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Sw Calkins Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Sw Calkins 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.

$67k
Granted FY2025still arriving
4
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$25k
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, FY2020 to 2025.

Food & Nutrition$168kEducation$120kArts & Culture$95kEnvironment$50kPhilanthropy$37kPublic Benefit$10k
02FY2025 · 4 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$21,875
Median grant
1
States reached
$1.2M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
THE BUCKS COUNTY HERALD FOUNDATION$25,000
SNIPES FARM AND EDUCATION CENTER$21,875
SPOTLIGHT PA$10,000
PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY$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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY20–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 38% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%UNITED WAY BUCKS COUNTY: $15k → 6%WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA CONSERVANCY: $20k → 11%PENNSYLVANIA NEWSMEDIA ASSOCIATION FOUNDATION: $20k → 12%PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY: $50k → 16%PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY: $32k → 17%LENFEST INSTITUTE FOR JOURNALISM: $10k → 22%WORLD WILDLIFE FUND PARTNERS IN CONSERVATION: $10k → 14%POYNTER INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA: $10k → 12%UNITED WAY OF BUCKS COUNTY: $12k → 6%WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA CONSERVANCY: $10k → 11%NATURE CONSERVANCY: $10k → 12%PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY: $25k → 16%PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY: $10k → 17%UNITED WAY BUCKS COUNTY: $10k → 6%PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY: $3k → 17%SNIPES FARM AND EDUCATION CENTER: $110k → 6%SNIPES FARM AND EDUCATION CENTER: $22k → 6%SNIPES FARM AND EDUCATION CENTER: $21k → 6%SNIPES FARM AND EDUCATION CENTER: $16k → 6%THE BUCKS COUNTY HERALD FOUNDATION: $25k → 6%THE BUCKS COUNTY HERALD FOUNDATION: $15k → 6%THE BUCKS COUNTY HERALD FOUNDATION: $15k → 6%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.

87%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$410k · 5 repeat orgs$60k to everyone else

5 repeat relationships: 3 still active in FY2025, 2 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

5
4

Total granted

$410k
$50k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+51%
+81%

Still filing today

80%
50%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 85% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $10k went to new ones.

50%100%’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’20’21’22’23’24’25
EducationPhilanthropyEnvironmentArts & CultureOther
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

  • BC
    BUCKS COUNTY HERALD FOUNDATION
    3× · 2023–2025 · $55k · revenue +51%
  • UW
    UNITED WAY OF BUCKS COUNTY
    3× · 2020–2023 · $37k · revenue +58%
  • WP
    WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA CONSERVANCY
    2× · 2021–2022 · $30k · revenue +41%

Funded once

  • PN
    PENNSYLVANIA NEWSMEDIA ASSOCIATION FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2024 · $20k · revenue 0%
  • PI
    POYNTER INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA
    one grant, 2021 · $10k
  • TL
    THE LENFEST INSTITUTE FOR JOURNALISM SPECIAL ASSET FUND OF TPFgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $10k · revenue +81%
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
The Daily Pennsylvanian Inc

The daily pennsylvanian exists to inform the penn community of relevant news and opinion while providing a training vehicle for students.

Education
2
Public Media Nj Inc

To bring quality public television programs and resources to communities throughout new jersey and its tri-state neighbors. its content, both on-air and online, aims to reflect the diverse

Arts & Culture
3
America's Newspapers

Providing research, education and practical information all aimed at optimizing newspapers' business operations, deepening their community engagement and enhancing the quality of their journalism.

Employment
4
Pennsylvania Newsmedia Association

Our mission is to advance the business interests of pennsylvania news media organizations and to promote a free and independent press.

—
5
Wqed Multimedia

Wqed multimedia (wqed) champions communities across southwest pennsylvania by telling stories and creating experiences that educate, entertain and inspire our neighbors.

Arts & Culture
6
Pittsburgh Community Broadcasting Corporation

To create and distribute trusted content, build connections and strengthen our community through public media.

Arts & Culture
7
Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry

The pennsylvania chamber of business and industry is the largest broad-based business association in pennsylvania. thousands of members throughout the commonwealth employ greater than 50 percent of pennsylvania's private workforce.…

—
8
Northeastern Pennsylvania Educational Television Association

Wvia public media is a catalyst, convener and educator, using media, partnerships, powerful ideas and programs to improve lives and advance the best attributes of an enlightened society.

Arts & Culture
9
Pennsylvania Pork Producers Council Inc

To promote the pork industry through consumer and farmer education, research, and promotion, and to meet the requirements of the national pork board (npb).

—
10
Publicsource

Providing pennsylvania citizens with in-depth information. we write stories to explain complex issues and to hold the powerful accountable. we provide citizens with in-depth reporting and data on the environment, health, criminal justice,…

Arts & Culture
11
Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation

Pidc plans and implements economic development initiatives (see schedule o) which enhance the competitive environment, generate jobs and produce higher tax ratables throughout philadelphia.

Community Improvement
12
Pennsylvania Beef Council

The pennsylvania beef council (pbc) is a non-profit organization working on behalf of 25,000 beef, dairy, and veal producers in pennsylvania. the council seeks to promote the beef industry in pennsylvania and educate consumers through a…

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Lenfest Institute for Journalism Special Asset Fund of Tpf; the most unlike its peers is The Nature Conservancy. 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

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 11 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)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
8/8
Grantees still filing
6/8
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

SNIPES FARM AND EDUCATION CENTER: $168,287 · EducationSNIPES FARM AND EDUCATION CENTERSPOTLIGHT PA: $10,000 · EducationSPOTLIGHT PAPENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY: $120,000 · OtherPENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITYPENNSYLVANIA NEWSMEDIA ASSOCIATION FOUNDATION: $20,000 · OtherPENNSYLVANIA NEWSMEDIA ASSOCIATION FOUND…THE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $10,000 · OtherTHE NATURE CONSERVANCYPOYNTER INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA: $10,000 · OtherPOYNTER INSTITUTE FOR MEDIAWORLD WILDLIFE FUND PARTNERS IN CONSERVATION: $10,000 · OtherWORLD WILDLIFE FUND PARTNERS IN CONSERVA…BUCKS COUNTY HERALD FOUNDATION: $55,000 · Arts & CultureBUCKS COUNTY…UNITED WAY OF BUCKS COUNTY: $37,000 · PhilanthropyUNITED WAY …THE LENFEST INSTITUTE FOR JOURNALISM SPECIAL ASSET FUND OF TPF: $10,000 · PhilanthropyTHE LENFEST…WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA CONSERVANCY: $30,000 · Environment
Education$178,287Other$170,000Arts & Culture$55,000Philanthropy$47,000Environment$30,000

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 budgetSNIPES FARM AND EDUCATION CENTER: $168,287 over 4y, 8.6% of budgetBUCKS COUNTY HERALD FOUNDATION: $55,000 over 3y, 2.5% of budgetUNITED WAY OF BUCKS COUNTY: $37,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetWESTERN PENNSYLVANIA CONSERVANCY: $30,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetPENNSYLVANIA NEWSMEDIA ASSOCIATION FOUNDATION: $20,000 over 1y, 5.4% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE LENFEST INSTITUTE FOR JOURNALISM SPECIAL ASSET FUND OF TPF: $10,000 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.

Vanguard Charitable E…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Vanguard Charitable Endowment ProgramPA8.8× affinity4 shared granteesties to 3 of 3Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · 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 Sw Calkins Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Sw Calkins Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24
no gov · 00%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%10%20%30%40%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–40%
    typical government reliance, FY20–24
    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 11 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 Sw Calkins’ 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