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· Private foundation

The Renaissance Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$4.7M
Granted FY2024still arriving
228
Grants FY2024still arriving
36
States reached
$406k
Largest
01What it funds
0199% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2024.

Education$16MYouth Development$1.2MHealth$573kFood & Nutrition$439kInternational$311kEnvironment$303kArts & Culture$227kHuman Services$219kOther$0
02FY2024 · 228 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k139 grants · $635k
  • $10k–50k71 grants · $1.2M
  • $50k–250k12 grants · $958k
  • $250k+6 grants · $1.9M
$5,000
Median grant
36
States reached
$8.3M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON$405,501
OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY$379,980
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN$340,000
UNIVERSITY OF PORTLAND$275,000
PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY$273,863
Individual grant recipient$250,000
STAND FOR CHILDREN$215,000
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO$116,298
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN$82,500
ELIZABETH CITY STATE UNIVERSITY$68,500
WESTERN OREGON UNIVERSITY$65,000
OREGON INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY$65,000
LINFIELD UNIVERSITY$62,500
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON$62,500
SOUTHERN OREGON UNIVERSITY$60,002
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 (FY20–24, $288k) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 32% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%YOUTH VILLAGES: $15k → 8%GREER INSTITUTE: $15k → 4%YOUTH VILLAGES: $15k → 8%YOUTH VILLAGES: $10k → 8%YOUTH VILLAGES: $10k → 8%AMERICAN NATIONAL RED CROSS: $100k → 9%WORLD PULSE: $10k → 12%PINK LEMONADE PROJECT: $10k → 9%WORLD PULSE: $10k → 12%PINK LEMONADE PROJECT: $10k → 9%PINK LEMONADE PROJECT: $10k → 9%WORLD PULSE: $5k → 12%WORLD PULSE: $5k → 12%LITTLE BROTHERS - FRIENDS OF THE ELDERLY: $3k → 14%LITTLE BROTHERS - FRIENDS OF THE ELDERLY: $3k → 14%LITTLE BROTHERS - FRIENDS OF THE ELDERLY: $3k → 14%LITTLE BROTHERS - FRIENDS OF THE ELDERLY: $2k → 14%BRADLEY-ANGLE HOUSE: $5k → 12%BRADLEY-ANGLE HOUSE: $5k → 12%BRADLEY-ANGLE HOUSE: $5k → 12%BRADLEY-ANGLE HOUSE: $5k → 12%STORE TO DOOR: $1k → 12%STORE TO DOOR: $1k → 12%GROWING GARDENS: $5k → 12%STORE TO DOOR: $1k → 12%GROWING GARDENS: $5k → 12%STORE TO DOOR: $1k → 12%GROWING GARDENS: $5k → 12%GROWING GARDENS: $6k → 12%WORLD PULSE: $5k → 12%PROJECT LEMONADE: $2k → 12%PROJECT LEMONADE: $1k → 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

ME
VT
NH
WA
ID
MT
ND
MN
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
OR
NV
IA
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CT
RI
CA
CO
NE
MO
VA
MD
AZ
NM
KS
AR
TN
NC
SC
DC
LA
AL
GA
TX
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.

93%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$19M · 262 repeat orgs$1.3M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +20% since the first grant, against +10% for those funded once.

262 repeat relationships: 189 still active in FY2024, 73 since wound down; 25 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

262
62

Total granted

$19M
$941k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+20%
+10%

Still filing today

61%
50%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 91% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $386k went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24
EducationHuman ServicesInternationalArts & CultureYouth DevelopmentEnvironmentOther
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

  • LEWIS & CLARK COLLEGE
    5× · 2020–2024 · $2.7M · revenue +26%
  • STAND FOR CHILDREN INC
    5× · 2020–2024 · $1.0M · revenue +1%
  • UO
    UNIVERSITY OF PORTLAND
    5× · 2020–2024 · $657k · revenue +15%

Funded once

  • SF
    STAND FOR CHILDREN
    one grant, 2020 · $170k
  • AN
    American National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branchesgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $100k · revenue +38%
  • PORTLAND COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC
    one grant, 2020 · $100k · revenue +10%
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
University of New Haven

The University of New Haven is a student-centered comprehensive university with an emphasis on excellence in liberal arts and professional education. Our mission is to prepare our students to lead purposeful and fulfilling lives in a…

Education
2
Boston Architectural College

The bac is committed to provide excellence in design education grounded in practice and accessible to diverse communities.

—
3
Albright College

As a diverse community of learners, we cultivate integrity, curiosity, connection and resilience.

Education
4
Furman University

The primary mission of furman as a liberal arts institution is to provide a distinctive education in fine arts, humanities, social sciences, mathematics and the sciences, as well as selected professional disciplines.

Education
5
DePauw University

Depauw university develops leaders the world needs through an uncommon commitment to the liberal arts. depauw's diverse and inclusive learning and living experience, distinctive in its rigorous intellectual engagement and its global and…

Education
6
Manhattanville University

To educate students to be ethical and socially responsible leaders in a global community.

Education
7
Western New England University

Western new england university, a comprehensive private institution with a tradition of excellence in teaching and scholarship and a commitment to service, awards undergraduate, master's, and doctoral degrees in various departments from…

Education
8
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…

—
9
President and Trustees of Bates College

Bates is a college of the liberal arts and sciences, and is a coeducational, nonsectarian, residential college with special commitments to academic rigor, and to assuring in all of its efforts the dignity of each individual, and access to…

Education
10
Wilson College

Wilson college empowers students to be confident and critical thinkers, creative visionaries, effective communicators, honorable leaders, and agents of justice.

Education
11
Trinity University

Trinity university is an independent co-educational university whose mission is excellence in the interrelated areas of teaching, research and services.

Education
12
California Lutheran University

The mission of the university is to educate leaders for a global society who are strong in character and judgment, confident in their identity and vocation, and committed to service and justice.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Willamette University; the most unlike its peers is All Ages Music Portland dba Friends of Noise. 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

223 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

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 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 223 of the 364 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.

2
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
16
Early backer (in before they grew)
221/223
Grantees still filing
164/223
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY: $1,639,776 · OtherPORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITYUNIVERSITY OF OREGON: $1,435,365 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF OREGONOREGON STATE UNIVERSITY: $1,076,715 · OtherOREGON STATE UNIVERSITYUNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN: $751,223 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGNUNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO: $382,298 · Other+101 more: $5,267,449 · Other+101 moreLEWIS & CLARK COLLEGE: $2,655,042 · EducationLEWIS & CLARK COLLEGEUNIVERSITY OF PORTLAND: $657,246 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF PORTLANDPACIFIC UNIVERSITY: $281,300 · EducationDEPAUL UNIVERSITY: $258,445 · Education+70 more: $3,344,505 · Education+70 moreSTAND FOR CHILDREN INC: $1,022,500 · Youth DevelopmentOREGON BRAVO YOUTH ORCHESTRAS: $45,500 · Youth DevelopmentAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $100,000 · Human ServicesYOUTH VILLAGES INC: $50,000 · Human ServicesWorld Pulse Voices: $35,000 · Human ServicesPINK LEMONADE PROJECT: $30,000 · Human ServicesGrowing Gardens: $21,000 · Human ServicesBradley Angle: $20,000 · Human ServicesGREER INSTITUTE LLC: $15,000 · Human ServicesMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $80,000 · InternationalAMERICAN JEWISH WORLD SERVICE INC: $50,000 · InternationalNEW ISRAEL FUND: $40,000 · InternationalHIAS INC: $30,000 · InternationalTHE UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS INC: $23,000 · InternationalOXFAM-AMERICA INC: $15,000 · InternationalNorthwestern University: $156,528 · Recreation & SportsEARTHJUSTICE: $70,000 · EnvironmentWORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $40,000 · EnvironmentCOLUMBIA LAND TRUST: $20,000 · EnvironmentFriends of Trees: $16,000 · Environment
Other$10,552,826Education$7,196,538Youth Development$1,068,000Human Services$271,000International$238,000Recreation & Sports$156,528Environment$146,000

Showing the 200 largest grantees by grant value.

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 budgetLEWIS & CLARK COLLEGE: $2,655,042 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetSTAND FOR CHILDREN INC: $1,022,500 over 5y, 4.1% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF PORTLAND: $657,246 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetUniversity of Michigan: $335,600 over 5y, 30% of budgetPACIFIC UNIVERSITY: $281,300 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetDEPAUL UNIVERSITY: $258,445 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetOREGON FOOD BANK: $233,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetGEORGE FOX UNIVERSITY: $225,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetLinfield University: $187,500 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetLOYOLA UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO: $179,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: $168,600 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetWILLAMETTE UNIVERSITY: $168,000 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetNorthwestern University: $156,528 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $129,167 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetStillman College: $123,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetWARNER PACIFIC UNIVERSITY: $104,500 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $100,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPORTLAND COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC: $100,000 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetDOMINICAN UNIVERSITY: $94,569 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetTRUSTEES OF BOSTON UNIVERSITY: $84,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetCornell University: $81,850 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetREED INSTITUTE: $81,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $80,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetTHE HOWARD UNIVERSITY: $79,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetST OLAF COLLEGE: $78,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetPORTLAND ART MUSEUM: $75,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetEARTHJUSTICE: $70,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetPitzer College: $64,372 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetMEALS ON WHEELS PEOPLE INC: $56,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetCASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY: $54,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetBRADLEY UNIVERSITY: $54,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetIllinois Institute of Technology: $53,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetNew York University: $52,800 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $50,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetYOUTH VILLAGES INC: $50,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN JEWISH WORLD SERVICE INC: $50,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetBLANCHET HOUSE OF HOSPITALITY: $50,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetLEGACY HEALTH FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 1y, 6.3% of budgetTrustees of Tufts College: $48,300 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetColumbia College Chicago: $47,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetPresident and Fellows of Middlebury College: $47,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetPOMONA COLLEGE: $47,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetOREGON BRAVO YOUTH ORCHESTRAS: $45,500 over 3y, 3.1% of budgetTHE CHICAGO SCHOLARS FOUNDATION: $45,471 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetREADING RESULTS: $45,000 over 4y, 1.7% of budgetThe George Washington University: $43,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetTHE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK: $41,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetWORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $40,000 over 4y, 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.

