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Jw Sefton Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Jw Sefton 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.

$1.3M
Granted FY2025still arriving
7
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$425k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
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.

Arts & Culture$4.5MScience & Tech$2.2MAnimals$1.1MEnvironment$978kRecreation & Sports$925kEducation$831kHealth$245kPhilanthropy$222kOther$0
02FY2025 · 7 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • $10k–50k1 grant · $35k
  • $50k–250k4 grants · $490k
  • $250k+2 grants · $800k
$130,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$20M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
SAN DIEGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM$425,000
FOREVER BALBOA PARK$375,000
HUBBS-SEA WORLD RESEARCH INSTITUTE$145,000
LIVING COAST DISCOVERY CENTER$130,000
SAN DIEGO HUMANE SOCIETY$125,000
THE SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION$90,000
EMILIO NARES FOUNDATION$35,000
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 (FY17–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 100% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA: $100k → 9%ELEMENTARY INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE: $200k → 11%ELEMENTARY INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE: $175k → 11%ELEMENTARY INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE: $150k → 11%ELEMENTARY INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE: $100k → 11%SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY: $225k → 11%SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY: $181k → 11%SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY: $175k → 11%LIVING COAST DISCOVERY CENTER: $130k → 11%LIVING COAST DISCOVERY CENTER: $100k → 11%LIVING COAST DISCOVERY CENTER: $100k → 11%LIVING COAST DISCOVERY CENTER: $100k → 11%SAN DIEGO HUMANE SOCIETY: $375k → 11%SAN DIEGO HUMANE SOCIETY: $125k → 11%SAN DIEGO HUMANE SOCIETY: $100k → 11%SAN DIEGO HUMANE SOCIETY: $100k → 11%SAN DIEGO HUMANE SOCIETY: $100k → 11%SAN DIEGO HUMANE SOCIETY: $100k → 11%OCEAN DISCOVERY INSTITUTE: $300k → 11%OCEAN DISCOVERY INSTITUTE: $200k → 11%OCEAN DISCOVERY INSTITUTE: $200k → 11%OCEAN DISCOVERY INSTITUTE: $175k → 11%OCEAN DISCOVERY INSTITUTE: $170k → 11%HUBBS-SEA WORLD RESEARCH INSTITUTE: $150k → 11%HUBBS-SEA WORLD RESEARCH INSTITUTE: $145k → 11%OCEAN DISCOVERY INSTITUTE: $130k → 11%OCEAN DISCOVERY INSTITUTE: $100k → 11%HUBBS-SEA WORLD RESEARCH INSTITUTE: $100k → 11%OCEAN DISCOVERY INSTITUTE: $100k → 11%HUBBS-SEA WORLD RESEARCH INSTITUTE: $100k → 11%SAN DIEGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM: $625k → 11%SAN DIEGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM: $507k → 11%SAN DIEGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM: $500k → 11%SAN DIEGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM: $500k → 11%SAN DIEGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM: $500k → 11%SAN DIEGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM: $425k → 11%SAN DIEGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM: $425k → 11%SAN DIEGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM: $425k → 11%SAN DIEGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM: $425k → 11%FOREVER BALBOA PARK: $375k → 11%FOREVER BALBOA PARK: $250k → 11%FRIENDS OF BALBOA PARK: $200k → 11%SAN DIEGO POLICE FOUNDATION: $140k → 11%REUBEN H FLEET SCIENCE CENTER: $100k → 11%ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF SAN DIEGO: $100k → 11%REUBEN H FLEET SCIENCE CENTER: $100k → 11%REUBEN H FLEET SCIENCE CENTER: $90k → 11%EMILIO NARES FOUNDATION: $95k → 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.
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.

98%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$11M · 13 repeat orgs$215k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +37% since the first grant, against 0% for those funded once.

13 repeat relationships: 6 still active in FY2025, 7 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

13
5

Total granted

$11M
$215k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+37%
0%

Still filing today

85%
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
AnimalsArts & CultureCrime & LegalEducationReligionEnvironmentOther
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

  • SD
    SAN DIEGO SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY
    9× · 2017–2025 · $4.3M · revenue +48%
  • OD
    OCEAN DISCOVERY INSTITUTE
    8× · 2017–2024 · $1.4M · revenue +48%
  • SD
    SAN DIEGO HUMANE SOCIETY AND SPCA
    7× · 2017–2025 · $985k · revenue +134%

Funded once

  • ZS
    ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF SAN DIEGO
    one grant, 2024 · $100k · revenue 0%
  • BM
    BONITA MUSEUM & CULTURAL CENTER
    one grant, 2018 · $55k
  • PL
    Presidio Little League
    one grant, 2023 · $25k · revenue +14%
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
San Diego Coasters
Arts & Culture
2
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
—
3
San Diego Double Ten Committee
Arts & Culture
4
Nature Collective

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…

Environment
5
Quail Botanical Gardens Foundation

The mission of san diego botanic garden: we garden to create, share, and apply plant wisdom in our world. the organization's diverse topography and wide variety of microclimates provides visitors with the varied sensations of strolling…

Environment
6
San Diego Bird Alliance

Together we defend the regions birds, unique biodiversity and threatened habitats through advocacy, education and restoration.

