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Cestra Butner Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Cestra Butner 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.

$1.4M
Granted FY2024still arriving
15
Grants FY2024still arriving
5
States reached
$375k
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, FY2017 to 2024.

Youth Development$2.6MEducation$1.4MArts & Culture$775kRecreation & Sports$750kAnimals$375kCommunity Improvement$250kPhilanthropy$245kPublic Benefit$165kOther$0
02FY2024 · 15 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $10k–50k8 grants · $175k
  • $50k–250k5 grants · $600k
  • $250k+2 grants · $625k
$25,000
Median grant
5
States reached
$13M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CHILDREN'S FAIRYLAND$375,000
PEACE CORPS FOUNDATION$250,000
OAKLAND SYMPHONY$175,000
OK PROGRAM OF OAKLAND$125,000
HIDDEN GENIUS PROJECT$125,000
OAKLAND ZOO$125,000
ORAL LEE BROWN FOUNDATION$50,000
ALPHA GAMMA BOULE FOUNDATION$25,000
100 BLACK MEN OF AMERICA INC$25,000
BOULE FOUNDATION$25,000
ALS THERAPY DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE$25,000
KIDS FOR THE BAY$25,000
LEND A HAND FOUNDATION$20,000
OAKLAND ROTARY ENDOWMENT$15,000
THE ROTARY FOUNDATION OF ROTARY INTERNATIONAL$15,000
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 (FY21–24, $80k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%LEND A HAND FOUNDATION: $20k → 10%LEND A HAND FOUNDATION: $20k → 10%LEND A HAND FOUNDATION: $20k → 10%LEND A HAND FOUNDATION: $20k → 10%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.

91%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$6.1M · 16 repeat orgs$577k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +23% since the first grant, against -27% for those funded once.

16 repeat relationships: 12 still active in FY2024, 4 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

16
6

Total granted

$6.1M
$302k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+23%
-27%

Still filing today

81%
33%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 80% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $275k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’20’21’22’23’24
EducationYouth DevelopmentArts & CultureHuman ServicesRecreation & SportsPhilanthropyOther
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

  • HG
    HIDDEN GENIUS PROJECT
    4× · 2021–2024 · $1.9M · revenue +61%
  • OP
    OAKLAND PROMISE
    4× · 2017–2022 · $820k · revenue +185%
  • OP
    OK PPROGRAM OF OAKLAND
    5× · 2020–2024 · $510k · revenue ×15 · 25% of their budget

Funded once

  • TO
    THE OAKLAND PUBLIC EDUCATION FUND
    one grant, 2021 · $250k · revenue -27%
  • FO
    FRIENDS OF THE OAKLAND PUBLIC SCHOOLS LIBRARIES
    one grant, 2021 · $25k · revenue -73%
  • OP
    OK PROGRAM INC
    one grant, 2017 · $15k
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
The Oakland Athletics Community Fund
—
2
Partners in Oakland Education Dba Vincent Academy

The specific purposes of this corporation are to provide educational services and support to the student population in oakland as determined by the corporation t0 be appropriate. additionally, the corporation may engage in any activities…

Education
3
Oakland Kids First

The mission of Oakland Kids First is to increase youth voice, leadership and power to create engaging and equitable public schools where all students learn and lead.

Youth Development
4
Oakland Chamber of Commerce Foundation

The oakland chamber of commerce foundation carries out charitble work to benefit the greater oakland community.

Recreation & Sports
5
IMPACT100 Oakland County

Provide high impact grants to non profits serving oakland county.

—
6
Oakland Community College Foundation

The Mission of the Oakland Community College Foundation is to obtain financial support to advance the mission and goals of Oakland Community College

Education
7
Oakland Fund for Public Innovation

The Oakland Fund reaches across the city, engaging private partners to innovate, test and scale ideas that enhance Oakland. The Fund strives to improve the prosperity, safety and quality of life for all Oaklanders with projects that: build…

Community Improvement
8
The College Preparatory School

At college prep we believe in the foundational importance of scholarship, the value of dialogue, and the need for academically curious young people to belong to a kind, creative, diverse and joyful community. we challenge our students to…

Education
9
Oakland School for the Arts

To establish and maintain a positive school culture in which all students are motivated to learn, support each other, and have structures in place that assist students in accessing their full artistic and academic potential.

Education
10
Arts for Oakland Kids

To advance arts justice by ensuring that all students in under-resourced oakland public schools receive a comprehensive arts education in order to improve learning and promote achievement.

Arts & Culture
11
Unity Schools

To prepare its students for admission to and success in college and career,and to become happy and productive members of society.

