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Sakana Foundation at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Private foundation

Sakana 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.

$5.1M
Granted FY2024still arriving
50
Grants FY2024still arriving
7
States reached
$1.0M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02Its granteesRead
03Its fieldRead
04Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0190% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2021 to 2025.

Arts & Culture$8.2MScience & Tech$4.9MPhilanthropy$3.2MEducation$530kFood & Nutrition$50kCivil Rights$50kCrime & Legal$15kHuman Services$15kOther$0
02FY2024 · 50 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 50 grants below total $4,758,792, the rows itemized in this filing. The $5,103,792 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $345,000 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 · FY2024

  • Under $10k11 grants · $38k
  • $10k–50k21 grants · $451k
  • $50k–250k13 grants · $1.2M
  • $250k+5 grants · $3.1M
$25,000
Median grant
7
States reached
$136M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Smithsonian Institution, Office of Advancement$1,000,000
Schwab Charitable Fund$1,000,000
Smithsonian Institution Hirshhorn Gifts$500,000
Friends of the Musee des Arts decoratifs$326,000
ODC$250,000
Cantor Arts Center$200,000
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art$180,000
Schwab Charitable Fund$133,333
Portland Art Museum$125,000
San Francisco Conservatory of Music$100,000
UC Berkeley Foundation$80,625
Exploratorium$75,000
The John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts$50,000
Smithsonian Institution, Office of Advancement$50,000
San Francisco Film Society$50,000
02Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

77%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$11M · 25 repeat orgs$3.2M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +9% since the first grant, against -9% for those funded once.

25 repeat relationships: 18 still active in FY2024, 7 since wound down; 21 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

25
15

Total granted

$11M
$970k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+9%
-9%

Still filing today

80%
67%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 38% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $2.2M went to new ones.

50%100%’21’22’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’21’22’24
Arts & CultureEducationHuman ServicesYouth DevelopmentInternationalOther
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

  • TE
    THE EXPLORATORIUM
    3× · 2021–2024 · $3.3M · revenue +33%
  • JF
    JOHN F KENNEDY CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
    3× · 2021–2024 · $3.2M · revenue +292%
  • FO
    FRIENDS OF THE MUSEES DES ARTS DECORATIFS INC
    2× · 2021–2024 · $1.0M · revenue +93% · 48% of their budget

Funded once

  • FO
    Friends of the Musee d'Art decoratif
    one grant, 2022 · $625k
  • AF
    AMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE ART FUND
    one grant, 2021 · $109k · revenue -93%
  • MM
    Mercury Museum of Art Inc
    one grant, 2022 · $30k
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.

03Its 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
California Institute of Contemporary Art
—
2
Museum of Arts and Design

To collect, display and interpret objects in craft art and design.

Arts & Culture
3
Museum of Modern Art

The Museum of Modern Art is a private, non-profit institution chartered by the State of New York Department of Education in 1929 to foster public awareness of modern and contemporary art. (Continued in Schedule O)

Arts & Culture
4
Site Santa Fe

Guided by artists, rooted in new mexico, site santa fe celebrates contemporary creative expression.

Arts & Culture
5
Armand Hammer Museum of Art and Cultural Center Inc

The hammer museum at ucla believes in the promise of art and ideas to illuminate our lives and build a more just world.

Arts & Culture
6
National Academy of Design

The mission of the national academy of design is to promote the fine arts in america through exhibition and education.

Education
7
Monterey Museum of Art

The monterey museum of art cultivates curiosity in the visual arts and engages community with the diversity of california art - past, present, and future.

Arts & Culture
8
San Francisco Performances Inc

SFP presents internationally acclaimed and emerging performing artists, introduces innovative programs, and builds new and diversified audiences for the arts through education and outreach activities.

Arts & Culture
9
Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego

The museum of contemporary art san diego invites all audiences to experience our world, our region, and ourselves through the prism of contemporary art.

Arts & Culture
10
New Museum of Contemporary Art

A center for exhibitions, information, and documentation about living artists since 1977, which continues to be a place of experimentation and a hub of new art and new ideas.

Arts & Culture
11
The American Federation of Arts Inc

The american federation of arts initiates and organizes a national and international program of art exhibitions, publications, and educational activities to benefit the museum community and enrich the public's experience and understanding…

Arts & Culture
12
Kadist Collection Manager Inc
Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is San Francisco Conservatory of Music; the most unlike its peers is American Museum of Natural History. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
03the grantee network

