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Comet Foundation F/K/A the Steinert Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Comet Foundation F/K/A the Steinert Family Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$3.2M
Granted FY2025still arriving
32
Grants FY2025still arriving
9
States reached
$525k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2022 to 2025.

Education$4.3MHealth$2.4MArts & Culture$255kEnvironment$250kHousing & Shelter$50kRecreation & Sports$25kInternational$2kHuman Services$1k
02FY2025 · 32 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k8 grants · $28k
  • $10k–50k12 grants · $231k
  • $50k–250k5 grants · $621k
  • $250k+7 grants · $2.3M
$25,000
Median grant
9
States reached
$25M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE$525,000
TRUSTEES OF PRINCETON UNIVERSITY$525,000
TRUSTEES OF DARTMOUTH COLLEGE$275,000
VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY$250,000
VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY$250,000
STEPPINGSTONE FOUNDATION INC$250,000
NANTUCKET PERFORMING ARTS CENTER INC$250,000
NANTUCKET COTTAGE HOSPITAL$200,000
ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND$200,000
EMERSON HEALTH CARE FOUNDATION INC$120,000
NANTUCKET GOLF CLUB FOUNDATION (NANTUCKET CHILDREN'S CHARITY CLASSIC)$51,000
HARPER'S HOME INC$50,000
THE WILY NETWORK INC$30,000
NANTUCKET GOLF CLUB FOUNDATION$25,000
VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY$25,000
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 (FY24–24, $1k) land where the poverty rate runs at 8%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%COMPASSIONATE CARE ALS: $1k → 8%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

NH
NY
MA
NJ
VA
TN
NC
DC
GA
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 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
Boston Architectural College

The bac is committed to provide excellence in design education grounded in practice and accessible to diverse communities.

—
2
President and Trustees of Bates College

Bates is a college of the liberal arts and sciences, and is a coeducational, nonsectarian, residential college with special commitments to academic rigor, and to assuring in all of its efforts the dignity of each individual, and access to…

Education
3
Northeast College of Health Sciences

Northeast college of health sciences (the college) is committed to academic excellence, leadership, and professional best practices in the health sciences.

Education
4
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
5
University of New Haven

The University of New Haven is a student-centered comprehensive university with an emphasis on excellence in liberal arts and professional education. Our mission is to prepare our students to lead purposeful and fulfilling lives in a…

Education
6
Dean College

Dean college is a private, residential new england college grounded in a culture and tradition that all students deserve the opportunity to discover and exceed their greatest aspirations. a personal and transformative community since 1865,…

Education
7
Nichols College

Nichols college strives to develop tomorrow's leaders through a dynamic, career-focused business education. the college transforms students into successful graduates who respond to challenges, are eager for responsibility, and assume…

Education
8
Williams College

Williams College strives to achieve educational excellence by fostering a community of learning in collaboration with students, faculty, staff, devoted alumni and parents.

Education
9
Saint Anselm College

Saint anselm is a catholic, benedictine college providing all of its students a distinctive liberal arts education that incorporates opportunities for professional and career preparation. it does so in a learning community that encourages…

Education
10
The Trustees of Princeton University

Research, education and general - princeton university is a private not-for-profit, non-sectarian institution of higher learning with approximately 5,700 undergraduate and 3,300 graduate students. 2,500 students graduated in the 2024-2025…

Education
11
Hampden-Sydney College

Since 1775, the mission of Hampden-Sydney College has been to form good men and good citizens in an atmosphere of sound learning.

