Skip to content
The Cherne Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Cherne Foundation

Its FY2017 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$224k
Granted FY2017
27
Grants FY2017
3
States reached
$15k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01FY2017 · 27 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2017

  • Under $10k14 grants · $84k
  • $10k–50k13 grants · $140k
$7,500
Median grant
3
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
DENVER SANTA CLAUS SHOP$15,000
SAVIO HOUSE$15,000
COLORADO OPEN LANDS$10,000
GARY SINISE FDN$10,000
ROCKY MOUNTAIN HONOR FLIGHT$10,000
COLORADO COALITION FOR THE HOMELESS$10,000
FOOD BANK OF THE ROCKIES$10,000
DENVER HOSPICE$10,000
DENVER DUMB FRIENDS LEAGUE$10,000
LITTLE SISTERS OF THE POOR$10,000
SAMARITAN HOUSE$10,000
TOYS FOR TOTS$10,000
MT ST VINCENT HOME$10,000
THE SALVATION ARMY$7,500
CANINE PARTNERS OF THE ROCKIES$7,500
02The need
02

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 (FY17–17, $40k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 7%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 7%CANINE PARTNERS OF THE ROCKIES: $8k → 10%SAVIO HOUSE: $15k → 12%DENVER HOSPICE: $10k → 12%THE ADOPTION EXCHANGE: $8k → 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 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 State Fire Chiefs

The vision of the csfc is to partner with the fire service and supplier partners across the state of colorado in their efforts to protect all of colorado's life and property from fire and other disasters. it is a dynamic organization,…

Public Safety & Disaster
2
Pathways Hospice

Honoring every moment of life, pathways hospice provides compassionate, excellent, comprehensive care for those who have an advanced medical condition and those who are grieving.

Human Services
3
Colorado Gives Foundation

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

Philanthropy
4
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
5
Denver Police Blue Hat Foundation

The denver police blue hat foundation provides financial assistance and support to active and former denver police officers, civilian employees of the police department and immediate members of their families in times of crisis.

Crime & Legal
6
Colorado West Psychiatric Hospital Inc

We rebuild lives and inspire hope by providing exceptional mental health and addiction recovery care, strengthening the health and vitality of our communities.

Health
7
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…

—
8
Impact Development Fund

Impact development fund helps people within our underserved communities seek fulfillment for themselves and their families by providing access to affordable living. we create these opportunities by delivering flexible capital to nonprofit…

Housing & Shelter
9
Pikes Peak Hospice and Palliative Care Inc

The mission of pikes peak hospice & palliative care is to provide compassionate and expert end-of-life care to patients and their families, partner with those who share our vision, and lead change in the community to ensure comfort for all…

—
10
Goodwill Industries of Denver

Goodwill's mission is to provide education, career development, and employment opportunities to help coloradans in need achieve self-sufficiency, dignity, and hope through the power of work.

—
11
Comfort Bridge

Comfort bridge d/b/a care synergy is a nonprofit organization formed in 2014 and is the region's largest end-of-life care network. care synergy provides mission support services for nonprofit home health care and community-based hospice…

Health
12
Colorado Visiting Nurse Association

Colorado visiting nurse association is committed to a continuum of health care in the home and community supporting optimal well-being, independence, and dignity.

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Denver Dumb Friends League; the most unlike its peers is Rocky Mountain Honor Flight. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
03the grantee network

14 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. 14 of the 27 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)
3
Early backer (in before they grew)
14/14
Grantees still filing
12/14
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE DENVER SANTA CLAUSE SHOP INC: $15,000 · OtherTHE DENVER SANTA CLAUSE SHOP INCTOYS FOR TOTS: $10,000 · OtherTOYS FOR TOTSMT ST VINCENT HOME: $10,000 · OtherMT ST VINCENT HOMESAMARITAN HOUSE: $10,000 · OtherSAMARITAN HOUSECOLORADO COALITION FOR THE HOMELESS: $10,000 · OtherCOLORADO COALITION FOR THE HOMELESSTHE SALVATION ARMY: $7,500 · OtherTHE SALVATION ARMYIndividual grant recipient: $7,500 · OtherIndividual grant recipientREGIS JESUIT HIGH SCHOOL: $7,500 · OtherREGIS JESUIT HIGH SCHOOLVOLUNTEERS OF AMERICA INC: $5,500 · OtherSOCIETY OF ST VINCENT DE PAUL: $5,000 · OtherYOUNG MUSICIANS FOUNDATION: $5,000 · OtherMISSIONARY SISTERS OF THE SACRED HEART: $5,000 · OtherCARAMEL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT: $5,000 · Other+1 more: $1,000 · OtherSAVIO HOUSE: $15,000 · Human ServicesSAVIO HOUSEHOSPICE OF METRO DENVER INC: $10,000 · Human ServicesHOSPICE OF METRO DENVE…CANINE PARTNERS OF THE ROCKIES INC: $7,500 · Human ServicesCANINE PARTNERS OF THE…RAISE THE FUTURE: $7,500 · Human ServicesRAISE THE FUTUREDENVER RESCUE MISSION: $5,000 · Human ServicesDENVER RESCUE MISSIONLITTLE SISTERS OF THE POOR HOME FOR THE AGED: $10,000 · HealthLITTLE SISTE…Craig Hospital Foundation: $7,500 · HealthCraig Hospit…INSTITUTE FOR THE NEW MAN: $7,500 · HealthINSTITUTE FO…COLORADO OPEN LANDS: $10,000 · EnvironmentDENVER DUMB FRIENDS LEAGUE: $10,000 · AnimalsGARY SINISE FOUNDATION: $10,000 · PhilanthropyFOOD BANK OF THE ROCKIES: $10,000 · Food & NutritionROCKY MOUNTAIN HONOR FLIGHT: $10,000 · Arts & Culture
Other$104,000Human Services$45,000Health$25,000Environment$10,000Animals$10,000Philanthropy$10,000Food & Nutrition$10,000Arts & Culture$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 budgetTHE DENVER SANTA CLAUSE SHOP INC: $15,000 over 1y, 6.6% of budgetSAVIO HOUSE: $15,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCOLORADO OPEN LANDS: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetDENVER DUMB FRIENDS LEAGUE: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGARY SINISE FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFOOD BANK OF THE ROCKIES: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetROCKY MOUNTAIN HONOR FLIGHT: $10,000 over 1y, 4.8% of budgetHOSPICE OF METRO DENVER INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCraig Hospital Foundation: $7,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetINSTITUTE FOR THE NEW MAN: $7,500 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetCANINE PARTNERS OF THE ROCKIES INC: $7,500 over 1y, 2.8% of budgetRAISE THE FUTURE: $7,500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetDENVER RESCUE MISSION: $5,000 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.

The Denver FoundationColorado Gives Founda…Libertygives Foundati…Hill Foundation Wells…The Janus Henderson F…Gates Family Foundati…Xcel Energy FoundationSchlessman Foundation…National Philanthropi…The Bank of America C…American Online Givin…Donor Advised Charita…
The Denver FoundationCO20.9× affinity8 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Denver Foundation · Colorado Gives Foundation · Libertygives Foundation · Hill Foundation Wells Fargo Bank Na · The Janus Henderson Foundation · Gates Family Foundation · Xcel Energy Foundation · Schlessman Foundation Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving 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 The Cherne Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Cherne 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%1%3%4%5%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    3report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–5%
    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 27 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 2017, released 2017. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Cherne’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