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Alvin Sherman Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Alvin Sherman Family Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$2.2M
Granted FY2024still arriving
13
Grants FY2024still arriving
5
States reached
$750k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2018 to 2024.

Education$4.8MPhilanthropy$2.4MArts & Culture$900kCivil Rights$435kHealth$355kHuman Services$226kReligion$104kSocial Science$25kOther$0
02FY2024 · 13 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k1 grant · $1k
  • $10k–50k3 grants · $55k
  • $50k–250k6 grants · $655k
  • $250k+3 grants · $1.5M
$100,000
Median grant
5
States reached
$62M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
OUR FUND INC$750,000
VINEYARD THEATER$450,000
LAMBDA LEGAL$285,000
SAGE$200,000
NORTH CENTRAL COLLEGE$150,000
AMERICAN REPERTORY THEATER$100,000
GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE$100,000
FILM INDEPENDENT$55,000
MCC THEATER$50,000
FOUNTAIN THEATER$25,000
ELLEN HERMANSON FOUNDATION$20,000
CATTICUS CORP$10,000
ELEMYOUTH IN DISTRESS IN ISREAL$1,000
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY18–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 97% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%AMERICAN REPERTORY THEATER: $100k → 8%CATTICUS CORP: $10k → 10%GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE: $100k → 14%ELLEN HERMANSON FOUNDATION: $20k → 7%ELEMYOUTH IN DISTRESS IN ISREAL: $1k → 17%SHRINERS HOSPITALS FOR CHILDREN: $75k → 13%NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY: $1.7M → 13%UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI: $2.4M → 15%SACRED HEART UNIVERSITY: $12k → 9%ST JUDES CHILDEREN HOSPITAL: $50k → 17%NORTH CENTRAL COLLEGE: $150k → 7%FOUNTAIN THEATER: $25k → 14%Hamptons International Film Festival Inc: $5k → 7%CONGREGATION BEIT SIMCHAT TORAH: $54k → 17%HOLLYWOOD BOYS & GIRLS CLUB: $25k → 13%UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI: $30k → 15%FILM INDEPENDENT: $55k → 14%BAY STREET THEATER: $5k → 7%VINEYARD THEATER: $450k → 17%NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY: $550k → 13%UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI: $10k → 15%MCC THEATER: $50k → 17%OUR FUND INC: $750k → 13%LAMBDA LEGAL: $285k → 17%OUR FUND INC: $450k → 13%LAMBDA LEGAL: $150k → 17%OUR FUND INC: $400k → 13%MANHATTAN THEATER CLUB: $100k → 17%OUR FUND INC: $375k → 13%BROADWAY CARES: $10k → 17%OUR FUND INC: $250k → 13%JEWISH FEDERATION OF BROWARD COUNTY: $50k → 13%UNITED WAY OF BROWARD COUNTY: $100k → 13%SUNSHINE CATHEDRSL FOUNDATION: $50k → 13%JOE DIMAGGIO CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL FDN: $150k → 13%WEIZMANN INSTITUTE: $25k → 13%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.

Which US states its grants reach

IL
NY
MA
OH
CT
CA
KS
TN
FL
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

72%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$5.1M · 3 repeat orgs$1.9M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +41% since the first grant, against +35% for those funded once.

3 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2024, 2 since wound down; 11 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

3
16

Total granted

$5.1M
$786k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+41%
+35%

Still filing today

100%
56%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 20% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $1.2M went to new ones.

50%100%’18’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’18’21’22’23’24
Arts & CultureEducationPhilanthropyHealthCivil RightsHuman ServicesOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • UO
    University of Miami
    3× · 2021–2023 · $2.4M · revenue +48%
  • Nova Southeastern University Inc
    2× · 2018–2023 · $2.3M · revenue +39%
  • LL
    LAMBDA LEGAL DEFENSE & EDUCATION FUND INC
    2× · 2023–2024 · $435k · revenue +41%

Funded once

  • JD
    JOE DIMAGGIO CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL FOUNDATION INC
    one grant, 2018 · $150k · revenue -21%
  • MT
    MANHATTAN THEATRE CLUB INCgraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $100k · revenue +53%
  • UW
    UNITED WAY OF BROWARD COUNTY INCgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $100k · revenue +55%
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Columbia College Chicago

The organization's mission is to educate students for creative occupations in diverse fields of arts and media.

