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Plinth

· Private foundation

The Christensen Dunn Early Foundations Fund

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.

$23k
Granted FY2025still arriving
22
Grants FY2025still arriving
5
States reached
$2k
Largest
01What you fund
01100% classified

What you funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year — across FY20202025.

Education$30kYouth Development$27kHuman Services$22kFood & Nutrition$15kAnimals$6kInternational$6kArts & Culture$3kHealth$1k
02FY2025 · 22 grants

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

$1,000
Median grant
5
States reached
$571k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
GiveDirectly$2,000
More Than Words$1,750
Catie's Closet$1,750
Dwight Hall at Yale$1,000
Camp Starfish$1,000
Boston Partners in Education$1,000
Girls Incorporated$1,000
Milton Foundation for Education$1,000
Steppingstone Foundation$1,000
Citizen School$1,000
Sexual Assault Center$1,000
Cradles to Crayons$1,000
Greater Boston Food Bank$1,000
International Institute New England$1,000
All Our Kin Inc$1,000
02The need
03

Do your dollars go where the need is?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, then read against the area’s typical level.

show:

Your human-services grants (FY20–25, $13k) land where the poverty rate runs at 16%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of your grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%Catie's Closet: $2k → 16%Catie's Closet: $1k → 16%Catie's Closet: $1k → 16%Catie's Closet: $1k → 16%Catie's Closet: $1k → 16%Catie's Closet: $1k → 16%Cradles to Crayons: $1k → 16%Cradles to Crayons: $1k → 16%Cradles to Crayons: $1k → 16%Cradles to Crayons: $1k → 16%Cradles to Crayons: $1k → 16%Cradles to Crayons: $1k → 16%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount

Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty linein the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP; grantee ZIP can differ from where services are delivered.

US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are actually delivered. Need from public data — U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA — shown as context about the area, never attributed to your giving.

03Your edge
repeat funding

Who you back again

Which organizations you funded more than once, and which you funded a single time. Each grantee is matched to its own filings.

98%of every dollar goes to organizations you’ve funded before.
$108k · 22 repeat orgs$2k to everyone else

22 repeat relationships — 21 still active in FY2025, 1 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

22
1

Total granted

$108k
$1k

Still filing today

86%
0%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 96% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $1k went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24’25
EducationHuman ServicesYouth DevelopmentAnimalsFood & NutritionRecreation & SportsOther

First-time = a grantee’s first year in your filing window; renewed = funded in an earlier year too. As a portfolio matures the renewed share naturally climbs — once funded, an org stays “renewable” — so the signal is the years that buck it (a new-grantee intake wave). 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

  • Catie's Closet Inc
    6× · 2020–2025 · $7k · revenue +14%
  • CT
    CRADLES TO CRAYONS INC
    6× · 2020–2025 · $6k · revenue +81%
  • GI
    GIRLS INC
    6× · 2020–2025 · $6k · revenue +159%

Funded once

  • II
    International Institute of New Eng
    one grant, 2021 · $1k

Repeat = funded in two or more distinct years; growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Your field

The map has a center of gravity: the average direction from the rest of the sector toward the organizations the foundation funds — the shape of its giving. Scoring every nonprofit along that direction surfaces the ones that look most like the portfolio. These are the closest matchesthat aren’t grantees — a resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Boston Architectural College

The bac is committed to provide excellence in design education grounded in practice and accessible to diverse communities.

2
Massachusetts Higher Education Assistance Corporation

The organization's primary exempt purpose is to provide access to and conduct activities in furtherance of higher education.

3
Massachusetts Education & Career Opportunities Inc

Massachusetts education and career opportunities, inc. (massedco, inc.) is a statewide network of service sites that provides education and career advising to over 12,000 low-income, first generation individuals each year. massedco…

Education
4
New England Lawboston

New england law/boston dedicates itself to preparing students to be successful lawyers and leaders in the public and private sectors through integrated practical, theoretical and ethical education of the highest caliber and to contributing…

Education
5
Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education Inc

The massachusetts business alliance for education (mbae) is committed to excellence, opportunity and innovation in our public education system to prepare all students to engage successfully in a global economy and society.

Education
6
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The mission of mit is to advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century.

Education
7
Breakthrough Greater Boston Inc

To inspire excitement for learning, create paths to and through college, and promote careers in education.

