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The Kris Rockwell Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Kris Rockwell Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$1.7M
Granted FY2025still arriving
18
Grants FY2025still arriving
9
States reached
$750k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0195% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Education$13MEnvironment$1.3MAnimals$807kRecreation & Sports$540kYouth Development$351kHealth$297kHuman Services$245kPhilanthropy$226kOther$0
02FY2025 · 18 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k5 grants · $20k
  • $10k–50k9 grants · $160k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $160k
  • $250k+2 grants · $1.4M
$20,000
Median grant
9
States reached
$3.6M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
ASPINWALL RIVERFRONT PARK INC$750,000
SK ROCKWELL CONSERVATION FUND$615,000
THEODORE ROOSEVELT CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIP$100,000
RUFFED GROUSE SOCIETY$60,000
BRIDGEWAY CAPITAL - MONMADE$25,000
FISHER HOUSE FOUNDATION$25,000
SWEETWATER ARTS CENTER$25,000
UMASS AMHERST FOUNDATION$20,000
CANCER BRIDGES$20,000
BONEFISH & TARPON TRUST$15,000
Individual grant recipient$10,000
DUQUESNE UNIVERSITY$10,000
FLUX FOUNDATION$10,000
FRIENDSHIP CIRCLE$5,000
INDIFLY FOUNDATION$5,000
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 (FY17–23, $200k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 98% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%THE LILY HOUSE: $5k → 8%LIGHT OF LIFE MINISTRIES: $5k → 11%INNOCENCE PROJECT INC: $5k → 17%PIVOT A TURNING POINT FOR YOUTH: $5k → 16%SAFESPACE INC: $5k → 11%BEVERLY'S BIRTHDAY: $5k → 10%INNOCENCE PROJECT INC: $5k → 17%FISH FOR CHANGE: $10k → 12%FISH FOR CHANGE: $5k → 12%FISH FOR CHANGE: $5k → 12%ALLE-KISKI AREA HOPE CENTER INC: $5k → 11%SECOND HARVEST: $105k → 11%SECOND HARVEST: $5k → 11%FOX FAMILIES CARE: $5k → 11%LIGHT OF LIFE MINISTRIES: $5k → 11%NEW SUN RISING: $5k → 11%WOMEN'S CENTER & SHELTER: $5k → 11%GENESIS OF PITTSBURGH INC: $5k → 11%CRISIS CENTER NORTH: $5k → 11%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

ME
MT
MN
IL
WI
NY
MA
OR
OH
PA
CA
UT
CO
WV
VA
MD
AR
TN
NC
DC
OK
GA
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.

89%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$17M · 44 repeat orgs$2.0M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +44% since the first grant, against +35% for those funded once.

44 repeat relationships: 6 still active in FY2025, 38 since wound down; 12 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

44
75

Total granted

$17M
$1.2M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+44%
+35%

Still filing today

80%
57%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 54% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $790k 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
Human ServicesEnvironmentHealthAnimalsArts & CultureEducationOther
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

  • TK
    THE KISKI SCHOOL
    6× · 2017–2024 · $425k · revenue +27%
  • AMERICAN RIVERS INC
    4× · 2021–2024 · $325k · revenue +177%
  • RG
    RUFFED GROUSE SOCIETY
    6× · 2018–2024 · $295k · revenue +31%

Funded once

  • MH
    MARTIN HEALTH FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2017 · $100k
  • MR
    MONTOUR RUN WATERSHED ASSOCIATION
    one grant, 2017 · $100k · revenue -35%
  • HO
    HOLLOW OAK LAND TRUST INCgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $50k · revenue +69%
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
Zoological Society of Pittsburgh

The zoological society of pittsburgh is dedicated to being a leader in, and significant contributor to, the conservation of endangered and threatened species. the society provides an enjoyable family experience that fosters understanding,…

Animals
2
Riverlife

Riverlife's mission is to create, activate, and celebrate pittsburgh's riverfronts, connecting people through exceptional places and experiences.

Environment
3
Scenic Pittsburgh

To protect, preserve, and promote the scenic resources of southwestern pennsylvania.

Environment
4
Greater Pittsburgh Convention & Visitors Bureau Inc

Tourism development organization dedicated to expanding the tourism economy across allegheny county.

—
5
Point Park University

Provides innovative education in a dynamic urban setting. dedicated to academic excellence and community engagement,we prepare students of diverse backgrounds with the knowledge, skill,and experience to lead meaningful lives as informed…

—
6
The Adirondack Council Inc

The adirondack council ensures the ecological integrity (clean water and air, wildlife habitat, etc.), wild character (solitude, scenic beauty, etc.), and vibrant communities of new york's six-million-acre adirondack park. the adirondack…

Environment
7
The Clearwater Conservancy of Central Pennsylvania Inc

To conserve and restore the natural resources through land conservation, water resources stewardship and environmental outreach across central pennsylvania.

Environment
8
Allegheny County Conservation District

The Allegheny County Conservation District is an urban conservation district that engages and leads through partnerships, innovation, and implementation to conserve, promote, and improve Allegheny Countys natural resources.

Environment
9
Glen Foerd Conservation Corporation

Glen foerd stewards an eclectic riverfront estate for the enjoyment and educational benefit of the community. drawing from the estate's architecture, art, material culture, and history-as well as its gardens and waterways-glen foerd…

Environment
10
Great Allegheny Passage Conservancy

Founded in 1995 to coordinate the completion of the great allegheny passage, a 150-mile non-motorized path connecting pittsburgh and cumberland, maryland, the great allegheny passage conservancy promotes the great allegheny passage and…

Environment
11
The Potomac Conservancy Inc

Potomac conservancy safeguards the land and waters of the potomac river and its tributaries and connects people to this national treasure.

Environment
12
Venture Outdoors Inc

We remove barriers and create access to outdoor experiences. we are a pittsburgh-based non-profit connecting people to the benefits of getting outdoors. since 2001, our team of outdoor educators and volunteer trip leaders have guided…

Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Homeless Children's Education Fund; the most unlike its peers is S K Rockwell Conservation Fund. 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

87 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. 87 of the 134 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.

5
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
23
Early backer (in before they grew)
87/87
Grantees still filing
61/87
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

ROBERT MORRIS UNIVERSITY: $12,240,000 · OtherROBERT MORRIS UNIVERSITYSK ROCKWELL CONSERVATION FUND: $615,000 · Other+81 more: $2,023,425 · Other+81 moreAMERICAN RIVERS INC: $325,000 · EnvironmentRUFFED GROUSE SOCIETY: $295,000 · EnvironmentDucks Unlimited Inc: $215,000 · EnvironmentMONTOUR RUN WATERSHED ASSOCIATION: $100,000 · EnvironmentBACKCOUNTRY HUNTERS & ANGLERS: $71,000 · EnvironmentHOLLOW OAK LAND TRUST INC: $50,000 · EnvironmentWILDLIFE LEADERSHIP ACADEMY: $50,000 · EnvironmentALLEGHENY LAND TRUST: $50,000 · Environment+5 more: $84,750 · EnvironmentAspinwall Riverfront Park Inc: $1,125,000 · Recreation & Sports+2 more: $30,000 · Recreation & SportsTHEODORE ROOSEVELT CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIP INC: $250,000 · AnimalsBONEFISH & TARPON TRUST INC: $171,000 · AnimalsNATIONAL AVIARY IN PITTSBURGH INC: $92,470 · AnimalsAtlantic Salmon Federation (US) Inc: $85,000 · AnimalsNATIONAL DEER ASSOCIATION: $45,000 · AnimalsKEEP FISH WET INC: $32,800 · Animals+3 more: $27,484 · AnimalsTHE KISKI SCHOOL: $424,500 · EducationSTEEL CITY SQUASH INC: $50,000 · EducationPROTOTYPE PGH INC: $50,000 · EducationCHATHAM UNIVERSITY: $50,000 · EducationMinority Outdoor Alliance: $30,000 · Education+2 more: $30,000 · EducationFIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND: $155,000 · Community ImprovementBRIDGEWAY CAPITAL INC: $30,000 · Community ImprovementBLOOMFIELD-GARFIELD CORPORATION: $25,000 · Community Improvement+2 more: $11,500 · Community ImprovementSecond Harvest: $110,000 · Human ServicesFish For Change: $20,000 · Human ServicesTHE INNOCENCE PROJECT INC: $10,000 · Human ServicesLIGHT OF LIFE MINISTRIES INC: $10,000 · Human Services+10 more: $50,000 · Human Services
Other$14,878,425Environment$1,240,750Recreation & Sports$1,155,000Animals$703,754Education$634,500Community Improvement$221,500Human Services$200,000

