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The Lucky One Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Lucky One Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$665k
Granted FY2024still arriving
32
Grants FY2024still arriving
6
States reached
$105k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0196% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2019 to 2024.

Arts & Culture$703kEnvironment$515kHuman Services$350kEducation$258kHealth$155kPhilanthropy$145kFood & Nutrition$85kRecreation & Sports$65kOther$0
02FY2024 · 32 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k7 grants · $35k
  • $10k–50k22 grants · $415k
  • $50k–250k3 grants · $215k
$15,000
Median grant
6
States reached
$5.7M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
GANNA WLASKA LOTUSLAND$105,000
BELLOSGUARDO FOUNDATION INC$60,000
CREATIVE VISIONS FOUNDATION$50,000
MUSIC ACADEMY OF THE WEST$40,000
REBOOT INC$25,000
THE GREEN RIVER FOUNDATION$25,000
THE RIVIERA RIDGE SCHOOL$25,000
THE EDIBLE SCHOOLYARD PROJECT$25,000
PUPPIES BEHIND BARS$25,000
UNITED WAY OF SANTA BARBARA$25,000
IMPACTASSETS INC$25,000
KISS THE GROUND$20,000
MOXI THE WOLF MUSEUM$20,000
STOTYTELLER CHILDREN'S CENTER$20,000
LIMITLESS HORIZONS IXIL$20,000
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 (FY19–24, $145k) land where the poverty rate runs at 17%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%PUPPIES BEHIND BARS: $35k → 17%PUPPIES BEHIND BARS: $25k → 17%PUPPIES BEHIND BARS: $25k → 17%PUPPIES BEHIND BARS: $25k → 17%PUPPIES BEHIND BARS: $15k → 17%PUPPIES BEHIND BARS: $10k → 17%ADAM'S ANGELS: $10k → 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

NY
MA
SD
CA
MD
TN
NC
DC
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.

87%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$2.3M · 43 repeat orgs$336k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +58% since the first grant, against +26% for those funded once.

43 repeat relationships: 14 still active in FY2024, 29 since wound down; 15 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

43
15

Total granted

$2.3M
$131k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+58%
+26%

Still filing today

72%
67%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 67% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $205k went to new ones.

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

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

’19’20’21’22’23’24
Food & NutritionEnvironmentHealthArts & CultureEducationPhilanthropyOther
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

  • GW
    GANNA WALSKA LOTUSLAND
    4× · 2021–2024 · $230k · revenue +71%
  • PB
    PUPPIES BEHIND BARS INC
    6× · 2019–2024 · $135k · revenue +69%
  • CREATIVE VISIONS FOUNDATION
    2× · 2023–2024 · $100k · revenue +86%

Funded once

  • CH
    CONSIDER HAITI
    one grant, 2021 · $30k · revenue -46%
  • PA
    PACOLET AREA CONSERVANCY INC
    one grant, 2019 · $15k
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2020 · $15k
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
Foodbank of Santa Barbara County Inc

To end hunger and transform the health of our community by providing nourishment to those in need by acquiring and distributing safe nutritious food via local agencies and by providing education to solve hunger and nutritional problems in…

Food & Nutrition
2
Food Forward Inc

Food forward fights hunger and prevents food waste by rescuing fresh surplus produce, connecting this abundance with people experiencing food insecurity, and inspiring others to do the same.

Food & Nutrition
3
Sustainable Conservation

Sustainable Conservation advances the collaborative stewardship of Californias land, air, and water for the benefit of nature and people. For over three decades, Sustainable Conservation has built coalitions of people with different…

Environment
4
The Land Trust for Santa Barbara County

To conserve natural resources, agricultural land and open spaces for present and future generations.

Environment
5
Los Angeles Regional Food Bank

The organization's mission is to mobilize resources to fight hunger in our community. to fulfill its mission, the food bank:* sources and acquires nutritious food and other products and distribute them to people experiencing nutrition…

—
6
Uc Santa Barbara Foundation

The uc santa barbara foundation actively works to further the goals of the university of california, santa barbara. the foundation seeks to maintain and nurture the university's quality and distinction. on behalf of the campus, the…

Education
7
Extrafood

Food Rescue - The Organization rescues excess fresh food from Bay Area businesses, schools and non-profits and immediately delivers the food to safety net partners - such as senior housing centers, after-school programs, and homeless…

Food & Nutrition
8
Santa Barbara Humane Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

Santa barbara humane operates two campuses located in santa barbara and santa maria providing care for community-owned and homeless animals. both campuses offer affordable high quality veterinary care, compassionate behavior training…

Animals
9
Santa Barbara Zoological Foundation

The santa barbara zoo is dedicated to the preservation, conservation, and enhancement of the natural world and its living treasures through education, research, recreation and conservation.

Animals
10
Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden

Rancho santa ana botanic gardens promotes botany, conservation, and horticulture to inspire, inform and educate the public and scientific community about california's native flora. the garden is devoted to the collection, cultivation,…

Environment
11
Rainforest Trust

Rainforest trust saves endangered wildlife and protects our planet by creating rainforest reserves through partnerships, community engagement, and donor support.

International
12
Santa Barbara Channelkeeper Inc

The organization was established to protect and restore the santa barbara channel and its watersheds through science-based advocacy, education, field work, community engagement, and citizen enforcement of environmental laws.

Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Action Against Hunger - Usa; the most unlike its peers is The Edible Schoolyard Project dba the Alice Waters Institute. 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

55 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. 55 of the 76 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)
10
Early backer (in before they grew)
54/55
Grantees still filing
34/55
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

GANNA WALSKA LOTUSLAND: $230,000 · OtherGANNA WALSKA LOTUSLANDMOXI THE WOLF MUSEUM: $160,000 · OtherMOXI THE WOLF MUSEUMLIMITLESS HORIZONS: $125,000 · OtherLIMITLESS HORIZONSLOTUSLAND: $90,000 · OtherLOTUSLANDSTEPS TO HOPE INC: $52,500 · OtherDIGNITYMOVES: $55,000 · OtherCALM INC: $45,000 · Other+39 more: $583,000 · Other+39 moreMUSIC ACADEMY OF THE WEST: $160,000 · Arts & CultureMUSIC ACADEMY OF…CREATIVE VISIONS FOUNDATION: $100,000 · Arts & CultureCREATIVE VISIONS…THE PERLMAN MUSIC PROGRAM INC: $95,000 · Arts & CultureTHE PERLMAN MUSI…TRYON LITTLE THEATER INC: $25,000 · Arts & CultureTRYON LITTLE THE…+1 more: $10,000 · Arts & CultureLIMITLESS HORIZONS IXIL INC: $95,000 · EducationLIMITLESS H…The Riviera Ridge School: $60,000 · EducationThe Riviera…BARD COLLEGE: $35,000 · EducationBARD COLLEG…Classical Academies CFA Inc: $30,000 · EducationClassical A…The Edible Schoolyard Project dba The Alice Waters Institute: $25,000 · EducationThe Edible …UCLA FOUNDATION: $15,000 · EducationUCLA FOUNDA…UNITED WAY OF SANTA BARBARA COUNTY INC: $85,000 · PhilanthropyUNITED WA…BELLOSGUARDO FOUNDATION INC: $65,000 · PhilanthropyBELLOSGUA…GREEN RIVER FOUNDATION: $25,000 · PhilanthropyGREEN RIV…IMPACTASSETSINC: $25,000 · PhilanthropyIMPACTASS…+2 more: $10,000 · PhilanthropyGWENDOLYN STRONG FOUNDATION: $65,000 · HealthTEDDY BEAR CANCER FOUNDATION: $35,000 · HealthCONSIDER HAITI: $30,000 · HealthST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $15,000 · HealthMENTAL HEALTH ASSOCIATION IN SANTA BARBARA COUNTY: $15,000 · HealthPUPPIES BEHIND BARS INC: $135,000 · Human ServicesADAMS ANGELS: $10,000 · Human ServicesTHERMAL BELT OUTREACH MINISTRY INC: $67,500 · Food & NutritionKISS THE GROUND: $45,000 · Food & NutritionCITYMEALS-ON-WHEELS: $8,000 · Food & NutritionCITY HARVEST INC: $8,000 · Food & Nutrition+2 more: $6,000 · Food & Nutrition
Other$1,340,500Arts & Culture$390,000Education$260,000Philanthropy$210,000Health$160,000Human Services$145,000Food & Nutrition$134,500

