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The Dennis Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Dennis 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.

$88k
Granted FY2025still arriving
16
Grants FY2025still arriving
6
States reached
$19k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0199% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2025.

Education$197kHuman Services$82kPublic Benefit$77kCrime & Legal$64kHousing & Shelter$53kPhilanthropy$51kAnimals$39kHealth$29kOther$0
02FY2025 · 16 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k11 grants · $29k
  • $10k–50k5 grants · $59k
$2,500
Median grant
6
States reached
$2.7M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Americans For Oxford Inc$19,000
The Philanthropy Workshop Inc$10,000
Individual grant recipient$10,000
Ensaaf Inc$10,000
Catalytic Impact Foundation$10,000
Dowagiac Arts Inc$7,500
Disabled American Veterans Charitable Service Trust$5,000
Homes for Our Troops$2,500
Blue Star Families$2,500
Patriot Paws Service Dogs$2,500
Brooklyn Animal Action$2,000
Forever Foundation for Texas Wildlife$2,000
Animal Defense League of Texas$1,500
National Arts Club$1,500
Waco Foundation$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 (FY20–25, $80k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 65% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%Patriotic Paws Service Dogs: $5k → 5%Patriot Paws Service Dogs: $5k → 5%Patriot Paws Service Dogs: $5k → 5%Patriot Paws Service Dogs: $5k → 5%Patriot Paws Service Dogs: $5k → 5%Patriot Paws Service Dogs: $3k → 5%Casa Myrna Vasquez Inc: $6k → 16%Casa Myrna: $6k → 16%Casa Myrna: $6k → 16%Casa Myrna: $6k → 16%Casa Myrna: $3k → 16%Horizons for Homeless Children: $5k → 16%Horizons for Homeless Children: $5k → 16%Horizons for Homeless Children: $5k → 16%Horizons for Homeless Children: $5k → 16%Horizons for Homeless Children: $5k → 16%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
MA
NV
PA
CT
CA
CO
KY
VA
MD
DC
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.

90%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$622k · 27 repeat orgs$68k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +47% since the first grant, against +19% for those funded once.

27 repeat relationships: 9 still active in FY2025, 18 since wound down; 6 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

27
11

Total granted

$622k
$35k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+47%
+19%

Still filing today

89%
73%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 62% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $33k 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
EducationHealthAnimalsPublic BenefitHuman ServicesInternationalOther
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

  • AF
    AMERICANS FOR OXFORD INC
    6× · 2020–2025 · $149k · revenue +55%
  • DA
    Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Charitable Service Trust
    6× · 2020–2025 · $55k · revenue +86%
  • PP
    PATRIOT PAWS SERVICE DOGS
    6× · 2020–2025 · $28k · revenue +55%

Funded once

  • CL
    Cleantech Leaders Roundtable
    one grant, 2023 · $10k
  • MI
    MANHATTAN INSTITUTE FOR POLICY RESEARCH INCgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $5k · revenue +26%
  • THE ASPEN INSTITUTE INCgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $5k · revenue +134%
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
United States Naval Institute

Provide an independent forum for those who dare to read, think, speak, and write to advance the professional, literary, and scientific understanding of sea power and other issues critical to global security.

—
2
Boston Architectural College

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

—
3
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
4
American Association for the Advancement of Science

Advance science, engineering, and innovation throughout the world for the benefit of all. the world's largest multidisciplinary scientific society and a leading publisher of cutting-edge research through its science family of journals,…

Science & Tech
5
University of New Haven

The University of New Haven is a student-centered comprehensive university with an emphasis on excellence in liberal arts and professional education. Our mission is to prepare our students to lead purposeful and fulfilling lives in a…

Education
6
Furman University

The primary mission of furman as a liberal arts institution is to provide a distinctive education in fine arts, humanities, social sciences, mathematics and the sciences, as well as selected professional disciplines.

Education
7
Trustees of Boston University

Organization's mission: boston university is an international, comprehensive, private research university, committed to educating students to be reflective, resourceful individuals ready to live, adapt, and lead in an interconnected world.…

—
8
Aacsb International - the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business

Aacsb international provides quality assurance of business school programs, the latest in business education intelligence, thought leadership, and learning and development services.

Education
9
The Trustees of Princeton University

Research, education and general - princeton university is a private not-for-profit, non-sectarian institution of higher learning with approximately 5,700 undergraduate and 3,300 graduate students. 2,500 students graduated in the 2024-2025…

Education
10
Open Markets Institute

The open markets institute works to help people relearn how to use competition policy to build stronger democracies, more just and equitable societies, more innovative and sustainable economies, and a more secure and peaceful world.

Education
11
President and Fellows of Harvard College

Undergraduate, graduate, and professional education and research across a broad array of academic domains.

