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Foundation Dossiers

California · Private foundation

The Elizabeth R & William J Patterson Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$6.7M
Granted FY2024(still arriving)
26
Grants FY2024
25
Organizations funded FY2023
28%
First-time grantees FY2023
Read the full brief
Median grant, FY2024
$200,000
Largest grant, FY2024
$1,000,000
Organizations funded a year
17 to 25
FY2019 to FY2023
States reached, FY2024
8
Total assets, FY2024
$49M
Applications
Preselected organizations only
Per its most recent filing; check its own site

How open it is to new grantees

In FY2023, 28% of the organizations The Elizabeth R & William J Patterson Foundation funded were first-time grantees, receiving 21% of its grant dollars.

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2023, 79% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $1.3M went to new ones.

50%100%’20’21’22’23
RenewedFirst-time

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

’20’21’22’23
EnvironmentFood & NutritionCommunity ImprovementHuman ServicesPhilanthropyEducationOther
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.
The numbers by year
Fiscal yearOrganizations fundedTo those organizationsFirst-time grantees
FY2024still arriving26$6.7M27%
FY202325$6.2M28%
FY202217$6.6M24%
FY202122$8.9M18%
FY202021$7.3M24%
FY201921$8.3Mn/a
100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2019 to 2024.

Environment$17MFood & Nutrition$6.4MCommunity Improvement$5.1MScience & Tech$3.7MEmployment$3.7MArts & Culture$2.3MHealth$1.8MPhilanthropy$1.5MOther$0

Where its grants go

Grant dollars by states, across the years we hold.

Which US states its grants reach

VT
MT
NY
MA
OR
CA
CO
VA
DC
TX

Top grantees

Largest recipients by total granted, FY2019 to FY2024, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.

GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
California Academy of Sciences$3,731,63742%
Summer Search$3,700,00054%
Save the Redwoods League$3,000,00045%
Marin Agricultural Land Trust$2,482,500417%
Npx Charitable Inc$2,000,000212%
Conservation International Foundation$1,812,68031%
Urban Tilth$1,650,000311%
The Trust for Public Land$1,500,00021%
Point Reyes Bird Observatory$1,490,00043%
First Nations Development Institute$1,409,04242%
Show all 46 grantees
All grantees of The Elizabeth R & William J Patterson Foundation by total granted
GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
California Academy of Sciences$3,731,63742%
Summer Search$3,700,00054%
Save the Redwoods League$3,000,00045%
Marin Agricultural Land Trust$2,482,500417%
Npx Charitable Inc$2,000,000212%
Conservation International Foundation$1,812,68031%
Urban Tilth$1,650,000311%
The Trust for Public Land$1,500,00021%
Point Reyes Bird Observatory$1,490,00043%
First Nations Development Institute$1,409,04242%
Community Initiatives$1,400,00023%
Sustainable Conservation$1,400,00066%
Bay Area Discovery Museum$1,200,00036%
Daily Acts Organization$1,200,000521%
Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation$1,200,000439%
Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods C/O Melanie Stevenson$1,050,000518%
Multiplier$1,050,00051%
Pbs Foundation$1,000,00015%
Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation$1,000,00024%
Peer Health Exchange Inc$950,00164%
The Climate Center$900,000312%
California Association of Resource Conservation Districts$900,000311%
Carbon Cycle Institute$900,000334%
Caremessage$850,00065%
Ten Strands$750,000415%
Pie Ranch$750,00037%
Fibershed$540,000312%
The Center for Investigative Reporting Inc$500,00023%
Civil Eats$400,000417%
Mad Agriculture$400,000212%
Foodcorps Inc$300,00031%
Accountability Counsel$275,000219%
San Francisco Botanical Garden Society at Strybing Arboretum$250,00011%
Kitchen Table Advisors$250,00013%
The Center for Investigative Reporting formrly Foundation for National Progress$250,00011%
Oceanic Society Expeditions$250,00018%
Occidental Arts and Ecology Center$225,00023%
Center on Rural Innovation Inc$200,00022%
Extrafood$150,00024%
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art$100,00010%
Movement Strategy Center$90,00010%
Protect Our Winters$50,00020%
Wild Farm Alliance$10,00011%
Economic Development and Financing Corporation Inc$4,87711%
Real Organic Project Inc$10010%
First Look Institute Inc$1510%

What it could do for these grantees

Plus 2 recipients with no EIN on record ($450k), not named here.

Where it is load-bearing

The Elizabeth R & William J Patterson Foundation supplied at least a quarter of the budget for 2 of its grantees at some point. The chart plots its 46 largest grantees; load-bearing ones sit top left.

