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The Christensen Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Christensen Family Foundation

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.

$524k
Granted FY2025still arriving
38
Grants FY2025still arriving
2
States reached
$60k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0189% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2018 to 2025.

Education$808kAnimals$586kFood & Nutrition$453kHealth$409kYouth Development$326kHousing & Shelter$206kRecreation & Sports$167kReligion$156kOther$0
02FY2025 · 38 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k14 grants · $74k
  • $10k–50k23 grants · $390k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $60k
$12,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$13M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
EASTSIDE COLLEGE PREP$60,000
EPATT$33,000
LAUGHING PONY RESCUE$32,000
Individual grant recipient$30,000
ALL ABOUT EQUINE ANIMAL RESCUE$22,000
Individual grant recipient$21,000
HOMEWARD BOUND$20,000
MARIN CHARITABLE$20,000
CASA EL DORADO COUNTY$18,000
SF MARIN FOOD BANK$16,000
EPISCOPAL IMPACT FUND$15,000
MARSHALL COMMUNITY FOUNDATION$15,000
MEALS ON WHEELS$15,000
THE GUARDSMEN$15,000
CANAL ALLIANCE$15,000
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY18–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 33% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%AVE MARIA ACADEMY: $20k → 11%ALL ABOUT EQUINE ANIMAL RESCUE: $22k → 8%BANCROFT LIBRARY: $25k → 10%HOMEWARD BOUND: $20k → 12%MARIN CHARITABLE: $20k → 8%BANCROFT LIBRARY: $25k → 10%HOMEWARD BOUND: $20k → 12%BANCROFT LIBRARY: $20k → 10%NORCAL INTERSCHOLASTIC CYCLING: $30k → 8%NORCAL INTERSCHOLASTIC CYCLING: $30k → 8%TERI: $21k → 11%NORCAL INTERSCHOLASTIC CYCLING: $30k → 8%NORCAL HIGH SCHOOL MTB LEAGUE: $24k → 8%TEAM SWIFT: $21k → 9%HABITTA FOR HUMANITY: $45k → 8%EASTSIDE COLLEGE PREP: $60k → 8%EASTSIDE COLLEGE PREP: $60k → 8%EASTSIDE COLLEGE PREP: $60k → 8%EASTSIDE COLLEGE PREP: $40k → 8%EASTSIDE COLLEGE PREP: $30k → 8%LAUGHING PONY RESCUE: $84k → 11%EASTSIDE COLLEGE PREP: $30k → 8%LAUGHING PONY RESCUE: $35k → 11%EASTSIDE COLLEGE PREP: $30k → 8%LAUGHING PONY RESCUE: $32k → 11%LAUGHING PONY RESCUE: $30k → 11%LAUGHING PONY RESCUE: $27k → 11%LAUGHING PONY RESCUE: $26k → 11%LAUGHING PONY RESCUE: $25k → 11%EPATT: $161k → 8%BOYS & GIRLS CLUB: $30k → 7%EPATT: $40k → 8%TEAM SWIFT: $21k → 7%EPATT: $35k → 8%TEAM SWIFT: $21k → 7%EPATT: $33k → 8%EPATT: $32k → 8%BAY AREA CANCER CONNECTIONS: $30k → 8%BAY AREA CANCER CONNECTIONS: $30k → 8%BAY AREA CANCER CONNECTIONS: $30k → 8%EPATT: $25k → 8%BAY AREA CANCER CONNECTIONS: $25k → 8%BAY AREA CANCER CONNECTIONS: $25k → 8%EAST PALO ALTO TENNIS & TUTORING: $24k → 8%2ND HARVEST FOOD BANK: $57k → 8%2ND HARVEST FOOD BANK: $54k → 8%2ND HARVEST FOOD BANK: $54k → 8%2ND HARVEST FOOD BANK: $41k → 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.

94%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$3.9M · 62 repeat orgs$270k to everyone else

62 repeat relationships: 29 still active in FY2025, 33 since wound down; 9 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

62
28

Total granted

$3.9M
$199k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+32%
+46%

Still filing today

50%
39%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 86% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $71k went to new ones.

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

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

’18’20’21’22’23’24’25
EducationAnimalsHealthFood & NutritionEnvironmentReligionOther
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

  • LP
    LAUGHING PONY RESCUE
    7× · 2018–2025 · $259k · revenue +120%
  • CA
    CANAL ALLIANCE
    7× · 2018–2025 · $95k · revenue +190%
  • SF
    SAN FRANCISCO FOOD BANK
    6× · 2020–2025 · $88k · revenue +10%

Funded once

  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2022 · $45k
  • EP
    EAST PALO ALTO TENNIS & TUTORINGgraduated
    one grant, 2018 · $24k · revenue +317%
  • AM
    AVE MARIA ACADEMY
    one grant, 2024 · $20k · revenue -2%
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
Marin Humane Society

Marin humane transforms lives through exceptional animal care, humane education, and advocacy. every day, marin humane inspires compassion and positive relationships between people and animals.

