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The James and Juanita Wo Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The James and Juanita Wo Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$270k
Granted FY2025still arriving
14
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$50k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
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.

Education$411kHealth$307kArts & Culture$178kFood & Nutrition$133kPhilanthropy$87kHousing & Shelter$60kHuman Services$33kInternational$21kOther$0
02FY2025 · 14 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k5 grants · $25k
  • $10k–50k8 grants · $195k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $50k
$20,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$3.1M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
VOLUNTEER ALLY$50,000
UH FOUNDATION$40,000
UH FOUNDATION$25,000
ST CLEMENT'S SCHOOL$25,000
HAWAII FOODBANK$25,000
KUNIA COUNTRY FARMS EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH$25,000
ALOHA UNITED WAY$20,000
HAWAII PACIFIC HEALTH$20,000
UH FOUNDATION$15,000
THE PANTRY BY FEEDING HAWAII TOGETHER$6,500
AMERICAN RED CROSS HAWAII STATE CHAPTER$5,000
REHAB$5,000
PU'UWAI KILA$5,000
CENTRAL UNION CHURCH PRESCHOOL$3,000
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 (FY22–25, $49k) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, against an area that typically sits at 7%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 7%THE PANTRY BY FEEDING HAWAII TOGETHER: $7k → 9%FEEDING HAWAII TOGETHER - THE PANTRY: $7k → 9%FEEDING HAWAII TOGETHER - THE PANTRY: $7k → 9%FEEDING HAWAII TOGETHER - THE PANTRY: $7k → 9%AMERICAN RED CROSS HAWAII STATE CHAPTER: $5k → 9%AMERICAN RED CROSS HAWAII STATE CHAPTER: $5k → 9%AMERICAN RED CROSS HAWAII STATE CHAPTER: $5k → 9%AMERICAN RED CROSS HAWAII STATE CHAPTER: $5k → 9%YMCA OF HONOLULU: $3k → 9%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.

82%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.0M · 14 repeat orgs$224k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +23% since the first grant, against 0% for those funded once.

14 repeat relationships: 8 still active in FY2025, 6 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

14
21

Total granted

$1.0M
$166k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+23%
0%

Still filing today

93%
71%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 78% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $58k 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
HealthHuman ServicesEducationPhilanthropyFood & NutritionAnimalsOther
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 HAWAII FOUNDATION
    8× · 2017–2025 · $265k · revenue +56%
  • TQ
    THE QUEEN'S MEDICAL CENTER
    6× · 2017–2023 · $200k · revenue +65%
  • VA
    VOLUNTEER ALLY
    4× · 2022–2025 · $130k · revenue +108% · 30% of their budget

Funded once

  • DH
    DIAMOND HEAD THEATRE
    one grant, 2022 · $33k · revenue -20%
  • UO
    UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII SYSTEM
    one grant, 2024 · $25k
  • PA
    Pacific & Asian Affairs Council
    one grant, 2024 · $21k · revenue -27%
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
Hawaii - American Nurses Association Foundation
Environment
2
Kapi'olani Medical Specialists

Kapi'olani medical specialists (dba hawai'i pacific health medical group) is a multispecialty provider group dedicated to providing world-class care for adults and children across hawai'i and the pacific region working in partnership with…

Health
3
Kaua'i Medical Clinic

Kaua'i medical clinic, an affliate of hawai'i pacific health, is a multi-specialty clinic dedicated to providing world-class care for adults and children across hawai'i and the pacific region in partnership with kapi'olani medical center…

Health
4
Hawaii Maritime Center
—
5
E Kupaku Ka Aina - the Hawaii Land Restoration Institute
Environment
6
Ho'ola Lahui Hawaii

To improve the health and well-being of our community.

Human Services
7
Pali Momi Foundation

The mission of pali momi foundation is to create a healthier hawai'i.

Health
8
Healthcare Association of Hawaii

The mission of the healthcare association of hawaii is to be hawaii's most effective advocate for the comprehensive and financially strong healthcare system that successfully responds to the diverse and changing needs of all we serve.

—
9
Hawaii Education Institute
—
10
Hawaii Book and Music Festival
Arts & Culture
11
Hui Pohala

Palliative care is a win-win-win-win. expanding access to palliative care benefits all parts of the healthcare system. people living with serious illness are better able to manage physical and emotional symptoms and have peace of mind that…

Health
12
Kukio Hoomana Fund

The kuki'o ho'omana fund seeks to uplift and enrich our hawai'i island community through intentional investments in curated local organizations focusing on youth empowerment, affordable housing, environmental preservation, cultural…

Philanthropy
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Kuakini Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Kunia Country Farms Educational Outreach. 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

