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The Flying O Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Flying O 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.

$95k
Granted FY2025still arriving
7
Grants FY2025still arriving
5
States reached
$25k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Health$176kEducation$95kCivil Rights$93kEnvironment$45kArts & Culture$20kAnimals$20kHuman Services$10kScience & Tech$10kOther$0
02FY2025 · 7 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k1 grant · $7k
  • $10k–50k6 grants · $88k
$10,000
Median grant
5
States reached
$1.8M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
GREAT POND FOUNDATION INC$25,000
GREYHOUND FRIENDS FOR LIFE$20,000
CHELSEA'S FUND$13,000
HOSPITAL FOR SPECIAL SURGERY (HSS)$10,000
OCEAN CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL INC$10,000
Individual grant recipient$10,000
ISLAND GROWN INITIATIVE LTD$7,000
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 (FY24–24, $10k) land where the poverty rate runs at 5%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%ONE 22: $10k → 5%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.

44%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$211k · 3 repeat orgs$265k to everyone else

3 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2025, 2 since wound down; 6 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

3
6

Total granted

$211k
$195k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

0%
+39%

Still filing today

67%
67%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 26% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $70k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’24’25
AnimalsCivil RightsHuman ServicesEnvironmentScience & TechFood & NutritionOther
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

  • NY
    NEW YORK CENTER FOR AUTISM CHARTER SCHOOL
    2× · 2021–2022 · $100k
  • SW
    SAMUEL WAXMAN CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION
    2× · 2017–2019 · $66k · revenue -18%
  • TG
    The Great Pond Foundation Inc
    3× · 2017–2025 · $45k · revenue +229%

Funded once

  • NR
    Nonhuman Rights Project Inc
    one grant, 2024 · $75k · revenue 0%
  • TT
    THE TRUSTEES OF THE SPENCE SCHOOL INC
    one grant, 2017 · $50k
  • ES
    EDGARTOWN SCHOOL
    one grant, 2022 · $35k
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
Alaska Whale Foundation

Alaska Whale Foundation is dedicated to marine mammal conservation through research monitoring and education.

Environment
2
Wild Orca

Translating science into action to save Southern Resident killer whales from extinction.

Animals
3
National Marine Mammal Foundation Inc

The nmmf's mission is to improve and protect life for marine mammals, humans, and our shared oceans through science, service, and education. our vision is to be the leading laboratory in marine mammal science, where critical questions…

Animals
4
Animal Outlook Inc

Animal outlook is a national animal protection organization working to end the abuse of farmed animals using a variety of strategies, including investigations, legal advocacy, corporate and food system reform, and vegan outreach.

Animals
5
American Civil Liberties Union Fund of the District of Columbia

Preservation of civil liberties through litigation and public education.

—
6
Int'l Union for Conservation of Nature & Natural Resources - Us

Iucn-us fund builds bridges between us donors and iucn by catalyzing, accelerating, funding and promoting iucn's work - conserving nature and natural resources in the united states and throughout the world.

Environment
7
Marine Megafauna Foundation

Save threatened marine life using pioneering research, education, and sustainable conservation solutions

International
8
Orca Conservancy

Orca conservancy is working on behalf of orcinus orca, the killer whale, and protecting the wild places on which it depends.

Animals
9
Great Whale Conservancy

Protecting whales and their habitats

Animals
10
Oceana Inc

To advocate for policy changes by governments and corporations in order to preserve ocean life and return the oceans to their former abundance.

Environment
11
Fauna & Flora International Usa Inc

Our mission is to act to conserve threatened species and ecosystems worldwide, choosing solutions that are sustainable, based on sound science and take into account human needs.

Philanthropy
12
American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Oregon Inc

The aclu foundation of oregon is dedicated to preserving and defending civil liberties and civil rights.

Civil Rights
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is American Civil Liberties Union Foundation Inc; the most unlike its peers is Greyhounds Friends for Life. 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

11 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. 11 of the 15 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)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
10/11
Grantees still filing
4/11
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

NEW YORK CENTER FOR AUTISM CHARTER SCHOOL: $100,000 · OtherNEW YORK CENTER FOR AUTISM CHARTER SCHOOLSAMUEL WAXMAN CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $66,000 · OtherSAMUEL WAXMAN CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATIONTHE TRUSTEES OF THE SPENCE SCHOOL INC: $50,000 · OtherTHE TRUSTEES OF THE SPENCE SCHOOL INCEDGARTOWN SCHOOL: $35,000 · OtherEDGARTOWN SCHOOLBIG APPLE PERFORMING ARTS INC: $20,000 · OtherBIG APPLE PERFORMING ARTS INCIndividual grant recipient: $10,000 · OtherHOSPITAL FOR SPECIAL SURGERY (HSS): $10,000 · OtherNonhuman Rights Project Inc: $75,000 · AnimalsNonhuman Rights Projec…GREYHOUNDS FRIENDS FOR LIFE: $20,000 · AnimalsGREYHOUNDS FRIENDS FOR…The Great Pond Foundation Inc: $45,000 · EnvironmentThe Great …CHELSEA'S FUND: $13,000 · Civil RightsAMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION INC: $5,000 · Civil RightsOCEAN CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL INC: $10,000 · Science & TechOne22 Inc: $10,000 · Human ServicesISLAND GROWN INITIATIVE LTD: $7,000 · Food & Nutrition
Other$291,000Animals$95,000Environment$45,000Civil Rights$18,000Science & Tech$10,000Human Services$10,000Food & Nutrition$7,000

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 budgetNonhuman Rights Project Inc: $75,000 over 1y, 3.5% of budgetSAMUEL WAXMAN CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $66,000 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetThe Great Pond Foundation Inc: $45,000 over 3y, 3.6% of budgetBIG APPLE PERFORMING ARTS INC: $20,000 over 1y, 2.8% of budgetOCEAN CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL INC: $10,000 over 1y, 3.4% of budgetOne22 Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetISLAND GROWN INITIATIVE LTD: $7,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetAMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION INC: $5,000 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…Vanguard Charitable E…Paypal Charitable Giv…American Online Givin…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust IncIN9.2× affinity4 shared granteesties to 6 of 6Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Paypal Charitable Giving Fund · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · 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 Flying O Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Flying O Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%1%3%4%5%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • Island Grown Initiative Ltd: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
2get 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 · 0–5%
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 15 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 Flying O’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