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Esper A Petersen Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Esper A Petersen Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$760k
Granted FY2025still arriving
41
Grants FY2025still arriving
4
States reached
$155k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
01100% 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
02FY2025 · 41 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k22 grants · $83k
  • $10k–50k12 grants · $203k
  • $50k–250k7 grants · $475k
$5,000
Median grant
4
States reached
$7.0M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Schwab Charitable$154,758
Westlake Christian Academy$70,000
VC Colab Foundation$50,368
Los Angeles Opera$50,000
Cedars Sinai Medical Center$50,000
Madison Project at Santa Monica Col$50,000
Salvation Army$50,000
Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra$40,000
The Foundation for Pierce College$25,000
Nenn Foundation$25,000
Friends of Robinson Gardens$22,500
Planned Parenthood$15,000
OC Pom Rescue$15,000
Bear Valley Comm Healthcare Dist Fo$10,000
The Rescue Train$10,000
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 (FY17–25, $77k) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 86% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%Community Youth Network: $5k → 8%Community Youth Network: $5k → 8%Casa Pacifica: $583 → 10%Beverly Hills Women's Club: $5k → 14%Beverly Hills Women's Club: $500 → 14%Beverly Hills Women's Club: $400 → 14%Beverly Hills Women's Club: $400 → 14%Joe Torre Safe at Home Foundation: $5k → 14%Kindred Spirits Care Farm: $55k → 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.

Which US states its grants reach

IL
WI
NY
MA
NV
SD
IA
CA
TN
DC
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.

90%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$5.0M · 61 repeat orgs$536k to everyone else

61 repeat relationships: 33 still active in FY2025, 28 since wound down; 5 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

61
55

Total granted

$5.0M
$449k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+18%
+36%

Still filing today

62%
53%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 85% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $87k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
AnimalsArts & CultureHealthHuman ServicesHousing & ShelterEnvironmentOther
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

  • VC
    VC COLAB FOUNDATION
    8× · 2018–2025 · $566k · revenue +100% · 78% of their budget
  • CEDARS-SINAI MEDICAL CENTER
    9× · 2017–2025 · $555k · revenue +63%
  • FO
    FRIENDS OF ROBINSON GARDENS INC
    8× · 2017–2025 · $78k · revenue +31%

Funded once

  • NW
    NEW WEST SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION
    one grant, 2017 · $60k · revenue -25%
  • KS
    KINDRED SPIRITS CARE FARM
    one grant, 2022 · $55k · revenue -10%
  • FF
    FUND FOR RESOURCE CONSERVATION
    one grant, 2017 · $50k
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
California Animal Rescue and Education Sanctuary Inc

C.A.R.E.S.MISSION STATEMENT*Rescue, foster and find good homes for abandoned and homeless domestic and farm animals.*Spay/neuter abandoned and homeless cats and dogs, as well as help low income families with same.*Conduct TNR+ programs to…

—
2
Lange Foundation

Our mission is to rescue pets that have been impounded at los angeles county's 25 overcrowded public shelters - providing proper care, shelter, and then placement. we also provide pet owners with alternatives when they think they have no…

Human Services
3
Los Angeles Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

Spcala is dedicated to the prevention of cruelty to animals through education, law enforcement, intervention and advocacy.

Animals
4
Pet Orphans of Southern California

In addition to rescue and adoption, pet orphans provides a wide range of services including education, medical/financial, spay/neuter, and training assistance.

Animals
5
The California Wildlife Center

The california wildlife center (cwc) takes responsibility for the protection of all native wildlife through rehabilitiation, education and conservation. as the los angeles area's premier wildlife medical care and rehabilitation facility,…

Health
6
Kirkland Foundation

The org's mission is to rescue, nurture, and relocate at-risk animals in the ca central valley.

Human Services
7
Sante Dor Foundation

Sante DOr is a no-kill animal adoption center serving the Los Angeles community, predominantly staffed by volunteers.

Animals
8
California Labradors Retrievers & More Rescue

We will rescue labradors and retrievers, mixed and pure breed, young and old, and aswe can other breeds in need. we will provide a soft bed, safety, medical care,training, and love to rehabilitate these amazing dogs giving them a new…

Animals
9
Leave No Paws Behind Inc

Conduct animal rescues, rehabilitation and rehome senior animals abandoned to the shelter's system.

Animals
10
Humane Society of the Sierra Foothills

To prevent animal abuse and neglect, enforce the anti-cruelty laws of the State of California and promote the wellbeing of animals.

Animals
11
Community Animal Medicine Project Inc

To substantially reduce animal shelter euthanasia and intake by providing high quality, low cost veterinary services to underserved communities in the los angeles area.

Animals
12
Volunteers of the Burbank Animal Shelter

Providing a helping hand to homeless pets in our community. As an all-volunteer, 501c3 organization, we rely on donations from foundations, local businesses, and individuals like you. Join us and support our life saving programs today.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Villa Esperanza Services; the most unlike its peers is Westlake Christian Academy. 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

77 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. 77 of the 125 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.

