Oregon · Nonprofit
PORTLAND FREE PLAY
PORTLAND FREE PLAY (Oregon) receives grants from 3 organizations whose IRS filings report $85,000 to it, the largest being THE OREGON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ($75,000). 0 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 88% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2021
- $89k
- Funders on record
- 3
- Grants received
- $85k
- Net assets
- $79k
What Portland Free Play does
Mission
Our mission is to provide opportunities for self-directed free play to children and communities who do not have access, and to educate parents and institutions on the value of free play. We provide adventurous free play programs in schools, parks, and community spaces. Portland Free Play advocates for children's right to play and provides fun and equitable play opportunities for them. We host many Pop-up Playgrounds within free play at parks and during public events. In addition, we have had a multi-year partnership with the Free Lunch & Play program of Portland Parks to deliver our Pop-up Playgrounds to the most under-served kids of our community.
As stated on its FY2021 Form 990-EZ.
Program
We are an almost entirely volunteer run organization. In 2021, we served ~3,000 children ages 3-17. Our Programs include: Public School Play Pods, year-long program in 3 different schools, 1,500 children; Pop-up Events with Trash for Peace, 13 events, 325 children; Summer Free Lunch pop-ups, Alder Commons Free Summer Camp, 3 weeks, 150 children; Alder Commons other pop-ups, 3 events, 120 children. The Economic Breakdown of Clients Served in Multnomah County: Persons in Poverty: 12%, Kids Eligible for Free/Reduced Lunch Programs: 51.7% The Demographic Breakdown of Clients Served in Multnomah County: American Indian/Alaska Native: 1.4%, Asian: 8.1%, Black: 6%, Hispanic: 12%, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0.7%, White: 79%, Two or More Races: 4.7%
$20,558 spentof which $7,000 as grants100% of program spending
The program described on its FY2021 Form 990-EZ. Program spending in total: $20,558.
Who funds it, year by year
2020 → 2022: the base held at 1 funder, grant income fell $8k → $3k.
1 of 3 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 88% 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 PORTLAND FREE PLAY’s funders (the co-funder graph). 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
PORTLAND FREE PLAY leans on a few funders — its largest provides 88% of grant income and the top three 100%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
88% 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 PORTLAND FREE PLAY.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2020 100% · 2021 100% · 2022 100% — broadly stable.
“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.
Where its funders are
88% of PORTLAND FREE PLAY'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 $10k that is directly attributable, 100% of it comes from Oregon funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $75k arriving through sponsors registered in 1 state 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
PORTLAND FREE PLAY runs a healthier operating margin than three-quarters of the 12,546 recreation & sports nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 12,546 recreation & sports nonprofits under $100k, FY2021
Organizations like PORTLAND FREE PLAY
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 Oregon
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for PORTLAND FREE PLAY: 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 PORTLAND FREE PLAY?
- PORTLAND FREE PLAY (Oregon) receives grants from 3 organizations whose IRS filings report $85,000 to it, the largest being THE OREGON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ($75,000). 0 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 88% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does PORTLAND FREE PLAY have?
- IRS filings report 3 organizations giving $85,000 in grants to PORTLAND FREE PLAY.
- Who is the largest funder of PORTLAND FREE PLAY?
- THE OREGON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $75,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like PORTLAND FREE PLAY find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Oregon. 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 Portland Free Play →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2021 (financials across 2021–2021), and the filings of 3 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 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing