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The Terrence and Ruth Elkes Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Terrence and Ruth Elkes 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.

$895k
Granted FY2024still arriving
16
Grants FY2024still arriving
6
States reached
$200k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0194% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2019 to 2024.

Education$2.5MInternational$1.9MCrime & Legal$375kHealth$180kHuman Services$180kArts & Culture$91kScience & Tech$80kFood & Nutrition$50kOther$0
02FY2024 · 16 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $10k–50k8 grants · $110k
  • $50k–250k8 grants · $785k
$50,000
Median grant
6
States reached
$21M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
SAN CARLOS EDUCATION FOUNDATION$200,000
FREE THE SLAVES$150,000
TRANSPARENTEM LTD$110,000
WILLAMETTE UNIVERSITY$100,000
THORN$75,000
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY$50,000
UCSF DIABETES CENTER$50,000
POLARIS PROJECT$50,000
SURVIVOR ALLIANCE$25,000
MENLO SCHOOL$25,000
SF FINE ARTS MUSEUM$10,000
HARVARD STEM CELL INSTITUTE$10,000
Individual grant recipient$10,000
CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES$10,000
SF MUSEUM OF MODERN ART$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 (FY20–24, $545k) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, 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%THORN: $100k → 14%TRANSPARENTEM LTD: $110k → 17%THORN: $75k → 14%TRANSPARENTEM LTD: $50k → 17%THORN: $75k → 14%TRANSPARENTEM LTD: $10k → 17%THORN: $75k → 14%THORN: $50k → 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.

Which US states its grants reach

NH
NY
MA
OR
NJ
CA
MD
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.

94%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$5.2M · 18 repeat orgs$314k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +32% since the first grant, against +10% for those funded once.

18 repeat relationships: 15 still active in FY2024, 3 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

18
14

Total granted

$5.2M
$264k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+32%
+10%

Still filing today

83%
43%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 94% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $50k went to new ones.

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

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

’19’20’21’22’23’24
InternationalEducationPhilanthropyArts & CultureHuman ServicesFood & NutritionOther
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

  • FT
    FREE THE SLAVES
    6× · 2019–2024 · $1.2M · revenue +39%
  • SC
    SAN CARLOS EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION
    4× · 2020–2024 · $1.0M · revenue +1%
  • WILLAMETTE UNIVERSITY
    3× · 2022–2024 · $750k · revenue +34%

Funded once

  • DR
    DIABETES RESEARCH CENTER
    one grant, 2021 · $50k
  • UW
    UNITED WAY INC
    one grant, 2021 · $50k · revenue -27%
  • HM
    Horace Mann School
    one grant, 2022 · $35k · 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 Southern California

The central mission of the university of southern california is the development of human beings and society as a whole through the cultivation and enrichment of the human mind and spirit. the principal means by which our mission is…

Education
2
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The mission of mit is to advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century.

Education
3
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Chartered by a unanimous act of congress, the museum is america's national institution for the documentation, study, interpretation, and education of holocaust history and serves as our country's memorial to the victims of the holocaust.…

Arts & Culture
4
Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Foundation

To engage and catalyze global seafood supply chains in rebuilding depleted fish stocks and reducing the environmental impacts of fishing and fish farming.

Animals
5
The Trustees of the Smith College

Smith college educates women of promise for lives of distinction and purpose. a college of and for the world, smith college links the power of the liberal arts to excellence in research and scholarship, developing leaders for society's…

Education
6
Lowell Observatory

The mission of lowell observatory is to pursue the study of astronomy, especially the study of our solar system and its evolution; to conduct pure research in astronomical phenomena; and to maintain quality public education and outreach…

Science & Tech
7
The Poptech Institute

Poptech's mission is to accelerate the positive impact of world-changing people, projects and ideas. founded in 1996 by bob metcalfe (inventor, ethernet) and john sculley (apple, pepsi), poptech originally provided a forum to critically…

Education
8
Future Problem Solving Program International Inc

Future problem solving proudly celebrates more than 50 years of placing close to a million young people at the core of a dynamic, purposeful learning experience. each year k-12 students from around the world participate in a variety of…

—
9
Open Markets Institute

The open markets institute works to help people relearn how to use competition policy to build stronger democracies, more just and equitable societies, more innovative and sustainable economies, and a more secure and peaceful world.