Education
8
Boston After School & Beyond Inc

Boston after school & beyond, inc. is a public private partnership that pursues a unified after-school and summer learning system that promotes stakeholder alignment, a focus on results, and access to learning opportunities, particularly…

Education
9
Wentworth Institute of Technology Inc

Wentworth institute of technology is a nationally recognized private coeducational and residential university of higher education with a mission to empower, inspire and innovate through experiential learning with a core purpose of career…

Education
10
Institute for Nonprofit Practice Inc

The institute for nonprofit practice's mission is to transform communities by equipping the most promising nonprofit leaders with the skills, confidence, and resources they need to make their organizations effective, innovative, and…

Human Services
11
Up Education Network

The principal intent of the organization is to conduct activities to advance education reform in public schools, including public charter schools. specifically, the organization will engage in activities to support and transform…

Education
12
Massachusetts Alliance for Early College Inc

The massachusetts alliance for early college (ma4ec) is a cross-sector coalition focused on significantly increasing the number of students with access to high-quality early college in massachusetts to promote college and career success…

Education

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is More Than Words Inc and the most unlike its peers is Dwight Hall At Yale. 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

20 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each one resolved to its own IRS returns and tracked year by year — your grant beside their revenue from every source. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

Counted here: distinct organizations you funded across 20172025, not grant rows in a single year — so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 20 of the 24 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile; the rest are funded organizations whose filings we could not track year by year.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
6
Early backer (in before they grew)
20/20
Grantees still filing
16/20
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

GREATER BOSTON FOOD BANK INC — $6,000 · OtherGREATER BOSTON FOOD BANK INCRoca Boston Inc — $6,000 · OtherRoca Boston IncBOSTON PARTNERS IN EDUCATION INC — $6,000 · OtherBOSTON PARTNERS IN EDUCATION INCMORE THAN WORDS INC — $4,750 · OtherMORE THAN WORDS INCMASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE IN THE CLASSROOM INC — $3,000 · OtherMASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE IN THE CLA…Historic New England Pierce House — $3,000 · OtherHistoric New England Pierce HouseInternational Institute of New Engl — $2,000 · OtherInternational Institute of New EnglINTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF NEW ENGLAND INC — $3,000 · OtherINTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF NEW ENGLA…+2 more — $2,000 · Other+2 moreALL OUR KIN INC — $6,000 · EducationALL OUR KIN INCSTEPPINGSTONE FOUNDATION INC — $6,000 · EducationSTEPPINGSTONE FOUNDATION INCDWIGHT HALL AT YALE — $6,000 · EducationDWIGHT HALL AT YALECITIZEN SCHOOLS INC — $6,000 · EducationCITIZEN SCHOOLS INCMILTON FOUNDATION FOR EDUCATION INC — $6,000 · EducationMILTON FOUNDATION FOR EDUCATIO…Catie's Closet Inc — $6,750 · Human ServicesCatie's Closet I…CRADLES TO CRAYONS INC — $6,000 · Human ServicesCRADLES TO CRAYO…GIVEDIRECTLY INC — $3,500 · Human ServicesGIVEDIRECTLY INCGIRLS INC — $6,000 · Youth DevelopmentGIRLS INCCAMP STARFISH INC — $6,000 · Youth DevelopmentCAMP STARFIS…VERMONT FARM-TO-SCHOOL INC — $6,000 · Food & NutritionNEW ENGLAND AQUARIUM CORPORATION — $3,000 · AnimalsCOMMONWEALTH ZOOLOGICAL CORPORATION D/B/A ZOO NEW ENGLAND — $3,000 · AnimalsTHE BASEBALL INC — $4,000 · Recreation & Sports
Other$35,750Education$30,000Human Services$16,250Youth Development$12,000Food & Nutrition$6,000Animals$6,000Recreation & Sports$4,000

