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Santa Cruz Community Credit Union at a glance

· Public charity

Santa Cruz Community Credit Union

A cooperative, organized for the purpose of promoting thrift and savings among its members, creating a source of credit for them at rates of interest set by the board of directors, and providing an opportunity for them to use and control their own money on a democratic basis in order to improve their economic and social conditions.

$46k
Granted FY2025still arriving
2
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$5k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Human Services$138kCommunity Improvement$69kFood & Nutrition$38kCivil Rights$29kHousing & Shelter$16kEmployment$15kPublic Benefit$10kCrime & Legal$5kOther$0
02FY2025 · 2 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 2 grants below total $10,000, the rows itemized in this filing. The $45,855 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $35,855 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.
$5,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$176M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
COMMUNITY ACTION BOARD OF SANTA CRUZ COUNTY INC$5,000
VOLUNTEER CENTERS OF SANTA CRUZ COUNTY$5,000
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 (FY18–24, $114k) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 7%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 7%SENIORS COUNCIL OF SANTA CRUZ & SAN BENITO COUNTIES: $25k → 13%PAJARO VALLEY SHELTER SERVICES: $6k → 13%SENIOR COUNCIL OF SANTA CRUZ & SAN BENITO COUNTIES: $20k → 13%PAJARO VALLEY SHELTER SERVICES: $5k → 13%SENIORS COUNCIL OF SANTA CRUZ AND SAN BENITO COUNTIES: $15k → 13%PAJARO VALLEY SHELTER SERVICES: $5k → 13%SENIORS COUNCIL OF SANTA CRUZ & SAN BENITO COUNTIES: $10k → 13%SENIOR COUNCIL OF SANTA CRUZ & SAN BENITO COUNTIES: $10k → 13%SENIORS COUNCIL OF SANTA CRUZ & SAN BENITO COUNTIES: $10k → 13%GREY BEARS: $8k → 13%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.
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 20% of Santa Cruz Community Credit Union’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address. By recipient address, 97% of the giving stays in CA; by stated purpose, 76%.

Santa Cruz Community Credit Unionlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address · 3.1% 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.

61%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$205k · 7 repeat orgs$130k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +48% since the first grant, against +28% for those funded once.

7 repeat relationships: 2 still active in FY2025, 5 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

7
8

Total granted

$205k
$130k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+48%
+28%

Still filing today

86%
88%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
Human ServicesCommunity ImprovementEmploymentFood & NutritionReligionCivil RightsOther
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

  • SC
    SENIORS COUNCIL OF SANTA CRUZ AND SAN BENITO COUNTIES
    6× · 2018–2024 · $90k · revenue +61%
  • TS
    The Santa Cruz Lesbian and Gay Community Center
    3× · 2021–2023 · $29k · revenue +481%
  • PV
    Pajaro Valley Loaves and Fishes Inc
    2× · 2021–2023 · $22k · revenue +48%

Funded once

  • V
    VENTURESgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $57k · revenue ×50 · 81% of their budget
  • HG
    HOMELESS GARDEN PROJECTgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $31k · revenue +28%
  • PA
    POLISH AMERICAN FEDERAL CREDIT UNION
    one grant, 2022 · $10k
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
Santa Cruz Community Farmers Market

To serve our community by providing direct access to sustainable sources of fresh produce and other unique foods, and provide education about food issues, both local and beyond.

—
2
Santa Cruz Local Inc

Independent nonpartisan newsroom serving Santa Cruz County, California we are all watching and engaged in our local government, our needs are addressed, democracy works better and our community is stronger.

—
3
Santa Cruz Council on Aging Inc

To improve the quality of life for the elderly community and the Seniors we serve through transportation, nutrition, and referral for social and health services in Santa Cruz County.

Human Services
4
Senior Citizens Legal Services

Legal service for seniors.

Crime & Legal
5
The Samaritan Center-Simi Valley

The mission of the Samaritan Center-Simi Valley is to offer people experiencing housing and food insecurity supportive services essential to human dignity.

Housing & Shelter
6
Particular Council of Santa Cruz County Society of St Vincent De

Provides a food pantry service to homeless and low income families. Also provides in-home person-to-person financial assistance to families in financial crisis who may lack housing or food or health care.

Human Services
7
Fish of South Valley San Jose

FISH of South Valley San Jose provides emergency food assistance to those who are in need. Our dedicated team of volunteers serve our clients with dignity and respect as we help to combat food insecurity in our community.

Food & Nutrition
8
Sunnyvale Community Services

The mission of sunnyvale community services is to prevent homelessness and hunger for low-income sunnyvale residents facing temporary crises.

