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Wave Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Wave 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.

$82k
Granted FY2024still arriving
13
Grants FY2024still arriving
7
States reached
$20k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0199% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Education$174kArts & Culture$111kReligion$50kCommunity Improvement$49kRecreation & Sports$43kPhilanthropy$29kInternational$28kHuman Services$24kOther$0
02FY2024 · 13 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k10 grants · $32k
  • $10k–50k3 grants · $50k
$3,000
Median grant
7
States reached
$643k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CAMPS NEWFOUND AND OWATONNA$20,000
BREARLEY SCHOOL$20,000
FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH$10,000
SPARK THE CHANGE CO$7,717
SANTA BARBARA MARITIME MUSEUM$6,087
COMMUNITY ARTS MUSIC SANTA BARBARA$6,000
SANTA BARBARA YOUTH SAILING$3,000
WOMENS FUND OF SANTA BARBARA$2,750
CHRISTIAN HERITAGE$2,500
RELEASE$1,500
PROJECT 127$1,000
ALZHEIMER'S ASSOCIATION$1,000
WESTMONT COLLEGE$299
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 (FY17–24, $21k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, 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%CHRISTIAN HERITAGE: $3k → 13%SAFE FAMILIES: $1k → 14%SAFE PLACE FOR YOUTH: $8k → 14%SAFE PLACE FOR YOUTH: $5k → 14%SAFE PLACE FOR YOUTH: $3k → 14%SAFE PLACE FOR YOUTH: $3k → 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
WA
ID
IL
NY
MA
CT
CA
CO
NE
MO
MD
AR
NC
SC
DC
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.

94%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$520k · 32 repeat orgs$32k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +58% since the first grant, against +30% for those funded once.

32 repeat relationships: 11 still active in FY2024, 21 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

32
24

Total granted

$520k
$28k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+58%
+30%

Still filing today

75%
63%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 95% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $4k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
Arts & CultureEducationHuman ServicesPhilanthropyInternationalReligionOther
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

  • TB
    THE BREARLEY SCHOOL
    7× · 2018–2024 · $115k · revenue +15%
  • TO
    TRUSTEES OF DEERFIELD ACADEMY
    3× · 2018–2023 · $43k · revenue +77%
  • SB
    SANTA BARBARA MARITIME MUSEUM
    7× · 2017–2024 · $37k · revenue +141%

Funded once

  • RR
    RAZIAS RAY OF HOPE FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2019 · $5k · revenue +15%
  • AW
    ART WITHOUT LIMITS
    one grant, 2017 · $5k · revenue -96%
  • TI
    TECHNOSERVE INCgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $3k · revenue +50%
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
Uc Santa Barbara Foundation

The uc santa barbara foundation actively works to further the goals of the university of california, santa barbara. the foundation seeks to maintain and nurture the university's quality and distinction. on behalf of the campus, the…

Education
2
Ucla Foundation

The ucla foundation is the giving, receiving, and investing arm of the ucla campus. the foundation enables private donors to help build, sustain and advance one of the world's finest academic and research institutions. private philanthropy…

Education
3
The San Diego Foundation

The san diego foundation inspires enduring philanthropy and enables community solutions to improve the quality of life in our region.

Philanthropy
4
Boston Architectural College

The bac is committed to provide excellence in design education grounded in practice and accessible to diverse communities.

—
5
Association of California School Administrators

The association serves its members by creating resources that enable california school administrators to develop and apply creative leadership and management skills and in turn, improve the educational process for all students.

—
6
Santa Barbara Foundation

The mission of the santa barbara foundation (sbf) is to mobilize collective wisdom and philanthropic capital to build empathetic, inclusive and resilient communities.

Philanthropy
7
Community Foundation Santa Cruz County

To promote philanthropy to make santa cruz county a better place to live, now and in the future.we bring together people, ideas, and resources to inspire philanthropy and accomplish great things.

Philanthropy
8
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
9
The Uc Davis Foundation

The mission of the uc davis foundation is to secure, steward and manage private gifts for uc davis.

Education
10
San Diego Opera Association

Mission: the mission of san diego opera is to deliver exceptional performances and exciting, accessible programs to diverse audiences, focusing on community partnerships, and the transformative and expressive power of the human voice. as…

Arts & Culture
11
Santa Fe Community Foundation

The santa fe community foundation inspires philanthropic generosity, strengthens nonprofits, and fosters positive change to build a more vibrant, healthy, and resilient region. the foundation's vision is a thriving northern new mexico,…

Philanthropy
12
Columbia College Chicago

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

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Safe Place for Youth Inc; the most unlike its peers is Common Ground Committee Inc. 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