31 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. 31 of the 40 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.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
31/31
Grantees still filing
19/31
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII FOUNDATION: $265,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF HAWAII FOUNDATI…PUNAHOU SCHOOL: $75,250 · EducationPUNAHOU SCHOOLTHE QUEEN'S MEDICAL CENTER: $200,000 · HealthTHE QUEEN'S MEDICAL CENTE…Hawai'i Pacific Health: $40,000 · HealthHawai'i Pacific HealthStraub Foundation: $30,000 · HealthStraub FoundationRehabilitation Hospital of the Pacific: $10,000 · Health+2 more: $6,000 · HealthDIAMOND HEAD THEATRE: $33,000 · OtherDIAMOND HEAD THEATREPUUWAI KILA: $30,000 · OtherPUUWAI KILAUNIVERSITY OF HAWAII SYSTEM: $25,000 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF HAWAII SYS…ST CLEMENT'S SCHOOL: $25,000 · OtherST CLEMENT'S SCHOOLPacific & Asian Affairs Council: $21,000 · OtherPacific & Asian Affairs …KUAKINI FOUNDATION: $20,000 · OtherKUAKINI FOUNDATIONHAWAII LITERACY INC: $15,000 · OtherHAWAII LITERACY INCFriends of the Library of Hawaii: $10,000 · OtherFEEDING HAWAII TOGETHER: $26,000 · OtherFEEDING HAWAII TOGETHERAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $20,000 · OtherAmerican National Red Cr…HAWAIIAN HUMANE SOCIETY: $10,250 · OtherNA KAMA KAI: $10,000 · Other+13 more: $32,700 · Other+13 moreVOLUNTEER ALLY: $130,000 · Arts & CultureVOLUNTEER A…HAWAII FOODBANK INC: $81,500 · Food & NutritionHAWAII FO…KUNIA COUNTRY FARMS EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH: $25,000 · Food & NutritionKUNIA COU…ALOHA UNITED WAY INC: $70,000 · PhilanthropyHAWAII COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $15,000 · Philanthropy+1 more: $1,000 · PhilanthropyKAHALA SENIOR LIVING COMMUNITY INC: $60,000 · Housing & Shelter
Education$340,250Health$286,000Other$277,950Arts & Culture$130,000Food & Nutrition$106,500Philanthropy$86,000Housing & Shelter$60,000

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 HAWAII FOUNDATION: $265,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetTHE QUEEN'S MEDICAL CENTER: $200,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetVOLUNTEER ALLY: $130,000 over 4y, 30% of budgetHAWAII FOODBANK INC: $81,500 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetPUNAHOU SCHOOL: $75,250 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetALOHA UNITED WAY INC: $70,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetKAHALA SENIOR LIVING COMMUNITY INC: $60,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetHawai'i Pacific Health: $40,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetDIAMOND HEAD THEATRE: $33,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetStraub Foundation: $30,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetFEEDING HAWAII TOGETHER: $26,000 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetPacific & Asian Affairs Council: $21,000 over 1y, 2.6% of budgetKUAKINI FOUNDATION: $20,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $20,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetHAWAII LITERACY INC: $15,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetHAWAII COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $15,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHAWAIIAN HUMANE SOCIETY: $10,250 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetFriends of the Library of Hawaii: $10,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetNA KAMA KAI: $10,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetRehabilitation Hospital of the Pacific: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMAUNALANI NURSING AND REHABILITATION CENTER: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetASSISTANCE DOGS OF HAWAII: $5,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetHAWAII PUBLIC RADIO: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetYOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF HONOLULU: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetKapi'olani Health Foundation: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCollaborative Support Services Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetST FRANCIS HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION OF HAWAII: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFOUNDATION FOR THE ROTARY CLUB OF MILILANI SUNRISE: $1,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetCoalition for a Drug-Free Hawaii: $200 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.

Ben & Miriam Lau Foun…Tradewind Group Found…J Watumull FundFirst Insurance Compa…Bank of Hawaii Charit…Atherton Family Found…Maurice and Joanna Su…Central Pacific Bank …Aloha United Way IncThe Robert & Betty Wo…Mamoru & Aiko Takitan…The Strong Foundation
Ben & Miriam Lau FoundationHI34.8× affinity14 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Ben & Miriam Lau Foundation · Tradewind Group Foundation · J Watumull Fund · First Insurance Company of Hawaii Charitable Foundation · Bank of Hawaii Charitable Fdn · Atherton Family Foundation · Maurice and Joanna Sullivan Family Foundation · Central Pacific Bank Foundation · Aloha United Way Inc · The Robert & Betty Wo Foundation · Mamoru & Aiko Takitani Foundation Inc · The Strong 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 James and Juanita Wo Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The James and Juanita Wo Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%2%8%17%30%funder's share of their income ↑0%23%45%68%90%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    7report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–90%
    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 James and Juanita Wo Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to The James and Juanita Wo 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 40 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 James and Juanita Wo’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