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Illinois · Private foundation

Esper A Petersen Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$760k
Granted FY2025(still arriving)
41
Grants FY2025
40
Organizations funded FY2024
23%
First-time grantees FY2024
Read the full brief
Median grant, FY2025
$5,000
Largest grant, FY2025
$154,758
Organizations funded a year
22 to 43
FY2018 to FY2024
States reached, FY2025
4
Total assets, FY2025
$7.0M
Applications
Takes unsolicited applications
Per its most recent filing; check its own site

How open it is to new grantees

In FY2024, 23% of the organizations Esper A Petersen Foundation funded were first-time grantees, receiving 7% of its grant dollars.

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 93% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $39k 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
AnimalsArts & CultureHuman ServicesHousing & ShelterHealthPhilanthropyOther
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
FY2025still arriving38$593k13%
FY202440$558k23%
FY202334$690k29%
FY202229$527k45%
FY202122$360k27%
FY202028$559k21%
FY201943$1.3M44%
FY201837$449k49%
100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Health$2.0MPhilanthropy$831kArts & Culture$768kEnvironment$621kEducation$532kAnimals$509kHuman Services$396kPublic Benefit$205kOther$0

Where its grants go

Grant dollars by states, across the years we hold.

Which US states its grants reach

IL
WI
NY
MA
NV
SD
IA
CA
TN
DC
FL

Top grantees

Largest recipients by total granted, FY2017 to FY2025, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.

GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
St John's Healthcare Foundation$771,000330%
Vc Colab Foundation$566,068878%
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center$555,00090%
The Salvation Army$269,0008n/a
Ventura County Taxpayers Foundation$200,000248%
Los Angeles Regional Food Bank$130,00030%
Somis Christian Community Church$118,4294n/a
Oc Pom Rescue$95,250426%
Friends of Robinson Gardens Inc$78,05084%
Westlake Christian Academy$70,00013%
Show all 84 grantees
All grantees of Esper A Petersen Foundation by total granted
GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
St John's Healthcare Foundation$771,000330%
Vc Colab Foundation$566,068878%
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center$555,00090%
The Salvation Army$269,0008n/a
Ventura County Taxpayers Foundation$200,000248%
Los Angeles Regional Food Bank$130,00030%
Somis Christian Community Church$118,4294n/a
Oc Pom Rescue$95,250426%
Friends of Robinson Gardens Inc$78,05084%
Westlake Christian Academy$70,00013%
The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra Society Inc$67,50061%
Animal Tracks Inc$66,25057%
The Rescue Train$60,00054%
The Foundation for Pierce College$60,00049%
New West Symphony Association$60,0001n/a
Kindred Spirits Care Farm$55,000125%
Fund for Resource Conservation$50,0001n/a
Beit T'Shuvah$45,30060%
The Leela Institute$35,50049%
The Pepper Foundation$35,00046%
Dream Fetchers$30,000326%
Burnon Inc dba Rubicon Theatre Company$30,00011%
The Nenn Foundation Inc$30,0002n/a
Lake Geneva Foundation$30,00020%
Chp 11-99 Foundation$26,0001n/a
Frosted Faces Foundation Inc$25,00030%
A Purposeful Rescue Inc$25,00031%
Shepherds Paws Animal Rescue Inc$25,000316%
Saving K9 Lives Plus Inc$22,5005n/a
Danish Home Foundation$20,00040%
Habitat for Humanity of Ventura County$20,00020%
West Los Angeles Symphony Inc$16,000411%
Help Them to Hope Inc$15,0003n/a
Critical Care Comics$15,0001n/a
Villa Esperanza Services$14,00090%
Rotary Club of Grayslake Foundation$14,0004n/a
Linda Blair World Heart Foundation$12,50031%
Ventura County Medical Resource Foundation$12,00022%
Salastina$12,00022%
Oxnard Union High School District$10,0001n/a
Cultivating Knowledge Ltd$10,0001n/a
Studio Channel Islands Art Center$10,00021%
Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation$10,00020%
Community Youth Network Inc$10,00020%
Tanka Fund$10,0001n/a
The Commemorative Air Force$10,00010%
Maltese Rescue California$10,00023%
Volunteers of America of Illinois$10,0002n/a
Meadowlark Service League$7,64522%
Beverly Hills Womens Club$6,30042%
The Danish Immigrant Museum$6,00020%
Grayslake Heritage Center Foundation$5,0001n/a
National Disaster Search Dog Foundation$5,00010%
Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Foundation$5,00010%
International Fund for Animal Welfare Inc$5,00010%
St Matthews House Inc$5,00010%
Clarematrix$5,00010%
Assistance League of Los Angeles$5,00010%
Gary Sinise Foundation$5,00010%
For the Children$5,00010%
The Joe Torre Safe at Home Foundation$5,00010%
Faith Christian School Inc$5,00011%
Bellosguardo Foundation Inc$3,5001n/a
Alzheimers Greater Los Angeles$3,00020%
California Deer Association$2,7141n/a
Friends of the Moonridge Zoo$2,50011%
Treepeople Inc$2,5001n/a
Grayslake Lions Club Foundation$2,50053%
Big Bear Valley Historical Society$2,50015%
Freedom Ride Rescue Inc$2,50011%
Camarillo Wings Association$2,50011%
Friends of Greystone$2,00021%
Ganna Walska Lotusland$2,00010%
The Library Foundation of Los Angeles$2,00020%
National Foundation for Danish America$2,0001n/a
Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills$1,5001n/a
Riley Rolph Animal Rescue Foundation Inc$1,40013%
Women's International Zionist Organization$1,00010%
St Jude Children's Research Hospital Inc$1,00010%
Museum Associates$1,00010%
Camarillo Hospice Corporation$1,00011%
One Nation Under God Christian Church$1,0001n/a
Santa Barbara Rescue Mission$1,00010%
Casa Pacifica Centers for Children & Families$58310%

What it could do for these grantees

Plus 37 recipients with no EIN on record ($1.5M), not named here.

