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The Giant Steps Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Giant Steps 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.

$1.5M
Granted FY2025still arriving
37
Grants FY2025still arriving
15
States reached
$675k
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.

Animals$7.4MFood & Nutrition$1.8MEducation$801kHealth$608kPublic Safety & Disaster$276kInternational$232kEnvironment$172kHuman Services$105kOther$0
02FY2025 · 37 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k24 grants · $107k
  • $10k–50k6 grants · $150k
  • $50k–250k6 grants · $532k
  • $250k+1 grant · $675k
$6,363
Median grant
15
States reached
$13M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
LA PLANTA$675,000
BETTER FOOD FOUNDATION (VEGANS OF LA)$215,000
KANE'S KRUSADE$85,124
AMERICAN WILD HORSE CONSERVATION$72,000
FLEET OF ANGELS$60,000
WOOD RIVER LAND TRUST$50,000
FIXNATION$50,000
WILDCARE$42,500
MARIN HUMANE$25,000
NATIONAL DISASTER SEARCH DOG FOUNDATION$25,000
INTO THE LIGHT$25,000
GIVING HOPE PROJECT$20,000
CENTER FOR WILDLIFE PROTECTION & EDUCATION$12,000
SHANTI PROJECT$7,500
CATHERINE VIOLET HUBBARD FOUNDATION$7,500
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 (FY17–23, $1.1M) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 47% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants spread fairly evenly across need levels.

area typical 9%GIZMO-CDA: $8k → 10%PAWSITIVE PERSPECTIVES ASSISTANCE DOGS INC: $153k → 6%LATINO COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $15k → 10%PAWSITIVE PERSPECTIVES ASSISTANCE DOGS INC: $149k → 6%LATINO COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $10k → 10%THE FARMLINK PROJECT: $300k → 17%PAWSITIVE PERSPECTIVES ASSISTANCE DOGS INC: $115k → 6%PAWSITIVE PERSPECTIVES ASSISTANCE DOGS: $97k → 6%PAWSITIVE PERSPECTIVES ASSISTANCE DOGS: $80k → 6%THE FARMLINK PROJECT: $181k → 14%GIRL VENTURES: $10k → 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.

Which US states its grants reach

ME
VT
NH
WA
ID
MT
ND
MN
NY
MA
NV
IA
IN
PA
NJ
CT
CA
UT
CO
VA
MD
DE
AZ
NM
DC
HI
TX
FL
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.
04

Where the work is directed

The same grants placed two ways: where each recipient sits, and where its stated purpose sends the money.

About 5% of The Giant Steps Foundation’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address. By recipient address, 66% of the giving stays in CA; by stated purpose, 60%.

The Giant Steps Foundationlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address · 5.8% directed abroad (not shown)
How this is measured
Recipient view: each grant at its grantee’s ZIP, mapped to a county. Directed view: each grant at the county its stated purpose names, falling back to the recipient’s county when the purpose names no place; US grants only. A county shows only if it carries the top 95% of that view’s dollars. Purposes are read from the funder’s own 990 grant descriptions.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

95%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$10M · 51 repeat orgs$596k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +31% since the first grant, against +17% for those funded once.

51 repeat relationships: 26 still active in FY2025, 25 since wound down; 11 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

51
70

Total granted

$10M
$549k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+31%
+17%

Still filing today

88%
71%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 97% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $47k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
AnimalsEnvironmentHuman ServicesHealthFood & NutritionPhilanthropyOther
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

  • VO
    VEGAN OUTREACH INC
    6× · 2017–2022 · $3.6M · revenue +37% · 59% of their budget
  • AW
    AMERICAN WILD HORSE PRESERVATION CAMPAIGN
    8× · 2017–2025 · $667k · revenue +209%
  • FP
    FARMLINK PROJECT
    3× · 2022–2024 · $631k · revenue +79%

