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California · Public charity

Discover a Star

To provide grants to local non-profit organizations whose initiatives target children's causes and homeless intervention.

$160k
Granted FY2024(still arriving)
5
Itemized grants FY2024
16
Organizations funded FY2023
19%
First-time grantees FY2023
Read the full brief
Itemized, FY2024
$150k
The rest is grants the schedule does not break out
Median grant, FY2024
$20,000
Largest grant, FY2024
$61,303
Organizations funded a year
10 to 19
FY2017 to FY2023
States reached, FY2024
1
Total assets, FY2024
$1.3M

How open it is to new grantees

In FY2023, 19% of the organizations Discover a Star funded were first-time grantees, receiving 12% of its grant dollars.

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2023, 88% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $98k went to new ones.

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

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

’18’19’21’22’23
Human ServicesHealthYouth DevelopmentPhilanthropyEducationRecreation & SportsOther
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.
The numbers by year
Fiscal yearOrganizations fundedTo those organizationsFirst-time grantees
FY2024still arriving5$150k20%
FY202316$789k19%
FY202217$664k18%
FY202110$249k0%
FY201918$611k17%
FY201814$554k36%
FY201719$535kn/a
99% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Human Services$1.7MHealth$458kHousing & Shelter$429kEducation$403kEmployment$315kArts & Culture$196kFood & Nutrition$174kRecreation & Sports$41kOther$0

Top grantees

Largest recipients by total granted, FY2017 to FY2024, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.

GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
Covenant House California$481,58061%
Downtown Women's Center$402,73761%
Assistance League of Los Angeles$360,61472%
Homeboy Industries$315,00070%
School on Wheels Inc$300,00062%
MEND - Meet Each Need With Dignity$250,07851%
M F Place Inc$247,51662%
Inclusion Matters by Shanes Inspiration$133,00043%
Los Angeles Regional Food Bank$100,50020%
Valley Family Center$100,00043%
Show all 32 grantees
All grantees of Discover a Star by total granted
GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
Covenant House California$481,58061%
Downtown Women's Center$402,73761%
Assistance League of Los Angeles$360,61472%
Homeboy Industries$315,00070%
School on Wheels Inc$300,00062%
MEND - Meet Each Need With Dignity$250,07851%
M F Place Inc$247,51662%
Inclusion Matters by Shanes Inspiration$133,00043%
Los Angeles Regional Food Bank$100,50020%
Valley Family Center$100,00043%
Make-A-Wish Foundation of America$95,50050%
A Window Between Worlds$92,72952%
Piece by Piece$83,329415%
A Place Called Home$75,00030%
Project Angel Food$73,50050%
Los Angeles Lgbt Center$33,61910%
La Family Housing Corporation$30,00020%
Habitat for Humanity Inc$30,0001n/a
Concern Foundation$27,00031%
Junior Achievement USA$25,00010%
Bright Horizons Foundation for Children$25,00012%
Children's Hospital Los Angeles$25,00010%
Path$25,00010%
Union Station Homeless Services$21,48010%
Burbank Arts and Education Foundation$20,00024%
The Painted Turtle$15,00010%
Together We Rise$10,51810%
Heart Touch Project$10,00014%
The Panda Charitable Family Foundation (Fka the Panda Charitable Foundation)$10,0001n/a
My Stuff Bags Foundation$10,00010%
The Jack and Jill Late Stage Cancer Foundation$10,00011%
Treepeople Inc$7,50010%

Plus 2 recipients with no EIN on record ($106k), not named here.

Where it is load-bearing

Each grantee by its size and the share of its budget Discover a Star supplied at peak.

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetCovenant House California: $481,580 over 6y, 0.9% of budgetDowntown Women's Center: $402,737 over 6y, 0.9% of budgetAssistance League of Los Angeles: $360,614 over 7y, 1.5% of budgetHomeboy Industries: $315,000 over 7y, 0.3% of budgetSchool on Wheels Inc: $300,000 over 6y, 2.2% of budgetMEND - Meet Each Need With Dignity: $250,078 over 5y, 0.6% of budgetM F Place Inc: $247,516 over 6y, 1.8% of budgetInclusion Matters by Shanes Inspiration: $133,000 over 4y, 2.5% of budgetLos Angeles Regional Food Bank: $100,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetValley Family Center: $100,000 over 4y, 3.3% of budgetMake-A-Wish Foundation of America: $95,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetA Window Between Worlds: $92,729 over 5y, 2.2% of budgetPiece by Piece: $83,329 over 4y, 15% of budgetA Place Called Home: $75,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetProject Angel Food: $73,500 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetLos Angeles Lgbt Center: $33,619 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLa Family Housing Corporation: $30,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetConcern Foundation: $27,000 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetJunior Achievement USA: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBright Horizons Foundation for Children: $25,000 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetChildren's Hospital Los Angeles: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPath: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetUnion Station Homeless Services: $21,480 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetBurbank Arts and Education Foundation: $20,000 over 2y, 3.6% of budgetThe Painted Turtle: $15,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetTogether We Rise: $10,518 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetHeart Touch Project: $10,000 over 1y, 4.1% of budgetMy Stuff Bags Foundation: $10,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetThe Jack and Jill Late Stage Cancer Foundation: $10,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetTreepeople Inc: $7,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budget

Tap a dot to name the grantee.

How this is measured
Share of budget is the funder’s grant in a year over the grantee’s total revenue that year, at its highest across the years we hold; revenue is from all sources. Only grantees confirmed against their own filings, whose grants do not exceed their revenue, are plotted: the largest 30.

Nonprofits that may fit its grantmaking

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.

The Ahmanson Foundati…The Annenberg Foundat…California Community …The Rose Hills Founda…The Ralph M Parsons F…Orange County Communi…Morgan Stanley Global…Gs Donor Advised Phil…Jpmorgan Chase Founda…National Philanthropi…Charities Aid Foundat…American Online Givin…
The Ahmanson FoundationCA17.6× affinity6 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Ahmanson Foundation · The Annenberg Foundation · California Community Foundation · The Rose Hills Foundation · The Ralph M Parsons Foundation · Orange County Community Foundation · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · Jpmorgan Chase Foundation · National Philanthropic Trust · Charities Aid Foundation America · 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.

Compare Discover a Star with peer funders

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Discover a Star?

Find your warmest path to Discover a Star 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.

About Discover a Star

How much does Discover a Star give?
Discover a Star reported 5 itemized grants totaling $149,852, out of $159,852 in total grant expense reported on the return in its FY2024 IRS filing. It funded between 10 and 19 organizations a year over FY2017 to FY2023.
What does Discover a Star fund?
By grant dollars over FY2017 to FY2024, its largest causes are Human Services (44%), Health (12%), Housing & Shelter (11%).
Who are Discover a Star's largest grantees?
By total granted over FY2017 to FY2024: Covenant House California ($482k), Downtown Women's Center ($403k), Assistance League of Los Angeles ($361k).
Does Discover a Star fund new organizations?
In FY2023, 19% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
Which funders back the same organizations as Discover a Star?
Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include The Ahmanson Foundation, The Annenberg Foundation, California Community Foundation.
Where is Discover a Star based?
Discover a Star is based in CA.

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 36 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 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 Discover a Star’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