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Barbara Lee Family Foundation Inc at a glance

· Private foundation

Barbara Lee Family Foundation Inc

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.

$139k
Granted FY2024still arriving
2
Grants FY2024still arriving
2
States reached
$99k
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, FY2019 to 2024.

Public Benefit$253kArts & Culture$98kCivil Rights$30kEnvironment$5kYouth Development$3kHuman Services$2kCommunity Improvement$1kPhilanthropy$1k
02FY2024 · 2 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $10k–50k1 grant · $40k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $99k
$99,275
Median grant
2
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
EAGLETON INSTITUTE OF POLITICS AT RUTGERS THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NJ$99,275
WOMEN & POLITICS INSTITUTE AT AMERICAN UNIVERSITY$40,000
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:

Its human-services grants (FY19–23, $21k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 95% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%MV COMMUNITY SERVICES: $1k → 8%SHE SHOULD RUN: $10k → 14%SHE SHOULD RUN: $5k → 14%SHE SHOULD RUN: $3k → 14%SHE SHOULD RUN: $3k → 14%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

NY
MA
NJ
RI
CA
MO
MD
DC
TX
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.
04

Where the work is directed

The same grants placed two ways: where each recipient sits, and where its stated purpose sends the money.

About 10% of Barbara Lee Family Foundation Inc’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address. By recipient address, 13% of the giving stays in MA; by stated purpose, 9%.

Barbara Lee Family Foundation Inclessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address · 7.0% directed abroad (not shown)
How this is measured
Recipient view: each grant at its grantee’s ZIP, mapped to a county. Directed view: each grant at the county its stated purpose names, falling back to the recipient’s county when the purpose names no place; US grants only. A county shows only if it carries the top 95% of that view’s dollars. Purposes are read from the funder’s own 990 grant descriptions.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

39%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$152k · 9 repeat orgs$239k to everyone else

9 repeat relationships: 0 still active in FY2024, 9 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

9
25

Total granted

$152k
$100k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+29%
+38%

Still filing today

67%
52%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 0% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $139k went to new ones.

50%100%’19’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’19’20’21’22’23’24
Civil RightsHuman ServicesArts & CultureEducationYouth DevelopmentEnvironmentOther
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

  • T1
    THE 19TH NEWS
    4× · 2020–2023 · $55k · revenue +77%
  • RS
    Running Start
    4× · 2019–2023 · $10k · revenue +29%
  • RI
    REPRESENTWOMEN INC
    2× · 2019–2020 · $8k · revenue +352%

Funded once

  • THE INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY ART INCgraduated
    one grant, 2019 · $15k · revenue +113%
  • RI
    RADCLIFFE INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED STUDY
    one grant, 2020 · $10k
  • NW
    NATIONAL WOMENS POLITICAL CAUCgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $10k · revenue +38%
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
Independent Women's Forum

Engage more individuals in the civic process, educate them about the impact of public policies on their lives and our economy, and build support for policies that empower individuals.

Civil Rights
2
League of Our Own Washington

A league of our own is dedicated to finding talented women to run for office and provide them the tools, resources, training, and mentorship to be successful candidates and effective leaders.

—
3
League of Women Voters of Massachusetts

Lwvma, a nonpartisan organization, encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.

Civil Rights
4
Forum of Executive Women

Our core mission is to bring together, and leverage the influence of, professional women to expand the impact and power of women in the workplace and beyond.our vision is that women will achieve (continued on schedule o)equitable…

—
5
Women Employed

To improve the economic status of women and remove barriers to economic equity.

Employment
6
Voterunlead Action Inc

Vote run lead action trains pro-democracy, anti-racist, and feminist women to address the long-standing underrepresentation of women in legislatures. as a nonpartisan but values-aligned and mission-driven body, vrla advocates for key…

Community Improvement
7
Women Winning

To encourage, promote, support, and elect pro-choice women of all political parties to all levels of public office in minnesota.

Public Benefit
8
Leadership Women Inc

Leadership Womens mission is to ensure womens full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic, and public life.

Public Benefit
9
Independent Women's Voice

Engage more individuals in legislative advocacy, educate them about the impact of public policies on their lives and our economy, and build support for policies that empower individuals by giving them greater freedom and autonomy.

Civil Rights
10
Womens Foreign Policy Group Inc

Founded in 1995 wfpg works to expand the foreign policy dialogue across policital divides and generations and to support women at every stake of their careers. as champions of womens leadership we are proud of our role in expanding the…

International
11
Women's Public Leadership Network

To provide women with the knowledge and resources to make seeking public office and engaging in the political process more accessible.

