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Zera Foundation Inc at a glance

· Private foundation

Zera Foundation Inc

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.

$434k
Granted FY2024still arriving
43
Grants FY2024still arriving
1
States reached
$77k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0194% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Housing & Shelter$601kEducation$380kHuman Services$329kFood & Nutrition$289kAnimals$195kArts & Culture$180kCrime & Legal$124kHealth$117kOther$0
02FY2024 · 43 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k25 grants · $146k
  • $10k–50k17 grants · $211k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $77k
$7,500
Median grant
1
States reached
$5.0M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
DARAJA EDUCATION FUND$76,600
PATH HOME$30,000
PREAR$25,000
OREGON FOOD BANK$15,000
PORTLAND RESCUE MISSION$10,500
ASSIST$10,000
COLLEGE POSSIBLE$10,000
PSU HIGHER EDUCATION ON PRISON PROG$10,000
Individual grant recipient$10,000
TRANSITION PROJECT$10,000
OUTSIDE THE FRAME$10,000
THE INSIGHT ALLIANCE$10,000
JEWISH MUSEUM$10,000
PORTLAND REFUGEE SUPPORT GROUP$10,000
ECUMENICAL MINISTRIES OF OREGON$10,000
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, $299k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 95% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%ADVENTURES WITHOUT LIMITS: $9k → 8%ADELANTE MUJERES: $5k → 8%BLOOMIN BOUTIQUE: $5k → 8%In Kind Boxes: $3k → 8%TIVNU BUILDING JUSTICE: $12k → 12%TIVNU BUILDING JUSTICE: $4k → 12%SNOWCAP COMMUNITY CHARITIES: $8k → 12%HOLLA SCHOOL: $5k → 12%HOLLA SCHOOL: $5k → 12%JOIN: $10k → 12%JOIN: $10k → 12%JOIN: $10k → 12%JOIN: $10k → 12%JOIN: $10k → 12%Community for Positive Aging: $8k → 12%COMMUNITY FOR POSITIVE AGING: $8k → 12%COMMUNITY FOR POSITIVE AGING: $5k → 12%FRIENDS OF SATURDAY ACADEMY: $5k → 12%RAHAB'S SISTERS: $10k → 12%RAHAB'S SISTERS: $10k → 12%RAHABS SISTERS: $10k → 12%Rahabs Sisters: $10k → 12%SPOON: $300 → 12%Portland Refugee Support Group: $10k → 12%STOOR TO DOOR: $10k → 12%PORTLAND REFUGEE SUPPORT GROUP: $10k → 12%Store to Door: $8k → 12%GROWING GARDENS: $10k → 12%STORE TO DOOR: $8k → 12%GROWING GARDENS: $10k → 12%STORE TO DOOR: $8k → 12%GROWING GARDEN: $8k → 12%STORE TO DOOR: $5k → 12%PUEBLO UNIDO PDX: $8k → 12%COMMUNITY WAREHOUSE: $10k → 12%COMMUNITY WAREHOUSE: $10k → 12%COMMUNITY WAREHOUSE: $10k → 12%COMMUNITY WAREHOUSE: $8k → 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.
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.
$2.2M · 74 repeat orgs$482k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +68% since the first grant, against +31% for those funded once.

74 repeat relationships: 33 still active in FY2024, 41 since wound down; 10 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

74
47

Total granted

$2.2M
$353k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+68%
+31%

Still filing today

70%
43%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 70% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $129k 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
Human ServicesArts & CultureAnimalsHealthHousing & ShelterFood & NutritionOther
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

  • P
    PEAR
    8× · 2017–2024 · $212k · revenue +21%
  • PH
    PATH HOME
    6× · 2017–2024 · $140k · revenue +324%
  • DE
    Daraja Education Fund
    5× · 2018–2023 · $105k · revenue +388%

Funded once

  • HC
    HACIENDA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $16k · revenue +35%
  • CC
    CROSSROADS CARNEGE ART CENTER
    one grant, 2020 · $15k
  • FB
    FOOD BANK
    one grant, 2021 · $15k
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
LArche Portland

At l'arche portland people with and without developmental disabilities create home and build community together. we nurture long-term mutual relationships that reveal the gifts of people with developmental disabilities. in doing so we…