Where it is load-bearing

Esper A Petersen Foundation supplied at least a quarter of the budget for 5 of its grantees at some point. The chart plots its 63 largest grantees; load-bearing ones sit top left.

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetSt John's Healthcare Foundation: $771,000 over 3y, 30% of budgetVc Colab Foundation: $566,068 over 8y, 78% of budgetCedars-Sinai Medical Center: $555,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetVentura County Taxpayers Foundation: $200,000 over 2y, 48% of budgetLos Angeles Regional Food Bank: $130,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetOc Pom Rescue: $95,250 over 4y, 26% of budgetFriends of Robinson Gardens Inc: $78,050 over 8y, 3.7% of budgetWestlake Christian Academy: $70,000 over 1y, 3.0% of budgetThe Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra Society Inc: $67,500 over 6y, 0.7% of budgetAnimal Tracks Inc: $66,250 over 5y, 6.5% of budgetThe Rescue Train: $60,000 over 5y, 3.9% of budgetThe Foundation for Pierce College: $60,000 over 4y, 9.1% of budgetKindred Spirits Care Farm: $55,000 over 1y, 25% of budgetBeit T'Shuvah: $45,300 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetThe Leela Institute: $35,500 over 4y, 8.6% of budgetThe Pepper Foundation: $35,000 over 4y, 6.1% of budgetDream Fetchers: $30,000 over 3y, 26% of budgetBurnon Inc dba Rubicon Theatre Company: $30,000 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetLake Geneva Foundation: $30,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetFrosted Faces Foundation Inc: $25,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetA Purposeful Rescue Inc: $25,000 over 3y, 1.1% of budgetShepherds Paws Animal Rescue Inc: $25,000 over 3y, 16% of budgetDanish Home Foundation: $20,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetHabitat for Humanity of Ventura County: $20,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetWest Los Angeles Symphony Inc: $16,000 over 4y, 11% of budgetVilla Esperanza Services: $14,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetLinda Blair World Heart Foundation: $12,500 over 3y, 1.3% of budgetVentura County Medical Resource Foundation: $12,000 over 2y, 2.3% of budgetSalastina: $12,000 over 2y, 1.8% of budgetStudio Channel Islands Art Center: $10,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetAnthony Rizzo Family Foundation: $10,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCommunity Youth Network Inc: $10,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetThe Commemorative Air Force: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMaltese Rescue California: $10,000 over 2y, 2.6% of budgetMeadowlark Service League: $7,645 over 2y, 2.0% of budgetBeverly Hills Womens Club: $6,300 over 4y, 1.7% of budgetThe Danish Immigrant Museum: $6,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetNational Disaster Search Dog Foundation: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetHoward Jarvis Taxpayers Foundation: $5,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetInternational Fund for Animal Welfare Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSt Matthews House Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetClarematrix: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetAssistance League of Los Angeles: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetGary Sinise Foundation: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFor the Children: $5,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetThe Joe Torre Safe at Home Foundation: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetFaith Christian School Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetAlzheimers Greater Los Angeles: $3,000 over 2y, 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 63.

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.

Ventura County Community FoundationCA27.3× affinity11 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Ventura County Community Foundation · California Community Foundation · The Annenberg Foundation · Conrad N Hilton Foundation · Mary Jo and Hank Greenberg Animal Welfare Foundation · Santa Barbara Foundation · Sherwood Country Club Charitable Foundation · Colburn Foundation · The Wood-Claeyssens Foundation · Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles · The Ahmanson Foundation · Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors 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.

Compare Esper A Petersen Foundation with peer funders

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Esper A Petersen Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Esper A Petersen 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.

About Esper A Petersen Foundation

How much does Esper A Petersen Foundation give?
Esper A Petersen Foundation reported 41 grants totaling $760,426 in its FY2025 IRS filing. It funded between 22 and 43 organizations a year over FY2018 to FY2024.
What does Esper A Petersen Foundation fund?
By grant dollars over FY2017 to FY2025, its largest causes are Health (32%), Philanthropy (13%), Arts & Culture (12%).
Who are Esper A Petersen Foundation's largest grantees?
By total granted over FY2017 to FY2025: St John's Healthcare Foundation ($771k), Vc Colab Foundation ($566k), Cedars-Sinai Medical Center ($555k).
Does Esper A Petersen Foundation fund new organizations?
In FY2024, 23% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
Does Esper A Petersen Foundation accept unsolicited applications?
Its most recent filing reports that it accepts unsolicited grant applications.
Which funders back the same organizations as Esper A Petersen Foundation?
Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include Ventura County Community Foundation, California Community Foundation, The Annenberg Foundation.
Where is Esper A Petersen Foundation based?
Esper A Petersen Foundation is based in IL.

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 125 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 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

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