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Essential Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Essential 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.

$52k
Granted FY2024still arriving
7
Grants FY2024still arriving
3
States reached
$15k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0194% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Education$240kReligion$147kPublic Benefit$95kHuman Services$70kPhilanthropy$31kCrime & Legal$29kRecreation & Sports$22kCommunity Improvement$20kOther$0
02FY2024 · 7 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k3 grants · $2k
  • $10k–50k4 grants · $50k
$10,000
Median grant
3
States reached
$39k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA$15,000
RISE UP INDUSTRIES$15,000
THE LEGACY - ROLF BENIRSCHKE INVITATIONAL$10,000
UNITED THROUGH READING$10,000
EASTLAKE MIDDLE SCHOOL$750
NAVY FLEET WEEK FOUNDATION$500
NASIC ASSOCIATION$300
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 (FY17–24, $18k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 93% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%GOOD TIDINGS FOUNDATION: $1k → 7%THE ROSIE NETWORK: $1k → 11%THE ROSIE NETWORK: $500 → 11%RISE UP INDUSTRIES: $15k → 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

WA
NY
OH
CA
VA
MD
TN
SC
HI
OK
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.

63%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$355k · 15 repeat orgs$204k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +34% since the first grant, against 0% for those funded once.

15 repeat relationships: 3 still active in FY2024, 12 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

15
29

Total granted

$355k
$188k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+34%
0%

Still filing today

47%
52%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 56% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $16k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
Public BenefitPhilanthropyHuman ServicesReligionInternationalEducationOther
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

  • UT
    UNITED THROUGH READING
    6× · 2017–2022 · $65k · revenue +178%
  • PL
    PRIORITY LIVING INC
    2× · 2019–2020 · $45k · revenue +12%
  • E
    Edify
    2× · 2019–2020 · $20k · revenue +111%

Funded once

  • SG
    SOVEREIGN GRACE CHURCH (AKA - CITIZENS CHURCH LA)
    one grant, 2022 · $80k
  • LL
    LEVERAGE LEADERSHIP CO PRIORITY LIVING
    one grant, 2023 · $20k
  • NM
    NAVY MARINE LEAGUE
    one grant, 2022 · $13k
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
United States Naval Institute

Provide an independent forum for those who dare to read, think, speak, and write to advance the professional, literary, and scientific understanding of sea power and other issues critical to global security.

—
2
Us Naval Academy Foundation Inc

To support, promote, and advance the mission of the naval academy.

Education
3
Naval War College Foundation Inc

Help the naval war college to: a. develop strategic and operational leaders: provide professional military education programs that are current, rigorous, relevant, and accessible to the maximum number of qualified u.s. officers and navy…

Education
4
Us Navy Memorial Foundation

The navy memorial mission is to honor, recognize and celebrate the men and women of the sea services and the important contributions made by them while serving in the united states navy, marine corps, coast guard and merchant marine. the…

Arts & Culture
5
National Science and Technology Medals Foundation Inc

The nstmf's mission is to build inclusive stem communities across the united states. fundamental to these communities are the significant, inspirational connections we foster between the individuals who have received national recognition…

—
6
Connect Foundation

Connect is an innovation instigator established to cultivate san diego's life science and tech communities. a trusted partner for more than 30 years, we propel our region's entrepreneurs as they create and scale their companies from…

Education
7
NextOp Inc

NextOp helps place talented enlisted service members and veterans into civilian careers through highly individualized preparation and an array of programming.

Public Benefit
8
The Institute of Navigation

Advancing the art and science of navigation, positioning, and timing. the institute of navigation (ion) is a membership organization incorporated in january 1967 for the purpose of advancing the art and science of navigation through…

Science & Tech
9
Naval Postgraduate School Foundation Inc

Our mission is to support the naval postgraduate school by providing funding and programmatic support for education, research, technology development, institutional initiatives, and community programs that advance national security and…

Education
10
Marines' Memorial Foundation

The mission of the foundation is to honor the legacy of military service through its programs and by its direct support of the marines' memorial association in fulfilling its mission to commemorate the sacrifices of our nation's veterans,…

Arts & Culture
11
Shield of Faith Missions

Sof is called to empower warriors to find purpose, be resilient, and live well. we develop and provide customized treatment plans for veterans through our national network of partners.

