Skip to content
The Ruth M Knight Foundation Inc at a glance

· Private foundation

The Ruth M Knight Foundation Inc

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.

$150k
Granted FY2024still arriving
8
Grants FY2024still arriving
7
States reached
$20k
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 2024.

Arts & Culture$340kYouth Development$209kEnvironment$177kEducation$136kFood & Nutrition$133kEmployment$52kHealth$26kCrime & Legal$16kOther$0
02FY2024 · 8 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$20,000
Median grant
7
States reached
$2.0M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
MOVING ARTS ESPANOLA$20,000
WE ARE INSTRUMENTAL$20,000
MANHATTAN SCHOOL OF MUSIC$20,000
SHELBURNE FARMS$20,000
GIRLS ON THE RUN$20,000
YOUNG STORYTELLERS$20,000
MONTGOMERY COUNTRYSIDE ALLIANCE$20,000
TAMPA BAY ABORTION FUND$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 (FY20–22, $7k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%JEWISH FAMILY SERVICES OF COLORADO: $2k → 12%THE FOOD DEPOT: $1k → 12%TEWA WOMEN UNITED: $3k → 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

VT
NY
MA
OR
OH
PA
NJ
CA
CO
MD
NM
DC
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.
$995k · 15 repeat orgs$114k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +50% since the first grant, against +20% for those funded once.

15 repeat relationships: 7 still active in FY2024, 8 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

15
26

Total granted

$995k
$104k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+50%
+20%

Still filing today

100%
77%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 93% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $10k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
EnvironmentHealthHuman ServicesArts & CultureYouth DevelopmentPublic BenefitOther
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

  • MS
    MANHATTAN SCHOOL OF MUSIC
    8× · 2017–2024 · $154k · revenue +47%
  • ER
    EVERYONE READING INC
    7× · 2017–2023 · $136k · revenue +72%
  • SHELBURNE FARMS
    6× · 2019–2024 · $120k · revenue +50%

Funded once

  • HS
    HIGH SCHOOL FOR ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
    one grant, 2018 · $20k
  • CO
    COALITION ON THE ENVIRONMENT AND JEWISH LIFE
    one grant, 2020 · $20k
  • SW
    SOUTHWEST WOMEN'S LAW CENTERgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $16k · revenue +77%
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
Food Forward Inc

Food forward fights hunger and prevents food waste by rescuing fresh surplus produce, connecting this abundance with people experiencing food insecurity, and inspiring others to do the same.

Food & Nutrition
2
West Side Center for Community Life

To pursue anti-hunger initiatives through the west side campaign against hunger (wscah) program whose mission is to alleviate hunger by ensuring that all new yorkers have access with dignity to a choice of healthy food and supportive…

Youth Development
3
Feeding Westchester Inc

Driven by the belief that access to healthy food is a basic right for all people, feeding westchester leads hunger action programs and mobilizes the resources needed to eradicate hunger in westchester county.

—
4
Institute for Agriculture & Trade Policy

Iatp works locally and globally at the intersection of policy and practice to ensure fair and sustainable food, farm and trade systems.

Food & Nutrition
5
Spoonfuls

Spoonfuls is an organization that facilitates the recovery and distribution of healthy, perishable food that would otherwise be discarded. spoonfuls works efficiently to deliver this food directly to the community organizations and…

Food & Nutrition
6
Greater Newark Conservancy Inc

Greater newark conservancy is a new jersey not-for-profit organization that expands access to healthy food, environmental education, and green spaces. we provide hands-on community programs that cultivate sustainability, inspire action,…

Environment
7
Food Bank Association of New York State

The mission of feeding new york state is to lead a unified effort for a hunger-free state of new york. the mission of food banking is to obtain food and deliver it to emergency food programs. feeding new york state works to end hunger by…

Food & Nutrition
8
Food Bank for New York City

Food bank for nyc has been the city's major hunger-relief organization driven by our mission to empower every new yorker to achieve food security for good. we harness the collective power of our network of food providers, partners, and…

Community Improvement
9
Nashville Food Project Inc

The nashville food project brings people together to grow, cook, and share nourishing food, with the goals of cultivating community and alleviating hunger in our city.

Food & Nutrition
10
The Maryland Food Bank Inc

The maryland food bank is a nonprofit hunger-relief organization dedicated to feeding people, strengthening communities, and ending hunger for more marylanders.

—
11
Glynwood Center Inc

Glynwood cultivates just and resilient regional food systems so that communities, farmers and the land thrive.

Public Benefit
12
United Food Bank

United Food Bank unites communities to alleviate hunger.