Human Services
2
Impact Nw

Impact nw prevents homelessness by supporting people as they navigate their journey to stability and strength. founded in portland in 1966, impact nw now serves 26,944 people a year in the greater portland, oregon metro area, including…

Human Services
3
Oregon Justice Network

Oregon Justice Network is an alliance built and staffed by criminal legal system impacted people advocating for the well-being of people affected or at-risk of being affected by carceral systems. Our work centers around restorative…

Human Services
4
Our Village Gardens

Our village gardens brings a spirit of hope to the people by growing and sharing food, learning and teaching skills, and empowering community leadership.(continued on schedule o)our village gardens leverages community organizing, skill…

Food & Nutrition
5
Portland Farmers Market

Pfm operates world-class farmers markets that contribute to the success of local food growers and producers and create vibrant community gatherings. as a trade association, success for our vendors is our primary objective. listening and…

Community Improvement
6
Portland Fruit Tree Project

To increase equitable access to healthful food and strengthen communities by empowering neighbors to share in the harvest and care of city-grown produce.

—
7
Portland Street Medicine

We offer our homeless neighbors accessible whole-person care to improve and support health, and to bridge a gap in trust between people and systems.

Health
8
Outgrowing Hunger

We nurture connections between people,nature,and food by ensuring access to garden space and farmland, and providing education and mentoring on regenerative and sustainable agricultural practices.

Food & Nutrition
9
New Progressive Network

Next up amplifies the voice of diverse youth to achieve a more just oregon

Civil Rights
10
Thrive Central Oregon

To connect individuals to the housing and community resources they seek.

Human Services
11
Portland Community Media

Open signal's mission is to nurture the change-making power of community media in service of a just and equitable world.

Arts & Culture
12
The Everly Project

Our mission is to provide trauma-informed harm reduction services to people who are unhoused in the Portland Metro area. Our focus is on mental health services, nursing care, extreme weather supplies, food and safer use supplies for people…

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Metropolitan Family Service; the most unlike its peers is In Kind Boxes. 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

78 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. 78 of the 132 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)
31
Early backer (in before they grew)
77/78
Grantees still filing
58/78
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

DARAJA EDUCATION FUND: $76,600 · OtherDARAJA EDUCATION FUNDCOLLEGE POSSIBLE: $50,000 · OtherURBAN GLEANERS: $59,100 · OtherFREE GEEK: $55,000 · Other+85 more: $1,172,168 · Other+85 morePEAR: $212,375 · Housing & ShelterPEARPATH HOME: $140,000 · Housing & ShelterPATH HOME+2 more: $12,500 · Housing & ShelterRAHAB'S SISTERS: $55,000 · Human ServicesRAHAB'S SISTER…JOIN: $50,000 · Human ServicesJOINSTORE TO DOOR: $37,500 · Human ServicesSTORE TO DOOROregon Community Warehouse Inc: $37,500 · Human ServicesOregon Communi…PDX DIAPER BANK: $30,000 · Human ServicesPDX DIAPER BAN…Growing Gardens: $27,500 · Human ServicesGrowing Garden…Hollywood Senior Center dba Community for Positive Aging: $20,000 · Human ServicesHollywood Seni…PACIFIC REFUGEE SUPPORT GROUP: $20,000 · Human ServicesPACIFIC REFUGE…TIVNU BUILDING JUSTICE: $15,500 · Human ServicesMetropolitan Family Service: $15,000 · Human Services+9 more: $51,325 · Human Services+9 moreOUTSIDE THE FRAME: $55,000 · Arts & CultureOREGON SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION: $52,000 · Arts & CultureTHE LIBRARY FOUNDATION: $50,000 · Arts & CultureMY VOICE MUSIC INC: $20,000 · Arts & CultureOREGON JEWISH MUSEUM AND CENTER FOR HOLOCAUST EDUCATION: $17,500 · Arts & Culture+1 more: $5,000 · Arts & CultureDaraja Education Fund: $105,000 · EducationSOCIAL GOOD FUND INC: $20,000 · EducationCatching the Dream: $10,000 · EducationINCIGHT COMPANY: $5,000 · Education+1 more: $1,000 · EducationPORTLAND ANIMAL WELFARE TEAM: $40,000 · AnimalsTHE PONGO FUND: $32,500 · AnimalsFENCES FOR FIDO: $29,500 · AnimalsOLD DOG HAVEN: $15,000 · AnimalsFAMILY DOGS NEW LIFE SHELTER: $10,000 · Animals+1 more: $848 · AnimalsOPEN HEARTS OPEN MINDS: $49,000 · Crime & LegalTHE INSIGHT ALLIANCE: $40,000 · Crime & LegalPROJECT POOCH: $33,000 · Crime & Legal
Other$1,412,868Housing & Shelter$364,875Human Services$359,325Arts & Culture$199,500Education$141,000Animals$127,848Crime & Legal$122,000