  • Who funds LEWIS & CLARK COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds STAND FOR CHILDREN INC ↗
  • Who funds UNIVERSITY OF PORTLAND ↗
  • Who funds University of Michigan ↗
  • Who funds PACIFIC UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds DEPAUL UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds OREGON FOOD BANK ↗
  • Who funds GEORGE FOX UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds Linfield University ↗
  • Who funds LOYOLA UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO ↗
  • Who funds UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ↗
  • Who funds WILLAMETTE UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds Northwestern University ↗
  • Who funds THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds Stillman College ↗
  • Who funds WARNER PACIFIC UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds American National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches ↗
  • Who funds PORTLAND COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds DOMINICAN UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds TRUSTEES OF BOSTON UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds Cornell University ↗
  • Who funds REED INSTITUTE ↗
  • Who funds MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC ↗

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 Oregon Community FoundationOR60× affinity44 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Oregon Community Foundation · Meyer Memorial Trust · Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation Trust · Juan Young Trust · OCF Joseph E Weston Public Foundation · The Collins Foundation · The Autzen Foundation · The Jackson Foundation · Rose E Tucker Charitable Trust · The Reser Family Foundation · Maybelle Clark Macdonald Fund · Wheeler 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 Renaissance Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Renaissance Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 130%3%13%28%50%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 3%
  • Friends of Trees: 100% of income from government
  • Klamath Bird Observatory: 100% of income from government
  • Hias Inc: 88% of income from government
  • Artists Repertory Theatre: 48% of income from government
  • Mercy Corps: 47% of income from government
  • Portland YouthBuilders: 35% of income from government
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology: 35% of income from government
  • College Dreams Inc: 23% of income from government
  • Oregon Food Bank: 21% of income from government
  • Willamette Valley Law Project Dba Pcun Foundation: 18% of income from government
  • The Freshwater Trust: 17% of income from government
  • Warner Pacific University: 14% of income from government
  • Ecotrust: 14% of income from government
  • Trustees of Tufts College: 13% of income from government
  • Trustees of Boston University: 12% of income from government
  • The Trustees of Princeton University: 11% of income from government
  • Bradley Angle: 10% of income from government
  • Brandeis University: 9% of income from government
  • President and Fellows of Harvard College: 7% of income from government
  • Northeastern University: 7% of income from government
  • Growing Gardens: 6% of income from government
  • Portland Community College Foundation Inc: 5% of income from government
  • The Contingent: 5% of income from government
  • University of Miami: 5% of income from government
  • Linfield University: 4% of income from government
  • Babson College: 3% of income from government
  • Bushnell University Fka Northwest Christian University: 3% of income from government
  • Trustees of Boston College: 3% of income from government
  • Corban University: 3% of income from government
  • Pacific University: 2% of income from government
  • George Fox University: 2% of income from government
  • Constructing Hope Pre-Apprenticeship Program: 2% of income from government
  • Lewis & Clark College: 2% of income from government
  • Casa for Children Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Chess for Success: 2% of income from government
  • Willamette University: 1% of income from government
  • The Trustees of the Smith College: 1% of income from government
  • University of Portland: 1% of income from government
  • All Ages Music Portland dba Friends of Noise: 1% of income from government
  • President and Fellows of Middlebury College: 1% of income from government
  • Portland Art Museum: 1% of income from government
  • Reed Institute: 1% of income from government
  • Bentley University: 1% of income from government
  • Oregon Public Broadcasting: 1% of income from government
  • Lesley University: 1% of income from government
  • William Temple House: 0% of income from government
  • The Campbell Institute: 0% of income from government
  • Oregon Business Academy: 0% of income from government
  • Trinity College: 0% of income from government
  • Amherst College Trustees: 0% of income from government
  • Oxfam-America Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
13get no government money at all
27report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
3rely 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 Renaissance Foundation?

Find your warmest path to The Renaissance 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 364 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

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