Skip to content
The E L Cord Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The E L Cord Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$3.6M
Granted FY2024still arriving
90
Grants FY2024still arriving
3
States reached
$830k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0196% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Arts & Culture$2.6MEducation$2.5MHealth$997kYouth Development$905kHuman Services$627kRecreation & Sports$574kPhilanthropy$390kFood & Nutrition$315kOther$0
02FY2024 · 90 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k17 grants · $86k
  • $10k–50k56 grants · $1.0M
  • $50k–250k15 grants · $1.3M
  • $250k+2 grants · $1.2M
$20,000
Median grant
3
States reached
$69M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA RENO FOUNDATION$830,000
FIRST TEE NORTHERN NEVADA$350,000
NEVADA MUSEUM OF ART$200,000
PBS RENO$160,000
RENO PHILHARMONIC ASSOCIATION$100,000
KEEP MEMORY ALIVE$100,000
NATIONAL AUTOMOBILE MUSEUM$100,000
ARTOWN$100,000
FOOD BANK OF NORTHERN NEVADA$100,000
NEVADA HUMANE SOCIETY$75,000
AVA BALLET THEATRE$50,000
RENOWN HEALTH FOUNDATION$50,000
BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF ELKO$50,000
THE SOLACE TREE$50,000
KENNY GUINN CENTER FOR POLICY PRIORITIES$50,000
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 (FY22–24, $445k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 33% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%THE CHILDREN'S CABINET: $20k → 9%HOUSE CALLS: $25k → 10%HOUSE CALLS: $20k → 10%HOUSE CALLS: $20k → 10%NEVADA CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION: $60k → 13%NEVADA CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION: $35k → 13%NEVADA CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION: $25k → 13%NEVADA INSTITUTE OF FORENSIC NURSING: $10k → 13%VOLUNTEER ATTORNEYS FOR RURAL NEVADANS: $15k → 13%PROJECT 150 RENO: $5k → 10%THE EMPOWERMENT CENTER: $5k → 10%NEVADA YOUTH EMPOWERMENT PROJECT: $5k → 10%NEVADA YOUTH EMPOWERMENT PROJECT: $5k → 10%DOMESTIC VIOLENCE RESOURCE CENTER: $20k → 10%DOMESTIC VIOLENCE RESOURCE CENTER: $20k → 10%DOMESTIC VIOLENCE RESOURCE CENTER: $20k → 10%EDDY HOUSE: $20k → 10%SAFE TALK FOR TEENS: $20k → 10%SAFE TALK FOR TEENS: $20k → 10%SAFE TALK FOR TEENS: $20k → 10%ASSISTANCE LEAGUE OF RENO-SPARKS: $40k → 10%YOUTH IN PURSUIT: $15k → 10%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.

88%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$8.2M · 73 repeat orgs$1.1M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +26% since the first grant, against 0% for those funded once.

73 repeat relationships: 65 still active in FY2024, 8 since wound down; 22 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

73
49

Total granted

$8.2M
$798k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+26%
0%

Still filing today

74%
53%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 90% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $341k went to new ones.

50%100%’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’22’23’24
Arts & CultureHuman ServicesHealthRecreation & SportsEducationYouth DevelopmentOther
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

  • UO
    University of Nevada Reno Foundation
    3× · 2022–2024 · $1.8M · revenue +71%
  • NM
    Nevada Museum of Art
    3× · 2022–2024 · $610k · revenue +32%
  • TF
    THE FIRST TEE OF NORTHERN NEVADA
    3× · 2022–2024 · $380k · revenue +102%

Funded once

  • FO
    FRIENDS OF DANGBERG HOME RANCH
    one grant, 2022 · $68k · revenue -38%
  • T1
    THE 1701 GROUP FKA ASSISTANCE LEAGUE OF RENO-SPARKSgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $40k · revenue +90%
  • RT
    REBUILDING TOGETHER NORTHERN NEVADAgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $30k · revenue +440%
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
Healthy Nevada
Health
2
Nevada Wild Horses

Wild horse protection, preservation, rescue and care work.

Animals
3
Fair Government Nevada

To promote fair government practices and for all other legal purposes

—
4
Nevada Agricultural Foundation
Food & Nutrition
5
The Nevada Bighorns Foundation
Education
6
Nevada Peer Support Network Inc
Health
7
Native Voters Alliance Nevada

To uplift the indigenous community by building political power.

—
8
Nevada Primary Care Association

As nevada's federally designated primary care association, nvpca promotes access to affordable, comprehensive & quality health care for nevada's underserved populations. we support & advocate on behalf of member community health centers,…

Health
9
Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation

To provide social, emotional, educational, and psychological support and programs to families of all children diagnosed with life threatening or critical illnesses and provide healing arts and wellness programs to adults touched by cancer…

Health
10
Westcare Nevada Inc

To provide substance abuse prevention & treatment.

