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The VF Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The VF Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$3.4M
Granted FY2024still arriving
44
Grants FY2024still arriving
13
States reached
$380k
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, FY2020 to 2024.

Environment$8.0MEducation$5.4MInternational$4.6MRecreation & Sports$4.2MCommunity Improvement$2.4MPhilanthropy$2.1MYouth Development$1.2MArts & Culture$864kOther$0
02FY2024 · 44 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k1 grant · $5k
  • $10k–50k23 grants · $580k
  • $50k–250k16 grants · $1.7M
  • $250k+4 grants · $1.1M
$35,000
Median grant
13
States reached
$24M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
UNIVERSITY OF DENVER$380,000
UNITED NATIONS FOUNDATION INC$250,000
SOIL HEALTH INSTITUTE$250,000
TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND$250,000
MYRIAD USA INC$225,000
LEWIS COLLEGE OF BUSINESS$155,000
YMA FASHION SCHOLARSHIP FUND$150,000
PROTECT OUR WINTERS EUROPE - ASSOCIATION FOR CLIMA$142,000
ENVIRONMENTAL LEARNING FOR KIDS$125,000
WATERAID AMERICA INC$125,000
WATER ORG INC$100,000
FORUM FOR THE FUTURE US INC$100,000
GET LIT WORDS IGNITE INC$100,000
GREENSBORO CHAMBER FOUNDATION$100,000
WORLD BUSINESS COUNCIL FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT$100,000
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, $854k) land where the poverty rate runs at 20%, 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%REAL DEAL REVOLUTION: $25k → 14%UVALDE CISD MOVING FORWARD FOUNDATION: $500k → 25%SOLES4SOULS: $10k → 14%F3 FOUNDATION INC: $3k → 10%PARADOX SPORTS: $40k → 12%PARADOX SPORTS: $35k → 12%PARADOX SPORTS: $25k → 12%MI CASA RESOURCE CENTER: $8k → 12%WOMENS WILDERNESS INSTITUTE: $35k → 12%WOMENS WILDERNESS INSTITUTE: $25k → 12%WOMENS WILDERNESS INSTITUTE: $25k → 12%WOMENS WILDERNESS INSTITUTE: $23k → 12%WISH FOR WHEELS: $15k → 12%AMERICAN NATIONAL RED CROSS: $75k → 12%WOMENS RESOURCE CENTER OF GREENSBORO INC: $10k → 16%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
WA
ID
MT
WI
MI
NY
MA
OR
WY
CT
CA
UT
CO
MO
VA
AZ
TN
NC
DC
HI
OK
GA
TX
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.
04

Where the work is directed

The same grants placed two ways: where each recipient sits, and where its stated purpose sends the money.

About 14% of The VF Foundation’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address.

The VF Foundationlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address · 12% directed abroad (not shown)
How this is measured
Recipient view: each grant at its grantee’s ZIP, mapped to a county. Directed view: each grant at the county its stated purpose names, falling back to the recipient’s county when the purpose names no place; US grants only. A county shows only if it carries the top 95% of that view’s dollars. Purposes are read from the funder’s own 990 grant descriptions.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

80%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$24M · 74 repeat orgs$6.0M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +33% since the first grant, against +16% for those funded once.

74 repeat relationships: 31 still active in FY2024, 43 since wound down; 8 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

74
88

Total granted

$24M
$5.6M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+33%
+16%

Still filing today

95%
77%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 88% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $385k 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
EducationEnvironmentRecreation & SportsInternationalArts & CultureHuman 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

  • THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND
    5× · 2020–2024 · $2.0M · revenue +113%
  • SS
    STEAMBOAT SPRINGS WINTER SPORTS CLUB INC
    2× · 2020–2021 · $1.5M · revenue +62%
  • UO
    UNIVERSITY OF DENVER
    2× · 2022–2024 · $1.4M · revenue +4%

Funded once

  • MILE HIGH UNITED WAY INC
    one grant, 2020 · $523k · revenue -23%
  • UC
    Uvalde CISD Moving Forward Foundationgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $500k · revenue +34%
  • NF
    NATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION INC
    one grant, 2020 · $500k · revenue -35%
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
Colorado Museum of Natural History

Be a catalyst! Ignite our community's passion for nature and science.

Arts & Culture
2
Colorado Gives Foundation

We connect people, ideas, and nonprofits to make good happen. our vision is that all of jeffco is thriving.

Philanthropy
3
Colorado Open Lands

Colorado open lands' mission is to preserve the significant open lands and natural heritage of colorado through private and public partnerships, innovative land conservation, and strategic leadership.

Environment
4
Denver Botanic Gardens Inc

The mission of denver botanic gardens is to connect people with plants, especially plants from the rocky mountain region and similar regions around the world, providing delight and enlightenment to everyone.