Education
12
Democracy Works Inc

The organization's mission is to leverage web-technologies to improve civic engagement and voter education.

Civil Rights
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is She Should Run; the most unlike its peers is Running Start. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
05the grantee network

21 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. 21 of the 37 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)
3
Early backer (in before they grew)
20/21
Grantees still filing
13/21
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

EAGLETON INSTITUTE OF POLITICS AT RUTGERS THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NJ: $99,275 · OtherEAGLETON INSTITUTE OF POLITICS AT RUTGERS THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NJWOMEN & POLITICS INSTITUTE AT AMERICAN UNIVERSITY: $40,000 · OtherWOMEN & POLITICS INSTITUTE AT AMERICAN UNIVERSITYIDA: $35,000 · OtherIDARADCLIFFE INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED STUDY: $10,000 · OtherNATIONAL WOMENS POLITICAL CAUC: $10,000 · Other+18 more: $62,183 · Other+18 moreTHE 19TH NEWS: $55,000 · Arts & CultureTHE 19TH NEWSTHE INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY ART INC: $15,000 · Arts & CultureTHE INSTITUTE OF CON…REPRESENTWOMEN INC: $7,500 · Civil RightsHigher Heights Leadership Fund: $7,500 · Civil RightsTHE ALL IN TOGETHER CAMPAIGN INC dba ALL IN TOGETHER: $2,500 · Civil RightsPEOPLE FOR THE AMERICAN WAY FOUNDATION: $2,500 · Civil RightsLGBTQ Victory Institute Inc: $2,500 · Civil RightsVOTE MAMA FOUNDATION INC: $1,000 · Civil RightsSHE SHOULD RUN: $20,000 · Human ServicesSANCTUARY FOR FAMILIES INC: $1,000 · Human ServicesMARTHA'S VINEYARD COMMUNITY SERVICES INC: $1,000 · Human ServicesRunning Start: $10,000 · Youth DevelopmentNEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN: $5,000 · EnvironmentRepresentUs Education Fund: $5,000 · Public Benefit
Other$256,458Arts & Culture$70,000Civil Rights$23,500Human Services$22,000Youth Development$10,000Environment$5,000Public Benefit$5,000

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 budgetTHE 19TH NEWS: $55,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetSHE SHOULD RUN: $20,000 over 4y, 0.8% of budgetTHE INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY ART INC: $15,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetNATIONAL WOMENS POLITICAL CAUC: $10,000 over 1y, 18% of budgetRunning Start: $10,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetREPRESENTWOMEN INC: $7,500 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetHigher Heights Leadership Fund: $7,500 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetNEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetRepresentUs Education Fund: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetVOTE RUN LEAD INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetNETROOTS FOUNDATION: $3,400 over 2y, 1.5% of budgetTHE ALL IN TOGETHER CAMPAIGN INC dba ALL IN TOGETHER: $2,500 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetMASSACHUSETTS MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART FOUNDATION INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPEOPLE FOR THE AMERICAN WAY FOUNDATION: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetLGBTQ Victory Institute Inc: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetVOTO LATINO INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetVOTE MAMA FOUNDATION INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSANCTUARY FOR FAMILIES INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMARTHA'S VINEYARD COMMUNITY SERVICES INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSOCIAL GOOD FUND INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% 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.

Panorama GlobalTides FoundationReflectUSPivotal Philanthropie…Kelson FoundationThe San Francisco Fou…The Chicago Community…National Philanthropi…Charities Aid Foundat…Morgan Stanley Global…American Online Givin…Fidelity Investments …
Panorama GlobalWA17.8× affinity6 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Panorama Global · Tides Foundation · ReflectUS · Pivotal Philanthropies Foundation · Kelson Foundation · The San Francisco Foundation · The Chicago Community Trust · National Philanthropic Trust · Charities Aid Foundation America · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund

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 Barbara Lee Family Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Barbara Lee Family Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%1%5%11%20%funder's share of their income ↑0%4%8%11%15%share of the org’s income from government →median 3%
  • Martha's Vineyard Community Services Inc: 3% of income from government
  • The Institute of Contemporary Art Inc: 1% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
2get no government money at all
3report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–15%
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 Barbara Lee Family Foundation Inc?

Find your warmest path to Barbara Lee Family Foundation Inc 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 37 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 Barbara Lee 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