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· Private foundation

The Grado 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.

$77k
Granted FY2025still arriving
18
Grants FY2025still arriving
6
States reached
$15k
Largest
01What it funds
0189% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2022 to 2025.

Animals$60kHuman Services$29kEducation$19kArts & Culture$18kPublic Safety & Disaster$10kReligion$10kScience & Tech$8kRecreation & Sports$6kOther$0
02FY2025 · 18 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k17 grants · $62k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $15k
$3,500
Median grant
6
States reached
$692k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
RONALD REAGAN HIGH SCHOOL BAND PARENTS ASSOCIATION$15,000
IRONWOOD RIDGE THEATER$7,700
BURNED OUT SURVIVORS FUND$7,500
THE EXPLORATORIUM$7,500
ZION CITY CARE$7,500
Individual grant recipient$5,000
JAMES MADISON HIGH SCHOOL BANDFLAGS PARENT$5,000
MUSIC FOR ALL INC$5,000
PTA MISSORUI CONGRESS AKA ALFRED L RENNER PTA$3,500
CHARITABLE CHILD FUND INC$2,500
SPRINGFIELD BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB INC$2,000
PENINSULA SOCCER LEAGUE$2,000
BOYS GIRLS CLUB HARLEM INC$1,639
THE LEAGUE TO SAVE LAKE TAHOE$1,545
MATTIE RHODES CENTER$1,500
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 (FY24–24, $10k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, 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%FIREFIGHTER AID: $10k → 11%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.

45%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$78k · 3 repeat orgs$96k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +12% since the first grant, against 0% for those funded once.

3 repeat relationships: 2 still active in FY2025, 1 since wound down; 15 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

3
3

Total granted

$78k
$21k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+12%
0%

Still filing today

67%
33%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 3% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $75k went to new ones.

50%100%’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’22’23’24’25
Arts & CultureAnimalsEducationPublic Safety & DisasterInternationalRecreation & SportsOther
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

  • ZS
    ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF SAN DIEGO
    3× · 2022–2024 · $60k · revenue +12%
  • MR
    MATTIE RHODES MEMORIAL SOCIETY D/B/A MATTIE RHODES CENTER
    2× · 2024–2025 · $14k · revenue 0%
  • 4P
    4 PEAKS LITTLE LEAGUE
    2× · 2024–2025 · $4k

Funded once

  • TC
    TUCSON CHURCH OF CHRIST
    one grant, 2024 · $10k
  • FF
    FIREFIGHTERAID FKA SAN DIEGO FIREFIGHTERS BENEVOLENT FUND
    one grant, 2024 · $10k · revenue 0%
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2024 · $900
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
The San Diego Foundation

The san diego foundation inspires enduring philanthropy and enables community solutions to improve the quality of life in our region.

Philanthropy
2
Associated Students of San Diego State University

To support the social, recreational, cultural and education programs and facilities, both on campus and in the community, and to advocate for student interests, provide leadership opportunities and participate in shared governance.

—
3
San Diego Municipal Employees Assn

The san diego municipal employees association (sdmea) is dedicated to being a strong and effective advocate for san diego city employees. sdmea is united to improve employees' standard of living and promote their fair treatment by…

—
4
San Diego State University Foundation Sdsu Research Foundation

To support and further the research, education and community service objectives of san diego state university.

Education
5
San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory

The San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory is dedicated to the conservation of birds and their habitats through science and outreach.

Environment
6
San Diego-Imperial Council Boy Scouts of America

To prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law.

—
7
San Diego Opera Association

Mission: the mission of san diego opera is to deliver exceptional performances and exciting, accessible programs to diverse audiences, focusing on community partnerships, and the transformative and expressive power of the human voice. as…

Arts & Culture
8
San Diego County Bar Association

The mission of the san diego county bar association is to be the representative of the san diego county legal profession, serving the prblic and the profession by enhancing the legal system and promoting justice, professional excellence,…

—
9
Symphony Society of San Antonio

The san antonio symphony's mission is to delight, engage, and inspire the entire community through excellent performance, education, and outreach

—
10
San Angelo Symphony Society

To sustain a symphony orchestra in san angelo; to promote the highest caliber music programming with an emphasis on symphonic music for the enjoyment and enrichment of our audiences; and to enhance diverse music education in the concho…

—
11
Forever Balboa Park

To sustain, envision, and enhance Balboa Park for all in partnership with the City of San Diego and in collaboration with other organizations in the Park and the community. Our vision for the Park is to maintain and enhance its stature as…

Religion
12
The San Francisco School

A private school that cultivates and celebrates the intellectual, imaginative, and humanitarian promise of each student in a community that practices mutual respect, embraces diversity, and inspires passion for learning.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Exploratorium; the most unlike its peers is League to Save Lake Tahoe. 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

10 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. 10 of the 21 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)
1
Early backer (in before they grew)
9/10
Grantees still filing
3/10
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF SAN DIEGO: $60,000 · AnimalsZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF SAN DIEGOTUCSON CHURCH OF CHRIST: $10,000 · OtherTUCSON CHURCH OF CHRISTIRONWOOD RIDGE THEATER: $7,700 · OtherIRONWOOD RIDGE THEATERZION CITY CARE: $7,500 · OtherZION CITY CAREJAMES MADISON HIGH SCHOOL BANDFLAGS PARENT: $5,000 · OtherJAMES MADISON HIGH SCHOOL BANDFLAGS…Individual grant recipient: $5,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient4 PEAKS LITTLE LEAGUE: $3,500 · Other4 PEAKS LITTLE LEAGUEPTA MISSORUI CONGRESS AKA ALFRED L RENNER PTA: $3,500 · OtherPTA MISSORUI CONGRESS AKA ALFRED L …SPRINGFIELD BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB INC: $2,000 · OtherCharitable Child Fund: $2,500 · OtherPENINSULA SOCCER LEAGUE: $2,500 · Other+4 more: $4,854 · Other+4 moreRONALD REAGAN HIGH SCHOOL BAND PARENTS ASSOCIATION: $15,000 · EducationRONALD RE…MATTIE RHODES MEMORIAL SOCIETY D/B/A MATTIE RHODES CENTER: $14,000 · HealthMATTIE RH…THE EXPLORATORIUM: $7,500 · Arts & CultureMusic For All Inc: $5,000 · Arts & CultureFIREFIGHTERAID FKA SAN DIEGO FIREFIGHTERS BENEVOLENT FUND: $10,000 · Human ServicesBurned Out Survivors Fund: $7,500 · Public Safety & Disaster
Animals$60,000Other$54,054Education$15,000Health$14,000Arts & Culture$12,500Human Services$10,000Public Safety & Disaster$7,500

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 budgetZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF SAN DIEGO: $60,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetRONALD REAGAN HIGH SCHOOL BAND PARENTS ASSOCIATION: $15,000 over 1y, 3.8% of budgetMATTIE RHODES MEMORIAL SOCIETY D/B/A MATTIE RHODES CENTER: $14,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetFIREFIGHTERAID FKA SAN DIEGO FIREFIGHTERS BENEVOLENT FUND: $10,000 over 1y, 3.2% of budgetTHE EXPLORATORIUM: $7,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMusic For All 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.

Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift FundMA4.4× affinity5 shared granteesties to 1 of 1Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: 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 Grado Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Grado Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%5%10%15%20%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    1report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–20%
    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.
    05Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to The Grado Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to The Grado 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.

    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 21 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

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