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Epstein Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Epstein Foundation

Its FY2018 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$364k
Granted FY2018
35
Grants FY2018
4
States reached
$258k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0193% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2018.

Philanthropy$268kArts & Culture$113kYouth Development$16kHealth$15kEducation$13kHuman Services$3kCivil Rights$3kInternational$2kOther$0
02FY2018 · 35 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2018

  • Under $10k31 grants · $63k
  • $10k–50k3 grants · $43k
  • $250k+1 grant · $258k
$1,000
Median grant
4
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
THE CHICAGO COMMUNITY FOUNDATION$258,331
LOYOLA UNIVERSITY MUSEUM OF ART$20,750
CHI ARTS$12,500
ART INSTITUTE DEPT OF PHOTOGRAPHY$10,000
VICTORY GARDENS THEATRE$7,500
LYRIC OPERA OF CHICAGO$7,500
CHICAGO YOUTH CENTERS$5,000
CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTR$5,000
CHICAGO FOUNDATION FOR WOMEN$5,000
CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY$5,000
MIDWEST ACCESS PROJECT$4,000
THE GOODMAN THEATRE$3,000
Individual grant recipient$2,500
CENTER FOR ENRICHED LIVING$2,500
LUBIZNIK CENTER$2,000
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 (FY17–18, $2k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%LINCOLN PARK VILLAGE: $500 → 14%LINCOLN PARK VILLAGE: $250 → 14%CENTER ON HALSTED: $500 → 14%JEWISH CHILD AND FAMILYSERVICES: $500 → 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.

26%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$113k · 20 repeat orgs$328k to everyone else

20 repeat relationships: 20 still active in FY2018, 0 since wound down; 14 grantees were first funded in FY2018 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

20
28

Total granted

$113k
$30k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+33%
+40%

Still filing today

55%
54%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2018, 17% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $298k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18
Arts & CultureEducationHealthHuman ServicesCommunity ImprovementYouth DevelopmentOther
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

  • CY
    Chicago Youth Centers
    2× · 2017–2018 · $16k · revenue +59%
  • LO
    Lyric Opera of Chicago
    2× · 2017–2018 · $15k · revenue +33%
  • CS
    Chicago Symphony Orchestra
    2× · 2017–2018 · $10k · revenue +58%

Funded once

  • TA
    THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGOgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $8k · revenue +45%
  • DH
    DIGESTIVE HEALTH FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2017 · $5k · revenue -89%
  • MO
    MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART
    one grant, 2017 · $3k · revenue +0%
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
Chicago Public Education Fund

The chicago public education fund (the fund) is a nonprofit organization that improves public schools in chicago by investing in the talented educators who lead them.

Education
2
Columbia College Chicago

The organization's mission is to educate students for creative occupations in diverse fields of arts and media.

Education
3
True Chicago
Arts & Culture
4
Chicago Opera Theater

Chicago opera theater expands the tradition of opera as a living art form by engaging lovers of music and storytelling through innovative experiences, predominantly of new and rarely performed works.

Arts & Culture
5
Chicago Psychoanalytic Institute

The chicago psychoanalytic institute transforms the lives of individuals, families and communities, using psychoanalytic knowledge to help them grow and thrive.

Social Science
6
Music Institute of Chicago

The music institute of chicago ("music institute") leads people toward a lifelong engagement with music, by providing widely accessible resources for high quality music teaching, performing, and service activities.

Arts & Culture
7
Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University Inc

The Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University ("The Auditorium"), an Illinois not-for-profit corporation, is committed to presenting the finest in international, cultural, community and educational programming to Chicago and to the…

Arts & Culture
8
Children's Museum of Oak Park

To spark curiosity and creativity in all young children through positive, play-based learning experiences.

Arts & Culture
9
The Chicago School of Professional Psychology

The Chicago School educates the next generation of change-makers in innovative theory and culturally competent practice to strengthen the integrated health of individuals, organizations, and communities.