Funded once

  • NS
    NORTH SHORE CHILD & FAMILY GUIDANCE CENTER
    one grant, 2019 · $85k
  • DW
    DreamCatcher Wild Horse and Burro Sanctuary Inc
    one grant, 2017 · $50k · revenue -63%
  • BC
    BLAINE COUNTY RECREATION DISTRICT
    one grant, 2019 · $30k
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
Global Animal Partnership
Animals
2
World Vets

To improve the health & well-being of animals through veterinary aid, response, training, research & local capacity building worldwide. We provide services to companion animals, horses, street dogs, livestock and marine animals including…

Animals
3
Humane World for Animals International

HUMANE WORLD FOR ANIMALS INTERNATIONAL, FKA HUMANE SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL (HSI), works around the globe to promote the human-animal bond, rescue and protect dogs and cats, improve farm animal welfare, protect wildlife, promote animal-free…

Animals
4
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
5
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
6
Progressive Animal Welfare Society aka Paws

A champion for animals since 1967, PAWS is a nationally recognized leader - rehabilitating injured and orphaned wildlife, sheltering and adopting homeless cats and dogs, and educating people to make a better world for animals and people.

Animals
7
Environmental and Animal Defense

At Environmental and Animal Defense, our mission is to provide Colorado with access to affordable legal services for environmental and animal issues, in addition to protecting wildlife and their habitats through enforcement of the law. No…

Crime & Legal
8
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
9
Peace 4 Animals

Peace 4 animals animal welfare organization supports the conservation of endangered species worldwide. we work on campaigns to promote advocacy and education on how to protect wildlife in peril, as well as the preservation of their natural…

Animals
10
California Animal Rescue and Education Sanctuary Inc

C.A.R.E.S.MISSION STATEMENT*Rescue, foster and find good homes for abandoned and homeless domestic and farm animals.*Spay/neuter abandoned and homeless cats and dogs, as well as help low income families with same.*Conduct TNR+ programs to…

—
11
Jameson Animal Rescue Ranch

Jameson humane is an impact-driven nonprofit organization whose program model includes a variety of novel solutions and approaches to create a truly unique animal welfare organization that is unlike any animal rescue or sanctuary. jameson…

Animals
12
Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary Inc

We seek to end animal agriculture by rescuing farmed animals, giving them lifelong care and sanctuary, and educating about the harms of animal farming.

Animals
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is United Animal Nations Dba Redrover; the most unlike its peers is The Emma Zen Foundation. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
05the grantee network

111 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. 111 of the 137 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.

6
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
27
Early backer (in before they grew)
108/111
Grantees still filing
68/111
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

VEGAN OUTREACH INC: $3,612,891 · Food & NutritionVEGAN OUTREACH INCLA PLANTA: $685,000 · Food & NutritionLA PLANTA+2 more: $120,500 · Food & NutritionAMERICAN WILD HORSE PRESERVATION CAMPAIGN: $666,570 · AnimalsAMERICAN WILD HORSE PRES…KANES KRUSADE INC: $369,319 · AnimalsKANES KRUSADE INCFixNation Inc: $275,000 · AnimalsFixNation IncFLEET OF ANGELS: $229,000 · AnimalsFLEET OF ANGELSMARIN HUMANE SOCIETY: $175,000 · AnimalsMARIN HUMANE SOCIETYCENTER FOR ANIMAL PROTECTION AND EDUCATION: $114,500 · AnimalsJANE GOODALL INSTITUTE FOR WILDLIFE RESEARCH EDUCATION AND CONSERVATION: $96,453 · AnimalsBEST FRIENDS ANIMAL SOCIETY: $95,000 · Animals+33 more: $503,029 · Animals+33 moreBETTER FOOD FOUNDATION (VEGANS OF LA): $290,000 · OtherBETTER FOOD FOUND…WILDCARE: $199,309 · OtherWILDCAREWILDHORSES IN NEED: $196,150 · OtherWILDHORSES IN NEE…The Bhutan Foundation: $168,600 · OtherThe Bhutan Founda…PAWPADS: $165,400 · OtherPAWPADSNORTH SHORE CHILD & FAMILY GUIDANCE CENTER: $85,000 · OtherTEMPLE BETH EL OF GREAT NECK: $66,018 · OtherKINGS MOUNTAIN VOLUNTEER FIRE FIRE BRIGADE INC: $65,000 · Other+56 more: $607,500 · Other+56 moreFARMLINK PROJECT: $631,000 · Human ServicesFARMLINK PRO…PAWSITIVE PERSPECTIVES ASSISTANCE DOGS: $592,920 · Human ServicesPAWSITIVE PE…+4 more: $52,500 · Human ServicesTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $720,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF COLORADO FOUNDATION: $55,000 · Education+3 more: $19,060 · EducationSTANFORD HEALTH CARE: $480,000 · HealthNATIONAL DISASTER SEARCH DOG FOUNDATION: $190,000 · HealthA Foundation Building Strength Inc: $52,000 · Health+2 more: $15,000 · HealthWOOD RIVER LAND TRUST CO: $60,000 · EnvironmentTHE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND: $30,000 · EnvironmentBig Sur Land Trust: $20,000 · EnvironmentSIERRA CLUB FOUNDATION: $10,000 · EnvironmentPENINSULA OPEN SPACE TRUST: $7,500 · EnvironmentHIGH ATLAS FOUNDATION: $7,500 · Environment+6 more: $17,500 · Environment
Food & Nutrition$4,418,391Animals$2,523,871Other$1,842,977Human Services$1,276,420Education$794,060Health$737,000Environment$152,500

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 budgetVEGAN OUTREACH INC: $3,612,891 over 6y, 59% of budgetTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $720,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetLA PLANTA: $685,000 over 2y, 17% of budgetAMERICAN WILD HORSE PRESERVATION CAMPAIGN: $666,570 over 8y, 9.0% of budgetFARMLINK PROJECT: $631,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetPAWSITIVE PERSPECTIVES ASSISTANCE DOGS: $592,920 over 5y, 73% of budgetSTANFORD HEALTH CARE: $480,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetKANES KRUSADE INC: $369,319 over 6y, 51% of budgetFixNation Inc: $275,000 over 8y, 3.0% of budgetFLEET OF ANGELS: $229,000 over 7y, 36% of budgetWILDCARE: $199,309 over 7y, 1.6% of budgetWILDHORSES IN NEED: $196,150 over 6y, 16% of budgetNATIONAL DISASTER SEARCH DOG FOUNDATION: $190,000 over 8y, 0.4% of budgetMARIN HUMANE SOCIETY: $175,000 over 7y, 0.4% of budgetThe Bhutan Foundation: $168,600 over 6y, 0.9% of budgetBETTER FOOD FOUNDATION INC: $118,000 over 2y, 6.7% of budgetCENTER FOR ANIMAL PROTECTION AND EDUCATION: $114,500 over 3y, 17% of budgetJANE GOODALL INSTITUTE FOR WILDLIFE RESEARCH EDUCATION AND CONSERVATION: $96,453 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetBEST FRIENDS ANIMAL SOCIETY: $95,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetPets In Need: $83,250 over 3y, 2.3% of budgetINTO THE LIGHT HORSE RESCUE & SANCT: $72,700 over 5y, 29% of budgetKINGS MOUNTAIN VOLUNTEER FIRE FIRE BRIGADE INC: $65,000 over 4y, 11% of budgetWOOD RIVER LAND TRUST CO: $60,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetWILDLIFE CONSERVATION NETWORK INC: $60,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF COLORADO FOUNDATION: $55,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetA Foundation Building Strength Inc: $52,000 over 2y, 11% of budgetDreamCatcher Wild Horse and Burro Sanctuary Inc: $50,000 over 1y, 6.2% of budgetFOLLOW YOUR DREAM FOUNDATION INC: $45,000 over 2y, 15% of budgetWOMEN DONORS NETWORK: $40,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetTHE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND: $30,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetRANCHO COMPASION: $30,000 over 2y, 5.4% of budgetPEACE OF MIND DOG RESCUE: $30,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetSalt River Wild Horse Management Group Inc: $27,500 over 3y, 1.8% of budgetWOOD RIVER TRAILS COALITION INC: $25,000 over 4y, 4.3% of budgetLATINO COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetMAYAS HOPE FOUNDATION INC: $20,000 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetTRIPS FOR KIDS NATIONAL: $20,000 over 2y, 4.8% of budgetBig Sur Land Trust: $20,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetHumane Society of North Iowa: $18,000 over 2y, 2.1% of budgetEDUCATION FOR ALL CHILDREN: $17,500 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetCHASING HORSES WILD HORSE ADVOCATES: $17,500 over 3y, 12% of budgetKA HALE A KE OLA HOMELESS RESOURCE CENTERS INC: $15,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetSEACOLOGY: $15,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetMedical Mutts Service Dogs Inc: $12,500 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetTHE SCHOTT FOUNDATION FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION: $12,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBIRCHBARK FOUNDATION INC: $10,000 over 1y, 3.8% of budgetNORTH VALLEY ANIMAL DISASTER GROUP: $10,000 over 1y, 0.3% 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 VEGAN OUTREACH INC ↗
