Skip to content
Ruth Covo Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Ruth Covo Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$66k
Granted FY2025still arriving
16
Grants FY2025still arriving
10
States reached
$12k
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.

Animals$174kEnvironment$109kScience & Tech$32kEducation$29kArts & Culture$16kInternational$12kHealth$5kReligion$3kOther$0
02FY2025 · 16 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k15 grants · $55k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $12k
$4,000
Median grant
10
States reached
$1.5M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
American Friends of Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust Inc$11,519
American Friends of The Ocean Cleanup Foundation$5,519
Nature Conservancy$5,519
WildCoast$5,519
The Biomimicry Institute$5,519
Pacific Salmon Foundation$5,519
St Paul's School$4,500
Victoria and Albert Museum Americas Foundation$4,000
International Fund for Animal Welfare Inc$4,000
United Animal Nations dba RedRover$3,000
Dexter Southfield Inc$2,500
Armenian Missionary Assoc of Amer Inc$2,500
K9s for Warriors$2,000
The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee$2,000
Copley Society of Art$1,500
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 (FY22–22, $2k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%Wounded Warrior Project: $2k → 14%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

NH
MT
WI
NY
MA
NJ
CA
VA
TN
DC
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.
04

Where the work is directed

The same grants placed two ways: where each recipient sits, and where its stated purpose sends the money.

About 9% of Ruth Covo Foundation’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address.

Ruth Covo Foundationlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address · 9.9% directed abroad (not shown)
How this is measured
Recipient view: each grant at its grantee’s ZIP, mapped to a county. Directed view: each grant at the county its stated purpose names, falling back to the recipient’s county when the purpose names no place; US grants only. A county shows only if it carries the top 95% of that view’s dollars. Purposes are read from the funder’s own 990 grant descriptions.
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.
$320k · 18 repeat orgs$32k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +46% since the first grant, against -10% for those funded once.

18 repeat relationships: 13 still active in FY2025, 5 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

18
10

Total granted

$320k
$29k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+46%
-10%

Still filing today

78%
60%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 94% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $4k 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
EnvironmentAnimalsEducationHealthScience & TechHuman ServicesOther
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

  • W
    WILDCOAST
    6× · 2020–2025 · $28k · revenue +120%
  • AF
    AMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE OCEAN CLEANUP FOUNDATION
    5× · 2021–2025 · $24k · revenue +47%
  • TB
    THE BIOMIMICRY INSTITUTE
    5× · 2021–2025 · $24k · revenue +97%

Funded once

  • ST
    Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
    one grant, 2020 · $8k
  • CW
    Central Westcoast Forest Society
    one grant, 2021 · $5k
  • TZ
    THE ZACHARY & ELIZABETH M FISHER CENTER FOR ALZHEIMER'S RESEARCH FOUNDATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $3k · revenue +45%
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
Conservation International Foundation

Ci works to spotlight and secure the critical benefits that nature provides to humanity.

Environment
3
Fauna & Flora International Usa Inc

Our mission is to act to conserve threatened species and ecosystems worldwide, choosing solutions that are sustainable, based on sound science and take into account human needs.

Philanthropy
4
Int'l Union for Conservation of Nature & Natural Resources - Us

Iucn-us fund builds bridges between us donors and iucn by catalyzing, accelerating, funding and promoting iucn's work - conserving nature and natural resources in the united states and throughout the world.

Environment
5
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation

To sustain, restore, and enhance the nation's fish, wildlife, plants, and habitats.

Animals
6
Wildlife Conservation Network Inc

Connect conservationists and supporters, deploy resources to the field, provide conservationists with tools and support they need to succeed.

Animals
7
Conservation Farms & Ranches

Preserving and enhancing the habitat of wildlife, such as sandhill cranes, waterfowl, raptors, which habitat expenses are supported by agricultural activities.

Housing & Shelter
8
Wildaid Inc

Wildaid's mission is to inspire change and empower the world to protect wildlife and vital habitats from critical threats.

Animals
9
African Parks Foundation of America

To engage the united states and its citizens in the work of african parks and to promote access to american experience and expertise in the african parks actiities by 1) raising funds for specific projects, activities, training, equipment…

Recreation & Sports
10
Oceana Inc

To advocate for policy changes by governments and corporations in order to preserve ocean life and return the oceans to their former abundance.

