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Bertha Russ Lytel Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Bertha Russ Lytel Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$754k
Granted FY2025still arriving
19
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$303k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0193% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Food & Nutrition$1.2MHealth$655kEducation$605kArts & Culture$545kHuman Services$375kHousing & Shelter$205kReligion$124kRecreation & Sports$113kOther$0
02FY2025 · 19 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k6 grants · $27k
  • $10k–50k11 grants · $227k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $198k
  • $250k+1 grant · $303k
$13,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$15M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Individual grant recipient$303,100
FERNDALE COM CHURCHSENI$197,610
CAL STATE UNIVERSITY$40,000
OUR SAVIOR'S LUTHERAN CHURCH$30,000
HOSPICE OF HUMBOLDT$25,000
FERNDALE MUSEUM$25,000
CAL-POLY UNIVERSITY$22,500
FERNDALE CEMETERY ASSOCIATION$20,000
CITY OF FERNDALE$15,115
NOEL FOR NEIGHBORS$13,000
ROTARY CLUB OF FERNDALE$13,000
LOST COAST CAMP$13,000
HUMBOLDT COUNTY FAIR$10,000
FERNDALE COMMUNITY CHEST$7,500
VFW$7,157
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 (FY17–25, $218k) land where the poverty rate runs at 18%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%HOSPICE OF HUMBOLDT: $75k → 18%HOSPICE OF HUMBOLDT: $50k → 18%HOSPICE OF HUMBOLDT: $25k → 18%MCKINLEYVILLE SENIOR CENTER: $15k → 18%FERNDALE COMMUNITY CHEST: $10k → 18%FERNDALE COMMUNITY CHEST: $8k → 18%FERNDALE COMMUNITY CHEST: $5k → 18%FERNDALE COMMUNITY CHEST: $5k → 18%FERNDALE COMMUNITY CHEST: $5k → 18%FERNDALE COMMUNITY CHEST: $5k → 18%FERNDALE COMMUNITY CHEST: $5k → 18%FERNDALE COMMUNITY CHEST: $5k → 18%FERNDALE COMMUNITY CHEST: $5k → 18%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.
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.

87%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$5.7M · 27 repeat orgs$875k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +22% since the first grant, against +21% for those funded once.

27 repeat relationships: 14 still active in FY2025, 13 since wound down; 5 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

27
25

Total granted

$5.7M
$834k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+22%
+21%

Still filing today

41%
20%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 94% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $42k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
Arts & CultureHuman ServicesFood & NutritionHealthYouth DevelopmentMembership BenefitOther
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

  • FM
    FERNDALE MUSEUM INC
    8× · 2017–2025 · $230k · revenue +27% · 33% of their budget
  • HO
    HOSPICE OF HUMBOLDT INC
    3× · 2023–2025 · $150k · revenue +22%
  • LC
    Lost Coast Camp
    8× · 2017–2025 · $113k · revenue +310%

Funded once

  • SH
    SOHUM HEALTH FOUNATION
    one grant, 2021 · $100k
  • SJ
    ST JOSEPH'S HOSPITAL OF TAMPA FOUNDATION INCgraduated
    one grant, 2019 · $100k · revenue +958%
  • SR
    SENIOR RESOURCE CENTER
    one grant, 2020 · $100k
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
Ferndale Community Foundation
Philanthropy
2
Humboldt County Historical Association
—
3
Redwood County Historical Society

Historical preservation

Arts & Culture
4
Fernwood Foundation
—
5
Pacific County Historical Society & Museum Foundation

The Pacific County Historical Society & Museum Foundation was formed to create a museum displaying antiques and memorabilia which presents the heritage of Pacific County. The organization promotes tourism in the County and provides…

—
6
Ferndale Food Bank

The ferndale food bank is a local food bank that distrbutes food to community members in need of assistance.

—
7
Franklin Home for the Aged dba Peabody Place
Housing & Shelter
8
Friends of Glendale Cemetery

The friends of glendale exist soley for the care and maintenance of the historic glendale cemetery.

Arts & Culture
9
Fordsville Historical Society and Museum Inc

Museum

Unclassified
10
The Ferndale Volunteer Fire Co Inc

Fire and rescue service

Public Benefit
11
Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art C/O Denver Art Museu
Arts & Culture
12
The Heidelberg Cemetery Association

Provide perpetual care for heidelberg cememetery

Membership Benefit
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Humboldt County Fair Association; the most unlike its peers is Fern Cottage Foundation. 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

18 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

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 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 18 of the 57 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.

