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The Starseed Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Starseed Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$301k
Granted FY2024still arriving
38
Grants FY2024still arriving
4
States reached
$34k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0199% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Philanthropy$1.4MArts & Culture$1.2MEducation$310kEnvironment$289kCommunity Improvement$128kHousing & Shelter$83kHuman Services$38kHealth$29kOther$0
02FY2024 · 38 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k30 grants · $149k
  • $10k–50k8 grants · $153k
$6,373
Median grant
4
States reached
$10M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
PORTLAND ART MUSEUM$33,500
SCRAP$25,000
DANCING GROUND$19,500
PEAR$17,700
SUPERKID POWER$16,500
Individual grant recipient$15,500
Individual grant recipient$13,000
CLACKAMAS COUNTY CHILDREN COMM$12,000
EMPOWERED MOVEMENT AERIAL$9,000
OREGON COASTS CHILDRENS THEATER$8,530
CORVALLIS YOUTH SYMPHONY ASSN$8,500
OREGON SYMPHONY$8,000
ART PRESENCE$7,500
OREGON SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL$7,500
GOAT IN THE ROAD PRODUCTIONS$7,500
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 (FY17–24, $71k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%ETHOS: $5k → 16%STREET ROOTS: $10k → 12%UNETE: $1k → 13%STREET ROOTS: $5k → 12%STREET ROOTS: $5k → 12%IMPACT NW: $5k → 12%IMPACT NW: $1k → 12%RAPHAEL HOUSE: $5k → 12%RAPHAEL HOUSE: $2k → 12%RAPHAEL HOUSE: $2k → 12%IMPACT NW: $5k → 12%YWCA OF GREATER PORTLAND: $5k → 12%YWCA OF GREATER PORTLAND: $5k → 12%IMPACT NW: $5k → 12%IMPACT NW: $5k → 12%IMPACT NW: $1k → 12%GROWING GARDENS PDX: $500 → 12%PROJECT LEMONADE: $500 → 12%COMMUNITY WAREHOUSE: $3k → 12%COMMUNITY WAREHOUSE: $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

VT
WA
MN
NY
MA
OR
IA
IN
PA
CA
CO
VA
AZ
DC
LA
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.

89%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$3.0M · 69 repeat orgs$356k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +28% since the first grant, against +27% for those funded once.

69 repeat relationships: 25 still active in FY2024, 44 since wound down; 13 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

69
96

Total granted

$3.0M
$291k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+28%
+27%

Still filing today

51%
45%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 78% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $65k 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
Arts & CultureHuman ServicesEnvironmentEducationYouth DevelopmentRecreation & SportsOther
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

  • DG
    DANCING GROUNDS
    8× · 2017–2024 · $185k · revenue +73%
  • PORTLAND ART MUSEUM
    6× · 2017–2024 · $79k · revenue +3%
  • OREGON BALLET THEATRE
    5× · 2017–2021 · $73k · revenue +31%

Funded once

  • HS
    HEAD START OF CC
    one grant, 2017 · $12k
  • HS
    HEAD START
    one grant, 2023 · $11k
  • OH
    OUR HOUSE OF PORTLAND INC
    one grant, 2019 · $10k · revenue -48%
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
Willapa Bay AiR
Arts & Culture
2
Future Prairie

Founded in January 2018, Future Prairie is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit queer artist collective in Portland, Oregon. We pay LGBTQIA+ Oregon-based artists to design, curate, and produce art projects that showcase new and better dreams of the…

—
3
Pacific Northwest Music Project
Arts & Culture
4
Central Oregon Center for the Arts

The mission for the central oregon center for the arts is to champion an inclusive, vibrant center for the arts that brings transformative and diverse cultural performances and experiences to central oregon during all seasons

Arts & Culture
5
On the Boards

On the Boards' mission is to invest in leading contemporary performing artists near and far and connect them to a diverse range of communities interested in forward-thinking art and ideas.

