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Tahoe Blue Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Tahoe Blue 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.

$256k
Granted FY2024still arriving
28
Grants FY2024still arriving
6
States reached
$80k
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, FY2022 to 2024.

Education$490kArts & Culture$133kEnvironment$22kCivil Rights$13kHealth$9kHousing & Shelter$5kPublic Safety & Disaster$4kRecreation & Sports$4kOther$0
02FY2024 · 28 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k20 grants · $35k
  • $10k–50k6 grants · $91k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $130k
$2,500
Median grant
6
States reached
$4.6M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
MARIN ACADEMY$80,000
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION$50,000
URBAN SCHOOL OF SAN FRANCISCO$33,333
URBAN SCHOOL OF SAN FRANCISCO$17,500
TAHOE FUND$10,000
MOUNT TAMALPAIS SCHOOL$10,000
URBAN SCHOOL OF SAN FRANCISCO$10,000
BUILDING 21$10,000
826 VALENCIA INC$5,342
CALIFORNIA FILM INSTITUTE$5,217
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION$5,000
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION$2,500
MILL VALLEY LIBRARY FOUNDATION$2,500
THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY$2,500
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION$2,315
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 (FY22–24, $2k) land where the poverty rate runs at 6%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 34% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%OAKLAND LACROSSE CLUB: $515 → 10%LOUDOUN CITIZENS FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE INC: $1k → 4%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

NY
NV
PA
CT
CA
VA
DC
HI
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.

97%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$662k · 19 repeat orgs$24k to everyone else

19 repeat relationships: 17 still active in FY2024, 2 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

19
12

Total granted

$662k
$22k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+7%
+14%

Still filing today

95%
92%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 99% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $2k went to new ones.

50%100%’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’22’23’24
EducationArts & CultureInternationalHuman ServicesEnvironmentCivil RightsOther
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

  • MT
    MOUNT TAMALPAIS SCHOOL
    3× · 2022–2024 · $173k · revenue +44%
  • SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
    3× · 2022–2024 · $122k · revenue +3%
  • MA
    MARIN ACADEMY
    2× · 2023–2024 · $90k · revenue +4%

Funded once

  • THE CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS INC
    one grant, 2023 · $10k · revenue -4%
  • CH
    COMMUNITY HOUSING FOUNDATION MILL VALLEY
    one grant, 2023 · $5k · revenue -94%
  • LT
    LEAGUE TO SAVE LAKE TAHOEgraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $1k · revenue +34%
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
Ucsf Foundation Investment Company

The organization provides professional investment management services for endowed gifts and financial assets entrusted to the ucsf foundation.

Education
2
The San Diego Foundation

The san diego foundation inspires enduring philanthropy and enables community solutions to improve the quality of life in our region.

Philanthropy
3
The Union of Concerned Scientists Inc

The union of concerned scientists puts rigorous, independent science into action, developing solutions and advocating for a healthy, safe, and just future.

International
4
Community Foundation Santa Cruz County

To promote philanthropy to make santa cruz county a better place to live, now and in the future.we bring together people, ideas, and resources to inspire philanthropy and accomplish great things.

Philanthropy
5
Association of California School Administrators

The association serves its members by creating resources that enable california school administrators to develop and apply creative leadership and management skills and in turn, improve the educational process for all students.

—
6
The International School of San Francisco

Guided by the principles of academic rigor and diversity, the international school of san francisco offers programs of study in french and english to prepare its graduates for a world in which the ability to think critically and to…

Education
7
California Forward

Ca fwd drives action to identify solutions that can be taken to scale to meet the challenges the state is facing. the organization is driven by the belief that regional solutions across the state will help ensure economic, environmental,…

Public Benefit
8
Ucla Foundation

The ucla foundation is the giving, receiving, and investing arm of the ucla campus. the foundation enables private donors to help build, sustain and advance one of the world's finest academic and research institutions. private philanthropy…

Education
9
University of California Irvine Foundation

The mission of the university of california, irvine foundation (uc irvine foundation) is to raise and manage private funds to support uc irvine's broader mission of excellence in teaching, research and public service. to this end, the uc…

Education
10
The Uc Davis Foundation

The mission of the uc davis foundation is to secure, steward and manage private gifts for uc davis.

Education
11
Uc Riverside Foundation

To support educational, research and public functions and programs of the riverside campus of the university of california.

