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· Public charity

Trail Blazers Foundation

The TRAIL BLAZERS FOUNDATION is dedicated to positively impacting the lives of individuals from communities that have been historically underserved or marginalized with a focus on where youth live, learn, and play.

$784k
Granted FY2025still arriving
19
Grants FY2025still arriving
3
States reached
$500k
Largest

Read this first · the figures below need context

71% of Trail Blazers Foundation’s FY2025 grant dollars went to The Oregon Community Foundation, not to grantees.

Its money now reaches organizations through that sponsor, which does not report who recommended each grant. FY2025 names 18 organizations directly, so a portfolio cannot be read from it.

Organizations named directly on the return

19
’19
34
’20
8
’21
18
’22
24
’23
14
’24
18
’25

Amber years are those where most dollars went to a sponsor.

01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2019 to 2025.

Philanthropy$2.6MEducation$574kEnvironment$400kCivil Rights$385kCrime & Legal$307kPublic Safety & Disaster$280kYouth Development$240kHealth$42kOther$0
02FY2025 · 19 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 19 grants below total $708,520, the rows itemized in this filing. The $784,180 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $75,660 is giving the schedule does not break out (grants under the $5,000 itemization floor, grants to individuals, grants on other schedules). Every figure below describes the itemized rows only.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k7 grants · $43k
  • $10k–50k11 grants · $166k
  • $250k+1 grant · $500k
$10,200
Median grant
3
States reached
$846k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
OREGON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION$500,000
YOUTH ORGANIZED AND UNITED TO HELP$30,045
WORD IS BOND$28,618
LEARN FRESH$25,000
KIDS UNLIMITED OF OREGON$10,400
NIXYAAWII COMMUNITY SCHOOL$10,400
KLAMATH COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT$10,400
MORROW COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT #1$10,300
GREATER ALBANY PUBLIC SD 8J$10,200
MARION COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT 24J$10,200
FORT VANCOUVER HIGH SCHOOL BOOSTER CLUB$10,100
OAKLAND SCHOOL DISTRICT #1$10,000
RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE$7,597
BRIAN GRANT FOUNDATION$7,290
JASON LEE PTA$6,100
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 (FY19–23, $41k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 65% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%ST MARY'S HOME FOR BOYS: $5k → 8%ADELANTE MUJERES: $9k → 8%LATINO NETWORK: $10k → 12%BETTIES360: $11k → 12%HOLLA SCHOOL: $5k → 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

WA
NY
OR
PA
CA
CO
VA
AZ
OK
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.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

63%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$984k · 26 repeat orgs$576k to everyone else

26 repeat relationships: 8 still active in FY2025, 18 since wound down; 10 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

26
54

Total granted

$984k
$495k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+26%
+44%

Still filing today

50%
54%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 61% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $81k went to new ones.

50%100%’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
EducationYouth DevelopmentHealthHuman ServicesCivil RightsInternationalOther
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

  • LEARN FRESH EDUCATION CO
    6× · 2019–2025 · $115k · revenue +132%
  • WI
    WORD IS BOND
    5× · 2021–2025 · $107k · revenue +39%
  • CHINESE PROGRESSIVE ASSOCIATION
    2× · 2021–2022 · $47k · revenue +26%

Funded once

  • Alliance for Global Justice Corp
    one grant, 2021 · $26k · revenue -91%
  • OREGON FOOD BANK
    one grant, 2020 · $25k · revenue +7%
  • PS
    PHOENIX-TALENT SCHOOL DISTRICT #4
    one grant, 2022 · $20k
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
Mitch Charter School

We believe that the strength of our community lies in its diversity. we know the power of many different voices at the table. these voices resound from the hearts and minds of our youth, who hold the keys to a just, fair and sustainable…

Education
2
Cascades Academy of Central Oregon

Cascades academy is an engaged, vibrant community that weaves challenging academics with experiential learning to inspire socially responsible individuals ready for a diverse and changing world.

Education
3
New Progressive Network

Next up amplifies the voice of diverse youth to achieve a more just oregon

Civil Rights
4
Foundation for Portland Public Schools

The Mission of the Foundation for Portland Public Schools is to be a catalyst for increased educational opportunities, achievement, and equity for all Portland Public Schools students and staff.

Philanthropy
5
The Campbell Institute

Children's institute's mission is to leverage research, practice, policy, and advocacy to shift systems toward justice for families so that all of oregon's children, prenatal to grade 5, have access to opportunity.

Unclassified
6
Oregon Center for Public Policy

The oregon center for public policy's mission is to achieve economic justice for all oregonians through research, analysis, and advocacy. ocpp works to change policies that foster economic security and stability for all oregonians. we do…

Employment
7
Oregon Progress Forum

Next up amplifies the voice and leadership of diverse young people to achieve a more just and equitable oregon.

Environment
8
Oregon Justice Network

Oregon Justice Network is an alliance built and staffed by criminal legal system impacted people advocating for the well-being of people affected or at-risk of being affected by carceral systems. Our work centers around restorative…

Human Services
9
Our Children Oregon

Our children oregon's mission is to be a voice and force for the common good for all oregon children, ensuring all children have the resources and opportunities they need to reach their full potential. we elevate data and the voices of…

Philanthropy
10
Urban League of Portland Inc

To help empower african americans and others achieve equality in education, employment, and economic security.

Human Services
11
Youth Progress Association

Youth progress is a nonprofit organization that is licensed as a child caring agency (cca) to serve youth ages 12-25 in the custody of the oregon youth authority (oya) or the oregon department of human services (dhs). youth progress uses…

Health
12
Better Together Central Oregon

Our mission is to improve educational outcomes for children and youth from cradle to career in Central Oregon. They do this by fostering cross-sector collaboration bringing together partners from education, business, health, philanthropy,…

Human Services
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Native American Youth and Family Center; the most unlike its peers is Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors Inc. 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

53 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. 53 of the 94 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)
13
Early backer (in before they grew)
50/53
Grantees still filing
34/53
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE OREGON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $3,245,000 · PhilanthropyTHE OREGON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION+1 more: $40,000 · PhilanthropyKlamath County School District: $39,050 · OtherBOYS & GIRLS CLUBS PORTLAND METRO: $30,283 · OtherJEFFERSON COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT NO 509J: $28,000 · OtherBEYOND BLACK: $27,117 · OtherPORTLAND PUBLIC SCHOOLS: $27,000 · OtherMITCHELL BOOSTER CLUB: $25,450 · OtherOakland School District #1: $25,450 · OtherOREGON FOOD BANK: $25,000 · OtherAlliance for Global Justice Corp: $26,000 · Other+52 more: $482,619 · Other+52 moreYOUTH ORGANIZED & UNITED HELP: $117,423 · Youth DevelopmentLEARN FRESH EDUCATION CO: $115,000 · Youth DevelopmentBOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF PORTLAND METROPOLITAN AREA: $59,734 · Youth DevelopmentMAURICE LUCAS FOUNDATION: $17,435 · Youth Development+4 more: $37,377 · Youth DevelopmentWORD IS BOND: $107,129 · Civil RightsNAACP LEGAL DEFENSE & EDUC FUND INC: $56,000 · Civil RightsNATIONAL BLACK JUSTICE COALITION INC: $47,000 · Civil RightsPOSITIVE COACHING ALLIANCE: $41,853 · EducationNixyawii Community School: $30,750 · EducationFUND FOR PORTLAND PUBLIC SCHOOLS: $15,500 · EducationKAIROSPDX: $15,278 · EducationFOUR RIVERS COMMUNITY SCHOOL INC: $13,150 · EducationEDDYVILLE CHARTER SCHOOL: $10,150 · EducationFORT VANCOUVER HIGH SCHOOL BOOSTER CLUB: $10,100 · EducationLGBTQ COMMUNITY CENTER FUND: $9,286 · EducationVIBES PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL: $7,800 · EducationFOLDS OF HONOR FOUNDATION: $7,301 · EducationMilwaukie El Puente PTO: $7,100 · Education+2 more: $10,300 · EducationCHINESE PROGRESSIVE ASSOCIATION: $47,000 · HealthRONALD MCDONALD HOUSE CHARITIES OF OREGON AND SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON: $19,693 · HealthTRAGEDY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM FOR SURVIVORS INC: $9,610 · HealthTHE BRIAN GRANT FOUNDATION: $7,290 · HealthQuadriplegics United Against Dependency Inc: $5,306 · HealthALBINA VISION TRUST INC: $60,500 · Community ImprovementCOMMON COUNSEL FOUNDATION: $21,000 · Community Improvement
Philanthropy$3,285,000Other$735,969Youth Development$346,969Civil Rights$210,129Education$178,568Health$88,899Community Improvement$81,500