Education
12
World Resources Institute

Wri is committed to creating change that improves people's lives and ensures the natural world can thrive. (see schedule o)wri's bold vision requires a formula for success we call "count it. change it. scale it.":- count it: our work is…

International
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Aspen Institute Inc; the most unlike its peers is Metropolitan Museum of Art. 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

39 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. 39 of the 46 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)
5
Early backer (in before they grew)
38/39
Grantees still filing
31/39
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

AMERICANS FOR OXFORD INC: $149,000 · EducationAMERICANS FOR OXFORD INCTHE ROXBURY LATIN SCHOOL: $25,000 · EducationTHE ROXBURY LATIN SCHOOLWellesley College: $11,000 · EducationWellesley College+2 more: $4,000 · EducationDisabled American Veterans (DAV) Charitable Service Trust: $55,000 · Public BenefitDisabled America…BLUE STAR FAMILIES INC: $27,500 · Public BenefitBLUE STAR FAMILI…JUDICIAL WATCH INC: $17,000 · Public BenefitJUDICIAL WATCH I…MANHATTAN INSTITUTE FOR POLICY RESEARCH INC: $5,000 · Public BenefitPATRIOT PAWS SERVICE DOGS: $27,500 · Human ServicesPATRIOT PAWS S…CASA MYRNA VAZQUEZ INC: $27,000 · Human ServicesCASA MYRNA VAZ…HORIZONS FOR HOMELESS CHILDREN: $25,000 · Human ServicesHORIZONS FOR H…CANINE COMPANIONS FOR INDEPENDENCE INC: $11,000 · Human ServicesCANINE COMPANI…Catalytic Impact Foundation Inc: $57,000 · PhilanthropyCatalytic …THE PHILANTHROPY WORKSHOP INC DBA FORWARD GLOBAL: $10,000 · PhilanthropyTHE PHILAN…+1 more: $1,000 · PhilanthropyENSAAF: $56,000 · InternationalENSAAFFEED FOUNDATION INC: $8,000 · InternationalFEED FOUND…+1 more: $1,000 · InternationalTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $12,000 · OtherTHE NATURE CONSERVANCYFIRE: $10,500 · OtherFIRECleantech Leaders Roundtable (CTLR): $10,000 · OtherCleantech Leaders Roun…Individual grant recipient: $10,000 · OtherIndividual grant recip…Smith College Alumni Fund: $8,000 · OtherSmith College Alumni F…DOWAGIAC ARTS INC: $7,500 · OtherANIMAL DEFENSE LEAGUE OF TEXAS: $12,000 · OtherANIMAL DEFENSE LEAGUE …ANIMAL HAVEN INC: $7,500 · OtherHOMES FOR OUR TROOPS INC: $27,500 · OtherHOMES FOR OUR TROOPS I…Children's Assessment Center Foundation: $8,000 · OtherChildren's Assessment …THE ASPEN INSTITUTE INC: $5,000 · Other+11 more: $23,500 · Other+11 morePARTNERS IN HEALTH A NONPROFIT CORPORATION: $25,000 · HealthBRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATERS INC: $9,000 · HealthTHE SUNSHINE KIDS FOUNDATION: $4,000 · HealthTexas Children's Hospital: $4,000 · HealthBETH ISRAEL DEACONESS HOSPITAL-PLYMOUTH INC: $2,000 · Health
Education$189,000Public Benefit$104,500Human Services$90,500Philanthropy$68,000International$65,000Other$141,500Health$44,000

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 budgetAMERICANS FOR OXFORD INC: $149,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetCatalytic Impact Foundation Inc: $57,000 over 6y, 2.1% of budgetENSAAF: $56,000 over 6y, 2.9% of budgetDisabled American Veterans (DAV) Charitable Service Trust: $55,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetPATRIOT PAWS SERVICE DOGS: $27,500 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetBLUE STAR FAMILIES INC: $27,500 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetHOMES FOR OUR TROOPS INC: $27,500 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetCASA MYRNA VAZQUEZ INC: $27,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetTHE ROXBURY LATIN SCHOOL: $25,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetPARTNERS IN HEALTH A NONPROFIT CORPORATION: $25,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetHORIZONS FOR HOMELESS CHILDREN: $25,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetJUDICIAL WATCH INC: $17,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $12,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetANIMAL DEFENSE LEAGUE OF TEXAS: $12,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetWellesley College: $11,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetCANINE COMPANIONS FOR INDEPENDENCE INC: $11,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetBRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATERS INC: $9,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetFEED FOUNDATION INC: $8,000 over 3y, 3.9% of budgetChildren's Assessment Center Foundation: $8,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetANIMAL HAVEN INC: $7,500 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetMANHATTAN INSTITUTE FOR POLICY RESEARCH INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE ASPEN INSTITUTE INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetANIMAL RESCUE LEAGUE OF BOSTON: $4,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE SUNSHINE KIDS FOUNDATION: $4,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetTexas Children's Hospital: $4,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCLEAN TX FOUNDATION INC: $3,000 over 1y, 2.8% of budgetTHE TRUSTEES OF THE SMITH COLLEGE: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTEAM RUBICON INC: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMETROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBETH ISRAEL DEACONESS HOSPITAL-PLYMOUTH INC: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetRocky Mountain Institute: $1,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE NATIONAL ARTS CLUB: $1,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCERES INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWilliam Marsh Rice University: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWACO FOUNDATION: $1,000 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.

Morgan Stanley Global…The Bank of America C…Vanguard Charitable E…Network for GoodNational Philanthropi…American Online Givin…Fidelity Investments …Donor Advised Charita…Amazonsmile Foundation
Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust IncIN9.7× affinity6 shared granteesties to 8 of 8Hover 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 · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Network for Good · National Philanthropic Trust · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · 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 Dennis Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Dennis Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 40%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%10%20%30%40%share of the org’s income from government →median 1%
  • Bridge Over Troubled Waters Inc: 32% of income from government
  • Horizons for Homeless Children: 21% of income from government
  • Casa Myrna Vazquez Inc: 5% of income from government
  • The Trustees of the Smith College: 1% of income from government
  • Wellesley College: 1% of income from government
  • Animal Rescue League of Boston: 0% of income from government
  • Ceres Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Partners in Health a Nonprofit Corporation: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
4get 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, 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 46 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 Dennis 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