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Cherese Mari Laulhere Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Cherese Mari Laulhere 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.

$2.8M
Granted FY2018
15
Grants FY2018
4
States reached
$1.0M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead

Read this first · the figures below need context

93% of Cherese Mari Laulhere Foundation’s FY2024 grant dollars went to Orange County Community Foundation, not to grantees.

Its money now reaches organizations through that sponsor, which does not report who recommended each grant. FY2024 names 3 organizations directly, so a portfolio cannot be read from it. Everything below is therefore FY2018, the last year Cherese Mari Laulhere Foundation named its own grantees at scale: 10 organizations, $3M. It is dated, not current.

Organizations named directly on the return

12
’17
10
’18
1
’19
1
’20
2
’21
0
’22
2
’23
3
’24

Amber years are those where most dollars went to a sponsor.

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.

Philanthropy$44MHealth$23MHuman Services$3.8MFood & Nutrition$60kRecreation & Sports$50kAnimals$30kHousing & Shelter$30kEducation$10k
02FY2018 · 15 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2018

  • $10k–50k11 grants · $250k
  • $250k+4 grants · $2.6M
$25,000
Median grant
4
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Individual grant recipient$1,000,000
MEMORIAL MEDICAL CENTER$800,000
CHILDREN TODAY$525,000
ASSISTANCE LEAGUE$250,000
DISCOVERY ARTS$45,000
RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE$30,000
THE GUIDANCE CENTER$25,000
LOCKS OF LOVE$25,000
CAMP DEL CORAZON$25,000
TICHENOR ORTHOPEDIC CLINIC FOR CHILDREN$20,000
OUR MILITARY KIDS$20,000
MEALS ON WHEELS OF LONG BEACH$20,000
LONG BEACH RESCUE MISSION$15,000
NEW LIFE BEGINNINGS$15,000
COASTAL GERMAN SHEPHERD RESCUE$10,000
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 (FY17–23, $1.0M) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%CHILDREN TODAY: $525k → 14%CHILDREN TODAY: $500k → 14%CHILDREN TODAY: $5k → 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.
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.

88%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$24M · 15 repeat orgs$3.2M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +36% since the first grant, against -40% for those funded once.

15 repeat relationships: 14 still active in FY2018, 1 since wound down; 8 grantees were first funded in FY2018 (too recent to call). Read against FY2018, the last year this funder named its own grantees directly; its giving has since run through a sponsor, which reports no donor behind each grant.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

15
1

Total granted

$24M
$10k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+36%
-40%

Still filing today

73%
100%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 0% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $3.1M went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
HealthHuman ServicesEducationFood & NutritionRecreation & 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

  • CT
    Children Today Inc
    3× · 2017–2023 · $1.0M · revenue +36% · 39% of their budget
  • MO
    Meals on Wheels of Long Beach Inc
    2× · 2017–2018 · $60k · revenue +79%
  • TG
    THE GUIDANCE CENTER
    2× · 2017–2018 · $50k · revenue +56%

Funded once

  • SC
    SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA LABRADOR RETRIEVER RESCUE
    one grant, 2017 · $10k · revenue -40%
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
Children's Hospital Los Angeles

Promotion and advancement of children's health through patient care, research, and education.

Health
2
Pet Orphans of Southern California

In addition to rescue and adoption, pet orphans provides a wide range of services including education, medical/financial, spay/neuter, and training assistance.

Animals
3
Children's Law Center of California

Children's law center of california (clc) provides legal representation for children and youth impacted by abuse and neglect. we advocate for our clients by supporting families; fighting for reunification, permanence, educational…

—
4
Children's Dental Foundation

To deliver oral health education and comprehensive treatment for economically disadvantaged children, including those with complex medical considerations, while also providing premier training in pediatric and multi-specialty dentistry.

Health
5
Assistance League of Laguna Beach

Assistance League of Laguna Beach volunteers are focused on transforming lives and strengthening our community.

Human Services
6
Children's Hospital of Orange County

To nurture, advance and protect the health and well-being of children.

Health
7
Children's Healthcare of California

The primary exempt purpose of children's healthcare of california includes without limitation the receipt of distributions and grants for the making of distributions and grants to children's hospital of orange county (choc) and to…

Health
8
Children's Hospital Corporation

Provider of pediatric healthcare, education, research & community service

Health
9
Westerly School of Long Beach

Westerly school empowers students to become lifelong learners who lead with curiosity, create with courage, and inspire with heart.