Environment
11
African Wildlife Foundation Inc

Awf's mission is to ensure wildlife and wild lands thrive in modern africa. we work to equip african governments, institutions, business, and communities with the tools, insights, and support they need to define, own, and realize a…

Animals
12
Wildlife Conservation Global Inc

Wildlife conservation global, inc. operates the okapi conservation project (ocp) which works in the democratic republic of the congo with the institute in congo for the conservation of nature (iccn) and local communities throughout the…

Animals
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Conservation Fund a Nonprofit Corporation; the most unlike its peers is Monarch Butterfly Fund. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
05the grantee network

23 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. 23 of the 32 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)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
23/23
Grantees still filing
16/23
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $25,590 · OtherTHE NATURE CONSERVANCYAMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE OCEAN CLEANUP FOUNDATION: $23,790 · OtherAMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE OCEAN CLEANUP FOUN…Pacific Salmon Foundation: $19,219 · OtherPacific Salmon FoundationRedd Fish Restoration Society: $13,700 · OtherRedd Fish Restoration SocietyUnited Animal Nations - Red Rover: $13,000 · OtherUnited Animal Nations - Red RoverUNITED ANIMAL NATIONS DBA REDROVER: $13,000 · OtherUNITED ANIMAL NATIONS DBA REDROVERAmerican Friends of The V & A: $10,000 · OtherAmerican Friends of The V & ASmithsonian Tropical Research Institute: $8,000 · OtherSmithsonian Tropical Research Institute+8 more: $16,571 · Other+8 moreAMERICAN FRIENDS OF DURRELL WILDLIFE CONSERVATION TRUST INC: $60,590 · EnvironmentAMERICAN FRIENDS OF DURRELL WI…WILDCOAST: $27,790 · EnvironmentWILDCOASTTHE CONSERVATION FUND A NONPROFIT CORPORATION: $4,000 · Environment+4 more: $9,113 · Environment+4 moreINTERNATIONAL FUND FOR ANIMAL WELFARE INC: $22,000 · AnimalsINTERNATIONAL FUND F…NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION: $21,071 · AnimalsNATIONAL WILDLIFE FE…THE ELEPHANT SANCTUARY IN TENNESSEE: $15,000 · AnimalsTHE ELEPHANT SANCTUA…K9S FOR WARRIORS INC: $10,000 · AnimalsK9S FOR WARRIORS INCST PAUL'S SCHOOL: $19,000 · EducationDEXTER SOUTHFIELD INC: $9,000 · EducationTHE BIOMIMICRY INSTITUTE: $23,790 · Science & TechVICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM AMERICAS FOUNDATION: $13,000 · InternationalTHE ZACHARY & ELIZABETH M FISHER CENTER FOR ALZHEIMER'S RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $3,000 · Health
Other$142,870Environment$101,493Animals$68,071Education$28,000Science & Tech$23,790International$13,000Health$3,000

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 budgetAMERICAN FRIENDS OF DURRELL WILDLIFE CONSERVATION TRUST INC: $60,590 over 6y, 6.9% of budgetWILDCOAST: $27,790 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $25,590 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE OCEAN CLEANUP FOUNDATION: $23,790 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetTHE BIOMIMICRY INSTITUTE: $23,790 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetINTERNATIONAL FUND FOR ANIMAL WELFARE INC: $22,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION: $21,071 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetST PAUL'S SCHOOL: $19,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetTHE ELEPHANT SANCTUARY IN TENNESSEE: $15,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetVICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM AMERICAS FOUNDATION: $13,000 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetUNITED ANIMAL NATIONS DBA REDROVER: $13,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetK9S FOR WARRIORS INC: $10,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetDEXTER SOUTHFIELD INC: $9,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetTHE CONSERVATION FUND A NONPROFIT CORPORATION: $4,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE ZACHARY & ELIZABETH M FISHER CENTER FOR ALZHEIMER'S RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSIERRA CLUB FOUNDATION: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE COPLEY SOCIETY OF ART: $2,500 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetEARTH DAY NETWORK INC: $2,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCHARITIES AID FOUNDATION AMERICA: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT INC: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMONARCH BUTTERFLY FUND: $1,113 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetTRINITY COLLEGE FUND INC: $500 over 1y, 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.

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.

National Philanthropi…American Endowment Fo…Vanguard Charitable E…American Online Givin…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
National Philanthropic TrustPA9.9× affinity6 shared granteesties to 6 of 6Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: National Philanthropic Trust · American Endowment Foundation · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile 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 Ruth Covo Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Ruth Covo Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%6%13%19%25%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • Wounded Warrior Project Inc: 0% of income from government
  • K9S for Warriors Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
2get 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 · 0–25%
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 Ruth Covo Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Ruth Covo 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 32 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 Ruth Covo’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