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The Wildcat Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Wildcat 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.

$10M
Granted FY2024still arriving
22
Grants FY2024still arriving
6
States reached
$1.2M
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 2024.

Animals$49MInternational$36MArts & Culture$25MRecreation & Sports$5.4MEnvironment$4.8MCrime & Legal$2.2MCivil Rights$882kPhilanthropy$485kOther$0
02FY2024 · 22 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $10k–50k3 grants · $87k
  • $50k–250k5 grants · $702k
  • $250k+14 grants · $9.3M
$456,215
Median grant
6
States reached
$6.1M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
PAMS FOUNDATION INC$1,175,075
PAMS FOUNDATION INC$1,161,972
EAGLE - US$1,000,000
EMPOWERS AFRICA$822,720
FRANKFURT ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY - US$704,900
FRANKFURT ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY - US$678,000
SAVE THE RHINO INTERNATIONAL INC$527,160
EMPOWERS AFRICA$520,000
CENTER FOR ADVANCED DEFENSE STUDIES$501,513
EMPOWERS AFRICA$485,838
EMPOWERS AFRICA$456,215
EMPOWERS AFRICA$448,921
EMPOWERS AFRICA$390,000
HOUSTON ZOO INC$388,627
EMPOWERS AFRICA$235,150
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 66% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%UNDERCURRENT: $1.6M → 8%CARE FOR WILD: $1.4M → 10%PAMS FOUNDATION INC: $2.8M → 18%EMPOWERS AFRICA: $961k → 17%WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY: $1.4M → 28%EAGLE - US: $1.3M → 9%UNDERCURRENT: $1.1M → 8%PAMS FOUNDATION INC: $2.2M → 18%EMPOWERS AFRICA: $823k → 17%WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY: $1.3M → 28%CENTER FOR ADVANCED DEFENSE STUDIES: $750k → 14%EAGLE - US: $1.0M → 9%UNDERCURRENT: $928k → 8%PAMS FOUNDATION INC: $1.2M → 18%WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY: $1.3M → 28%EAGLE - US: $1.0M → 9%UNDERCURRENT: $903k → 8%PAMS FOUNDATION INC: $1.2M → 18%WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY: $1.2M → 28%EAGLE - US: $1.0M → 9%UNDERCURRENT: $838k → 8%PAMS FOUNDATION INC: $1.1M → 18%WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY: $1.1M → 28%EAGLE - US: $1.0M → 9%UNDERCURRENT: $815k → 8%PAMS FOUNDATION INC: $1.1M → 18%WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY: $900k → 28%EAGLE - US: $1.0M → 9%UNDERCURRENT: $810k → 8%PAMS FOUNDATION INC: $1.0M → 18%EAGLE - US: $1.0M → 9%UNDERCURRENT: $759k → 8%PAMS FOUNDATION INC: $1.0M → 18%EAGLE - US: $1.0M → 9%UNDERCURRENT: $742k → 8%PAMS FOUNDATION INC: $1.0M → 18%PAMS FOUNDATION INC: $1.0M → 18%BORN FREE USA: $952k → 14%FRANKFURT ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY - US: $1.3M → 14%FRANKFURT ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY - US: $1.2M → 14%FRANKFURT ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY - US: $1.2M → 14%FRANKFURT ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY - US: $1.0M → 14%FRANKFURT ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY - US: $751k → 14%AFRICAN PARKS NETWORK US: $1.5M → 17%AFRICAN PARKS NETWORK US: $817k → 17%AFRICAN PARKS NETWORK US: $813k → 17%SAVE THE RHINO INTERNATIONAL INC: $1.2M → 17%AFRICAN PARKS FOUNDATION OF AMERICA: $1.2M → 17%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
ID
NY
OH
NJ
CA
CO
VA
DE
DC
TX
FL
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 67% of The Wildcat Foundation’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address.

The Wildcat Foundationlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address · 86% 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.

