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The Michael P Dowling Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Michael P Dowling 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.

$2k
Granted FY2025still arriving
4
Grants FY2025still arriving
2
States reached
$1k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0198% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2025.

Environment$179kArts & Culture$71kPhilanthropy$9kEducation$4kAnimals$4kInternational$3kHuman Services$2kFood & Nutrition$2kOther$0
02FY2025 · 4 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$500
Median grant
2
States reached
$704k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
COLORADO OPEN LANDS$1,000
OPERA COLORADO$500
VOLUNTEERS FOR OUTDOOR COLORADO$208
CENTRAL PARK CONSERVATORY$100
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY20–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 24% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%SCENIC HUDSON: $30k → 9%LAND TRUST ALLIANCE: $15k → 14%YALE ENVIRONMENT 360 ONLINE ATTN FINANCE: $1k → 12%COLORADO OPEN LANDS: $55k → 7%COLORADO HEADWATERS LAND TRUST: $250 → 7%OPERA COLORADO: $500 → 8%SCENIC HUDSON: $15k → 9%COLORADO OPEN LANDS: $15k → 7%REGIS JESUIT HIGH SCHOOL: $500 → 8%SCENIC HUDSON: $5k → 9%COLORADO OPEN LANDS: $10k → 7%COLORADO PUBLIC RADIO: $45k → 8%MERCY COPRS: $500 → 12%COLORADO PUBLIC RADIO: $5k → 8%COLORADO OPEN LANDS: $6k → 7%COLORADO PUBLIC RADIO: $5k → 8%DENVER MUSEUM OF NATURE & SCIENCE: $2k → 12%DENVER MUSEUM OF NATURE & SCIENCE: $2k → 12%AMERICAN FOUNDATION FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION: $500 → 17%COLORADO OPEN LANDS: $1k → 7%DENVER MUSEUM OF NATURE & SCIENCE: $2k → 12%DENVER MUSEUM OF NATURE & SCIENCE: $2k → 12%DENVER ARCHITECTURE FOUNDATION: $400 → 12%FOREST TRENDS: $2k → 14%FOREST TRENDS: $1k → 14%FOREST TRENDS: $1k → 14%FOREST TRENDS: $1k → 14%THE PARK PEOPLE: $1k → 12%THE PARK PEOPLE: $750 → 12%THE PARK PEOPLE: $600 → 12%THE PARK PEOPLE: $500 → 12%COLORADO WILDLIFE FEDERATION: $750 → 12%COLORADO WILDLIFE FEDERATION: $750 → 12%COLORADO WILDLIFE FEDERATION: $750 → 12%COLORADO WILDLIFE FEDERATION: $600 → 12%COLORADO SYMPHONY ASSOCATION: $3k → 12%COLORADO SYMPHONY ASSOCATION: $2k → 12%CONSERVATION COLORADO: $1k → 12%CONSERVATION COLORADO: $1k → 12%CONSERVATION COLORADO: $1k → 12%CONSERVATION COLORADO: $1k → 12%COLORADO SYMPHONY ASSOCATION: $1k → 12%COLORADO SYMPHONY ASSOCATION: $1k → 12%MULTIPLE AUTHORIZED CHARITIES: $9k → 12%ROCKY MOUNTAIN PBS: $580 → 12%ROCKY MOUNTAIN PBS: $575 → 12%ROCKY MOUNTAIN PBS: $500 → 12%ROCKY MOUNTAIN PBS: $500 → 12%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

MT
WI
NY
MA
OR
CT
CO
VA
MD
DC
LA
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.

90%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$249k · 49 repeat orgs$27k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +23% since the first grant, against -5% for those funded once.

49 repeat relationships: 2 still active in FY2025, 47 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

49
10

Total granted

$249k
$26k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+23%
-5%

Still filing today

73%
70%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 67% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $600 went to new ones.

