California · Nonprofit
THE KERN PROJECT
THE KERN PROJECT (California) receives grants from 13 organizations whose IRS filings report $414,833 to it, the largest being THE BERNARD J & MARY T JOHNSON FAMILY FOUNDATION ($195,333). 5 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $308k
- Funders on record
- 13
- Grants received
- $415k
- Net assets
- $392k
What The Kern Project does
Mission
To save homeless animals of kern county through rescue, rehabilitation, rehoming, and the promotion of spay-neuter
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Animal rescue and adoption: The Kern Project rescued 457 dogs and 135 cats, 45 dogs were adopted out by our organization, providing them with spay/neuter surgeries, vaccinations and medical care; the remaining dogs and cats were transferred and adopted out by partner rescue organizations.
$220,389 spent86% of program spendingProvide free spay and neuter clinics for dogs and cats owned by members of the public. We paid for four spay/neuter clinics to perform the surgeries.
$35,000 spent14% of program spending
The 2 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $255,389.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2022, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2022, 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 2023 to 2024, from $147k to $339k (+131%).
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: 2023 0% · 2024 0% · 2025 89%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
89% of THE KERN PROJECT’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (86% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 0 of the last 4 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.
Who funds it, year by year
2018 → 2023: the base broadened from 2 funders to 6 funders, grant income rose $11k → $79k.
3 of 13 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 24% 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 THE KERN PROJECT’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
THE KERN PROJECT leans on a few funders — its largest provides 47% of grant income and the top three 71%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
Largest funder’s share by year: 2018 95% · 2019 87% · 2020 100% · 2021 100% · 2022 51% · 2023 51% — diversifying over time.
“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
75% of THE KERN PROJECT's funders are still giving 1 year after their first grant; 38% 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
76% of THE KERN PROJECT's grant income comes from California funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $100k arriving through sponsors registered in 3 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
THE KERN PROJECT holds deeper cash reserves than three-quarters of the 3,954 animals nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 3,954 animals nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2025
Organizations like THE KERN PROJECT
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 California
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
100% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
79%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for THE KERN PROJECT: 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 THE KERN PROJECT?
- THE KERN PROJECT (California) receives grants from 13 organizations whose IRS filings report $414,833 to it, the largest being THE BERNARD J & MARY T JOHNSON FAMILY FOUNDATION ($195,333). 5 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does THE KERN PROJECT have?
- IRS filings report 13 organizations giving $414,833 in grants to THE KERN PROJECT, 5 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of THE KERN PROJECT?
- THE BERNARD J & MARY T JOHNSON FAMILY FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $195,333 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like THE KERN PROJECT find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in California. 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 Kern Project →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2022–2025), and the filings of 13 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