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Gerson Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Gerson Family 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.

$256k
Granted FY2025still arriving
23
Grants FY2025still arriving
5
States reached
$50k
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 2024.

Arts & Culture$411kPhilanthropy$355kEducation$158kHealth$121kYouth Development$68kInternational$47kHuman Services$31kEnvironment$24kOther$0
02FY2025 · 23 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k13 grants · $42k
  • $10k–50k9 grants · $164k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $50k
$5,000
Median grant
5
States reached
$2.0M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
JEWISH FEDERATION OF METROPOLITAN DETROIT$50,000
DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA$37,500
THE CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION$25,000
CRANBROOK CENTER FOR COLLECTIONS & RESEARCH (HOUSE PARTY)$25,000
DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS$16,000
YESHIVA BETH YEHUDAH$15,000
THE ZEKELMAN HOLOCAUST CENTER$15,000
WDET - COLORS OF DETROIT$10,000
YALE UNIVERSITY$10,000
MICHIGAN HUMANE SOCIETY$10,000
NF FORWARD BENEFIT XI$5,000
ORT AMERICA$5,000
BUFFALO PRESCOTT FOUNDATION$5,000
BASBLUE INC$5,000
NATIONAL MUSIC INSTITUTE$5,000
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, $30k) land where the poverty rate runs at 16%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 73% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%BIG CAT RESCUE: $1k → 13%BIG CAT RESCUE: $1k → 13%BIG CAT RESCUE: $1k → 13%BIG CAT RESCUE: $1k → 13%BIG CAT RESCUE: $1k → 13%BIG CAT RESCUE: $1k → 13%JEWISH FAMILY SERVICE: $1k → 8%JEWISH FAMILY SERVICE: $1k → 8%STARFISH FAMILY SERVICES: $3k → 21%THE EMPOWERMENT PLAN: $1k → 21%THE EMPOWERMENT PLAN: $1k → 21%JSL FOUNDATION: $5k → 8%CHILD SAFE MICHIGAN: $1k → 8%BASBLUE INC: $5k → 21%BASBLUE INC: $5k → 21%THE EMPOWERMENT PLAN: $1k → 21%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
MI
NY
CT
UT
MD
DC
GA
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.

86%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$991k · 29 repeat orgs$155k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +14% since the first grant, against 0% for those funded once.

29 repeat relationships: 16 still active in FY2025, 13 since wound down; 6 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

29
22

Total granted

$991k
$133k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+14%
0%

Still filing today

69%
50%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 89% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $22k 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
Arts & CultureHealthHuman ServicesAnimalsInternationalFood & NutritionOther
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

  • THE DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS
    6× · 2020–2025 · $271k · revenue +14%
  • CRANBROOK EDUCATIONAL COMMUNITY
    5× · 2019–2023 · $90k · revenue +13%
  • WI
    WASHINGTON INSTITUTE FOR NEAR EAST POLICY
    3× · 2022–2024 · $45k · revenue +22%

Funded once

  • RO
    REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
    one grant, 2024 · $20k
  • UO
    U OF M-FISHER EGYPTOLOGY RESEARCH FUND
    one grant, 2018 · $20k
  • CS
    CRANBROOK SCHOOL
    one grant, 2017 · $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
Detroit Historical Society

The Detroit Historical Society tells Detroit's stories and why they matter through its exhibits, programs, outreach, and the preservation and dissemination of its artifacts and collections.

Arts & Culture
2
The Jewish Fund

The jewish fund is organized and operates exclusively for charitable, educational, and religious purposes. the fund's primary activities are: supporting a jewish health care mission in the greater detroit area and michigan; promotion of…

Philanthropy
3
Business Leaders for Michigan Foundation

Business leaders for michigan is a nonprofit, nonpartisan statewide organization driven by ceos from the state's leading employers, all working toward a shared goal: making michigan a top 10 state for jobs, talent and a thriving economy.…

Community Improvement
4
Business Leaders for Michigan

Business leaders for michigan is a nonprofit, nonpartisan statewide organization driven by ceos from the state's leading employers, all working toward a shared goal: making michigan a top 10 state for jobs, talent and a thriving economy.…

—
5
Detroit Regional Chamber

The chamber is the voice for business and works to power the economy for southeast michigan through public policy, advocacy and leading regional economic development and talent initiatives.