Human Services
9
Santa Cruz Mountains Wine Growers Association

Advancement of community interest, business conditions and the reputation of the Santa Cruz Mountain Wine Industry through festivals and other activities

—
10
Just Communities Central Coast

At Just Communities we work to ensure that Central Coast schools, organizations, and communities are places of opportunity, not places of limitation. We advance justice by engaging our community in leadership development, dialogue, action…

Civil Rights
11
Santa Cruz Mountains Trail Stewardship

Santa Cruz Mountains Trail Stewardship is creating and maintaining world-class trails responsibly, sustainably, and collectively.

Environment
12
People First of Santa Cruz County

To ensure housing for all by uniting the community, forming partnerships, inspiring advocacy and providing service

Housing & Shelter
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Volunteer Centers of Santa Cruz County; the most unlike its peers is Think Local First. 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

14 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. 14 of the 15 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)
5
Early backer (in before they grew)
13/14
Grantees still filing
13/14
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

SENIORS COUNCIL OF SANTA CRUZ AND SAN BENITO COUNTIES: $90,000 · Human ServicesSENIORS COUNCIL OF SANTA CRUZ AND SAN BENITO COUNTIESVENTURES: $56,584 · Human ServicesVENTURESHOMELESS GARDEN PROJECT: $30,860 · Human ServicesHOMELESS GARDEN PROJECTPAJARO VALLEY SHELTER SERVICES: $15,942 · Human ServicesPAJARO VALLEY SHELTER SERVICESGREY BEARS: $7,643 · Human ServicesThe Santa Cruz Lesbian and Gay Community Center: $28,577 · OtherThe Santa Cruz Lesbian and…Pajaro Valley Loaves and Fishes Inc: $21,723 · OtherPajaro Valley Loaves and F…VOLUNTEER CENTERS OF SANTA CRUZ COUNTY: $16,920 · OtherVOLUNTEER CENTERS OF SANTA…POLISH AMERICAN FEDERAL CREDIT UNION: $10,000 · OtherPOLISH AMERICAN FEDERAL CR…Community Action Board: $20,195 · EmploymentTHINK LOCAL FIRST: $12,000 · Community ImprovementSECOND HARVEST FOOD BANK SANTA CRUZ COUNTY: $9,132 · Food & NutritionVALLEY CHURCHES UNITED: $5,200 · ReligionCourt Appointed Special Advocates of Santa Cruz County: $5,150 · Civil RightsARTS COUNCIL SANTA CRUZ COUNTY: $5,100 · Arts & Culture
Human Services$201,029Other$77,220Employment$20,195Community Improvement$12,000Food & Nutrition$9,132Religion$5,200Civil Rights$5,150Arts & Culture$5,100

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetSENIORS COUNCIL OF SANTA CRUZ AND SAN BENITO COUNTIES: $90,000 over 6y, 0.6% of budgetVENTURES: $56,584 over 1y, 81% of budgetHOMELESS GARDEN PROJECT: $30,860 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetThe Santa Cruz Lesbian and Gay Community Center: $28,577 over 3y, 1.9% of budgetPajaro Valley Loaves and Fishes Inc: $21,723 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetCommunity Action Board: $20,195 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetVOLUNTEER CENTERS OF SANTA CRUZ COUNTY: $16,920 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetPAJARO VALLEY SHELTER SERVICES: $15,942 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetTHINK LOCAL FIRST: $12,000 over 2y, 12% of budgetSECOND HARVEST FOOD BANK SANTA CRUZ COUNTY: $9,132 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGREY BEARS: $7,643 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetVALLEY CHURCHES UNITED: $5,200 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetCourt Appointed Special Advocates of Santa Cruz County: $5,150 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetARTS COUNCIL SANTA CRUZ COUNTY: $5,100 over 1y, 0.2% 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.

Community Foundation …Monterey Peninsula Fo…Kaiser Foundation Hos…Volunteer Centers of …East Bay Community Fo…Pajaro Valley Communi…The Nicholson Family …Sutter Bay HospitalsNewman's Own Foundati…Silicon Valley Commun…Peggy and Jack Baskin…The David and Lucile …
Community Foundation Santa Cruz CountyCA30.2× affinity12 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Community Foundation Santa Cruz County · Monterey Peninsula Foundation · Kaiser Foundation Hospitals · Volunteer Centers of Santa Cruz County · East Bay Community Foundation · Pajaro Valley Community Health Trust · The Nicholson Family Foundation · Sutter Bay Hospitals · Newman's Own Foundation · Silicon Valley Community Foundation · Peggy and Jack Baskin Foundation · The David and Lucile Packard 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 Santa Cruz Community Credit Union funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Santa Cruz Community Credit Union. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%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
    9report 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.

    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 15 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 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Santa Cruz Community Credit Union’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