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The King Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The King 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.

$2.0M
Granted FY2025still arriving
2
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$1.5M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0197% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2019 to 2025.

Education$2.6MArts & Culture$294kInternational$75kRecreation & Sports$61kHealth$59kHousing & Shelter$31kAnimals$28kEnvironment$26kOther$0
02FY2025 · 2 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$1,507,823
Median grant
1
States reached
$879k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
DENISON UNIVERSITY$1,507,823
DENISON UNIVERSITY$492,177
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 (FY19–20, $11k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 47% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants spread fairly evenly across need levels.

area typical 9%MIDWEST SHELTER FOR HOMELESS VETERANS: $5k → 7%THE COMMUNITY HOUSE: $750 → 7%ASSOCIATION HOUSE OF CHICAGO: $3k → 14%ASSOCIATION HOUSE OF CHICAGO: $3k → 14%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

MN
IL
MI
NY
OH
CA
CO
VA
AZ
TN
DC
FL
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.

29%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$980k · 14 repeat orgs$2.4M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +44% since the first grant, against +34% for those funded once.

14 repeat relationships: 0 still active in FY2025, 14 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

14
31

Total granted

$980k
$357k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+44%
+34%

Still filing today

79%
81%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 0% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $2.0M went to new ones.

50%100%’19’20’21’22’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’19’20’21’22’25
Arts & CultureEducationHealthAnimalsHuman ServicesYouth DevelopmentOther
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

  • MP
    MOUNDS PARK ACADEMY
    4× · 2019–2022 · $255k · revenue +35%
  • GA
    GOLDEN APPLE FOUNDATION FOR EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING
    2× · 2019–2020 · $100k · revenue +66%
  • BI
    BULAMU INTERNATIONAL
    2× · 2019–2020 · $75k · revenue +121%

Funded once

  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2020 · $101k
  • ES
    EVANS SCHOLARS FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2019 · $50k
  • University of Chicagograduated
    one grant, 2019 · $28k · revenue +25%
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
Augustana College

Rooted in the liberal arts & sciences & lutheran expression of the christian faith, & is committed to offering a challenging education that develops qualities of mind, spirit, & body necessary for a rewarding life of leadership & service…

Education
2
United States Naval Institute

Provide an independent forum for those who dare to read, think, speak, and write to advance the professional, literary, and scientific understanding of sea power and other issues critical to global security.

—
3
American Gas Association

American gas association's (the association) mission is to develop and advocate for informed, innovative, and durable policy that fulfills our nation's energy needs, environmental aspirations and economic potential. we are committed to…

—
4
President and Fellows of Harvard College

Undergraduate, graduate, and professional education and research across a broad array of academic domains.

Education
5
Wilson College

Wilson college empowers students to be confident and critical thinkers, creative visionaries, effective communicators, honorable leaders, and agents of justice.

Education
6
University of New Haven

The University of New Haven is a student-centered comprehensive university with an emphasis on excellence in liberal arts and professional education. Our mission is to prepare our students to lead purposeful and fulfilling lives in a…

Education
7
Furman University

The primary mission of furman as a liberal arts institution is to provide a distinctive education in fine arts, humanities, social sciences, mathematics and the sciences, as well as selected professional disciplines.

Education
8
Golden Gate University

Golden gate university prepares individuals to lead and serve by providing high quality, practice-based educational programs in law, taxation, business and related professions - as a nonprofit institution - in an innovative and challenging…

Education
9
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
10
Colorado Museum of Natural History

Be a catalyst! Ignite our community's passion for nature and science.

Arts & Culture
11
National Association of College and University Attorneys

To advance the practice of higher education attorneys for the benefit of the institutions they serve.

—
12
Massachusetts Higher Education Assistance Corporation

The organization's primary exempt purpose is to provide access to and conduct activities in furtherance of higher education.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Seven Hills School; the most unlike its peers is Smithsonian Institution. 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

41 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. 41 of the 48 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)
8
Early backer (in before they grew)
39/41
Grantees still filing
29/41
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