50%100%’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’20’21’22’23’24’25
EnvironmentArts & CultureHealthAnimalsInternationalFood & NutritionOther
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

  • CO
    COLORADO OPEN LANDS
    5× · 2021–2025 · $87k · revenue +93%
  • PB
    PUBLIC BROADCASTING OF COLORADO INC
    3× · 2022–2024 · $55k · revenue +9%
  • SH
    Scenic Hudson Inc
    3× · 2022–2024 · $50k · revenue +25%

Funded once

  • LT
    LAND TRUST ALLIANCE INC
    one grant, 2024 · $15k · revenue 0%
  • MA
    MULTIPLE AUTHORIZED CHARITIES
    one grant, 2020 · $9k
  • YS
    YALE SOM 1982 SCHOLARSHIP FUND
    one grant, 2023 · $1k
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
Mountain Area Land Trust

Mountain area land trust's mission is to save natural areas, wildlife habitat, streams and rivers, working ranches and historic lands, for the benefit of the community and as a legacy for future generations.

Environment
2
Rainforest Trust

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

International
3
World Wildlife Fund Inc

Wwf's mission is to conserve nature and reduce the most pressing threats to the diversity of life on earth. (continued on schedule o)

Environment
4
Rocky Mountain Wild

Rocky mountain wild works to protect, connect, and restore wildlife and wild lands in the southern rocky mountain region. we work to secure the biodiversity of the mountains, plains, and desert ecosystems of colorado, wyoming, utah, and…

Environment
5
Conservation International Foundation

Ci works to spotlight and secure the critical benefits that nature provides to humanity.

Environment
6
Colorado Water Trust

To restore water to colorado's rivers.

Environment
7
Montana Wildlife Federation

The montana wildlife federation is a statewide conservation organization dedicated to protecting wildlife, wildlife habitat, and public access for outdoor recreation.

Animals
8
Property and Environment Research Center

Perc is dedicated to advancing conservation through markets, incentives, property rights, and partnerships.

Public Benefit
9
The Union of Concerned Scientists Inc

The union of concerned scientists puts rigorous, independent science into action, developing solutions and advocating for a healthy, safe, and just future.

International
10
Greater Yellowstone Coalition

Greater yellowstone coalition works with all people to protect the lands, waters, and wildlife of the greater yellowstone ecosystem, now and for future generations.

Environment
11
Cdp North America Inc

Cdp north america, inc. 's ("cdp-na") vision for the future is a thriving economy that works for people and planet in the long term. we focus investors and companies on taking urgent action to build a truly sustainable economy by measuring…

Environment
12
Asociacion Interamericana Para La Defensa Del Ambiente

To strenghten people's ability to guarantee their individual and collective right to a healthy environment, via the development, implementation, and effective enforcement of national and international law.

Crime & Legal
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Conservation Colorado; the most unlike its peers is Para La Naturaleza 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

45 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. 45 of the 62 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)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
45/45
Grantees still filing
31/45
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

COLORADO OPEN LANDS: $87,375 · EnvironmentCOLORADO OPEN LANDSScenic Hudson Inc: $50,000 · EnvironmentScenic Hudson IncLAND TRUST ALLIANCE INC: $15,000 · EnvironmentLAND TRUST ALLIANCE INC+7 more: $3,125 · EnvironmentPUBLIC BROADCASTING OF COLORADO INC: $55,000 · Arts & CulturePUBLIC BROADCASTING OF COLORA…COLORADO SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION: $6,000 · Arts & CultureCOLORADO SYMPHONY ASSOCIATIONColorado Museum of Natural History: $6,000 · Arts & CultureColorado Museum of Natural Hi…+5 more: $3,855 · Arts & Culture+5 moreMULTIPLE AUTHORIZED CHARITIES: $8,788 · OtherMULTIPLE AUTHOR…YALE SCHOOL OF ENVIRONMENT-ANNUAL FUND: $4,500 · OtherYALE SCHOOL OF …FOREST TRENDS: $4,500 · OtherFOREST TRENDSTHE PARK PEOPLE: $2,850 · OtherTHE PARK PEOPLEYALE ALUMNI FUND: $2,550 · OtherYALE ALUMNI FUN…THE SAND COUNTY FOUNDATION INC: $2,000 · OtherYALE ENVIRONMENT 360 ONLINE ATTN FINANCE: $1,350 · Other+27 more: $11,308 · Other+27 moreCONSERVATION COLORADO: $4,000 · Civil RightsCOLORADO WILDLIFE FEDERATION INC: $2,850 · AnimalsNATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION: $400 · AnimalsDENVER ZOOLOGICAL FOUNDATION: $300 · AnimalsMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $1,850 · InternationalMercy Corps: $500 · InternationalAMNESTY INTERNATIONAL OF THE USA INC: $425 · InternationalFeeding America: $805 · Food & NutritionFOOD BANK OF THE ROCKIES: $750 · Food & NutritionCOLORADO CATTLEMEN'S AGRICULTURAL LAND TRUST: $450 · Food & Nutrition
Environment$155,500Arts & Culture$70,855Other$37,846Civil Rights$4,000Animals$3,550International$2,775Food & Nutrition$2,005