—
6
Southwest Washington Center for the Arts
Philanthropy
7
Third Rail Repertory Theatre

The mission of third rail repertory theatre is to provide a dynamic artistic home for theatre audiences in portland by fostering a professional local company, which, through collaboration and discipline, brings to life exceptional stories…

Arts & Culture
8
Portland Baroque Orchestra

Pbo creates transformative experiences for musicians and listeners who share in the exploration and celebration of historically inspired music. the professional orchestra presents world-class performances on period instruments for up to…

Arts & Culture
9
Oregon Arts Watch

Oregon Arts Watch produces independent, professional arts and culture journalism and criticism that is transparent, fair and accurate.

Arts & Culture
10
Oregon Contemporary Theatre

Oregon contemporary theatre creates outstanding performances and programs that inspire curiosity, challenge expectation, encourage dialogue and support positive change.

Arts & Culture
11
Gallery Players of Oregon

Provide dramatic art performance and education.

Arts & Culture
12
Portland School of Ballet

Portland Ballet is dedicated to bringing dance to people of all ages and skill levels, while maintaining its focus on training young men and women for professional careers. Its Maines professional ballent company and leading classical…

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Portland Street Art Alliance; the most unlike its peers is Girls Count. 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

92 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. 92 of the 179 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)
24
Early backer (in before they grew)
87/92
Grantees still filing
66/92
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE COLUMBIA GORGE FOUNDATION: $649,937 · OtherTHE COLUMBIA GORGE FOUNDATIONSCRAP: $228,135 · OtherSCRAPSUPERKID POWER INC: $121,106 · OtherSUPERKID POWER INCIndividual grant recipient: $91,900 · Other+114 more: $743,025 · Other+114 moreDANCING GROUNDS: $184,699 · Arts & CultureDANCING GROUNDSPORTLAND ART MUSEUM: $79,060 · Arts & CulturePORTLAND ART MUSEUMOREGON SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION INC: $78,692 · Arts & CultureOREGON SHAKESPEARE FESTI…OREGON BALLET THEATRE: $73,250 · Arts & CultureOREGON BALLET THEATREFOUR RIVERS CULTURAL CENTER AND MUSEUM: $45,318 · Arts & CultureFOUR RIVERS CULTURAL CEN…GOAT IN THE ROAD PRODUCTIONS: $41,000 · Arts & CultureHIGH DESERT CHAMBER MUSIC INC: $40,000 · Arts & CultureORIGINAL PRACTICE SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL: $36,500 · Arts & Culture+32 more: $195,813 · Arts & Culture+32 moreSIGRID ARNHOLD FOUNDATION: $527,115 · PhilanthropySIGRID ARNHOLD FOUNDATIO…GORGE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $241,476 · PhilanthropyGORGE COMMUNITY FOUNDATI…SMART READING: $71,120 · EducationJPR FOUNDATION INC: $3,000 · Education+2 more: $3,000 · EducationIMPACT NW: $22,172 · Human ServicesSTREET ROOTS INC: $20,000 · Human ServicesYWCA OF GREATER PORTLAND: $10,000 · Human ServicesRAPHAEL HOUSE OF PORTLAND: $8,500 · Human ServicesSOUTHWEST BOSTON SENIOR SERVICES INC D/B/A ETHOS: $5,100 · Human ServicesOregon Community Warehouse Inc: $3,500 · Human Services+3 more: $2,000 · Human ServicesBARK: $34,089 · EnvironmentWILLAMETTE RIVERKEEPER: $2,000 · Environment+3 more: $2,515 · EnvironmentPEAR: $26,200 · Housing & Shelter
Other$1,834,103Arts & Culture$774,332Philanthropy$768,591Education$77,120Human Services$71,272Environment$38,604Housing & Shelter$26,200

