Skip to content
Steffens Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Steffens 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.

$1.6M
Granted FY2024still arriving
46
Grants FY2024still arriving
13
States reached
$200k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0196% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Religion$1.4MHuman Services$1.1MEducation$1.1MInternational$1.1MHealth$582kCrime & Legal$430kPublic Safety & Disaster$381kAnimals$291kOther$0
02FY2024 · 46 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k5 grants · $17k
  • $10k–50k26 grants · $476k
  • $50k–250k15 grants · $1.1M
$25,000
Median grant
13
States reached
$4.1M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Cross Catholic Outreach$200,000
Cross International$127,000
Cross International$100,000
Doctors Without Borders$75,000
Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery$75,000
Walla Walla Community College Foundation$60,000
Shriners Hospital for Children$50,000
Union Gospel Mission$50,000
International Rescue Committee$50,000
Idaho Food Bank$50,000
National Immigrant Justice Center$50,000
Alternatives to Violence$50,000
Boys & Girls Clubs of Lewis Clark Valley$50,000
Fort Hays State University$50,000
Catholic Charities of Eastern Washington$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:

Its human-services grants (FY17–24, $438k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 77% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%World Food Program: $20k → 14%Sweet Dream in a Bag: $10k → 3%Forward Steps: $25k → 7%Sister Carmen Community Center: $10k → 12%Sweet Dream in a Bag: $8k → 3%Forward Steps: $25k → 7%Sweet Dream in a Bag: $5k → 3%Forward Steps Foundation: $8k → 7%Sister Carmen Community Center: $10k → 12%Forward Steps Foundation: $5k → 7%Forward Steps: $5k → 7%Sister Carmen Community Center: $10k → 12%Forward Steps Foundation: $5k → 7%Circles of Caring Adult Day Foundation: $50k → 20%Sweet Dream in a Bag: $2k → 3%Forward Steps Foundation: $1k → 7%Sister Carmen Community Center: $10k → 12%Forward Steps Foundation: $1k → 7%Community Action Center: $50k → 20%Sister Carmen Community Center: $10k → 12%Community Action Center: $40k → 20%Sister Carmen Community Center: $5k → 12%Sister Carmen Community Center: $5k → 12%Sister Carmen Community Center: $5k → 12%Orphan Acres: $1k → 16%Community Action Center: $20k → 20%Attention Homes: $5k → 12%Community Action Center: $10k → 20%Intercambio de Communidades: $10k → 12%Intercambio de Communidades: $10k → 12%Intercambio de Communidades: $10k → 12%Community Action Center: $10k → 20%Community Action Center: $5k → 20%Intercambio de Communidades: $5k → 12%Intercambio de Communidades: $5k → 12%Intercambio de Communidades: $5k → 12%Intercambio de Communidades: $5k → 12%Community Action Center: $5k → 20%Intercambio de Communidades: $5k → 12%Community Action Center: $2k → 20%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

WA
ID
MN
IL
WI
MI
NY
SD
IA
CA
UT
CO
VA
MD
KS
DC
TX
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.

93%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$6.9M · 61 repeat orgs$542k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +39% since the first grant, against -15% for those funded once.

61 repeat relationships: 39 still active in FY2024, 22 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

61
18

Total granted

$6.9M
$468k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+39%
-15%

Still filing today

62%
39%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 95% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $74k 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
Human ServicesAnimalsInternationalHealthEducationReligionOther
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

  • CI
    Cross International Inc
    5× · 2019–2024 · $420k · revenue +31%
  • MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC
    7× · 2017–2024 · $335k · revenue +98%
  • VB
    VANESSA BEHAN
    8× · 2017–2024 · $310k · revenue +81%

Funded once

  • VO
    Volunteers of America
    one grant, 2021 · $250k
  • PC
    Pullman Community Montessori
    one grant, 2021 · $50k · revenue -99%
  • WC
    Whitman County Historical Society
    one grant, 2021 · $50k · revenue +4%
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
Idaho Humane Society Inc

The mission of the Idaho Humane Society (IHS) is to advocate for the welfare and responsible care of animals, protect them from neglect and cruelty, and promote humane education, awareness and compassion for all living creatures.

Animals
2
Regional West Health Services

Health care services for the people of western nebraska and eastern wyoming.

Health
3
The Humane Society for Seattleking County

Seattle humane promotes the human-animal bond by saving and serving pets in need, regardless of age, ability, circumstance or geography.

Animals
4
University of Western States

The mission of the University of Western States is to advance the science and art of integrated health care through excellence in education and patient care.

Health
5
Refugee Care Collective Northwest

Provide care to refugee families.