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 budgetPEAR: $212,375 over 8y, 2.8% of budgetPATH HOME: $140,000 over 6y, 0.9% of budgetDaraja Education Fund: $105,000 over 5y, 1.8% of budgetURBAN GLEANERS: $59,100 over 7y, 0.4% of budgetRAHAB'S SISTERS: $55,000 over 6y, 6.8% of budgetOUTSIDE THE FRAME: $55,000 over 5y, 3.2% of budgetFREE GEEK: $55,000 over 5y, 0.6% of budgetOREGON SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION: $52,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetJOIN: $50,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetTHE LIBRARY FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetOPEN HEARTS OPEN MINDS: $49,000 over 6y, 7.2% of budgetOREGON FOOD BANK: $40,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetPORTLAND ANIMAL WELFARE TEAM: $40,000 over 5y, 2.4% of budgetTHE INSIGHT ALLIANCE: $40,000 over 4y, 2.9% of budgetSTORE TO DOOR: $37,500 over 5y, 0.6% of budgetOregon Community Warehouse Inc: $37,500 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetKINDRED PARTNERS: $33,868 over 4y, 1.3% of budgetPROJECT POOCH: $33,000 over 4y, 2.5% of budgetTHE PONGO FUND: $32,500 over 4y, 0.6% of budgetPortland Backpack: $30,000 over 4y, 6.3% of budgetPDX DIAPER BANK: $30,000 over 3y, 5.6% of budgetFENCES FOR FIDO: $29,500 over 4y, 3.3% of budgetTHE DENTAL FOUNDATION OF OREGON: $27,500 over 3y, 1.5% of budgetGrowing Gardens: $27,500 over 3y, 1.0% of budgetBLANCHET HOUSE OF HOSPITALITY: $25,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetCentral City Concern: $25,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMEDICAL TEAMS INTERNATIONAL: $25,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetHAND IN HAND AMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE CENTER FOR JEWISH-ARAB EDUCATION IN ISRA: $25,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetMOTHER & CHILD EDUCATION CENTER: $22,500 over 3y, 2.1% of budgetCASCADE AIDS PROJECT: $22,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE IMMIGRANT AND REFUGEE COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION: $20,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE CIRCUS PROJECT: $20,000 over 2y, 1.3% of budgetHollywood Senior Center dba Community for Positive Aging: $20,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetSOCIAL GOOD FUND INC: $20,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMY VOICE MUSIC INC: $20,000 over 2y, 1.6% of budgetPACIFIC REFUGEE SUPPORT GROUP: $20,000 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetTransition Projects Inc: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetKINDNESS FARM: $17,500 over 2y, 3.5% of budgetLift Urban Portland: $17,500 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetMERRY HEART CHILDREN'S CAMP: $16,500 over 5y, 7.2% of budgetHACIENDA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $16,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetOregon Justice Resource Center: $16,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetTIVNU BUILDING JUSTICE: $15,500 over 2y, 2.6% of budgetMetropolitan Family Service: $15,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetPortland YouthBuilders: $15,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetOLD DOG HAVEN: $15,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetWILLIAM TEMPLE HOUSE: $10,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetEASTSIDE JEWISH COMMONS: $10,000 over 1y, 6.5% 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 PEAR ↗
  • Who funds PATH HOME ↗
  • Who funds Daraja Education Fund ↗
  • Who funds URBAN GLEANERS ↗
  • Who funds RAHAB'S SISTERS ↗
  • Who funds OUTSIDE THE FRAME ↗
  • Who funds FREE GEEK ↗
  • Who funds OREGON SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds JOIN ↗
  • Who funds THE LIBRARY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds OPEN HEARTS OPEN MINDS ↗
  • Who funds OREGON FOOD BANK ↗
  • Who funds PORTLAND ANIMAL WELFARE TEAM ↗
  • Who funds THE INSIGHT ALLIANCE ↗
  • Who funds STORE TO DOOR ↗
  • Who funds Oregon Community Warehouse Inc ↗
  • Who funds KINDRED PARTNERS ↗
  • Who funds PROJECT POOCH ↗
  • Who funds THE PONGO FUND ↗
  • Who funds Portland Backpack ↗
  • Who funds PDX DIAPER BANK ↗
  • Who funds FENCES FOR FIDO ↗
  • Who funds THE DENTAL FOUNDATION OF OREGON ↗
  • Who funds Growing Gardens ↗
  • Who funds BLANCHET HOUSE OF HOSPITALITY ↗
  • Who funds Central City Concern ↗
  • Who funds MEDICAL TEAMS INTERNATIONAL ↗
  • Who funds HAND IN HAND AMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE CENTER FOR JEWISH-ARAB EDUCATION IN ISRA ↗
  • Who funds MOTHER & CHILD EDUCATION CENTER ↗
  • Who funds CASCADE AIDS PROJECT ↗

