Skip to content
The Kennedy Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Kennedy 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
54
Grants FY2025still arriving
10
States reached
$100k
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, FY2023 to 2025.

Environment$1.1MArts & Culture$882kHealth$507kHuman Services$414kRecreation & Sports$285kCrime & Legal$200kFood & Nutrition$195kEducation$122kOther$0
02FY2025 · 54 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k12 grants · $68k
  • $10k–50k31 grants · $638k
  • $50k–250k11 grants · $766k
$20,000
Median grant
10
States reached
$36M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
ST JOSEPH HOSPITAL OF ORANGE$100,000
NATURE CONSERVANCY$86,410
PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION$75,000
LOS ANGELES WATERKEEPER$75,000
CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION$70,000
PALOS VERDES ART CENTER BEVERLY G ALPAY CENTER FOR$70,000
MUSEUM ASSOCIATES$70,000
SOUTH COAST BOTANIC GARDEN FOUNDATION INC$70,000
CHILDRENS HOSPITAL LOS ANGELES$50,000
METAVIVOR RESEARCH AND SUPPORT INC$50,000
CRYSTAL COVE CONSERVANCY$50,000
THE PRIORITY CENTER ENDING THE GENERATIONAL CYCLE$45,000
UPPER MISSOURI WATERKEEPER INC$45,000
MUSEUM ASSOCIATES$35,000
GROWINGGREAT$35,000
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 (FY23–25, $104k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 90% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%NATIONAL DIAPER BANK NETWORK: $73k → 12%TREE OF LIFE MINISTRY: $10k → 40%NATIONAL DIAPER BANK NETWORK: $10k → 12%NORTH BEACH CITIZENS: $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

MT
MN
WI
NY
SD
PA
CT
CA
VA
TN
DC
TX
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.

81%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$3.2M · 29 repeat orgs$730k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +11% since the first grant, against 0% for those funded once.

29 repeat relationships: 29 still active in FY2025, 0 since wound down; 20 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

29
10

Total granted

$3.2M
$450k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+11%
0%

Still filing today

100%
80%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 79% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $280k went to new ones.

50%100%’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’23’24’25
Arts & CultureEnvironmentHealthEducationPhilanthropyAnimalsOther
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

  • MA
    MUSEUM ASSOCIATES
    3× · 2023–2025 · $353k · revenue +21%
  • SJ
    ST JOSEPH HOSPITAL OF ORANGE
    3× · 2023–2025 · $217k · revenue +4%
  • LA
    LOS ANGELES WATERKEEPER
    3× · 2023–2025 · $200k · revenue +6%

Funded once

  • SHARE OUR STRENGTH
    one grant, 2024 · $100k · revenue +14%
  • GARY SINISE FOUNDATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $100k · revenue +701%
  • BC
    BLACKFOOT CHALLENGE INC
    one grant, 2024 · $50k · revenue 0%
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
World Wildlife Fund Inc

Wwf's mission is to conserve nature and reduce the most pressing threats to the diversity of life on earth. (continued on schedule o)

Environment
2
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

See schedule osfmoma believes the art of our time is vital and shares it with passion and purpose, and that art and the creative process can open minds and help build a better world. for that reason, we assemble unparalleled collections,…

Arts & Culture
3
The Union of Concerned Scientists Inc

The union of concerned scientists puts rigorous, independent science into action, developing solutions and advocating for a healthy, safe, and just future.

International
4
Ocean Conservancy

Ocean conservancy unites science, people, and policy to protect our ocean, today and for generations to come.

Environment
5
Chile-California Council

The Chile-California Council is a San Francisco-based nonprofit dedicated to developing and promoting joint endeavors and cooperative relations between Chile and California, as well as individuals, legal entities and other institutions in…

International
6
Resource Renewal Institute

The resource renewal institute facilitates the creation, development and implementation of practical strategies to solve the entire complex environmental problem by addressing it comprehensively.

Environment
7
Nature Collective

Nature collective's mission is to drive a passion for nature for all. we think inclusively and diversely when serving those devoid of nature those who remember nature and want to connect back to it and those who have an affinity with…

Environment
8
Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Foundation

To engage and catalyze global seafood supply chains in rebuilding depleted fish stocks and reducing the environmental impacts of fishing and fish farming.