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetROBERT MORRIS UNIVERSITY: $12,240,000 over 5y, 2.6% of budgetAspinwall Riverfront Park Inc: $1,125,000 over 2y, 56% of budgetTHE KISKI SCHOOL: $424,500 over 6y, 2.1% of budgetAMERICAN RIVERS INC: $325,000 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetRUFFED GROUSE SOCIETY: $295,000 over 6y, 1.1% of budgetTHEODORE ROOSEVELT CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIP INC: $250,000 over 5y, 0.9% of budgetDucks Unlimited Inc: $215,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetBONEFISH & TARPON TRUST INC: $171,000 over 9y, 0.6% of budgetFIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND: $155,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetINDIFLY INCORPORATED: $130,000 over 3y, 31% of budgetSecond Harvest: $110,000 over 2y, 5.3% of budgetFISHER HOUSE FOUNDATION INC: $100,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetNATIONAL AVIARY IN PITTSBURGH INC: $92,470 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetAtlantic Salmon Federation (US) Inc: $85,000 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetOasis Recovery Center of Western PA: $78,000 over 3y, 56% of budgetBACKCOUNTRY HUNTERS & ANGLERS: $71,000 over 6y, 0.7% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $53,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHOLLOW OAK LAND TRUST INC: $50,000 over 1y, 13% of budgetHISTORICAL SOCIETY OF WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA: $50,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetSTEEL CITY SQUASH INC: $50,000 over 5y, 4.3% of budgetWILDLIFE LEADERSHIP ACADEMY: $50,000 over 2y, 7.0% of budgetCHATHAM UNIVERSITY: $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetALLEGHENY LAND TRUST: $50,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetNATIONAL DEER ASSOCIATION: $45,000 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetYellow Dog Community and Conservation Foundation: $35,500 over 3y, 10% of budgetKEEP FISH WET INC: $32,800 over 3y, 27% of budgetBRIDGEWAY CAPITAL INC: $30,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetMinority Outdoor Alliance: $30,000 over 4y, 91% of budgetPREVENTION POINT PITTSBURGH: $30,000 over 2y, 1.4% of budgetCANCER BRIDGES: $30,000 over 3y, 1.4% of budgetNEW VENTURE FUND: $26,250 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetRIVERS OF STEEL HERITAGE CORPORATION: $25,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetHOMELESS CHILDREN'S EDUCATION FUND: $25,000 over 1y, 2.0% of budgetTHE KEROSENE LAMP FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 2y, 13% of budgetBLOOMFIELD-GARFIELD CORPORATION: $25,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetSweetwater Art Center: $25,000 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetFish For Change: $20,000 over 3y, 3.6% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST FOUNDATION INC: $20,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetPITTSBURGH EMERGENCY MEDICINE FOUNDATION: $20,000 over 5y, 6.8% of budgetSOJOURNER HOUSE INC: $15,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetCAPTAINS FOR CLEAN WATER INC: $15,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetBAREBONES PRODUCTIONS INC: $14,000 over 2y, 4.6% of budgetFlux Foundation: $10,000 over 1y, 12% of budgetBRADDOCK REDUX: $10,000 over 2y, 2.0% of budgetTHE INNOCENCE PROJECT INC: $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetDUQUESNE UNIVERSITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLIGHT OF LIFE MINISTRIES INC: $10,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetFISH & WILDLIFE FOUNDATION OF FLORIDA I: $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.

The Pittsburgh Founda…Hillman Family Founda…Richard King Mellon F…The Grable FoundationThe Heinz EndowmentsMassey Charitable Tru…Opportunity FoundationEqt FoundationMcElhattan FoundationThe Burke FoundationThe Burke Family Foun…Allegheny Foundation
The Pittsburgh FoundationPA51.1× affinity29 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Pittsburgh Foundation · Hillman Family Foundations · Richard King Mellon Foundation · The Grable Foundation · The Heinz Endowments · Massey Charitable Trust · Opportunity Foundation · Eqt Foundation · McElhattan Foundation · The Burke Foundation · The Burke Family Foundation · Allegheny 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 Kris Rockwell Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Kris Rockwell Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 60%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 2%
  • The Lily House Inc: 13% of income from government
  • Pivot Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Fish & Wildlife Foundation of Florida I: 1% of income from government
  • Lighthouse Artcenter Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
6get no government money at all
21report 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 Kris Rockwell Foundation?

Find your warmest path to The Kris Rockwell 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 134 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 Kris Rockwell’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