Health
11
Community Services of Nevada

CSNV is engaged in comprehensive community development projects that promote neighborhood revitalization and economic development, community education and civic action, housing, development; cultural awareness, equity and

Housing & Shelter
12
Nevada Wildlife Federation

The Nevada Wildlife Federation is the Oldest 501(c)(3) statewide conservation organization dedicated to sustaining Nevada's wildlife through conservation and education.

Animals
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Arts for All Nevada; the most unlike its peers is White Pine Community Choir. 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

97 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. 97 of the 148 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.

2
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
25
Early backer (in before they grew)
96/97
Grantees still filing
56/97
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

KEEP MEMORY ALIVE: $200,000 · OtherKEEP MEMORY ALIVETHE HARRAH AUTOMOBILE FOUNDATION NATIONAL AUTOMOBILE MUSEUM: $200,000 · OtherTHE HARRAH AUTOMOBILE FOUNDATION NATI…THE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $130,000 · OtherDESERT RESEARCH INSTITUTE FOUNDATION: $123,500 · OtherFood Bank of Northern Nevada Inc: $300,000 · OtherFood Bank of Northern Nevada Inc+78 more: $2,266,750 · Other+78 moreNevada Museum of Art: $610,000 · Arts & CultureNevada Museum of ArtCHANNEL 5 PUBLIC BROADCASTING INC: $555,000 · Arts & CultureCHANNEL 5 PUBLIC BROADCAS…ARTOWN: $300,000 · Arts & CultureARTOWNRENO PHILHARMONIC ASSOCIATION INC: $300,000 · Arts & CultureRENO PHILHARMONIC ASSOCIA…A V A BALLET THEATRE: $150,000 · Arts & CultureA V A BALLET THEATRE+11 more: $265,000 · Arts & Culture+11 moreUniversity of Nevada Reno Foundation: $1,810,000 · EducationUniversity of Nevada Re…UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA LAS VEGAS FOUNDATION: $85,000 · Education+5 more: $150,000 · Education+5 moreTHE FIRST TEE OF NORTHERN NEVADA: $380,000 · Recreation & SportsSky Tavern Inc: $275,000 · Recreation & Sports+8 more: $120,000 · Recreation & SportsCatholic Charities of Northern Nevada: $150,000 · Human ServicesNEVADA CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION INC: $120,000 · Human ServicesHOUSE CALLS LTD: $65,000 · Human ServicesDOMESTIC VIOLENCE RESOURCE CENTER: $60,000 · Human ServicesSAFE TALK FOR TEENS: $60,000 · Human ServicesTHE 1701 GROUP FKA ASSISTANCE LEAGUE OF RENO-SPARKS: $40,000 · Human ServicesTHE CHILDREN'S CABINET INC: $20,000 · Human ServicesEDDY HOUSE: $20,000 · Human Services+6 more: $60,000 · Human ServicesCommunity Foundation of Northern Nevada: $300,000 · PhilanthropyNORTHERN NEVADA CHILDREN'S CANCER FOUNDATION: $100,000 · PhilanthropyFRIENDS OF DANGBERG HOME RANCH: $68,000 · PhilanthropyNORTHERN CALIFORNIA PGA FOUNDATION: $40,500 · PhilanthropyNORTHERN NEVADA ITALIAN ASSOCIATION INC: $30,000 · PhilanthropyCAST HOPE: $20,000 · PhilanthropySOLACETREE INC: $136,500 · HealthNorthern Nevada HIV Outpatient Program Education and Services: $100,000 · HealthRENO CANCER FOUNDATION INC: $45,000 · HealthCARE CHEST OF SIERRA NEVADA: $40,000 · HealthCOMMUNITY HEALTH ALLIANCE FOUNDATION: $25,000 · HealthRONALD MCDONALD HOUSE CHARITIES OF NORTHERN NEVADA: $19,900 · HealthFor Kids Foundation: $15,000 · HealthANGEL FLIGHT WEST INC: $15,000 · HealthHORIZON HOSPICE INC: $15,000 · Health+3 more: $30,000 · Health
Other$3,220,250Arts & Culture$2,180,000Education$2,045,000Recreation & Sports$775,000Human Services$595,000Philanthropy$558,500Health$441,400

