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United Way of Santa Cruz County at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

United Way of Santa Cruz County

The mission of the United Way of Santa Cruz County is to ignite our community to give, advocate and volunteer so that our youth succeed in school and in life, our residents are healthy and our families are financially independent.our most significant activity is the united for youth initiative, a community partnership that works to…

$599k
Granted FY2025still arriving
3
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$33k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
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.

Youth Development$325kPhilanthropy$310kPublic Safety & Disaster$207kHuman Services$187kFood & Nutrition$172kEmployment$120kHousing & Shelter$74kRecreation & Sports$66kOther$0
02FY2025 · 3 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 3 grants below total $84,250, the rows itemized in this filing. The $599,248 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $514,998 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.
$30,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$3.5M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CRADLE TO CAREER$33,000
COMMUNITY ACTION BOARD$30,000
SANTA CRUZ COMMUNITY VENTURES$21,250
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 (FY18–23, $133k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 7%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 7%MARTHAS KITCHEN: $10k → 8%EMMAUS HOUSE: $18k → 7%MARTHAS KITCHEN: $10k → 8%SUN STREET CENTERS: $17k → 12%SUN STREET CENTERS: $13k → 12%SUN STREET CENTERS: $7k → 12%EMMAUS HOUSE: $13k → 7%EMMAUS HOUSE: $7k → 8%EMMAUS HOUSE: $8k → 7%EMMAUS HOUSE: $7k → 7%Seniors Council: $25k → 13%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.
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 13% of United Way of Santa Cruz County’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address. By recipient address, 100% of the giving stays in CA; by stated purpose, 88%.

United Way of Santa Cruz Countylessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address
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.

78%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.4M · 17 repeat orgs$391k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +19% since the first grant, against +18% for those funded once.

17 repeat relationships: 3 still active in FY2025, 14 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

17
18

Total granted

$1.4M
$391k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+19%
+18%

Still filing today

88%
56%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 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
Human ServicesYouth DevelopmentPhilanthropyEmploymentArts & CultureEducationOther
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

  • UW
    United Way of Santa Cruz County
    4× · 2020–2025 · $302k · revenue +48%
  • CB
    Community Bridges
    4× · 2020–2024 · $171k · revenue +42%
  • CA
    Community Action Board
    5× · 2021–2025 · $167k · revenue +19%

Funded once

  • BC
    BOULDER CREEK VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT
    one grant, 2021 · $60k · revenue -37%
  • UW
    UNITED WAY OF MONTEREY COUNTY
    one grant, 2020 · $50k · revenue +12%
  • CF
    COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF SAN B
    one grant, 2020 · $50k
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
Big Brothersbig Sisters Agency of Santa Cruz County Inc

Create and support mentoring matches that ignite the power and promise of youth.

—
2
Santa Cruz Community Farmers Market

To serve our community by providing direct access to sustainable sources of fresh produce and other unique foods, and provide education about food issues, both local and beyond.

—
3
Center for Community Solutions

The mission is to end relationship and sexual violence by being a catalyst for caring communities and social justice. the vision is for all people to live full, free, expressive, and empowered lives in a safe, healthy, vibrant, and…

Health
4
Coastside Childrens Programs

Coastside childrens programs (ccp) mission is to provide a safe and caring environment where children learn through experience, play, and friendships - building a foundation for success in school and life. ccp is offering preschool…

Human Services
5
Court Appointed Special Advocates of Santa Cruz County

CASA of Santa Cruz advocates for children and youth, providing court appointed volunteers so each child in the dependency and juvenile court system feels cared for and connected with the people, families and resources they need to heal and…

Civil Rights
6
Court Appointed Special Advocates of Monterey County Inc

CASA recruits, trains, and supports community volunteers who advocate for chidren and youth throughout their journey in foster care.

Crime & Legal
7
South County Community Services fka St Josephs Family Center

To alleviate hunger and homelessness in south santa clara county by providing food, housing and employment related services, and advocating for system changes to improve the quality of life for the most vulnerable people in the communities…

Food & Nutrition
8
Child Care Coordinating Council of San Mateo County Inc

The Child Care Coordinating Council of San Mateo County, Inc. (4Cs) connects and empowers families, educators, and child care providers with resources today for a stronger San Mateo County tomorrow.

Human Services
9
Santa Cruz Local Inc

Independent nonpartisan newsroom serving Santa Cruz County, California we are all watching and engaged in our local government, our needs are addressed, democracy works better and our community is stronger.

—
10
Casa of Solano County

Advocates for abused, neglected and other identified children within the court system, with the belief that every child is entitled to a safe and stable home.

Civil Rights
11
Santa Cruz Community Health Centers

Our mission is to improve the health of our patients and the community and advocate the feminist goals of social, political, & economic equality.

Health
12
Community Action Marin

We make it possible for people in marin to achieve well-being by providing the vital services they need. together, we break down the barriers that get in the way of fair and lasting change in service to better outcomes for all.