Environment
7
Balboa Park Conservancy

Balboa Park Conservancy (the Conservancy) was organized on November 3, 1923. The Conservancy is the City of San Diegos (the City) partner and advocated for the greater good of Balboa Park (the Park). The Conservancy collaborated with and…

—
8
San Diego Parks Foundation

To improve the quality of life of communities throughout the city of San Diego through equitable investments in parks, greenspace, and recreational opportunities.Vison - Every San Diegan has access to quality recreational facilities as…

Recreation & Sports
9
The Balboa Island Legacy Alliance
Community Improvement
10
San Diego Crime Commission

Law enforcement agencies in today's environment find it difficult to cope with the magnitude of crime without the involved support of business, media and community. Since 1981, the San Diego County Crime Commission has built public…

—
11
San Diego Automotive Museum

The Museum functions as an educational and cultural institutionexercising community responsibility for the preservation of the automotive arts and sciences

Arts & Culture
12
Schmidt Ocean Institute
Science & Tech
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The San Diego Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Emilio Nares Foundation. 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

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 19 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.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
1
Early backer (in before they grew)
16/16
Grantees still filing
12/16
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

SAN DIEGO SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY: $4,332,000 · Arts & CultureSAN DIEGO SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY+1 more: $70,000 · Arts & CultureSAN DIEGO HUMANE SOCIETY AND SPCA: $985,000 · AnimalsSAN DIEGO HUMAN…HUBBS-SEA WORLD RESEARCH INSTITUTE: $495,000 · AnimalsHUBBS-SEA WORLD…ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF SAN DIEGO: $100,000 · AnimalsZOOLOGICAL SOCI…OCEAN DISCOVERY INSTITUTE: $1,375,000 · EducationOCEAN DISCOVE…SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY: $654,209 · OtherSAN DIEGO STATE UN…REUBEN H FLEET SCIENCE CENTER: $290,000 · OtherREUBEN H FLEET SCI…BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA: $175,000 · OtherBOY SCOUTS OF AMER…Emilio Nares Foundation: $245,000 · OtherEmilio Nares Found…THE SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION: $212,000 · OtherTHE SAN DIEGO FOUN…SAN DIEGO POLICE FOUNDATION: $170,000 · OtherSAN DIEGO POLICE F…+4 more: $115,000 · Other+4 moreFOREVER BALBOA PARK: $900,000 · ReligionFOREVER B…ELEMENTARY INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE: $649,304 · Science & TechLIVING COAST DISCOVERY CENTER: $505,000 · Environment
Arts & Culture$4,402,000Animals$1,580,000Education$1,375,000Other$1,861,209Religion$900,000Science & Tech$649,304Environment$505,000

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 budgetSAN DIEGO SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY: $4,332,000 over 9y, 5.7% of budgetOCEAN DISCOVERY INSTITUTE: $1,375,000 over 8y, 7.5% of budgetSAN DIEGO HUMANE SOCIETY AND SPCA: $985,000 over 7y, 0.6% of budgetFOREVER BALBOA PARK: $900,000 over 5y, 8.6% of budgetELEMENTARY INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE: $649,304 over 5y, 17% of budgetLIVING COAST DISCOVERY CENTER: $505,000 over 5y, 6.3% of budgetHUBBS-SEA WORLD RESEARCH INSTITUTE: $495,000 over 4y, 2.9% of budgetREUBEN H FLEET SCIENCE CENTER: $290,000 over 3y, 1.7% of budgetEmilio Nares Foundation: $245,000 over 5y, 6.8% of budgetTHE SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION: $212,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetSAN DIEGO POLICE FOUNDATION: $170,000 over 2y, 10% of budgetZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF SAN DIEGO: $100,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE PUTNAM FOUNDATION DBA TIMKEN MUSEUM OF ART: $70,000 over 2y, 2.5% of budgetSan Diego Police Canine Association: $25,000 over 1y, 93% of budgetCatalyst of San Diego & Imperial Counties: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% 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.

Sempra FoundationPrice Philanthropies …The Conrad Prebys Fou…Jewish Community Foun…The San Diego Foundat…Walter J & Betty C Za…Heller Foundation of …The Thomas C Ackerman…Pratt Memorial FundDavid C Copley Founda…Rancho Santa Fe Found…The Nordson Corporati…
Sempra FoundationCA28.1× affinity12 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Sempra Foundation · Price Philanthropies Foundation · The Conrad Prebys Foundation · Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego · The San Diego Foundation · Walter J & Betty C Zable Foundation · Heller Foundation of San Diego · The Thomas C Ackerman Foundation · Pratt Memorial Fund · David C Copley Foundation · Rancho Santa Fe Foundation · The Nordson Corporation 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 Jw Sefton Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Jw Sefton Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%10%20%30%40%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    6report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–40%
    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.
    05Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to Jw Sefton Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Jw Sefton Foundation through trustees and officers whose names appear on both boards. Search for your organization and Plinth traces the shortest route it can evidence.

    Each link is a name appearing on two organizations’ public IRS 990 filings, matched on that name and, where the filings support it, on location. A same-state match has geographic support, which is a second matching feature rather than confirmation that the two are one person; a cross-state one is the likeliest to be two people who share a name. Every hop shows its tier, low-confidence and distant paths are held back rather than guessed, and it is worth confirming the person before you use the introduction.

    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 19 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 Jw Sefton’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