Skip to content
Schlessman Foundation Inc at a glance

· Private foundation

Schlessman Foundation Inc

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.

$6.8M
Granted FY2025still arriving
116
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$1.0M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0197% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Education$10MHuman Services$8.6MHealth$3.8MAnimals$3.6MArts & Culture$2.4MEnvironment$1.3MFood & Nutrition$1.1MHousing & Shelter$975kOther$0
02FY2025 · 116 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • $10k–50k99 grants · $1.8M
  • $50k–250k9 grants · $1.4M
  • $250k+8 grants · $3.6M
$17,500
Median grant
1
States reached
$86M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
YMCA OF THE ROCKIES$1,000,000
FORT LEWIS COLLEGE FOUNDATION$700,000
DENVER ZOOLOGICAL FOUNDATION$425,000
ROUNDUP RIVER RANCH$320,000
WARREN VILLAGE$320,000
Individual grant recipient$315,000
UNIVERSITY OF DENVER$315,000
GREELEY-WELD HABITAT FOR HUMANITY$255,000
WE DON'T WASTE$237,500
CRAIG HOSPITAL$225,000
DENVER BOTANIC GARDENS$215,000
DENVER MUSEUM OF NATURE & SCIENCE$200,000
SUN VALLEY KITCHEN AND COMMUNITY CENTER$117,500
WOMEN'S BEAN PROJECT$113,750
CASA DE PAZ$110,000
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 (FY18–25, $4.3M) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 7%. 97% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 7%HOPE HOUSE COLORADO: $18k → 7%SENIORS' RESOURCE CENTER: $15k → 12%HOPE HOUSE COLORADO: $13k → 7%SENIORS' RESOURCE CENTER: $10k → 12%WEECYCLE: $15k → 8%MI CASA RESOURCE CENTER: $15k → 12%WEECYCLE: $10k → 8%MI CASA RESOURCE CENTER: $10k → 12%BRIDGE HOUSE: $10k → 12%BRIDGE HOUSE: $10k → 12%INTEGRATED FAMILY COMMUNITY SERVICES: $15k → 8%INTEGRATED FAMILY COMMUNITY SERVICES: $10k → 8%INTEGRATED FAMILY COMMUNITY SERVICES: $10k → 8%INTEGRATED FAMILY COMMUNITY SERVICES: $10k → 8%FAMILY TREE INC: $13k → 7%FAMILY TREE INC: $10k → 7%FAMILY TREE INC: $10k → 7%FAMILY TREE INC: $10k → 7%HANDS OF THE CARPENTER: $10k → 7%THE LABORATORY TO COMBAT HUMAN TRAFFICKING: $25k → 12%THE LABORATORY TO COMBAT HUMAN TRAFFICKING: $18k → 12%THE LABORATORY TO COMBAT HUMAN TRAFFICKING: $15k → 12%THE LABORATORY TO COMBAT HUMAN TRAFFICKING: $15k → 12%THE LABORATORY TO COMBAT HUMAN TRAFFICKING: $13k → 12%THE LABORATORY TO COMBAT HUMAN TRAFFICKING: $10k → 12%LARADON HALL SOCIETY FOR EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN AND ADULTS: $15k → 12%LARADON HALL SOCIETY FOR EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN AND ADULTS: $10k → 12%LARADON HALL SOCIETY FOR EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN AND ADULTS: $10k → 12%SAVIO HOUSE: $500k → 12%SAVIO HOUSE: $500k → 12%SAVIO HOUSE: $500k → 12%SAVIO HOUSE: $500k → 12%YMCA OF METROPOLITAN DENVER: $200k → 12%YMCA OF METROPOLITAN DENVER: $150k → 12%RAISE THE FUTURE: $20k → 12%RAISE THE FUTURE: $15k → 12%CLOTHES TO KIDS OF DENVER: $15k → 12%WARREN VILLAGE: $320k → 12%WARREN VILLAGE: $300k → 12%WARREN VILLAGE: $300k → 12%WARREN VILLAGE INC: $15k → 12%SAFEHOUSE DENVER: $15k → 12%SENIOR SUPPORT SERVICES: $15k → 12%MILE HIGH MINISTRIES: $25k → 12%MILE HIGH MINISTRIES: $18k → 12%MILE HIGH MINISTRIES: $15k → 12%MILE HIGH MINISTRIES: $15k → 12%MILE HIGH MINISTRIES: $13k → 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.

