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The Certe Foundation Inc at a glance

· Private foundation

The Certe Foundation Inc

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.

$20k
Granted FY2025still arriving
5
Grants FY2025still arriving
2
States reached
$5k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0191% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Education$175kRecreation & Sports$31kReligion$31kHuman Services$30kAnimals$15kHousing & Shelter$15kHealth$8kPublic Benefit$3kOther$0
02FY2025 · 5 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$5,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$228k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
DAWG NATION HOCKEY FOUNDATION$5,000
STEP DENVER$5,000
PITZER COLLEGE$5,000
Individual grant recipient$3,000
JUDAISM YOUR WAY$2,000
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 (FY19–22, $25k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%JEWISH FAMILY SERVICES: $10k → 12%JEWISH FAMILY SERVICES: $5k → 12%JEWISH FAMILY SERVICES: $3k → 12%JEWISH FAMILY SERVICES: $3k → 12%DENVER RESCUE MISSION: $3k → 12%DENVER RESCUE MISSION: $3k → 12%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
OR
IN
CA
CO
DC
GA
TX
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.

92%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$298k · 10 repeat orgs$25k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +69% since the first grant, against +31% for those funded once.

10 repeat relationships: 5 still active in FY2025, 5 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

10
11

Total granted

$298k
$25k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+69%
+31%

Still filing today

80%
36%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
HealthEducationHuman ServicesReligionAnimalsEnvironmentOther
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

  • PC
    Pitzer College
    8× · 2017–2025 · $142k · revenue +49%
  • UO
    UNIVERSITY OF DENVER
    3× · 2017–2022 · $33k · revenue +33%
  • DN
    DAWG Nation Hockey Foundation
    8× · 2017–2025 · $31k · revenue +157%

Funded once

  • MH
    MEDICINE HORSE PROGRAMgraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $5k · revenue +31%
  • JF
    JEWISH FAMILY SERVICES
    one grant, 2018 · $5k
  • TC
    THE CHRIS HARRIS JR FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2018 · $3k
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 Museum of Natural History

Be a catalyst! Ignite our community's passion for nature and science.

Arts & Culture
2
Colorado Legal Services

To provide meaningful access to high quality, civil legal services in the pursuit of justice for as many low income persons and members of vulnerable populations throughout colorado as possible.

Crime & Legal
3
Mental Health Center of Boulder County Inc

Partnering to improve quality of life as a nonprofit organization dedicated to mental health and wellness. healing is our purpose, help is our promise, health is our passion.

—
4
Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver Inc

Seeking to put god's love into action, habitat for humanity brings people together to build homes, communities and hope.

—
5
Step Springs

Step Springs is a subsidiary organization of Step Denver and when it opens in 2025 will be the first replication of the Step program. Step is a residential recovery community that gives men with nowhere else to turn the opportunity to…

Housing & Shelter
6
Colorado State University Foundation

See schedule o colorado state university foundation assists in the promotion, development, and enhancement of facilities and educational programs and enhancements of faculty, students, and alumni of colorado state university (csu). this is…

Education
7
Union Health System

To serve our communities by provding innovative and compassionate healthcare.

Health
8
Colorado Gives Foundation

We connect people, ideas, and nonprofits to make good happen. our vision is that all of jeffco is thriving.

Philanthropy
9
The Colorado Humane Society & Spca Inc

See schedule o.to prevent cruelty and neglect of animals within the state of colorado by:-assisting agencies in the enforcement of laws relating to cruelty and neglect of companion animals and equines-educating the public on animal welfare…

—
10
Arbor Research Collaborative for Health

Arbor research collaborative for health is committed to improving patient care through research that shapes medical policies and practice. in particular, arbor research conducts health outcomes research on chronic disease and end-stage…

Health
11
Coop Careers Inc

Building a movement of diverse, upwardly mobile college grads overcoming underemployment through digital skills and peer connections.

