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North Carolina · Private foundation

The Kooken Family Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$37k
Granted FY2025(still arriving)
15
Grants FY2025
7
Organizations funded FY2024
71%
First-time grantees FY2024
Read the full brief
Median grant, FY2025
$2,000
Largest grant, FY2025
$5,000
Organizations funded a year
6 to 14
FY2018 to FY2024
States reached, FY2025
2
Total assets, FY2025
$996k
Applications
Takes unsolicited applications
Per its most recent filing; check its own site

How open it is to new grantees

In FY2024, 71% of the organizations The Kooken Family Foundation funded were first-time grantees, receiving 63% of its grant dollars.

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 37% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $26k went to new ones.

50%100%’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
Arts & CultureEducationHealthEnvironmentHuman ServicesPhilanthropyOther
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.
The numbers by year
Fiscal yearOrganizations fundedTo those organizationsFirst-time grantees
FY2025still arriving15$37k53%
FY20247$41k71%
FY20236$36k83%
FY202210$39k60%
FY202114$37k79%
FY202011$29k73%
FY201914$31k64%
FY201812$29k83%
100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Health$58kHuman Services$42kArts & Culture$39kEnvironment$39kReligion$34kEducation$33kPhilanthropy$16kHousing & Shelter$16kOther$0

Top grantees

Largest recipients by total granted, FY2017 to FY2025, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.

GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
Piedmont Environmental Alliance Inc$15,00043%
Cancer Services Inc$12,00060%
Arts For Life$12,00051%
The Dwelling$11,0002n/a
Southern Environmental Law Center$10,00020%
Kaleideum$8,00020%
State Employees' Credit Union$6,50010%
The Sawtooth School for Visual Art$6,00030%
North Carolina Outward Bound School$6,00010%
Pivot Ministry Inc$6,00022%
Show all 47 grantees
All grantees of The Kooken Family Foundation by total granted
GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
Piedmont Environmental Alliance Inc$15,00043%
Cancer Services Inc$12,00060%
Arts For Life$12,00051%
The Dwelling$11,0002n/a
Southern Environmental Law Center$10,00020%
Kaleideum$8,00020%
State Employees' Credit Union$6,50010%
The Sawtooth School for Visual Art$6,00030%
North Carolina Outward Bound School$6,00010%
Pivot Ministry Inc$6,00022%
The Centers for Exceptional Children Inc$6,00010%
HopeWay Foundation$6,00010%
The Good Stuff$6,00014%
North Carolina Coastal Land Trust$6,00010%
Exchange Club Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse of North Carolina Inc$5,00010%
The Arts Based School$5,0001n/a
Love Out Loud$5,00012%
Winston-Salem Mixxer Inc$5,00013%
The Women's Center Inc$5,00010%
Imprints Cares$5,00010%
Musical Empowerment Inc$4,80022%
Doors to Dream$4,00013%
Winston-Salem Street School$3,00010%
The Center for Reproductive Rights Inc$3,00010%
Amos Cottage Incorporated$3,0001n/a
The North Carolina Agricultural Foundation Inc$3,00010%
Piedmont Land Conservancy$2,50010%
Family Services Inc$2,50010%
South Carolina Wildlife Federation$2,50011%
Camp Adam Fisher Inc$2,3001n/a
Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park$2,00010%
North Carolina Partnership for Children Inc$2,00010%
Christs Beloved Community$2,0001n/a
Action4equity$2,00011%
Piedmont Craftsmen Inc$2,00010%
Piedmont Renewal Network$2,00011%
Book Harvest$2,00010%
Kidznotes Inc$2,00010%
Heart Math Tutoring Inc$2,00010%
The Enrichment Center an Affiliated Chapter of the Arc$1,5001n/a
Arts Center$1,40010%
Voices Together Inc$1,0001n/a
Planned Parenthood South Atlantic Inc$1,00010%
Forsyth Jail and Prison Ministries$1,0001n/a
Be Loud Sophie Foundation$1,00010%
Senior Services Inc$1,00010%
Carolina Abortion Fund$1,00011%

What it could do for these grantees

Plus 24 recipients with no EIN on record ($97k), not named here.