—
6
Delta Dental Fund

Delta dental fund's mission is to improve the oral health of the public and to advance dental science and the dental profession through research and education.

—
7
United Jewish Foundation

The united jewish foundation of detroit owns, manages and invests jewish communal assets, including general and endowment funds, agency endowments, supporting foundations and real property. the foundation is committed to ensuring that…

Philanthropy
8
Michigan Enviromental Council

Informing and educating the public and decision makers about environmental issues.

Environment
9
Michigan Biotechnology Institute

Bridging the gap between early-stage innovation and commercial application. partnering to de-risk, develop and scale-up discoveries into commercially-viable technology packages.

Education
10
Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States Inc

The fsmb serves as the voice for state medical boards, supporting them through education, assessment, research and advocacy while providing services and initiatives that promote patient safety, quality health care and regulatory best…

Health
11
Michigan Farm Bureau

Michigan farm bureau (mfb) is a member directed agricultural organization whose purpose is to represent, protect, and enhance the business, economic, social, and educational interests of our members located throughout the state of michigan.

—
12
Minneapolis Jewish Federation

Minneapolis jewish federation is a nonprofit organization that promotes a culture of philanthropy, leverages resources to meet local and global jewish needs, and facilitates community planning to ensure a thriving and secure future.

Philanthropy
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Jewish Federation of Detroit; the most unlike its peers is The Emergency Animal Relief Foundation 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 59 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)
3
Early backer (in before they grew)
38/38
Grantees still filing
21/38
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS: $270,500 · Arts & CultureTHE DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTSDETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC: $116,500 · Arts & CultureDETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INCHOLOCAUST MEMORIAL CENTER INC: $41,800 · Arts & CultureHOLOCAUST MEMORIAL CENTER INCDETROIT OPERA: $20,000 · Arts & Culture+3 more: $17,500 · Arts & CultureJEWISH FEDERATION OF DETROIT: $305,000 · PhilanthropyJEWISH FEDERATION OF DETROITHOPEWELL FUND: $100,000 · PhilanthropyHOPEWELL FUND+2 more: $6,800 · PhilanthropyTHE CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION: $92,500 · OtherTHE CHILDREN'S FOUNDATIONYALE UNIVERSITY: $30,000 · OtherYALE UNIVERSITYCRANBROOK CENTER FOR COLLECTIONS & RESEARCH (HOUSE PARTY): $30,000 · OtherCRANBROOK CENTER FOR COLLECTI…REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: $20,000 · OtherU OF M-FISHER EGYPTOLOGY RESEARCH FUND: $20,000 · OtherYESHIVATH BETH YEHUDAH: $20,000 · OtherORT AMERICA INC: $15,400 · OtherNF FORWARD BENEFIT XI: $15,000 · OtherDETROIT RIVERFRONT CONSERVANCY INC: $15,000 · Other+21 more: $151,600 · Other+21 moreBEAUMONT HEALTH FOUNDATION: $40,000 · HealthCHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF MICHIGAN FOUNDATION: $30,000 · HealthPLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC: $10,500 · HealthMARCH OF DIMES INC: $7,500 · Health+3 more: $7,500 · HealthCRANBROOK EDUCATIONAL COMMUNITY: $90,000 · EducationWASHINGTON INSTITUTE FOR NEAR EAST POLICY: $45,000 · InternationalFRIENDS OF ELNET: $2,000 · International+1 more: $1,000 · InternationalBASBLUE INC: $10,000 · Human ServicesBIG CAT RESCUE CORP: $6,000 · Human ServicesJSL FOUNDATION: $5,000 · Human ServicesTHE EMPOWERMENT PLAN: $3,000 · Human ServicesSTARFISH FAMILY SERVICES INC: $2,500 · Human ServicesJEWISH FAMILY SERVICE: $2,000 · Human ServicesCHILD SAFE MICHIGAN: $1,000 · Human Services
Arts & Culture$466,300Philanthropy$411,800Other$409,500Health$95,500Education$90,000International$48,000Human Services$29,500

