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Stearns Family Foundation Inc at a glance

· Private foundation

Stearns Family Foundation Inc

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$65k
Granted FY2024still arriving
3
Grants FY2024still arriving
1
States reached
$30k
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, FY2017 to 2024.

Health$810kHuman Services$185kFood & Nutrition$155kYouth Development$59kArts & Culture$41kHousing & Shelter$21kAnimals$13kRecreation & Sports$11kOther$0
02FY2024 · 3 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$25,420
Median grant
1
States reached
$1.9M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
TOM TAYLOR YMCA GIG HARBOR$30,000
GIG HARBOR JUNIOR SAILING CAMP$25,420
PEOPLE FOR ANIMAL CARE & KINDNESS$10,000
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 (FY17–23, $7k) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%YMCA OF PIERCE & KITSAP COUNTIES: $1k → 9%NW FURNITURE BANK: $250 → 9%NW FURNITURE BANK: $250 → 9%NW FURNITURE BANK: $250 → 9%GIG HARBOR PENINSULA FISH FOOD BANK: $5k → 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.
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.

83%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.1M · 17 repeat orgs$218k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +105% since the first grant, against +30% for those funded once.

17 repeat relationships: 2 still active in FY2024, 15 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

17
12

Total granted

$1.1M
$208k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+105%
+30%

Still filing today

47%
33%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 85% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $10k 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
Housing & ShelterHuman ServicesHealthEnvironmentArts & CultureYouth 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

  • TC
    Texas Children's Hospital
    2× · 2017–2018 · $750k · revenue +105%
  • GH
    GIG HARBOR NOW
    2× · 2021–2023 · $40k · revenue +247%
  • TR
    THE RESCUE MISSION
    3× · 2017–2020 · $3k · revenue +159%

Funded once

  • SA
    ST ANDREW'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH
    one grant, 2023 · $150k
  • MB
    MARY BRIDGE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
    one grant, 2020 · $20k
  • GJ
    GHYC JR SAIL PROGRAMS
    one grant, 2018 · $11k
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
Great Peninsula Conservancy

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

Environment
2
Nourish Pierce County

To provide food to individuals in need with compassion, dignity and respect. No one needing assistance is turned away.

—
3
Gig Harbor Chamber of Commerce

Serve the small business community and local development.

—
4
Family Promise of Pierce County

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

Housing & Shelter
5
Pier 360

To use peer support specialists, people with lived experience in recovery, to share hope and empower people.

Philanthropy
6
Paws of Grays Harbor

PAWS cares for lost, abandoned and abused animals and finds them new homes with responsible owners. PAWS also provides low cost spay and neuter services, a pet food pantry, and community education. During 2024 PAWS adopted out 577 pets.…

Animals
7
Port Angeles Food Bank

Nourishing our community. the port angeles food bank is the main food bank in clallam county, providing food to 13 other area pantries and meal programs as well as providing food to over 5,000 individuals per month.

Food & Nutrition
8
Kuow Puget Sound Public Radio

Kuow/puget sound public radio is a nonprofit organization which operates three radio stations to provide news, information, and cultural programs to the greater seattle area. our mission is to create and serve a more informed public.

Arts & Culture
9
Communities for a Healthy Bay

For over 31 years, chb has engaged the community in the cleanup, restoration, and protection of our natural environment. it has built a legacy of successfully working with government, tribes, and local industry to stop sources of ongoing…

Environment
10
Puget Sound Restoration Fund

To restore habitat, water quality and native species in the puget sound

Environment
11
Puyallup Food Bank

We are passionate about meeting the urgent needs of our neighbors and partnering to assist them, believing food is the first step on their journey to a more hopeful future!