Each org by its size and your share of it — top-left is where you’re load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ your share of their budgetCatie's Closet Inc — $6,750 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetCRADLES TO CRAYONS INC — $6,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetGIRLS INC — $6,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetGREATER BOSTON FOOD BANK INC — $6,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetALL OUR KIN INC — $6,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetSTEPPINGSTONE FOUNDATION INC — $6,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetDWIGHT HALL AT YALE — $6,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetCITIZEN SCHOOLS INC — $6,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetCAMP STARFISH INC — $6,000 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetMILTON FOUNDATION FOR EDUCATION INC — $6,000 over 6y, 0.9% of budgetVERMONT FARM-TO-SCHOOL INC — $6,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetBOSTON PARTNERS IN EDUCATION INC — $6,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetMORE THAN WORDS INC — $4,750 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetTHE BASEBALL INC — $4,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetGIVEDIRECTLY INC — $3,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetNEW ENGLAND AQUARIUM CORPORATION — $3,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetMASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE IN THE CLASSROOM INC — $3,000 over 6y, 2.9% of budgetCOMMONWEALTH ZOOLOGICAL CORPORATION D/B/A ZOO NEW ENGLAND — $3,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetINTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF NEW ENGLAND INC — $3,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSEXUAL ASSAULT CENTER — $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budget
Go grantee by grantee — a decade per org, and how each moved after you funded them

A decade per grantee — revenue shaded, your grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

  • Who funds Catie's Closet Inc
  • Who funds CRADLES TO CRAYONS INC
  • Who funds GIRLS INC
  • Who funds GREATER BOSTON FOOD BANK INC
  • Who funds ALL OUR KIN INC
  • Who funds STEPPINGSTONE FOUNDATION INC
  • Who funds DWIGHT HALL AT YALE
  • Who funds CITIZEN SCHOOLS INC
  • Who funds CAMP STARFISH INC
  • Who funds MILTON FOUNDATION FOR EDUCATION INC
  • Who funds VERMONT FARM-TO-SCHOOL INC
  • Who funds BOSTON PARTNERS IN EDUCATION INC
  • Who funds MORE THAN WORDS INC
  • Who funds THE BASEBALL INC
  • Who funds GIVEDIRECTLY INC
  • Who funds NEW ENGLAND AQUARIUM CORPORATION
  • Who funds MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE IN THE CLASSROOM INC
  • Who funds COMMONWEALTH ZOOLOGICAL CORPORATION D/B/A ZOO NEW ENGLAND
  • Who funds INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF NEW ENGLAND INC
  • Who funds SEXUAL ASSAULT CENTER

The grantmakers whose grantees overlap with yours far more than size alone predicts. Each orbits closer the stronger the alignment; the arcs between them show where they also fund each other. Here it reads as a tightly interlocked camp — most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust IncIN8.8× affinity4 shared granteesties to 5 of 5Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Amazonsmile Foundation

Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. A research starting point: overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

Government reliance of your grantees

Every dot is one organization The Christensen Dunn Early Foundations Fund funds. Left–right is the share of its income from government; up–down is the share from you. Bigger dots raise more. Filter to federal, a single department, or state — and drag the year to watch it move.

2024
202122232425
no gov · 30%0%1%3%5%your share of their income ↑0%10%20%30%40%share of the org’s income from governmentmedian 7%
  • More Than Words Inc24% of income from government
  • International Institute of New England Inc24% of income from government
  • Greater Boston Food Bank Inc22% of income from government
  • Camp Starfish Inc18% of income from government
  • New England Aquarium Corporation12% of income from government
  • Citizen Schools Inc8% of income from government
  • Vermont Farm-to-School Inc7% of income from government
  • Catie's Closet Inc4% of income from government
  • Cradles to Crayons Inc2% of income from government
  • Commonwealth Zoological Corporation D/B/a Zoo New England2% of income from government
  • The Baseball Inc1% of income from government
  • All Our Kin Inc1% of income from government
  • Steppingstone Foundation Inc0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
3get 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 · 0–40%
typical government reliance, FY2025

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 your grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first — a floor, not 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 12–24 months.

On method. Every financial figure here is read directly from IRS e-file XML — your own 990/990-PF and the multi-year returns of the 24 grantees we resolved across every year we hold, several hundred filings in all (a different count from the grant rows on the cover, which are one fiscal year)— each linked to its source. Grantee achievements and outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III); we read these as association with sustained funding — the foundation is one of several forces — suppress low-confidence name matches rather than guess, and say so where a figure rests on a single grant or filing. Not everything on this page is a filed figure, and the difference matters. Filed is what you reported on your 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. How we build these →

Generated from your IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

More from the funding graph