Helen Close Charitable Foundation
Reno, NV · EIN 88-0214245. Reported 112 grants totalling $1,601,016 to 52 recipients across tax years 2020-2024. 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 $17,000; the smallest was $2,500 and the largest $82,715. 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. Recipients are grouped by name and state as they were written on the returns, so an organization entered under two different names appears twice. Years funded is the number of separate tax years in which that name received money.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sierra Nevada Journeys | Reno, NV | $336,444 | 7 | 5 | 2024 |
| University of Nevada Reno Foundation | Reno, NV | $200,000 | 9 | 5 | 2024 |
| Humane Society of Truckee-Tahoe | Truckee, CA | $85,000 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Channel 5 Public Broadcasting | Reno, NV | $75,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| City of Sparks | Sparks, NV | $55,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| The Empowerment Center | Reno, NV | $50,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Assistance League of Reno-Sparks | Reno, NV | $45,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Nevada Discovery Museum | Reno, NV | $45,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northern Nevada | Reno, NV | $35,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Girl Scouts of the Sierra Nevada Inc | Reno, NV | $35,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Truckee Meadows Community | Reno, NV | $35,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Canine Rehabilitation Center and Cat Sanctuary | Carson City, NV | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Care Chest of Sierra Neavda | Reno, NV | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Domestic Violence Resource | Reno, NV | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Domestic Violence Resource Center | Reno, NV | $30,000 | 3 | 2 | 2021 |
| Ridge House Inc | Reno, NV | $30,000 | 2 | 1 | 2020 |
| Western Nevada College Foundation | Carson City, NV | $30,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| 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 |
| Care Chest of Sierra Nevada | Reno, NV | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Experience Education Dba Brain Health Leadership Foundation | Reno, NV | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Institute of Range and the American Mustang | Hot Springs, SD | $20,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Walker Basis Conservancy | Reno, NV | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| American Red Cross of Northern Nevada | Reno, NV | $17,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Community Foundation of Northern Nevada | Reno, NV | $16,772 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Northern Nevada Rave | Sparks, NV | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Safe Talk for Teens | Reno, NV | $15,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Special Recreation Services Inc | Reno, NV | $15,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| The Children's Cabinet | Reno, NV | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| The Childrens Cabinet | Reno, NV | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Soroptimist International of Truckee Meadows | Reno, NV | $12,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Northern Nevada Rave Family Foundation | Sparks, NV | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Urban Roots Garden Classrooms | Reno, NV | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Least Resistance Training Concepts Inc | Stagecoach, NV | $8,300 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Douglas Animal Welfare Group | Gardnerville, 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 |
| The Nature Conservancy in Nevada | Reno, NV | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| 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 | El Dorado Hills, CA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| 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 |
26 of 52 (50%) received money in more than one year over the 5 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 50%, across 4 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is less consistent than most. This measures how often it paid the same organizations again. It says nothing about whether it would consider a new one.
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 AND CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS - Channel 5 Public Broadcasting
PBS RENO CURIOSITY CLASSROOM - 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
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 77 grants where we could match the recipient to a registered organization. The categories are the IRS's. The match, made from the name and address on the return, is ours.
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 |
| 2024 | 23 | $412,215 | $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
93% of its giving went to organizations in Nevada. If your organization is based elsewhere, look in the recipient list for grants to your area before writing.
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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 a sign of overlapping priorities and nothing more: they do not show that any of these funders would consider a new organization. Each page says what its filings show.
How to approach this foundation
- Check you are its size. The median grant is $10,000. A request many times that size asks for something it has rarely or never given.
- 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 5 returns (tax years 2020-2024). Grant figures are from its returns. Matching recipients to registered organizations, their IRS classifications, the retention rate and the funders that support the same organizations are our own calculations, described in how we build this.
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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