Colorado · Nonprofit
JOHN AUSTIN CHELEY FOUNDATION INC
JOHN AUSTIN CHELEY FOUNDATION INC (Colorado) receives grants from 55 organizations whose IRS filings report $2,279,280 to it, the largest being MORGAN STANLEY GLOBAL IMPACT FUNDING TRUST INC ($353,938). 32 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 57% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2025
- $1.0M
- Funders on record
- 55
- Grants received
- $2.3M
- Net assets
- $5.0M
What John Austin Cheley Foundation Inc does
Mission
Changing kids' lives through transformative summer camp experiences
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
John austin cheley foundation fosters the development of youth through a variety of culturally responsive programs centered around a multi-year wilderness summer camp experience. Our program provides: -immersive, multi-week youth development opportunities at high-quality wilderness-based summers camps across the country -multi-year funding for campers which can cover tuition, travel expenses, camp store and equipment costs -dedicated mentoring to support and prepare each camper and their family to extract the greatest benefit from the camp experience -service-oriented leadership opportunities for campers to "pay it forward- and enrich their communities -social and emotional group learning experiences that foster meaningful relationships and guide youth to navigate their lives with a sense of belonging and purpose. Our program produces: -data-driven youth development outcomes -life and career skills known to be difficult to replicate in other settings -broad national impact through a network of high quality accredited camps and respected youth mentoring organization
$854,527 spentof which $515,432 as grants$134,873 earned by the program96% of program spendingThe outdoor leadership program is a leadership and career development program aimed at recent alumni of our campership program. It is centered around an awe-inspiring summer wilderness expedition designed to continue the personal growth and leadership development that our campership program has built, while also providing the baseline skills necessary to secure accress to our camp fellowship program and employment in the outdoor industry.
$24,500 spentof which $24,500 as grants3% of program spendingThe camp fellowship program is a leadership and career development program centered around independent employment at summer camp and aimed at recent alumni of our campership program. Each aspect of the camp fellowship program focuses on equipping the participants with critical thinking, problem-solving, interpersonal, and leadership skills that are highly coveted and transferrable to other educational and professional settings. The program prepares the participants for the responsibilities of working at a summer camp, and also provides mentorship opportunities that foster meaningful relationships with the younger participants of our campership and compass programs. The camp fellowship program includes a stipend that reflects the additional responsibilities required both before and during your employment at summer camp. When added to the job-related compensation received from camp, this stipend removes the financial barriers that may exist when considering a position working at summer camp by providing combined earnings that are competitive with other opportunities.
$10,000 spentof which $10,000 as grants1% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $889,027.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2020 to 2021, from $2.9M to $4.4M (+49%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2021 7% · 2022 1%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
76% of JOHN AUSTIN CHELEY FOUNDATION INC’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (13% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 2 of the last 9 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Board chair
Mike Brower
Chair
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 16 funders to 19 funders, grant income rose $142k → $399k.
13 of 55 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 57% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of JOHN AUSTIN CHELEY FOUNDATION INC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 55 funders by total. Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
JOHN AUSTIN CHELEY FOUNDATION INC has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 16% of grant income, and it takes 4 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 4 funders to its left
57% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund JOHN AUSTIN CHELEY FOUNDATION INC.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 24% · 2018 30% · 2019 26% · 2020 36% · 2021 36% · 2022 21% · 2023 32% — growing more concentrated.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
63% of JOHN AUSTIN CHELEY FOUNDATION INC's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 58% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
57% of JOHN AUSTIN CHELEY FOUNDATION INC's grant income arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors, whose addresses record where the money is held rather than where the donor is. Of the $991k that is directly attributable, 98% of it comes from funders outside Colorado, across 19 states.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $1.3M arriving through sponsors registered in 10 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
JOHN AUSTIN CHELEY FOUNDATION INC receives grants from 55 organizations whose IRS filings report $2.3M to it.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 1,767 recreation & sports nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2025
Organizations like JOHN AUSTIN CHELEY FOUNDATION INC
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In Colorado
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
79% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
77%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 13 states
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for JOHN AUSTIN CHELEY FOUNDATION INC: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds JOHN AUSTIN CHELEY FOUNDATION INC?
- JOHN AUSTIN CHELEY FOUNDATION INC (Colorado) receives grants from 55 organizations whose IRS filings report $2,279,280 to it, the largest being MORGAN STANLEY GLOBAL IMPACT FUNDING TRUST INC ($353,938). 32 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 57% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does JOHN AUSTIN CHELEY FOUNDATION INC have?
- IRS filings report 55 organizations giving $2,279,280 in grants to JOHN AUSTIN CHELEY FOUNDATION INC, 32 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of JOHN AUSTIN CHELEY FOUNDATION INC?
- MORGAN STANLEY GLOBAL IMPACT FUNDING TRUST INC is the largest funder on record, with $353,938 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like JOHN AUSTIN CHELEY FOUNDATION INC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Colorado. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
Play a game about who funds John Austin Cheley →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 55 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing