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Woodford Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Woodford 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.

$372k
Granted FY2025still arriving
55
Grants FY2025still arriving
21
States reached
$60k
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, FY2017 to 2025.

Education$1.2MPublic Benefit$908kCivil Rights$586kCrime & Legal$201kSocial Science$125kCommunity Improvement$83kEnvironment$53kPhilanthropy$53kOther$0
02FY2025 · 55 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k41 grants · $92k
  • $10k–50k13 grants · $220k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $60k
$2,500
Median grant
21
States reached
$79k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO FOUNDATION$60,000
INSTITUTE FOR JUSTICE$25,000
JUDICIAL WATCH$25,000
STATE POLICY NETWORK$25,000
CONSERVATIVE PARTNERSHIP INSTITUTE$25,000
CONVENTION OF STATES FOUNDATION$25,000
STEAMBOAT INSTITUTE$20,000
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF TRUSTEES AND ALUMNI$15,000
THE FUND FOR AMERICAN STUDIES$10,200
OMEGA PSI PHI FRATERNITY UPLIFT FOUNDATION$10,000
PUBLIC INTEREST LEGAL FOUNDATION$10,000
ACTON INSTITUTE$10,000
NEW CIVIL LIBERTIES ALLIANCE$10,000
INDEPENDENCE INSTITUTE$10,000
THE HEARTLAND INSTITUTE$7,500
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 (FY18–23, $15k) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%SPRINGS RESCUE MISSION: $5k → 9%DIAKONIA: $5k → 9%DIAKONIA: $5k → 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.

Which US states its grants reach

ID
MT
MN
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
IN
PA
CA
UT
CO
WV
VA
DE
AZ
SC
DC
AL
GA
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.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

97%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$3.3M · 88 repeat orgs$104k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +43% since the first grant, against +7% for those funded once.

88 repeat relationships: 54 still active in FY2025, 34 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

88
25

Total granted

$3.3M
$99k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+43%
+7%

Still filing today

83%
52%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 99% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $5k 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
EducationPublic BenefitCivil RightsArts & CultureSocial SciencePhilanthropyOther
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

  • UO
    UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO FOUNDATION
    9× · 2017–2025 · $460k · revenue +79%
  • SP
    STATE POLICY NETWORK
    9× · 2017–2025 · $165k · revenue +90%
  • IF
    INSTITUTE FOR JUSTICE
    9× · 2017–2025 · $150k · revenue +57%

Funded once

  • TB
    THE BASTIAT SOCIETY
    one grant, 2017 · $20k
  • SF
    State Freedom Caucus Foundationgraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $10k · revenue +52%
  • EC
    EDUCATING CHILDREN OF COLORADO LEADERSHIP ACADEMY
    one grant, 2017 · $5k
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
Frontiers of Freedom Institute

To educate the public on constitutional issues and public policy matters. We are dedicated to the principles of individual liberty, peace through strength, limited government, free enterprise, and the values embodied in the Declaration of…

Public Benefit
2
Open Markets Institute

The open markets institute works to help people relearn how to use competition policy to build stronger democracies, more just and equitable societies, more innovative and sustainable economies, and a more secure and peaceful world.

Education
3
Foreign Policy Research Institute

The foreign policy research institute (frpi) is dedicated to producing the highest quality scholarship and nonpartisan policy analysis focused on crucial foreign policy and national security challenges facing the united states. we educate…

International
4
Peter G Peterson Institute for International Economics

The peterson institute for international economics (piie) is an independent nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization dedicated to strengthening prosperity and human welfare in the global economy through expert analysis and practical…

Social Science
5
The International Institute for Strategic Studies - Us

To provide accurate, objective information and analysis on international strategic issues for legislators, diplomats, foreign affairs analysts, international business leaders, economists, the military, defense commentators, journalists,…

International
6
The Libertarian Institute

Disseminate information and education about pertinent economic, social and governmental topics, via print, web and other media to educate the public about the principles of LIbertarianism.