DENISON UNIVERSITY: $2,000,000 · EducationDENISON UNIVERSITYMOUNDS PARK ACADEMY: $255,000 · EducationMOUNDS PARK ACADEMYACADEMY FOR URBAN SCHOOL LEADERSHIP: $150,000 · EducationACADEMY FOR URBAN SCHOOL LEADERSHIP+5 more: $60,333 · EducationIndividual grant recipient: $101,000 · OtherIndividual gr…GOLDEN APPLE FOUNDATION FOR EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING: $100,000 · OtherGOLDEN APPLE …FREEDOM GOLF ASSOCIATION: $60,000 · OtherFREEDOM GOLF …EVANS SCHOLARS FOUNDATION: $50,000 · OtherEVANS SCHOLAR…YAMPA VALLEY LAND TRUST INC: $25,000 · OtherYAMPA VALLEY …LOYOLA HIGH SCHOOL: $20,000 · Other+16 more: $48,000 · Other+16 moreURBAN GATEWAYS: $255,000 · Arts & CultureURBAN GAT…CROW CANYON ARCHAEOLOGICAL CENTER: $20,000 · Arts & CultureCROW CANY…+7 more: $17,250 · Arts & Culture+7 moreBULAMU INTERNATIONAL: $75,000 · InternationalWellness House: $25,000 · HealthRandom Acts of Flowers: $25,000 · HealthBRAIN RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $5,000 · HealthYAMPA VALLEY MEDICAL CENTER: $2,500 · HealthChicago Zoological Society: $21,000 · AnimalsHINSDALE HUMANE SOCIETY: $5,000 · AnimalsLewa Wildlife Conservancy USA: $1,500 · AnimalsWINGS PROGRAM INC: $25,000 · Housing & Shelter
Education$2,465,333Other$404,000Arts & Culture$292,250International$75,000Health$57,500Animals$27,500Housing & Shelter$25,000

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 budgetDENISON UNIVERSITY: $2,000,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetMOUNDS PARK ACADEMY: $255,000 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetURBAN GATEWAYS: $255,000 over 2y, 5.5% of budgetACADEMY FOR URBAN SCHOOL LEADERSHIP: $150,000 over 2y, 1.3% of budgetGOLDEN APPLE FOUNDATION FOR EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING: $100,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetBULAMU INTERNATIONAL: $75,000 over 2y, 6.1% of budgetFREEDOM GOLF ASSOCIATION: $60,000 over 2y, 14% of budgetUniversity of Chicago: $28,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWellness House: $25,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetARRAY EDUCATION INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetRandom Acts of Flowers: $25,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetYAMPA VALLEY LAND TRUST INC: $25,000 over 1y, 39% of budgetChicago Zoological Society: $21,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCROW CANYON ARCHAEOLOGICAL CENTER: $20,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetYOUNG LIFE: $7,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLOBLOLLY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $6,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetASSOCIATION OF THE GRADUATES OF THE UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY: $6,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMIDWEST SHELTER FOR HOMELESS VETERANS INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetSTRINGS MUSIC FESTIVAL: $5,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetHINSDALE HUMANE SOCIETY: $5,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetBRAIN RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetASSOCIATION HOUSE OF CHICAGO: $5,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetYAMPA VALLEY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $3,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetChicago Symphony Orchestra: $3,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTeach for America Inc: $3,333 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE SEVEN HILLS SCHOOL: $3,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetYAMPA VALLEY MEDICAL CENTER: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNAVY SEAL FOUNDATION INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE AMERICAN WRITERS MUSEUM: $2,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetLewa Wildlife Conservancy USA: $1,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWILLIAM RAINEY HARPER COLLEGE EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Hap Foundation Inc (F/K/A Journeycare Foundation): $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSTEAMBOAT ART MUSEUM: $1,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetREADING POWER INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetNorthwestern University: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE COMMUNITY HOUSE: $750 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION: $750 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.

The Chicago Community…James and Catherine D…Lloyd a Fry FoundationThe Ayco Charitable F…United Way of Metropo…American Endowment Fo…Gs Donor Advised Phil…Charles H and Beverly…The Canning FoundationPatrick G and Shirley…Hobsonlucas Family Fo…Northwestern Memorial…
The Chicago Community TrustIL24.4× affinity13 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Chicago Community Trust · James and Catherine Denny Foundation · Lloyd a Fry Foundation · The Ayco Charitable Foundation · United Way of Metropolitan Chicago Inc · American Endowment Foundation · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · Charles H and Beverly E Shaw Foundation · The Canning Foundation · Patrick G and Shirley W Ryan Foundation · Hobsonlucas Family Foundation · Northwestern Memorial HealthCare Group

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 King Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The King Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 30%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    3get no government money at all
    8report 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 King Family Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to The King 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 48 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 King 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