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 budgetTHE OREGON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $3,245,000 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetYOUTH ORGANIZED & UNITED HELP: $117,423 over 5y, 20% of budgetLEARN FRESH EDUCATION CO: $115,000 over 6y, 0.5% of budgetWORD IS BOND: $107,129 over 5y, 17% of budgetALBINA VISION TRUST INC: $60,500 over 3y, 1.3% of budgetBOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF PORTLAND METROPOLITAN AREA: $59,734 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetNAACP LEGAL DEFENSE & EDUC FUND INC: $56,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCHINESE PROGRESSIVE ASSOCIATION: $47,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetNATIONAL BLACK JUSTICE COALITION INC: $47,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetPOSITIVE COACHING ALLIANCE: $41,853 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetSEEDING JUSTICE: $40,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetNixyawii Community School: $30,750 over 3y, 0.9% of budgetAlliance for Global Justice Corp: $26,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetOREGON FOOD BANK: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCOMMON COUNSEL FOUNDATION: $21,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetRONALD MCDONALD HOUSE CHARITIES OF OREGON AND SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON: $19,693 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetMAURICE LUCAS FOUNDATION: $17,435 over 3y, 1.1% of budgetKAIROSPDX: $15,278 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetFOUR RIVERS COMMUNITY SCHOOL INC: $13,150 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetKIDS UNLIMITED OF OREGON: $10,400 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetEDDYVILLE CHARTER SCHOOL: $10,150 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetFORT VANCOUVER HIGH SCHOOL BOOSTER CLUB: $10,100 over 1y, 3.7% of budgetNATIVE AMERICAN YOUTH AND FAMILY CENTER: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetLatino Network: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetURBAN GLEANERS: $10,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetTRAGEDY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM FOR SURVIVORS INC: $9,610 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetADAPTIVE SPORTS NORTHWEST: $9,380 over 1y, 4.6% of budgetLGBTQ COMMUNITY CENTER FUND: $9,286 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetADELANTE MUJERES: $9,193 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetELEVATE OREGON: $8,973 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetWomens Foundation of Oregon: $8,231 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetGIRLS BUILD: $8,004 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetVIBES PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL: $7,800 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetFOLDS OF HONOR FOUNDATION: $7,301 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetROSE HAVEN CIC: $6,989 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetJUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF OREGON AND SW WASHINGTON INC: $6,352 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetHACIENDA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $5,399 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCAUSA OF OREGON: $5,358 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetQuadriplegics United Against Dependency Inc: $5,306 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSUNNY WOLF CHARTER SCHOOL: $5,300 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetKE KUKUI FOUNDATION: $5,119 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetCENTRO CULTURAL OF WASHINGTON COUNTY: $5,097 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHOLLA SCHOOL: $5,050 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetFriends of Trees: $5,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetST MARY'S HOME: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSCHOOLHOUSE SUPPLIES INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% 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 THE OREGON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds YOUTH ORGANIZED & UNITED HELP ↗
  • Who funds LEARN FRESH EDUCATION CO ↗
  • Who funds WORD IS BOND ↗
  • Who funds ALBINA VISION TRUST INC ↗
  • Who funds BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF PORTLAND METROPOLITAN AREA ↗
  • Who funds NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE & EDUC FUND INC ↗
  • Who funds CHINESE PROGRESSIVE ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL BLACK JUSTICE COALITION INC ↗
  • Who funds POSITIVE COACHING ALLIANCE ↗
  • Who funds SEEDING JUSTICE ↗
  • Who funds Nixyawii Community School ↗
  • Who funds BEYOND BLACK ↗
  • Who funds Alliance for Global Justice Corp ↗
  • Who funds OREGON FOOD BANK ↗
  • Who funds COMMON COUNSEL FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE CHARITIES OF OREGON AND SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON ↗
  • Who funds MAURICE LUCAS FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds FUND FOR PORTLAND PUBLIC SCHOOLS ↗
  • Who funds FRIENDS OF ZENGER FARM ↗
  • Who funds KAIROSPDX ↗
  • Who funds FOUR RIVERS COMMUNITY SCHOOL INC ↗
  • Who funds BETTIES3SIXTY ↗
  • Who funds KIDS UNLIMITED OF OREGON ↗

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 Oregon Community FoundationOR57.3× affinity43 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Oregon Community Foundation · Oea Choice Trust · Meyer Memorial Trust · Schoolhouse Supplies Inc · The Collins Foundation · OCF Joseph E Weston Public Foundation · Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation Trust · Onpoint Community Credit Union · The Ford Family Foundation · Juan Young Trust · The Autzen Foundation · GenYOUTH Incorporated

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 90%2%6%14%25%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 19%
  • Friends of Trees: 100% of income from government
  • Hacienda Community Development Corporation: 48% of income from government
  • Adelante Mujeres: 31% of income from government
  • Friends of Zenger Farm: 28% of income from government
  • Elevate Oregon: 28% of income from government
  • Sunny Wolf Charter School: 26% of income from government
  • Native American Youth and Family Center: 23% of income from government
  • Oregon Food Bank: 21% of income from government
  • Four Rivers Community School Inc: 20% of income from government
  • Vibes Public Charter School: 19% of income from government
  • Kairospdx: 19% of income from government
  • National Black Justice Coalition Inc: 17% of income from government
  • Latino Network: 15% of income from government
  • Holla School: 15% of income from government
  • Nixyawii Community School: 11% of income from government
  • Eddyville Charter School: 4% of income from government
  • Youth Organized & United Help: 3% of income from government
  • The Oregon Community Foundation: 2% of income from government
  • Womens Foundation of Oregon: 0% of income from government
  • Centro Cultural of Washington County: 0% of income from government
  • Seeding Justice: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
9get no government money at all
10report 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.

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 94 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 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

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