Education
7
R Street Institute

The r street institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, public-policy research organization ("think tank"). our mission is to engage in policy research and outreach to promote free markets and limited, effective government. (continued on…

Education
8
Institute for Public Accuracy

To teach and disseminate educational materials to the public.

Arts & Culture
9
International Republican Institute

Iri advances freedom and democracy worldwide by developing political parties, civic institutions, open elections, democratic governance and the rule of law.

Education
10
Liberty Justice Center

To advance economic and social liberties and a free enterprise society through strategic litigation, training, communication, activism and research. in addition, the center will train law students, lawyers and policy activists in the…

Crime & Legal
11
Defense of Freedom Institute for Policy Studies Inc

To provide thoughtful, conservative solutions to the challenges presented by education, workforce, labor and employment issues.

Education
12
American Law Institute

The institute's mission, as set out in its certificate of incorporation, is to promote the clarification and simplification of the law and its better adaptation to social needs, to secure the better administration of justice, and to…

Crime & Legal
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Heritage Foundation; the most unlike its peers is The Bastiat Society. 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

89 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. 89 of the 115 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)
30
Early backer (in before they grew)
88/89
Grantees still filing
61/89
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO FOUNDATION: $460,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF COLORADO FOUNDAT…Conservative Partnership Institute: $127,000 · EducationConservative Partnership Insti…THE STEAMBOAT INSTITUTE: $96,000 · EducationTHE STEAMBOAT INSTITUTEPIKES PEAK STATE COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC: $61,000 · EducationPIKES PEAK STATE COLLEGE FOUND…INTERCOLLEGIATE STUDIES INSTITUTE INC: $47,000 · Education+13 more: $116,750 · Education+13 moreFREEDOMWORKS FOUNDATION INC: $142,500 · OtherFREEDOMWORKS FOUNDATION INCOMEGA PSI PHI FRATERNITY UPLIFT FOUNDATION: $85,000 · OtherOMEGA PSI PHI FRATERNITY UPLIFT …FOUNDATION FOR ECONOMIC FREEDOM: $60,000 · OtherFOUNDATION FOR ECONOMIC FREEDOMREGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO: $60,000 · OtherREGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF COL…MERCATUS: $57,500 · OtherMERCATUSInstitute for Humane Studies: $57,500 · OtherInstitute for Humane StudiesTHE FUND FOR AMERICAN STUDIES: $50,800 · OtherBill of Rights Institute: $50,000 · OtherPHILANTHROPIC ROUNDTABLE: $40,500 · OtherWOODSON CENTER: $37,500 · Other+50 more: $335,450 · Other+50 moreJUDICIAL WATCH INC: $125,000 · Public BenefitJUDICIAL WATCH INCINDEPENDENCE INSTITUTE: $90,000 · Public BenefitINDEPENDENCE INSTITU…MANHATTAN INSTITUTE FOR POLICY RESEARCH INC: $81,800 · Public BenefitMANHATTAN INSTITUTE …Leadership Program of the Rockies: $65,000 · Public BenefitLeadership Program o…THE HEARTLAND INSTITUTE: $55,000 · Public BenefitTHE HEARTLAND INSTIT…PROPERTY AND ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH CENTER: $52,500 · Public BenefitPROPERTY AND ENVIRON…INSTITUTE FOR FREE SPEECH: $38,000 · Public BenefitINSTITUTE FOR FREE S…TEXAS PUBLIC POLICY FOUNDATION: $33,500 · Public BenefitTEXAS PUBLIC POLICY …LUCY BURNS INSTITUTE INC: $28,000 · Public BenefitCATO INSTITUTE: $26,500 · Public Benefit+7 more: $32,250 · Public BenefitSTATE POLICY NETWORK: $165,000 · Civil RightsSTATE POLICY NETWOR…INSTITUTE FOR JUSTICE: $150,000 · Civil RightsINSTITUTE FOR JUSTI…CITIZENS FOR SELF-GOVERNANCE: $120,000 · Civil RightsCITIZENS FOR SELF-G…Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty: $90,000 · Civil RightsActon Institute for…MOUNTAIN STATES LEGAL FOUNDATION: $33,000 · Civil RightsMOUNTAIN STATES LEG…+2 more: $20,350 · Civil RightsAMERICAN COUNCIL OF TRUSTEES AND ALUMNI: $77,500 · Arts & CultureNew Civil Liberties Alliance: $62,500 · Arts & CultureTHE AMERICAN CONSERVATIVE: $27,500 · Arts & CultureJUST FACTS INC: $8,000 · Arts & Culture+2 more: $6,500 · Arts & CultureAMERICAN INSTITUTE FOR ECONOMIC RESEARCH: $48,500 · Social ScienceAtlas Economic Research Foundation: $21,500 · Social ScienceAMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY RESEARCH: $4,100 · Social ScienceFoundation for Economic Education Inc: $3,000 · Social Science+1 more: $2,000 · Social SciencePUBLIC INTEREST LEGAL FOUNDATION: $50,000 · Crime & Legal+1 more: $500 · Crime & Legal
Education$907,750Other$976,750Public Benefit$627,550Civil Rights$578,350Arts & Culture$182,000Social Science$79,100Crime & Legal$50,500

