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Watson Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Watson Family Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$2k
Granted FY2024still arriving
1
Grants FY2024still arriving
1
States reached
$2k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0198% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2018 to 2024.

Health$53kRecreation & Sports$33kCrime & Legal$25kHuman Services$25kPhilanthropy$16kEducation$10kAnimals$8kYouth Development$6kOther$0
02FY2024 · 1 grant

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$1,600
Median grant
1
States reached
$2k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
KC METROPOLITAN CRIME COMMISSION$1,600
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 (FY21–22, $4k) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%CROSSROADS HOSPICE CHARITABLE FOUNDATION: $1k → 15%CROSSROADS HOSPICE CHARITABLE FOUNDATION: $1k → 15%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $500 → 15%MAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION: $500 → 15%MAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION: $500 → 15%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

MN
IL
MA
OH
PA
CA
MO
VA
KS
TN
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.

77%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$147k · 43 repeat orgs$44k to everyone else

43 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2024, 42 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

43
13

Total granted

$147k
$44k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+30%
+40%

Still filing today

40%
69%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

50%100%’18’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’18’20’21’22’23’24
HealthCrime & LegalHuman ServicesEducationHousing & ShelterPhilanthropyOther
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

  • TA
    THE ALS ASSOCIATION MID-AMERICA CHAPTER
    2× · 2018–2020 · $8k · revenue +10%
  • WH
    Welcome House Inc
    2× · 2018–2020 · $5k · revenue +266%
  • KG
    KANSAS GOLF FOUNDATION
    4× · 2018–2022 · $4k · revenue +3%

Funded once

  • GF
    GOLF FOUNDATION OF KANSAS CITY
    one grant, 2018 · $25k · revenue +93%
  • CM
    Children's Mercy Hospital Resource Development Office
    one grant, 2020 · $5k
  • HT
    HEARTLAND THERAPEUTIC RIDING INC
    one grant, 2022 · $3k · revenue +4%
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
Kansas City Country Club

The kansas city country club is a traditional, private, family-oriented country club dedicated to providing outstanding year-round dining, social and athletic activities to its members and their guests through superior services, staff and…

—
2
Ronald McDonald House Charities of Kansas City Inc

The mission of ronald mcdonald house charities of kansas city is to provide essential services that remove barriers, strengthen families, and promote healing when children need healthcare.

Health
3
Catholic Charities of Kansas City - St Joseph Inc

Helping people move to a better life through hope-filled care, services, and advocacy; calling all those of goodwill to join us

Human Services
4
Regional West Health Services

Health care services for the people of western nebraska and eastern wyoming.

Health
5
Children's Hospital Corporation

Provider of pediatric healthcare, education, research & community service

Health
6
Kansas City Care Clinic

The mission of kc care health center is to promote health and wellness by providing quality care, access, research and education to the underserved and all people in our community.

—
7
The Research Foundation

The research foundation invests in health-centered programs and partnerships that benefit health care students and professionals, patients, and people in the kansas city community.

Health
8
Kansas Healthcare Collaborative Inc

Engaging and aligning providers and stakeholders to establish Kansas as a role model for health care quality and a top performer in health care outcomes.

Health
9
University Hospital & Clinics Inc

The organization provides medical care to improve, maintain, and restore the health of the people in the communities we serve.

Health
10
Kansas Children's Service League Foundation

To protect and promote the well-being of children by providing ongoing support of the charitable mission of the kansas children's service league.

Philanthropy
11
Healthcore Clinic Inc

The mission of healthcore clinic, inc is to provide quality family healthcare through improved access and a heightened and unrelenting focus on education and prevention.

Health
12
Wichitas Littlest Heroes

Wichita's littlest heroes (wlh) exists to provide hope, help, and happiness to families of children ages 0-18 in the kansas area who are battling life-threatening medical conditions. wlh strives to accomplish this be being a physical and…

Human Services
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Make-a-Wish Foundation of Missouri and Kansas; the most unlike its peers is American Diabetes Association. 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

29 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. 29 of the 57 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)
8
Early backer (in before they grew)
27/29
Grantees still filing
24/29
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

