Skip to content
Sequoia Foundation at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Private foundation

Sequoia Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$1.5M
Granted FY2025still arriving
61
Grants FY2025still arriving
4
States reached
$150k
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, FY2021 to 2025.

Arts & Culture$3.0MEducation$1.8MHuman Services$780kHealth$532kYouth Development$461kPhilanthropy$363kHousing & Shelter$250kCivil Rights$195kOther$0
02FY2025 · 61 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k11 grants · $57k
  • $10k–50k39 grants · $677k
  • $50k–250k11 grants · $795k
$15,000
Median grant
4
States reached
$12M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
AMERICA'S AUTOMOTIVE TRUST$150,000
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON FOUNDATION$100,000
TACOMA ARTS LIVE$85,000
TACOMA ART MUSEUM$80,000
MUSEUM OF GLASS$70,000
COLLEGE SUCCESS FOUNDATION - TACOMA$60,000
UNIVERSITY OF PUGET SOUND$50,000
BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF SOUTH PUGET SOUND$50,000
VIRGINIA MASON FOUNDATION$50,000
SEATTLE SYMPHONY$50,000
MARY BRIDGE CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION$50,000
HELPING HAND HOUSE$40,000
GRAND TACOMA CINE CLUB$40,000
UNITED WAY OF PIERCE COUNTY$35,000
NORTHWEST IMMIGRANT RIGHTS PROJECT$30,000
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 (FY21–25, $346k) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%THE MOCKINGBIRD SOCIETY: $10k → 9%MULTICULTURAL CHILD AND FAMILY HOPE CENTER: $25k → 9%THE MOCKINGBIRD SOCIETY: $6k → 9%MULTICULTURAL CHILD AND FAMILY HOPE CENTER: $25k → 9%THE MOCKINGBIRD SOCIETY: $6k → 9%THE MOCKINGBIRD SOCIETY: $6k → 9%YMCA OF PIERCE AND KITSAP COUNTIES: $15k → 9%THE MOCKINGBIRD SOCIETY: $5k → 9%YMCA OF PIERCE AND KITSAP COUNTIES: $15k → 9%CHILDREN'S HOME SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON: $5k → 9%CHILDREN'S HOME SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON: $5k → 9%MULTICULTURAL CHILD AND FAMILY HOPE CENTER: $15k → 9%CHILDREN'S HOME SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON: $5k → 9%YMCA OF PIERCE AND KITSAP COUNTIES: $15k → 9%AKIN: $5k → 9%TACOMA COMMUNITY HOUSE: $15k → 9%SOUND OUTREACH: $10k → 9%SOUND OUTREACH: $10k → 9%SOUND OUTREACH: $10k → 9%SOUND OUTREACH: $10k → 9%THRIVE INTERNATIONAL: $25k → 9%NW FURNITURE BANK: $25k → 9%WISHING WELL FOUNDATION: $8k → 9%AMARA: $10k → 9%AMARA: $10k → 9%THE COFFEE OASIS: $20k → 9%BRIGHTSPARK EARLY LEARNING SERVICES: $10k → 9%BRIGHTSPARK EARLY LEARNING SERVICES: $10k → 9%CHILD CARE RESOURCES: $10k → 9%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
WA
NY
MA
CA
NC
DC
AL
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.

91%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$7.4M · 81 repeat orgs$693k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +21% since the first grant, against +11% for those funded once.

81 repeat relationships: 53 still active in FY2025, 28 since wound down; 7 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

81
24

Total granted

$7.4M
$548k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+21%
+11%

Still filing today

85%
79%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 90% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $145k went to new ones.