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetSIGRID ARNHOLD FOUNDATION: $527,115 over 2y, 67% of budgetGORGE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $241,476 over 1y, 67% of budgetDANCING GROUNDS: $184,699 over 8y, 5.8% of budgetPORTLAND ART MUSEUM: $79,060 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetOREGON SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION INC: $78,692 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetOREGON BALLET THEATRE: $73,250 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetSMART READING: $71,120 over 7y, 0.3% of budgetFOUR RIVERS CULTURAL CENTER AND MUSEUM: $45,318 over 6y, 1.0% of budgetGOAT IN THE ROAD PRODUCTIONS: $41,000 over 7y, 2.8% of budgetHIGH DESERT CHAMBER MUSIC INC: $40,000 over 8y, 5.4% of budgetORIGINAL PRACTICE SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL: $36,500 over 7y, 8.2% of budgetBARK: $34,089 over 5y, 1.5% of budgetCLACKAMAS COUNTY CHILDREN'S COMMISSION: $32,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetPEAR: $26,200 over 3y, 1.0% of budgetIMPACT NW: $22,172 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetSTREET ROOTS INC: $20,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetStages of Life: $17,000 over 7y, 8.6% of budgetOREGON SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION: $16,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetOREGON BRAVO YOUTH ORCHESTRAS: $15,000 over 3y, 0.9% of budgetDANCE WIRE: $15,000 over 3y, 14% of budgetOREGON FOOD BANK: $13,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetOREGON COAST CHILDRENS THEATRE: $12,500 over 2y, 8.3% of budgetTHE PORTLAND PLAYHOUSE: $10,500 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetLANE ARTS COUNCIL: $10,030 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetOUR HOUSE OF PORTLAND INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetNeskowin Valley School: $10,000 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetYWCA OF GREATER PORTLAND: $10,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetWILLIAM TEMPLE HOUSE: $9,575 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetEMPOWERED MOVEMENT AERIAL: $9,000 over 1y, 3.8% of budgetPLAY IT FORWARD: $8,873 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetRAPHAEL HOUSE OF PORTLAND: $8,500 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetCORVALLIS YOUTH SYMPHONY ASSOC: $8,500 over 1y, 3.2% of budgetCASCADE AIDS PROJECT: $8,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetOregon Society of Artists: $8,000 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetFRANCONIA SCULPTURE PARK LEGEROS: $8,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetOREGON REPERTORY SINGERS: $7,500 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetART PRESENCE INC: $7,500 over 1y, 8.4% of budgetWILLAMETTE VALLEY SYMPHONY: $7,500 over 2y, 8.7% of budgetDUBUQUE MAIN STREET LTD: $7,000 over 1y, 2.2% of budgetCAPONI ART PARK: $7,000 over 1y, 4.4% of budgetMY VOICE MUSIC INC: $6,600 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetCASA OF CLACKAMAS COUNTY: $5,163 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetSOUTHWEST BOSTON SENIOR SERVICES INC D/B/A ETHOS: $5,100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE CIRCUS PROJECT: $5,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetPARTNERS FOR THE PAC dba Charlene Larsen Center for the Performing Arts: $5,000 over 1y, 4.8% of budgetCerimon House: $5,000 over 1y, 3.4% of budgetBODYVOX INC: $4,650 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetApplegate Regional Theater Inc: $4,000 over 1y, 6.8% 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 SIGRID ARNHOLD FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds GORGE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds DANCING GROUNDS ↗
  • Who funds PORTLAND ART MUSEUM ↗
  • Who funds OREGON SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION INC ↗
  • Who funds OREGON BALLET THEATRE ↗
  • Who funds SMART READING ↗
  • Who funds FOUR RIVERS CULTURAL CENTER AND MUSEUM ↗
  • Who funds GOAT IN THE ROAD PRODUCTIONS ↗
  • Who funds HIGH DESERT CHAMBER MUSIC INC ↗
  • Who funds ORIGINAL PRACTICE SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL ↗
  • Who funds BARK ↗
  • Who funds CLACKAMAS COUNTY CHILDREN'S COMMISSION ↗
  • Who funds PEAR ↗
  • Who funds IMPACT NW ↗
  • Who funds STREET ROOTS INC ↗
  • Who funds Stages of Life ↗
  • Who funds OREGON SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds OREGON BRAVO YOUTH ORCHESTRAS ↗
  • Who funds DANCE WIRE ↗
  • Who funds OREGON FOOD BANK ↗
  • Who funds OREGON COAST CHILDRENS THEATRE ↗

