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Esler Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Esler Family 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.

$1.3M
Granted FY2024still arriving
15
Grants FY2024still arriving
8
States reached
$300k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0191% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2024.

Education$1.2MHealth$1.1MCommunity Improvement$893kPhilanthropy$489kCivil Rights$442kYouth Development$221kReligion$194kPublic Benefit$130kOther$0
02FY2024 · 15 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k3 grants · $14k
  • $10k–50k3 grants · $55k
  • $50k–250k6 grants · $408k
  • $250k+3 grants · $800k
$50,000
Median grant
8
States reached
$11M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Tesseract Research Center$300,000
Mindful Philanthropy$250,000
Nativity School of Worcester Inc$250,000
Nova Southeastern University$106,000
Young Life$97,000
Boys and Girls Club Worcester$55,000
MA WOMEN OF COLOR COALITION$50,000
Rank the Vote$50,000
United Way of Central Massachusetts$50,000
Individual grant recipient$25,000
YWCA Central Mass$20,000
C S Lewis Institute$10,000
Standing Stone Ministry$7,500
World Vision$4,200
Detec Together$2,500
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 (FY21–22, $20k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, 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%LETTERS OF LOVE: $108 → 11%Net of Compassion: $20k → 11%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
WA
MN
IL
WI
NY
MA
NV
PA
NJ
CA
CO
VA
NC
DC
GA
TX
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 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.
$3.6M · 24 repeat orgs$983k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +22% since the first grant, against +12% for those funded once.

24 repeat relationships: 8 still active in FY2024, 16 since wound down; 6 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

24
32

Total granted

$3.6M
$363k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+22%
+12%

Still filing today

58%
44%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 51% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $620k went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24
EducationHealthInternationalHuman ServicesArts & CultureCommunity ImprovementOther
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

  • SI
    STRONGMINDS INC
    3× · 2021–2023 · $730k · revenue +0%
  • ENTREPRENEURSHIP FOR ALL INC
    3× · 2021–2023 · $725k · revenue +3%
  • MP
    MINDFUL PHILANTHROPY INC
    2× · 2023–2024 · $335k · revenue +111%

Funded once

  • VC
    VOTER CHOICE EDUCATION FUND INC
    one grant, 2023 · $75k · revenue -37% · 41% of their budget
  • WS
    WORCESTER STATE FOUNDATION INCgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $50k · revenue +111%
  • LL
    LEGENDARY LEGACIES INCgraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $25k · revenue +33%
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
Wentworth Institute of Technology Inc

Wentworth institute of technology is a nationally recognized private coeducational and residential university of higher education with a mission to empower, inspire and innovate through experiential learning with a core purpose of career…

Education
2
Wheaton College

Wheaton college provides a transformative liberal arts education, combining theory and practice, for intellectually curious students within a collaborative and vibrant extended community and network that values and strives to create an…

Education
3
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
4
Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Wpi transforms lives, turns knowledge into action to confront global challenges, and revolutionizes stem through distinctive and inclusive education, projects and research. (http://www.wpi.edu/about/mission.html)

—
5
Massachusetts Business Roundtable Inc

The mission of the roundtable is to make massachusetts the most desirable place to live, work and do business by engaging private sector executives and public leaders to ensure access to a robust, diverse and talented workforce that…

—
6
Massachusetts Higher Education Assistance Corporation

The organization's primary exempt purpose is to provide access to and conduct activities in furtherance of higher education.

—
7
Women's Business Enterprise National Council

Wbenc's mission is to fuel economic growth globally by identifying, certifying, and facilitating the development of women-owned businesses.

Civil Rights
8
The Water Research Foundation

The purpose of the water research foundation (wrf) is a definitive research organization to advance the science of all things water to better meet the evolving needs of its subscribers and the water sector. to engage exclusively in…

Environment
9
Westminster College

The mission of westminster college is to help students develop competencies, commitments, and characteristics which have distinguished human beings at their best. see continuation on schedule o.the liberal arts tradition is the foundation…

Education
10
United Way of Greater New Bedford Inc

Our mission is to mobilize people, partnerships and resources to catalyze change that strengthens the communities served.

—
11
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
12
Worldatwork

To sponsor and conduct educational conferences, seminars, workshops and symposia for purposes of informing members and other interested parties on current research, legislation and practices in all phases of employee reward programs…

Membership Benefit
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Greater Worcester Community Foundation Inc; the most unlike its peers is Blue Hill Observatory Science Center 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

38 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. 38 of the 65 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.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
37/38
Grantees still filing
27/38
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

