Skip to content
The Morris Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Morris Foundation

Its FY2019 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$898k
Granted FY2019
8
Grants FY2019
2
States reached
$850k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2019.

Community Improvement$851kEnvironment$57kArts & Culture$40kEducation$33kFood & Nutrition$17kHealth$12kRecreation & Sports$8kHousing & Shelter$6kOther$0
02FY2019 · 8 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2019

  • Under $10k5 grants · $10k
  • $10k–50k2 grants · $38k
  • $250k+1 grant · $850k
$5,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
ROTARY CLUB OF GIG HARBOR$850,000
GREAT PENINSULA CONSERVANCY$24,300
HARBOR HISTORY MUSEUM$13,850
COMMUNITIES IN SCHOOLS$5,000
WASHINGTON NATIONAL PARK FUND$3,000
GEORGE FOX UNIVERSITY$1,000
WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY$1,000
FOSS WATERWAY SEAPORT$275
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 (FY17–18, $8k) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, 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%KEY PENINSULA COMMUNITY SERVICES: $4k → 9%KEY PENINSULA COMMUNITY SERVICES: $4k → 9%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.

99%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.0M · 13 repeat orgs$7k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +159% since the first grant, against -52% for those funded once.

13 repeat relationships: 6 still active in FY2019, 7 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2019 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

13
3

Total granted

$1.0M
$6k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+159%
-52%

Still filing today

77%
33%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2019, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $1k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19
EducationEnvironmentPhilanthropyHuman ServicesRecreation & SportsHousing & ShelterOther
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

  • RC
    ROTARY CLUB OF GIG HARBOR
    2× · 2018–2019 · $851k · revenue +34%
  • GP
    GREAT PENINSULA CONSERVANCY
    3× · 2017–2019 · $57k · revenue +489%
  • GH
    GIG HARBOR PENINSULA HISTORICAL SOC
    3× · 2017–2019 · $40k · revenue +170%

Funded once

  • EW
    ED WORTHEN EYE CLINIC
    one grant, 2017 · $4k
  • KW
    KELLER WILLIAMS REALTY CARES
    one grant, 2017 · $1k · revenue -52%
  • UO
    UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON-TACOMA
    one grant, 2017 · $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
Mid Puget Sound Fisheries Enhancement Gr

Engaging people in on-the-ground efforts to help salmon and our communities thrive.

Animals
2
Kitsap Community Foundation

: a catalyst for the greater good. we partner with donors and others to invest in our region's nonprofit organizations to foster a more vibrant kitsap peninsula for the benefit of all.

Philanthropy
3
Gig Harbor Waterfront Alliance

The gig harbor waterfront alliance promotes economic vitality by maintaining a historic waterfront community that attracts diverse businesses and people through collaboration, outreach and activities.

Arts & Culture
4
Puget Sound Restoration Fund

To restore habitat, water quality and native species in the puget sound

Environment
5
Peninsula Community Health Services of Alaska

Strengthening the community by providing accessible and affordable health care.

Health
6
Peninsula Community Health Services

Pchs exemplifies a culture of community service.

Health
7
Peninsula College Foundation

Creating access, excellence and success for the peninsula college community by providing funds for students and programs.

Philanthropy
8
Whidbey Community Foundation

Strengthening the communities of whidbey island for both present and future generations.

Philanthropy
9
Gig Harbor Chamber of Commerce

Serve the small business community and local development.

—
10
Fish of Cowlitz County

Provide emergency aid to the needy

Human Services
11
Key Peninsula News

Key Peninsula News mission to reflect and connect the Key Peninsula Community as it evolves and grows.

—
12
Paws of Grays Harbor

PAWS cares for lost, abandoned and abused animals and finds them new homes with responsible owners. PAWS also provides low cost spay and neuter services, a pet food pantry, and community education. During 2024 PAWS adopted out 577 pets.…

Animals
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Great Peninsula Conservancy; the most unlike its peers is Lindquist Dental Clinic for Children. 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

12 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. 12 of the 18 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)
6
Early backer (in before they grew)
12/12
Grantees still filing
10/12
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

ROTARY CLUB OF GIG HARBOR: $850,750 · OtherROTARY CLUB OF GIG HARBORGIG HARBOR PENINSULA HISTORICAL SOC: $39,600 · Other+10 more: $47,275 · OtherGREAT PENINSULA CONSERVANCY: $56,700 · EnvironmentFISH: $9,000 · PhilanthropyKEY PENINSULA COMMUNITY SERVICES: $8,000 · Human ServicesWASHINGTON'S NATIONAL PARK FUND: $8,000 · Recreation & SportsTHE RESCUE MISSION: $6,000 · Housing & ShelterGEORGE FOX UNIVERSITY: $3,000 · Education
Other$937,625Environment$56,700Philanthropy$9,000Human Services$8,000Recreation & Sports$8,000Housing & Shelter$6,000Education$3,000

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 budgetROTARY CLUB OF GIG HARBOR: $850,750 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetGREAT PENINSULA CONSERVANCY: $56,700 over 3y, 1.9% of budgetGIG HARBOR PENINSULA HISTORICAL SOC: $39,600 over 3y, 3.9% of budgetPENINSULA HAWKS SCHOLARSHIP FUND: $10,000 over 2y, 1.6% of budgetFISH: $9,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetKEY PENINSULA COMMUNITY SERVICES: $8,000 over 2y, 2.0% of budgetLINDQUIST DENTAL CLINIC FOR CHILDREN: $8,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetWASHINGTON'S NATIONAL PARK FUND: $8,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetTHE RESCUE MISSION: $6,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetGEORGE FOX UNIVERSITY: $3,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetKELLER WILLIAMS REALTY CARES: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFOSS WATERWAY SEAPORT: $275 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.

Anne Hampton Foundati…Glein Family Foundati…Greater Tacoma Commun…Puget Sound Energy Fo…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Anne Hampton FoundationWA15.7× affinity5 shared granteesties to 6 of 6Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Anne Hampton Foundation · Glein Family Foundation · Greater Tacoma Community Foundation · Puget Sound Energy Foundation · Donor Advised Charitable Giving 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 Morris Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Morris Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%6%13%19%25%share of the org’s income from government →median 2%
  • George Fox University: 2% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
8report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–25%
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 Morris Foundation?

Find your warmest path to The Morris 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 18 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 2019, released 2019. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Morris’ 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