· Private foundation
Sophora Foundation
Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.
Read this first · the figures below need context
56% of Sophora Foundation’s FY2024 grant dollars went to Goldman Sachs Philanthropy Fund, not to grantees.
Its money now reaches organizations through that sponsor, which does not report who recommended each grant. FY2024 names 5 organizations directly, so a portfolio cannot be read from it.
Organizations named directly on the return
Amber years are those where most dollars went to a sponsor.
What it funded, over time
Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2019 to 2024.
Where the money goes
Grants by size, and the largest recipients.
By grant size · FY2024
- Under $10k3 grants · $4k
- $10k–50k4 grants · $55k
- $50k–250k1 grant · $75k
| Recipient | Amount |
|---|---|
| GS DONOR ADVISED PHILANTHROPY FUND FOR WEALTH MANAGEMENT | $75,000 |
| Individual grant recipient | $20,000 |
| SANTA CLARA UNIVERSITY | $15,000 |
| SANTA CLARA UNIVERSITY | $10,000 |
| JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY | $10,000 |
| NIKE ANIMAL RESCUE FOUNDATION | $2,500 |
| BAY AREA OLDER ADULTS | $665 |
| KQED | $500 |
Does the money reach high-need areas?
Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.
Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY19–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 38% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.
How this is measured
How this is measured
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.
The organization provides professional investment management services for endowed gifts and financial assets entrusted to the ucsf foundation.
Marin humane transforms lives through exceptional animal care, humane education, and advocacy. every day, marin humane inspires compassion and positive relationships between people and animals.
The bar association of san francisco champions equal access to justice and promotes humanity, excellence, and diversity in the legal profession. we provide legal services to disadvantaged and underserved individuals in san francisco. we…
The hispanic foundation of silicon valley is dedicated to empowering the lives and futures of latinos in silicon valley through community philanthropy, investment in educational excellence, leadership development, and the convening and…
The mission of the uc davis foundation is to secure, steward and manage private gifts for uc davis.
The mission of the silicon schools fund is to improve education through supporting the launch of excellent new schools, improving academic instruction in existing schools, and by funding some of the boldest innovations in education…
Golden gate university prepares individuals to lead and serve by providing high quality, practice-based educational programs in law, taxation, business and related professions - as a nonprofit institution - in an innovative and challenging…
The San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory is dedicated to the conservation of birds and their habitats through science and outreach.
The ucla foundation is the giving, receiving, and investing arm of the ucla campus. the foundation enables private donors to help build, sustain and advance one of the world's finest academic and research institutions. private philanthropy…
Clsa advances californias world-leading life sciences innovation ecosystem by advocating for effective national, state and local public policies and supporting entrepreneurs and life sciences businesses.
Our mission is to help manufacturers thrive, innovate, and create good jobs, for a more diverse and sustainable Bay Area.
Raise private resources to advance the mission and priorities of the university and serve as ambassadors in the community. provide stewardship in the prudent investment of resources and ensure the integrity of the foundation through…
How this is measured
8 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. 8 of the 12 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.
Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee
Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing
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 GS DONOR ADVISED PHILANTHROPY FUND FOR WEALTH MANAGEMENT INC ↗
- Who funds PRESIDENT-BOARD OF TRUSTEES SANTA CLARA COLLEGE ↗
- Who funds JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY ↗
- Who funds NIKE ANIMAL RESCUE FOUNDATION ↗
- Who funds LOAVES AND FISHES ↗
- Who funds BAY AREA OLDER ADULTS INC ↗
- Who funds KQED INC ↗
- Who funds VALLEY HEALTH FOUNDATION (VHF) ↗
How much its grantees rely on government
Each dot is one organization Sophora Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Sophora Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.
- Johns Hopkins University: 12% of income from government
How this is measured
Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus
How do I get to Sophora Foundation?
Find your warmest path to Sophora 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.
Play a game based on Sophora’s filings →