Education
10
Music and Dance Theater Chicago Inc
Arts & Culture
11
The Chicago High School for the Arts

The chicago high school for the arts (chiarts) develops the next generation of diverse, artistically promising scholar-artists through intensive pre-professional training in the arts, combined with a comprehensive college preparatory…

Education
12
Chicago Historical Society

The Chicago History Museum strives to be a destination for learning, inspiration, and civic engagement. Through dynamic exhibitions, tours, programs, digital resources, and special events, the Museum connects people to Chicago's history…

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Illinois Humanities Council Inc; the most unlike its peers is The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. 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

34 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. 34 of the 63 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)
7
Early backer (in before they grew)
34/34
Grantees still filing
27/34
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

CHICAGO COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $258,331 · OtherCHICAGO COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONLOYOLA UNIVERSITY MUSEUM OF ART: $20,750 · OtherLOYOLA UNIVERSITY MUSEUM OF ARTCHI ARTS: $17,000 · Other+37 more: $68,884 · Other+37 moreLyric Opera of Chicago: $15,000 · Arts & CultureLyric Opera…Chicago Symphony Orchestra: $10,000 · Arts & CultureChicago Sym…Victory Gardens Theater: $8,500 · Arts & CultureVictory Gar…CHICAGO THEATRE GROUP INC: $5,500 · Arts & CultureCHICAGO THE…MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART: $2,800 · Arts & CultureMUSEUM OF C…GRANT PARK ORCHESTRAL ASSOCIATION: $2,000 · Arts & Culture+4 more: $3,025 · Arts & Culture+4 moreChicago Youth Centers: $16,275 · Youth Development+1 more: $200 · Youth DevelopmentTHE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO: $7,500 · EducationErikson Institute: $1,500 · EducationCIVIC LEADERSHIP FOUNDATION: $600 · EducationINTRINSIC SCHOOLS: $500 · Education+2 more: $500 · EducationRepro TLC: $5,500 · HealthPCD KS FOUNDATION: $1,000 · Health+1 more: $100 · HealthHUMAN RIGHTS WATCH INC: $1,750 · InternationalSOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER INC: $1,750 · Crime & Legal
Other$364,965Arts & Culture$46,825Youth Development$16,475Education$10,600Health$6,600International$1,750Crime & Legal$1,750

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 budgetChicago Youth Centers: $16,275 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetLyric Opera of Chicago: $15,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetChicago Symphony Orchestra: $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetVictory Gardens Theater: $8,500 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetCHICAGO FOUNDATION FOR WOMEN: $8,334 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTHE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO: $7,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetRepro TLC: $5,500 over 2y, 1.4% of budgetCHICAGO THEATRE GROUP INC: $5,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetDIGESTIVE HEALTH FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetMUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART: $2,800 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE CENTER FOR ENRICHED LIVING INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetGRANT PARK ORCHESTRAL ASSOCIATION: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetHUMAN RIGHTS WATCH INC: $1,750 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER INC: $1,750 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetErikson Institute: $1,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWINDOW TO THE WORLD COMMUNICATIONS INC: $1,250 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE EXPERIMENTAL STATION: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetLANDMARKS PRESERVATION COUNCIL OF ILLINOIS: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetPCD KS FOUNDATION: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetThe United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetJEWISH UNITED FUND OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO: $800 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetINTRINSIC SCHOOLS: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetJewish Child and Family Services: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCenter on Halsted: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMERIT SCHOOL OF MUSIC: $275 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWORKING IN THE SCHOOLS INC: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCHILDREN AT THE CROSSROADS FOUNDATION: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGIRLS INC OF CHICAGO: $200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFAMILY MATTERS INC: $150 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetALZHEIMER'S DISEASE & RELATED DISORDERS ASSOCIATION INC: $100 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.

Jewish Federation of …The Chicago Community…Circle of Service Fou…Polk Bros Foundation …Kovler Family Foundat…Lloyd a Fry FoundationRichard and Mary L Gr…The Robert Thomas Bob…The Seabury FoundationThe Sidley Austin Fou…John D and Catherine …AbbVie Foundation
Jewish Federation of Metropolitan ChicagoIL23.3× affinity9 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago · The Chicago Community Trust · Circle of Service Foundation · Polk Bros Foundation Inc · Kovler Family Foundation · Lloyd a Fry Foundation · Richard and Mary L Gray Foundation · The Robert Thomas Bobins Foundation · The Seabury Foundation · The Sidley Austin Foundation · John D and Catherine T Macarthur Foundation · AbbVie 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 Epstein Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Epstein Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%23%45%68%90%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    14report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–90%
    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 Epstein Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Epstein 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 63 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 Epstein’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