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 budgetCOLORADO OPEN LANDS: $87,375 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetPUBLIC BROADCASTING OF COLORADO INC: $55,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetScenic Hudson Inc: $50,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetLAND TRUST ALLIANCE INC: $15,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCOLORADO SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION: $6,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetColorado Museum of Natural History: $6,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCONSERVATION COLORADO: $4,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetTHE PARK PEOPLE: $2,850 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetCOLORADO WILDLIFE FEDERATION INC: $2,850 over 4y, 0.7% of budgetROCKY MOUNTAIN PUBLIC MEDIA INC: $2,155 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetTHE SAND COUNTY FOUNDATION INC: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $1,850 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetDENVER RESCUE MISSION: $1,200 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetPARA LA NATURALEZA INC: $1,100 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN FOUNDATION FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION: $850 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetFeeding America: $805 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetFOOD BANK OF THE ROCKIES: $750 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetVOLUNTEERS FOR OUTDOOR COLORADO: $608 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetDenver Architecture Foundation: $600 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetMILE HIGH UNITED WAY INC: $550 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetRETRO REPORT INC: $500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetOPERA COLORADO: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMercy Corps: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCOLORADO HEADWATERS LAND TRUST: $450 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN RIVERS INC: $450 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCOLORADO CATTLEMEN'S AGRICULTURAL LAND TRUST: $450 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetMESA COUNTY LAND CONSERVANCY INC: $450 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetRocky Mountain Institute: $450 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetAMNESTY INTERNATIONAL OF THE USA INC: $425 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetThe Alliance For Collective Action: $425 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetTHE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND: $400 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SOCIETY: $400 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION: $400 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetWoodwell Climate Research Center Inc: $400 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetDENVER ZOOLOGICAL FOUNDATION: $300 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE IRISH REPERTORY THEATRE COMPANYINC: $250 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetLA CLINICA TEPEYAC: $200 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetENVIRONMENT AMERICA RESEARCH AND POLICY CENTER INC: $200 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCOLORADO FOURTEENERS INITIATIVE: $200 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE MONTANA LAND RELIANCE: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE NATIONAL WORLD WAR II MUSEUM INC: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCROHN'S & COLITIS FOUNDATION INC: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE ACCESS FUND: $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.

Colorado Gives Founda…The Denver FoundationGates Family Foundati…Rose Community Founda…Xcel Energy FoundationThe Jerry Gart Family…El Pomar FoundationHill Foundation Wells…Prologis FoundationKenneth Kendal King F…Environmental Defense…Western Union Foundat…
Colorado Gives FoundationCO29.4× affinity13 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Colorado Gives Foundation · The Denver Foundation · Gates Family Foundation · Rose Community Foundation · Xcel Energy Foundation · The Jerry Gart Family Foundation AKA TGFF · El Pomar Foundation · Hill Foundation Wells Fargo Bank Na · Prologis Foundation · Kenneth Kendal King Foundation · Environmental Defense Fund Incorporated · Western Union 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 Michael P Dowling Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Michael P Dowling 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%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 47%
  • Mercy Corps: 47% of income from government
  • Woodwell Climate Research Center Inc: 11% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
10report 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 Michael P Dowling Foundation?

Find your warmest path to The Michael P Dowling 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 62 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 Michael P Dowling’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