25%50%75%100%$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetCalifornia Academy of Sciences: $3,731,637 over 4y, 1.6% of budgetSummer Search: $3,700,000 over 5y, 4.3% of budgetSave the Redwoods League: $3,000,000 over 4y, 4.8% of budgetMarin Agricultural Land Trust: $2,482,500 over 4y, 17% of budgetNpx Charitable Inc: $2,000,000 over 2y, 12% of budgetConservation International Foundation: $1,812,680 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetUrban Tilth: $1,650,000 over 3y, 11% of budgetThe Trust for Public Land: $1,500,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetPoint Reyes Bird Observatory: $1,490,000 over 4y, 3.1% of budgetFirst Nations Development Institute: $1,409,042 over 4y, 2.2% of budgetCommunity Initiatives: $1,400,000 over 2y, 3.2% of budgetSustainable Conservation: $1,400,000 over 6y, 5.7% of budgetBay Area Discovery Museum: $1,200,000 over 3y, 5.9% of budgetDaily Acts Organization: $1,200,000 over 5y, 21% of budgetAdventurers and Scientists for Conservation: $1,200,000 over 4y, 39% of budgetSustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods C/O Melanie Stevenson: $1,050,000 over 5y, 18% of budgetMultiplier: $1,050,000 over 5y, 0.7% of budgetPbs Foundation: $1,000,000 over 1y, 4.8% of budgetDraper Richards Kaplan Foundation: $1,000,000 over 2y, 4.0% of budgetPeer Health Exchange Inc: $950,001 over 6y, 3.6% of budgetThe Climate Center: $900,000 over 3y, 12% of budgetCalifornia Association of Resource Conservation Districts: $900,000 over 3y, 11% of budgetCarbon Cycle Institute: $900,000 over 3y, 34% of budgetCaremessage: $850,000 over 6y, 4.8% of budgetTen Strands: $750,000 over 4y, 15% of budgetPie Ranch: $750,000 over 3y, 6.8% of budgetFibershed: $540,000 over 3y, 12% of budgetThe Center for Investigative Reporting Inc: $500,000 over 2y, 3.0% of budgetCivil Eats: $400,000 over 4y, 17% of budgetMad Agriculture: $400,000 over 2y, 12% of budgetFoodcorps Inc: $300,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetAccountability Counsel: $275,000 over 2y, 19% of budgetSan Francisco Botanical Garden Society at Strybing Arboretum: $250,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetKitchen Table Advisors: $250,000 over 1y, 3.2% of budgetThe Center for Investigative Reporting formrly Foundation for National Progress: $250,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetOceanic Society Expeditions: $250,000 over 1y, 7.7% of budgetOccidental Arts and Ecology Center: $225,000 over 2y, 3.4% of budgetCenter on Rural Innovation Inc: $200,000 over 2y, 2.1% of budgetExtrafood: $150,000 over 2y, 3.8% of budgetSan Francisco Museum of Modern Art: $100,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMovement Strategy Center: $90,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetProtect Our Winters: $50,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetWild Farm Alliance: $10,000 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetEconomic Development and Financing Corporation Inc: $4,877 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetReal Organic Project Inc: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFirst Look Institute Inc: $15 over 1y, 0.0% of budget

Tap a dot to name the grantee.

How this is measured
Share of budget is the funder’s grant in a year over the grantee’s total revenue that year, at its highest across the years we hold; revenue is from all sources. Only grantees confirmed against their own filings, whose grants do not exceed their revenue, are plotted: the largest 46.

Nonprofits that may fit its grantmaking

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.

Marin Community Found…The San Francisco Fou…Clif Family FoundationSilicon Valley Commun…The Schmidt Family Fo…PatagoniaorgImpactassetsincMcNabb FoundationClarence E Heller Cha…Tomkat Ranch Educatio…Community Foundation …Tides Foundation
Marin Community FoundationCA34.3× affinity16 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Marin Community Foundation · The San Francisco Foundation · Clif Family Foundation · Silicon Valley Community Foundation · The Schmidt Family Foundation · Patagoniaorg · Impactassetsinc · McNabb Foundation · Clarence E Heller Charitable Foundation · Tomkat Ranch Educational Foundation · Community Foundation for San Benito County · Tides 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.

Compare The Elizabeth R & William J Patterson Foundation with peer funders

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to The Elizabeth R & William J Patterson Foundation?

Find your warmest path to The Elizabeth R & William J Patterson 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.

About The Elizabeth R & William J Patterson Foundation

How much does The Elizabeth R & William J Patterson Foundation give?
The Elizabeth R & William J Patterson Foundation reported 26 grants totaling $6,726,988 in its FY2024 IRS filing. It funded between 17 and 25 organizations a year over FY2019 to FY2023.
What does The Elizabeth R & William J Patterson Foundation fund?
By grant dollars over FY2019 to FY2024, its largest causes are Environment (39%), Food & Nutrition (14%), Community Improvement (11%).
Who are The Elizabeth R & William J Patterson Foundation's largest grantees?
By total granted over FY2019 to FY2024: California Academy of Sciences ($3.7M), Summer Search ($3.7M), Save the Redwoods League ($3.0M).
Does The Elizabeth R & William J Patterson Foundation fund new organizations?
In FY2023, 28% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
Does The Elizabeth R & William J Patterson Foundation accept unsolicited applications?
Its most recent filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and does not take unsolicited requests. Check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.
Which funders back the same organizations as The Elizabeth R & William J Patterson Foundation?
Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include Marin Community Foundation, The San Francisco Foundation, Clif Family Foundation.
Where is The Elizabeth R & William J Patterson Foundation based?
The Elizabeth R & William J Patterson Foundation is based in CA.

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 50 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 Elizabeth R & William J Patterson’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