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The Wellspring Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Wellspring 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.

$310k
Granted FY2025still arriving
9
Grants FY2025still arriving
4
States reached
$50k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0196% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Environment$760kPublic Benefit$635kArts & Culture$515kCivil Rights$245kCrime & Legal$245kFood & Nutrition$80kInternational$75kHousing & Shelter$50kOther$0
02FY2025 · 9 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • $10k–50k7 grants · $210k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $100k
$30,000
Median grant
4
States reached
$3.3M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS$50,000
THE GOOD INFORMATION FOUNDATION$50,000
SPRING STREET CLIMATE FUND$40,000
NATIONAL RESOURCES DEFNSE COUNCIL$40,000
ASSOCIATION OF INDEPENDENTS IN RADIO$30,000
LONE STAR JUSTICE ALLIANCE$30,000
Individual grant recipient$25,000
EDUCATIONAL VIDEO CENTER$25,000
ABOLITIONIST LAW CENTER$20,000
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 (FY20–20, $20k) land where the poverty rate runs at 20%, 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%RED HOOK INITIATIVE: $20k → 20%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

WA
NY
MA
PA
CT
CA
UT
VA
DC
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.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

58%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.6M · 12 repeat orgs$1.2M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +69% since the first grant, against 0% for those funded once.

12 repeat relationships: 5 still active in FY2025, 7 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

12
32

Total granted

$1.6M
$1.1M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+69%
0%

Still filing today

83%
72%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 60% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $125k 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
EnvironmentArts & CulturePhilanthropyCrime & LegalCivil RightsCommunity ImprovementOther
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

  • NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC
    6× · 2017–2022 · $290k · revenue +41%
  • THE CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS INC
    7× · 2017–2025 · $195k · revenue +69%
  • LS
    LONE STAR JUSTICE ALLIANCE
    7× · 2019–2025 · $160k · revenue +126%

Funded once

  • V
    VOTERIDERS
    one grant, 2024 · $150k · revenue 0%
  • MV
    MOVEMENT VOTER FUND
    one grant, 2024 · $150k · revenue 0%
  • CENTER FOR POPULAR DEMOCRACY INC
    one grant, 2020 · $100k · revenue 0%
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
City Report Inc

CITY REPORT, INC. serves the people of New York through independent journalism that answers their information needs and holds the powerful to account.

Arts & Culture
2
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
3
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
4
Asociacion Interamericana Para La Defensa Del Ambiente

To strenghten people's ability to guarantee their individual and collective right to a healthy environment, via the development, implementation, and effective enforcement of national and international law.

Crime & Legal
5
Common Future

Common future is a network of pioneering leaders across the u.s. and canada who work deeply within their communities to create alternative approaches to business, philanthropy, and investing. we envision an economy that has transitioned…

Community Improvement
6
New York League of Conservation Voters

See schedule onylcv is a non-partisan policy making and political action organization that works to make environmental protection a top priority with elected officials, decision-makers and the voters by evaluating incumbent performance and…

—
7
American Flood Coalition Inc

To drive transformational adaptation to protect communities across the country from higher seas, stronger storms, and more frequent flooding.

Environment
8
American Civil Liberties Union Fund of the District of Columbia

Preservation of civil liberties through litigation and public education.

—
9
Climate Catalyst Inc

Climate catalyst sparks collective action to tackle the biggest climate challenges we face today: cutting emissions in heavy industries.

Environment
10
Actionaid Usa

Actionaid is an international network building a just, equitable, and sustainable world in solidarity with communities on the frontlines of poverty and injustice. actionaid usa is the u.s. branch of actionaid international, which works in…

Social Science
11
Center for Democracy and Technology

Advocating for public policies that advance democratic values in the digital age.

Civil Rights
12
Climate Leadership Council Inc

To develop and promote a carbon dividends framework - based on carbon fees whose revenues are rebated to citizens through dividends - as the most cost-effective, equitable, and politically viable climate solution.

Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Movement Voter Fund; the most unlike its peers is The Gunk 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

36 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. 36 of the 48 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.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
7
Early backer (in before they grew)
36/36
Grantees still filing
16/36
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS VOTER EDUCATIONAL FUND: $185,000 · OtherLEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS VOTER EDUCATIONA…EDUCATIONAL VIDEO CENTER INC: $145,000 · OtherEDUCATIONAL VIDEO CENTER INCNATIONAL RESOURCES DEFNSE COUNCIL: $140,000 · OtherNATIONAL RESOURCES DEFNSE COUNCILRETHINK FOOD: $80,000 · OtherRETHINK FOODCOALITION FOR THE HOMELESS: $50,000 · OtherCENTER FOR POPULAR DEMOCRACY INC: $100,000 · OtherCENTER FOR POPULAR DEMOCRACY INCNAMI National: $45,000 · Other+17 more: $240,000 · Other+17 moreNATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC: $290,000 · EnvironmentNATURAL RESOURCES DEFENS…CLEAN AIR TASK FORCE INC: $125,000 · EnvironmentCLEAN AIR TASK FORCE INCSPRING STREET CLIMATE FUND INC: $75,000 · EnvironmentSPRING STREET CLIMATE FU…COLUMBIA LAND CONSERVANCY INC: $50,000 · EnvironmentCOLUMBIA LAND CONSERVANC…Feel Good Action: $50,000 · EnvironmentFeel Good Action+1 more: $20,000 · EnvironmentTHE CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS INC: $195,000 · Civil RightsTHE CENTER FOR…VOTERIDERS: $150,000 · Civil RightsVOTERIDERSCIVIL RIGHTS CORPS: $20,000 · Civil RightsCIVIL RIGHTS C…INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FOUNDATION INC: $180,000 · Arts & CultureINTERNATIONA…THE GOOD INFORMATION FOUNDATION: $50,000 · Arts & CultureTHE GOOD INF…UTAH FILM CENTER: $45,000 · Arts & CultureUTAH FILM CE…THE GUNK FOUNDATION: $30,000 · Arts & CultureTHE GUNK FOU…LONE STAR JUSTICE ALLIANCE: $160,000 · Crime & LegalRECIDIVIZ INC: $30,000 · Crime & LegalABOLITIONIST LAW CENTER: $20,000 · Crime & LegalTHE CAMPAIGN FOR THE FAIR SENTENCING OF YOUTH: $10,000 · Crime & LegalMOVEMENT VOTER FUND: $150,000 · Community ImprovementVIRGINIA ORGANIZING INC: $30,000 · Community ImprovementREGIONAL PLAN ASSOCIATION INC: $10,000 · Community ImprovementThe Life You Can Save: $75,000 · PhilanthropyFUND FOR THE CITY OF NEW YORK INC: $50,000 · PhilanthropyTHE NEW YORK TIMES COMMUNITIES FUND: $10,000 · Philanthropy+1 more: $3,000 · Philanthropy
Other$985,000Environment$610,000Civil Rights$365,000Arts & Culture$305,000Crime & Legal$220,000Community Improvement$190,000Philanthropy$138,000

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 budgetNATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC: $290,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetTHE CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS INC: $195,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetINTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FOUNDATION INC: $180,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetLONE STAR JUSTICE ALLIANCE: $160,000 over 7y, 3.4% of budgetVOTERIDERS: $150,000 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetMOVEMENT VOTER FUND: $150,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetEDUCATIONAL VIDEO CENTER INC: $145,000 over 8y, 2.4% of budgetCLEAN AIR TASK FORCE INC: $125,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCENTER FOR POPULAR DEMOCRACY INC: $100,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetThe Life You Can Save: $75,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetSPRING STREET CLIMATE FUND INC: $75,000 over 2y, 2.0% of budgetFUND FOR THE CITY OF NEW YORK INC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE GOOD INFORMATION FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 1y, 2.0% of budgetCOLUMBIA LAND CONSERVANCY INC: $50,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetFeel Good Action: $50,000 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetNAMI National: $45,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetUTAH FILM CENTER: $45,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetTHE GUNK FOUNDATION: $30,000 over 1y, 60% of budgetRECIDIVIZ INC: $30,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetVIRGINIA ORGANIZING INC: $30,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetLEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS EDUCATION FUND: $20,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCIVIL RIGHTS CORPS: $20,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetRED HOOK INITIATIVE: $20,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetHUDSON LINK FOR HIGHER EDUCATION IN PRISON INC: $15,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetNEW YORK WOMEN IN FILM & TELEVISION INC: $15,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetTHE NEW YORK TIMES COMMUNITIES FUND: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE CAMPAIGN FOR THE FAIR SENTENCING OF YOUTH: $10,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetTRANSPORTATION ALTERNATIVES INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetREACH OUT AND READ OF GREATER NEW YORK INC: $10,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetLIBRARIES WITHOUT BORDERS: $10,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetREGIONAL PLAN ASSOCIATION INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetSTRATEGIES FOR YOUTH: $5,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetCONFLUENCE PHILANTHROPY INC: $3,000 over 1y, 0.3% 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.

The Ford FoundationImpactassetsincTides FoundationAnnie E Casey Foundat…Gs Donor Advised Phil…Amalgamated Charitabl…The New York Communit…Jewish Communal FundSilicon Valley Commun…New Venture FundThe Overbrook Foundat…The Tow Foundation Inc
The Ford FoundationNY24.7× affinity11 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Ford Foundation · Impactassetsinc · Tides Foundation · Annie E Casey Foundation Inc · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · Amalgamated Charitable Foundation Inc · The New York Community Trust · Jewish Communal Fund · Silicon Valley Community Foundation · New Venture Fund · The Overbrook Foundation · The Tow 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 Wellspring Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Wellspring 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%6%13%19%25%share of the org’s income from government →median 21%
  • Strategies for Youth: 21% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
2get no government money at all
9report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–25%
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 Wellspring Foundation?

Find your warmest path to The Wellspring 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 48 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 Wellspring’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