5
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
5
Early backer (in before they grew)
18/18
Grantees still filing
11/18
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Individual grant recipient: $2,258,528 · OtherIndividual grant recipientFERNDALE COM CHURCHSENI: $1,074,610 · OtherFERNDALE COM CHURCHSENICAL-POLY UNIVERSITY: $262,500 · OtherMCCLEAN FOUNDATION: $200,000 · Other+39 more: $1,492,227 · Other+39 moreFERNDALE MUSEUM INC: $229,955 · Arts & CultureFerndale Repertory Theatre: $124,000 · Arts & CultureFERN COTTAGE FOUNDATION: $50,000 · Arts & CultureCLARKE HISTORICAL MUSEUM: $34,000 · Arts & CultureHumboldt Historical Society DBA Humboldt County Historical Society: $20,081 · Arts & CultureLD O'ROURKE FOUNDATION INC: $171,512 · HealthST JOSEPH'S HOSPITAL OF TAMPA FOUNDATION INC: $100,000 · HealthHOSPICE OF HUMBOLDT INC: $150,000 · Human ServicesFERNDALE COMMUNITY CHEST: $52,500 · Human ServicesMCKINLEYVILLE SENIOR CENTER: $15,000 · Human ServicesHumboldt County Fair Association: $91,500 · Food & NutritionFOOD FOR PEOPLE INC: $75,000 · Food & NutritionLost Coast Camp: $112,500 · Youth DevelopmentFERNDALE CEMETERY ASSOCIATION: $65,000 · Membership Benefit
Other$5,287,865Arts & Culture$458,036Health$271,512Human Services$217,500Food & Nutrition$166,500Youth Development$112,500Membership Benefit$65,000

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

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetFERNDALE MUSEUM INC: $229,955 over 8y, 33% of budgetLD O'ROURKE FOUNDATION INC: $171,512 over 3y, 15% of budgetHOSPICE OF HUMBOLDT INC: $150,000 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetFerndale Repertory Theatre: $124,000 over 6y, 17% of budgetLost Coast Camp: $112,500 over 8y, 12% of budgetST JOSEPH'S HOSPITAL OF TAMPA FOUNDATION INC: $100,000 over 1y, 2.0% of budgetHumboldt County Fair Association: $91,500 over 9y, 0.7% of budgetFOOD FOR PEOPLE INC: $75,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetFERNDALE CEMETERY ASSOCIATION: $65,000 over 4y, 48% of budgetFERNDALE COMMUNITY CHEST: $52,500 over 9y, 71% of budgetFERN COTTAGE FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 2y, 60% of budgetCLARKE HISTORICAL MUSEUM: $34,000 over 9y, 5.7% of budgetHumboldt Historical Society DBA Humboldt County Historical Society: $20,081 over 2y, 5.0% of budgetMCKINLEYVILLE SENIOR CENTER: $15,000 over 1y, 37% of budgetROTARY CLUB OF FERNDALE: $13,000 over 1y, 21% of budgetTHE LIGHTHOUSE FOR THE BLIND INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFERNDALE VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT: $4,500 over 1y, 4.6% of budgetREDWOOD REGION LOGGING CONFERENCE: $1,000 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.

  • Who funds FERNDALE MUSEUM INC ↗
  • Who funds LD O'ROURKE FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds HOSPICE OF HUMBOLDT INC ↗
  • Who funds Ferndale Repertory Theatre ↗
  • Who funds Lost Coast Camp ↗
  • Who funds ST JOSEPH'S HOSPITAL OF TAMPA FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds Humboldt County Fair Association ↗
  • Who funds FOOD FOR PEOPLE INC ↗
  • Who funds FERNDALE CEMETERY ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds FERNDALE COMMUNITY CHEST ↗
  • Who funds FERN COTTAGE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds CLARKE HISTORICAL MUSEUM ↗
  • Who funds Humboldt Historical Society DBA Humboldt County Historical Society ↗
  • Who funds MCKINLEYVILLE SENIOR CENTER ↗

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.

Christine & Jalmer Be…Humboldt Area Foundat…Amazonsmile Foundation
Christine & Jalmer Berg FoundationCA17.8× affinity6 shared granteesties to 2 of 2Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Christine & Jalmer Berg Foundation · Humboldt Area Foundation · 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 Bertha Russ Lytel Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Bertha Russ Lytel Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%4%15%34%60%funder's share of their income ↑0%13%25%38%50%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    1get no government money at all
    2report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–50%
    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 Bertha Russ Lytel Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Bertha Russ Lytel 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 57 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 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Bertha Russ Lytel’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