Environment
5
Greenwood Project

Greenwood's mission is to create career pathways in the financial services industry for black and latino college students. we partner with companies to find equitable and inclusive solutions for recruitment, retention, and advancement. our…

Human Services
6
Rocky Mountain Wild

Rocky mountain wild works to protect, connect, and restore wildlife and wild lands in the southern rocky mountain region. we work to secure the biodiversity of the mountains, plains, and desert ecosystems of colorado, wyoming, utah, and…

Environment
7
Greater Yellowstone Coalition

Greater yellowstone coalition works with all people to protect the lands, waters, and wildlife of the greater yellowstone ecosystem, now and for future generations.

Environment
8
Western Conservation Foundation

Building leaders to protect the west's land, air, and water.

Environment
9
The Union of Concerned Scientists Inc

The union of concerned scientists puts rigorous, independent science into action, developing solutions and advocating for a healthy, safe, and just future.

International
10
Conservation Legacy

Conservation legacy engages future leaders who protect, restore, and enhance our nation's lands through community-based service.in 2024, conservation legacy engaged 2,524 participants who completed over 1.5 million service hours on public…

Youth Development
11
Colorado Legal Services

To provide meaningful access to high quality, civil legal services in the pursuit of justice for as many low income persons and members of vulnerable populations throughout colorado as possible.

Crime & Legal
12
Wild Rockies Field Institute Inc

To broaden the nature of a liberal arts education; teach critical thinking about social & environmental issues; foster understanding of & respect for natural & human communities; & cultivate a sense of place that encourages personal,…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Conservation Colorado Education Fund; the most unlike its peers is Jess Roskelley Foundation. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
05the grantee network

158 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. 158 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.

7
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
36
Early backer (in before they grew)
154/158
Grantees still filing
92/158
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS WINTER SPORTS CLUB INC: $1,500,000 · OtherSTEAMBOAT SPRINGS WINTER SPORTS CLUB …THE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $1,410,000 · OtherTHE NATURE CONSERVANCYFORUM FOR THE FUTURE US INC: $700,000 · OtherFORUM FOR THE FUTURE US INCCAMBER OUTDOORS: $370,000 · OtherNATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION INC: $500,000 · OtherUvalde CISD Moving Forward Foundation: $500,000 · OtherGIRL SCOUTS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: $500,000 · OtherAT THE EPICENTER DBA REGENERATIVE RISING: $403,000 · Other+78 more: $4,821,300 · Other+78 moreUNIVERSITY OF DENVER: $1,406,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF DENVERTHE OUTDOOR FOUNDATION: $1,000,000 · EducationTHE OUTDOOR FOUNDATI…FASHION SCHOLARSHIP FUND: $644,000 · EducationFASHION SCHOLARSHIP …COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $504,000 · EducationCOLORADO STATE UNIVE…Oregon State University Foundation: $347,000 · EducationOregon State Univers…NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $280,500 · EducationBUSINESS FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: $250,000 · EducationARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION FOR A NEW AMERICAN UNIVERSITY: $238,000 · EducationREADY FOR SCHOOL READY FOR LIFE: $225,000 · Education+18 more: $882,500 · Education+18 moreUNITED NATIONS FOUNDATION INC: $1,250,000 · InternationalUNITED NATIONS FOUN…GLOBALGIVING FOUNDATION INC: $1,063,544 · InternationalGLOBALGIVING FOUNDA…WATERAID AMERICA INC: $750,000 · InternationalWATERAID AMERICA IN…IMPACT FARMING FOUNDATION INC: $685,000 · InternationalIMPACT FARMING FOUN…United States Association for UNHCR: $376,000 · InternationalUnited States Assoc…UNITED STATES FUND FOR UNICEF: $250,000 · InternationalGIVE2ASIA: $227,000 · InternationalMYRIAD USA INC: $225,000 · InternationalWATERORG: $200,000 · International+4 more: $400,500 · International+4 moreTHE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND: $1,955,000 · EnvironmentTHE TRUST FOR PU…SOIL HEALTH INSTITUTE: $950,000 · EnvironmentSOIL HEALTH INST…GREENING YOUTH FOUNDATION INC: $250,000 · EnvironmentGREENING YOUTH F…PROTECT OUR WINTERS: $200,000 · EnvironmentOutdoor Alliance: $180,000 · Environment+19 more: $1,008,000 · Environment+19 moreUNITED WAY OF GREATER GREENSBORO INC: $600,000 · PhilanthropyMILE HIGH UNITED WAY INC: $523,000 · PhilanthropyCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF GREATER GREENSBORO INC: $400,000 · PhilanthropyDENVER PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOUNDATION: $321,000 · PhilanthropyTHE SKATEPARK PROJECT: $250,000 · PhilanthropyCREATIVES WANT CHANGE INC: $150,000 · Philanthropy+5 more: $223,500 · PhilanthropyNATIONAL FOREST FOUNDATION: $572,100 · Recreation & SportsGREENSBORO PARKS FOUNDATION: $350,000 · Recreation & SportsAMERICAN RECREATION COALITION: $273,000 · Recreation & SportsCIVIC CENTER CONSERVANCY: $185,000 · Recreation & SportsFIRST DESCENTS: $175,000 · Recreation & SportsDenver Park Trust: $75,000 · Recreation & SportsNATIONAL SPORTS CENTER FOR THE DISABLED INC: $70,000 · Recreation & SportsBIG CITY MOUNTAINEERS: $67,000 · Recreation & Sports+5 more: $121,200 · Recreation & SportsGREENSBORO CHAMBER FOUNDATION: $1,140,000 · Community ImprovementDENVER CIVIC VENTURES INC: $100,000 · Community Improvement+3 more: $60,850 · Community Improvement
Other$10,704,300Education$5,777,000International$5,427,044Environment$4,543,000Philanthropy$2,467,500Recreation & Sports$1,888,300Community Improvement$1,300,850

