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George C Karlson Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

George C Karlson Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$126k
Granted FY2025still arriving
15
Grants FY2025still arriving
4
States reached
$25k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
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.

Human Services$291kYouth Development$200kHousing & Shelter$145kEducation$133kSocial Science$125kInternational$40kPhilanthropy$31kArts & Culture$23kOther$0
02FY2025 · 15 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k8 grants · $31k
  • $10k–50k7 grants · $95k
$8,500
Median grant
4
States reached
$1.5M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
HOOVER INSTITUTION OF STANFORD UNIVERSITY$25,000
YMCA YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES$20,000
THE HUN SCHOOL OF PRINCETON$10,000
WOUNDED WARRIORS PROJECT$10,000
SEMPER FI FUND$10,000
MARINE CORPS LAW ENFORCEMENT FOUNDATION$10,000
FRIENDS OF THE IDF$10,000
SANTA BARBARA RESCUE MISSION$8,500
TRANSITION HOUSE$7,500
LOMPOC FAMILY YMCA$5,000
WOMEN'S FUND OF SANTA BARBARA$3,500
FOODBANK OF SANTA BARBARA COUNTY$2,000
CARPINTERIA CHILDREN'S PROJECT$2,000
THE CECILIA FUND$1,500
MONTECITO TRAILS FOUNDATION$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 (FY17–25, $120k) 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%WOUNDED WARRIORS PROJECT: $30k → 14%WOUNDED WARRIORS PROJECT: $15k → 14%WOUNDED WARRIORS PROJECT: $15k → 14%WOUNDED WARRIORS PROJECT: $15k → 14%WOUNDED WARRIORS PROJECT: $10k → 14%WOUNDED WARRIORS PROJECT: $10k → 14%WOUNDED WARRIORS PROJECT: $5k → 14%CHANNEL ISLANDS YMCA: $3k → 14%CHANNEL ISLANDS YMCA: $3k → 14%CHANNEL ISLANDS YMCA: $3k → 14%CHANNEL ISLANDS YMCA: $3k → 14%CHANNEL ISLANDS YMCA: $3k → 14%CHANNEL ISLANDS YMCA: $3k → 14%CHANNEL ISLANDS YMCA: $3k → 14%CHANNEL ISLANDS YMCA: $3k → 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.

97%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$923k · 17 repeat orgs$28k to everyone else

17 repeat relationships: 15 still active in FY2025, 2 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

17
5

Total granted

$923k
$28k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+70%
+130%

Still filing today

82%
80%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 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
Housing & ShelterEducationHealthHuman ServicesInternationalArts & CultureOther
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

  • SF
    SEMPER FI & AMERICA'S FUND
    8× · 2017–2025 · $110k · revenue +56%
  • WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT INC
    7× · 2017–2025 · $100k · revenue +90%
  • SANTA BARBARA RESCUE MISSION
    9× · 2017–2025 · $78k · revenue +23%

Funded once

  • CH
    CECES HOPE CENTERgraduated
    one grant, 2018 · $10k · revenue +102%
  • SB
    SANTA BARBARA NEIGHBORHOOD CLINICSgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $10k · revenue +103%
  • D
    DIGNITYMOVESgraduated
    one grant, 2024 · $5k · revenue +130%
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
Santa Barbara Foundation

The mission of the santa barbara foundation (sbf) is to mobilize collective wisdom and philanthropic capital to build empathetic, inclusive and resilient communities.

Philanthropy
2
St Francis Foundation of Santa Barbara

The mission of st. francis foundation of santa barbara is to promote and support health care.

Health
3
Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara

The scholarship foundation of santa barbara inspires, encourages and supports santa barbara county students to and through college, graduate and vocational school by providing information, advising, and scholarships.

—
4
Santa Barbara Humane Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

Santa barbara humane operates two campuses located in santa barbara and santa maria providing care for community-owned and homeless animals. both campuses offer affordable high quality veterinary care, compassionate behavior training…

Animals
5
Court Appointed Special Advocates of Santa Barbara County

To assure safe, permanent, nurturing homes for abused and/or neglected children by providing highly-trained volunteers to advocate for them in the court system of santa barbara county, california.

Civil Rights
6
Housing Trust Fund of Santa Barbara County Inc

The housing trust fund's mission is to provide affordable housing opportunities to low, moderate and middle income residents of santa barbara county.

Philanthropy
7
Santa Barbara New House

New house dedicates itself to providing a clean and sober, healthy environment that allows men with alcohol and other drug problems to begin their journey of recovery and to reclaim their dignity, self-esteem, and sense of purpose. new…

Health
8
Sutter Bay Hospitals

MISSION STATEMENT: MISSION: CARING FOR OUR PATIENTS FIRST AND OUR PEOPLE ALWAYS. VISION: TO BE THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE, INTEGRATED AND CONNECTED HEALTH SYSTEM FOR GETTING AND STAYING WELL. VALUES: EXCELLENCE - We deliver high-quality,…

Health
9
Domestic Violence Solutions for Santa Barbara County

Domestic violence solutions of santa barbara county is dedicated to providing safe harbor to all victims of domestic violence and their children throughout santa barbara county.

Human Services
10
Sutter Bay Medical Foundation

Mission statement: mission: caring for our patients first and our people always. vision: to be the most comprehensive, integrated and connected health system for getting and staying well. values: excellence - we deliver high-quality,…

Health
11
The San Diego Foundation

The san diego foundation inspires enduring philanthropy and enables community solutions to improve the quality of life in our region.

