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Swanson Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Swanson Family 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.

$31k
Granted FY2025still arriving
9
Grants FY2025still arriving
2
States reached
$8k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0199% 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$61kHousing & Shelter$61kPublic Safety & Disaster$23kPhilanthropy$20kHealth$19kRecreation & Sports$18kArts & Culture$15kHuman Services$11kOther$0
02FY2025 · 9 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$3,500
Median grant
2
States reached
$1.5M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
AMERICAN NATIONAL RED CROSS$7,500
DOUGLAS COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION$5,000
FOOD BANK OF ALASKA INC$5,000
BEANS CAFE INC$5,000
COVENANT HOUSE ALASKA$3,500
COVENANT HOUSE ALASKA$2,500
CHRISTOPHER WALDENS FOUNDATION OF HOPE$1,800
KENAI RIVER SPORTFISHING ASSOCIATION INC$500
LEADING WITH LEGACY - THE HEART PROJECT$300
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 (FY20–25, $94k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES OF ALASKA INC: $2k → 22%LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES OF ALASKA INC: $2k → 22%CATHOLIC SOCIAL SERVICES: $2k → 10%CATHOLIC SOCIAL SERVICES: $2k → 10%COVENANT HOUSE ALASKA: $10k → 10%COVENANT HOUSE ALASKA: $10k → 10%AMERICAN NATIONAL RED CROSS: $8k → 10%AMERICAN NATIONAL RED CROSS: $8k → 10%AMERICAN NATIONAL RED CROSS: $8k → 10%COVENANT HOUSE ALASKA: $5k → 10%COVENANT HOUSE ALASKA: $4k → 10%COVENANT HOUSE ALASKA: $4k → 10%COVENANT HOUSE ALASKA: $4k → 10%COVENANT HOUSE ALASKA: $4k → 10%COVENANT HOUSE ALASKA: $4k → 10%COVENANT HOUSE ALASKA: $4k → 10%ABUSED WOMENS AID IN CRISIS INCORPORATED: $3k → 10%COVENANT HOUSE ALASKA: $3k → 10%COVENANT HOUSE ALASKA: $3k → 10%COVENANT HOUSE ALASKA: $3k → 10%COVENANT HOUSE ALASKA: $3k → 10%COVENANT HOUSE ALASKA: $3k → 10%COVENANT HOUSE ALASKA: $2k → 10%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.
04

Where the work is directed

The same grants placed two ways: where each recipient sits, and where its stated purpose sends the money.

About 6% of Swanson Family Foundation’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address.

Swanson Family Foundationlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address
How this is measured
Recipient view: each grant at its grantee’s ZIP, mapped to a county. Directed view: each grant at the county its stated purpose names, falling back to the recipient’s county when the purpose names no place; US grants only. A county shows only if it carries the top 95% of that view’s dollars. Purposes are read from the funder’s own 990 grant descriptions.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

81%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$183k · 14 repeat orgs$42k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +19% since the first grant, against +12% for those funded once.

14 repeat relationships: 5 still active in FY2025, 9 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

14
12

Total granted

$183k
$40k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+19%
+12%

Still filing today

93%
83%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 92% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $2k 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
Human ServicesHealthFood & NutritionArts & CultureRecreation & SportsHousing & ShelterOther
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

  • CH
    COVENANT HOUSE ALASKA
    6× · 2020–2025 · $61k · revenue +7%
  • FB
    Food Bank of Alaska
    5× · 2020–2025 · $33k · revenue +83%
  • AN
    American National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches
    3× · 2023–2025 · $23k · revenue +22%

Funded once

  • CA
    Challenge Alaskagraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $10k · revenue +89%
  • TT
    TBA Theatre Incgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $5k · revenue +37%
  • HC
    Hope Community Resources Inc
    one grant, 2021 · $5k · revenue -8%
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
Alaska Childrens Alliance

Dedicated to strengthening the multi-disciplinary response to child abuse. We strive to ensure that professionals throughout Alaska are equipped to do the best job possible at holding offenders accountable and helping children and families…

Crime & Legal
2
Alaska Community Development Corporation

To assist low income individuals and families with housing and housing improvements in Alaska.

Community Improvement
3
Alaska Rural Electric Cooperative Association Educational Foundation Inc
Environment
4
Alaska Coalition on Housing and Homelessness

To increase affordable housing and end homelessness in Alaska.

Housing & Shelter
5
Arctic Slope Community Foundation Inc

Strengthen our culture of giving and improve the quality on life among the people of the Arctic Slope region of Alaska by providing and administering grants to support the community health and economic stability of the villages of Point…

Philanthropy
6
Anchorage Affordable Housing and

To expand and preserve year-round rental opportunities that are affordable to moderate, low, and very low-income households to foster a welcoming environment for demographically and socio-economically diverse populations in Anchorage, AK.

Housing & Shelter
7
Alaska Hospital & Healthcare Association

The Alaska Hospital & Healthcare Association (AHHA) is a non-profit trade association representing more than 65 hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies, and other healthcare partners.Our members are distributed across…

—
8
Project Alaska Inc

Refugee professional integration and career advancement. Project Alaska commited to empowering our clients with the skills and resources required for career advancement and occupational prosperity,enabling them to lead their best lives.