94%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$36M · 191 repeat orgs$2.4M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +38% since the first grant, against +17% for those funded once.

191 repeat relationships: 111 still active in FY2025, 80 since wound down; 5 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

191
119

Total granted

$36M
$2.4M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+38%
+17%

Still filing today

83%
23%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 99% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $85k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’20’21’22’23’24’25
Human ServicesHealthEducationYouth DevelopmentHousing & ShelterArts & CultureOther
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

  • YMCA OF THE ROCKIES
    7× · 2018–2025 · $3.5M · revenue +61%
  • TC
    THE COLORADO COLLEGE
    7× · 2018–2025 · $2.6M · revenue +43%
  • TF
    THE FORT LEWIS COLLEGE FOUNDATION
    7× · 2018–2025 · $2.4M · revenue +193%

Funded once

  • DL
    DENVER LIONS FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2022 · $408k · revenue -71% · 64% of their budget
  • CC
    COLORADO COLLEGE COLORADO PLEDGE
    one grant, 2020 · $400k
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2020 · $300k
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
Colorado Center On Law and Policy

Colorado center on law and policy is an antipoverty organization advancing the rights of every coloradan.

Crime & Legal
2
Aia Colorado

AIA Colorado,is the voice of the architecture profession in Colorado. Through advocacy, leadership development, education and resources for architects, the organization supports architecture professionals in designing a better world where…

—
3
Colorado Coalition for the Homeless

The mission of the colorado coalition for the homeless is to work collaboratively toward the prevention of homelessness and the creation of lasting solutions for families, children, and individuals who are experiencing or at-risk of…

Human Services
4
Denver Community Ventures

To empower low-income families and individuals towards self-sufficiency and independent living.

Housing & Shelter
5
Colorado Health Institute
Health
6
Colorado Legal Services

To provide meaningful access to high quality, civil legal services in the pursuit of justice for as many low income persons and members of vulnerable populations throughout colorado as possible.

Crime & Legal
7
Denver Children's Home

Denver children's home restores hope and health to traumatized children and families through a comprehensive array of therapeutic, educational, and community-based services.

Health
8
Denver Police Activities League Inc

The denver police activities league's (pal) mission is to create strong communities by providing under-resourced children with opportunities, exposure, and experiences with the intent of changing young people's lives in a positive way.

Youth Development
9
Mental Health Center of Denver

We empower people to overcome barriers and achieve lasting well-being through collaborative behavioral health care and comprehensive support.

Health
10
Colorado Thrives

Colorado Thrives exists to support Coloradans to achieve economic mobility through access to good jobs.

Community Improvement
11
Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights

Colorado organization for latina opportunity and reproductive rights (color) is a community-rooted nonprofit organization that works to enable latinx individuals and their families lead safe, healthy, self-determined lives.

Health
12
Colorado Nonprofit Association

Colorado nonprofit association strengthens colorado's nonprofits through education, connection and advocacy.

Community Improvement
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Denver Children's Advocacy Center; the most unlike its peers is American Diabetes Association. 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

196 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. 196 of the 315 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.

