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The Royso Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Royso 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.

$810k
Granted FY2024still arriving
5
Grants FY2024still arriving
2
States reached
$550k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Education$3.5MPhilanthropy$300kReligion$200kArts & Culture$125kYouth Development$125kRecreation & Sports$80kCrime & Legal$25kHousing & Shelter$25kOther$0
02FY2024 · 5 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $10k–50k3 grants · $60k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $200k
  • $250k+1 grant · $550k
$25,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$7.0M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
EASTSIDE PREPARTORY SCHOOL$550,000
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF BELLEVUE$200,000
BREAKING BOUNDARIES FOUNDATION$25,000
MASSACHUSETTS INSITUTES OF TECH$25,000
HAYMAKERS FOR HOPE INC$10,000
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 (FY21–22, $220k) land where the poverty rate runs at 7%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 9% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%KIEVE-WAVUS EDUCATION INC: $20k → 9%SPUR COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $200k → 7%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.
$2.8M · 7 repeat orgs$1.1M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +43% since the first grant, against +19% for those funded once.

7 repeat relationships: 2 still active in FY2024, 5 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

7
8

Total granted

$2.8M
$885k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+43%
+19%

Still filing today

100%
88%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 69% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $250k 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
EducationArts & CultureYouth DevelopmentHealthHousing & ShelterHuman ServicesOther
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

  • EP
    EASTSIDE PREPARATORY SCHOOL
    3× · 2022–2024 · $2.3M · revenue +43%
  • BB
    BELLEVUE BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS INC
    3× · 2020–2023 · $100k · revenue +43%
  • ST
    ST THOMAS SCHOOL
    2× · 2020–2021 · $85k · revenue +13%

Funded once

  • TC
    The Community Library Association Inc
    one grant, 2022 · $525k · revenue +19%
  • YW
    YELLOW WOOD ACADEMYgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $100k · revenue +28%
  • FR
    FOREST RIDGE SCHOOL OF THE SACRED HEART
    one grant, 2021 · $90k
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
The Seattle Academy of Arts & Sciences

Seattle academy is a dynamic community that challenges students to question, imagine, and create in order to contribute to a changing world.

Education
2
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.

—
3
University Cooperative School

We take a joyful, community-oriented approach to raising engaged citizens, deep learners, and brave adventurers with the skills, creativity, and heart needed to better the world.

—
4
South Shore Charter School

The mission of south shore charter school is to cultivate students the tenacity, integrity, and curiosity needed to become innovative and socially responsible leaders, ready to face and solve the ever-changing challenges facing our…

Education
5
Trillium Academy

The mission of trillium academy is to break away from conventional schooling and celebrate the incredible capabilities of twice-exceptional (2e) students, providing them with the learning environment they need to discover and develop their…

Education
6
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
7
The Philadelphia School

The philadelphia school educates children for a future that is impossible to know but not impossible to shape. learn here. go anywhere.

—
8
Explorer West an Independent Middle School

We empower young people to explore and grow their unique intellectual, ethical, and creative capabilities, and to treasure diversity and growth in others.

Education
9
Bullis School

Bullis school provides a student-centered balanced experience in academics, arts, athletics and community service. bullis uniquely prepares all students to become caring citizens and creative, critical thinkers who will thrive in…

Education
10
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…

—
11
The Seed Public Charter School of Washington Dc

The seed public charter school of washington, dc is a public college-preparatory boarding school whose primary mission is to provide an outstanding intensive educational program that prepares children, both academically and socially, for…

Education
12
The Waverly School

The waverly school is a nonsectarian, coeducational, college preparatory progressive day school that spans preschool through high school. it is fully accredited by the western association of school and colleges and the california…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Seattle Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Spur Community Foundation 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

18 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. 18 of the 21 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)
1
Early backer (in before they grew)
18/18
Grantees still filing
15/18
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

EASTSIDE PREPARATORY SCHOOL: $2,325,000 · EducationEASTSIDE PREPARATORY SCHOOLThe Community Library Association Inc: $525,000 · EducationThe Community Library Association IncMassachusetts Institute of Technology: $225,000 · EducationMassachusetts Institute of Technology+5 more: $345,000 · Education+5 moreFIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF BELLEVUE: $200,000 · OtherFIRST PRES…BELLEVUE BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS INC: $100,000 · OtherBELLEVUE B…FOREST RIDGE SCHOOL OF THE SACRED HEART: $90,000 · OtherFOREST RID…MASSACHUSETTS INSITUTES OF TECH: $25,000 · OtherMASSACHUSE…SPUR COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $200,000 · Human ServicesKieve Wavus Education Inc: $20,000 · Human ServicesSEATTLE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC: $75,000 · Arts & CultureNAVY SEAL FOUNDATION INC: $50,000 · Arts & CultureDENSHO: $25,000 · Arts & CultureSEATTLE FOUNDATION: $100,000 · PhilanthropyHAYMAKERS FOR HOPE INC: $80,000 · HealthPLYMOUTH HOUSING GROUP AND SUBSIDIARIES: $25,000 · Housing & ShelterBREAKING BOUNDARIES FOUNDATION: $25,000 · Youth Development
Education$3,420,000Other$415,000Human Services$220,000Arts & Culture$150,000Philanthropy$100,000Health$80,000Housing & Shelter$25,000Youth Development$25,000

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 budgetEASTSIDE PREPARATORY SCHOOL: $2,325,000 over 3y, 4.5% of budgetThe Community Library Association Inc: $525,000 over 1y, 12% of budgetMassachusetts Institute of Technology: $225,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSPUR COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $200,000 over 1y, 2.8% of budgetSEATTLE FOUNDATION: $100,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetYELLOW WOOD ACADEMY: $100,000 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetBELLEVUE BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS INC: $100,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetST THOMAS SCHOOL: $85,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetHAYMAKERS FOR HOPE INC: $80,000 over 4y, 4.0% of budgetSEATTLE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC: $75,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetTHE ONE LOVE FOUNDATION IN HONOR OF YEARDLEY LOVE INC: $60,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetNAVY SEAL FOUNDATION INC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF OREGON FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetRAINIER SCHOLARS: $50,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetPLYMOUTH HOUSING GROUP AND SUBSIDIARIES: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetBREAKING BOUNDARIES FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 1y, 4.0% of budgetDENSHO: $25,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetKieve Wavus Education Inc: $20,000 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.

Seattle FoundationGs Donor Advised Phil…Apex FoundationMorgan Stanley Global…National Philanthropi…The Bessemer Giving F…The Goldman Sachs Cha…American Endowment Fo…The US Charitable Gif…Vanguard Charitable E…The Blackbaud Giving …The Bank of America C…
Seattle FoundationWA20.5× affinity8 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Seattle Foundation · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · Apex Foundation · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · The Bessemer Giving Fund · The Goldman Sachs Charitable Gift Fund · American Endowment Foundation · The US Charitable Gift Trust · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc

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 Royso Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Royso Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 30%1%4%8%15%funder's share of their income ↑0%10%20%30%40%share of the org’s income from government →median 35%
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology: 35% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
3get no government money at all
3report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–40%
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 21 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 Royso’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