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Take Note Colorado at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

Take Note Colorado

TAKE NOTE COLORADO is a statewide initiative that builds access to music education opportunities for all youth across colorado.

$123k
Granted FY2025still arriving
2
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$98k
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, FY2018 to 2025.

Arts & Culture$679kEducation$74kYouth Development$65kHealth$30kHuman Services$10kCommunity Improvement$6k
02FY2025 · 2 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • $10k–50k1 grant · $26k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $98k
$97,500
Median grant
1
States reached
$136k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS IN COLORADO$97,500
COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATIO$25,500
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 (FY22–22, $10k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%THE MATTHEWS HOUSE: $10k → 11%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.

77%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$664k · 5 repeat orgs$200k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +102% since the first grant, against +41% for those funded once.

5 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2025, 4 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

5
10

Total granted

$664k
$175k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+102%
+41%

Still filing today

80%
60%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 79% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $26k went to new ones.

50%100%’18’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’18’20’21’22’23’24’25
Arts & CultureEducationYouth DevelopmentHuman ServicesHealthOther
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

  • BG
    BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS IN COLORADO INC
    3× · 2022–2025 · $317k · revenue +102%
  • MW
    MUSIC WILL INC
    2× · 2020–2021 · $40k · revenue +0%
  • NC
    NORTHWEST COLORADO VISITING NURSE ASSOCIATION
    2× · 2021–2022 · $30k · revenue +146%

Funded once

  • YO
    YOUTH ON RECORDgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $65k · revenue +49%
  • JD
    JT DISTRICT 28-J
    one grant, 2018 · $40k
  • WM
    WE MAKE NOISE INCgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $10k · revenue +41%
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
Colorado Jazz Ambassadors
Arts & Culture
2
Colorado Music Bridge

Colorado nbsp;music nbsp;bridge nbsp;provides nbsp;access nbsp;to nbsp;inclusive nbsp;modern nbsp;music nbsp;education nbsp;programs nbsp;curricular nbsp;resources nbsp;and nbsp;professional nbsp;development

Arts & Culture
3
El Sistema Colorado

El sistema colorado is a tuition-free, excellence-driven, and opportunity-focused youth orchestra program that develops musical and personal agency, transcends socioeconomics, and strengthens community.

Arts & Culture
4
Colorado Artists in Recovery

Colorado Artists in Recovery utilizes recovery-oriented principles to provide a safe, encouraging, and inclusive environment for people affected by substance use and mental health. Through our workshops and events we nurture their creative…

Arts & Culture
5
Colorado Youth Bands

To provide an inclusive youth instrumental music program that promotes youth development, fosters peer camaraderie, instills respect for culture, and develops a pursuit of excellence.

—
6
All Ages Music Portland dba Friends of Noise

Friends of Noise is a non-profit organization built on the values of collectivism and restorative justice. We seek to transform the culture of BIPOC and LGBTQ+ youth access to the music industry. We foster a healthy ecosystem for all ages…

Arts & Culture
7
Fort Collins Symphony Association

Providing entertainment and education through the production of high-quality orchestral music.

—
8
Community Radio for Northern Colorado

Community radio for northern colorado's (crnc) mission is to strengthen our community by cultivating the mind and spirit - informing, inspiring, and entertaining. crnc strives to meet its mission by operating two public media services -…

Arts & Culture
9
Colorado Amp Organization

Mission statement our mission is to make music education accessible, inclusive, and transformative for people of all ages and backgrounds. we provide affordableand when needed, freemusic lessons to empower individuals through learning,…

Arts & Culture
10
Aia Colorado

AIA Colorado,is the voice of the architecture profession in Colorado. Through advocacy, leadership development, education and resources for architects, the organization supports architecture professionals in designing a better world where…

—
11
Colorado Springs Conservatory Foundation

The mission of the colorado springs conservatory is to inspire, motivate, and challenge all students to aspire to their highest potential as artists and as human beings through arts immersion studies and community arts advocacy.

Arts & Culture
12
Girls Write Nashville

Girls write nashville empowers expression through songwriting, production, mentorship and creative community for teen artists. we are an artist and educator-led 501(c)(3) creative youth development program in nashville, tn allied with…

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Youth On Record; the most unlike its peers is The Matthews House. 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

12 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. 12 of the 16 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)
11/12
Grantees still filing
8/12
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Redline: $201,895 · Arts & CultureRedlineYOUTH ON RECORD: $65,000 · Arts & CultureYOUTH ON RECORDMUSIC WILL INC: $40,000 · Arts & CultureMUSIC WILL INC+3 more: $27,372 · Arts & Culture+3 moreBOYS & GIRLS CLUBS IN COLORADO INC: $316,915 · Youth DevelopmentBOYS & GIRLS CLUBS IN COLORADO INCDENVER ARTS & VENUES: $75,000 · OtherDENVER ARTS & VENU…JT DISTRICT 28-J: $40,000 · OtherJT DISTRICT 28-JWOODRUFF MEMORIAL LIBRARY: $8,850 · OtherWOODRUFF MEMORIAL …THROUGH ARTS: $7,445 · OtherTHROUGH ARTSOne Morgan County: $6,000 · OtherCOLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $25,500 · EducationA CHILDS SONG INC: $10,000 · EducationNORTHWEST COLORADO VISITING NURSE ASSOCIATION: $30,000 · HealthTHE MATTHEWS HOUSE: $10,000 · Human Services
Arts & Culture$334,267Youth Development$316,915Other$137,295Education$35,500Health$30,000Human Services$10,000

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 budgetBOYS & GIRLS CLUBS IN COLORADO INC: $316,915 over 3y, 6.3% of budgetRedline: $201,895 over 2y, 6.3% of budgetYOUTH ON RECORD: $65,000 over 1y, 4.6% of budgetMUSIC WILL INC: $40,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetNORTHWEST COLORADO VISITING NURSE ASSOCIATION: $30,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCOLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $25,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWE MAKE NOISE INC: $10,000 over 1y, 4.0% of budgetBLAST N SCRAP: $10,000 over 1y, 18% of budgetA CHILDS SONG INC: $10,000 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetTHE MATTHEWS HOUSE: $10,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetJAZZ AT ASPEN-SNOWMASS: $7,372 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.

The Colorado Health F…The Denver FoundationColorado Gives Founda…Mile High United Way …Caring for Colorado F…Rose Community Founda…American Online Givin…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
The Colorado Health FoundationCO19.4× affinity7 shared granteesties to 9 of 9Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Colorado Health Foundation · The Denver Foundation · Colorado Gives Foundation · Mile High United Way Inc · Caring for Colorado Foundation · Rose Community Foundation · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · 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 Take Note Colorado funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Take Note Colorado. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%5%11%20%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    8report 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 Take Note Colorado?

    Find your warmest path to Take Note Colorado 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 16 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 e-file return for fiscal year 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2026) is on record and reports no grant expense, so the figures above are from FY2025, the most recent year this funder made grants.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Take Note Colorado’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