MA WOMEN OF COLOR COALITION: $432,500 · OtherMA WOMEN OF COLOR COALITIONNatinity school: $300,200 · OtherNatinity schoolNATIVITY SCHOOL OF WORCESTER INC: $250,000 · OtherNATIVITY SCHOOL OF WORCESTER INCUNITED WAY OF CENTRAL MASSACHUSETTS INC: $161,000 · OtherUNITED WAY OF CENTRAL MASSACHUSETTS INCWest LA Coptic Evangelical Church: $125,000 · OtherWest LA Coptic Evangelical ChurchEtinpower Limited: $100,000 · OtherEtinpower Limited+36 more: $504,870 · Other+36 moreSTRONGMINDS INC: $730,000 · InternationalSTRONGMINDS INC+4 more: $57,264 · International+4 moreTESSERACT RESEARCH CENTER INC: $300,000 · EducationTESSERACT RESEARC…Nova Southeastern University Inc: $211,000 · EducationNova Southeastern…VOTER CHOICE EDUCATION FUND INC: $75,000 · EducationVOTER CHOICE EDUC…BABSON COLLEGE: $55,000 · EducationBABSON COLLEGEWORCESTER STATE FOUNDATION INC: $50,000 · EducationWORCESTER STATE F…RANK THE VOTE INC: $50,000 · EducationRANK THE VOTE INC+1 more: $10,000 · EducationENTREPRENEURSHIP FOR ALL INC: $725,000 · Community ImprovementENTREPRENEURSHIP…MINDFUL PHILANTHROPY INC: $335,000 · HealthCLEARWAY CLINIC INC: $15,000 · Health+5 more: $25,500 · HealthAmalgamated Charitable Foundation Inc: $200,000 · PhilanthropyGREATER WORCESTER COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $118,000 · PhilanthropyYOUNG LIFE: $132,256 · Youth Development
Other$1,873,570International$787,264Education$751,000Community Improvement$725,000Health$375,500Philanthropy$318,000Youth Development$132,256

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 budgetSTRONGMINDS INC: $730,000 over 3y, 3.1% of budgetENTREPRENEURSHIP FOR ALL INC: $725,000 over 3y, 5.4% of budgetMINDFUL PHILANTHROPY INC: $335,000 over 2y, 9.7% of budgetTESSERACT RESEARCH CENTER INC: $300,000 over 1y, 9.2% of budgetNATIVITY SCHOOL OF WORCESTER INC: $250,000 over 1y, 4.3% of budgetNova Southeastern University Inc: $211,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetAmalgamated Charitable Foundation Inc: $200,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetUNITED WAY OF CENTRAL MASSACHUSETTS INC: $161,000 over 4y, 0.7% of budgetYOUNG LIFE: $132,256 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetGREATER WORCESTER COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $118,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetVOTER CHOICE EDUCATION FUND INC: $75,000 over 1y, 41% of budgetBOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF WORCESTER INC: $60,500 over 3y, 1.3% of budgetBABSON COLLEGE: $55,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWORCESTER STATE FOUNDATION INC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetRANK THE VOTE INC: $50,000 over 1y, 2.9% of budgetLEGENDARY LEGACIES INC: $25,000 over 1y, 2.4% of budgetMEDICAL BENEVOLENCE FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetWHITINSVILLE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL: $22,515 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetWORLD VISION INC: $22,045 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetNET OF COMPASSION CORP: $20,000 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetCOMMUNITY HARVEST PROJECT INC: $15,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetCLEARWAY CLINIC INC: $15,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetWilmington Area Rebuilding Ministry Inc: $14,010 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetHAMMER AND CHISEL INC: $14,000 over 1y, 20% of budgetWORCESTER REGIONAL STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITIES FOUNDATION: $12,500 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetCS Lewis Institute: $10,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetDOUBLE UP DRIVE INC: $10,000 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetTHE SHINE INITIATIVE INC: $10,000 over 1y, 2.5% of budgetSTANDING STONE MINISTRIES INC: $7,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCaringBridge: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWORCESTER REGIONAL RESEARCH BUREAU INC: $5,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetWORCESTER ART MUSEUM: $3,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetDETECTOGETHER INC FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE 15-40 CONNECTION INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetNAMI National: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBE LIKE BRIT FOUNDATION INC: $219 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNorthwestern University: $103 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBlue Hill Observatory Science Center 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.

Coghlin Services FundRuth H & Warren a Ell…Worcester Railers Hc …The Fred Harris Danie…The Fletcher Foundati…Fallon Community Heal…Stoddard Charitable T…Greater Worcester Com…Rockland Trust Charit…The Hanover Insurance…The George I Alden Tr…Webster Five Foundati…
Coghlin Services FundMA24.2× affinity9 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Coghlin Services Fund · Ruth H & Warren a Ellsworth Foundation · Worcester Railers Hc Charitable Foundation Inc · The Fred Harris Daniels Foundation · The Fletcher Foundation · Fallon Community Health Plan Inc · Stoddard Charitable Trust · Greater Worcester Community Foundation Inc · Rockland Trust Charitable Foundation Inc · The Hanover Insurance Group Foundation Inc · The George I Alden Trust · Webster Five 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.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Esler Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Esler Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 90%3%13%28%50%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 3%
  • Blue Hill Observatory Science Center Inc: 59% of income from government
  • Legendary Legacies Inc: 58% of income from government
  • Community Harvest Project Inc: 18% of income from government
  • Worcester State Foundation Inc: 3% of income from government
  • Babson College: 3% of income from government
  • Nova Southeastern University Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Entrepreneurship for All Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Boys and Girls Club of Worcester Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Worcester Art Museum: 1% of income from government
  • Greater Worcester Community Foundation Inc: 1% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
9get no government money at all
5report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
2rely on government for over half their income
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 Esler Family Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Esler Family 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 65 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 Esler 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