51 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. 51 of the 65 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)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
51/51
Grantees still filing
28/51
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE EXPLORATORIUM: $3,325,000 · Arts & CultureTHE EXPLORATORIUMJOHN F KENNEDY CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS: $3,175,000 · Arts & CultureJOHN F KENNEDY CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTSFRIENDS OF THE MUSEES DES ARTS DECORATIFS INC: $1,026,000 · Arts & CultureFRIENDS OF THE MUSEES DES ARTS DECORATIFS INCHEADLANDS CENTER FOR THE ARTS: $400,000 · Arts & CultureASIAN ART MUSEUM FOUNDATION OF SAN FRANCISCO: $325,000 · Arts & Culture+30 more: $1,198,666 · Arts & Culture+30 moreSmithsonian Institution, Office of Advancement: $1,050,000 · OtherSmithsonian Instituti…Friends of the Musee d'Art decoratif: $625,000 · OtherFriends of the Musee …Smithsonian Institution Hirshhorn Gifts: $500,000 · OtherSmithsonian Instituti…ODC: $387,500 · OtherODCCantor Arts Center: $200,000 · OtherCantor Arts Center+11 more: $490,625 · Other+11 moreDONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC: $3,218,334 · PhilanthropyDONOR ADVISED CHARIT…SAN FRANCISCO CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC: $850,000 · EducationSAN FRANC…UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: $225,000 · EducationUNIVERSIT…THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $175,000 · EducationTHE BOARD…The Trustees of Princeton University: $50,000 · Education+5 more: $105,000 · Education+5 moreAmerican Friends of the Centre Pompidou Inc: $107,500 · InternationalMujeres Unidas y Activas: $50,000 · Human ServicesLas Trampas School Inc: $15,000 · Human ServicesACTA NON VERBA YOUTH URBAN FARM PROJECT: $25,000 · Youth Development
Arts & Culture$9,449,666Other$3,253,125Philanthropy$3,218,334Education$1,405,000International$107,500Human Services$65,000Youth Development$25,000

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 budgetTHE EXPLORATORIUM: $3,325,000 over 3y, 2.7% of budgetDONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC: $3,218,334 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetJOHN F KENNEDY CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS: $3,175,000 over 3y, 2.3% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE MUSEES DES ARTS DECORATIFS INC: $1,026,000 over 2y, 48% of budgetSAN FRANCISCO CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC: $850,000 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetHEADLANDS CENTER FOR THE ARTS: $400,000 over 2y, 6.9% of budgetASIAN ART MUSEUM FOUNDATION OF SAN FRANCISCO: $325,000 over 3y, 1.0% of budgetSAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART: $312,500 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: $225,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $175,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPORTLAND ART MUSEUM: $125,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetAMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE ART FUND: $109,166 over 1y, 5.3% of budgetAmerican Friends of the Centre Pompidou Inc: $107,500 over 2y, 5.8% of budgetFOR-SITE Foundation: $100,000 over 2y, 5.7% of budgetNATIONAL THEATRE IN AMERICA INC: $80,000 over 3y, 0.9% of budgetSAN FRANCISCO OPERA ASSOCIATION: $75,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetNew Century Chamber Orchestra: $65,000 over 3y, 2.1% of budgetSan Francisco Film Society: $60,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetThe Trustees of Princeton University: $50,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMujeres Unidas y Activas: $50,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetSundance Institute: $45,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetStern Grove Festival Association: $36,000 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetNevada Museum of Art: $30,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCORPORATION OF THE FINE ARTS MUSEUMS: $27,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetNEW WORLD SYMPHONY INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMASSACHUSETTS MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART FOUNDATION INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetACTA NON VERBA YOUTH URBAN FARM PROJECT: $25,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetUTAH FILM CENTER: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetINTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FOUNDATION INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetAMERICAN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA LEAGUE D/B/A LEAGUE OF AMERICAN ORCHESTRAS: $25,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetSOCIAL GOOD FUND INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLas Trampas School Inc: $15,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetSAN FRANCISCO PRETRIAL DIVERSION PROJECT INC: $15,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetDIA CENTER FOR THE ARTS INC: $15,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBALTIMORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCOMMUNITY MUSIC CENTER: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSAN FRANCISCO JAZZ ORGANIZATION: $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFILM INDEPENDENT: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetHIP HOP FOR CHANGE INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetTHE COLBURN SCHOOL: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican Museum of Natural History: $7,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetKQED INC: $5,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCALIFORNIA COLLEGE OF THE ARTS: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetOpera Parallle: $2,500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetALONZO KING LINES BALLET: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican Friends of Israel Philharmonic Orchestra: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE NEW 42ND STREET INC: $1,000 over 1y, 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.

The San Francisco Fou…The William & Flora H…Jewish Community Fede…Gs Donor Advised Phil…Marin Community Found…ImpactassetsincMorgan Stanley Global…The Bernard Osher Fou…John and Marcia Goldm…Koret FoundationMcNabb FoundationThe Andrew W Mellon F…
The San Francisco FoundationCA30.4× affinity14 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The San Francisco Foundation · The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation · Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco the Peninsula Marin & Sonoma · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · Marin Community Foundation · Impactassetsinc · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · The Bernard Osher Foundation · John and Marcia Goldman Foundation · Koret Foundation · McNabb Foundation · The Andrew W Mellon 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.
04Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Sakana Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Sakana 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 65 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.

Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2025) is on record and reports $7.8M of grant expense with no grantee named in the published copy. A private foundation itemizes every grant it makes, so a return carrying none has filed its list as an attachment that the public copy does not include. The figures above are therefore from FY2024, the most recent year this funder’s grantee list reached the public record.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Sakana’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