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The Marvin and Nancy Dennis Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Marvin and Nancy Dennis Family 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.

$46k
Granted FY2024still arriving
6
Grants FY2024still arriving
5
States reached
$10k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0198% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Arts & Culture$42kEducation$41kHealth$31kPhilanthropy$20kAnimals$15kPublic Safety & Disaster$5kEmployment$4kHuman Services$750Other$0
02FY2024 · 6 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k3 grants · $16k
  • $10k–50k3 grants · $30k
$10,000
Median grant
5
States reached
$816k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
BRAIN RESEARCH FOUNDATION$10,000
SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY$10,000
PI KAPPA ALPHA EDUCATION FOUNDATION$10,000
WILCO$5,700
WASCOTT VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPT$5,000
ODYSSEY SCHOOL$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 (FY17–17, $750) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%EPIPHANY CENTER: $750 → 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.
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.

71%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$112k · 7 repeat orgs$46k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +29% since the first grant, against +9% for those funded once.

7 repeat relationships: 4 still active in FY2024, 3 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

7
24

Total granted

$112k
$36k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+29%
+9%

Still filing today

43%
63%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 78% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $10k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’19’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’19’20’21’22’23’24
Arts & CultureEducationHealthEmploymentHuman ServicesAnimalsOther
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

  • BR
    BRAIN RESEARCH FOUNDATION
    5× · 2020–2024 · $30k · revenue +60%
  • SF
    SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY
    4× · 2021–2024 · $25k · revenue +2%
  • TO
    THE ODYSSEY SCHOOL
    2× · 2019–2020 · $10k · revenue +29%

Funded once

  • PF
    PIKA FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2020 · $15k
  • CF
    CITIZEN FILM INCgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $5k · revenue +95%
  • SS
    SUMMER SEARCH
    one grant, 2017 · $4k · revenue -16%
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
Ucsf Foundation Investment Company

The organization provides professional investment management services for endowed gifts and financial assets entrusted to the ucsf foundation.

Education
2
The Uc Davis Foundation

The mission of the uc davis foundation is to secure, steward and manage private gifts for uc davis.

Education
3
Silicon Schools Fund Inc

The mission of the silicon schools fund is to improve education through supporting the launch of excellent new schools, improving academic instruction in existing schools, and by funding some of the boldest innovations in education…

Education
4
Society for Neuroscience

Sfn's mission is to: 1. advance the understanding of the brain and the nervous system by bringing together scientists of all segments of neuroscience, by facilitating the integration of research directed at all levels of biological…

Health
5
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The mission of mit is to advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century.

Education
6
San Francisco Friends School

At san francisco friends school, students learn in a community grounded in the quaker values of reflection, integrity, peaceful problem-solving and stewardship. our teachers challenge students with a dynamic curriculum that inspires…

Education
7
The International School of San Francisco

Guided by the principles of academic rigor and diversity, the international school of san francisco offers programs of study in french and english to prepare its graduates for a world in which the ability to think critically and to…

Education
8
San Francisco Film Society

SFFILM is a nonprofit organization whose mission ensures independent voices in film are welcomed, heard, and given the resources to thrive. SFFILM connects and inspires audiences, students and teachers, and filmmakers through our film…

—
9
Ucla Foundation

The ucla foundation is the giving, receiving, and investing arm of the ucla campus. the foundation enables private donors to help build, sustain and advance one of the world's finest academic and research institutions. private philanthropy…

Education
10
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.

—
11
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
12
Curiodyssey

Curiodyssey, a science playground and zoo, inspires a love for science and curiosity about the world to create a brighter future. we do this by letting kids loose to observe what is, ask "what if and let the natural world answer their…

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Exploratorium; the most unlike its peers is Whitefish Lake Conservation Organization Inc. 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

19 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. 19 of the 33 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)
5
Early backer (in before they grew)
19/19
Grantees still filing
12/19
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

PI KAPPA ALPHA EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $25,000 · OtherPI KAPPA ALPHA EDUCATION FOUNDATIONIndividual grant recipient: $15,200 · OtherIndividual grant recipientPIKA FOUNDATION: $14,987 · OtherPIKA FOUNDATIONWILCO: $6,900 · OtherWILCOWASCOTT VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPT: $5,000 · OtherWASCOTT VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPTSF OPERA: $3,240 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $2,720 · Other+12 more: $4,535 · Other+12 moreBRAIN RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $30,000 · HealthBRAIN RESEARCH FOUNDA…+1 more: $250 · HealthSAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY: $25,000 · Arts & CultureSAN FRANCISCO SYMP…+4 more: $579 · Arts & CultureTHE ODYSSEY SCHOOL: $10,000 · EducationTHE ODYSSEY SC…CITIZEN FILM INC: $5,000 · EducationCITIZEN FILM I…THE ODYSSEY SCHOOL INC: $5,000 · EducationTHE ODYSSEY SC…+1 more: $200 · EducationSUMMER SEARCH: $4,230 · EmploymentMount St Joseph-St Elizabeth: $750 · Human ServicesTHE MILO FOUNDATION: $250 · Animals
Other$77,582Health$30,250Arts & Culture$25,579Education$20,200Employment$4,230Human Services$750Animals$250

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

25%50%75%100%$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetBRAIN RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $30,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetSAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY: $25,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetTHE ODYSSEY SCHOOL: $10,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetCITIZEN FILM INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetTHE ODYSSEY SCHOOL INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSUMMER SEARCH: $4,230 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMount St Joseph-St Elizabeth: $750 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE FOUNDATION TO ADVANCE VASCULAR CURES: $500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetSAN FRANCISCO JAZZ ORGANIZATION: $300 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE MILO FOUNDATION: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLUCILE PACKARD FOUNDATION FOR CHILDREN'S HEALTH: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUniversity of Illinois Foundation: $200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetKQED INC: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetYOSEMITE FOUNDATION: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE EXPLORATORIUM: $79 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCALIFORNIA POLICE ACTIVITIES LEAGUE: $50 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.

Gordon E and Betty I …American Endowment Fo…The Bank of America C…National Philanthropi…Donor Advised Charita…Vanguard Charitable E…American Online Givin…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Gordon E and Betty I Moore FoundationCA13.2× affinity4 shared granteesties to 8 of 8Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Gordon E and Betty I Moore Foundation · American Endowment Foundation · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile 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 Marvin and Nancy Dennis Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Marvin and Nancy Dennis Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%5%10%15%20%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    1get no government money at all
    5report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–20%
    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.

    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 33 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 Marvin and Nancy Dennis 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