Animals
9
Environmental Defense Center

The organization protects and enhances the local environment through education, advocacy and legal action.

Crime & Legal
10
California Institute for Biodiversity

Create and publish educational materials, conduct professional development, promote awareness, and sponsor research on the spectacular biological diversity of the State of CA.

Education
11
Council for Watershed Health

Council for watershed health advances the health and sustainability of the region's watersheds, rivers, streams, and habitats - in both natural areas and urban neighborhoods - through science-based research, education, and inclusive…

Environment
12
Sempervirens Fund

To ensure coast redwood forests in the santa cruz mountains thrive for generations to come. since 1900, sempervirens has protected more than 36,000 acres. learn more about our mission, vision, and strategic plan through 2030 at:…

Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Wooden Floor for Youth Movement; the most unlike its peers is Whiskers & Tails Foundation. 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

57 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. 57 of the 61 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)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
56/57
Grantees still filing
24/57
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

MUSEUM ASSOCIATES: $353,000 · Arts & CultureMUSEUM ASSOCIATESPalos Verdes Art Center Beverly G Alpay Center for Arts Education: $193,340 · Arts & CulturePalos Verdes Art Center B…DANCE DOWNTOWN LA INC LA DANCE PROJECT: $83,500 · Arts & CultureDANCE DOWNTOWN LA INC LA …Pacific Symphony: $74,500 · Arts & CulturePacific SymphonySPECIAL HEARTS IN THE ARTS: $70,000 · Arts & CultureSPECIAL HEARTS IN THE ART…THE WOODEN FLOOR FOR YOUTH MOVEMENT: $70,000 · Arts & CultureTHE WOODEN FLOOR FOR YOUT…+5 more: $77,500 · Arts & Culture+5 moreLOS ANGELES WATERKEEPER: $200,000 · EnvironmentLOS ANGELES WATERKEEPERSOUTH COAST BOTANIC GARDEN FOUNDATION INC: $190,000 · EnvironmentSOUTH COAST BOTANIC GAR…SAN FRANCISCO BOTANICAL GARDEN SOCIETY AT STRYBING ARBORETUM: $125,000 · EnvironmentSAN FRANCISCO BOTANICAL…CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION: $95,000 · EnvironmentCONSERVATION INTERNATIO…THE CORAL REEF ALLIANCE: $60,000 · EnvironmentTHE CORAL REEF ALLIANCEBLACKFOOT CHALLENGE INC: $50,000 · EnvironmentBLACKFOOT CHALLENGE INCGRADES OF GREEN INC: $50,000 · EnvironmentGRADES OF GREEN INCMONGABAY ORG CORP: $45,000 · EnvironmentMONGABAY ORG CORP+1 more: $26,000 · EnvironmentST JOSEPH HOSPITAL OF ORANGE: $217,000 · HealthST JOSEPH HOS…Children's Hospital Los Angeles: $170,000 · HealthChildren's Ho…METAVIVOR RESEARCH AND SUPPORT INC: $50,000 · HealthMETAVIVOR RES…MAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION OF MINNESOTA: $25,205 · Health+2 more: $20,000 · HealthTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $116,410 · OtherTHE NATURE CONSERVANCYSHARE OUR STRENGTH: $100,000 · OtherSHARE OUR STRENGTHTHE SALVATION ARMY: $50,000 · OtherTHE SALVATION ARMYIAFE UNITED INC: $30,000 · OtherSAVE THE MUSIC FOUNDATION: $30,000 · OtherGARY SINISE FOUNDATION: $100,000 · OtherGARY SINISE FOUNDATIONNATIONAL DIAPER BANK NETWORK INC: $83,340 · OtherNATIONAL DIAPER BANK NETW…GROWINGGREAT: $95,000 · OtherGROWINGGREATWhiskers & Tails Foundation: $35,000 · Other+17 more: $260,205 · Other+17 morePacific Legal Foundation: $200,000 · Crime & LegalPacific L…THE PRIORITY CENTER ENDING THE GENERATIONAL CYCLE: $145,000 · Crime & LegalTHE PRIOR…Upper Missouri Waterkeeper Inc: $168,000 · EducationSANTA ANA COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $69,500 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: $25,000 · EducationUC LAW SF FOUNDATION: $10,000 · Education+2 more: $12,500 · EducationCRYSTAL COVE CONSERVANCY: $255,000 · Recreation & Sports
Arts & Culture$921,840Environment$841,000Health$482,205Other$899,955Crime & Legal$345,000Education$285,000Recreation & Sports$255,000