2
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
63
Early backer (in before they grew)
190/196
Grantees still filing
151/196
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE COLORADO COLLEGE: $2,557,793 · EducationTHE COLORADO COLLEGEDENVER PUBLIC LIBRARY FRIENDS FOUNDATION: $2,500,000 · EducationDENVER PUBLIC LIBRARY FRIEND…THE FORT LEWIS COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $2,355,000 · EducationTHE FORT LEWIS COLLEGE FOUND…UNIVERSITY OF DENVER: $630,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF DENVERDENVER SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION: $500,000 · EducationDENVER SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATIO…+15 more: $723,750 · Education+15 moreYMCA OF THE ROCKIES: $3,475,000 · Human ServicesYMCA OF THE ROCKIESSAVIO HOUSE: $2,010,000 · Human ServicesSAVIO HOUSEWARREN VILLAGE INC: $959,500 · Human ServicesWARREN VILLAGE INCYOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF METROPOLITAN DENVER: $350,000 · Human Services+26 more: $1,154,000 · Human Services+26 moreIndividual grant recipient: $666,666 · OtherIndividual grant recipientIndividual grant recipient: $625,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientDENVER LIONS FOUNDATION: $407,793 · OtherILIFF SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY: $404,676 · OtherCOLORADO COLLEGE COLORADO PLEDGE: $400,000 · OtherROUNDUP RIVER RANCH: $699,000 · OtherROUNDUP RIVER RANCHGREELEY AREA HABITAT FOR HUMANITY: $435,000 · OtherWEDONTWASTE INC: $362,500 · Other+107 more: $6,241,250 · Other+107 moreDENVER ZOOLOGICAL FOUNDATION: $2,050,500 · AnimalsDENVER ZOO…ROCKY MOUNTAIN BUTTERFLY CONSORTIUM: $1,537,500 · AnimalsROCKY MOUN…+1 more: $17,500 · AnimalsKIDS FIRST HEALTH CARE: $1,035,000 · HealthKIDS IN NEED OF DENTISTRY: $438,000 · HealthRocky Mountain Adventist Healthcare Foundation: $383,334 · HealthCraig Hospital: $290,000 · Health+16 more: $657,500 · HealthDENVER ART MUSEUM: $1,600,000 · Arts & CultureColorado Museum of Natural History: $527,500 · Arts & Culture+5 more: $194,500 · Arts & CultureDENVER BOTANIC GARDENS INC: $1,015,000 · EnvironmentGRID ALTERNATIVES COLORADO INC: $85,000 · EnvironmentTHE KIVA CENTER: $40,000 · Environment+2 more: $50,000 · Environment
Education$9,266,543Human Services$7,948,500Other$10,241,885Animals$3,605,500Health$2,803,834Arts & Culture$2,322,000Environment$1,190,000

Showing the 200 largest grantees by grant value.

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 budgetYMCA OF THE ROCKIES: $3,475,000 over 7y, 1.5% of budgetTHE COLORADO COLLEGE: $2,557,793 over 7y, 0.3% of budgetDENVER PUBLIC LIBRARY FRIENDS FOUNDATION: $2,500,000 over 5y, 30% of budgetTHE FORT LEWIS COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $2,355,000 over 7y, 6.3% of budgetDENVER ZOOLOGICAL FOUNDATION: $2,050,500 over 7y, 0.9% of budgetSAVIO HOUSE: $2,010,000 over 5y, 3.5% of budgetDENVER ART MUSEUM: $1,600,000 over 5y, 1.0% of budgetROCKY MOUNTAIN BUTTERFLY CONSORTIUM: $1,537,500 over 7y, 6.1% of budgetKIDS FIRST HEALTH CARE: $1,035,000 over 7y, 5.0% of budgetDENVER BOTANIC GARDENS INC: $1,015,000 over 5y, 0.9% of budgetWARREN VILLAGE INC: $959,500 over 7y, 3.0% of budgetROUNDUP RIVER RANCH: $699,000 over 7y, 4.8% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF DENVER: $630,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetColorado Museum of Natural History: $527,500 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetDENVER SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION: $500,000 over 5y, 0.7% of budgetKIDS IN NEED OF DENTISTRY: $438,000 over 7y, 22% of budgetGREELEY AREA HABITAT FOR HUMANITY: $435,000 over 5y, 1.9% of budgetDENVER LIONS FOUNDATION: $407,793 over 1y, 64% of budgetRocky Mountain Adventist Healthcare Foundation: $383,334 over 2y, 2.4% of budgetWEDONTWASTE INC: $362,500 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetYOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF METROPOLITAN DENVER: $350,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetCraig Hospital: $290,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetSCOTTISH RITE FOUNDATION OF COLORADO: $202,000 over 5y, 15% of budgetMETRO CARING: $180,000 over 7y, 0.7% of budgetWOMEN'S BEAN PROJECT: $148,750 over 7y, 4.1% of budgetCasa De Paz: $130,000 over 4y, 13% of budgetWORK OPTIONS FOR WOMEN DBA WORK OPTIONS: $122,500 over 7y, 2.2% of budgetLISTEN FOUNDATION INC: $110,000 over 7y, 5.3% of budgetMINDS MATTER COLORADO INC: $110,000 over 6y, 2.8% of budgetMILE HIGH MINISTRIES: $102,000 over 7y, 0.7% of budgetEMILY GRIFFITH FOUNDATION: $97,500 over 7y, 1.2% of budgetLABORATORY TO COMBAT HUMAN TRAFFICKING: $95,000 over 6y, 1.9% of budgetADAMS COUNTY EMERGENCY FOOD BANK: $89,000 over 7y, 8.2% of budgetSEWALL CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTER: $85,000 over 6y, 0.4% of budgetSECOND WIND FUND INC: $83,000 over 6y, 1.6% of budgetRocky Mountain Youth Medical and Nursing: $79,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetTHE DELORES PROJECT: $77,500 over 7y, 0.5% of budgetMOUNTAIN RESOURCE CENTER: $76,000 over 6y, 1.6% of budgetLUTHERAN MEDICAL CENTER FOUNDATION: $75,000 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetFOOD BANK OF THE ROCKIES: $74,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetRAISE THE FUTURE: $71,000 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetDENVER YOUTH PROGRAM: $70,000 over 6y, 1.3% of budgetYOUNG AMERICANS CENTER FOR FINANCIAL EDUCATION: $69,000 over 4y, 1.0% of budgetPARKINSON ASSOCIATION OF THE ROCKIES: $66,500 over 5y, 1.1% of budgetDELTA GAMMA ANCHOR CENTER FOR BLIND CHILDREN: $66,000 over 6y, 0.5% of budgetENVIRONMENTAL LEARNING FOR KIDS: $65,500 over 7y, 0.9% of budgetNATIONAL JEWISH HEALTH: $65,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetTHE CHILDRENS MUSEUM OF DENVER INC: $65,000 over 6y, 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.