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

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetUNIVERSITY OF COLORADO FOUNDATION: $460,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetSTATE POLICY NETWORK: $165,000 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetINSTITUTE FOR JUSTICE: $150,000 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetFREEDOMWORKS FOUNDATION INC: $142,500 over 7y, 2.7% of budgetConservative Partnership Institute: $127,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetJUDICIAL WATCH INC: $125,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetCITIZENS FOR SELF-GOVERNANCE: $120,000 over 7y, 1.6% of budgetTHE STEAMBOAT INSTITUTE: $96,000 over 9y, 1.4% of budgetINDEPENDENCE INSTITUTE: $90,000 over 9y, 0.4% of budgetActon Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty: $90,000 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetMANHATTAN INSTITUTE FOR POLICY RESEARCH INC: $81,800 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetAMERICAN COUNCIL OF TRUSTEES AND ALUMNI: $77,500 over 9y, 0.3% of budgetLeadership Program of the Rockies: $65,000 over 9y, 0.7% of budgetNew Civil Liberties Alliance: $62,500 over 9y, 0.3% of budgetPIKES PEAK STATE COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC: $61,000 over 2y, 2.5% of budgetInstitute for Humane Studies: $57,500 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetTHE HEARTLAND INSTITUTE: $55,000 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetPROPERTY AND ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH CENTER: $52,500 over 9y, 0.4% of budgetTHE FUND FOR AMERICAN STUDIES: $50,800 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetBill of Rights Institute: $50,000 over 7y, 0.4% of budgetPUBLIC INTEREST LEGAL FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetAMERICAN INSTITUTE FOR ECONOMIC RESEARCH: $48,500 over 8y, 0.4% of budgetINTERCOLLEGIATE STUDIES INSTITUTE INC: $47,000 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetINSTITUTE FOR FREE SPEECH: $38,000 over 8y, 0.4% of budgetWOODSON CENTER: $37,500 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetTEXAS PUBLIC POLICY FOUNDATION: $33,500 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetMOUNTAIN STATES LEGAL FOUNDATION: $33,000 over 9y, 0.6% of budgetFOUNDATION FOR TEACHING ECONOMICS: $30,700 over 3y, 4.9% of budgetLUCY BURNS INSTITUTE INC: $28,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetTHE AMERICAN CONSERVATIVE: $27,500 over 7y, 0.5% of budgetCATO INSTITUTE: $26,500 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetCOLLEGE OF CHARLESTON FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetEducating Children of Color Inc: $25,000 over 5y, 5.6% of budgetCOLORADO COUNCIL ON ECONOMIC EDUCATION: $25,000 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetAtlas Economic Research Foundation: $21,500 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetTHE BASTIAT SOCIETY: $20,000 over 1y, 18% of budgetFOUNDATION FOR INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS AND EXPRESSION INC: $18,350 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetTHE THRIVE NETWORK: $17,500 over 4y, 3.1% of budgetCOMMITTEE FOR A CONSTRUCTIVE TOMORROW: $15,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetTHE INDEPENDENT INSTITUTE: $14,500 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetEdChoice Inc: $11,500 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetState Freedom Caucus Foundation: $10,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetDiakonia: $10,000 over 2y, 1.7% of budgetPRAGER UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBENJAMIN RUSH INSTITUTE: $10,000 over 2y, 2.5% of budgetNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SCHOLARS INC: $8,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetJUST FACTS INC: $8,000 over 5y, 1.0% of budgetLADIES OF LIBERTY ALLIANCE: $7,500 over 2y, 1.8% 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 UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds STATE POLICY NETWORK ↗
