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Spruance Foundation II at a glance

· Private foundation

Spruance Foundation II

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.

$294k
Granted FY2024still arriving
4
Grants FY2024still arriving
3
States reached
$120k
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.

Education$598kEnvironment$280kHealth$244kScience & Tech$80kArts & Culture$19kCommunity Improvement$9kPublic Safety & Disaster$3kAnimals$75
02FY2024 · 4 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$68,501
Median grant
3
States reached
$1.4M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
The Property and Environment Research Center$120,000
Scripps Institution of Oceanography$68,501
Steadman Philippon Research Institute$55,000
Salk Institute for Biological Studies$50,000
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 82% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%Salesianum School: $10k → 10%The Property and Environment Research Center: $120k → 10%The Common Ground Project: $5k → 10%Longwood Fire Company: $1k → 6%Brookline Labrador Retriever Rescue: $75 → 6%Scripps Institution of Oceanography: $69k → 11%University of Tampa: $20k → 13%Auburn University: $10k → 15%Vail Valley Foundation: $9k → 7%Fins Attached: $30k → 9%Johns Hopkins University: $50k → 11%Johns Hopkins University: $122k → 19%The Property and Environment Research Center: $65k → 10%The Common Ground Project: $500 → 10%Longwood Fire Company: $600 → 6%Salk Institute for Biological Studies: $50k → 11%Steadman Philippon Research Institute: $60k → 7%Johns Hopkins University: $50k → 19%The Property and Environment Research Center: $30k → 10%Park County Environmental Council: $10k → 10%Longwood Fire Company: $600 → 6%Scripps Institute of Oceanography: $30k → 11%Steadman Philippon Research Institute: $55k → 7%The Property and Environment Research Center: $20k → 10%Longwood Fire Company: $450 → 6%Campanile Foundation: $165k → 11%Steadman Philippon Research Institute: $10k → 7%UC San Diego: $30k → 11%Steadman Philippon Research Institute: $10k → 7%Steaman Philippon Research Institute: $10k → 7%Steadman Philippon Research Institute: $250 → 7%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

MT
PA
CA
CO
MD
DE
AL
FL
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.

74%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$781k · 7 repeat orgs$278k to everyone else

7 repeat relationships: 2 still active in FY2024, 5 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

7
9

Total granted

$781k
$159k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+64%
+77%

Still filing today

100%
44%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 60% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $119k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
EducationPublic BenefitHealthPublic Safety & DisasterScience & TechEnvironmentOther
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

  • PA
    PROPERTY AND ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH CENTER
    4× · 2021–2024 · $235k · revenue +164%
  • JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
    3× · 2017–2023 · $222k · revenue +64%
  • SP
    STEADMAN PHILIPPON RESEARCH INSTITUTE
    6× · 2017–2024 · $145k · revenue +39%

Funded once

  • US
    UC San Diego
    one grant, 2019 · $30k
  • FA
    Fins Attached
    one grant, 2022 · $30k
  • SI
    Scripps Institute of Oceanography
    one grant, 2017 · $30k
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
American Museum of Natural History

The museum's mission statement is: "to discover, interpret, and disseminate - through scientific research and education - knowledge about human cultures, the natural world, and the universe."

Arts & Culture
2
Pomona College

Throughout its history, pomona college has educated men and women of exceptional promise. we gather individuals, regardless of financial circumstances, into a small residential community that is strongly rooted in southern california yet…

Education
3
Lehigh University

The university's goal in the coming decade is to advance learning through the integration of teaching, research and service to others. the core of this goal is to prepare graduates to engage with the world and lead lives of meaning. to do…

Education
4
Trustees of Dartmouth College

Dartmouth College educates the most promising students and prepares them for a lifetime of learning and of responsible leadership, through a faculty dedicated to teaching and the creation of knowledge.