Human Services
12
Portland Harbor Community Coalition

Portland Harbor Community Coalition (PHCC) organizes frontline groups and individuals to heal the water, land, and air in and around the Wa'lmaomt (Willamette River) federal Superfund area, polluted from over a century of heavy industrial…

Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Greater Tacoma Community Foundation; the most unlike its peers is People for Animal Care and Kindness. 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 31 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)
14/14
Grantees still filing
10/14
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Texas Children's Hospital: $750,000 · HealthTexas Children's HospitalST ANDREW'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH: $150,000 · OtherST ANDREW'S EPISCOPAL CHURCHTOM TAYLOR YMCA GIG HARBOR: $125,000 · OtherTOM TAYLOR YMCA GIG HARBORGIG HARBOR JUNIOR SAILING CAMP: $57,620 · OtherGIG HARBOR JUNIOR SAILING CAMPYMCA: $45,000 · OtherYMCAIndividual grant recipient: $40,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientMARY BRIDGE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL: $20,000 · Other+15 more: $53,900 · Other+15 moreGIG HARBOR NOW: $40,000 · Arts & CultureGREATER TACOMA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $10,000 · PhilanthropyPeople for Animal Care and Kindness: $10,000 · AnimalsGIG HARBOR PENINSULA FISH: $5,000 · Human ServicesYOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF PIERCE AND KITSAP COUNTIES: $1,000 · Human ServicesNW FURNITURE BANK: $750 · Human ServicesTHE RESCUE MISSION: $2,500 · Housing & ShelterRebuilding Together South Sound: $500 · Housing & ShelterREBUILDING TOGETHER INC: $500 · Housing & Shelter
Health$750,000Other$491,520Arts & Culture$40,000Philanthropy$10,000Animals$10,000Human Services$6,750Housing & Shelter$3,500

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 budgetTexas Children's Hospital: $750,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetGIG HARBOR NOW: $40,000 over 2y, 13% of budgetGREATER TACOMA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPeople for Animal Care and Kindness: $10,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetGIG HARBOR PENINSULA FISH: $5,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetTHE RESCUE MISSION: $2,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetPIERCE COUNTY LIBRARY FOUNDATION: $2,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetCHARLES WRIGHT ACADEMY: $1,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetYOUNG LIFE: $1,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetYOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF PIERCE AND KITSAP COUNTIES: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNW FURNITURE BANK: $750 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetRebuilding Together South Sound: $500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetHARBOR WILDWATCH: $500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetREBUILDING TOGETHER INC: $500 over 1y, 0.0% 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 Texas Children's Hospital ↗
  • Who funds GIG HARBOR NOW ↗
  • Who funds GREATER TACOMA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds People for Animal Care and Kindness ↗
  • Who funds GIG HARBOR PENINSULA FISH ↗
  • Who funds THE RESCUE MISSION ↗
  • Who funds PIERCE COUNTY LIBRARY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds CHARLES WRIGHT ACADEMY ↗
  • Who funds YOUNG LIFE ↗
  • Who funds YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF PIERCE AND KITSAP COUNTIES ↗
  • Who funds NW FURNITURE BANK ↗
  • Who funds Rebuilding Together South Sound ↗
  • Who funds HARBOR WILDWATCH ↗
  • Who funds REBUILDING TOGETHER 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.

Greater Tacoma Commun…Ben B Cheney Foundati…The Russell Family Fo…Gary E Milgard Family…The Bamford FoundationThe Dimmer Family Fou…Woodworth Family Foun…Fuchsg & M Fdn TaiThe Meacham FoundationGary E Milgard Family…LT Murray Family Foun…Sequoia Foundation
Greater Tacoma Community FoundationWA21.9× affinity8 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Greater Tacoma Community Foundation · Ben B Cheney Foundation Inc · The Russell Family Foundation · Gary E Milgard Family Foundation- Sunshine · The Bamford Foundation · The Dimmer Family Foundation · Woodworth Family Foundation · Fuchsg & M Fdn Tai · The Meacham Foundation · Gary E Milgard Family Foundation-Cari · LT Murray Family Foundation · Sequoia 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 Stearns Family Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Stearns Family Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%4%8%15%funder's share of their income ↑0%15%30%45%60%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    5report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–60%
    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 Stearns Family Foundation Inc?

    Find your warmest path to Stearns Family 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 31 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

    Play a game based on Stearns Family’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