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Watson Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Watson Family Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$12k
Granted FY2025still arriving
7
Grants FY2025still arriving
4
States reached
$5k
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, FY2017 to 2025.

Health$51kEducation$35kHuman Services$16kCrime & Legal$5kPublic Benefit$2kArts & Culture$2kPublic Safety & Disaster$1kEmployment$1kOther$0
02FY2025 · 7 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$1,000
Median grant
4
States reached
$142k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
SUDDENLY PINK FOUNDATION$4,521
TEE IT UP FOR THE TROOPS$2,500
THE CHALLENGE FOUNDATION$2,500
CATHOLIC FOUNDATION OF MICHIGAN$1,000
DENVER RESCUE MISSION$518
WESLEY PLAYERS THEATER COMPANY$500
AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION$150
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 (FY17–25, $3k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%DENVER RESCUE MISSION: $519 → 12%DENVER RESCUE MISSION: $518 → 12%DENVER RESCUE MISSION: $515 → 12%DENVER RESCUE MISSION: $500 → 12%DENVER RESCUE MISSION: $500 → 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

MN
MI
OR
SD
PA
CA
CO
MD
DC
TX
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.

82%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$92k · 13 repeat orgs$21k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +43% since the first grant, against +15% for those funded once.

13 repeat relationships: 5 still active in FY2025, 8 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

13
18

Total granted

$92k
$20k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+43%
+15%

Still filing today

69%
39%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 95% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $500 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
HealthEducationArts & CultureRecreation & SportsHuman ServicesPhilanthropyOther
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

  • TI
    TEE IT UP FOR THE TROOPS INC
    6× · 2020–2025 · $12k · revenue +165%
  • DR
    DENVER RESCUE MISSION
    6× · 2017–2025 · $3k · revenue +57%
  • CG
    Colorado Gynecologic Cancer Alliance
    4× · 2018–2021 · $2k · revenue +59%

Funded once

  • IC
    ILLUMINATE COMMUNITY RECOVERY SERVIgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $10k · revenue ×33
  • IL
    INTERFAITH LEADERSHIP COUNCIL
    one grant, 2021 · $2k
  • BC
    BOULDER COUNTY CRISIS FUND
    one grant, 2021 · $1k
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
The Colorado Health Foundation
Health
2
Ray of Hope Cancer Foundation

The foundation responds to the urgent needs of coloradans with cancer by providing financial assistance with dignity and humanity.

Human Services
3
Colorado Veterans Resource Coalition
Health
4
Cancer Support Community Arizona

CSCAZ uplifts and strengthens people impacted by cancer by providing support, fostering compassionate communities, and breaking down barriers to care.

Health
5
Caring for Denver Foundation

To address denver's mental health and substance misuse needs by growing community informed solutions and turning the community's desire to help into action.

Health
6
Colorado Chamber of Commerce Fka Co Assn of Commerce & Industry

The colorado chamber of commerce mission is to enhance the business climate of the state of colorado by promoting a positive legislative and regulatory environment and providing programs and services for its members, economic education,…

—
7
Colorado Gives Foundation

We connect people, ideas, and nonprofits to make good happen. our vision is that all of jeffco is thriving.

Philanthropy
8
Colorado Center for Chronic Care Innovation

To create patient-centered innovations to improve health care delivery by partnering with patients, health care organizations, academic institutions, and private practices.

Health
9
Ceo Roundtable On Cancer Inc

The mission of the ceo roundtable on cancer is to make continual progress toward the elimination of cancer as a personal disease and public health problem through initiatives that reduce the risk of cancer, enable early diagnosis,…

Health
10
Colorado Breast Cancer Awareness Foundation

Provide financial assistance to people who need breast screening and/or breast cancer treatment.

Health
11
Epic Experience

Epic experiences mission is to empower adult cancer survivors and thrivers to live beyond cancer.

Human Services
12
Sense of Security Inc

To provide a Sense of Security from financial hardship and enhance the quality of life for Colorado breast cancer patients in treatment.