Human Services
6
World Vets

To improve the health & well-being of animals through veterinary aid, response, training, research & local capacity building worldwide. We provide services to companion animals, horses, street dogs, livestock and marine animals including…

Animals
7
Colorado Museum of Natural History

Be a catalyst! Ignite our community's passion for nature and science.

Arts & Culture
8
Lutheran Community Services Northwest

LCSNW partners with individuals, families and communities for health, justice and hope. LCSNW provides a wide variety of social services in Oregon, Washington and Idaho and serves people of all ages, cultures and faiths.

Human Services
9
Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences

Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences educates and trains health care professionals emphasizing service among rural and medically under-served communities throughout the Northwest.

Education
10
Kitsap Humane Society

Providing positive life changing solutions to people and animals in need.

Animals
11
Wenatchee Valley Hospital

We are dedicated to improving our patients' health by providing safe, high-quality care in a compassionate and cost-effective manner.

—
12
Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region

To offer compassionate care to animals, support safe communities, and provide socially conscious sheltering. (continued on schedule o)

Animals
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Operation Homefront Inc; the most unlike its peers is Whitman County Historical Society. 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

49 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. 49 of the 84 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.

3
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
10
Early backer (in before they grew)
48/49
Grantees still filing
37/49
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

St Thomas More Catholic Student Center: $500,000 · OtherSt Thomas More Catholic Student CenterCROSS CATHOLIC OUTREACH INC: $464,769 · OtherCROSS CATHOLIC OUTREACH INCFort Hays State University: $402,000 · OtherFort Hays State UniversityCatholic Charities of Eastern Washington: $295,000 · OtherCatholic Charities of Eastern WashingtonVolunteers of America: $250,000 · OtherAlternatives to Violence: $230,000 · OtherDominican Sisters of Peace: $225,000 · OtherSAN FELIPE HUMANITARIAN ALLIANCE: $210,000 · OtherNational Immigrant Justice Center: $200,000 · OtherGonzaga University Foundation: $168,000 · OtherPalouse Discovery Science Center Inc: $240,000 · Other+47 more: $1,537,633 · Other+47 moreCommunity Action Center: $142,000 · Human ServicesCommunity…Bridge House: $130,000 · Human ServicesBridge Ho…Forward Steps Foundation: $75,000 · Human ServicesForward S…SISTER CARMEN COMMUNITY CENTER INC: $65,000 · Human ServicesSISTER CA…COVENANT HOUSE: $60,000 · Human ServicesCOVENANT …INTERCAMBIO DE COMUNIDADES: $55,000 · Human ServicesINTERCAMB…CIRCLES OF CARING ADULT DAY HEALTH FOUNDATION INC: $50,000 · Human ServicesCIRCLES O…SWEET DREAM IN A BAG INC: $24,500 · Human Services+3 more: $26,000 · Human ServicesMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $335,000 · InternationalInternational Rescue Committee INC: $165,000 · InternationalEdify: $60,000 · InternationalKiloWatts For Humanity: $26,000 · InternationalCross International Inc: $420,333 · ReligionBOULDER PREPARATORY HIGH SCHOOL: $106,000 · ReligionWALLA WALLA COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $196,240 · EducationWASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $161,500 · EducationCORPORATION OF GONZAGA UNIVERSITY: $75,000 · EducationUniversity of Idaho Foundation Inc: $35,000 · EducationSHRINERS HOSPITALS FOR CHILDREN: $170,000 · HealthSNAKE RIVER COMMUNITY CLINIC INC: $93,000 · HealthSEMPER FI & AMERICA'S FUND: $50,500 · Health+1 more: $2,000 · HealthVANESSA BEHAN: $310,000 · Crime & Legal
Other$4,722,402Human Services$627,500International$586,000Religion$526,333Education$467,740Health$315,500Crime & Legal$310,000