  • Who funds YMCA OF THE ROCKIES ↗
  • Who funds THE COLORADO COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds DENVER PUBLIC LIBRARY FRIENDS FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds THE FORT LEWIS COLLEGE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds DENVER ZOOLOGICAL FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds SAVIO HOUSE ↗
  • Who funds DENVER ART MUSEUM ↗
  • Who funds ROCKY MOUNTAIN BUTTERFLY CONSORTIUM ↗
  • Who funds KIDS FIRST HEALTH CARE ↗
  • Who funds DENVER BOTANIC GARDENS INC ↗
  • Who funds WARREN VILLAGE INC ↗
  • Who funds ROUNDUP RIVER RANCH ↗
  • Who funds UNIVERSITY OF DENVER ↗
  • Who funds Colorado Museum of Natural History ↗
  • Who funds DENVER SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds KIDS IN NEED OF DENTISTRY ↗
  • Who funds GREELEY AREA HABITAT FOR HUMANITY ↗
  • Who funds DENVER LIONS FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Rocky Mountain Adventist Healthcare Foundation ↗
  • Who funds WEDONTWASTE INC ↗
  • Who funds YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF METROPOLITAN DENVER ↗
  • Who funds Craig Hospital ↗
  • Who funds SCOTTISH RITE FOUNDATION OF COLORADO ↗
  • Who funds METRO CARING ↗
  • Who funds WOMEN'S BEAN PROJECT ↗
  • Who funds Casa De Paz ↗
  • Who funds WORK OPTIONS FOR WOMEN DBA WORK OPTIONS ↗
  • Who funds LISTEN FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds MINDS MATTER COLORADO INC ↗

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 Denver FoundationColorado Gives Founda…Rose Community Founda…The Anschutz Foundati…The Colorado Health F…Anschutz Family Found…Hill Foundation Wells…Daniels FundMile High United Way …The Denver Children's…Nathan B & Florence R…The Janus Henderson F…
The Denver FoundationCO157.4× affinity135 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Denver Foundation · Colorado Gives Foundation · Rose Community Foundation · The Anschutz Foundation · The Colorado Health Foundation · Anschutz Family Foundation · Hill Foundation Wells Fargo Bank Na · Daniels Fund · Mile High United Way Inc · The Denver Children's Foundation · Nathan B & Florence R Burt Foundation · The Janus Henderson 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 Schlessman Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Schlessman Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%5%19%42%75%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 8%
  • Als Therapy Development Foundation Inc: 8% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
98report 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.
05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Schlessman Foundation Inc?

Find your warmest path to Schlessman Foundation Inc 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 315 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 Schlessman’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