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Irving and Sara Selis Foundation Inc at a glance

· Private foundation

Irving and Sara Selis Foundation Inc

Its FY2020 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$1.8M
Granted FY2020
20
Grants FY2020
7
States reached
$877k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0192% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2020.

Philanthropy$1.8MArts & Culture$74kEducation$64kHealth$34kCivil Rights$10kHuman Services$6kRecreation & Sports$5kFood & Nutrition$5kOther$0
02FY2020 · 20 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2020

  • Under $10k16 grants · $33k
  • $10k–50k2 grants · $32k
  • $250k+2 grants · $1.8M
$2,300
Median grant
7
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
SELIS FAMILY FUND AT SCHWAB CHARITABLE FUND$877,070
ROBBINS FAMILY FUND AT FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND$877,070
ARTS ANGELS$20,000
COMMUNITY CENTER OF NYACK$12,000
PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF GULF COAST$5,000
NATIONAL OUTDOOR LEADERSHIP SCHOOL$4,000
ROCKLAND COUNTY PRIDE CENTER$4,000
ALMEDA COUNTY COMMUNITY FOOD BANK$3,000
FORMAN SCHOOL$3,000
CENTRAL PARK CONSERVANCY$2,300
HOUSTON FOOD BANK$2,000
Individual grant recipient$1,800
FRIENDS OF BERKELEY ANIMAL CARE SERVICES$1,000
US ASSOCIATION OF BLIND ATHLETES$1,000
JCC EAST BAY$1,000
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–20) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 51% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants spread fairly evenly across need levels.

area typical 11%ROBBINS FAMILY FUND AT FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND: $877k → 16%AVHIEVE TAHOE: $1k → 6%PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF MAR MONTE: $1k → 8%FRIENDS OF BERKELEY ANIMAL CARE SERVICES: $1k → 10%SELIS FAMILY FUND AT SCHWAB CHARITABLE FUND: $877k → 10%OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE: $1k → 14%FRIENDS OF GREEN CHIMNEYS: $3k → 6%THE EMELIN THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMI: $1k → 9%COMMUNITY CENTER OF NYACK: $12k → 14%RIVERSIDE COMSERVANCY: $2k → 17%FORDHAM UNIVERSITY: $1k → 28%HOUSTON FOOD BANK: $2k → 16%PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF SW CENTRAL FL: $7k → 9%PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF CENTRAL AND S: $7k → 11%FORMAN SCHOOL: $3k → 9%THE US ASSOCIATION OF BLIND ATHLETE: $1k → 9%KENYON COLLEGE: $1k → 12%GOOD CHEER: $5k → 24%PRINCETON UNIVERSITY: $5k → 11%NATIONAL OUTDOOR LEADERSHIP SCHOOL: $4k → 17%MAYBECK HIGH SCHOOL: $7k → 10%OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE: $1k → 14%FRIENDS OF GREEN CHIMNEYS: $3k → 6%FRIENDS OF THE MOZARTINA MUSICAL AR: $2k → 9%ARTS ANGELS co Susanna Willingham: $12k → 14%CENTRAL PARK CONSERVANCY: $2k → 17%PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF THE GULF COAS: $8k → 16%THE US ASSOCIATION OF BLIND ATHLETE: $1k → 9%PRINCETON ALUMNI CORPS: $5k → 11%NOLS: $2k → 17%MAYBECK HIGH SCHOOL: $5k → 10%ARTS ANGELS: $11k → 14%CONGREGATION EMANU-EL: $2k → 17%PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF THE GULF COAS: $5k → 16%PRINCETON UNIVERSITY: $5k → 11%COMMUNITY CENTER OF NYACK: $6k → 14%CONGREGATION EMANU-EL: $2k → 17%PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF GULF COAST: $5k → 16%PRINCETON ALUMNI CORPS: $2k → 11%ARTS ANGELS: $20k → 10%ROCKLAND COUNTY PRIDE CENTER: $4k → 14%MANHATTAN THEATRE CLUB: $13k → 17%ALMEDA COUNTY COMMUNITY FOOD BANK: $3k → 10%COMMUNITY CENTER OF NYACK: $4k → 14%MANHATTAN THEATRE CLUB: $13k → 17%ROCKLAND CITY PRIDE CENTER: $3k → 14%ROCKLAND COMMUNITY COLLEGE: $3k → 14%ROCKLAND CITY PRIDE CENTER: $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.

Which US states its grants reach

MI
NY
MA
WY
OH
NJ
CA
CO
MS
TX
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.

8%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$154k · 16 repeat orgs$1.8M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +35% since the first grant, against +10% for those funded once.

16 repeat relationships: 5 still active in FY2020, 11 since wound down; 15 grantees were first funded in FY2020 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

16
11

Total granted

$154k
$44k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+35%
+10%

Still filing today

63%
27%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2020, 2% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $1.8M went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’20
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’20
EducationArts & CultureHealthPhilanthropyEnvironmentRecreation & SportsOther
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

  • MT
    MANHATTAN THEATRE CLUB INC
    2× · 2017–2018 · $25k · revenue +35%
  • CC
    COMMUNITY CENTER OF NYACK NEW YORK INC DBA NURSERY SCHOOL OF THE NYACKS
    3× · 2017–2020 · $22k · revenue +10%
  • MH
    Maybeck High School Inc
    3× · 2017–2020 · $13k · revenue +100%

Funded once

  • AA
    ARTS ANGELS co Susanna Willingham
    one grant, 2018 · $12k
  • PP
    PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF CENTRAL AND S
    one grant, 2017 · $7k
  • PP
    PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF SW CENTRAL FL
    one grant, 2018 · $7k
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
Manhattanville University

To educate students to be ethical and socially responsible leaders in a global community.

