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The Bowers Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Bowers 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.

$20k
Granted FY2024still arriving
4
Grants FY2024still arriving
4
States reached
$10k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0192% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2018 to 2024.

Philanthropy$368kEducation$26kHealth$24kEnvironment$20kRecreation & Sports$6kPublic Safety & Disaster$5kHuman Services$4kHousing & Shelter$3kOther$0
02FY2024 · 4 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k3 grants · $10k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $10k
$5,000
Median grant
4
States reached
$317k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
UNITE TO LIGHT$10,000
GRAZIA FOUNDATION$5,000
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA FOUNDATION$4,000
RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE CHARITIES OF TAMPA BAY INC$1,000
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 (FY19–19, $5k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, 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%AMERICAN NATIONAL RED CROSS: $5k → 14%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.

63%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$61k · 9 repeat orgs$36k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +75% since the first grant, against +23% for those funded once.

9 repeat relationships: 3 still active in FY2024, 6 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

9
9

Total granted

$61k
$32k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+75%
+23%

Still filing today

89%
89%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 80% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $4k went to new ones.

50%100%’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
HealthInternationalRecreation & SportsEducationHousing & ShelterHuman ServicesOther
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

  • UT
    UNITE TO LIGHT INC
    2× · 2018–2024 · $20k · revenue +100%
  • GF
    GRAZIA FOUNDATION
    2× · 2023–2024 · $10k · revenue +75%
  • HO
    HOSPICE OF SANTA BARBARA INC
    4× · 2018–2022 · $10k · revenue +52%

Funded once

  • UO
    UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SANTA BARBARA
    one grant, 2019 · $20k
  • AN
    American National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branchesgraduated
    one grant, 2019 · $5k · revenue +39%
  • TH
    TRANSITION HOUSE
    one grant, 2023 · $1k · revenue +9%
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
Santa Barbara Humane Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

Santa barbara humane operates two campuses located in santa barbara and santa maria providing care for community-owned and homeless animals. both campuses offer affordable high quality veterinary care, compassionate behavior training…

Animals
2
James Barry Robinson Institute

The Barry Robinson Center offers programs to improve the lives of children and their families.

Human Services
3
Therapy Dogs of Santa Barbara Inc

To empower people to live more fulfilling lives through the human-animal bond.

Animals
4
Raphael House of San Francisco Inc

The mission of raphael house is to help low-income families and families experiencing homelessness strengthen family bonds by achieving stable housing and financial independence.

Human Services
5
Abbott House

Founded in 1963, abbott house builds lasting foundations under children, families, and adults with complex needs. we support nearly 2,500 individuals which includes, children in foster care, unaccompanied immigrant children, adults with…

Human Services
6
Ronald Mcdonald House Charities of Marshfield Inc

Ronald mcdonald house charities (rmhc) mission is to keep families with sick children together and near the care and resourses they need. rmhc of marshfield is dedicated to easing the burden of families whose lives have been disrupted as a…

Health
7
Project Drawdown

Project drawdown's mission is to drive meaningful climate action by advancing science-based solutions and strategies. project drawdown's work is focused on three pillars: science - advancing science-based climate solutions and strategies;…

Education
8
Children's Hospital

Organization's mission to improve health outcomes for children; be a leader in creating innovative solutions to pediatric healthcare problems; and excel in care, advocacy, research. as the nation's children's hospital, the mission of…

Health
9
Mary's Shelter

Believing in the value of every life, mary's path empowers vulnerable teen mothers in foster care and their babies to create lives of dignity, hope and self-sufficiency.

Human Services
10
Children's Hospital Corporation

Provider of pediatric healthcare, education, research & community service

Health
11
Ronald Mcdonald House Charities of Greater Washongton Dc Inc

Ronald mcdonald house charities of greater washington, dc (rmhcdc) provides essential services that remove barriers, strengthen families, and promote healing when children need healthcare.

Health
12
Visiting Nurse Service of New York Home Care Ii

Vns health home care is part of one of the nation's largest nonprofit home and community-based health care organizations. we help people live, age, and heal where they feel most comfortable. please refer to schedule o for additional…

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund; the most unlike its peers is Creative Play Children's Learning Center 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

18 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. 18 of the 20 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)
8
Early backer (in before they grew)
18/18
Grantees still filing
16/18
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND: $367,826 · Community ImprovementFIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND+1 more: $1,000 · Community ImprovementUNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SANTA BARBARA: $20,000 · OtherUNIVERSITY…HOSPICE OF SANTA BARBARA INC: $10,000 · OtherHOSPICE OF…Individual grant recipient: $4,500 · OtherIndividual…NATIONAL BRAIN TUMOR SOCIETY INC: $4,000 · OtherNATIONAL B…WILLBRIDGE OF SANTA BARBARA INC: $2,000 · Other+3 more: $2,500 · Other+3 moreUNITE TO LIGHT INC: $20,000 · InternationalDIRECT RELIEF: $1,000 · InternationalGRAZIA FOUNDATION: $10,000 · HealthRONALD MCDONALD HOUSE CHARITIES OF TAMPA BAY INC: $3,000 · HealthRECLAIMED HOPE INITIATIVE: $1,000 · HealthTFTSP YOUTH GOLF COUNCIL ST PETERSBURG FL INC: $5,000 · Recreation & SportsWILDROCK INC: $1,000 · Recreation & SportsUNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA FOUNDATION: $4,000 · EducationCREATIVE PLAY CHILDREN'S LEARNING CENTER INC: $2,000 · EducationAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $5,000 · Human Services
Community Improvement$368,826Other$43,000International$21,000Health$14,000Recreation & Sports$6,000Education$6,000Human Services$5,000

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 budgetFIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND: $367,826 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUNITE TO LIGHT INC: $20,000 over 2y, 5.9% of budgetGRAZIA FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 2y, 8.1% of budgetHOSPICE OF SANTA BARBARA INC: $10,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetTFTSP YOUTH GOLF COUNCIL ST PETERSBURG FL INC: $5,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA FOUNDATION: $4,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL BRAIN TUMOR SOCIETY INC: $4,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetRONALD MCDONALD HOUSE CHARITIES OF TAMPA BAY INC: $3,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetWILLBRIDGE OF SANTA BARBARA INC: $2,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetCREATIVE PLAY CHILDREN'S LEARNING CENTER INC: $2,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetTRANSITION HOUSE: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWILDROCK INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetDIRECT RELIEF: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetRECLAIMED HOPE INITIATIVE: $1,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetVIRGINIA DISCOVERY MUSEUM INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetThe Kind Mouse Productions Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetHUMANE SOCIETY OF AMHERST COUNTY: $500 over 1y, 0.2% 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.

Network for GoodThe Bank of America C…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Network for GoodDC7.1× affinity4 shared granteesties to 4 of 4Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Network for Good · The Bank of America Charitable 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 The Bowers Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Bowers Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 40%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%3%5%8%10%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • The Kind Mouse Productions Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
4get no government money at all
6report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–10%
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 20 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

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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