Where it is load-bearing

Each grantee by its size and the share of its budget The Kooken Family Foundation supplied at peak.

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetPiedmont Environmental Alliance Inc: $15,000 over 4y, 2.8% of budgetCancer Services Inc: $12,000 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetArts For Life: $12,000 over 5y, 0.8% of budgetSouthern Environmental Law Center: $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetKaleideum: $8,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetState Employees' Credit Union: $6,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Sawtooth School for Visual Art: $6,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetNorth Carolina Outward Bound School: $6,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetPivot Ministry Inc: $6,000 over 2y, 2.4% of budgetThe Centers for Exceptional Children Inc: $6,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetHopeWay Foundation: $6,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Good Stuff: $6,000 over 1y, 3.9% of budgetNorth Carolina Coastal Land Trust: $6,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetExchange Club Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse of North Carolina Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetLove Out Loud: $5,000 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetWinston-Salem Mixxer Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 2.8% of budgetThe Women's Center Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetImprints Cares: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMusical Empowerment Inc: $4,800 over 2y, 2.4% of budgetDoors to Dream: $4,000 over 1y, 3.0% of budgetWinston-Salem Street School: $3,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetThe Center for Reproductive Rights Inc: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe North Carolina Agricultural Foundation Inc: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPiedmont Land Conservancy: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetFamily Services Inc: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSouth Carolina Wildlife Federation: $2,500 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetFriends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNorth Carolina Partnership for Children Inc: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAction4equity: $2,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetPiedmont Craftsmen Inc: $2,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetPiedmont Renewal Network: $2,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetBook Harvest: $2,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetKidznotes Inc: $2,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetHeart Math Tutoring Inc: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetArts Center: $1,400 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetPlanned Parenthood South Atlantic Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBe Loud Sophie Foundation: $1,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetSenior Services Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCarolina Abortion Fund: $1,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budget

Tap a dot to name the grantee.

How this is measured
Share of budget is the funder’s grant in a year over the grantee’s total revenue that year, at its highest across the years we hold; revenue is from all sources. Only grantees confirmed against their own filings, whose grants do not exceed their revenue, are plotted: the largest 39.

Nonprofits that may fit its grantmaking

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 Winston-Salem FoundationNC56.1× affinity28 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Winston-Salem Foundation · Reynolds American Foundation · Triangle Community Foundation Inc · Ta John W and Anna H Hanes Foundation · Duke Energy Foundation · The Cannon Foundation Inc · Foundation for the Carolinas · James G Hanes Memorial Fund · The Lovett Foundation · Forsyth Memorial Hospital Inc · Strickland Family Foundation Cynthia a S Graham · Z Smith Reynolds Foundation Inc

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.

Compare The Kooken Family Foundation with peer funders

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to The Kooken Family Foundation?

Find your warmest path to The Kooken 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.

About The Kooken Family Foundation

How much does The Kooken Family Foundation give?
The Kooken Family Foundation reported 15 grants totaling $37,000 in its FY2025 IRS filing. It funded between 6 and 14 organizations a year over FY2018 to FY2024.
What does The Kooken Family Foundation fund?
By grant dollars over FY2017 to FY2025, its largest causes are Health (18%), Human Services (13%), Arts & Culture (12%).
Who are The Kooken Family Foundation's largest grantees?
By total granted over FY2017 to FY2025: Piedmont Environmental Alliance Inc ($15k), Cancer Services Inc ($12k), Arts For Life ($12k).
Does The Kooken Family Foundation fund new organizations?
In FY2024, 71% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
Does The Kooken Family Foundation accept unsolicited applications?
Its most recent filing reports that it accepts unsolicited grant applications.
Which funders back the same organizations as The Kooken Family Foundation?
Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include The Winston-Salem Foundation, Reynolds American Foundation, Triangle Community Foundation Inc.
Where is The Kooken Family Foundation based?
The Kooken Family Foundation is based in NC.

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 73 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

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