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Unlikely Collaborators Foundation at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Private foundation

Unlikely Collaborators 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.

$1.8M
Granted FY2024still arriving
15
Grants FY2024still arriving
8
States reached
$799k
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, FY2022 to 2024.

Education$2.0MArts & Culture$759kCivil Rights$460kHealth$260kHuman Services$260kCrime & Legal$205kEnvironment$200kYouth Development$75kOther$0
02FY2024 · 15 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $10k–50k7 grants · $178k
  • $50k–250k7 grants · $788k
  • $250k+1 grant · $799k
$55,000
Median grant
8
States reached
$37M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Northeastern University$799,153
Project Ijtihad DBA Moral Courage Project$230,000
Pen America Los Angeles$130,566
Naropa University$122,750
Holistic Life Foundation$100,000
Harvest Home$75,000
KALW Public Media Inc$75,000
John P McGovern Museum of Health & Medical Science$55,000
Creative Visions Foundation$35,000
Swan Songs Musical Last Wishes$30,000
Fiscal Sponsorship Allies$25,000
Motus Theater$25,000
Purpose Built Families Foundation$25,000
American Red Cross - LA Region$25,000
Create Now Inc$12,500
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 (FY22–24, $350k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 83% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%Harvest Home: $75k → 14%Swan Songs: $30k → 10%Harvest Home: $75k → 14%Swan Songs Musical Last Wishes: $30k → 10%Vista Del Mar Child and Family Services: $25k → 14%The Chris Wilson Foundation: $25k → 19%Harvest Home: $25k → 14%The Chris Wilson Foundation: $15k → 19%American Red Cross - LA Region: $25k → 14%American Red Cross - LA Region: $25k → 14%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

ME
IL
WI
NY
MA
NV
IN
CA
CO
VA
MD
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 14% of Unlikely Collaborators Foundation’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address.

Unlikely Collaborators Foundationlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address · 22% 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.

82%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$3.6M · 16 repeat orgs$781k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +22% since the first grant, against +11% for those funded once.

16 repeat relationships: 13 still active in FY2024, 3 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

16
16

Total granted

$3.6M
$625k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+22%
+11%

Still filing today

88%
75%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 91% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $156k went to new ones.

50%100%’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’22’23’24
EducationArts & CultureHuman ServicesHealthYouth DevelopmentCommunity 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

  • NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY
    2× · 2023–2024 · $1.6M · revenue +22%
  • NU
    Naropa University
    2× · 2023–2024 · $250k · revenue +22%
  • KP
    KALW PUBLIC MEDIA INC
    3× · 2022–2024 · $200k · revenue +79%

Funded once

  • PA
    Pen America
    one grant, 2023 · $128k
  • SP
    STREET POETS INC
    one grant, 2023 · $102k · revenue -35%
  • TS
    THE STRAY THEATER INC
    one grant, 2023 · $50k · revenue -52%
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
United States Artists Inc

To invest in america's finest artists and illuminate the value of artists to society.

Arts & Culture
2
Lawyers for the Creative Arts

Provision of pro bono legal and consulting services to qualifying individuals/companies in the creative arts.

Arts & Culture
3
San Francisco Film Society

SFFILM is a nonprofit organization whose mission ensures independent voices in film are welcomed, heard, and given the resources to thrive. SFFILM connects and inspires audiences, students and teachers, and filmmakers through our film…

—
4
Academy of Television Arts and Sciences

The Television Academy is dedicated to celebrating excellence, innovation and the advancement of the telecommunications arts and sciences through recognition, education and leadership, while fostering a diverse, inclusive and accessible…

—
5
California Institute of Integral Studies

Ciis is an institution of higher education that encourages an interdisciplinary approach to learning. over 1,700 students are enrolled in masters, doctoral, bachelor of arts completion programs, and certifications. ours is a mosaic of…

Education
6
The Alliance for Media Arts Culture Inc

To facilitate collaboration, innovation, strategic growth and cultural impact for the media arts field. We are a network of networks; we embolden creative media organization and artists and connect them with the world.

Arts & Culture
7
The Chicago School of Professional Psychology

The Chicago School educates the next generation of change-makers in innovative theory and culturally competent practice to strengthen the integrated health of individuals, organizations, and communities.

Education
8
Ucsf Foundation Investment Company

The organization provides professional investment management services for endowed gifts and financial assets entrusted to the ucsf foundation.

Education
9
Columbia College Chicago

The organization's mission is to educate students for creative occupations in diverse fields of arts and media.

Education
10
California College of the Arts

California college of the arts educates students to shape culture and society through the practice and critical study of art, architecture, design, and writing. benefitting from its san francisco bay area location, the college prepares…

Education
11
California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy

To harness the power of the human immune system and advanced computing technologies to create and translate scientific discoveries into next generation vaccines and therapies for prevention, control and cure of chronic diseases, enabling…

Health
12
Stages

Stages makes plays and tells stories that invite everyone to live more deeply and love more boldly.