45 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. 45 of the 61 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)
16
Early backer (in before they grew)
44/45
Grantees still filing
36/45
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE BREARLEY SCHOOL: $115,000 · EducationTHE BREARLEY SCHOOLTRUSTEES OF DEERFIELD ACADEMY: $42,500 · EducationTRUSTEES OF DEERFIELD ACADEMYSUN VALLEY WRITERS' CONFERENCE INC: $10,100 · EducationSUN VALLEY WRITERS' CONFERENCE INC+5 more: $8,147 · EducationFIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH: $47,975 · OtherFIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCHCAMPS NEWFOUND AND OWATONNA: $28,000 · OtherCAMPS NEWFOUND AND OWATONNASPARK THE CHANGE CO: $15,017 · OtherSPARK THE CHANGE COSANTA BARBARA CITY COLLEGE: $11,000 · OtherSANTA BARBARA CITY COLLEGESANTA BARBARA YOUTH SAILING: $8,000 · OtherGANNA WALSKA LOTUSLAND: $7,980 · OtherPROJECT 1 27: $10,890 · OtherPROJECT 1 27ADVENTURE UNLIMITED: $7,173 · Other+23 more: $37,246 · Other+23 moreSANTA BARBARA MARITIME MUSEUM: $37,107 · Arts & CultureSANTA BARBARA MARI…COMMUNITY ARTS MUSIC ASSOCIATION OF SANTA BARBARA INC: $27,340 · Arts & CultureCOMMUNITY ARTS MUS…LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC ASSOCIATION: $12,779 · Arts & CultureLOS ANGELES PHILHA…MUSIC ACADEMY OF THE WEST: $8,025 · Arts & CultureMUSIC ACADEMY OF T…+3 more: $3,299 · Arts & CultureSAFE PLACE FOR YOUTH INC: $17,500 · Human ServicesHOPE HOUSE OF COLORADO: $9,750 · Human ServicesCHRISTIAN HERITAGE CHILDREN'S HOME: $2,500 · Human ServicesAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $1,500 · Human Services+1 more: $1,042 · Human ServicesLeading from Within: $31,000 · EnvironmentWOMEN'S FUND OF SANTA BARBARA: $12,075 · PhilanthropyTOGETHER WOMEN RISE: $10,323 · PhilanthropyFUND FOR SANTA BARBARA INC: $6,000 · PhilanthropyBELLOSGUARDO FOUNDATION INC: $1,300 · Philanthropy+1 more: $1,000 · PhilanthropyUNITED STATES FUND FOR UNICEF: $18,900 · InternationalTECHNOSERVE INC: $2,500 · InternationalSave The Children Federation Inc: $1,022 · InternationalGLOBAL HOPE INC: $850 · International
Education$175,747Other$173,281Arts & Culture$88,550Human Services$32,292Environment$31,000Philanthropy$30,698International$23,272

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 BREARLEY SCHOOL: $115,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetTRUSTEES OF DEERFIELD ACADEMY: $42,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSANTA BARBARA MARITIME MUSEUM: $37,107 over 7y, 0.5% of budgetLeading from Within: $31,000 over 3y, 4.5% of budgetCOMMUNITY ARTS MUSIC ASSOCIATION OF SANTA BARBARA INC: $27,340 over 6y, 0.5% of budgetUNITED STATES FUND FOR UNICEF: $18,900 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetLOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC ASSOCIATION: $12,779 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetWOMEN'S FUND OF SANTA BARBARA: $12,075 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetPROJECT 1 27: $10,890 over 7y, 0.4% of budgetTOGETHER WOMEN RISE: $10,323 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetSUN VALLEY WRITERS' CONFERENCE INC: $10,100 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetHOPE HOUSE OF COLORADO: $9,750 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetMUSIC ACADEMY OF THE WEST: $8,025 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetGANNA WALSKA LOTUSLAND: $7,980 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetADVENTURE UNLIMITED: $7,173 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetFUND FOR SANTA BARBARA INC: $6,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetRAZIAS RAY OF HOPE FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetART WITHOUT LIMITS: $5,000 over 1y, 2.6% of budgetALZHEIMER'S DISEASE & RELATED DISORDERS ASSOCIATION INC: $4,200 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMELANOMA RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $2,515 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCHRISTIAN HERITAGE CHILDREN'S HOME: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTECHNOSERVE INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBELAY ENTERPRISES INC: $2,250 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetFOUR WINDS: $2,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetLOS ANGELES MISSION INC: $1,700 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNEW YORK CITY BALLET INC: $1,574 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSANTA BARBARA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL INC: $1,525 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $1,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetRELEASE INC: $1,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBELLOSGUARDO FOUNDATION INC: $1,300 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWESTMONT COLLEGE: $1,147 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSAFE FAMILIES FOR CHILDREN ALLIANCE: $1,042 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSave The Children Federation Inc: $1,022 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMassachusetts Institute of Technology: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMontecito Community Foundation: $1,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetGLOBAL HOPE INC: $850 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWITKIDS INC: $500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCommon Ground Committee Inc: $471 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPasadena Showcase House For The Arts: $200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL CONFLICT RESOLUTION CENTER: $200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCOLD NOSES WARM HEARTS: $100 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetTHE MORGAN ADAMS FOUNDATION: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetDIANA BASEHART FOUNDATION: $100 over 1y, 0.1% 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.

Www FoundationSanta Barbara Foundat…Hutton Foundation Dba…The Osherenko-Young F…Brittingham Family Fo…Ann Jackson Family Fo…Henry E & Lola Monroe…Towbes FoundationMosher FoundationThe McCune FoundationThe Ayco Charitable F…National Philanthropi…
Www FoundationCA19.8× affinity7 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Www Foundation · Santa Barbara Foundation · Hutton Foundation Dba Hutton Parker Foundation · The Osherenko-Young Foundation · Brittingham Family Foundation · Ann Jackson Family Foundation · Henry E & Lola Monroe Foundation · Towbes Foundation · Mosher Foundation · The McCune Foundation · The Ayco Charitable Foundation · National Philanthropic Trust

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 Wave Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Wave Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%19%38%56%75%share of the org’s income from government →median 35%
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology: 35% of income from government
  • Save the Children Federation Inc: 30% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
2get 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
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–75%
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 61 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 Wave’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