Philanthropy
12
Santa Barbara Education Foundation

Santa Barbara Education Foundation (SBEF) provides and supports programs that enrich the academic, artistic, and personal development of all students in the Santa Barbara Unified School District.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Wounded Warrior Project Inc; the most unlike its peers is Ceces Hope Center. 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

19 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. 19 of the 23 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)
6
Early backer (in before they grew)
19/19
Grantees still filing
18/19
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

YMCA YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES: $200,000 · OtherYMCA YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICESHOOVER INSTITUTION OF STANFORD UNIVERSITY: $125,000 · OtherHOOVER INSTITUTION OF STANFORD UNIVERSITYLOMPOC FAMILY YMCA: $40,000 · OtherLOMPOC FAMILY YMCAOUR RESCUE: $22,500 · OtherFoodbank of Santa Barbara County Inc: $17,000 · Other+5 more: $27,500 · Other+5 moreSANTA BARBARA RESCUE MISSION: $77,500 · Housing & ShelterSANTA BARBARA RE…TRANSITION HOUSE: $62,500 · Housing & ShelterTRANSITION HOUSEDIGNITYMOVES: $5,000 · Housing & ShelterTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $70,000 · EducationTHE BOARD OF T…THE HUN SCHOOL OF PRINCETON: $30,000 · EducationTHE HUN SCHOOL…MARINE CORPS-LAW ENFORCEMENT FOUNDA FOUNDATION INC: $20,000 · EducationMARINE CORPS-L…CARPINTERIA CHILDREN'S PROJECT: $12,500 · EducationCARPINTERIA CH…SEMPER FI & AMERICA'S FUND: $110,000 · HealthSEMPER FI & A…SANTA BARBARA NEIGHBORHOOD CLINICS: $10,000 · HealthSANTA BARBARA…WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT INC: $100,000 · Human ServicesWOUNDED WARRI…Channel Islands Young Men's Christian Association: $20,000 · Human ServicesChannel Islan…FRIENDS OF THE ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES: $40,000 · InternationalWOMEN'S FUND OF SANTA BARBARA: $31,000 · Philanthropy
Other$432,000Housing & Shelter$145,000Education$132,500Health$120,000Human Services$120,000International$40,000Philanthropy$31,000

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 budgetSEMPER FI & AMERICA'S FUND: $110,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetWOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT INC: $100,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetSANTA BARBARA RESCUE MISSION: $77,500 over 9y, 0.5% of budgetTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $70,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTRANSITION HOUSE: $62,500 over 9y, 0.2% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES: $40,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetWOMEN'S FUND OF SANTA BARBARA: $31,000 over 6y, 1.3% of budgetTHE HUN SCHOOL OF PRINCETON: $30,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetOUR RESCUE: $22,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetMARINE CORPS-LAW ENFORCEMENT FOUNDA FOUNDATION INC: $20,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetChannel Islands Young Men's Christian Association: $20,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetFoodbank of Santa Barbara County Inc: $17,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetCARPINTERIA CHILDREN'S PROJECT: $12,500 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetTHE CECILIA FUND: $10,500 over 6y, 2.4% of budgetCECES HOPE CENTER: $10,000 over 1y, 10% of budgetSANTA BARBARA NEIGHBORHOOD CLINICS: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetDIGNITYMOVES: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMONTECITO TRAILS FOUNDATION: $4,500 over 8y, 0.6% of budgetSANTA BARBARA COUNTY TRAILS COUNCIL: $1,000 over 1y, 0.8% 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 SEMPER FI & AMERICA'S FUND ↗
  • Who funds WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT INC ↗
  • Who funds SANTA BARBARA RESCUE MISSION ↗
  • Who funds THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds TRANSITION HOUSE ↗
  • Who funds FRIENDS OF THE ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES ↗
  • Who funds WOMEN'S FUND OF SANTA BARBARA ↗
  • Who funds THE HUN SCHOOL OF PRINCETON ↗
  • Who funds OUR RESCUE ↗
  • Who funds MARINE CORPS-LAW ENFORCEMENT FOUNDA FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds Channel Islands Young Men's Christian Association ↗
  • Who funds Foodbank of Santa Barbara County Inc ↗
  • Who funds CARPINTERIA CHILDREN'S PROJECT ↗
  • Who funds THE CECILIA FUND ↗
  • Who funds CECES HOPE CENTER ↗
  • Who funds SANTA BARBARA NEIGHBORHOOD CLINICS ↗
  • Who funds DIGNITYMOVES ↗
  • Who funds MONTECITO TRAILS FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds SANTA BARBARA COUNTY TRAILS COUNCIL ↗

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.

Hutton Foundation Dba…Santa Barbara Foundat…Women's Fund of Santa…Williams-Corbett Foun…The M and M FoundationThe John C Mithun Fou…The Crawford Idema Fa…La Centra-Sumerlin Fo…June G Outhwaite Char…James S Bower Foundat…Patricia Bragg Founda…Ann Jackson Family Fo…
Hutton Foundation Dba Hutton Parker FoundationCA19.9× affinity7 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Hutton Foundation Dba Hutton Parker Foundation · Santa Barbara Foundation · Women's Fund of Santa Barbara · Williams-Corbett Foundation · The M and M Foundation · The John C Mithun Foundation · The Crawford Idema Family Foundation Inc · La Centra-Sumerlin Foundation · June G Outhwaite Charitable Trust JS Poucher KL Englert & CM Cooney Co-Tr · James S Bower Foundation · Patricia Bragg Foundation · Ann Jackson Family 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 George C Karlson Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from George C Karlson 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%15%30%45%60%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • Wounded Warrior Project Inc: 0% of income from government
  • The Hun School of Princeton: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
5report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–60%
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 23 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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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