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 budgetTHE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND: $1,955,000 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetSTEAMBOAT SPRINGS WINTER SPORTS CLUB INC: $1,500,000 over 2y, 17% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $1,410,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF DENVER: $1,406,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetUNITED NATIONS FOUNDATION INC: $1,250,000 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetGREENSBORO CHAMBER FOUNDATION: $1,140,000 over 5y, 92% of budgetGLOBALGIVING FOUNDATION INC: $1,063,544 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetTHE OUTDOOR FOUNDATION: $1,000,000 over 3y, 19% of budgetSOIL HEALTH INSTITUTE: $950,000 over 4y, 4.3% of budgetWATERAID AMERICA INC: $750,000 over 4y, 1.4% of budgetFORUM FOR THE FUTURE US INC: $700,000 over 4y, 13% of budgetIMPACT FARMING FOUNDATION INC: $685,000 over 5y, 88% of budgetFASHION SCHOLARSHIP FUND: $644,000 over 5y, 4.9% of budgetUNITED WAY OF GREATER GREENSBORO INC: $600,000 over 4y, 1.9% of budgetNATIONAL FOREST FOUNDATION: $572,100 over 4y, 0.9% of budgetMILE HIGH UNITED WAY INC: $523,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetCOLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $504,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetUvalde CISD Moving Forward Foundation: $500,000 over 1y, 4.5% of budgetNATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION INC: $500,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetGIRL SCOUTS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: $500,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetAT THE EPICENTER DBA REGENERATIVE RISING: $403,000 over 3y, 93% of budgetCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF GREATER GREENSBORO INC: $400,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetUnited States Association for UNHCR: $376,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCAMBER OUTDOORS: $370,000 over 3y, 17% of budgetGREENSBORO PARKS FOUNDATION: $350,000 over 2y, 48% of budgetOregon State University Foundation: $347,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetDENVER PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOUNDATION: $321,000 over 5y, 1.8% of budgetNORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $280,500 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetAMERICAN RECREATION COALITION: $273,000 over 4y, 13% of budgetTHE SKATEPARK PROJECT: $250,000 over 1y, 6.7% of budgetBUSINESS FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: $250,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetGREENING YOUTH FOUNDATION INC: $250,000 over 1y, 3.0% of budgetUNITED STATES FUND FOR UNICEF: $250,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION FOR A NEW AMERICAN UNIVERSITY: $238,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetGIVE2ASIA: $227,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetENVIRONMENTAL LEARNING FOR KIDS: $225,000 over 3y, 9.3% of budgetMYRIAD USA INC: $225,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetREADY FOR SCHOOL READY FOR LIFE: $225,000 over 3y, 1.3% of budgetHISTORIC SOUTHSIDE INCORPORATED: $214,000 over 3y, 27% of budgetRaiseFashion Inc: $200,000 over 2y, 92% of budgetChildren's Home Society of North Carolina Inc: $200,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetPROTECT OUR WINTERS: $200,000 over 4y, 1.6% of budgetGET LIT - WORDS IGNITE INC: $200,000 over 2y, 4.3% of budgetWATERORG: $200,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetCIVIC CENTER CONSERVANCY: $185,000 over 4y, 8.2% of budgetOutdoor Alliance: $180,000 over 5y, 4.0% of budgetFIRST DESCENTS: $175,000 over 4y, 1.6% of budgetGUILFORD EDUCATION ALLIANCE: $175,000 over 3y, 8.3% 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.

Colorado Gives Founda…The Denver FoundationRose Community Founda…The Colorado Health F…Gates Family Foundati…The Cemala Foundation…PatagoniaorgTannenbaum-Sternberge…Xcel Energy FoundationAmg Charitable Gift F…The Edward M Armfield…Lincoln Financial Fou…
Colorado Gives FoundationCO48.7× affinity37 shared granteesties to 8 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Colorado Gives Foundation · The Denver Foundation · Rose Community Foundation · The Colorado Health Foundation · Gates Family Foundation · The Cemala Foundation Inc · Patagoniaorg · Tannenbaum-Sternberger Foundation Inc · Xcel Energy Foundation · Amg Charitable Gift Foundation · The Edward M Armfield Sr Foundation I · Lincoln Financial 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 VF Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The VF Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 40%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • Connecticut College: 0% of income from government
  • Oregon State University Foundation: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
4get no government money at all
52report 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.
05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to The VF Foundation?

Find your warmest path to The VF 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 VF’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