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 budgetUniversity of Nevada Reno Foundation: $1,810,000 over 3y, 1.6% of budgetNevada Museum of Art: $610,000 over 3y, 1.5% of budgetCHANNEL 5 PUBLIC BROADCASTING INC: $555,000 over 3y, 3.4% of budgetTHE FIRST TEE OF NORTHERN NEVADA: $380,000 over 3y, 18% of budgetARTOWN: $300,000 over 3y, 5.3% of budgetCommunity Foundation of Northern Nevada: $300,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetFood Bank of Northern Nevada Inc: $300,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetRENO PHILHARMONIC ASSOCIATION INC: $300,000 over 3y, 2.9% of budgetSky Tavern Inc: $275,000 over 2y, 15% of budgetTHE HARRAH AUTOMOBILE FOUNDATION NATIONAL AUTOMOBILE MUSEUM: $200,000 over 2y, 4.2% of budgetA V A BALLET THEATRE: $150,000 over 3y, 10% of budgetCatholic Charities of Northern Nevada: $150,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetSOLACETREE INC: $136,500 over 3y, 36% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $130,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNEVADA CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION INC: $120,000 over 3y, 1.2% of budgetNEVADA HUMANE SOCIETY: $102,500 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetNEVADA MILITARY SUPPORT ALLIANCE: $102,500 over 3y, 24% of budgetKENNY GUINN CENTER FOR POLICY PRIORITIES: $100,000 over 2y, 4.0% of budgetNorthern Nevada HIV Outpatient Program Education and Services: $100,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetNORTHERN NEVADA CHILDREN'S CANCER FOUNDATION: $100,000 over 3y, 1.5% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF NEVADA LAS VEGAS FOUNDATION: $85,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTHE NATIONAL JUDICIAL COLLEGE: $80,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetWESTERN NEVADA COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $80,000 over 2y, 2.7% of budgetFRIENDS OF DANGBERG HOME RANCH: $68,000 over 1y, 21% of budgetNEVADA NEWS BUREAU INC: $65,000 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetHOUSE CALLS LTD: $65,000 over 3y, 13% of budgetARTS FOR ALL NEVADA: $65,000 over 3y, 6.7% of budgetDOMESTIC VIOLENCE RESOURCE CENTER: $60,000 over 3y, 1.7% of budgetSAFE TALK FOR TEENS: $60,000 over 3y, 13% of budgetNEVADA WOMEN'S FUND: $50,500 over 3y, 1.9% of budgetRenown Health Foundation: $50,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetBOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF NORTHEASTERN NEVADA: $50,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetBOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF MASON VALLEY: $50,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetSIERRA NEVADA JOURNEYS: $50,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetNEVADA AREA COUNCIL BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA 329: $50,000 over 2y, 2.4% of budgetSPECIAL RECREATION SERVICES INC: $45,000 over 3y, 3.6% of budgetSierra Nevada Ballet: $45,000 over 3y, 4.8% of budgetRENO CANCER FOUNDATION INC: $45,000 over 2y, 5.3% of budgetLAKE TAHOE SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL: $45,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetNORTHERN CALIFORNIA PGA FOUNDATION: $40,500 over 3y, 2.3% of budgetCARE CHEST OF SIERRA NEVADA: $40,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetVeterans Guest House Inc: $40,000 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetTHE 1701 GROUP FKA ASSISTANCE LEAGUE OF RENO-SPARKS: $40,000 over 1y, 2.2% of budgetBoys and Girls Clubs of Western Nevada: $35,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetREBUILDING TOGETHER NORTHERN NEVADA: $30,000 over 1y, 17% of budgetNORTHERN NEVADA ITALIAN ASSOCIATION INC: $30,000 over 3y, 18% of budgetRENO DANCE COMPANY: $30,000 over 3y, 5.8% of budgetBPS FOUNDATION: $25,000 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.

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.

Robert Z Hawkins Foun…NV Energy Charitable …Community Foundation …The Nell J Redfield F…Dermody Properties Fo…John Ben Snow Memoria…Thelma B & Thomas P H…Renown HealthHelen Close Charitabl…William N Pennington …Tahoe Community Found…Peek Family Charitabl…
Robert Z Hawkins FoundationNV101.3× affinity46 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Robert Z Hawkins Foundation · NV Energy Charitable Foundation · Community Foundation of Northern Nevada · The Nell J Redfield Foundation · Dermody Properties Foundation · John Ben Snow Memorial Tr Uw #839158 · Thelma B & Thomas P Hart Foundation · Renown Health · Helen Close Charitable Foundation · William N Pennington Foundation · Tahoe Community Foundation · Peek Family Charitable 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 E L Cord Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The E L Cord Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%5%19%42%75%funder's share of their income ↑0%15%30%45%60%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    36report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–60%
    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 148 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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on E L Cord’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