Education
2
Manhattanville University

To educate students to be ethical and socially responsible leaders in a global community.

Education
3
Manhattan University

Manhattan university is an independent catholic instituion of higher learning that embraces qualified men and women of all faiths, cultures, and traditions. the mission of manhattan university is to provide a contemporary, person-centered…

Education
4
Women's Project & Productions Inc

Wp theater is the nation's oldest and largest theater company dedicated to developing, producing, and promoting the work of women+ at every stage of their careers. for over four decades we have served as leaders of a global movement…

Arts & Culture
5
Marin Theatre Company

Marin theatre company is the bay area's premier mid-size theater and the leading professional theater in the north bay. mtc produces a six-show season of provocative plays by passionate playwrights from the 20th century and today in an…

Arts & Culture
6
Latino Theater Company

The latino theater company operates the los angeles theatre center, whose mission is to provide a world class arts center for those pursuing artistic excellence; a laboratory where both tradition and innovation are honored and honed; a…

Arts & Culture
7
The Shakespeare Theatre

The shakespeare theatre company creates, preserves and promotes classic theatre-ambitious, enduring plays with universal themes-for all audiences. through the creation of provocative, imaginative, and accessible theatre, stc ignites a…

Arts & Culture
8
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The mission of mit is to advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century.

Education
9
Huntington Theatre Co Inc

See schedule o for organization's mission statementmission statement: the huntington theatre company engages, inspires, entertains and challenges audiences with theatrical productions that range from the classics to new works; we train and…

Arts & Culture
10
Sarah Lawrence College

At sarah lawrence college, our mission is to graduate citizens of the world who are diverse in every definition of the word, who take intellectual and creative risks, and who are able to focus exceptional intellectual discipline (continued…

Education
11
Staretthe Directors Company Inc

The Directors Company is an award-winning not-for-profit theatre company with an extraordinary record in its mission to develop and produce groundbreaking new plays and musicals initiated and generated by outstanding directorial talent,…

Arts & Culture
12
Miami New Drama

Miami new drama is a nonprofit professional theater company based in miami beach, florida, and is committed to artistic excellence and groundbreaking work with a vision of theater as a powerful form of social engagement. in residence at…

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Broadway Caresequity Fights Aids Inc; the most unlike its peers is University of Miami. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

23 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 23 of the 31 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
1
Early backer (in before they grew)
22/23
Grantees still filing
14/23
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

University of Miami: $2,395,000 · EducationUniversity of MiamiNova Southeastern University Inc: $2,250,609 · EducationNova Southeastern University Inc+2 more: $162,000 · EducationOUR FUND FOUNDATION INC: $2,225,000 · PhilanthropyOUR FUND FOUNDATION INCUNITED WAY OF BROWARD COUNTY INC: $100,000 · Philanthropy+2 more: $70,000 · PhilanthropyVINEYARD THEATER: $450,000 · OtherVINEYARD TH…SERVICES AND ADVOCACY FOR GAY LESBIAN BISEXUAL AND TRANSGENDER ELDERS INC: $200,000 · OtherSERVICES AN…CONGREGATION BEIT SIMCHAT TORAH: $54,140 · OtherCONGREGATIO…JEWISH FEDERATION OF BROWARD COUNTY: $50,000 · OtherCLEVELAND CLINIC: $50,000 · OtherST JUDES CHILDEREN HOSPITAL: $50,000 · Other+7 more: $101,000 · Other+7 moreLAMBDA LEGAL DEFENSE & EDUCATION FUND INC: $435,000 · Civil RightsGEFFEN PLAYHOUSE INC: $100,000 · Arts & CultureAMERICAN REPERTORY THEATRE CO INC: $100,000 · Arts & CultureMANHATTAN THEATRE CLUB INC: $100,000 · Arts & CultureFILM INDEPENDENT: $55,000 · Arts & CultureMANHATTAN CLASS COMPANY INC: $50,000 · Arts & Culture+1 more: $5,000 · Arts & CultureJOE DIMAGGIO CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL FOUNDATION INC: $150,000 · HealthSHRINERS HOSPITALS FOR CHILDREN: $75,000 · HealthWOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT INC: $25,000 · Human Services
Education$4,807,609Philanthropy$2,395,000Other$955,140Civil Rights$435,000Arts & Culture$410,000Health$225,000Human Services$25,000

