· Private foundation
Institute for Law & Systems Research
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.
What it funded, over time
Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.
Where the money goes
Grants by size, and the largest recipients.
By grant size · FY2024
- Under $10k5 grants · $12k
- $10k–50k1 grant · $26k
- $50k–250k1 grant · $100k
| Recipient | Amount |
|---|---|
| NORTHWEST SCHOOL OF WOODEN BOAT BUI | $100,000 |
| SAN DIEGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM | $25,950 |
| SYNERGY ARTS FOUNDATION | $5,025 |
| VOLCAN MOUNTAIN FOUNDATION | $3,000 |
| COMMUNITY BOAT PROJECT | $2,000 |
| KPBS | $1,200 |
| ELDERHELP OF SAN DIEGO | $1,000 |
Does the money reach high-need areas?
Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.
Its human-services grants (FY20–24, $7k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, 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.
How this is measured
How this is measured
Where the work is directed
The same grants placed two ways: where each recipient sits, and where its stated purpose sends the money.
About 51% of Institute for Law & Systems Research’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address. By recipient address, 45% of the giving stays in CA; by stated purpose, 41%.
How this is measured
Who it funds again
Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.
Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +48% since the first grant, against +5% for those funded once.
12 repeat relationships: 6 still active in FY2024, 6 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).
How the two cohorts compare
Organizations
Total granted
Median revenue growth · since first grant
Still filing today
New vs renewed · share of each year
In FY2024, 96% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $5k went to new ones.
Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant
How this is measured
Backed again, and grew
- NSNorthwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding8× · 2017–2024 · $337k · revenue +82%
- SDSAN DIEGO SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY7× · 2017–2024 · $143k · revenue +48%
- VMVOLCAN MOUNTAIN FOUNDATION7× · 2017–2024 · $45k · revenue +513%
Funded once
- CCCanebrake County Water Districtone grant, 2017 · $40k
- SJSOUTHWESTERN JUNIOR FOUNDATIONone grant, 2023 · $20k · revenue -32% · 49% of their budget
- DODIGNITY OF MAN FOUNDATIONone grant, 2017 · $7k · revenue -89%
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.
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.
Nature collective's mission is to drive a passion for nature for all. we think inclusively and diversely when serving those devoid of nature those who remember nature and want to connect back to it and those who have an affinity with…
Sustainable Conservation advances the collaborative stewardship of Californias land, air, and water for the benefit of nature and people. For over three decades, Sustainable Conservation has built coalitions of people with different…
Acquire, manage and protect land in perpetuity that supports sensitive habitats and species, and to educate and inspire people and communities as stewards and advocates of their natural environment.
San diego zoo wildlife alliance is committed to saving species worldwide by uniting our expertise in wildlife care and conservation science with our dedication to inspiring passion for nature.
Together we defend the regions birds, unique biodiversity and threatened habitats through advocacy, education and restoration.
The San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory is dedicated to the conservation of birds and their habitats through science and outreach.
California ocean science trust (ost) is a non-profit organization dedicated to accelerating progress towards a healthy and productive ocean future for california. created by state legislation, ost bridges the gap between cutting-edge…
The institute is dedicated to scientific research, the results of which are used to promote public awareness and education in the areas of conservation biology and ecology,including the wise use of natural resources.
To promote, protect and restore the natural habitats in San Diego County's canyons and creeks. We do this by fostering education and ongoing community involvement in stewardship and advocacy, and by collaborating with other organizations.
The Chile-California Council is a San Francisco-based nonprofit dedicated to developing and promoting joint endeavors and cooperative relations between Chile and California, as well as individuals, legal entities and other institutions in…
How this is measured
16 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. 16 of the 27 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.
Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee
Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing
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 Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding ↗
- Who funds SAN DIEGO SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY ↗
- Who funds VOLCAN MOUNTAIN FOUNDATION ↗
- Who funds SOLAR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL ↗
- Who funds THE MONO LAKE FOUNDATION ↗
- Who funds SOUTHWESTERN JUNIOR FOUNDATION ↗
- Who funds ELDERHELP OF SAN DIEGO ↗
- Who funds DIGNITY OF MAN FOUNDATION ↗
- Who funds WILDCOAST ↗
- Who funds SAN DIEGO RESCUE MISSION INC ↗
- Who funds COOPERATIVE FOR ASSISTANCE AND RELIEF EVERYWHERE INC ↗
- Who funds JACOBS & CUSHMAN SAN DIEGO FOOD BANK ↗
- Who funds CLIMATE ACTION CAMPAIGN ↗
- Who funds WILD FISH CONSERVANCY ↗
- Who funds Academy of Music for the Blind ↗
- Who funds CHILDREN OF THE NATIONS ↗
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.
Open a dossier: Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego · The San Diego Foundation · Orange County Community Foundation · Sempra Foundation · American Endowment Foundation · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Network for Good · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc
How this is measured
How much its grantees rely on government
Each dot is one organization Institute for Law & Systems Research funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Institute for Law & Systems Research. Bigger dots raise more.
How this is measured
Play a game based on Institute for Law & Systems Research’s filings →