Education
10
World Learning Inc

Creating a more sustainable, peaceful, and just world through education, development, and exchange since 1932. as both an accredited academic institution and an international ngo, world learning, inc. offers the best of theory and practice…

International
11
Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Wpi transforms lives, turns knowledge into action to confront global challenges, and revolutionizes stem through distinctive and inclusive education, projects and research. (http://www.wpi.edu/about/mission.html)

—
12
President and Fellows of Harvard College

Undergraduate, graduate, and professional education and research across a broad array of academic domains.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Free the Slaves; the most unlike its peers is Cashmere Foundation. 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

22 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. 22 of the 33 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)
21/22
Grantees still filing
16/22
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

FREE THE SLAVES: $1,159,400 · InternationalFREE THE SLAVESPOLARIS PROJECT: $400,000 · InternationalPOLARIS PROJECTSURVIVOR ALLIANCE: $171,000 · InternationalSURVIVOR ALLIANCE+1 more: $10,000 · InternationalSAN CARLOS EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION: $1,025,000 · PhilanthropySAN CARLOS EDUCATIONAL FO…THE FREEDOM FUND: $150,000 · PhilanthropyTHE FREEDOM FUNDUNITED WAY INC: $50,000 · PhilanthropyWILLAMETTE UNIVERSITY: $750,000 · EducationWILLAMETTE UNIVERSIT…The Trustees of Princeton University: $200,000 · EducationThe Trustees of Prin…Horace Mann School: $35,000 · Education+1 more: $7,500 · EducationMENLO SCHOOL: $455,000 · OtherMENLO SCHOOLIndividual grant recipient: $55,000 · OtherIndividual grant…SF FINE ARTS MUSEUM: $51,000 · OtherSF FINE ARTS MUS…DIABETES RESEARCH CENTER: $50,000 · OtherDIABETES RESEARC…UCSF DIABETES CENTER: $50,000 · OtherUCSF DIABETES CE…HARVARD STEM CELL INSTITUTE: $35,000 · Other+9 more: $120,000 · Other+9 moreTHORN: $375,000 · Human ServicesTHORNTRANSPARENTEM LTD: $170,000 · Human ServicesTRANSPARENT…SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART: $40,000 · Arts & CultureCALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES: $40,000 · Arts & CultureTHE EXPLORATORIUM: $30,000 · Arts & CultureTenants Together: $50,000 · Food & NutritionWORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $1,000 · Environment
International$1,740,400Philanthropy$1,225,000Education$992,500Other$816,000Human Services$545,000Arts & Culture$110,000Food & Nutrition$50,000Environment$1,000

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 budgetFREE THE SLAVES: $1,159,400 over 6y, 14% of budgetSAN CARLOS EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION: $1,025,000 over 4y, 10% of budgetWILLAMETTE UNIVERSITY: $750,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetMENLO SCHOOL: $455,000 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetPOLARIS PROJECT: $400,000 over 6y, 0.8% of budgetTHORN: $375,000 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetThe Trustees of Princeton University: $200,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSURVIVOR ALLIANCE: $171,000 over 5y, 7.9% of budgetTRANSPARENTEM LTD: $170,000 over 3y, 7.8% of budgetTHE FREEDOM FUND: $150,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetTenants Together: $50,000 over 5y, 1.4% of budgetUNITED WAY INC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART: $40,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES: $40,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetHorace Mann School: $35,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE EXPLORATORIUM: $30,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMID-PENINSULA EDUCATION CENTER INC: $10,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetGRANDMOTHER PROJECT INC: $10,000 over 1y, 4.5% of budgetHEALTHY CITIES TUTORING INC: $7,500 over 1y, 2.3% of budgetWORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSIERRA CLUB: $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.

  • Who funds FREE THE SLAVES ↗
  • Who funds SAN CARLOS EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds WILLAMETTE UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds MENLO SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds POLARIS PROJECT ↗
  • Who funds THORN ↗
  • Who funds The Trustees of Princeton University ↗
  • Who funds SURVIVOR ALLIANCE ↗
  • Who funds TRANSPARENTEM LTD ↗
  • Who funds THE FREEDOM FUND ↗
  • Who funds Tenants Together ↗
  • Who funds UNITED WAY INC ↗
  • Who funds SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART ↗
  • Who funds CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES ↗
  • Who funds Horace Mann School ↗
  • Who funds THE EXPLORATORIUM ↗
  • Who funds CASHMERE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds MID-PENINSULA EDUCATION CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds GRANDMOTHER PROJECT INC ↗
  • Who funds HEALTHY CITIES TUTORING INC ↗
  • Who funds WORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC ↗
  • Who funds SIERRA CLUB ↗

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.

Silicon Valley Commun…Humanity UnitedMarin Community Found…Vanguard Charitable E…National Philanthropi…American Endowment Fo…Morgan Stanley Global…American Online Givin…Network for GoodThe Bank of America C…Fidelity Investments …Donor Advised Charita…
Silicon Valley Community FoundationCA16.7× affinity7 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Silicon Valley Community Foundation · Humanity United · Marin Community Foundation · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · National Philanthropic Trust · American Endowment Foundation · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Network for Good · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Donor Advised Charitable Giving 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 Terrence and Ruth Elkes Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Terrence and Ruth Elkes Foundation. 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%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 11%
  • The Trustees of Princeton University: 11% of income from government
  • Willamette University: 1% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get 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
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 33 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 Terrence and Ruth Elkes’ 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