Housing & Shelter
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Denver Rescue Mission; the most unlike its peers is Wesley Players Theatre Company. 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

20 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. 20 of the 33 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)
6
Early backer (in before they grew)
18/20
Grantees still filing
10/20
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE CHALLENGE FOUNDATION INC: $26,191 · EducationTHE CHALLENGE FOUNDATION INCTEE IT UP FOR THE TROOPS INC: $11,992 · EducationTEE IT UP FOR THE TROOPS INCHEARTLIGHT CENTER INC: $1,750 · EducationSUDDENLY PINK FOUNDATION: $25,972 · PhilanthropySUDDENLY PINK FOUNDATIONCOLORADO COUNCIL ON ECONOMIC EDUCATION: $6,000 · OtherCOLORADO COUNCIL ON ECO…UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO HOSPITAL FOUNDATION-CEDAR ALUMNI FUND: $4,500 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF COLORADO …ADVOCATES FOR CHILDREN CASA: $3,500 · OtherADVOCATES FOR CHILDREN …INTERFAITH LEADERSHIP COUNCIL: $1,567 · OtherINTERFAITH LEADERSHIP C…CASA-COURT APPOINTED SPECIAL ADVOCATES FOR CHILDREN: $1,250 · OtherBOULDER COUNTY CRISIS FUND: $1,023 · OtherCATHOLIC FOUNDATION OF MICHIGAN: $1,000 · Other+11 more: $4,772 · Other+11 moreILLUMINATE COMMUNITY RECOVERY SERVI: $10,000 · HealthILLUMINATE COMMUN…FACE IT TOGETHER INC: $3,640 · HealthFACE IT TOGETHER …Colorado Gynecologic Cancer Alliance: $2,000 · HealthColorado Gynecolo…OUT AND ABOUT COLORADO: $1,500 · HealthOUT AND ABOUT COL…+2 more: $862 · HealthDENVER RESCUE MISSION: $3,052 · Human ServicesMUSICARES FOUNDATION INC: $1,000 · Arts & CultureWESLEY PLAYERS THEATRE COMPANY: $500 · Arts & CultureELDERHEART INC: $500 · Arts & CultureDress for Success Denver: $1,000 · Public Benefit
Education$39,933Philanthropy$25,972Other$23,612Health$18,002Human Services$3,052Arts & Culture$2,000Public Benefit$1,000

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 budgetTHE CHALLENGE FOUNDATION INC: $26,191 over 9y, 0.2% of budgetSUDDENLY PINK FOUNDATION: $25,972 over 8y, 5.3% of budgetTEE IT UP FOR THE TROOPS INC: $11,992 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetILLUMINATE COMMUNITY RECOVERY SERVI: $10,000 over 1y, 17% of budgetFACE IT TOGETHER INC: $3,640 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetDENVER RESCUE MISSION: $3,052 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetColorado Gynecologic Cancer Alliance: $2,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetHEARTLIGHT CENTER INC: $1,750 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetOUT AND ABOUT COLORADO: $1,500 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetDress for Success Denver: $1,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetMUSICARES FOUNDATION INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE SUE MILLER DAY OF CARING: $750 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetAmerican Heart Association Inc: $553 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetWESLEY PLAYERS THEATRE COMPANY: $500 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetELDERHEART INC: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMILE HIGH 360: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCOLORADO GOLF FOUNDATION: $350 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetAMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY INC: $309 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.

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.

Colorado Gives Founda…Rose Community Founda…The Colorado Health F…The Denver FoundationXcel Energy FoundationThe Bank of America C…American Endowment Fo…National Philanthropi…American Online Givin…Vanguard Charitable E…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …
Colorado Gives FoundationCO20.2× affinity8 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Colorado Gives Foundation · Rose Community Foundation · The Colorado Health Foundation · The Denver Foundation · Xcel Energy Foundation · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · American Endowment Foundation · National Philanthropic Trust · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund

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 · 10%1%5%11%20%funder's share of their income ↑0%4%8%11%15%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    1get no government money at all
    1report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–15%
    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 33 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 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    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