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Deborah Joy Simon Charitable Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Deborah Joy Simon Charitable 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.

$16M
Granted FY2024still arriving
9
Grants FY2024still arriving
5
States reached
$5.0M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0196% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2019 to 2024.

Education$39MPublic Benefit$6.5MHealth$6.0MCivil Rights$4.8MArts & Culture$2.0MAnimals$1.2MInternational$300kOther$0
02FY2024 · 9 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$1,500,000
Median grant
5
States reached
$86M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
THE REGENTS OF MERCERSBURG COLLEGE$5,000,000
FUTURE NOW INSTITUTE$2,000,000
PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA$2,000,000
ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE$2,000,000
DEMOCRACY MATTERS FOUNDATION$1,500,000
AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION$1,500,000
ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE$1,333,334
INDIANAPOLIS ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY INC$600,000
AMERICAN INDEPENDENT FOUNDATION$500,000
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY19–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 35% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%THE REGENTS OF MERCERSBURG COLLEGE: $8.0M → 9%PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA: $2.0M → 17%THE AMERICAN INDEPENDENT FOUNDATION: $1.5M → 14%INDIANAPOLIS ZOO: $600k → 16%INDIANA UNIVERSTIY FOUNDATION: $250k → 18%ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE: $2.0M → 14%THE REGENTS OF MERCERSBURG COLLEGE: $6.5M → 9%PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA: $2.0M → 17%AMERICAN INDEPENDENT FOUNDATION: $500k → 14%INDIANAPOLIS ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY INC: $600k → 16%ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE: $1.3M → 14%THE REGENTS OF MERCERSBURG COLLEGE: $6.0M → 9%PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA: $2.0M → 17%THE FUTURE NOW INSTITUTE CO MELE BRENGARTH & ASSOC: $2.0M → 14%THE REGENTS OF MERCERSBURG COLLEGE: $6.0M → 9%JUILLIARD SCHOOL: $1.0M → 17%FUTURE NOW INSTITUTE: $2.0M → 14%THE REGENTS OF MERCERSBURG COLLEGE: $5.0M → 9%ALLIANCE FOR OPEN SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL: $300k → 17%THE REGENTS OF MERCERSBURG COLLEGE: $5.0M → 9%AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION: $1.5M → 17%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.

76%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$46M · 4 repeat orgs$14M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +102% since the first grant, against +67% for those funded once.

4 repeat relationships: 4 still active in FY2024, 0 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

4
9

Total granted

$46M
$6.0M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+102%
+67%

Still filing today

100%
67%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 49% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $8.3M 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 RightsEducationHealthPhilanthropyAnimalsInternationalOther
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

  • RO
    REGENTS OF THE MERCERSBURG COLLEGE
    6× · 2019–2024 · $37M · revenue +102%
  • TA
    THE AMERICAN INDEPENDENT FOUNDATION
    2× · 2023–2024 · $2.0M · revenue +218%
  • IZ
    Indianapolis Zoological Society Inc
    2× · 2023–2024 · $1.2M · revenue +15%

Funded once

  • TF
    THE FUTURE NOW INSTITUTE CO MELE BRENGARTH & ASSOC
    one grant, 2023 · $2.0M
  • MM
    MEDIA MATTERS FOR AMERICA
    one grant, 2023 · $1.0M · revenue +12%
  • JS
    JUILLIARD SCHOOL
    one grant, 2022 · $1.0M · revenue -5%
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
American Civil Liberties Union Fund of the District of Columbia

Preservation of civil liberties through litigation and public education.

—
2
America's Newspapers

Providing research, education and practical information all aimed at optimizing newspapers' business operations, deepening their community engagement and enhancing the quality of their journalism.

Employment
3
National Veterans Legal Services Program Inc

To provide at no cost legal assistance to veterans of the u.s. armed forces and current service members.

—
4
International Republican Institute

Iri advances freedom and democracy worldwide by developing political parties, civic institutions, open elections, democratic governance and the rule of law.

Education
5
Foreign Policy Research Institute

The foreign policy research institute (frpi) is dedicated to producing the highest quality scholarship and nonpartisan policy analysis focused on crucial foreign policy and national security challenges facing the united states. we educate…

International
6
American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa

The union works to advocate and advance a public policy agenda to support and protect the constitution of the united states and the constitution of the state of iowa. it works to maintain throughout the united states the rights of free…

—
7
American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Iowa

The foundation works to defend and promote the constitution of the united states, focusing especially on the first, fourth, fifth, sixth, eighth, and 14th amendments. the foundation also works to defend and promote the constitution of the…

Civil Rights
8
Pro Publica Inc

Pro publica is an independent, non-profit, pulitzer prize-winning newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest. our work focuses exclusively on truly important stories. [see continuation on schedule o] we produce…

Arts & Culture
9
American Foreign Service Association

American foreign service association (afsa) is both the principal advocate for the long-term institutional wellbeing of the professional career foreign service and responsible for safeguarding the interest of afsa members. (continued on…

—
10
Commission On Presidential Debates

Organize general election presidential and vice-presidential debates

Civil Rights
11
American Civil Liberties Union Inc

As noted in its articles of incorporation, the mission of the aclu is "to maintain and advance civil liberties, including, without limitation, the freedoms of association, press, religion and speech, and the rights to the franchise, to due…

—
12
United States Naval Institute

Provide an independent forum for those who dare to read, think, speak, and write to advance the professional, literary, and scientific understanding of sea power and other issues critical to global security.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The American Independent Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Vet Voice Foundation Inc. 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

14 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. 14 of the 17 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)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
14/14
Grantees still filing
9/14
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

REGENTS OF THE MERCERSBURG COLLEGE: $36,500,000 · EducationREGENTS OF THE MERCERSBURG COLLEGE+2 more: $2,000,000 · EducationANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE: $3,333,334 · Civil RightsANTI-DEFAMATI…DEMOCRACY MATTERS FOUNDATION: $1,500,000 · Civil RightsDEMOCRACY MAT…AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION INC: $1,500,000 · Civil RightsAMERICAN CIVI…VOTO LATINO FOUNDATION INC: $500,000 · Civil RightsVOTO LATINO F…VET VOICE FOUNDATION INC: $250,000 · Civil RightsPLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC: $6,000,000 · HealthPLANNED PAR…THE FUTURE NOW INSTITUTE CO MELE BRENGARTH & ASSOC: $2,000,000 · OtherTHE AMERICAN INDEPENDENT FOUNDATION: $2,000,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $500,000 · OtherINDIANA UNIVERSTIY FOUNDATION: $250,000 · OtherTHE FUTURE NOW INSTITUTE: $2,000,000 · PhilanthropyIndianapolis Zoological Society Inc: $1,200,000 · AnimalsALLIANCE FOR OPEN SOCIETY INT'L INC: $300,000 · InternationalSTATE LEADERSHIP PROJECT: $250,000 · Public Benefit
Education$38,500,000Civil Rights$7,083,334Health$6,000,000Other$4,750,000Philanthropy$2,000,000Animals$1,200,000International$300,000Public Benefit$250,000

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

25%50%75%100%$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetREGENTS OF THE MERCERSBURG COLLEGE: $36,500,000 over 6y, 17% of budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC: $6,000,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE: $3,333,334 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetTHE AMERICAN INDEPENDENT FOUNDATION: $2,000,000 over 2y, 8.1% of budgetTHE FUTURE NOW INSTITUTE: $2,000,000 over 1y, 18% of budgetDEMOCRACY MATTERS FOUNDATION: $1,500,000 over 1y, 4.2% of budgetAMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION INC: $1,500,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetIndianapolis Zoological Society Inc: $1,200,000 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetMEDIA MATTERS FOR AMERICA: $1,000,000 over 1y, 5.1% of budgetJUILLIARD SCHOOL: $1,000,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetVOTO LATINO FOUNDATION INC: $500,000 over 1y, 14% of budgetALLIANCE FOR OPEN SOCIETY INT'L INC: $300,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetVET VOICE FOUNDATION INC: $250,000 over 1y, 13% of budgetSTATE LEADERSHIP PROJECT: $250,000 over 1y, 3.3% 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.

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.

Silicon Valley Commun…Morgan Stanley Global…National Philanthropi…Vanguard Charitable E…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …
Silicon Valley Community FoundationCA14× affinity5 shared granteesties to 5 of 5Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Silicon Valley Community Foundation · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Donor Advised Charitable Giving 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 Deborah Joy Simon Charitable Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Deborah Joy Simon Charitable Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%5%11%20%funder's share of their income ↑0%1%3%4%5%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get 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 · 0–5%
    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 17 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 Deborah Joy Simon’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