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

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

’21’22’23’24’25
Arts & CultureHuman ServicesEducationHealthHousing & ShelterYouth DevelopmentOther
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

  • AA
    AMERICAS AUTOMOTIVE TRUST
    5× · 2021–2025 · $850k · revenue +55%
  • UO
    UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON FOUNDATION
    5× · 2021–2025 · $545k · revenue +11%
  • TACOMA ARTS LIVE
    5× · 2021–2025 · $515k · revenue +24%

Funded once

  • WS
    WASHINGTON STATE BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS ASSOgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $75k · revenue +423%
  • MO
    MUSEUM OF GLASS
    one grant, 2023 · $70k
  • NC
    NORTHWEST COOPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT CENTERgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $50k · revenue +87%
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
Family Promise of Pierce County

To empower families experiencing housing insecurity through intervention, prevention,and stabilization services.

Housing & Shelter
2
Great Peninsula Conservancy

Preserve in perpetuity the natural habitats, rural landscapes, and open spaces of the great peninsula of washington's puget sound.

Environment
3
United Way of Snohomish County

United way of snohomish county improves lives for families in snohomish county by bringing people, resources, and strategy together.

Philanthropy
4
Peninsula Community Health Services of Alaska

Strengthening the community by providing accessible and affordable health care.

Health
5
Whatcom Dispute Resolution Center

Provide and promote constructive and collaborative approaches to conflict resolution through mediation, training, facilitation, supervised visits and community education.

Unclassified
6
King County Sexual Assault Resource Center

KCSARC is the largest and most comprehensive non-profit provider of sexual assault services in King County and Washington State. Our vision is a community free of sexual violence. Our mission is to: give voice to victims, their families,…

—
7
Housing Connector

Housing connector partners with property owners and managers to lower barriers to housing and increase our region's affordable housing capacity.

Housing & Shelter
8
Young Womens Christian Association

The ywca is dedicated to eliminating racism and empowering women.

Human Services
9
Building Changes

Building changes advances equitable responses to homelessness in washington state, with a focus on children, youth, and families. we work at the intersection of housing, education, and health systems, partnering with communities and public…

Health
10
The Sophia Way

The sophia way is a place of hope and change for women. we support them on their journey from homelessness to safe and stable living.

Human Services
11
Artist Trust

Artist Trust supports the livelihoods of artists working in all disciplines to create a more vibrant and equitable Washington State.

Arts & Culture
12
Pacific Northwest Economic Region Foundation

To increase the economic well-being and quality of life for all citizens of the region; to coordinate provincial, territorial, and state policies throughout the region; to identify and promote "models of success and to serve as a conduit…

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Greater Tacoma Community Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Thrive International. 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

93 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. 93 of the 113 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)
21
Early backer (in before they grew)
93/93
Grantees still filing
59/93
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