5
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
19
Early backer (in before they grew)
74/77
Grantees still filing
51/77
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

ST JOHN'S HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION: $771,000 · OtherST JOHN'S HEALTHCARE FOUNDATIONPlanned Parenthood: $362,100 · OtherPlanned ParenthoodMadison Project at Santa Monica Col: $356,500 · OtherMadison Project at Santa Monica ColLos Angeles Opera: $320,000 · OtherLos Angeles OperaTHE SALVATION ARMY: $269,000 · OtherTHE SALVATION ARMYBear Valley Comm Healthcare Dist Fo: $155,000 · OtherLOS ANGELES REGIONAL FOOD BANK: $130,000 · OtherSOMIS CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY CHURCH: $118,429 · Other+66 more: $820,060 · Other+66 moreDONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC: $818,258 · PhilanthropyDONOR ADVISED C…+4 more: $23,500 · PhilanthropyVC COLAB FOUNDATION: $566,068 · EnvironmentVC COLAB FO…FRIENDS OF ROBINSON GARDENS INC: $78,050 · EnvironmentFRIENDS OF …+1 more: $2,500 · EnvironmentCEDARS-SINAI MEDICAL CENTER: $555,000 · HealthCEDARS-SIN…+6 more: $41,000 · Health+6 moreOC POM RESCUE: $95,250 · AnimalsANIMAL TRACKS INC: $66,250 · AnimalsTHE RESCUE TRAIN: $60,000 · AnimalsTHE PEPPER FOUNDATION: $35,000 · AnimalsDREAM FETCHERS: $30,000 · AnimalsThe Nenn Foundation Inc: $30,000 · AnimalsFROSTED FACES FOUNDATION INC: $25,000 · AnimalsA Purposeful Rescue Inc: $25,000 · AnimalsShepherds Paws Animal Rescue Inc: $25,000 · Animals+8 more: $46,614 · AnimalsVENTURA COUNTY TAXPAYERS FOUNDATION: $200,000 · Human ServicesKINDRED SPIRITS CARE FARM: $55,000 · Human ServicesCOMMUNITY YOUTH NETWORK INC: $10,000 · Human Services+4 more: $16,883 · Human ServicesTHE LOS ANGELES CHAMBER ORCHESTRA SOCIETY INC: $67,500 · Arts & CultureNEW WEST SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION: $60,000 · Arts & CultureTHE LEELA INSTITUTE: $35,500 · Arts & CultureBurnon Inc dba Rubicon Theatre Company: $30,000 · Arts & CultureSALASTINA: $12,000 · Arts & CultureSTUDIO CHANNEL ISLANDS ART CENTER: $10,000 · Arts & CultureTHE COMMEMORATIVE AIR FORCE: $10,000 · Arts & Culture+5 more: $13,500 · Arts & Culture
Other$3,302,089Philanthropy$841,758Environment$646,618Health$596,000Animals$438,114Human Services$281,883Arts & Culture$238,500

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetDONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC: $818,258 over 4y, 0.0% of 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 budgetUCLA FOUNDATION: $12,500 over 2y, 0.0% 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 budgetJewish Federation of Ventura County: $5,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetFOR THE CHILDREN: $5,000 over 1y, 0.3% 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.

  • Who funds DONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC ↗
  • Who funds ST JOHN'S HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds VC COLAB FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds CEDARS-SINAI MEDICAL CENTER ↗
  • Who funds VENTURA COUNTY TAXPAYERS FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds LOS ANGELES REGIONAL FOOD BANK ↗
  • Who funds OC POM RESCUE ↗
  • Who funds FRIENDS OF ROBINSON GARDENS INC ↗
  • Who funds WESTLAKE CHRISTIAN ACADEMY ↗
  • Who funds THE LOS ANGELES CHAMBER ORCHESTRA SOCIETY INC ↗
  • Who funds ANIMAL TRACKS INC ↗
  • Who funds THE RESCUE TRAIN ↗
  • Who funds THE FOUNDATION FOR PIERCE COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds NEW WEST SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds KINDRED SPIRITS CARE FARM ↗
  • Who funds Beit T'Shuvah ↗
  • Who funds THE LEELA INSTITUTE ↗
  • Who funds THE PEPPER FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds DREAM FETCHERS ↗
  • Who funds Burnon Inc dba Rubicon Theatre Company ↗
  • Who funds The Nenn Foundation Inc ↗
  • Who funds LAKE GENEVA FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds CHP 11-99 FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds FROSTED FACES FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds A Purposeful Rescue Inc ↗
  • Who funds Shepherds Paws Animal Rescue Inc ↗
  • Who funds DANISH HOME FOUNDATION ↗

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 Commun…California Community …The Annenberg Foundat…Conrad N Hilton Found…Mary Jo and Hank Gree…Santa Barbara Foundat…Sherwood Country Club…Colburn FoundationThe Wood-Claeyssens F…Jewish Community Foun…The Ahmanson Foundati…Kayne Anderson Capita…
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.

How much its grantees rely on government

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    1get no government money at all
    15report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely 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 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.

    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

    Play a game based on Esper A Petersen’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