Education
12
The Trust for Public Land

The trust for public land creates parks and protects land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come. in the past year, we helped communities to plan for parks and conservation, fund parks and conservation,…

Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Hawaii Community Foundation; the most unlike its peers is League to Save Lake Tahoe. 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

36 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. 36 of the 38 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)
36/36
Grantees still filing
23/36
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

URBAN SCHOOL OF SAN FRANCISCO: $162,599 · EducationURBAN SCHOOL OF SAN FRANCISCOMARIN ACADEMY: $90,000 · EducationMARIN ACADEMYBUILDING 21: $20,000 · EducationBUILDING 21826 Valencia: $10,342 · Education+1 more: $7,500 · EducationMOUNT TAMALPAIS SCHOOL: $173,000 · OtherMOUNT TAMALPAIS SCHOOLMILL VALLEY LIBRARY FOUNDATION: $7,000 · Other+19 more: $21,850 · Other+19 moreSMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION: $122,315 · Arts & CultureSMITHSONIAN INSTITUTI…CALIFORNIA FILM INSTITUTE: $10,717 · Arts & CultureCALIFORNIA FILM INSTI…+2 more: $303 · Arts & CultureTAHOE FUND: $21,000 · EnvironmentGOLDEN GATE NATIONAL PARKS CONSERVANCY: $3,000 · EnvironmentIMAGINE WORLDWIDE: $20,000 · Community ImprovementTHE CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS INC: $10,325 · Civil RightsTREVOR PROJECT INC: $7,610 · Civil RightsWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $4,421 · InternationalMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $1,000 · InternationalSave The Children Federation Inc: $1,000 · International
Education$290,441Other$201,850Arts & Culture$133,335Environment$24,000Community Improvement$20,000Civil Rights$17,935International$6,421

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 budgetMOUNT TAMALPAIS SCHOOL: $173,000 over 3y, 1.0% of budgetURBAN SCHOOL OF SAN FRANCISCO: $162,599 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetSMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION: $122,315 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMARIN ACADEMY: $90,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetTAHOE FUND: $21,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetBUILDING 21: $20,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetIMAGINE WORLDWIDE: $20,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCALIFORNIA FILM INSTITUTE: $10,717 over 2y, 0.1% of budget826 Valencia: $10,342 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTHE CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS INC: $10,325 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTREVOR PROJECT INC: $7,610 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $7,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMILL VALLEY LIBRARY FOUNDATION: $7,000 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetCOMMUNITY HOUSING FOUNDATION MILL VALLEY: $5,000 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $4,421 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSAN FRANCISCO FOOD BANK: $3,030 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetGOLDEN GATE NATIONAL PARKS CONSERVANCY: $3,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetGLIDE FOUNDATION: $3,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTahoe Rim Trail Association: $1,250 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetLEAGUE TO SAVE LAKE TAHOE: $1,042 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMARIN HUMANE SOCIETY: $1,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetLOUDOUN CITIZENS FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHAWAII COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSave The Children Federation Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetST VINCENT DE PAUL SOCIETY DISTRICT COUNCIL OF MARIN COUNTY: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBLUE ANGELS FOUNDATION INC: $770 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetOakland Lacrosse Club: $515 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetBLOOD CANCER UNITED INC: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetProject Open Hand: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetOUTWARD BOUND CALIFORNIA: $265 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSWEETWATER MUSIC HALL INC: $250 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetBREAKTHROUGH T1D: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMAUI HUMANE SOCIETY: $110 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSacramento Region Community Foundation: $105 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHEADLANDS CENTER FOR THE ARTS: $53 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.

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.

Marin Community Found…Jewish Community Fede…The San Francisco Fou…Silicon Valley Commun…Morgan Stanley Global…Vanguard Charitable E…The Kurt and Julie Ha…Robert K & Barbara J …The Springcreek Found…Swig FoundationHobsonlucas Family Fo…Impactassetsinc
Marin Community FoundationCA26.2× affinity11 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Marin Community Foundation · Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco the Peninsula Marin & Sonoma · The San Francisco Foundation · Silicon Valley Community Foundation · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · The Kurt and Julie Hauser Foundation · Robert K & Barbara J Straus Family Foundation Inc · The Springcreek Foundation · Swig Foundation · Hobsonlucas Family Foundation · Impactassetsinc

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 Tahoe Blue Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Tahoe Blue 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%10%20%30%40%share of the org’s income from government →median 30%
  • Save the Children Federation Inc: 30% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
17report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–40%
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 Tahoe Blue Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Tahoe Blue 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 38 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 Tahoe Blue’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