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The Jennie and Scott Watson Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Jennie and Scott Watson Family 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.

$42k
Granted FY2025still arriving
3
Grants FY2025still arriving
2
States reached
$20k
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.

International$122kCrime & Legal$86kHuman Services$62kPhilanthropy$43kYouth Development$34kRecreation & Sports$20kFood & Nutrition$10kHealth$10k
02FY2025 · 3 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$12,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$1.1M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CASA OF ORANGE COUNTY$20,000
ORANGEWOOD FOUNDATION$12,000
WORLD VISION$10,000
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 80% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%FARM AID: $10k → 8%CASA OF ORANGE COUNTY: $20k → 10%SEMPER FI & AMERICA'S FUND: $12k → 11%UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT: $10k → 14%GATES PHILANTHROPY PARTNERS: $43k → 9%AMERICAN LUNG ASSOCIATION: $10k → 14%CASA OF ORANGE COUNTY: $12k → 10%SEMPER FI & AMERICA'S FUND: $10k → 11%UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT: $10k → 14%CASA OF ORANGE COUNTY: $12k → 10%ORANGEWOOD FOUNDATION: $12k → 11%CASA OF ORANGE COUNTY: $12k → 10%ORANGEWOOD FOUNDATION: $12k → 10%COURT APPOINTED SPECIAL ADVOCATES: $10k → 10%ORANGEWOOD FOUNDATION: $10k → 10%CASA OF ORANGE COUNTY: $10k → 10%COURT APPOINTED SPECIAL ADVOCATES: $10k → 10%FOR THE CHILDREN: $10k → 10%ROYAL FAMILY KIDS: $10k → 10%ROYAL FAMILY KIDS: $10k → 10%ROYAL FAMILY KIDS: $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.
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 12% of The Jennie and Scott Watson Family Foundation’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address. By recipient address, 52% of the giving stays in CA; by stated purpose, 49%.

The Jennie and Scott Watson Family Foundationlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address
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.

74%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$182k · 5 repeat orgs$63k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +46% since the first grant, against +5% for those funded once.

5 repeat relationships: 2 still active in FY2025, 3 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

5
3

Total granted

$182k
$63k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+46%
+5%

Still filing today

100%
100%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 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
Civil RightsHealthPhilanthropyRecreation & SportsFood & NutritionCrime & LegalOther
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

  • CA
    COURT APPOINTED SPECIAL ADVOCATE OF ORANGE COUNTY
    5× · 2021–2025 · $66k · revenue +67%
  • FT
    FOR THE CHILDREN
    4× · 2017–2021 · $40k · revenue +68%
  • OF
    ORANGEWOOD FOUNDATION
    3× · 2022–2025 · $34k · revenue +2%

Funded once

  • GP
    GATES PHILANTHROPY PARTNERS
    one grant, 2020 · $43k · revenue -88%
  • FA
    FARM AID INCgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $10k · revenue +73%
  • AL
    AMERICAN LUNG ASSOCIATION
    one grant, 2019 · $10k · revenue +5%
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
California Court Appointed Special Advocate Association

California casa was founded in 1987. its mission is to ensure that children and youth in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems have both a voice and the services they need to thrive. we achieve this by strengthening and empowering…

Civil Rights
2
San Francisco Casa

San Francisco CASA transforms the lives of children and youth traumatized and displaced in the foster care and related systems by providing one consistent, caring volunteer advocate, trained to address each childs needs in the court and…

Civil Rights
3
Child Advocates San Antonio

To recruit, develop, and lead court-appointed volunteer advocates who provide constancy for abused and neglected children and youth while advocating for services and placement in safe and permanent homes.

Civil Rights
4
Casa of Ventura County Inc

Court appointed special advocates (casa) of ventura county believe that every court-dependent abused or neglected child should be safe, have permanence and the opportunity to thrive and have a strong compassionate volunteer advocate.