Education
10
Children's Hospital Los Angeles Medical Group

To be the preeminent pediatric, multispecialty medical group in the nation, dedicated to providing the highest quality medical care to infants, children and adolescents; and supporting the finest teaching and research endeavors of our…

—
11
Children's Specialty Care Coalition

To ensure that children with complex health care needs have access to timely and high quality medical care, and that pediatric specialists are able to thrive in californias health care

Community Improvement
12
Leadership Long Beach

We are a catalyst that informs, activates, and connects community leaders to more meaningfully serve Long Beach.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Womenshelter of Long Beach; the most unlike its peers is The Jack Canine 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

19 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. 19 of the 25 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.

4
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
5
Early backer (in before they grew)
18/19
Grantees still filing
10/19
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

ORANGE COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $44,445,597 · PhilanthropyORANGE COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION+1 more: $35,500 · PhilanthropyIndividual grant recipient: $17,800,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientMEMORIAL MEDICAL CENTER: $1,605,000 · OtherMEMORIAL MEDICAL CENTERASSISTANCE LEAGUE: $1,015,000 · Other+12 more: $512,500 · OtherCHOC FOUNDATION: $3,000,000 · Health+2 more: $100,000 · HealthWOMENSHELTER OF LONG BEACH: $1,632,500 · Human ServicesChildren Today Inc: $1,030,000 · Human ServicesMeals on Wheels of Long Beach Inc: $60,000 · Food & NutritionCAMP DEL CORAZON INC: $50,000 · Recreation & SportsLONG BEACH RESCUE MISSION: $30,000 · Housing & Shelter
Philanthropy$44,481,097Other$20,932,500Health$3,100,000Human Services$2,662,500Food & Nutrition$60,000Recreation & Sports$50,000Housing & Shelter$30,000

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 budgetORANGE COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $44,445,597 over 1y, 26% of budgetCHOC FOUNDATION: $3,000,000 over 1y, 5.3% of budgetWOMENSHELTER OF LONG BEACH: $1,632,500 over 2y, 48% of budgetChildren Today Inc: $1,030,000 over 3y, 39% of budgetAssistance League of Long Beach: $124,000 over 1y, 3.3% of budgetDISCOVERY ARTS: $90,000 over 2y, 26% of budgetMeals on Wheels of Long Beach Inc: $60,000 over 2y, 4.8% of budgetLOCKS OF LOVE INC: $50,000 over 2y, 4.9% of budgetTHE GUIDANCE CENTER: $50,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCAMP DEL CORAZON INC: $50,000 over 2y, 3.7% of budgetTICHENOR ORTHOPEDIC CLINIC FOR CHILDREN: $42,500 over 3y, 1.5% of budgetOUR MILITARY KIDS INC: $35,500 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetLONG BEACH RESCUE MISSION: $30,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetNEW LIFE BEGINNINGS INC: $30,000 over 2y, 2.5% of budgetSOUTHERN CALIFORNIA LABRADOR RETRIEVER RESCUE: $10,000 over 1y, 3.2% of budgetMILLER CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL LONG BEACH AU: $10,000 over 1y, 2.8% of budgetThe Jack Canine Foundation: $10,000 over 1y, 20% of budgetTHE GRAY ACADEMY: $10,000 over 1y, 4.2% of budgetLONG BEACH DAY NURSERY: $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.

Bess J Hodges Foundat…Earl B & Loraine H Mi…Long Beach Community …Gates Family Foundati…California Community …The Josephine S Gumbi…The Rudolph J & Daphn…The Crail-Johnson Fou…Farmers & Merchants B…The Ralph M Parsons F…Orange County Communi…Enterprise Holdings F…
Bess J Hodges FoundationCA17.8× affinity6 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Bess J Hodges Foundation · Earl B & Loraine H Miller Foundation · Long Beach Community Foundation · Gates Family Foundation · California Community Foundation · The Josephine S Gumbiner Foundation · The Rudolph J & Daphne a Munzer Foundation · The Crail-Johnson Foundation · Farmers & Merchants Bank Foundation · The Ralph M Parsons Foundation · Orange County Community Foundation · Enterprise Holdings 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 Cherese Mari Laulhere Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Cherese Mari Laulhere Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%2%8%17%30%funder's share of their income ↑0%8%15%22%30%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    1get no government money at all
    6report 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 Cherese Mari Laulhere Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Cherese Mari Laulhere 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 25 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 2018, released 2018. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Cherese Mari Laulhere’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