Religion
12
Institute for Shipboard Education

Journeys of discovery that spark bold solutions to global challenges.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The San Diego Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Usa Softball of Southern California Santee. 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

29 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. 29 of the 51 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)
5
Early backer (in before they grew)
27/29
Grantees still filing
18/29
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

SOVEREIGN GRACE CHURCH (AKA - CITIZENS CHURCH LA): $80,000 · OtherSOVEREIGN GRACE CHURCH (AKA - CITIZENS CHURCH LA)Individual grant recipient: $70,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientCOMMISSION ON VOLUNTARY SERVICE & ACTION: $37,738 · OtherCOMMISSION ON VOLUNTARY SERVICE & ACTIONFAMILY ID: $25,000 · OtherFAMILY IDUNITED THROUGH READING: $20,000 · OtherUNITED THROUGH READINGTHE LEGACY FOUNDATION: $20,000 · OtherTHE LEGACY FOUNDATIONLEVERAGE LEADERSHIP CO PRIORITY LIVING: $20,000 · OtherLEVERAGE LEADERSHIP CO PRIORITY LIVINGTHE LEGACY - ROLF BENIRSCHKE INVITATIONAL: $20,000 · OtherTHE LEGACY - ROLF BENIRSCHKE INVITATIONALNAVY MARINE LEAGUE: $12,500 · Other+21 more: $44,100 · Other+21 moreUNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: $202,102 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNI…SANTA FE CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS: $10,000 · Education+1 more: $5,438 · EducationUNITED THROUGH READING: $65,496 · Public BenefitUNITED THROUGH…NAVAL SUBMARINE LEAGUE: $12,500 · Public BenefitNAVAL SUBMARIN…SUPPORT THE ENLISTED PROJECT INC: $10,500 · Public BenefitSUPPORT THE EN…NAVY LEAGUE OF THE US-HONOLULU COUNCIL: $5,000 · Public BenefitROLF BENIRSCHKE LEGACY FOUNDATION: $4,000 · Public BenefitPRIORITY LIVING INC: $45,000 · Religion+1 more: $1,500 · ReligionEdify: $20,000 · InternationalWORLD VISION INC: $2,000 · InternationalJUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF GREATER HAMPTON ROADS INC: $1,000 · InternationalRise Up Industries: $15,000 · Human ServicesTHE ROSIE NETWORK INC: $1,500 · Human ServicesGOOD TIDINGS FOUNDATION: $1,300 · Human ServicesMIRAMAR NATIONAL CEMETERY SUPPORT FDN: $10,000 · PhilanthropyTHE MOVEMENT FOUNDATION INC: $1,000 · PhilanthropyTHE SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION: $1,000 · PhilanthropyBLUE ANGELS FOUNDATION INC: $500 · Philanthropy+1 more: $200 · Philanthropy
Other$349,338Education$217,540Public Benefit$97,496Religion$46,500International$23,000Human Services$17,800Philanthropy$12,700

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 budgetUNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: $202,102 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetUNITED THROUGH READING: $65,496 over 6y, 0.8% of budgetPRIORITY LIVING INC: $45,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetEdify: $20,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetRise Up Industries: $15,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetNAVAL SUBMARINE LEAGUE: $12,500 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetSUPPORT THE ENLISTED PROJECT INC: $10,500 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetMIRAMAR NATIONAL CEMETERY SUPPORT FDN: $10,000 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetSANTA FE CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS: $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetUC SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION: $5,438 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNAVY LEAGUE OF THE US-HONOLULU COUNCIL: $5,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetUSO OF METROPOLITAN NEW YORK INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetROLF BENIRSCHKE LEGACY FOUNDATION: $4,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetWORLD VISION INC: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetRISEN PROJECT FKA RISEN SON FOUNDATION: $1,500 over 1y, 6.9% of budgetTHE ROSIE NETWORK INC: $1,500 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetGOOD TIDINGS FOUNDATION: $1,300 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE MOVEMENT FOUNDATION INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetJUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF GREATER HAMPTON ROADS INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetWilliam D Lynch Foundation For Children: $1,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetTHE SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUSA SOFTBALL OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SANTEE: $500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetNaval Intelligence Professionals: $500 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetBLUE ANGELS FOUNDATION INC: $500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetALPHA PROJECT FOR THE HOMELESS: $200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCALIFORNIA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION OF SAN DIEGO: $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.

Rancho Santa Fe Found…Jewish Community Foun…The San Diego Foundat…Midway Foundation IncSempra FoundationWalter J & Betty C Za…The Parker FoundationThe Cushman FoundationPrice Philanthropies …The Nordson Corporati…The Intuit FoundationThe Blackbaud Giving …
Rancho Santa Fe FoundationCA23.6× affinity9 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Rancho Santa Fe Foundation · Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego · The San Diego Foundation · Midway Foundation Inc · Sempra Foundation · Walter J & Betty C Zable Foundation · The Parker Foundation · The Cushman Foundation · Price Philanthropies Foundation · The Nordson Corporation Foundation · The Intuit Foundation · The Blackbaud Giving Fund

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 Essential Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Essential 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%4%8%11%15%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    4report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–15%
    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 51 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 Essential’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