Crime & Legal
5
Court Appointed Special Advocates of Monterey County Inc

CASA recruits, trains, and supports community volunteers who advocate for chidren and youth throughout their journey in foster care.

Crime & Legal
6
Casa of Los Angeles

Our mission is to mobilize community volunteers to advocate for children who have experienced abuse and neglect. our vision is a los angeles where every child in the welfare system has an advocate and the opportunity to thrive.

Civil Rights
7
Alliance for Safety and Justice

Just safe's mission is to educate the public about the needs of communities most impacted by crime, violence, and incarceration; and promote new safety solutions through community-building, leadership development, grassroots mobilization,…

Crime & Legal
8
California Dental Association Foundation

The foundation's mission is to improve the oral health of all californians by supporting the dental profession and its efforts to meet community needs.

Science & Tech
9
Child Advocates of Contra Costa County

The court appointed special advocates (casa) program recruits, trains, and supports volunteer advocates to support abused and neglected children during the court process, to help every child find a permanent home and complete their…

Civil Rights
10
American Association for the Advancement of Science

Advance science, engineering, and innovation throughout the world for the benefit of all. the world's largest multidisciplinary scientific society and a leading publisher of cutting-edge research through its science family of journals,…

Science & Tech
11
Connecticut Court Appointed Special Advocates Inc

Empower a statewide network of caring, consistent volunteer court appointed special advocates to advance the best interests of children who have experienced abuse or neglect so every child can find a safe, permanent home to thrive.

Crime & Legal
12
Court Appointed Special Advocates of Monmouth County Inc

Court appointed special advocates for children of monmouth county, inc. (casa) is a non-profit charitable organization with a mission to make a difference in the community by recruiting, training, and supporting volunteers to become…

Crime & Legal
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is For the Children; the most unlike its peers is American Lung Association. 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

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.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
3
Early backer (in before they grew)
10/10
Grantees still filing
9/10
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

WORLD VISION INC: $122,025 · InternationalWORLD VISION INCCOURT APPOINTED SPECIAL ADVOCATE OF ORANGE COUNTY: $66,000 · Civil RightsCOURT APPOINTED SPECIAL A…Court Appointed Special Advocates: $20,000 · Civil RightsCourt Appointed Special A…GATES PHILANTHROPY PARTNERS: $42,500 · PhilanthropyGATES PHILAN…FOR THE CHILDREN: $40,000 · Recreation & SportsFOR THE CHI…ORANGEWOOD FOUNDATION: $34,000 · Crime & LegalORANGEWOO…SEMPER FI & AMERICA'S FUND: $22,000 · HealthSEMPER FI…AMERICAN LUNG ASSOCIATION: $10,000 · HealthAMERICAN …UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: $20,000 · EducationFARM AID INC: $10,000 · Food & Nutrition
International$122,025Civil Rights$86,000Philanthropy$42,500Recreation & Sports$40,000Crime & Legal$34,000Health$32,000Education$20,000Food & Nutrition$10,000

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 budgetWORLD VISION INC: $122,025 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetCOURT APPOINTED SPECIAL ADVOCATE OF ORANGE COUNTY: $66,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetGATES PHILANTHROPY PARTNERS: $42,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFOR THE CHILDREN: $40,000 over 4y, 0.6% of budgetORANGEWOOD FOUNDATION: $34,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetSEMPER FI & AMERICA'S FUND: $22,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCourt Appointed Special Advocates: $20,000 over 2y, 1.9% of budgetFARM AID INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetAMERICAN LUNG ASSOCIATION: $10,000 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.

American Endowment Fo…American Online Givin…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
American Endowment FoundationOH11.1× affinity4 shared granteesties to 4 of 4Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: American Endowment Foundation · 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 Jennie and Scott Watson Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Jennie and Scott Watson Family 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%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 100%
  • Farm Aid Inc: 100% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
3report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
1rely 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.
05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to The Jennie and Scott Watson Family Foundation?

Find your warmest path to The Jennie and Scott Watson Family 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 10 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 Jennie and Scott Watson Family’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