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 Autzen FoundationThe Oregon Community …The Collins FoundationThe Jackson FoundationMarie Lamfrom Charita…Juan Young TrustThe Reser Family Foun…James F & Marion L Mi…Rose E Tucker Charita…Meyer Memorial TrustBraemar Charitable Tr…The Harold & Arlene S…
The Autzen FoundationOR96.1× affinity51 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Autzen Foundation · The Oregon Community Foundation · The Collins Foundation · The Jackson Foundation · Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation Trust · Juan Young Trust · The Reser Family Foundation · James F & Marion L Miller Foundation · Rose E Tucker Charitable Trust · Meyer Memorial Trust · Braemar Charitable Trust · The Harold & Arlene Schnitzer Care 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 Starseed Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Starseed Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 160%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 6%
  • Clackamas County Children's Commission: 100% of income from government
  • Artists Repertory Theatre: 48% of income from government
  • Dance Wire: 47% of income from government
  • Willamette Riverkeeper: 42% of income from government
  • The Family Nurturing Center Rogue Valley Children's Relief Nursery: 38% of income from government
  • Play It Forward: 30% of income from government
  • Antfarm Inc: 29% of income from government
  • Oregon Coast Aquarium Inc: 24% of income from government
  • Oregon Community Warehouse Inc: 24% of income from government
  • Oregon Food Bank: 21% of income from government
  • Human Solutions Inc Dba Our Just Future: 17% of income from government
  • Project Lemonade Inc: 15% of income from government
  • Ywca of Greater Portland: 15% of income from government
  • Lane Arts Council: 14% of income from government
  • Cascade Aids Project: 13% of income from government
  • The Portland Playhouse: 11% of income from government
  • High Desert Museum: 11% of income from government
  • My Voice Music Inc: 11% of income from government
  • Raphael House of Portland: 10% of income from government
  • Columbia Arts: 8% of income from government
  • Impact Nw: 8% of income from government
  • Think Wild: 7% of income from government
  • Craterian Performances Company: 6% of income from government
  • Growing Gardens: 6% of income from government
  • Coho Productions Inc: 5% of income from government
  • Solve: 5% of income from government
  • Applegate Regional Theater Inc: 4% of income from government
  • Willamette Valley Symphony: 4% of income from government
  • Bodyvox Inc: 3% of income from government
  • Art Presence Inc: 3% of income from government
  • Smart Reading: 3% of income from government
  • Steps for Youth: 2% of income from government
  • Bark: 2% of income from government
  • Profile Theatre Project: 2% of income from government
  • Corvallis Youth Symphony Assoc: 2% of income from government
  • High Desert Chamber Music Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Portland Street Art Alliance: 1% of income from government
  • Pear: 1% of income from government
  • Portland Art Museum: 1% of income from government
  • Portland Center Stage: 1% of income from government
  • Caldera: 1% of income from government
  • William Temple House: 0% of income from government
  • Oregon Repertory Singers: 0% of income from government
  • In a Landscape: 0% of income from government
  • Casa of Clackamas County: 0% of income from government
  • Oregon Ballet Theatre: 0% of income from government
  • Oregon Symphony Association: 0% of income from government
  • Oregon Shakespeare Festival Association Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
16get no government money at all
13report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
1rely 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 Starseed Foundation?

Find your warmest path to The Starseed 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 179 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 Starseed’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