Food & Nutrition
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Dc Central Kitchen Inc; the most unlike its peers is Manhattan School of Music. 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

35 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. 35 of the 42 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)
7
Early backer (in before they grew)
35/35
Grantees still filing
29/35
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

MANHATTAN SCHOOL OF MUSIC: $154,000 · Arts & CultureMANHATTAN SCHOOL OF MUSICMOVING ARTS ESPANOLA INCORPORATED: $120,000 · Arts & CultureMOVING ARTS ESPANOLA INCORPORATEDCOPLAND HOUSE INC: $36,000 · Arts & CultureCOPLAND HOUSE INCWE ARE INSTRUMENTAL INC: $30,000 · Arts & CultureWE ARE INSTRUMENTAL INCGIRLS INC OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY: $114,000 · Youth DevelopmentGIRLS INC OF WESTCHES…YOUNG STORYTELLERS: $60,000 · Youth DevelopmentYOUNG STORYTELLERSGIRLS ON THE RUN OF THE ROCKIES: $35,000 · Youth DevelopmentGIRLS ON THE RUN OF T…SHELBURNE FARMS: $120,000 · EnvironmentSHELBURNE FARMSNature Forward: $26,250 · EnvironmentNature Forward+4 more: $5,000 · EnvironmentEVERYONE READING INC: $136,000 · HealthEVERYONE READIN…+4 more: $12,000 · Health+4 moreMONTGOMERY COUNTRYSIDE ALLIANCE INC: $76,000 · Public BenefitMONTGOMERY CO…United Workers Association Inc: $51,000 · Public BenefitUnited Worker…+1 more: $2,400 · Public BenefitHIGH SCHOOL FOR ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES: $20,000 · OtherHIGH SCHOO…COALITION ON THE ENVIRONMENT AND JEWISH LIFE: $20,000 · OtherCOALITION …TAMPA BAY ABORTION FUND: $10,000 · OtherTAMPA BAY …COMMUNITY ACTION COUNCIL OF HOWARD COUNTY MARYLAND INC: $3,500 · OtherSOUTHWEST WOMEN'S LAW CENTER: $16,000 · OtherSOUTHWEST …FOODLINK INC: $3,500 · Other+14 more: $29,000 · Other+14 moreTHE NATIONAL RELIGIOUS PARTNERSHIP FOR THE ENVIRONMENT INC: $30,000 · Religion
Arts & Culture$340,000Youth Development$209,000Environment$151,250Health$148,000Public Benefit$129,400Other$102,000Religion$30,000

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 budgetMANHATTAN SCHOOL OF MUSIC: $154,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetEVERYONE READING INC: $136,000 over 7y, 8.1% of budgetSHELBURNE FARMS: $120,000 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetMOVING ARTS ESPANOLA INCORPORATED: $120,000 over 6y, 4.7% of budgetGIRLS INC OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY: $114,000 over 6y, 4.7% of budgetMONTGOMERY COUNTRYSIDE ALLIANCE INC: $76,000 over 4y, 6.4% of budgetYOUNG STORYTELLERS: $60,000 over 3y, 1.3% of budgetUnited Workers Association Inc: $51,000 over 3y, 3.2% of budgetCOPLAND HOUSE INC: $36,000 over 2y, 4.2% of budgetGIRLS ON THE RUN OF THE ROCKIES: $35,000 over 2y, 1.6% of budgetTHE NATIONAL RELIGIOUS PARTNERSHIP FOR THE ENVIRONMENT INC: $30,000 over 2y, 6.0% of budgetWE ARE INSTRUMENTAL INC: $30,000 over 2y, 10% of budgetNature Forward: $26,250 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetCOMMUNITY ACTION COUNCIL OF HOWARD COUNTY MARYLAND INC: $3,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFOODLINK INC: $3,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD HUDSON PECONIC INC: $3,200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD OF GREATER NEW YORK INC: $3,200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetABORTION CARE NETWORK: $3,200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTEWA WOMEN UNITED: $3,200 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetDC ABORTION FUND: $3,200 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetJEWISH FAMILY SERVICE OF COLORADO INC: $2,400 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetKITCHEN ANGELS INC: $2,400 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetGULLOTTA HOUSE INC: $2,400 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetCITY HARVEST INC: $2,400 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Shepherds Table Inc: $2,400 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetPROJECT ANGEL FOOD: $2,400 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPINELANDS PRESERVATION ALLIANCE: $1,250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC: $1,250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBEDFORD 2030 INC: $1,250 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetBLUE WATER BALTIMORE: $1,250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNEW YORK COMMON PANTRY: $1,100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE FOOD DEPOT: $1,100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetIN THE FAMILY WAY: $1,100 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE DC CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $1,100 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.

The Keith Campbell Fo…T Rowe Price Program …ImpactassetsincThe New York Communit…Amalgamated Charitabl…The Robert Wood Johns…Jpmorgan Chase Founda…Verizon FoundationAmerican Endowment Fo…National Philanthropi…Silicon Valley Commun…The Pfizer Foundation…
The Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment IncMD13.3× affinity4 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment Inc · T Rowe Price Program for Charitable Giving Inc · Impactassetsinc · The New York Community Trust · Amalgamated Charitable Foundation Inc · The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation · Jpmorgan Chase Foundation · Verizon Foundation · American Endowment Foundation · National Philanthropic Trust · Silicon Valley Community Foundation · The Pfizer 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 Ruth M Knight Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Ruth M Knight Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%4%8%15%funder's share of their income ↑0%15%30%45%60%share of the org’s income from government →median 35%
  • Community Action Council of Howard County Maryland Inc: 44% of income from government
  • Pinelands Preservation Alliance: 35% of income from government
  • Nature Forward: 32% of income from government
  • Shelburne Farms: 3% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
17report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–60%
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 Ruth M Knight Foundation Inc?

Find your warmest path to The Ruth M Knight Foundation Inc 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 42 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 Ruth M Knight’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