Helen Close Charitable Foundation
Reno, NV · EIN 88-0214245. Reported 89 grants totalling $1,188,801 to 46 organizations across tax years 2020-2023. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.
Does this foundation accept applications?
Yes -- on its own tax return. Form 990-PF asks every private foundation whether it makes grants only to organizations it selects itself. Of the 91,758 foundations in our data that made a grant and answered, 78% said yes -- and applying to those is wasted effort. Helen Close Charitable Foundation did not check that box on its most recent filing, which puts it in the minority that is at least open to being approached.
How big are its grants?
The median grant is $10,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $5,000 and $16,772; the smallest was $2,500 and the largest $60,385. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.
Every organization it funded
This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Years funded is the number of separate tax years in which the organization received money -- more than one means a real relationship rather than a one-off.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sierra Nevada Journeys | Reno, NV | $253,729 | 6 | 4 | 2023 |
| University of Nevada Reno Foundation | Reno, NV | $160,000 | 8 | 4 | 2023 |
| Humane Society of Truckee-Tahoe | Truckee, CA | $75,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| The Empowerment Center | Reno, NV | $50,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Channel 5 Public Broadcasting | Reno, NV | $35,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Girl Scouts of the Sierra Nevada Inc | Reno, NV | $35,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Nevada Discovery Museum | Reno, NV | $35,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Assistance League of Reno-Sparks | Reno, NV | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Care Chest of Sierra Neavda | Reno, NV | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Domestic Violence Resource Center | Reno, NV | $30,000 | 3 | 2 | 2021 |
| Ridge House Inc | Reno, NV | $30,000 | 2 | 1 | 2020 |
| Great Basin College Foundation | Elko, NV | $27,500 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Truckee Meadows Community College Foundation | Reno, NV | $27,500 | 3 | 2 | 2021 |
| Community Foundation of Western Nevada | Reno, NV | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Sky Tavern Inc | Reno, NV | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| American Red Cross | Reno, NV | $22,500 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Truckee Meadows Community | Reno, NV | $22,500 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Western Nevada College Foundation | Carson City, NV | $22,500 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northern Nevada | Reno, NV | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Domestic Violence Resource | Reno, NV | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Experience Education Dba Brain Health Leadership Foundation | Reno, NV | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Community Foundation of Northern Nevada | Reno, NV | $16,772 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Institute of Range and the American Mustang | Hot Springs, SD | $15,000 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| The Children's Cabinet | Reno, NV | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Canine Rehabilitation Center and Cat Sanctuary | Carson City, NV | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Care Chest of Sierra Nevada | Reno, NV | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Northern Nevada Rave Family Foundation | Sparks, NV | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Safe Talk for Teens | Reno, NV | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Special Recreation Services Inc | Reno, NV | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Urban Roots Garden Classrooms | Reno, NV | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Walker Basis Conservancy | Reno, NV | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Least Resistance Training Concepts Inc | Stagecoach, NV | $8,300 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Douglas Animal Welfare Group | Gardnerville, NV | $7,500 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Soroptimist International of Truckee Meadows | Reno, NV | $7,500 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| College of Southern Nevada Foundations Inc | Las Vegas, NV | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Food Bank of Northnern Nevada | Sparks, NV | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Friends in Service Helping | Carson City, NV | $5,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Good Shepherds Clothes Closet | Sparks, NV | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Nevada Humane Society | Reno, NV | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Northern Nevada Hopes | Reno, NV | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Safe Talks for Teens | Reno, NV | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Western Nevada College Foundation Bristlecone Bldg 147 | Carson City, NV | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Wylie Animal Rescue Foundation | Incline Village, NV | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| All About Equine Animal Rescue | El Dorado Hills, CA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Friends in Service Helping Emergency Referral Service | Carson City, NV | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Sclar Large Animal Emergency Evacuation | Somerset, CA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
22 of 46 (48%) received money in more than one year over the 4 years we hold.
Measured the way we measure every foundation -- what share of one year's grantees are funded again the next -- this one retains 45%, across 3 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is less consistent than most. A high number means its list is close to settled and a newcomer has to displace someone; a low one means it is still moving money around, which is where an opening is.
What the money was for
Taken verbatim from the purpose field of its filings. This is the closest thing to a statement of what this foundation cares about, in its own words.
- Sierra Nevada Journeys
SUMMER CAMP FOR INTERCITY YOUTH - Humane Society of Truckee-Tahoe
HEALTHY PETS MEDICAL COSTS - Sky Tavern Inc
SNOWMAKING CAPITAL CAMPAIGN - Experience Education Dba Brain Health Leadership Foundation
RENO FIRE DEPARTMENT PTSD ASSISTANCE - Care Chest of Sierra Neavda
MEDICAL RESOURCE PROGRAMS - Nevada Discovery Museum
UNDERSERVED FINANCIAL AID
What kind of organizations it funds
By the recipient's own IRS classification, for the 65 grants where we could identify the organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 27 | $321,634 | $10,000 |
| 2021 | 20 | $270,960 | $8,750 |
| 2022 | 22 | $307,885 | $10,000 |
| 2023 | 20 | $288,322 | $10,000 |
Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- filings arrive about a year late, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a foundation winding down.
Where its money goes
Foundations concentrate geographically far more than their mission statements suggest. 92% of this one's giving went to organizations in Nevada. If you are outside its footprint, that matters more than how well your programme fits.
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Funders that support the same organizations
These funders gave to organizations this one also funded -- some private foundations, some community foundations and other grantmaking charities. Shared grantees are the strongest available signal that two funders have overlapping priorities, and a funder already backing your peers is a far warmer prospect than one that merely lists your cause.
How to approach this foundation
- Check you are its size. The median grant is $10,000. Asking for ten times that is the most common way small organizations waste a submission.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in Nevada.
- Read the recipient list above for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer, and a cheap one to get.
- Look up the current filing before writing. The 990-PF names the foundation's officers and, where one exists, its application procedure. We link it below.
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from Helen Close Charitable Foundation's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2020-2023). Nothing here is scraped, inferred, or estimated.
Address of record on the latest return: 100 W Liberty St 1100, Reno, NV, 89501. This is the address the foundation gave the IRS; many small foundations file through an accountant or a bank trust department, so it may not be where post to a programme officer should go.
EIN 88-0214245 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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