Education
12
Disability Rights Washington

Disability rights washington's mission is to advance the dignity, equality, and self determination of people with disabilities. we work to pursue justice on matters related to human and legal rights.

Human Services
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Denver Dumb Friends League; the most unlike its peers is Dawg Nation Hockey Foundation. 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, 2017–2026.

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 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 12 of the 21 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)
12/12
Grantees still filing
9/12
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Pitzer College: $142,000 · EducationPitzer CollegeUNIVERSITY OF DENVER: $32,500 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF DENVERStep Denver: $14,500 · OtherStep DenverIndividual grant recipient: $6,000 · OtherIndividual gr…JEWISH FAMILY SERVICES: $5,000 · OtherJEWISH FAMILY…Individual grant recipient: $3,000 · OtherIndividual gr…THE CHRIS HARRIS JR FOUNDATION: $2,500 · OtherTHE CHRIS HAR…THE CHRIS HARRIS FOUNDATION: $2,500 · OtherTHE CHRIS HAR…CHRIST THE SAVIOR LUTHERAN CHURCH: $2,000 · Other+3 more: $3,500 · Other+3 moreDAWG Nation Hockey Foundation: $31,000 · HealthDAWG Nation …MEDICINE HORSE PROGRAM: $5,000 · HealthMEDICINE HOR…+1 more: $500 · HealthJUDAISM YOUR WAY: $28,500 · ReligionJUDAISM YO…JEWISH FAMILY SERVICE OF COLORADO INC: $20,000 · Human ServicesDENVER RESCUE MISSION: $5,000 · Human ServicesDENVER DUMB FRIENDS LEAGUE: $15,000 · AnimalsCOOPERATIVE FOR ASSISTANCE AND RELIEF EVERYWHERE INC: $2,000 · InternationalSUNRISE MOVEMENT EDUCATION FUND: $2,000 · Environment
Education$174,500Other$39,000Health$36,500Religion$28,500Human Services$25,000Animals$15,000International$2,000Environment$2,000

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 budgetPitzer College: $142,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF DENVER: $32,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetDAWG Nation Hockey Foundation: $31,000 over 8y, 0.7% of budgetJUDAISM YOUR WAY: $28,500 over 8y, 0.4% of budgetJEWISH FAMILY SERVICE OF COLORADO INC: $20,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetDENVER DUMB FRIENDS LEAGUE: $15,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetStep Denver: $14,500 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetMEDICINE HORSE PROGRAM: $5,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetDENVER RESCUE MISSION: $5,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCOOPERATIVE FOR ASSISTANCE AND RELIEF EVERYWHERE INC: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSUNRISE MOVEMENT EDUCATION FUND: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetALS UNITED ROCKY MOUNTAIN: $500 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.

  • Who funds Pitzer College ↗
  • Who funds UNIVERSITY OF DENVER ↗
  • Who funds DAWG Nation Hockey Foundation ↗
  • Who funds JUDAISM YOUR WAY ↗
  • Who funds JEWISH FAMILY SERVICE OF COLORADO INC ↗
  • Who funds DENVER DUMB FRIENDS LEAGUE ↗
  • Who funds Step Denver ↗
  • Who funds MEDICINE HORSE PROGRAM ↗
  • Who funds DENVER RESCUE MISSION ↗
  • Who funds COOPERATIVE FOR ASSISTANCE AND RELIEF EVERYWHERE INC ↗
  • Who funds SUNRISE MOVEMENT EDUCATION FUND ↗
  • Who funds ALS UNITED ROCKY MOUNTAIN ↗

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.

Colorado Gives Founda…Vanguard Charitable E…American Online Givin…Donor Advised Charita…Amazonsmile Foundation
Colorado Gives FoundationCO15.3× affinity5 shared granteesties to 4 of 4Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Colorado Gives Foundation · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · 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 Certe Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Certe Foundation Inc. 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%6%13%19%25%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get 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 · 0–25%
    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 21 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 Certe’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