Animals
2
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals for Monterey County

The SPCA Monterey County's Mission is assuring compassionate treatment of all animals through rescue, rehabilitation, protection and education. The SPCA shelters homeless, neglected, and abused pets, including dogs, cats, horses, exotic…

Animals
3
Sustainable Conservation

Sustainable Conservation advances the collaborative stewardship of Californias land, air, and water for the benefit of nature and people. For over three decades, Sustainable Conservation has built coalitions of people with different…

Environment
4
Pet Orphans of Southern California

In addition to rescue and adoption, pet orphans provides a wide range of services including education, medical/financial, spay/neuter, and training assistance.

Animals
5
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
6
San Francisco Casa

San Francisco CASA transforms the lives of children and youth traumatized and displaced in the foster care and related systems by providing one consistent, caring volunteer advocate, trained to address each childs needs in the court and…

Civil Rights
7
Transportation Alternatives for Marin
Public Benefit
8
The San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

To ensure every companion animal has access to quality medical care, compassionate shelter, and a loving home.

Animals
9
Extrafood

Food Rescue - The Organization rescues excess fresh food from Bay Area businesses, schools and non-profits and immediately delivers the food to safety net partners - such as senior housing centers, after-school programs, and homeless…

Food & Nutrition
10
High Sierra Animal Rescue Inc

High Sierra Animal Rescues mission is to save the lives of homeless dogs in the regions served. Our staff and volunteers are dedicated to making our communities better through successful adoptions advancing their welfare and creating human…

Animals
11
The San Diego Foundation

The san diego foundation inspires enduring philanthropy and enables community solutions to improve the quality of life in our region.

Philanthropy
12
Ucsf Foundation Investment Company

The organization provides professional investment management services for endowed gifts and financial assets entrusted to the ucsf foundation.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank; the most unlike its peers is The Dartmouth 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

49 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. 49 of the 100 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)
12
Early backer (in before they grew)
46/49
Grantees still filing
34/49
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

EPATT: $325,000 · OtherEPATTEASTSIDE COLLEGE PREP: $310,000 · OtherEASTSIDE COLLEGE PREP2ND HARVEST FOOD BANK: $233,000 · Other2ND HARVEST FOOD BANKBOYS & GIRLS CLUB: $138,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $133,000 · OtherHOMEWARD BOUND: $115,000 · OtherMEALS ON WHEELS: $102,000 · OtherBANCROFT LIBRARY: $100,000 · Other+64 more: $1,335,750 · Other+64 moreLAUGHING PONY RESCUE: $258,500 · HealthLAUGHING PONY R…BAY AREA CANCER CONNECTIONS: $165,000 · HealthBAY AREA CANCER…ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE & RELATED DISORDERS ASSOCIATION INC: $72,500 · HealthALZHEIMER'S DIS…CAMINAR: $70,000 · HealthCAMINAR+2 more: $5,350 · HealthWOODSIDE HIGH SCHOOL FOUNDATION: $58,900 · EducationMARIN ACADEMY: $42,000 · EducationPETALUMA EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION: $40,000 · EducationPORTOLA VALLEY SCHOOLS FOUNDATION: $23,500 · EducationSAN DOMENICO SCHOOL: $22,000 · EducationTeach for America Inc: $21,000 · EducationAVE MARIA ACADEMY: $20,000 · EducationThiebaut Method: $12,500 · Education+1 more: $3,000 · EducationSONOMA COUNTY WILDLIFE RESCUE: $77,000 · AnimalsPets In Need: $47,500 · AnimalsDOG DREAMS FOUNDATION: $32,500 · AnimalsAll About Equine Animal Rescue Inc: $32,500 · AnimalsEL DORADO COUNTY GERMAN SHEPHERD RESCUE: $20,000 · AnimalsHUMANE SOCIETY OF SONOMA COUNTY: $17,500 · AnimalsHELEN WOODWARD ANIMAL CENTER: $8,500 · Animals+1 more: $5,000 · AnimalsCANAL ALLIANCE: $95,000 · ReligionEpiscopal Impact Fund FKA Episcopal Charities: $60,000 · ReligionTERI Inc: $37,000 · ReligionThe Guardsmen: $82,500 · Youth DevelopmentWords Alive: $60,000 · Arts & Culture
Other$2,791,750Health$571,350Education$242,900Animals$240,500Religion$192,000Youth Development$82,500Arts & Culture$60,000

