · OtherWisdom International - Help2Others: $55,000 · Other+75 more: $346,548 · Other+75 moreSHE-CAN GLOBAL INC: $197,690 · EducationSHE-CAN GLOBAL INCYOGA NEXT: $175,000 · EducationYOGA NEXTCINEMA NAPA VALLEY: $80,000 · EducationCINEMA NAPA VALLEYVALLEY CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS: $50,000 · EducationVALLEY CHRISTIAN SCHO…+6 more: $41,845 · Education+6 moreMLife: $218,810 · Human ServicesMLifeSDG IMPACT FUND INC: $120,000 · Human ServicesSDG IMPACT FUND IN…REIMAGINE INC: $100,000 · Human ServicesREIMAGINE INC+9 more: $30,917 · Human Services+9 morePathways to Peace: $175,000 · InternationalPathways to …ROOTS AFRICA INC: $70,050 · InternationalROOTS AFRICA…OPPORTUNITY INTERNATIONAL INC D/B/A OPPORTUNITY INTERNATIONAL-US: $60,000 · InternationalOPPORTUNITY …+10 more: $23,318 · International+10 moreTHE PEACE STUDIO: $60,000 · Arts & CultureCREATIVE VISIONS FOUNDATION: $60,000 · Arts & CultureTHE BARBARA BUSH FOUNDATION FOR FAMILY LITERACY INC: $50,000 · Arts & CultureMAGIK MAGIK ORCHESTRA: $15,000 · Arts & CultureOGUNQUIT PLAYHOUSE FOUNDATION: $15,000 · Arts & CultureFRACTURED ATLAS INC: $10,455 · Arts & CulturePORTLAND STAGE COMPANY: $10,000 · Arts & Culture+5 more: $7,234 · Arts & CultureTidepool Project: $120,000 · HealthDempsey Center for Quality Cancer Care: $23,000 · HealthLAST MILE HEALTH: $10,150 · Health+26 more: $13,615 · HealthGRASSROOT SOCCER INC: $62,817 · Recreation & SportsDiabetes Training Camp Foundation: $50,000 · Recreation & SportsTHE CLIMATE INITIATIVE: $20,210 · Recreation & SportsEastern Trail Alliance: $10,000 · Recreation & Sports+1 more: $200 · Recreation & Sports
Other$1,044,468Education$544,535Human Services$469,727International$328,368Arts & Culture$227,689Health$166,765Recreation & Sports$143,227

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 budgetMLife: $218,810 over 5y, 75% of budgetSHE-CAN GLOBAL INC: $197,690 over 6y, 3.4% of budgetPathways to Peace: $175,000 over 3y, 78% of budgetYOGA NEXT: $175,000 over 2y, 92% of budgetTidepool Project: $120,000 over 2y, 1.3% of budgetSDG IMPACT FUND INC: $120,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetREIMAGINE INC: $100,000 over 2y, 2.7% of budgetCINEMA NAPA VALLEY: $80,000 over 2y, 2.1% of budgetROOTS AFRICA INC: $70,050 over 5y, 9.3% of budgetGRASSROOT SOCCER INC: $62,817 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetTHE PEACE STUDIO: $60,000 over 1y, 3.8% of budgetCREATIVE VISIONS FOUNDATION: $60,000 over 1y, 2.9% of budgetOPPORTUNITY INTERNATIONAL INC D/B/A OPPORTUNITY INTERNATIONAL-US: $60,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetDiabetes Training Camp Foundation: $50,000 over 5y, 6.8% of budgetLegacy Global Programs: $50,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetVALLEY CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS: $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE BARBARA BUSH FOUNDATION FOR FAMILY LITERACY INC: $50,000 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetBambini Yoga Project: $45,000 over 1y, 29% of budgetGravity A Center for Contemplative Activism: $42,000 over 2y, 7.6% of budgetTHE PHILANTHROPY WORKSHOP INC DBA FORWARD GLOBAL: $40,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetV-Day: $33,333 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetKISS THE GROUND: $30,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetTHE BATTERY FOUNDATION: $29,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetYOUNG LIFE: $28,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetVOLUNTEERS OF AMERICA OF OREGON INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetDempsey Center for Quality Cancer Care: $23,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetTHE CLIMATE INITIATIVE: $20,210 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetVEGGIES TO TABLE: $20,000 over 1y, 13% of budgetBARNARD COLLEGE: $17,694 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLOVE LIGHT AND MELODY: $15,017 over 4y, 3.9% of budgetTHE AFRICAN MIDDLE EASTERN LEADERSHIP PROJECT: $15,000 over 2y, 2.2% of budgetMAGIK MAGIK ORCHESTRA: $15,000 over 1y, 8.6% of budgetOGUNQUIT PLAYHOUSE FOUNDATION: $15,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $14,900 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetThe Center for Investigative Reporting Inc: $12,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetFRACTURED ATLAS INC: $10,455 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLAST MILE HEALTH: $10,150 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE REFORMATION PROJECT INC: $10,000 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetSpecial Operations - Finding Kids: $10,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetSAVING INNOCENCE INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetPORTLAND STAGE COMPANY: $10,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetEmpowerment Works Inc: $7,000 over 1y, 16% of budgetAbove Board All Hands on Deck Inc: $6,000 over 2y, 4.1% of budgetSan Francisco Film Society: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMYRIAD USA INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetEcology Education Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetMORE THAN ME FOUNDATION INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetEQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE: $4,037 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.

Amalgamated Charitabl…The Ford FoundationNew York Women's Foun…Marin Community Found…Silicon Valley Commun…The Yelp FoundationImpactassetsincGroundswell FundStonewall Community F…Surdna Foundation IncNorth Star Fund IncPlanned Parenthood Fe…
Amalgamated Charitable Foundation IncDC23.8× affinity15 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Amalgamated Charitable Foundation Inc · The Ford Foundation · New York Women's Foundation Inc · Marin Community Foundation · Silicon Valley Community Foundation · The Yelp Foundation · Impactassetsinc · Groundswell Fund · Stonewall Community Foundation · Surdna Foundation Inc · North Star Fund Inc · Planned Parenthood Federation of America 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 Rugged Elegance Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Rugged Elegance Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 30%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 4%
  • Planned Parenthood of Southern New England Inc: 10% of income from government
  • National Center for Jewish Filminc: 4% of income from government
  • Best Buddies International Inc: 4% of income from government
  • Planned Parenthood of Maryland Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Partners in Health a Nonprofit Corporation: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
3get no government money at all
33report 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.

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 170 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 Rugged Elegance’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