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The Sophie S Bass Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Sophie S Bass 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.

$125k
Granted FY2025still arriving
5
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$50k
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 2025.

Health$382kAnimals$298kEducation$160kHuman Services$62kEnvironment$25kYouth Development$20kCrime & Legal$15kFood & Nutrition$11kOther$0
02FY2025 · 5 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • $10k–50k4 grants · $75k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $50k
$20,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$651k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CHILDREN'S MEDICAL CENTER FOUNDATION$50,000
FORT WORTH ZOOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION$25,000
CITY KIDS ADVENTURES$20,000
SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL FOUNDATION$20,000
ONE SAFE PLACE$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 (FY21–21, $15k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%GENESIS WOMEN'S SHELTER & SUPPORT: $15k → 14%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.

78%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$776k · 9 repeat orgs$219k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +44% since the first grant, against 0% for those funded once.

9 repeat relationships: 4 still active in FY2025, 5 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

9
12

Total granted

$776k
$199k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+44%
0%

Still filing today

89%
83%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 84% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $20k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
AnimalsEducationEnvironmentHealthHuman ServicesPhilanthropyOther
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

  • SM
    SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL FOUNDATION
    3× · 2017–2025 · $147k · revenue +163%
  • TF
    THE FORT WORTH ZOOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION
    3× · 2020–2025 · $146k · revenue +90%
  • WC
    Wildlife Conservation Society
    2× · 2018–2024 · $138k · revenue +44%

Funded once

  • GS
    GOOD SHEPARD EPISCOPAL SCHOOL
    one grant, 2022 · $100k
  • GW
    GENESIS WOMENS SHELTER & SUPPORT
    one grant, 2021 · $15k · revenue -72%
  • SA
    SAN ANTONIO RIVER FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2018 · $15k · revenue -38%
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
Rainforest Trust

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

International
2
Conservation Farms & Ranches

Preserving and enhancing the habitat of wildlife, such as sandhill cranes, waterfowl, raptors, which habitat expenses are supported by agricultural activities.

Housing & Shelter
3
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation

To sustain, restore, and enhance the nation's fish, wildlife, plants, and habitats.

Animals
4
Witte Museum

The witte museum inspires people to shape the future of texas through transformative and relevant experiences in nature, science and culture.

Arts & Culture
5
Houston Zoo Inc

Mission: Connect communities with animals, inspiring action to save wildlife. Vision: Be a leader in the global movement to save wildlife. (Continued on Schedule O) Houston Zoo, Inc. (HZI) strives to be a zoo that practices exemplary…

Animals
6
National Forest Foundation

The national forest foundation, chartered by congress, engages americans in community-based and national programs that promote the health and public enjoyment of the 193-million acre national forest system, and accepts and administers…

Recreation & Sports
7
Naples Zoo Inc

Naples zoo is accredited by the american zoo & aquarium association (aza) and has numerous animal exhibits placed on its 45-acre site. (continued on schedule o)each exhibit is unique and designed to simulate typical conditions for the…

Animals
8
Conservation International Foundation

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

Environment
9
Children's Health System of Texas

With more than 1 million patient visits each year, Children's Health is North Texas' leading pediatric health system and among the largest in the nation. For more than a century, our mission has been clear: make life better for children.…

Health
10
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
11
Texas Trees Foundation

The mission of texas trees foundation is to improve the health of cities and people through the transformative power of trees.

—
12
The Water Research Foundation

The purpose of the water research foundation (wrf) is a definitive research organization to advance the science of all things water to better meet the evolving needs of its subscribers and the water sector. to engage exclusively in…

Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Save the Children Federation Inc; the most unlike its peers is Wildlife Conservation Society. 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

19 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. 19 of the 22 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)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
19/19
Grantees still filing
13/19
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE FORT WORTH ZOOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION: $146,000 · AnimalsTHE FORT WORTH ZOOLOGICAL ASSOCIA…Wildlife Conservation Society: $138,000 · AnimalsWildlife Conservation SocietyTHE INTERNATIONAL RHINO FOUNDATION: $10,000 · Animals+1 more: $4,000 · AnimalsUT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER: $101,000 · OtherUT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTERGOOD SHEPARD EPISCOPAL SCHOOL: $100,000 · OtherGOOD SHEPARD EPISCOPAL SCHOOLNORTH TEXAS FOOD BANK: $11,000 · OtherCATHOLIC CHARITIES INC: $10,000 · OtherTHE SALVATION ARMY: $10,000 · OtherGENESIS WOMENS SHELTER & SUPPORT: $15,000 · OtherGENESIS WOMENS SHELTER & SUPPOR…Safe City Commission: $15,000 · OtherSafe City CommissionSave The Children Federation Inc: $10,000 · Other+1 more: $1,000 · OtherSOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL FOUNDATION: $147,250 · EducationSOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL FO…MISS PORTER'S SCHOOL INC: $51,000 · EducationMISS PORTER'S SCHOOL IN…FOLDS OF HONOR FOUNDATION: $9,000 · EducationCHILDREN'S MEDICAL CENTER FOUNDATION: $130,000 · HealthCHILDREN'S MEDI…Nexus Recovery Center Incorporated: $5,000 · HealthTHE SPECIAL FORCES CHARITABLE TRUST: $37,000 · PhilanthropySAN ANTONIO RIVER FOUNDATION: $15,000 · EnvironmentCADDO LAKE INSTITUTE INC: $10,000 · EnvironmentCity Kids Adventures: $20,000 · Youth Development
Animals$298,000Other$273,000Education$207,250Health$135,000Philanthropy$37,000Environment$25,000Youth Development$20,000

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 budgetSOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL FOUNDATION: $147,250 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetTHE FORT WORTH ZOOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION: $146,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetWildlife Conservation Society: $138,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCHILDREN'S MEDICAL CENTER FOUNDATION: $130,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetMISS PORTER'S SCHOOL INC: $51,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetTHE SPECIAL FORCES CHARITABLE TRUST: $37,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetSAN ANTONIO RIVER FOUNDATION: $15,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetSafe City Commission: $15,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetNORTH TEXAS FOOD BANK: $11,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCATHOLIC CHARITIES INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetTHE INTERNATIONAL RHINO FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetCADDO LAKE INSTITUTE INC: $10,000 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetSave The Children Federation Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFOLDS OF HONOR FOUNDATION: $9,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNexus Recovery Center Incorporated: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTurtles Fly Too Inc: $4,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetFRIENDS OF UNITED HATZALAH INC: $1,000 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.

Communities Foundatio…National Philanthropi…The Bank of America C…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Communities Foundation of Texas IncTX12.7× affinity4 shared granteesties to 5 of 5Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Communities Foundation of Texas Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · 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 Sophie S Bass Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Sophie S Bass Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%19%38%56%75%share of the org’s income from government →median 30%
  • Save the Children Federation Inc: 30% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
2get no government money at all
4report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–75%
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 Sophie S Bass Foundation?

Find your warmest path to The Sophie S Bass 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 22 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 Sophie S Bass’ 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