AMERICAS AUTOMOTIVE TRUST: $850,000 · Arts & CultureAMERICAS AUTOMOTIVE TRUSTTACOMA ARTS LIVE: $515,000 · Arts & CultureTACOMA ARTS LIVETacoma Art Museum: $420,000 · Arts & CultureTacoma Art MuseumMuseum of Glass: $280,000 · Arts & CultureMuseum of GlassSYMPHONY TACOMA: $145,000 · Arts & CultureSYMPHONY TACOMA+11 more: $424,000 · Arts & Culture+11 moreTACOMA HOUSING AUTHORITY: $231,920 · OtherTACOMA HOUSING AUTHORITYBOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF SOUTH PUGET SOUND: $230,000 · OtherBOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF SOUTH PUGE…COLLEGE SUCCESS FOUNDATION - TACOMA: $210,000 · OtherCOLLEGE SUCCESS FOUNDATION - TACOM…VIRGINIA MASON FOUNDATION: $150,000 · OtherVIRGINIA MASON FOUNDATIONNORTHWEST IMMIGRANT RIGHTS PROJECT: $150,000 · OtherNORTHWEST IMMIGRANT RIGHTS PROJECTSEATTLE SYMPHONY: $90,000 · OtherAMERICAN LEADERSHIP FORUM TACOMA PIERCE COUNTY CHAPTER: $110,000 · OtherFORTERRA NW: $90,000 · Other+42 more: $1,253,100 · Other+42 moreUNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON FOUNDATION: $545,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF WASHINGT…THE UNIVERSITY OF PUGET SOUND: $250,000 · EducationTHE UNIVERSITY OF PUGE…FOUNDATION FOR TACOMA STUDENTS: $200,000 · EducationFOUNDATION FOR TACOMA …College Success Foundation: $150,000 · EducationCollege Success Founda…FULLER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY: $150,000 · EducationFULLER THEOLOGICAL SEM…R MERLE PALMER MINORITY SCHOLARSHIP: $100,000 · EducationR MERLE PALMER MINORIT…HILLTOP ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE: $70,000 · EducationDEGREES OF CHANGE: $65,000 · Education+4 more: $105,000 · Education+4 moreMULTICARE FOUNDATIONS: $125,000 · HealthCOMPREHENSIVE MENTAL HEALTH CENTER OF TACOMA-PIERCE COUNTY: $75,000 · HealthMARY BRIDGE CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION: $50,000 · HealthEDGE FOUNDATION: $40,000 · HealthTHE CAROL MILGARD BREAST CENTER: $37,000 · HealthOLIVE CREST: $35,000 · HealthPediatric Interim Care Center: $30,000 · HealthFRANCISCAN FOUNDATION: $25,000 · HealthTACOMA PIERCE COUNTY CHAPLAINCY: $20,000 · Health+2 more: $30,000 · HealthMULTICULTURAL CHILD AND FAMILY HOPE CENTER: $65,000 · Human ServicesYOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF PIERCE AND KITSAP COUNTIES: $45,000 · Human ServicesSOUTH SOUND OUTREACH SERVICES: $40,000 · Human ServicesTHE MOCKINGBIRD SOCIETY: $33,000 · Human ServicesBrightspark Early Learning Services: $30,000 · Human ServicesThrive International: $25,000 · Human ServicesNW FURNITURE BANK: $25,000 · Human ServicesAMARA: $20,000 · Human ServicesTHE COFFEE OASIS: $20,000 · Human ServicesCHILDRENS HOME SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON: $20,000 · Human ServicesTacoma Community House: $15,000 · Human Services+2 more: $15,400 · Human ServicesUNITED WAY OF PIERCE COUNTY: $270,000 · PhilanthropyGREATER TACOMA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $35,000 · Philanthropy+1 more: $8,500 · PhilanthropyHELPING HAND HOUSE: $60,000 · Housing & ShelterNEW PHOEBE HOUSE: $40,000 · Housing & ShelterTACOMAPIERCE COUNTY HABITAT FOR HUMANIT: $40,000 · Housing & ShelterSABALA INTERNATIONAL CENTER: $30,000 · Housing & ShelterEXODUS HOUSING: $30,000 · Housing & ShelterCJK COMMUNITY HOMES: $15,000 · Housing & ShelterHarbor Hope Center: $10,000 · Housing & ShelterNEXT CHAPTER FOUNDATION: $10,000 · Housing & Shelter
Arts & Culture$2,634,000Other$2,515,020Education$1,635,000Health$467,000Human Services$353,400Philanthropy$313,500Housing & Shelter$235,000