  • Who funds INSTITUTE FOR JUSTICE ↗
  • Who funds FREEDOMWORKS FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds Conservative Partnership Institute ↗
  • Who funds JUDICIAL WATCH INC ↗
  • Who funds CITIZENS FOR SELF-GOVERNANCE ↗
  • Who funds THE STEAMBOAT INSTITUTE ↗
  • Who funds INDEPENDENCE INSTITUTE ↗
  • Who funds Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty ↗
  • Who funds MANHATTAN INSTITUTE FOR POLICY RESEARCH INC ↗
  • Who funds AMERICAN COUNCIL OF TRUSTEES AND ALUMNI ↗
  • Who funds Leadership Program of the Rockies ↗
  • Who funds New Civil Liberties Alliance ↗
  • Who funds PIKES PEAK STATE COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds Institute for Humane Studies ↗
  • Who funds THE HEARTLAND INSTITUTE ↗
  • Who funds PROPERTY AND ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH CENTER ↗
  • Who funds THE FUND FOR AMERICAN STUDIES ↗
  • Who funds Bill of Rights Institute ↗
  • Who funds PUBLIC INTEREST LEGAL FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds AMERICAN INSTITUTE FOR ECONOMIC RESEARCH ↗
  • Who funds INTERCOLLEGIATE STUDIES INSTITUTE INC ↗
  • Who funds INSTITUTE FOR FREE SPEECH ↗
  • Who funds WOODSON CENTER ↗
  • Who funds TEXAS PUBLIC POLICY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds MOUNTAIN STATES LEGAL FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds FOUNDATION FOR TEACHING ECONOMICS ↗
  • Who funds LUCY BURNS INSTITUTE INC ↗
  • Who funds THE AMERICAN CONSERVATIVE ↗
  • Who funds CATO INSTITUTE ↗
  • Who funds COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Educating Children of Color Inc ↗

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.

Donors Trust IncBradley Impact Fund I…Sarah Scaife Foundati…Adolph Coors Foundati…The Lynde and Harry B…Charles Koch Foundati…The Armstrong Foundat…Charles Koch InstituteGarvey Kansas Foundat…Triad Foundation IncJohn William Pope Fou…Pierre F & Enid Goodr…
Donors Trust IncVA63.6× affinity31 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Donors Trust Inc · Bradley Impact Fund Inc · Sarah Scaife Foundation Incorporated · Adolph Coors Foundation · The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation Inc · Charles Koch Foundation · The Armstrong Foundation · Charles Koch Institute · Garvey Kansas Foundation · Triad Foundation Inc · John William Pope Foundation · Pierre F & Enid Goodrich 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 Woodford Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Woodford Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%1%4%8%15%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
    2get no government money at all
    8report 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.
    05Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to Woodford Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Woodford 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 115 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 Woodford’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