95%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$119M · 23 repeat orgs$5.6M to everyone else

23 repeat relationships: 10 still active in FY2024, 13 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

23
12

Total granted

$119M
$5.6M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+11%
+31%

Still filing today

83%
75%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 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
AnimalsInternationalEnvironmentArts & CultureCivil RightsRecreation & 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

  • FZ
    FRANKFURT ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY - US INC
    8× · 2017–2024 · $17M · revenue +129% · 33% of their budget
  • WC
    Wildlife Conservation Society
    6× · 2017–2022 · $16M · revenue +59%
  • PF
    PAMS FOUNDATION INC
    8× · 2017–2024 · $16M · revenue +46% · 70% of their budget

Funded once

  • BF
    Born Free USA united with APIgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $1.6M · revenue +312% · 77% of their budget
  • AP
    AFRICAN PARKS FOUNDATION OF AMERICAgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $1.5M · revenue +340%
  • CW
    CHENGETA WILDLIFE
    one grant, 2022 · $662k · revenue -6% · 41% of their budget
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
African Wildlife Foundation Inc

Awf's mission is to ensure wildlife and wild lands thrive in modern africa. we work to equip african governments, institutions, business, and communities with the tools, insights, and support they need to define, own, and realize a…

Animals
2
Wildlife Conservation Global Inc

Wildlife conservation global, inc. operates the okapi conservation project (ocp) which works in the democratic republic of the congo with the institute in congo for the conservation of nature (iccn) and local communities throughout the…

Animals
3
Wildlife Protection Solutions

To protect endangered species.

Animals
4
Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International Inc

The Fossey Fund is dedicated to the conservation and study of gorillas in Africa through a successful, people-centered approach: 1) Providing daily protection to gorillas, 2) Scientific research providing critical data on gorillas and…

—
5
Rainforest Trust

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

International
6
International Primate Protection League

Protecting the world's remaining primates by monitoring and exposing illegal trade, supporting a worldwide network of overseas sanctuaries and ngo's, publicising the plight of abused primates, and operating a sanctuary for resued gibbons.

Animals
7
Wilderness Conservation Foundation
Environment
8
Zambia Carnivore Programme

To safeguard large carnivores, their prey, and habitat in zambia through applied research, conservation, and education.

Animals
9
Intertribal Sinkyone Wilderness Council
—
10
Mpala Wildlife Foundation Inc
—
11
WildTrack Inc

To improve endangered species monitoring to protect endangered species, focusing on non-invasive, cost-effective and community friendly methods, ultimately towards mitigating human wildlife conflict and stopping the illegal trafficking of…

Animals
12
Born Free Foundation
—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Frankfurt Zoological Society - Us Inc; the most unlike its peers is Gorongosa Project Inc. 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

30 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

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 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 30 of the 35 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.

14
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
7
Early backer (in before they grew)
28/30
Grantees still filing
17/30
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

FRANKFURT ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY - US INC: $16,624,632 · AnimalsFRANKFURT ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY - US INCWildlife Conservation Society: $16,077,149 · AnimalsWildlife Conservation SocietySAVE THE RHINO INTERNATIONAL INC: $5,783,588 · AnimalsSAVE THE RHINO INTERNATIONAL INCLUKURU WILDLIFE RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $2,453,839 · AnimalsHouston Zoo Inc: $2,324,773 · AnimalsCARE FOR WILD: $1,735,286 · Animals+5 more: $3,200,622 · Animals+5 morePAMS FOUNDATION INC: $15,935,570 · InternationalPAMS FOUNDATION INCEMPOWERS AFRICA INC: $7,755,002 · InternationalEMPOWERS AFRICA INCTHE CENTER FOR ADVANCED DEFENSE STUDIES: $5,373,854 · InternationalTHE CENTER FOR ADVANCED DEF…+3 more: $986,545 · InternationalUNDERCURRENT INC: $24,592,777 · Arts & CultureUNDERCURRENT INC+1 more: $20,000 · Arts & CultureEAGLE - US: $8,332,000 · OtherEAGLE - USAFRICAN PARKS NETWORK US: $5,155,024 · OtherAFRICAN PARKS N…AFRICAN PARK NETWORK US: $1,884,924 · OtherAFRICAN PARK NE…+6 more: $1,708,762 · Other+6 moreENV WILDLIFE CONSERVATION TRUST: $900,601 · EnvironmentFORGOTTEN PARKS FOUNDATION: $770,000 · EnvironmentTSAVO CONSERVATION GROUP INC: $333,000 · EnvironmentWORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $125,000 · EnvironmentAFRICAN PARKS FOUNDATION OF AMERICA: $1,545,000 · Recreation & SportsNATIONAL WHISTLEBLOWER CENTER: $528,000 · Civil RightsGorongosa Project Inc: $354,084 · Civil Rights
Animals$48,199,889International$30,050,971Arts & Culture$24,612,777Other$17,080,710Environment$2,128,601Recreation & Sports$1,545,000Civil Rights$882,084

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 budgetUNDERCURRENT INC: $24,592,777 over 6y, 60% of budgetFRANKFURT ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY - US INC: $16,624,632 over 8y, 33% of budgetWildlife Conservation Society: $16,077,149 over 6y, 1.5% of budgetPAMS FOUNDATION INC: $15,935,570 over 8y, 70% of budgetEMPOWERS AFRICA INC: $7,755,002 over 2y, 50% of budgetSAVE THE RHINO INTERNATIONAL INC: $5,783,588 over 8y, 83% of budgetTHE CENTER FOR ADVANCED DEFENSE STUDIES: $5,373,854 over 8y, 15% of budgetLUKURU WILDLIFE RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $2,453,839 over 3y, 86% of budgetHouston Zoo Inc: $2,324,773 over 8y, 0.5% of budgetCARE FOR WILD: $1,735,286 over 2y, 83% of budgetBorn Free USA united with API: $1,562,381 over 1y, 77% of budgetAFRICAN PARKS FOUNDATION OF AMERICA: $1,545,000 over 1y, 12% of budgetENV WILDLIFE CONSERVATION TRUST: $900,601 over 7y, 56% of budgetFORGOTTEN PARKS FOUNDATION: $770,000 over 3y, 74% of budgetCHENGETA WILDLIFE: $662,000 over 1y, 41% of budgetNATIONAL WHISTLEBLOWER CENTER: $528,000 over 2y, 62% of budgetMAASAI WILDERNESS CONSERVATION FUND: $500,000 over 4y, 12% of budgetFAUNA & FLORA INTERNATIONAL USA INC: $485,000 over 1y, 42% of budgetThe American Himalayan Foundation: $440,000 over 2y, 4.4% of budgetFocused Conservation Solutions Inc: $407,000 over 2y, 19% of budgetGorongosa Project Inc: $354,084 over 1y, 3.5% of budgetTSAVO CONSERVATION GROUP INC: $333,000 over 1y, 92% of budgetAKASHINGA INC: $328,625 over 2y, 2.8% of budgetWILDLIFE GUARDIANS: $240,616 over 3y, 7.6% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON FOUNDATION: $238,533 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetVIRUNGA FUND INC: $231,000 over 1y, 21% of budgetWORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $125,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE PEACE PARKS INC: $46,545 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetCenter for US Global Leadership: $25,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetSMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION: $20,000 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.

The Woodtiger FundSeadream Family Found…Wyss FoundationArcus FoundationNational Geographic S…Marin Community Found…American Endowment Fo…National Philanthropi…Gs Donor Advised Phil…Paypal Charitable Giv…The Pfizer Foundation…Vanguard Charitable E…
The Woodtiger FundPA20× affinity7 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Woodtiger Fund · Seadream Family Foundation Inc · Wyss Foundation · Arcus Foundation · National Geographic Society · Marin Community Foundation · American Endowment Foundation · National Philanthropic Trust · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · Paypal Charitable Giving Fund · The Pfizer Foundation Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program

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 Wildcat Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Wildcat Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 100%
  • Focused Conservation Solutions Inc: 100% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
4report 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 Wildcat Foundation?

Find your warmest path to The Wildcat 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 35 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 Wildcat’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