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 budgetGANNA WALSKA LOTUSLAND: $230,000 over 4y, 0.8% of budgetMUSIC ACADEMY OF THE WEST: $160,000 over 6y, 0.5% of budgetPUPPIES BEHIND BARS INC: $135,000 over 6y, 0.9% of budgetCREATIVE VISIONS FOUNDATION: $100,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetTHE PERLMAN MUSIC PROGRAM INC: $95,000 over 5y, 4.2% of budgetLIMITLESS HORIZONS IXIL INC: $95,000 over 3y, 2.9% of budgetUNITED WAY OF SANTA BARBARA COUNTY INC: $85,000 over 5y, 0.7% of budgetTHERMAL BELT OUTREACH MINISTRY INC: $67,500 over 5y, 1.4% of budgetGWENDOLYN STRONG FOUNDATION: $65,000 over 4y, 2.1% of budgetBELLOSGUARDO FOUNDATION INC: $65,000 over 2y, 5.3% of budgetThe Riviera Ridge School: $60,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetDIGNITYMOVES: $55,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetSTEPS TO HOPE INC: $52,500 over 5y, 2.9% of budgetCALM INC: $45,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetKISS THE GROUND: $45,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetTEDDY BEAR CANCER FOUNDATION: $35,000 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetOCEAN CONSERVANCY: $35,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetBARD COLLEGE: $35,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCONSIDER HAITI: $30,000 over 1y, 24% of budgetCENTRAL PARK CONSERVANCY INC: $30,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetClassical Academies CFA Inc: $30,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetPOLO TRAINING CENTER SANTA BARBARA: $30,000 over 4y, 24% of budgetThe Edible Schoolyard Project dba The Alice Waters Institute: $25,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetTRYON LITTLE THEATER INC: $25,000 over 3y, 5.7% of budgetGREEN RIVER FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 1y, 2.7% of budgetREBOOT INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetIMPACTASSETSINC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFOOD BANK FOR NEW YORK CITY: $23,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetMONTECITO FIREFIGHTERS CHARITABLE FOUNDATION: $20,000 over 3y, 7.8% of budgetST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $15,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetACTION AGAINST HUNGER - USA: $15,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCottage Health: $15,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetUCLA FOUNDATION: $15,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHUMAN RIGHTS WATCH INC: $15,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMENTAL HEALTH ASSOCIATION IN SANTA BARBARA COUNTY: $15,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetWORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $15,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSANTA BARBARA BOTANIC GARDEN: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetDANCE DOWNTOWN LA INC LA DANCE PROJECT: $10,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetADAMS ANGELS: $10,000 over 1y, 49% of budgetSANTA BARBARA SCHOOL OF SQUASH: $10,000 over 1y, 2.9% of budgetSANTA BARBARA WILDLIFE CARE NETWORK: $10,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetConserving Carolina: $10,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetMOTHERS OF THE AMAZON: $10,000 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetCITYMEALS-ON-WHEELS: $8,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCITY HARVEST INC: $8,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFUND FOR SANTA BARBARA INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSanta Barbara Bucket Brigade: $5,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetTOGETHER WE RISE: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% 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 Little One Founda…Santa Barbara Foundat…Hutton Foundation Dba…Yellow-Crowned Founda…Williams-Corbett Foun…Patricia Bragg Founda…Ann Jackson Family Fo…Manitou FundJune G Outhwaite Char…James S Bower Foundat…Mosher FoundationThe B & B Foundation
The Little One FoundationNY36.9× affinity15 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Little One Foundation · Santa Barbara Foundation · Hutton Foundation Dba Hutton Parker Foundation · Yellow-Crowned Foundation · Williams-Corbett Foundation · Patricia Bragg Foundation · Ann Jackson Family Foundation · Manitou Fund · June G Outhwaite Charitable Trust JS Poucher KL Englert & CM Cooney Co-Tr · James S Bower Foundation · Mosher Foundation · The B & B 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 Lucky One Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Lucky One Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 30%3%13%28%50%funder's share of their income ↑0%23%45%68%90%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    3get no government money at all
    18report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–90%
    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 Lucky One Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to The Lucky One 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 76 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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Lucky One’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