Human Services
9
Alaska Farmers Market Association

to promote, support and advocate for Alaska agriculture

Education
10
Alaska Legal Services Corporation

To provide meaningful access to justice in resolving civil legal problems for low-income clients, thus promoting family stability and reducing legal consequences of poverty.

Crime & Legal
11
Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness

The mission of the Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness is to provide dynamic leadership to unite Anchorage in making homelessness rare, brief, and one-time.

Human Services
12
Alaska Power Association

Promote and encourage cooperation among Alaska electric utilities and their customers while promoting the operation of electrical plants adequate for the needs of Alaskan consumers.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Arc of Anchorage; the most unlike its peers is Christopher Waldens Foundation of Hope. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
05the grantee network

27 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. 27 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)
27/27
Grantees still filing
15/27
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

COVENANT HOUSE ALASKA: $60,500 · Human ServicesCOVENANT HOUSE ALASKAAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $22,500 · Human ServicesAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constitue…Catholic Social Services: $4,000 · Human ServicesLUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES OF ALASKA: $4,000 · Human Services+1 more: $2,500 · Human ServicesFood Bank of Alaska: $33,000 · Food & NutritionFood Bank of Alask…UPPER SUSITNA FOOD PANTRY: $5,500 · Food & NutritionUPPER SUSITNA FOOD…DOWNTOWN SOUP KITCHEN INC: $2,000 · Food & NutritionBeans Cafe Inc: $20,000 · Housing & ShelterBeans Caf…The Alaska Community Foundation: $10,000 · PhilanthropyThe Alask…UNITED WAY OF ANCHORAGE: $5,000 · PhilanthropyUNITED WA…Douglas County Community Foundation: $5,000 · PhilanthropyDouglas C…Challenge Alaska: $10,000 · OtherChallenge AlaskaLEAVE THE FOB MINISTRY: $2,500 · OtherLEAVE THE FOB MINI…ANCHORAGE YOUTH COURT: $2,500 · OtherANCHORAGE YOUTH CO…The Arc of Anchorage: $2,000 · OtherBoys & Girls Clubs of Southcentral Alaska: $9,500 · OtherBoys & Girls Clubs…KENAI RIVER SPORTFISHING ASSOCIATION: $2,500 · OtherKENAI RIVER SPORTF…ARCTIC WINTER GAMES TEAM ALASKA: $2,500 · OtherARCTIC WINTER GAME…ALYESKA SKI CLUB INC: $2,500 · OtherALYESKA SKI CLUB I…UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA FOUNDATION: $4,000 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF ALAS…+3 more: $1,550 · OtherANCHORAGE COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES INC: $7,500 · HealthHope Community Resources Inc: $5,000 · HealthAMERICAN FOUNDATION FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION: $2,500 · HealthCHRISTOPHER WALDENS FOUNDATION OF HOPE: $1,800 · HealthAnchorage Museum Association: $7,000 · Arts & CultureTBA Theatre Inc: $5,000 · Arts & CultureALASKA PUBLIC MEDIA INC: $2,500 · Arts & Culture
Human Services$93,500Food & Nutrition$40,500Housing & Shelter$20,000Philanthropy$20,000Other$39,550Health$16,800Arts & Culture$14,500

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 budgetCOVENANT HOUSE ALASKA: $60,500 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetFood Bank of Alaska: $33,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $22,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetBeans Cafe Inc: $20,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetChallenge Alaska: $10,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetThe Alaska Community Foundation: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBoys & Girls Clubs of Southcentral Alaska: $9,500 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetANCHORAGE COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES INC: $7,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetAnchorage Museum Association: $7,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetUPPER SUSITNA FOOD PANTRY: $5,500 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetTBA Theatre Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 3.6% of budgetHope Community Resources Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUNITED WAY OF ANCHORAGE: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetDouglas County Community Foundation: $5,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetCatholic Social Services: $4,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetLUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES OF ALASKA: $4,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF ALASKA FOUNDATION: $4,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetABUSED WOMEN'S AID IN CRISIS INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetKENAI RIVER SPORTFISHING ASSOCIATION: $2,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetARCTIC WINTER GAMES TEAM ALASKA: $2,500 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetALYESKA SKI CLUB INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetAMERICAN FOUNDATION FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetALASKA PUBLIC MEDIA INC: $2,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetANCHORAGE YOUTH COURT: $2,500 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetDOWNTOWN SOUP KITCHEN INC: $2,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetThe Arc of Anchorage: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCHRISTOPHER WALDENS FOUNDATION OF HOPE: $1,800 over 1y, 0.7% 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.

The Alaska Community …Rasmuson FoundationThe Carr Foundation I…Richard L and Diane M…United Way of Anchora…Valley Hospital Assoc…M J Murdock Charitabl…Providence Alaska Fou…Alaska Children's Tru…Atwood Foundation IncCrowley Cares Foundat…Give Back Foundation
The Alaska Community FoundationAK46.4× affinity21 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Alaska Community Foundation · Rasmuson Foundation · The Carr Foundation Inc · Richard L and Diane M Block Foundation · United Way of Anchorage · Valley Hospital Association Inc Dba Mat-Su Health Foundation · M J Murdock Charitable Trust · Providence Alaska Foundation · Alaska Children's Trust · Atwood Foundation Inc · Crowley Cares Foundation · Give Back 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 Swanson Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Swanson Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%23%45%68%90%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    7report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–90%
    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 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 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Swanson 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