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Walker Family Foundation at a glance

· Public charity

Walker Family Foundation

Type I supporting organization under irc section 509(a)(3) to seattle foundation.

$1.9M
Granted FY2017
12
Grants FY2017
2
States reached
$1.2M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its fieldRead
04Through PlinthRead

Read this first · the figures below need context

65% of Walker Family Foundation’s FY2017 grant dollars went to Seattle Foundation, not to grantees.

Its money now reaches organizations through that sponsor, which does not report who recommended each grant. FY2017 names 10 organizations directly, so a portfolio cannot be read from it.

01What it funds
01FY2017 · 12 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2017

  • Under $10k2 grants · $15k
  • $10k–50k6 grants · $105k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $50k
  • $250k+3 grants · $1.7M
$25,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
SEATTLE FOUNDATION$1,247,990
NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY$250,000
FRIENDS OF WATERFRONT SEATTLE$250,000
SEATTLE OPERA$50,000
AUDUBON WASHINGTON$25,000
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON FOUNDATION GIFT PROCESSING$25,000
KUOW PUGET SOUND PUBLIC RADIO$25,000
TINY TREES PRESCHOOL$10,000
WASHINGTON GREEN SCHOOLS$10,000
TREEHOUSE$10,000
SEATTLE PARKS FOUNDATION$7,500
SEATTLE SHAKESPEARE COMPANY$7,500
02The need
02

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 (FY17–17) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 100% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY: $250k → 17%SEATTLE FOUNDATION: $1.2M → 9%TREEHOUSE: $10k → 9%WASHINGTON GREEN SCHOOLS: $10k → 9%UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON FOUNDATION GIFT PROCESSING: $25k → 9%SEATTLE OPERA: $50k → 9%AUDUBON WASHINGTON: $25k → 9%KUOW PUGET SOUND PUBLIC RADIO: $25k → 9%SEATTLE SHAKESPEARE COMPANY: $8k → 9%TINY TREES PRESCHOOL: $10k → 9%SEATTLE PARKS FOUNDATION: $8k → 9%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.
03Its 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
Siff

Siff is a seattle-based 501(c)(3) arts nonprofit dedicated to the creation of vibrant experiences and spaces that champion film discovery and arts education.

Youth Development
2
Seattle Symphony Orchestra Inc

To present symphonic music of the highest quality in a distinctive way for the cultural enrichment, education, engagement and enjoyment of the people of our community.

Arts & Culture
3
Fsc I&P

Fsc i&p promotes environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial, and economically viable management of the world's forests. this mission aligns with the forest stewardship council (fsc), its network of offices, and other organizations.…

Philanthropy
4
The Humane Society for Seattleking County

Seattle humane promotes the human-animal bond by saving and serving pets in need, regardless of age, ability, circumstance or geography.

Animals
5
Great Peninsula Conservancy

Preserve in perpetuity the natural habitats, rural landscapes, and open spaces of the great peninsula of washington's puget sound.

Environment
6
Puget Sound Restoration Fund

To restore habitat, water quality and native species in the puget sound

Environment
7
Seattle Architectural Foundation

The Seattle Architecture Foundation connects people to the architecture, design, and history of Seattle. We believe the more you engage with design, the more you feel connected to your changing city. As a volunteer driven organization, we…

Arts & Culture
8
Oregon Shakespeare Festival Association Inc

The oregon shakespeare festival creates world-class theater, revealing our collective humanity through illuminating interpretations of new and classic plays, and inspiring a love of our art form for current and future generations.

Arts & Culture
9
Washington Wild

Washington wild protects and restores wild lands and waters in washington state through advocacy, education and civic engagement.

Animals
10
The Seattle Academy of Arts & Sciences

Seattle academy is a dynamic community that challenges students to question, imagine, and create in order to contribute to a changing world.

Education
11
Seattle Public Library Foundation

The seattle public library foundation inspires the community's philanthropic support, advocacy for, and pride in the library.

Education
12
Association of Washington Cities

The association of washington cities builds connections between our state's diverse cities and towns, while providing our members with the support needed to thrive through delivery of data-driven education, nationally recognized pooling…

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Seattle Foundation; the most unlike its peers is National Audubon Society Inc. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
03the grantee network

11 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.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
3
Early backer (in before they grew)
10/11
Grantees still filing
9/11
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

SEATTLE FOUNDATION: $1,247,990 · PhilanthropySEATTLE FOUNDATIONNATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY INC: $275,000 · EnvironmentNATIONAL AUDUBON…EarthGen Fka WA Green Schools: $10,000 · EnvironmentFRIENDS OF SEATTLE WATERFRONT: $250,000 · Community ImprovementFRIENDS OF SEA…SEATTLE OPERA: $50,000 · Arts & CultureKUOW PUGET SOUND PUBLIC RADIO: $25,000 · Arts & CultureUNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON FOUNDATION: $25,000 · EducationTINY TREES PRESCHOOL: $10,000 · OtherSEATTLE SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL: $7,500 · OtherTREEHOUSE: $10,000 · Youth DevelopmentSEATTLE PARKS FOUNDATION: $7,500 · Recreation & Sports
Philanthropy$1,247,990Environment$285,000Community Improvement$250,000Arts & Culture$75,000Education$25,000Other$17,500Youth Development$10,000Recreation & Sports$7,500

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

25%50%75%100%$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetSEATTLE FOUNDATION: $1,247,990 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetNATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY INC: $275,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetSEATTLE OPERA: $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetKUOW PUGET SOUND PUBLIC RADIO: $25,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetEarthGen Fka WA Green Schools: $10,000 over 1y, 2.3% of budgetTREEHOUSE: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSEATTLE SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL: $7,500 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetSEATTLE PARKS FOUNDATION: $7,500 over 1y, 0.2% 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.

Wyman Youth TrustThe Norcliffe Foundat…Seattle FoundationMorgan Stanley Global…National Philanthropi…Vanguard Charitable E…American Online Givin…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Wyman Youth TrustWA13.6× affinity4 shared granteesties to 9 of 9Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Wyman Youth Trust · The Norcliffe Foundation · Seattle Foundation · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile 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 Walker Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Walker Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%3%5%8%10%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    5report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–10%
    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.
    04Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to Walker Family Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Walker Family 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 11 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 2017, released 2017. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Walker Family’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