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 budgetJEWISH FEDERATION OF DETROIT: $305,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetTHE DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS: $270,500 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetDETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC: $116,500 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetHOPEWELL FUND: $100,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCRANBROOK EDUCATIONAL COMMUNITY: $90,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetWASHINGTON INSTITUTE FOR NEAR EAST POLICY: $45,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetHOLOCAUST MEMORIAL CENTER INC: $41,800 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetBEAUMONT HEALTH FOUNDATION: $40,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF MICHIGAN FOUNDATION: $30,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetDETROIT OPERA: $20,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetORT AMERICA INC: $15,400 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetDETROIT RIVERFRONT CONSERVANCY INC: $15,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetFORGOTTEN HARVEST INC: $12,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMICHIGAN HUMANE SOCIETY: $11,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC: $10,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCABARET 313 INC: $10,500 over 3y, 2.1% of budgetUniversity of Michigan: $10,000 over 1y, 4.8% of budgetBASBLUE INC: $10,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetROYAL AFRICAN FOUNDATION INC: $9,600 over 3y, 1.0% of budgetMARCH OF DIMES INC: $7,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBIG CAT RESCUE CORP: $6,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetJSL FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetHENRY FORD ESTATE: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE EMPOWERMENT PLAN: $3,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetFESTIVAL OF TREES INC: $3,000 over 3y, 1.1% of budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD OF MICHIGAN: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSTARFISH FAMILY SERVICES INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetJEWISH FAMILY SERVICE: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetALZHEIMER'S DISEASE & RELATED DISORDERS ASSOCIATION INC: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFRIENDS OF ELNET: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFILM AT LINCOLN CENTER INC: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHEBREW FREE LOAN ASSOCIATION: $1,800 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE EMERGENCY ANIMAL RELIEF FOUNDATION INC: $1,000 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetCHILD SAFE MICHIGAN: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetDETROIT ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGLEANERS COMMUNITY FOOD BANK OF SOUTHEASTERN MICHIGAN: $1,000 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.

  • Who funds JEWISH FEDERATION OF DETROIT ↗
  • Who funds THE DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS ↗
  • Who funds DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC ↗
  • Who funds HOPEWELL FUND ↗
  • Who funds CRANBROOK EDUCATIONAL COMMUNITY ↗
  • Who funds WASHINGTON INSTITUTE FOR NEAR EAST POLICY ↗
  • Who funds HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds BEAUMONT HEALTH FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF MICHIGAN FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds DETROIT OPERA ↗
  • Who funds ORT AMERICA INC ↗
  • Who funds DETROIT RIVERFRONT CONSERVANCY INC ↗
  • Who funds FORGOTTEN HARVEST INC ↗
  • Who funds MICHIGAN HUMANE SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC ↗
  • Who funds CABARET 313 INC ↗
  • Who funds University of Michigan ↗
  • Who funds BASBLUE INC ↗
  • Who funds ROYAL AFRICAN FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds MARCH OF DIMES INC ↗
  • Who funds BIG CAT RESCUE CORP ↗
  • Who funds BUFFALO PRESCOTT FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds JSL 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.

Ford PhilanthropyCommunity Foundation …Edward C and Linda Dr…United Jewish Foundat…DTE Energy FoundationKarp Family FoundationHarold and Penny B Bl…Malcolm and Beth Lowe…The Eugene Applebaum …The Gregg and Harriet…The Irving and Ethel …Grosfeld Foundation
Ford PhilanthropyMI19.6× affinity7 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Ford Philanthropy · Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan · Edward C and Linda Dresner Levy Foundation · United Jewish Foundation · DTE Energy Foundation · Karp Family Foundation · Harold and Penny B Blumenstein Foundation Corporation · Malcolm and Beth Lowenstein Foundation · The Eugene Applebaum Family Foundation · The Gregg and Harriet Orley Family Foundation · The Irving and Ethel Palman Foundation · Grosfeld 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 Gerson Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Gerson Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%0%1%3%5%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
    9report 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.

    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 59 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 Gerson 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