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The James N Cost Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The James N Cost 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.

$22k
Granted FY2025still arriving
6
Grants FY2025still arriving
3
States reached
$6k
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, FY2020 to 2025.

Human Services$295kHealth$41kFood & Nutrition$19kEducation$13kCrime & Legal$5kCivil Rights$4kInternational$3kHousing & Shelter$3kOther$0
02FY2025 · 6 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$3,000
Median grant
3
States reached
$184k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Birth Companions Community Center$5,500
The Food Depot$5,500
Many Mothers$3,000
Hekab Be Biblioteca$2,750
World Food Program USA$2,750
St Elizabeth Shelters$2,500
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 (FY20–25, $40k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%Birth Companions Community Center: $6k → 10%World Food Program USA: $5k → 14%Birth Companions Community Center: $5k → 10%World Food Program USA: $2k → 14%Birth Companions Community Center: $4k → 10%Birth Companions Community Center: $2k → 10%Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women: $2k → 14%The Food Depot: $6k → 12%The Food Depot: $2k → 12%Many Mothers: $2k → 12%The Food Depot: $2k → 12%Tewa Women United: $3k → 12%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.

28%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$109k · 11 repeat orgs$278k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +35% since the first grant, against +8% for those funded once.

11 repeat relationships: 5 still active in FY2025, 6 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

11
12

Total granted

$109k
$276k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+35%
+8%

Still filing today

73%
75%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 89% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $3k went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24’25
Human ServicesEducationPhilanthropyInternationalCrime & LegalAnimalsOther
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

  • LF
    LA FAMILIA MEDICAL CENTER
    5× · 2020–2024 · $15k · revenue +37%
  • HB
    HEKAB BE BIBLIOTECA INC
    5× · 2020–2025 · $11k · revenue +156%
  • THE FOOD DEPOT
    3× · 2020–2025 · $10k · revenue +17%

Funded once

  • ER
    Expenditure responsibilty grant to The Charles Piper Cost Foundation
    one grant, 2020 · $255k
  • TW
    TEWA WOMEN UNITEDgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $3k · revenue +79%
  • DIRECT RELIEF
    one grant, 2022 · $3k · revenue +8%
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
Womens Resource Medical Centers

Women's resource medical centers of southern nevada (wrmcsn) is a community-based, faith-driven not for profit 501 (c) 3 organization that exists to support pregnant women with medical care and resources to ensure healthy and thriving…

Health
2
New Mexico Voices for Children

To improve the status, well-being and racial/ethnic equity of new mexicos children, families, and communities in the areas of health, education, and economic security by promoting public policies through credible research and effective…

Civil Rights
3
Health Poverty Action Usa

Health Poverty Action USA acts in solidarity with health workers, activists & communities worldwide to improve health & challenge the causes of poverty. We do this in 3 distinct ways: 1. We approach health as an issue of social justice. We…

International
4
Earth Care International Earth Care New Mexico

Earth care works to equip our youth and families with the tools we need to secure a healthy, just, and equitable future. we recruit and train grassroots leaders from the ground up we invest in the vision, voices, and power of our…

Environment
5
Community Power New Mexico
Community Improvement
6
New Mexico Perinatal Collaborative

The mission of the new mexico perinatal collaborative is to convene stakeholders to achieve health equity through the promotion of evidence- based reproductive and perinatal health practices that: increase collaboration with communities…

—
7
Project Milk Mission

Project milk mission is at the forefront of a vital mission - reducing infant mortality rates by championing breastfeeding, with a special focus on supporting low-income african american mothers. through comprehensive services spanning the…

Food & Nutrition
8
Animal Protection New Mexico

To protect animals by creating systemic change resulting in the humane treatment of all animals. we create policies, infrastructure, and services that protect animals and strengthen our communities, and we design and implement humane and…

Animals
9
Free Flow Nm Inc

Since 2020, Free Flow NM has been dedicated to reducing period poverty and stigma around menstruation through seven key programs focused on education and distribution of menstrual supplies. Period poverty means that millions of individuals…

Human Services
10
The Savila Collaborative

The svila collaborative dba centro savila is a treatment program devoted to the recovery and healing of individuals, families, and communities experiencing emotional and psychological distress. our vision is to create a healthy, engaged,…

Health
11
Breath of My Heart Birth Place

Breath of my heart birthplace embodies community wellness and healing to support all families living within the tewa basin, and provides safe and accessible birth and reproductive health services, while seeding the proliferation of…

Health
12
Riverside Community Health Foundation

To improve the health and well being of the community by providing health education and outreach programs as well as grants to non-profit organizations, schools, and government agencies.

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Youth Shelters & Family Services Inc; the most unlike its peers is Birth Companions Community Center. 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

17 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. 17 of the 24 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)
5
Early backer (in before they grew)
17/17
Grantees still filing
11/17
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Expenditure responsibilty grant to The Charles Piper Cost Foundation: $254,935 · OtherExpenditure responsibilty grant to The Charles Piper Cost FoundationLA FAMILIA MEDICAL CENTER: $15,121 · OtherVallecitos Mountain Retreat Center: $13,650 · OtherPlanned Parenthood of New Mexico: $11,392 · Other+5 more: $18,500 · Other+5 moreBirth Companions Community Center: $16,450 · Human ServicesBirth Companio…THE FOOD DEPOT: $9,750 · Human ServicesTHE FOOD DEPOTFRIENDS OF THE WORLD FOOD PROGRAM INC: $9,450 · Human ServicesFRIENDS OF THE…Many Mothers Inc: $5,250 · Human ServicesMany Mothers I…TEWA WOMEN UNITED: $2,542 · Human ServicesCOALITION TO STOP VIOLENCE AGAINST NATIVE WOMEN: $2,271 · Human ServicesYOUTH SHELTERS & FAMILY SERVICES INC: $1,900 · Human Services+1 more: $500 · Human ServicesHEKAB BE BIBLIOTECA INC: $11,000 · EducationPINE RIDGE GIRLS SCHOOL INC: $2,271 · EducationRAPE CRISIS CENTER OF CENTRAL NEW MEXICO: $4,792 · Crime & LegalDIRECT RELIEF: $2,500 · InternationalSANTA FE ANIMAL SHELTER AND HUMANE SOCIETY INC: $2,271 · AnimalsGROWING UP NEW MEXICOINC: $1,900 · PhilanthropyREUNITY RESOURCES: $1,200 · Environment
Other$313,598Human Services$48,113Education$13,271Crime & Legal$4,792International$2,500Animals$2,271Philanthropy$1,900Environment$1,200

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 budgetBirth Companions Community Center: $16,450 over 4y, 2.0% of budgetLA FAMILIA MEDICAL CENTER: $15,121 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetHEKAB BE BIBLIOTECA INC: $11,000 over 5y, 4.9% of budgetTHE FOOD DEPOT: $9,750 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE WORLD FOOD PROGRAM INC: $9,450 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMany Mothers Inc: $5,250 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetRAPE CRISIS CENTER OF CENTRAL NEW MEXICO: $4,792 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetACCESS REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE: $4,250 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetTEWA WOMEN UNITED: $2,542 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetDIRECT RELIEF: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSANTA FE ANIMAL SHELTER AND HUMANE SOCIETY INC: $2,271 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPINE RIDGE GIRLS SCHOOL INC: $2,271 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetCOALITION TO STOP VIOLENCE AGAINST NATIVE WOMEN: $2,271 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetGROWING UP NEW MEXICOINC: $1,900 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetYOUTH SHELTERS & FAMILY SERVICES INC: $1,900 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetREUNITY RESOURCES: $1,200 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE TRANSGENDER RESOURCE CENTER OF NEW MEXICO: $500 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.

Santa Fe Community Fo…Hanuman FoundationBrindle FoundationCarl C Anderson Sr an…Rotary Club of Santa …New Mexico Coalition …Nancy Ann Mellen Foun…Thornburg FoundationCon Alma Health Found…Pnm Tnmp FoundationAlbuquerque Community…Novo Foundation
Santa Fe Community FoundationNM23.8× affinity9 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Santa Fe Community Foundation · Hanuman Foundation · Brindle Foundation · Carl C Anderson Sr and Marie Jo Anderson Charitable Foundation · Rotary Club of Santa Fe Foundation Inc · New Mexico Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs · Nancy Ann Mellen Foundation · Thornburg Foundation · Con Alma Health Foundation Inc · Pnm Tnmp Foundation · Albuquerque Community Foundation · Novo 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 N Cost Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The James N Cost 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%15%30%45%60%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 · 0–60%
    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 N Cost Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to The James N Cost 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 24 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 N Cost’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