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Sharon & Bob Ford Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Sharon & Bob Ford 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.

$288k
Granted FY2025still arriving
120
Grants FY2025still arriving
11
States reached
$13k
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, FY2022 to 2025.

Environment$139kEducation$117kHealth$87kInternational$61kArts & Culture$59kPublic Safety & Disaster$50kCivil Rights$50kAnimals$33kOther$0
02FY2025 · 120 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k115 grants · $231k
  • $10k–50k5 grants · $58k
$2,500
Median grant
11
States reached
$4.0M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
STANFORD UNIVERSITY$12,500
STANFORD UNIVERSITY$12,500
STANFORD UNIVERSITY$12,500
WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC$10,000
AMERICAN RED CROSS$10,000
PENINSULA OPEN SPACE TRUST$6,000
PENINSULA OPEN SPACE TRUST$6,000
ACLU FOUNDATION OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA$5,000
ACLU FOUNDATION OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA$5,000
EARTH ENABLE$5,000
CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS$5,000
WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC$5,000
CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS$5,000
REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA$5,000
AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION$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 (FY25–25, $16k) 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%TRAVELINGWIKI FOUNDATION: $500 → 8%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $10k → 14%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $5k → 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

NY
MA
OH
PA
CA
CO
VA
MD
AZ
TN
DC
GA
TX
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.

87%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$469k · 32 repeat orgs$71k to everyone else

32 repeat relationships: 31 still active in FY2025, 1 since wound down; 9 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

32
10

Total granted

$469k
$23k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+1%
+8%

Still filing today

91%
90%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 80% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $48k went to new ones.

50%100%’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’22’23’24’25
EnvironmentInternationalAnimalsHealthArts & CultureEducationOther
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

  • VE
    VILLAGE ENTERPRISE FUND
    3× · 2023–2025 · $51k · revenue +16%
  • YF
    YOSEMITE FOUNDATION
    4× · 2022–2025 · $37k · revenue +4%
  • PO
    PENINSULA OPEN SPACE TRUST
    4× · 2022–2025 · $35k · revenue +106%

Funded once

  • NY
    NEW YORK CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2024 · $5k · revenue +75%
  • NP
    NATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2024 · $5k · revenue -37%
  • OC
    OCEAN CONSERVANCY
    one grant, 2024 · $3k · revenue -1%
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
Conservation International Foundation

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

Environment
2
Rainforest Trust

Rainforest trust saves endangered wildlife and protects our planet by creating rainforest reserves through partnerships, community engagement, and donor support.

International
3
Project Drawdown

Project drawdown's mission is to drive meaningful climate action by advancing science-based solutions and strategies. project drawdown's work is focused on three pillars: science - advancing science-based climate solutions and strategies;…

Education
4
The Union of Concerned Scientists Inc

The union of concerned scientists puts rigorous, independent science into action, developing solutions and advocating for a healthy, safe, and just future.

International
5
Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Foundation

To engage and catalyze global seafood supply chains in rebuilding depleted fish stocks and reducing the environmental impacts of fishing and fish farming.

Animals
6
Friends of the Earth

Friends of the earth strives for a more healthy and just world by defendng the environment and human health while advancing social and economic justice by conducting research and education, transforming the economy so it protects the…

Environment
7
Rainforest Foundation Inc

The purpose of rainforest foundation us is to support indigenous peoples and forest communities in their efforts to secure their lands, protect their environment, and uphold their rights.

Environment
8
Property and Environment Research Center

Perc is dedicated to advancing conservation through markets, incentives, property rights, and partnerships.

Public Benefit
9
Resource Renewal Institute

The resource renewal institute facilitates the creation, development and implementation of practical strategies to solve the entire complex environmental problem by addressing it comprehensively.

Environment
10
Earth & Space Research

Increase societal understanding of the earth system through scientific research and education.

Science & Tech
11
Chile-California Council

The Chile-California Council is a San Francisco-based nonprofit dedicated to developing and promoting joint endeavors and cooperative relations between Chile and California, as well as individuals, legal entities and other institutions in…

International
12
National Audubon Society Inc

We work towards a future where birds thrive across the americas because audubon is a powerful, diverse, and ever-growing force for conservation. (continued on schedule o).

Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is California State Parks Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Travelingwiki Foundation. 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

48 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. 48 of the 53 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)
3
Early backer (in before they grew)
48/48
Grantees still filing
24/48
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