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.

Marie Lamfrom Charita…The Oregon Community …The Autzen FoundationOCF Joseph E Weston P…The Collins FoundationJuan Young TrustRose E Tucker Charita…Meyer Memorial TrustHillman Family Founda…The Harold & Arlene S…Careoregon IncMaybelle Clark Macdon…
Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation TrustOR83.2× affinity43 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation Trust · The Oregon Community Foundation · The Autzen Foundation · OCF Joseph E Weston Public Foundation · The Collins Foundation · Juan Young Trust · Rose E Tucker Charitable Trust · Meyer Memorial Trust · Hillman Family Foundations · The Harold & Arlene Schnitzer Care Foundation · Careoregon Inc · Maybelle Clark Macdonald 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 Zera Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Zera Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 190%1%4%8%15%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 10%
  • Farmers Market Fund: 100% of income from government
  • Pueblo Unido Pdx: 100% of income from government
  • Hacienda Community Development Corporation: 48% of income from government
  • Kindred Partners: 42% of income from government
  • Adventures Without Limits: 39% of income from government
  • Portland YouthBuilders: 35% of income from government
  • Adelante Mujeres: 31% of income from government
  • Transition Projects Inc: 29% of income from government
  • Metropolitan Family Service: 29% of income from government
  • Friends of Zenger Farm: 28% of income from government
  • Oregon Justice Resource Center: 26% of income from government
  • Oregon Community Warehouse Inc: 24% of income from government
  • Oregon Food Bank: 21% of income from government
  • New Avenues for Youth Inc: 20% of income from government
  • Holla School: 15% of income from government
  • Medical Teams International: 14% of income from government
  • Cascade Aids Project: 13% of income from government
  • My Voice Music Inc: 11% of income from government
  • Central City Concern: 10% of income from government
  • Hollywood Senior Center dba Community for Positive Aging: 9% of income from government
  • Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc: 7% of income from government
  • Growing Gardens: 6% of income from government
  • Free Geek: 5% of income from government
  • Friends of the Children-Portland: 5% of income from government
  • The Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization: 4% of income from government
  • Join: 4% of income from government
  • Open Hearts Open Minds: 4% of income from government
  • Pdx Diaper Bank: 2% of income from government
  • Rose Community Development Corporat: 1% of income from government
  • Eastside Jewish Commons: 1% of income from government
  • Pear: 1% of income from government
  • Outside the Frame: 1% of income from government
  • Black United Fund of Oregon: 1% of income from government
  • Youth Music Project: 1% of income from government
  • William Temple House: 0% of income from government
  • Bird Alliance of Oregon Inc: 0% of income from government
  • David's Harp 930771871: 0% of income from government
  • Oregon Symphony Association: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
19get no government money at all
16report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
2rely on government for over half their income
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 Zera Foundation Inc?

Find your warmest path to Zera Foundation Inc 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 132 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 Zera’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