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Tandem Philanthropies Fka the Ark Foundation at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Private foundation

Tandem Philanthropies Fka the Ark 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.

$3.9M
Granted FY2024still arriving
11
Grants FY2024still arriving
5
States reached
$750k
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, FY2019 to 2024.

Environment$3.8MEducation$3.4MPhilanthropy$2.9MScience & Tech$500kCommunity Improvement$50k
02FY2024 · 11 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $50k–250k4 grants · $500k
  • $250k+7 grants · $3.4M
$350,000
Median grant
5
States reached
$74M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
UNITED STATES ENERGY FOUNDATION$750,000
ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION$500,000
HEALTH CARE WITHOUT HARM$500,000
SILICON SCHOOLS FUND INC$500,000
CERES$500,000
EDUCATORS FOR EXCELLENCE INC$350,000
TRANSCEND INC$250,000
ALDER GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION$200,000
BAY EDUCATION FUND$100,000
NEW SCHOOLS FUND$100,000
EDVOICE INSTITUTE$100,000
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 (FY22–23, $500k) land where the poverty rate runs at 8%, 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%PRIME COALITION INC: $250k → 8%PRIME COALITION INC: $250k → 8%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.

86%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$6.6M · 8 repeat orgs$1.1M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +51% since the first grant, against +37% for those funded once.

8 repeat relationships: 6 still active in FY2024, 2 since wound down; 5 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

8
1

Total granted

$6.6M
$50k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+51%
+37%

Still filing today

100%
100%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 73% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $1.1M 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
EducationEnvironmentPhilanthropyHuman ServicesCommunity ImprovementOther
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

  • UNITED STATES ENERGY FOUNDATION
    3× · 2022–2024 · $1.8M · revenue +96%
  • ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION FOR A NEW AMERICAN UNIVERSITY
    2× · 2023–2024 · $1.1M · revenue +51%
  • EDUCATORS FOR EXCELLENCE INC
    2× · 2023–2024 · $700k · revenue +88%

Funded once

  • TF
    TED FOUNDATION INCgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $50k · revenue +37%
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
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.

—
3
United States Naval Institute

Provide an independent forum for those who dare to read, think, speak, and write to advance the professional, literary, and scientific understanding of sea power and other issues critical to global security.

—
4
Atlantic University Inc

Provide post-secondary education of excellence.

Education
5
Alliant Educational Foundation

The alliant educational foundation builds bridges between under-resourced communities, universities, and other organizations to create a more equitable, healthy, and just society.

Education
6
The Common Application Inc

The common application is a not-for-profit membership organization of over 1,100 colleges and universities across the globe committed to access, equity, and integrity in the college admission process. every year, over 1.5 million students…

Education
7
Equitable Facilities Fund Inc

Eff is a nonprofit social impact fund that believes all children deserve a quality education. we empower high-performing public charter schools with equitable access to low-cost, long-term financing by innovatively combining…

Education
8
American Gas Association

American gas association's (the association) mission is to develop and advocate for informed, innovative, and durable policy that fulfills our nation's energy needs, environmental aspirations and economic potential. we are committed to…

—
9
Great Mn Schools

We believe that great schools are the cornerstone of a just and thriving community. ensuring that every child is able to attend a school that works is our moral and social imperative - our children deserve no less.

Education
10
Central Indiana Corporate Partnership Inc

Central indiana corporate partnership (cicp) is an alliance of indiana's business and research university leaders coming together to foster long-term prosperity for the region. cicp's mission is to transform the economy of indiana in order…

Community Improvement
11
The Uc Davis Foundation

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

Education
12
Kqed Inc

See schedule okqed serves the people of northern california with a community-supported alternative to commercial media, providing the knowledge needed to make informed decisions; convening community dialogue; bringing the arts to everyone;…

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Transcend Inc; the most unlike its peers is Ted Foundation Inc. 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

15 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. 15 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)
0
Early backer (in before they grew)
15/15
Grantees still filing
10/15
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION FOR A NEW AMERICAN UNIVERSITY: $1,100,000 · EducationARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATIO…EDUCATORS FOR EXCELLENCE INC: $700,000 · EducationEDUCATORS FOR EXCELLENCE INCALDER GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION: $500,000 · EducationALDER GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATIONSILICON SCHOOLS FUND INC: $500,000 · EducationSILICON SCHOOLS FUND INCTRANSCEND INC: $250,000 · EducationTRANSCEND INC+2 more: $200,000 · Education+2 moreFIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND: $2,785,000 · Community ImprovementFIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABL…+1 more: $50,000 · Community ImprovementCERES INC: $750,800 · EnvironmentCERES INCHEALTH CARE WITHOUT HARM: $750,000 · EnvironmentHEALTH CARE WITHOUT H…ACTIVATE GLOBAL INC: $500,000 · EnvironmentACTIVATE GLOBAL INCUNITED STATES ENERGY FOUNDATION: $1,750,000 · PhilanthropyUNITED STATES ENERG…ROCKEFELLER PHILANTHROPY ADVISORS INC: $100,000 · PhilanthropyROCKEFELLER PHILANT…PRIME COALITION INC: $500,000 · Human ServicesEDVOICE INSTITUTE: $100,000 · Other
Education$3,250,000Community Improvement$2,835,000Environment$2,000,800Philanthropy$1,850,000Human Services$500,000Other$100,000

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

25%50%75%100%$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetFIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND: $2,785,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetUNITED STATES ENERGY FOUNDATION: $1,750,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION FOR A NEW AMERICAN UNIVERSITY: $1,100,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetCERES INC: $750,800 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetHEALTH CARE WITHOUT HARM: $750,000 over 2y, 5.9% of budgetEDUCATORS FOR EXCELLENCE INC: $700,000 over 2y, 5.2% of budgetACTIVATE GLOBAL INC: $500,000 over 2y, 1.4% of budgetPRIME COALITION INC: $500,000 over 2y, 2.5% of budgetALDER GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION: $500,000 over 2y, 1.4% of budgetSILICON SCHOOLS FUND INC: $500,000 over 1y, 6.1% of budgetTRANSCEND INC: $250,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetBay Education Fund: $100,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetNEW SCHOOLS FUND: $100,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetROCKEFELLER PHILANTHROPY ADVISORS INC: $100,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTED FOUNDATION INC: $50,000 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.

Silicon Valley Commun…Gs Donor Advised Phil…Charles and Helen Sch…Walton Family Foundat…Gates FoundationThe William & Flora H…Marin Community Found…Give Forward Foundati…Overdeck Family Found…Chan Zuckerberg Initi…Skyline FoundationBoston Foundation Inc
Silicon Valley Community FoundationCA18.8× affinity8 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Silicon Valley Community Foundation · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation · Walton Family Foundation Inc · Gates Foundation · The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation · Marin Community Foundation · Give Forward Foundation · Overdeck Family Foundation Inc · Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Foundation · Skyline Foundation · Boston Foundation Inc

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 Tandem Philanthropies Fka the Ark Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Tandem Philanthropies Fka the Ark Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%19%38%56%75%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • Ceres Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
2get no government money at all
2report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–75%
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 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-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 Tandem Philanthropies Fka the Ark’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