VILLAGE ENTERPRISE FUND: $50,500 · InternationalVILLAGE ENTERPRISE …WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $35,250 · InternationalWORLD CENTRAL KITCH…ACTION AGAINST HUNGER - USA: $10,875 · InternationalACTION AGAINST HUNG…HABITAT FOR HUMANITY INTERNATIONAL INC: $8,875 · InternationalHABITAT FOR HUMANIT…EARTHENABLE INC: $5,000 · InternationalTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $93,375 · EducationTHE BOARD OF TRUSTE…READING PARTNERS: $5,000 · EducationHEALTHY CITIES TUTORING INC: $4,875 · Education+2 more: $6,000 · Education+2 morePENINSULA OPEN SPACE TRUST: $34,750 · EnvironmentPENINSULA OPEN …OCEANA INC: $20,000 · EnvironmentOCEANA INCWORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $19,000 · EnvironmentWORLD WILDLIFE …THE CORAL REEF ALLIANCE: $7,000 · EnvironmentTHE CORAL REEF …OCEAN CONSERVANCY: $3,000 · EnvironmentSEMPERVIRENS FUND: $3,000 · EnvironmentPrevent Cancer Foundation aka Cancer Research & Prevention Fndn: $20,000 · HealthPrevent Cancer…DIABETES ACTION RESEARCH AND EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $20,000 · HealthDIABETES ACTIO…American Heart Association Inc: $20,000 · HealthAmerican Heart…ALZHEIMER'S RESEARCH AND PREVENTION FOUNDATION: $20,000 · HealthALZHEIMER'S RE…+1 more: $500 · HealthAMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA INC: $15,000 · OtherAMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UN…THE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $10,000 · OtherTHE NATURE CONSERVANCYNATIONAL CENTER FOR EQUINE FACILITATED THERAPY: $5,875 · OtherREGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA: $5,750 · OtherDian Fossey Gorilla Fund International Inc: $5,375 · OtherTHE CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS INC: $30,000 · OtherTHE CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE…WILDLIFE CONSERVATION NETWORK INC: $6,000 · OtherDefenders of Wildlife: $6,000 · OtherTHE DAVID SHELDRICK WILDLIFE TRUST USA INC: $5,875 · OtherSECOND HARVEST OF SILICON VALLEY: $18,250 · OtherSECOND HARVEST OF SILICON V…American National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $15,000 · OtherAmerican National Red Cross…+14 more: $31,991 · Other+14 moreSAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY: $40,000 · Arts & CultureSAN FRANC…CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES: $5,875 · Arts & CultureCALIFORNI…COMMON SENSE MEDIA: $5,000 · Arts & CultureCOMMON SE…KQED INC: $4,000 · Arts & CultureKQED INCYOSEMITE FOUNDATION: $37,000 · Recreation & SportsCAZADERO PERFORMING ARTS CAMP: $7,250 · Recreation & SportsCALIFORNIA STATE PARKS FOUNDATION: $2,000 · Recreation & Sports
International$110,500Education$109,250Environment$86,750Health$80,500Other$155,116Arts & Culture$54,875Recreation & Sports$46,250

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 BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $93,375 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetVILLAGE ENTERPRISE FUND: $50,500 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetSAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY: $40,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetYOSEMITE FOUNDATION: $37,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $35,250 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetPENINSULA OPEN SPACE TRUST: $34,750 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetTHE CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS INC: $30,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPrevent Cancer Foundation aka Cancer Research & Prevention Fndn: $20,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetDIABETES ACTION RESEARCH AND EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $20,000 over 2y, 1.3% of budgetAmerican Heart Association Inc: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetALZHEIMER'S RESEARCH AND PREVENTION FOUNDATION: $20,000 over 2y, 1.4% of budgetOCEANA INC: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $19,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSECOND HARVEST OF SILICON VALLEY: $18,250 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA INC: $15,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $15,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetACTION AGAINST HUNGER - USA: $10,875 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetHABITAT FOR HUMANITY INTERNATIONAL INC: $8,875 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCAZADERO PERFORMING ARTS CAMP: $7,250 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetTHE CORAL REEF ALLIANCE: $7,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetWILDLIFE CONSERVATION NETWORK INC: $6,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetDefenders of Wildlife: $6,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE DAVID SHELDRICK WILDLIFE TRUST USA INC: $5,875 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES: $5,875 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL CENTER FOR EQUINE FACILITATED THERAPY: $5,875 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetDian Fossey Gorilla Fund International Inc: $5,375 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetNEW YORK CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetREADING PARTNERS: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHEALTHY CITIES TUTORING INC: $4,875 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetKQED INC: $4,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetTrustees of Tufts College: $3,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetACVS FOUNDATION INC: $3,250 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetOCEAN CONSERVANCY: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSAMARITAN HOUSE: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSEMPERVIRENS FUND: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE JEWISH HOME AND SENIOR LIVING FOUNDATION: $3,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetDONORSCHOOSEORG: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE ANIMAL MEDICAL CENTER: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCALIFORNIA STATE PARKS FOUNDATION: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSAN CARLOS EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION: $1,250 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetBUSINESSES UNITED IN INVESTING LENDING & DEVELOPMENT: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTRAVELINGWIKI FOUNDATION: $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.

Silicon Valley Commun…Morgan Stanley Global…AbbVie FoundationGe Aerospace Foundati…National Philanthropi…Vanguard Charitable E…American Online Givin…The Blackbaud Giving …Paypal Charitable Giv…Network for GoodAmerican Endowment Fo…Donor Advised Charita…
Silicon Valley Community FoundationCA12.8× affinity5 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Silicon Valley Community Foundation · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · AbbVie Foundation · Ge Aerospace Foundation · National Philanthropic Trust · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · Paypal Charitable Giving Fund · Network for Good · American Endowment Foundation · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc

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 Sharon & Bob Ford Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Sharon & Bob Ford Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 30%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%23%45%68%90%share of the org’s income from government →median 13%
  • Trustees of Tufts College: 13% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
3get no government money at all
10report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–90%
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 53 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 Sharon & Bob Ford’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