Skip to content
Elman Legacy Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Elman Legacy 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.

$119k
Granted FY2024still arriving
16
Grants FY2024still arriving
1
States reached
$50k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0197% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2018 to 2024.

Environment$304kArts & Culture$160kHuman Services$27kRecreation & Sports$24kScience & Tech$15kEducation$3kPhilanthropy$2kYouth Development$1kOther$0
02FY2024 · 16 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k13 grants · $33k
  • $10k–50k2 grants · $36k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $50k
$2,500
Median grant
1
States reached
$223k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
NATURAL RESOURCES$50,000
GARDENS OF GOLDEN GATE PARK$25,800
FRIENDS OF GREAT HIGHWAY PARK$10,000
WALKSF$5,000
CIRCUS CENTER$5,000
ACROSPORTS$5,000
SAN FRANCISCO PARKS ALLIANCE$5,000
PRESIDIO HILL SCHOOL$2,500
CIRCUS BELLA$2,500
GOLDEN GATE PARK BAND$2,500
FRIENDS OF CAMP MATHER$2,100
CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES$1,500
STERN GROVE FOUNDATION$1,000
SAN FRANCISCO JAZZ CENTER$500
MONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM$295
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 (FY19–20, $28k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%INTERNET ARCHIVE: $1k → 10%NATURAL RESOURCES ALL FAMILIES FND: $10k → 10%NATURAL RESOURCES ALL FAMILIES FND: $10k → 10%NATURAL RESOURCES ALL FAMILIES FND: $5k → 10%NATURAL RESOURCES ALL FAMILIES FND: $2k → 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.

79%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$427k · 6 repeat orgs$112k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +30% since the first grant, against +5% for those funded once.

6 repeat relationships: 2 still active in FY2024, 4 since wound down; 14 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

6
6

Total granted

$427k
$45k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+30%
+5%

Still filing today

50%
83%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 43% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $67k went to new ones.

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

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

’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
Arts & CultureRecreation & SportsHuman ServicesEnvironmentEducationAnimalsOther
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

  • BB
    BLUE BEAR SCHOOL of MUSIC
    2× · 2021–2022 · $100k · revenue +30%
  • TN
    THE NATURAL RESOURCES ALL FAMILIES FOUNDATION INC
    2× · 2019–2020 · $27k · revenue +9%
  • CA
    CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
    4× · 2020–2024 · $15k · revenue +35%

Funded once

  • IT
    ILLUMINATE THE ARTSgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $35k · revenue +149%
  • SF
    SAN FRANCISCO JAZZ ORG
    one grant, 2022 · $5k
  • CS
    CALIFORNIA STATE PARKS FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2018 · $2k · 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
Sonoma Botanical Garden
—
2
San Francisco Zoological Society

To connect all people with wildlife, inspire caring for nature, and advance conservation action.

Animals
3
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
—
4
San Francisco City Guides

Since 1978, our mission has been to preserve and perpetuate San Francisco's history and folklore and to celebrate its rich history of cultural diversity.

Human Services
5
San Francisco Green Film Festival

San Francisco Green Film Festival's (SFGFF) mission is to educate and connect communities through forward thinking programs of environmental films, dialogues, and action opportunities.

—
6
San Francisco High School of the Arts

San Francisco Arts and Science Academy (ASA) provides TK5 grade students with a strong foundation in the arts, language, math, and science, fostering creativity, curiosity, and character development. Our bilingual, hands-on curriculum…

Education
7
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

See schedule osfmoma believes the art of our time is vital and shares it with passion and purpose, and that art and the creative process can open minds and help build a better world. for that reason, we assemble unparalleled collections,…

Arts & Culture
8
Oakland Museum of California

The museum's mission is to inspire all californians to create a more vibrant future for themselves and their communities. through collections, exhibitions, education programs, and public dialogue, we inspire people of all ages and…

Arts & Culture
9
San Francisco Challenge dba AmericaOne
Recreation & Sports
10
Randall Museum Friends

The mission of Randall Museum Friends, incorporated in 1957, is to advocate on behalf of the museum and to raise additional funds to support the museum's operations, programming, and facilities.