Education
5
The Trustees of Princeton University

Research, education and general - princeton university is a private not-for-profit, non-sectarian institution of higher learning with approximately 5,700 undergraduate and 3,300 graduate students. 2,500 students graduated in the 2024-2025…

Education
6
Marine Biological Laboratory

The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) is a world-renowned center for biological discovery and training that is notably affiliated with more than 60 Nobel Prize winners. Research is conducted by full-time faculty as well as hundreds of the…

Science & Tech
7
Cornell University

Education, research, medical services and other public services.

Education
8
Lewis & Clark College

Lewis & clark is a premier private higher education institution offering an exceptional education in an inclusive environment. by fostering critical thinking, innovation, creativity, civic engagement, and leadership, both inside and…

Education
9
Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

We educate the next generation of leaders to improve the health of our society.

Education
10
Wake Forest University

Wake Forest University, a 501(c)(3) institution of higher education, is dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in the liberal arts and in graduate and professional education. The organization is comprised of seven constituent parts: Wake…

Education
11
Western New England University

Western new england university, a comprehensive private institution with a tradition of excellence in teaching and scholarship and a commitment to service, awards undergraduate, master's, and doctoral degrees in various departments from…

Education
12
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The mission of mit is to advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The University of Tampa Incorporated; the most unlike its peers is Longwood Fire Company. 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

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 20 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)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
14/14
Grantees still filing
11/14
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: $222,000 · EducationJOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITYTHE CAMPANILE FOUNDATION: $165,000 · EducationTHE CAMPANILE FOUNDATIONUniversity of Miami: $107,750 · EducationUniversity of MiamiThe University of Tampa Incorporated: $20,000 · EducationREGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT SAN DIEGO: $68,501 · OtherREGENTS OF THE UNIVERSIT…THE UNIVERSITY OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS: $62,880 · OtherTHE UNIVERSITY OF THE VI…UC San Diego: $30,000 · OtherUC San DiegoFins Attached: $30,000 · OtherFins AttachedScripps Institute of Oceanography: $30,000 · OtherScripps Institute of Oce…MOUNTAIN JOURNAL INC: $18,980 · OtherMOUNTAIN JOURNAL INCSALESIANUM SCHOOL INC: $10,000 · OtherAuburn University: $10,000 · Other+2 more: $2,925 · OtherPROPERTY AND ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH CENTER: $234,844 · Public BenefitPROPERTY AND ENVIRONME…+1 more: $5,500 · Public BenefitSTEADMAN PHILIPPON RESEARCH INSTITUTE: $145,250 · HealthSTEADMAN PHIL…The Salk Institute for Biological Studies: $50,000 · Science & TechPark County Environmental Council: $10,000 · EnvironmentVAIL VALLEY FOUNDATION: $9,320 · Community Improvement
Education$514,750Other$263,286Public Benefit$240,344Health$145,250Science & Tech$50,000Environment$10,000Community Improvement$9,320

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 budgetPROPERTY AND ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH CENTER: $234,844 over 4y, 1.8% of budgetJOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: $222,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE CAMPANILE FOUNDATION: $165,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetSTEADMAN PHILIPPON RESEARCH INSTITUTE: $145,250 over 6y, 0.4% of budgetUniversity of Miami: $107,750 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE UNIVERSITY OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS: $62,880 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetThe Salk Institute for Biological Studies: $50,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe University of Tampa Incorporated: $20,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMOUNTAIN JOURNAL INC: $18,980 over 1y, 3.9% of budgetPark County Environmental Council: $10,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetTHE COMMON GROUND PROJECT: $5,500 over 2y, 4.4% of budgetLONGWOOD FIRE COMPANY: $2,850 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetBROOKLINE LABRADOR RETRIEVER RESCUE: $75 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.

National Philanthropi…The Bank of America C…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
National Philanthropic TrustPA9.2× affinity5 shared granteesties to 4 of 4Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: National Philanthropic Trust · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile 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 Spruance Foundation II funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Spruance Foundation II. Bigger dots raise more.

2023
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%13%25%38%50%share of the org’s income from government →median 5%
  • Johns Hopkins University: 13% of income from government
  • University of Miami: 5% of income from government
  • The University of Tampa Incorporated: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
1report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–50%
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 20 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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

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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