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 budgetAMERICAS AUTOMOTIVE TRUST: $850,000 over 5y, 10% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON FOUNDATION: $545,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetTACOMA ARTS LIVE: $515,000 over 5y, 3.3% of budgetTacoma Art Museum: $420,000 over 5y, 6.7% of budgetMuseum of Glass: $280,000 over 4y, 2.1% of budgetUNITED WAY OF PIERCE COUNTY: $270,000 over 5y, 1.0% of budgetTHE UNIVERSITY OF PUGET SOUND: $250,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetFOUNDATION FOR TACOMA STUDENTS: $200,000 over 3y, 4.2% of budgetCollege Success Foundation: $150,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetNORTHWEST IMMIGRANT RIGHTS PROJECT: $150,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetFULLER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY: $150,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetSYMPHONY TACOMA: $145,000 over 5y, 2.9% of budgetMULTICARE FOUNDATIONS: $125,000 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetAMERICAN LEADERSHIP FORUM TACOMA PIERCE COUNTY CHAPTER: $110,000 over 5y, 10% of budgetR MERLE PALMER MINORITY SCHOLARSHIP: $100,000 over 5y, 1.8% of budgetFORTERRA NW: $90,000 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetCOMPREHENSIVE MENTAL HEALTH CENTER OF TACOMA-PIERCE COUNTY: $75,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetWASHINGTON STATE BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS ASSO: $75,000 over 1y, 4.3% of budgetYWCA PIERCE COUNTY: $75,000 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetHILLTOP ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE: $70,000 over 5y, 1.3% of budgetOPERA AMERICA INC: $70,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetDEGREES OF CHANGE: $65,000 over 5y, 0.9% of budgetMULTICULTURAL CHILD AND FAMILY HOPE CENTER: $65,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetGreater Metro Parks Foundation dba Tacoma Parks Foundation: $61,500 over 2y, 3.7% of budgetTACOMA OPERA ASSOCIATION PROFESSIONAL SERVICES: $60,000 over 3y, 10% of budgetHELPING HAND HOUSE: $60,000 over 2y, 1.4% of budgetTACOMA-PIERCE COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: $60,000 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetNORTHWEST COOPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT CENTER: $50,000 over 1y, 3.9% of budgetPHILLIPS EXETER ACADEMY: $50,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetTHE YOUTH MARINE FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 1y, 2.9% of budgetEMERGENCY FOOD NETWORK OF TACOMA AND PIERCE COUNTY: $50,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetGREENTRIKE: $46,000 over 4y, 0.6% of budgetHUMANE SOCIETY FOR TACOMA PIERCE COUNTY SOCIETY PREVENTION CRUELTY ANIMALS: $45,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetARTSFUND: $45,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetGRAND TACOMA CINE CLUB DBA THE GRAND CINEMA: $45,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetYOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF PIERCE AND KITSAP COUNTIES: $45,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetNEW PHOEBE HOUSE: $40,000 over 4y, 1.5% of budgetPIERCE COUNTY CENTER FOR DISPUTE RESOLUT: $40,000 over 3y, 0.9% of budgetSOUTH SOUND OUTREACH SERVICES: $40,000 over 4y, 0.8% of budgetTACOMA YOUTH SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION: $40,000 over 2y, 1.6% of budgetTACOMA-PIERCE COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE FOUNDATION: $40,000 over 2y, 90% of budgetTACOMAPIERCE COUNTY HABITAT FOR HUMANIT: $40,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetEDGE FOUNDATION: $40,000 over 4y, 2.0% of budgetTHE CAROL MILGARD BREAST CENTER: $37,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetOLIVE CREST: $35,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSAFE STREETS CAMPAIGN: $35,000 over 3y, 1.3% of budgetGREATER TACOMA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $35,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetRAINIER SCHOLARS: $35,000 over 2y, 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.

Greater Tacoma Commun…The Bamford FoundationKilworth Florence Cha…Fuchsg & M Fdn TaiForest FoundationThe Norcliffe Foundat…Woodworth Family Foun…Gary E Milgard Family…Heidner Marco J Char …Ben B Cheney Foundati…The Russell Family Fo…Medina Foundation
Greater Tacoma Community FoundationWA114.7× affinity56 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Greater Tacoma Community Foundation · The Bamford Foundation · Kilworth Florence Char Tr Fndn · Fuchsg & M Fdn Tai · Forest Foundation · The Norcliffe Foundation · Woodworth Family Foundation · Gary E Milgard Family Foundation- Sunshine · Heidner Marco J Char Trust · Ben B Cheney Foundation Inc · The Russell Family Foundation · Medina 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 Sequoia Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Sequoia Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%2%8%17%30%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 3%
  • Third Sector New England Inc: 3% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
48report 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 Sequoia Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Sequoia 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 113 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 Sequoia’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