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

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetLAUGHING PONY RESCUE: $258,500 over 7y, 24% of budgetBAY AREA CANCER CONNECTIONS: $165,000 over 7y, 1.9% of budgetCANAL ALLIANCE: $95,000 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetSAN FRANCISCO FOOD BANK: $87,500 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetThe Guardsmen: $82,500 over 6y, 0.8% of budgetSONOMA COUNTY WILDLIFE RESCUE: $77,000 over 7y, 0.8% of budgetALZHEIMER'S DISEASE & RELATED DISORDERS ASSOCIATION INC: $72,500 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetCAMINAR: $70,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetSAN MATEO COUNTY HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION: $65,000 over 7y, 0.5% of budgetWords Alive: $60,000 over 5y, 1.4% of budgetEpiscopal Impact Fund FKA Episcopal Charities: $60,000 over 5y, 1.3% of budgetWOODSIDE HIGH SCHOOL FOUNDATION: $58,900 over 7y, 1.0% of budgetVOICES FOR CHILDREN: $55,000 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetMENTOR ME: $47,500 over 7y, 2.0% of budgetPets In Need: $47,500 over 6y, 0.4% of budgetMARIN ACADEMY: $42,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetPETALUMA EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION: $40,000 over 4y, 1.0% of budgetTERI Inc: $37,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTIPPING POINT COMMUNITY: $37,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetMAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION OF SAN DIEGO: $35,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetDOG DREAMS FOUNDATION: $32,500 over 4y, 6.8% of budgetAll About Equine Animal Rescue Inc: $32,500 over 2y, 1.8% of budgetEAST PALO ALTO TENNIS & TUTORING: $23,500 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetPORTOLA VALLEY SCHOOLS FOUNDATION: $23,500 over 4y, 1.4% of budgetSAN DOMENICO SCHOOL: $22,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTeach for America Inc: $21,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetAVE MARIA ACADEMY: $20,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetEL DORADO COUNTY GERMAN SHEPHERD RESCUE: $20,000 over 2y, 8.9% of budgetHUMANE SOCIETY OF SONOMA COUNTY: $17,500 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetTHE DARTMOUTH INC: $15,000 over 2y, 6.6% of budgetSONOMA COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $15,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetThiebaut Method: $12,500 over 2y, 2.6% of budgetFeeding America: $12,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetJACOBS & CUSHMAN SAN DIEGO FOOD BANK: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHELEN WOODWARD ANIMAL CENTER: $8,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetFEEDING SAN DIEGO: $8,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetChildren of Shelters: $8,000 over 1y, 2.4% of budgetPetaluma Small Craft Center: $7,500 over 1y, 4.2% of budgetEAH Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSHELTER TO SOLDIER INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetLIFEMOVES: $4,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF DENVER: $3,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetREDWOOD FOREST FOUNDATION INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGRASSROOTS ECOLOGY: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTRUCKEE DONNER LAND TRUST: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCOLORECTAL CANCER ALLIANCE: $350 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.

  • Who funds LAUGHING PONY RESCUE ↗
  • Who funds BAY AREA CANCER CONNECTIONS ↗
  • Who funds CANAL ALLIANCE ↗
  • Who funds SAN FRANCISCO FOOD BANK ↗
  • Who funds The Guardsmen ↗
  • Who funds SONOMA COUNTY WILDLIFE RESCUE ↗
  • Who funds ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE & RELATED DISORDERS ASSOCIATION INC ↗
  • Who funds CAMINAR ↗
  • Who funds SAN MATEO COUNTY HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds Words Alive ↗
  • Who funds Episcopal Impact Fund FKA Episcopal Charities ↗
  • Who funds WOODSIDE HIGH SCHOOL FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds VOICES FOR CHILDREN ↗
  • Who funds MENTOR ME ↗
  • Who funds Pets In Need ↗
  • Who funds MARIN ACADEMY ↗
  • Who funds PETALUMA EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds TERI Inc ↗
  • Who funds TIPPING POINT COMMUNITY ↗
  • Who funds MAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION OF SAN DIEGO ↗
  • Who funds DOG DREAMS FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds All About Equine Animal Rescue Inc ↗

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…Jewish Community Fede…Marin Community Found…The David and Lucile …The San Francisco Fou…Thornton S Jr and Kat…Heffernan Group Found…Rancho Santa Fe Found…McNabb FoundationThe Intuit FoundationGordon E and Betty I …Morgan Stanley Global…
Silicon Valley Community FoundationCA21.3× affinity14 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Silicon Valley Community Foundation · Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco the Peninsula Marin & Sonoma · Marin Community Foundation · The David and Lucile Packard Foundation · The San Francisco Foundation · Thornton S Jr and Katrina D Glide Foundation · Heffernan Group Foundation · Rancho Santa Fe Foundation · McNabb Foundation · The Intuit Foundation · Gordon E and Betty I Moore Foundation · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust 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 Christensen Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Christensen Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%2%6%14%25%funder's share of their income ↑0%10%20%30%40%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    15report 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, 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.
    05Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to The Christensen Family Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to The Christensen Family Foundation through trustees and officers whose names appear on both boards. Search for your organization and Plinth traces the shortest route it can evidence.

    Each link is a name appearing on two organizations’ public IRS 990 filings, matched on that name and, where the filings support it, on location. A same-state match has geographic support, which is a second matching feature rather than confirmation that the two are one person; a cross-state one is the likeliest to be two people who share a name. Every hop shows its tier, low-confidence and distant paths are held back rather than guessed, and it is worth confirming the person before you use the introduction.

    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 100 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 Christensen Family’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