YMCA: $18,000 · OtherYMCAKC METROPOLITAN CRIME COMMISSION: $17,600 · OtherKC METROPOLITAN CRIME COMMISSIONBruce Edwards Foundation: $11,600 · OtherBruce Edwards FoundationRobert Packard Center for ALS Research Johns Hopkins: $10,000 · OtherRobert Packard Center for ALS Research Johns HopkinsChildren's Mercy Hospital Resource Development Office: $5,000 · Other+33 more: $59,576 · Other+33 moreGOLF FOUNDATION OF KANSAS CITY: $25,000 · EducationGOLF FOUNDATION O…THE FRANCIS OUIMET SCHOLARSHIP FUND INC: $3,000 · EducationTHE FRANCIS OUIME…BLUE VALLEY EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION: $2,000 · EducationBLUE VALLEY EDUCA…THE ALS ASSOCIATION MID-AMERICA CHAPTER: $8,000 · HealthTHE ALS ASS…Welcome House Inc: $5,000 · HealthWelcome Hou…The Children's Mercy Hospital: $2,500 · HealthThe Childre…AMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS ASSN: $1,600 · HealthAMYOTROPHIC…TRUMAN MEDICAL CENTER INCORPORATED: $1,500 · HealthTRUMAN MEDI…American Diabetes Association: $1,000 · HealthCHILD PROTECTION CENTER INC: $3,000 · Crime & LegalTHE CHILDREN'S PLACE INC: $2,000 · Crime & LegalMETROPOLITAN ORGANIZATION COUNTERING SEXUAL ASSAULT: $2,000 · Crime & LegalCROSSROADS HOSPICE CHARITABLE FOUNDATION: $3,000 · Human ServicesMAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION OF MISSOURI AND KANSAS: $2,000 · Human ServicesAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $500 · Human ServicesHEARTLAND THERAPEUTIC RIDING INC: $3,468 · Recreation & SportsTHE FIRST TEE OF GREATER PHILADELPHIA INC: $1,000 · Recreation & SportsNicklaus Children's Health Care Foundation: $2,000 · PhilanthropyMARINE TOYS FOR TOTS FOUNDATION: $2,000 · Philanthropy
Other$121,776Education$30,000Health$19,600Crime & Legal$7,000Human Services$5,500Recreation & Sports$4,468Philanthropy$4,000

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 budgetGOLF FOUNDATION OF KANSAS CITY: $25,000 over 1y, 16% of budgetTHE ALS ASSOCIATION MID-AMERICA CHAPTER: $8,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetWelcome House Inc: $5,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetKANSAS GOLF FOUNDATION: $4,000 over 4y, 1.1% of budgetHEARTLAND THERAPEUTIC RIDING INC: $3,468 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetTHE FRANCIS OUIMET SCHOLARSHIP FUND INC: $3,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCHILD PROTECTION CENTER INC: $3,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetCROSSROADS HOSPICE CHARITABLE FOUNDATION: $3,000 over 3y, 1.2% of budgetThe Children's Mercy Hospital: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE CHILDREN'S PLACE INC: $2,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetMAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION OF MISSOURI AND KANSAS: $2,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetNicklaus Children's Health Care Foundation: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCity Union Mission: $2,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetMETROPOLITAN ORGANIZATION COUNTERING SEXUAL ASSAULT: $2,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetBLUE VALLEY EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION: $2,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetSTARLIGHT THEATRE ASSOCIATION OF KANSAS CITY INC: $2,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetROSE BROOKS CENTER INC: $2,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetSHELTER KC: $2,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetMARINE TOYS FOR TOTS FOUNDATION: $2,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetAMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS ASSN: $1,600 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTRUMAN MEDICAL CENTER INCORPORATED: $1,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetWAYSIDE WAIFS INC: $1,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetHEALTH OUTREACH FOUNDATION: $1,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetAmerican Diabetes Association: $1,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE FIRST TEE OF GREATER PHILADELPHIA INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHARVESTERS - THE COMMUNITY FOOD NETWORK: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNOURISHKC: $500 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.

  • Who funds GOLF FOUNDATION OF KANSAS CITY ↗
  • Who funds THE ALS ASSOCIATION MID-AMERICA CHAPTER ↗
  • Who funds Welcome House Inc ↗
  • Who funds KANSAS GOLF FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds HEARTLAND THERAPEUTIC RIDING INC ↗
  • Who funds THE FRANCIS OUIMET SCHOLARSHIP FUND INC ↗
  • Who funds CHILD PROTECTION CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds CROSSROADS HOSPICE CHARITABLE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds The Children's Mercy Hospital ↗
  • Who funds THE CHILDREN'S PLACE INC ↗
  • Who funds MAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION OF MISSOURI AND KANSAS ↗
  • Who funds Nicklaus Children's Health Care Foundation ↗
  • Who funds City Union Mission ↗
  • Who funds METROPOLITAN ORGANIZATION COUNTERING SEXUAL ASSAULT ↗
  • Who funds BLUE VALLEY EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds STARLIGHT THEATRE ASSOCIATION OF KANSAS CITY INC ↗
  • Who funds ROSE BROOKS CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds SHELTER KC ↗
  • Who funds MARINE TOYS FOR TOTS FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds AMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS ASSN ↗

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.

Greater Kansas City C…The Sunderland Founda…The Morgan Family Fou…The Sherman Family Fo…The Curry Family Foun…Constance M Cooper Ch…Marion and Henry Bloc…Oppenstein Brothers F…The Francis Family Fo…William T Kemper Foun…United Way of Greater…Hickok Family Foundat…
Greater Kansas City Community FoundationMO23.9× affinity10 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Greater Kansas City Community Foundation · The Sunderland Foundation · The Morgan Family Foundation · The Sherman Family Foundation · The Curry Family Foundation · Constance M Cooper Charitable Foundation · Marion and Henry Bloch Family Foundation · Oppenstein Brothers Foundation · The Francis Family Foundation · William T Kemper Foundation Commerce Bank Trustee · United Way of Greater Kansas City Inc · Hickok Family Foundation F/K/A John D Hickok 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 Watson Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Watson Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 30%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%5%10%15%20%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    3get no government money at all
    4report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–20%
    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 Watson Family Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Watson 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 57 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.

    Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2025) is on record and reports no grant expense, so the figures above are from FY2024, the most recent year this funder made grants.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Watson 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