Arts & Culture
11
Monterey Museum of Art

The monterey museum of art cultivates curiosity in the visual arts and engages community with the diversity of california art - past, present, and future.

Arts & Culture
12
Bay Area Barns and Trails
Human Services
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is San Francisco Parks Alliance; the most unlike its peers is Internet Archive. 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

18 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. 18 of the 27 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)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
18/18
Grantees still filing
12/18
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

NATURAL RESOURCES: $222,321 · OtherNATURAL RESOURCESSAN FRANCISCO BOTANICAL GARDEN: $55,290 · OtherSAN FRANCISCO BOTANICAL GARDEN+7 more: $23,709 · Other+7 moreBLUE BEAR SCHOOL of MUSIC: $100,000 · Arts & CultureBLUE BEAR SCHOOL of MUSICILLUMINATE THE ARTS: $35,000 · Arts & CultureILLUMINATE THE ARTSCALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES: $14,889 · Arts & CultureCALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES+4 more: $11,000 · Arts & Culture+4 moreSAN FRANCISCO BOTANICAL GARDEN SOCIETY AT STRYBING ARBORETUM: $25,800 · EnvironmentFRIENDS OF SUNSET DUNES FKA FRIENDS OF GREAT HIGHWAY PARK INC: $10,000 · EnvironmentTHE NATURAL RESOURCES ALL FAMILIES FOUNDATION INC: $27,000 · Human ServicesInternet Archive: $1,000 · Human ServicesSAN FRANCISCO PARKS ALLIANCE: $5,000 · Recreation & SportsFriends of Camp Mather: $2,100 · Recreation & SportsCALIFORNIA STATE PARKS FOUNDATION: $1,500 · Recreation & SportsGirls on the Run of the Bay Area Inc: $1,000 · Recreation & SportsPRESIDIO HILL SCHOOL: $2,500 · EducationCALIFORNIA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $1,000 · PhilanthropyMONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM FOUNDATION: $295 · Animals
Other$301,320Arts & Culture$160,889Environment$35,800Human Services$28,000Recreation & Sports$9,600Education$2,500Philanthropy$1,000Animals$295

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 budgetBLUE BEAR SCHOOL of MUSIC: $100,000 over 2y, 3.5% of budgetILLUMINATE THE ARTS: $35,000 over 1y, 3.2% of budgetTHE NATURAL RESOURCES ALL FAMILIES FOUNDATION INC: $27,000 over 2y, 2.2% of budgetSAN FRANCISCO BOTANICAL GARDEN SOCIETY AT STRYBING ARBORETUM: $25,800 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetCALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES: $14,889 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetFRIENDS OF SUNSET DUNES FKA FRIENDS OF GREAT HIGHWAY PARK INC: $10,000 over 1y, 5.1% of budgetCIRCUS CENTER: $5,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetSAN FRANCISCO PARKS ALLIANCE: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetPRESIDIO HILL SCHOOL: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCircus Bella: $2,500 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetGOLDEN GATE PARK BAND: $2,500 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetFriends of Camp Mather: $2,100 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetCALIFORNIA STATE PARKS FOUNDATION: $1,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetInternet Archive: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCALIFORNIA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Roxie Theater: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetGirls on the Run of the Bay Area Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM FOUNDATION: $295 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.

The Yelp FoundationThe San Francisco Fou…Jewish Community Fede…Vanguard Charitable E…American Endowment Fo…Morgan Stanley Global…National Philanthropi…American Online Givin…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
The Yelp FoundationCA17× affinity6 shared granteesties to 10 of 10Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Yelp Foundation · The San Francisco Foundation · Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco the Peninsula Marin & Sonoma · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · American Endowment Foundation · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · 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 Elman Legacy Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Elman Legacy Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%3%6%10%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
    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 · 0–5%
    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 27 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 Elman Legacy’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