Education
2
Dickinson College

Dickinson college provides a useful, innovative and interdisciplinary education in the liberal arts and sciences to prepare students to lead rich and fulfilling lives of engaged global citizenship

Education
3
Manhattan University

Manhattan university is an independent catholic instituion of higher learning that embraces qualified men and women of all faiths, cultures, and traditions. the mission of manhattan university is to provide a contemporary, person-centered…

Education
4
University of New Haven

The University of New Haven is a student-centered comprehensive university with an emphasis on excellence in liberal arts and professional education. Our mission is to prepare our students to lead purposeful and fulfilling lives in a…

Education
5
University Associates in Obstetrics and Gynecology University Faculty Pract ice Corporation

Provide clinical instruction to and supervision of medical school students, interns and residents and, incident thereto, rendering professional services.

Health
6
Mitchell College

Mitchell college educates students through a highly individualized educational approach that brings forward each student's potential, reveals their strengths, and fosters personal growth.

Education
7
The Public School of Germantown

Germantown academy inspires students to be independent in thought; confident in expression; compassionate in spirit; collaborative in action; and honorable in deed. germantown academy is a private school educating students from pre-k…

Education
8
Columbia College Chicago

The organization's mission is to educate students for creative occupations in diverse fields of arts and media.

Education
9
Stony Brook Ophthalmology University Faculty Practice Corporation

Provide clinical instruction to and supervision of medical school students, interns and residents and, incident thereto, rendering professional services.

Health
10
Pomona College

Throughout its history, pomona college has educated men and women of exceptional promise. we gather individuals, regardless of financial circumstances, into a small residential community that is strongly rooted in southern california yet…

Education
11
Albright College

As a diverse community of learners, we cultivate integrity, curiosity, connection and resilience.

Education
12
President and Fellows of Harvard College

Undergraduate, graduate, and professional education and research across a broad array of academic domains.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Green Chimneys Children's Service; the most unlike its peers is Friends of Berkeley Animal Care Services. 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

22 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. 22 of the 42 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)
22/22
Grantees still filing
20/22
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

SELIS FAMILY FUND AT SCHWAB CHARITABLE FUND: $877,070 · OtherSELIS FAMILY FUND AT SCHWAB CHARITABLE FUNDROBBINS FAMILY FUND AT FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND: $877,070 · OtherROBBINS FAMILY FUND AT FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND+25 more: $91,150 · OtherCOMMUNITY CENTER OF NYACK NEW YORK INC DBA NURSERY SCHOOL OF THE NYACKS: $21,800 · EducationMaybeck High School Inc: $13,000 · EducationThe Trustees of Princeton University: $10,900 · EducationOCCIDENTAL COLLEGE: $2,000 · EducationKENYON COLLEGE: $1,700 · Education+1 more: $1,200 · EducationARTS ANGELS: $31,000 · PhilanthropyTHE FRIENDS OF GREEN CHIMNEYS: $5,000 · PhilanthropyMANHATTAN THEATRE CLUB INC: $25,000 · Arts & CultureARTSROCK OF ROCKLAND INC: $1,500 · Arts & Culture+1 more: $250 · Arts & CultureROCKLAND COUNTY PRIDE CENTER INC: $10,000 · Civil RightsPlanned Parenthood Gulf Coast Inc: $5,000 · HealthPLANNED PARENTHOOD MAR MONTE INC: $1,000 · HealthNATIONAL OUTDOOR LEADERSHIP SCHOOL: $4,000 · Environment
Other$1,845,290Education$50,600Philanthropy$36,000Arts & Culture$26,750Civil Rights$10,000Health$6,000Environment$4,000

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 budgetMANHATTAN THEATRE CLUB INC: $25,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCOMMUNITY CENTER OF NYACK NEW YORK INC DBA NURSERY SCHOOL OF THE NYACKS: $21,800 over 3y, 9.7% of budgetMaybeck High School Inc: $13,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetThe Trustees of Princeton University: $10,900 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetROCKLAND COUNTY PRIDE CENTER INC: $10,000 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetTHE FRIENDS OF GREEN CHIMNEYS: $5,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetNATIONAL OUTDOOR LEADERSHIP SCHOOL: $4,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCENTRAL PARK CONSERVANCY INC: $2,300 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Houston Food Bank: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetOCCIDENTAL COLLEGE: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetKENYON COLLEGE: $1,700 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetARTSROCK OF ROCKLAND INC: $1,500 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetFordham University: $1,200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGREEN CHIMNEYS CHILDREN'S SERVICE: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFRIENDS OF BERKELEY ANIMAL CARE SERVICES: $1,000 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD MAR MONTE INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUNITED STATES ASSOCIATION OF BLIND ATHLETES INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetJEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER OF THE EAST BAY: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetINTERLOCHEN CENTER FOR THE ARTS: $250 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.

National Philanthropi…The Bank of America C…Network for GoodAmerican Online Givin…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
National Philanthropic TrustPA8.4× affinity5 shared granteesties to 6 of 6Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: National Philanthropic Trust · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Network for Good · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile 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 Irving and Sara Selis Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Irving and Sara Selis Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 11%
  • The Trustees of Princeton University: 11% of 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
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 42 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 2020, released 2020. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Irving and Sara Selis’ 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