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Create Now Inc; the most unlike its peers is The Stray Theater 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

29 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. 29 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.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
5
Early backer (in before they grew)
28/29
Grantees still filing
20/29
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY: $1,578,525 · EducationNORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITYSTREET POETS INC: $102,000 · EducationSTREET POETS INC+6 more: $130,000 · Education+6 moreProject Ijtihad DBA Moral Courage Project: $460,000 · OtherProject Ijtihad DBA Moral Courage P…Naropa University: $250,000 · OtherNaropa UniversityInside Outside Circle Foundation dba Inside Circle: $165,000 · OtherInside Outside Circle Foundation db…PEN AMERICA LOS ANGELES FKA PEN CENTER USA WEST: $130,566 · OtherPEN AMERICA LOS ANGELES FKA PEN CEN…Pen America: $128,138 · OtherPen AmericaPrison Yoga Project Inc: $100,000 · OtherPrison Yoga Project IncTINY ROOM GIVES INC: $50,000 · Other+4 more: $85,000 · Other+4 moreKALW PUBLIC MEDIA INC: $200,000 · Arts & CultureKALW PUBLIC M…John P McGovern Museum of Health & Medical Science: $110,000 · Arts & CultureJohn P McGove…CREATIVE VISIONS FOUNDATION: $50,100 · Arts & CultureCREATIVE VISI…THE STRAY THEATER INC: $50,000 · Arts & CultureTHE STRAY THE…MOTUS THEATER: $50,000 · Arts & CultureMOTUS THEATERTHE FILM COLLABORATIVE INC: $50,000 · Arts & CultureTHE FILM COLL…INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FOUNDATION INC: $25,000 · Arts & CultureHarvest Home Inc: $175,000 · Human ServicesHarvest H…Swan Songs Musical Last Wishes: $60,000 · Human ServicesSwan Song…American National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $50,000 · Human ServicesAmerican …CHRIS WILSON FOUNDATION: $40,000 · Human ServicesCHRIS WIL…VISTA DEL MAR CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES: $25,000 · Human ServicesVISTA DEL…HOLISTIC LIFE FOUNDATION INC: $200,000 · Youth DevelopmentFISCAL SPONSORSHIP ALLIES INC: $50,000 · Community ImprovementALLIANCE FOR CHILDHOOD DISEASES: $25,000 · HealthHALFTHESTORY: $25,000 · Health
Education$1,810,525Other$1,368,704Arts & Culture$535,100Human Services$350,000Youth Development$200,000Community Improvement$50,000Health$50,000

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 budgetNORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY: $1,578,525 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetNaropa University: $250,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetKALW PUBLIC MEDIA INC: $200,000 over 3y, 1.6% of budgetHOLISTIC LIFE FOUNDATION INC: $200,000 over 2y, 5.6% of budgetHarvest Home Inc: $175,000 over 2y, 12% of budgetJohn P McGovern Museum of Health & Medical Science: $110,000 over 2y, 1.9% of budgetSTREET POETS INC: $102,000 over 1y, 3.4% of budgetPrison Yoga Project Inc: $100,000 over 2y, 5.7% of budgetSwan Songs Musical Last Wishes: $60,000 over 2y, 5.6% of budgetCREATIVE VISIONS FOUNDATION: $50,100 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetFISCAL SPONSORSHIP ALLIES INC: $50,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $50,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE STRAY THEATER INC: $50,000 over 1y, 17% of budgetMOTUS THEATER: $50,000 over 2y, 3.7% of budgetTHE FILM COLLABORATIVE INC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetCHRIS WILSON FOUNDATION: $40,000 over 2y, 5.2% of budgetVISTA DEL MAR CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetINTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FOUNDATION INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetALLIANCE FOR CHILDHOOD DISEASES: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMUSIC & MEMORY INC: $25,000 over 1y, 11% of budgetHALFTHESTORY: $25,000 over 1y, 3.0% of budgetYoga Alliance Registry: $25,000 over 1y, 2.2% of budgetUPCHIEVE INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetTHE HADANOU COLLECTIVE: $25,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetCREATE NOW INC: $25,000 over 2y, 3.2% of budgetUCLA FOUNDATION: $20,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSCHOOL OF UNUSUAL LIFE LEARNING: $10,000 over 1y, 8.5% 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.

Unlikely Collaborator…California Community …Rose Community Founda…Communities Foundatio…Silicon Valley Commun…ImpactassetsincNational Philanthropi…Charities Aid Foundat…The Pfizer Foundation…The Blackbaud Giving …Vanguard Charitable E…Morgan Stanley Global…
Unlikely Collaborators IncCA17.9× affinity6 shared granteesties to 10 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Unlikely Collaborators Inc · California Community Foundation · Rose Community Foundation · Communities Foundation of Texas Inc · Silicon Valley Community Foundation · Impactassetsinc · National Philanthropic Trust · Charities Aid Foundation America · The Pfizer Foundation Inc · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust 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 Unlikely Collaborators Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Unlikely Collaborators 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 7%
  • Northeastern University: 7% of income from government
  • Holistic Life Foundation Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
7report 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 Unlikely Collaborators Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Unlikely Collaborators 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 Unlikely Collaborators’ 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