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetUniversity of Miami: $2,395,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetNova Southeastern University Inc: $2,250,609 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetOUR FUND FOUNDATION INC: $2,225,000 over 5y, 21% of budgetLAMBDA LEGAL DEFENSE & EDUCATION FUND INC: $435,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetSERVICES AND ADVOCACY FOR GAY LESBIAN BISEXUAL AND TRANSGENDER ELDERS INC: $200,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetNorth Central College: $150,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetJOE DIMAGGIO CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL FOUNDATION INC: $150,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetGEFFEN PLAYHOUSE INC: $100,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetAMERICAN REPERTORY THEATRE CO INC: $100,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetMANHATTAN THEATRE CLUB INC: $100,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetUNITED WAY OF BROWARD COUNTY INC: $100,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetSHRINERS HOSPITALS FOR CHILDREN: $75,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFILM INDEPENDENT: $55,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetMANHATTAN CLASS COMPANY INC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetFOUNTAIN THEATRE: $25,000 over 1y, 2.0% of budgetWOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE ELLEN P HERMANSON FOUNDATION: $20,000 over 1y, 3.1% of budgetSACRED HEART UNIVERSITY INCORPORATED: $12,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE CATTICUS CORPORATION: $10,000 over 1y, 2.3% of budgetBROADWAY CARESEQUITY FIGHTS AIDS INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBAY STREET THEATRE FESTIVAL INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE HAMPTONS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Our Fund Foundation I…Jewish Communal FundNational Philanthropi…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Our Fund Foundation IncFL15.7× affinity5 shared granteesties to 5 of 5Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Our Fund Foundation Inc · Jewish Communal Fund · National Philanthropic Trust · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile Foundation

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Alvin Sherman Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Alvin Sherman Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%2%6%14%25%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 1%
  • United Way of Broward County Inc: 27% of income from government
  • University of Miami: 5% of income from government
  • Nova Southeastern University Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Sacred Heart University Incorporated: 1% of income from government
  • American Repertory Theatre Co Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Wounded Warrior Project Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Shriners Hospitals for Children: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
2get no government money at all
4report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
typical government reliance, FY20–25
How this is measured
Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.
05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Alvin Sherman Family Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Alvin Sherman Family Foundation through trustees and officers whose names appear on both boards. Search for your organization and Plinth traces the shortest route it can evidence.

Each link is a name appearing on two organizations’ public IRS 990 filings, matched on that name and, where the filings support it, on location. A same-state match has geographic support, which is a second matching feature rather than confirmation that the two are one person; a cross-state one is the likeliest to be two people who share a name. Every hop shows its tier, low-confidence and distant paths are held back rather than guessed, and it is worth confirming the person before you use the introduction.

On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 31 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

How this is measured
Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

Generated from the IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Alvin Sherman Family’s filings →

More from the funding graph

The unnamed billions
grants reported with no recipient in the public record
The regranting layer
51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
The DAF merry-go-round
$9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
The endowment market
who holds foundation money, and what just moved
The camps
funders cluster by geography, not ideology
By state
where grant money is based, and what stays home