Human Services
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Community Bridges; the most unlike its peers is Kidpower Teenpower Fullpower International. 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

27 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. 27 of the 37 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)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
27/27
Grantees still filing
19/27
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

OTHERS NOT OVER 5000: $152,352 · OtherOTHERS NOT OVER 5000PAJARO VALLEY PREVENTION AND STUDENT ASSISTANCE INC: $98,250 · OtherPAJARO VALLEY PREVENTION AND STUDENT ASSIS…CATHOLIC CHARITIES OF THE DIOCESE OF MONTEREY: $64,000 · OtherCATHOLIC CHARITIES OF THE DIOCESE OF MONTE…COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF SAN B: $50,000 · OtherCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF SAN BCOUNTY OF SANTA CRUZ: $35,000 · OtherLIVE OAK SCHOOL DISTRICT FINANCING CORPORATION: $25,826 · OtherNATION'S FINEST: $40,000 · OtherNATION'S FINESTCOMMUNITY FOOD BANK OF SAN BENITO COUNTY: $28,542 · OtherVALLEY CHURCHES UNITED: $37,048 · OtherVALLEY CHURCHES UNITED+14 more: $160,681 · Other+14 moreUnited Way of Santa Cruz County: $301,777 · PhilanthropyUnited Way of Santa Cruz Co…COMMUNITY FOUNDATION FOR SAN BENITO COUNTY: $73,735 · PhilanthropyCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION FOR SA…UNITED WAY OF MONTEREY COUNTY: $50,000 · PhilanthropyUNITED WAY OF MONTEREY COUN…COMMUNITY FOUNDATION SANTA CRUZ COUNTY: $25,000 · PhilanthropyCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION SANTA …VENTURES: $82,500 · Human ServicesVENTURESEmmaus House: $51,542 · Human ServicesEmmaus HouseSENIORS COUNCIL OF SANTA CRUZ AND SAN BENITO COUNTIES: $50,000 · Human ServicesSENIORS COUNCI…SUN STREET CENTERS: $36,542 · Human ServicesSUN STREET CEN…MARTHA'S KITCHEN: $20,000 · Human ServicesMARTHA'S KITCH…Community Action Board: $167,000 · EmploymentCommunity A…HOPE SERVICES: $27,000 · EmploymentHOPE SERVIC…Community Bridges: $171,250 · Food & NutritionCommunity …BOULDER CREEK VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT: $60,000 · Public Safety & DisasterCourt Appointed Special Advocate of San Benito County Inc: $48,542 · Civil Rights
Other$691,699Philanthropy$450,512Human Services$240,584Employment$194,000Food & Nutrition$171,250Public Safety & Disaster$60,000Civil Rights$48,542

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetUnited Way of Santa Cruz County: $301,777 over 4y, 4.9% of budgetCommunity Bridges: $171,250 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetCommunity Action Board: $167,000 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetPAJARO VALLEY PREVENTION AND STUDENT ASSISTANCE INC: $98,250 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetVENTURES: $82,500 over 3y, 1.0% of budgetCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION FOR SAN BENITO COUNTY: $73,735 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetBOULDER CREEK VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT: $60,000 over 1y, 22% of budgetEmmaus House: $51,542 over 5y, 13% of budgetSENIORS COUNCIL OF SANTA CRUZ AND SAN BENITO COUNTIES: $50,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetUNITED WAY OF MONTEREY COUNTY: $50,000 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetCourt Appointed Special Advocate of San Benito County Inc: $48,542 over 5y, 10% of budgetNATION'S FINEST: $40,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetVALLEY CHURCHES UNITED: $37,048 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetSUN STREET CENTERS: $36,542 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetCOMMUNITY FOOD BANK OF SAN BENITO COUNTY: $28,542 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetHOPE SERVICES: $27,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION SANTA CRUZ COUNTY: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMARTHA'S KITCHEN: $20,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetFAMILY SERVICE ASSOCIATION: $18,017 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCENTRAL COAST YOUNG MENS CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION: $18,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetGirls Incorporated of the Central Coast: $13,000 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetTANNERY WORLD DANCE & CULTURAL CENTER: $10,500 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetSANTA CRUZ EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $9,113 over 1y, 70% of budgetKIDPOWER TEENPOWER FULLPOWER International: $9,112 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetLIVING EVOLUTION: $8,300 over 1y, 16% 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.

Monterey Peninsula Fo…Community Foundation …Community Foundation …The David and Lucile …Kaiser Foundation Hos…Sunlight GivingPajaro Valley Communi…Dignity HealthEast Bay Community Fo…Silicon Valley Commun…Volunteer Centers of …The Albertsons Compan…
Monterey Peninsula FoundationCA40.4× affinity17 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Monterey Peninsula Foundation · Community Foundation Santa Cruz County · Community Foundation for San Benito County · The David and Lucile Packard Foundation · Kaiser Foundation Hospitals · Sunlight Giving · Pajaro Valley Community Health Trust · Dignity Health · East Bay Community Foundation · Silicon Valley Community Foundation · Volunteer Centers of Santa Cruz County · The Albertsons Companies Foundation

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 United Way of Santa Cruz County funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from United Way of Santa Cruz County. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%2%6%14%25%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get 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
    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 37 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

    Play a game based on United Way of Santa Cruz County’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