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 budgetMUSEUM ASSOCIATES: $353,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetCRYSTAL COVE CONSERVANCY: $255,000 over 3y, 1.3% of budgetST JOSEPH HOSPITAL OF ORANGE: $217,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetLOS ANGELES WATERKEEPER: $200,000 over 3y, 1.4% of budgetPacific Legal Foundation: $200,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetPalos Verdes Art Center Beverly G Alpay Center for Arts Education: $193,340 over 3y, 5.5% of budgetSOUTH COAST BOTANIC GARDEN FOUNDATION INC: $190,000 over 3y, 1.2% of budgetChildren's Hospital Los Angeles: $170,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetUpper Missouri Waterkeeper Inc: $168,000 over 3y, 8.2% of budgetTHE PRIORITY CENTER ENDING THE GENERATIONAL CYCLE: $145,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetSAN FRANCISCO BOTANICAL GARDEN SOCIETY AT STRYBING ARBORETUM: $125,000 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $116,410 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSHARE OUR STRENGTH: $100,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetGARY SINISE FOUNDATION: $100,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetGROWINGGREAT: $95,000 over 3y, 6.9% of budgetCONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION: $95,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetDANCE DOWNTOWN LA INC LA DANCE PROJECT: $83,500 over 3y, 1.3% of budgetNATIONAL DIAPER BANK NETWORK INC: $83,340 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetPacific Symphony: $74,500 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetSPECIAL HEARTS IN THE ARTS: $70,000 over 3y, 22% of budgetTHE WOODEN FLOOR FOR YOUTH MOVEMENT: $70,000 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetSANTA ANA COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $69,500 over 3y, 2.3% of budgetTHE CORAL REEF ALLIANCE: $60,000 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetBLACKFOOT CHALLENGE INC: $50,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetGRADES OF GREEN INC: $50,000 over 1y, 7.8% of budgetMONGABAY ORG CORP: $45,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetWhiskers & Tails Foundation: $35,000 over 3y, 11% of budgetSAVE THE MUSIC FOUNDATION: $30,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetSave The Children Federation Inc: $27,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetUNITED WAY INC: $27,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFOUNDATION FOR INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS AND EXPRESSION INC: $27,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetEARTHJUSTICE: $26,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION OF MINNESOTA: $25,205 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetNATURAL HIGH: $25,000 over 1y, 8.3% of budgetCOMMUNITY MUSIC CENTER: $25,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetRONALD MCDONALD HOUSE CHARITIES OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMinnesota Children's Museum: $20,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetKQED INC: $20,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetALTA GOOD DEEDS FOUNDATION: $12,500 over 2y, 2.3% of budgetNORTH BEACH CITIZENS: $10,205 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetWildlife Conservation Society: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUC LAW SF FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSWEET RELIEF MUSICIANS FUND: $10,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetFRIENDS OF NEW YORK CITY NURSE FAMILY PARTNERSHIP: $10,000 over 1y, 2.6% of budgetICA LA: $7,500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetHARVARD-WESTLAKE SCHOOL: $7,500 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.

California Community …Orange County Communi…Swig FoundationMarin Community Found…Resources Legacy FundLiberty Hill Foundati…Morgan Stanley Global…The Annenberg Foundat…PatagoniaorgJewish Community Fede…Silicon Valley Commun…Leonardo Dicaprio Fou…
California Community FoundationCA19.6× affinity10 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: California Community Foundation · Orange County Community Foundation · Swig Foundation · Marin Community Foundation · Resources Legacy Fund · Liberty Hill Foundation · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · The Annenberg Foundation · Patagoniaorg · Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco the Peninsula Marin & Sonoma · Silicon Valley Community Foundation · Leonardo Dicaprio 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 Kennedy Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Kennedy Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%2%6%14%25%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 30%
  • Save the Children Federation Inc: 30% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
14report 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.
05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to The Kennedy Foundation?

Find your warmest path to The Kennedy 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 61 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 Kennedy’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