  • Who funds THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds LA PLANTA ↗
  • Who funds AMERICAN WILD HORSE PRESERVATION CAMPAIGN ↗
  • Who funds FARMLINK PROJECT ↗
  • Who funds PAWSITIVE PERSPECTIVES ASSISTANCE DOGS ↗
  • Who funds STANFORD HEALTH CARE ↗
  • Who funds KANES KRUSADE INC ↗
  • Who funds FixNation Inc ↗
  • Who funds FLEET OF ANGELS ↗
  • Who funds WILDCARE ↗
  • Who funds WILDHORSES IN NEED ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL DISASTER SEARCH DOG FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds MARIN HUMANE SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds The Bhutan Foundation ↗
  • Who funds BETTER FOOD FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds CENTER FOR ANIMAL PROTECTION AND EDUCATION ↗
  • Who funds JANE GOODALL INSTITUTE FOR WILDLIFE RESEARCH EDUCATION AND CONSERVATION ↗
  • Who funds BEST FRIENDS ANIMAL SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds Pets In Need ↗
  • Who funds INTO THE LIGHT HORSE RESCUE & SANCT ↗
  • Who funds KINGS MOUNTAIN VOLUNTEER FIRE FIRE BRIGADE INC ↗
  • Who funds WOOD RIVER LAND TRUST CO ↗
  • Who funds WILDLIFE CONSERVATION NETWORK INC ↗
  • Who funds UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds A Foundation Building Strength Inc ↗
  • Who funds DreamCatcher Wild Horse and Burro Sanctuary Inc ↗
  • Who funds FOLLOW YOUR DREAM FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds WOMEN DONORS NETWORK ↗
  • Who funds THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND ↗
  • Who funds RANCHO COMPASION ↗
  • Who funds PEACE OF MIND DOG RESCUE ↗
  • Who funds Salt River Wild Horse Management Group 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.

Thornton S Jr and Kat…Gordon E and Betty I …Marin Community Found…ImpactassetsincSilicon Valley Commun…The Quinn FoundationThe Grey Muzzle Organ…The American Society …The Duffield Family F…The David and Lucile …Caroline & Sigmund Sc…Animal Charity Evalua…
Thornton S Jr and Katrina D Glide FoundationCA22.7× affinity9 shared granteesties to 10 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Thornton S Jr and Katrina D Glide Foundation · Gordon E and Betty I Moore Foundation · Marin Community Foundation · Impactassetsinc · Silicon Valley Community Foundation · The Quinn Foundation · The Grey Muzzle Organization · The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals · The Duffield Family Foundation Dba Maddie's Fund · The David and Lucile Packard Foundation · Caroline & Sigmund Schott Fund · Animal Charity Evaluators

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 Giant Steps Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Giant Steps Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 50%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • New England Wildlife Center Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Mitzvah Fund Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Vermont Institute of Natural Science Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
5get no government money at all
17report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
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 137 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 Giant Steps’ 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