Education
12
Oakland Leaf Foundation

Oakland Leaf spurs creative and educational growth for Oakland youth by providing programs that cultivate critical thinking skills, emphasize socioemotional learning opportunities, and support authentic leadership development. They…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Oakland Public Education Fund; the most unlike its peers is Oral Lee Brown 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

20 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. 20 of the 26 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.

2
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
19/20
Grantees still filing
11/20
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

HIDDEN GENIUS PROJECT: $1,875,000 · EducationHIDDEN GENIUS PROJECTOAKLAND PROMISE: $820,000 · EducationOAKLAND PROMISETHE OAKLAND PUBLIC EDUCATION FUND: $250,000 · EducationTHE OAKLAND PUBLIC EDUCATION FUND+2 more: $200,000 · Education+2 moreEAST BAY PERFORMING ARTS dba OAKLAND SYMPHONY: $525,000 · Arts & CultureEAST BAY PER…Peace Corps Foundation: $250,000 · Arts & CulturePeace Corps …Oakland Childrens Fairyland Inc: $750,000 · Recreation & SportsOakland Chil…OK PPROGRAM OF OAKLAND: $510,000 · Youth DevelopmentOK PPROGRA…100 BLACK MEN OF AMERICA INC: $150,000 · Youth Development100 BLACK …EOYDC: $250,000 · OtherEOYDCROTARY CLUB OF OAKLAND: $165,000 · OtherROTARY CLUB OF …ALPHA GAMMA BOULE FOUNDATION: $125,000 · OtherALPHA GAMMA BOU…KIDS FOR THE BAY: $50,000 · OtherORAL LEE BROWN FOUNDATION: $150,000 · OtherORAL LEE BROWN …LEND A HAND FOUNDATION: $80,000 · OtherLEND A HAND FOU…THE ROTARY FOUNDATION OF ROTARY INTERNATIONAL: $75,000 · OtherTHE ROTARY FOUN…+6 more: $77,000 · Other+6 moreCONSERVATION SOCIETY OF CALIFORNIA: $375,000 · AnimalsEAST BAY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $200,000 · PhilanthropyOAKLAND ROTARY ENDOWMENT: $45,000 · Philanthropy
Education$3,145,000Arts & Culture$775,000Recreation & Sports$750,000Youth Development$660,000Other$972,000Animals$375,000Philanthropy$245,000

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 budgetHIDDEN GENIUS PROJECT: $1,875,000 over 4y, 19% of budgetOAKLAND PROMISE: $820,000 over 4y, 4.0% of budgetOakland Childrens Fairyland Inc: $750,000 over 2y, 7.7% of budgetEAST BAY PERFORMING ARTS dba OAKLAND SYMPHONY: $525,000 over 3y, 5.2% of budgetOK PPROGRAM OF OAKLAND: $510,000 over 5y, 25% of budgetCONSERVATION SOCIETY OF CALIFORNIA: $375,000 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetPeace Corps Foundation: $250,000 over 1y, 9.4% of budgetTHE OAKLAND PUBLIC EDUCATION FUND: $250,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetEAST BAY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $200,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetROTARY CLUB OF OAKLAND: $165,000 over 3y, 32% of budget100 BLACK MEN OF AMERICA INC: $150,000 over 6y, 0.8% of budgetORAL LEE BROWN FOUNDATION: $150,000 over 3y, 17% of budgetREDWOOD DAY SCHOOL: $100,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetBOULE FOUNDATION: $100,000 over 4y, 0.8% of budgetLEND A HAND FOUNDATION: $80,000 over 4y, 4.5% of budgetTHE ROTARY FOUNDATION OF ROTARY INTERNATIONAL: $75,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetOAKLAND ROTARY ENDOWMENT: $45,000 over 2y, 7.3% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE OAKLAND PUBLIC SCHOOLS LIBRARIES: $25,000 over 1y, 14% of budgetALS THERAPY DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetNCGA FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% 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.

East Bay Community Fo…The San Francisco Fou…Quest FoundationThe PG&E Corporation …Jewish Community Fede…ImpactassetsincMorgan Stanley Global…The Blackbaud Giving …Charities Aid Foundat…Vanguard Charitable E…American Endowment Fo…American Online Givin…
East Bay Community FoundationCA16.9× affinity6 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: East Bay Community Foundation · The San Francisco Foundation · Quest Foundation · The PG&E Corporation Foundation · Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco the Peninsula Marin & Sonoma · Impactassetsinc · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · Charities Aid Foundation America · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · American Endowment Foundation · American Online Giving Foundation Inc

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%8%15%22%30%share of the org’s income from government →median 8%
  • Als Therapy Development Foundation Inc: 8% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
5report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–30%
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 Cestra Butner Family Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Cestra Butner 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 26 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 Cestra Butner 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