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetCross International Inc: $420,333 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $335,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetVANESSA BEHAN: $310,000 over 8y, 1.7% of budgetPalouse Discovery Science Center Inc: $240,000 over 7y, 28% of budgetSAN FELIPE HUMANITARIAN ALLIANCE: $210,000 over 8y, 62% of budgetWALLA WALLA COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $196,240 over 6y, 2.9% of budgetSHRINERS HOSPITALS FOR CHILDREN: $170,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetInternational Rescue Committee INC: $165,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetWASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $161,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetWHITMAN COUNTY HUMANE SOCIETY: $147,500 over 8y, 6.8% of budgetCommunity Action Center: $142,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetIDAHO FOODBANK WAREHOUSE: $135,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetBridge House: $130,000 over 7y, 0.3% of budgetTHE WILD ANIMAL SANCTUARY: $115,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetBOULDER PREPARATORY HIGH SCHOOL: $106,000 over 8y, 26% of budgetSNAKE RIVER COMMUNITY CLINIC INC: $93,000 over 8y, 12% of budgetCORPORATION OF GONZAGA UNIVERSITY: $75,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetForward Steps Foundation: $75,000 over 8y, 5.9% of budgetInnovia Foundation: $75,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSISTER CARMEN COMMUNITY CENTER INC: $65,000 over 8y, 0.2% of budgetEdify: $60,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetCOVENANT HOUSE: $60,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetINTERCAMBIO DE COMUNIDADES: $55,000 over 8y, 0.6% of budgetWORKSHOPS FOR WARRIORS INC: $52,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetBOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF THE LEWIS CLARK VALLEY INC: $51,000 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetSEMPER FI & AMERICA'S FUND: $50,500 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetPullman Community Montessori: $50,000 over 1y, 5.7% of budgetWhitman County Historical Society: $50,000 over 1y, 9.4% of budgetCIRCLES OF CARING ADULT DAY HEALTH FOUNDATION INC: $50,000 over 1y, 7.3% of budgetPULLMAN REGIONAL HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetNATIONAL COUNCIL ON AGING INC: $45,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetUniversity of Idaho Foundation Inc: $35,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetKiloWatts For Humanity: $26,000 over 4y, 20% of budgetSWEET DREAM IN A BAG INC: $24,500 over 4y, 9.3% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE WORLD FOOD PROGRAM INC: $20,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNYAKA INC: $19,000 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetOPERATION HOMEFRONT INC: $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBEST FRIENDS ANIMAL SOCIETY: $9,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetA Sanctuary for Military Families Inc DBA Project Sanctuary: $8,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetUNITED SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS INC: $7,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetATTENTION INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetSEW MUCH COMFORT: $3,000 over 3y, 1.0% of budgetANDERSON ANIMAL SHELTER: $3,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetBELIEVE IN ME: $2,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetCYSTIC FIBROSIS FOUNDATION: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBirds of Prey Foundation: $1,000 over 1y, 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.

  • Who funds Cross International Inc ↗
  • Who funds MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC ↗
  • Who funds VANESSA BEHAN ↗
  • Who funds Palouse Discovery Science Center Inc ↗
  • Who funds SAN FELIPE HUMANITARIAN ALLIANCE ↗
  • Who funds WALLA WALLA COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds SHRINERS HOSPITALS FOR CHILDREN ↗
  • Who funds International Rescue Committee INC ↗
  • Who funds WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds WHITMAN COUNTY HUMANE SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds Community Action Center ↗
  • Who funds IDAHO FOODBANK WAREHOUSE ↗
  • Who funds Bridge House ↗
  • Who funds THE WILD ANIMAL SANCTUARY ↗
  • Who funds BOULDER PREPARATORY HIGH SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds SNAKE RIVER COMMUNITY CLINIC INC ↗
  • Who funds CORPORATION OF GONZAGA UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds Forward Steps Foundation ↗
  • Who funds Innovia Foundation ↗
  • Who funds SISTER CARMEN COMMUNITY CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds Edify ↗
  • Who funds COVENANT HOUSE ↗
  • Who funds INTERCAMBIO DE COMUNIDADES ↗
  • Who funds WORKSHOPS FOR WARRIORS INC ↗
  • Who funds BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF THE LEWIS CLARK VALLEY INC ↗
  • Who funds SEMPER FI & AMERICA'S FUND ↗
  • Who funds Pullman Community Montessori ↗
  • Who funds Whitman County Historical Society ↗

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.

Innovia FoundationThe Avista FoundationUmpqua Bank Charitabl…Lewis-Clark Valley He…The Chicago Community…Idaho Community Found…M J Murdock Charitabl…First Interstate Banc…Colorado Gives Founda…Xcel Energy FoundationAbbVie FoundationEnterprise Holdings F…
Innovia FoundationWA24.5× affinity11 shared granteesties to 10 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Innovia Foundation · The Avista Foundation · Umpqua Bank Charitable Foundation · Lewis-Clark Valley Healthcare Foundation · The Chicago Community Trust · Idaho Community Foundation Inc · M J Murdock Charitable Trust · First Interstate BancSystem Foundation Inc · Colorado Gives Foundation · Xcel Energy Foundation · AbbVie Foundation · Enterprise Holdings 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 Steffens Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Steffens Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • Shriners Hospitals for Children: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
14report 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 Steffens Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Steffens 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 84 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 Steffens’ 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