Education
12
Dickinson College

Dickinson college provides a useful, innovative and interdisciplinary education in the liberal arts and sciences to prepare students to lead rich and fulfilling lives of engaged global citizenship

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Steppingstone Foundation Inc; the most unlike its peers is Harlem Lacrosse and Leadership Corporation. 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 38 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)
20/20
Grantees still filing
8/20
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL: $2,000,000 · OtherMASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITALTRUSTEES OF PRINCETON UNIVERSITY: $525,000 · OtherTRUSTEES OF PRINCETON UNIVERSITYFOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE: $500,000 · OtherFOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGEFOR THE BENEFIT OF THE TRUSTEES OF PRINCETON UNIVERSITY: $500,000 · OtherFOR THE BENEFIT OF THE TRUSTEES OF PRINCETON UNIVERSITYHARVARD COLLEGE: $500,000 · OtherHARVARD COLLEGETRUSTEES OF DARTMOUTH COLLEGE: $275,000 · OtherTRUSTEES OF DARTMOUTH COLLEGEFOR THE BENEFIT OF THE TRUSTEES OF DARTMOUTH COLLEGE: $275,000 · OtherFOR THE BENEFIT OF THE TRUSTEES OF DARTMOUTH COLLEGENANTUCKET COTTAGE HOSPITAL: $200,000 · Other+11 more: $128,629 · OtherPresident and Fellows of Harvard College: $525,000 · EducationPresident and Fellows of …Vanderbilt University: $525,000 · EducationVanderbilt UniversitySTEPPINGSTONE FOUNDATION INC: $250,000 · EducationSTEPPINGSTONE FOUNDATION …THE PINGREE SCHOOL INC: $125,000 · EducationTHE PINGREE SCHOOL INCTHE WILY NETWORK: $73,000 · EducationTrustees of Dartmouth College: $62,500 · Education+3 more: $53,000 · EducationNANTUCKET PERFORMING ARTS CENTER INC: $250,000 · Arts & CultureENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND INCORPORATED: $200,000 · EnvironmentGASPARILLA ISL CONSER & IMPROVE ASSN: $50,000 · EnvironmentEMERSON HEALTH CARE FOUNDATION INC: $120,000 · HealthHARPERS HOME INC: $50,000 · HealthHUDSON VALLEY CLUBHOUSE INC: $20,000 · Health+1 more: $1,041 · HealthHARLEM LACROSSE AND LEADERSHIP CORPORATION: $25,000 · Recreation & SportsNANTUCKET GOLF CLUB FOUNDATION INC: $25,000 · PhilanthropyCompassionate Care ALS Inc: $1,030 · Human Services
Other$4,903,629Education$1,613,500Arts & Culture$250,000Environment$250,000Health$191,041Recreation & Sports$25,000Philanthropy$25,000Human Services$1,030

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 budgetPresident and Fellows of Harvard College: $525,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetVanderbilt University: $525,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSTEPPINGSTONE FOUNDATION INC: $250,000 over 1y, 2.2% of budgetENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND INCORPORATED: $200,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE PINGREE SCHOOL INC: $125,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetEMERSON HEALTH CARE FOUNDATION INC: $120,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetTHE WILY NETWORK: $73,000 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetTrustees of Dartmouth College: $62,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGASPARILLA ISL CONSER & IMPROVE ASSN: $50,000 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetHARPERS HOME INC: $50,000 over 1y, 21% of budgetCONCORD FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY CORPORATION: $23,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetNASHOBA BROOKS SCHOOL OF CONCORD INC: $15,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetWashington and Lee University: $15,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSTEPPINGSTONE INC: $1,041 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCompassionate Care ALS Inc: $1,030 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.

Zachary and Lindsey G…Boston Foundation IncNational Philanthropi…Vanguard Charitable E…American Endowment Fo…Morgan Stanley Global…The Bank of America C…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …American Online Givin…Amazonsmile Foundation
Zachary and Lindsey Gund FoundationMA15.8× affinity5 shared granteesties to 10 of 10Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Zachary and Lindsey Gund Foundation · Boston Foundation Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · American Endowment Foundation · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · 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 Comet Foundation F/K/A the Steinert Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Comet Foundation F/K/A the Steinert Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 90%2%6%14%25%funder's share of their income ↑0%13%25%38%50%share of the org’s income from government →median 7%
  • Steppingstone Inc: 33% of income from government
  • President and Fellows of Harvard College: 7% of income from government
  • Pan-Massachusetts Challenge Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Steppingstone Foundation Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
9get no government money at all
1report 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.

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 38 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 Comet Foundation F/K/A the Steinert 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