Skip to content
Karen Stirling Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Karen Stirling Family Foundation

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.

$127k
Granted FY2024still arriving
13
Grants FY2024still arriving
7
States reached
$35k
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 2024.

Animals$240kPhilanthropy$148kHealth$83kHuman Services$49kReligion$43kInternational$40kArts & Culture$39kEducation$38kOther$0
02FY2024 · 13 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k8 grants · $22k
  • $10k–50k5 grants · $105k
$5,000
Median grant
7
States reached
$2.2M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
AFRICAN OYSTER TRUST$35,000
UNITED CHARITABLE$25,000
LITTLE BOOST PRESS INC$25,000
SONGS OF LOVE FOUNDATION$10,000
WOODLANDS WILDLIFE REFUGE INC$10,000
BROKEN SOULS RESCUE AND RECOVERY INC$5,000
UNCHAINED AT LAST$5,000
SPARTA COMMUNITY FOOD PANTRY INC$5,000
BLANCHET HOUSE OF HOSPITALITY$2,000
SANDY HOOK PROMISE FOUNDATION$2,000
SKYLANDS ANIMAL SANCTUARY AND RESCUE$2,000
THE CHILDRENS HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA FOUNDATION$1,000
SPARTA AMBULANCE SERVICE INC$300
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.

US giving: 73% of grant dollars ($555k). The need read here covers only this US portion; the 27% that went abroad ($210k) is mapped below.

show:

Its human-services grants (FY17–24, $80k) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 90% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%SONGS OF LOVE FOUNDATION: $20k → 13%UNCHAINED AT LAST: $5k → 10%FAIRY GODMOTHER PROJECT: $2k → 15%SONGS OF LOVE FOUNDATION: $10k → 13%SONGS OF LOVE FOUNDATION: $10k → 13%SONGS OF LOVE FOUNDATION: $10k → 13%SONGS OF LOVE FOUNDATION: $10k → 13%SONGS OF LOVE FOUNDATION: $5k → 13%SONGS OF LOVE FOUNDATION: $5k → 13%PROJECT SELF-SUFFICIENCY OF SUSSEX COUNTY INC: $3k → 6%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

MN
IL
WI
NY
OR
PA
NJ
CT
CA
MO
WV
VA
MD
DC
LA
TX

Beyond the US: 27% of all-years giving ($210k)

2 countries, by the recipient’s country on the filing.

grant dollars sentlessmore
United Kingdom$130k · 4 grants
GB$80k · 3 grants
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. International giving is mapped by the recipient’s country from the same 990 filings; comparable need data isn’t available at that grain.
04

Where the work is directed

The same grants placed two ways: where each recipient sits, and where its stated purpose sends the money.

About 18% of Karen Stirling Family Foundation’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address.

Karen Stirling Family Foundationlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address · 30% directed abroad (not shown)
How this is measured
Recipient view: each grant at its grantee’s ZIP, mapped to a county. Directed view: each grant at the county its stated purpose names, falling back to the recipient’s county when the purpose names no place; US grants only. A county shows only if it carries the top 95% of that view’s dollars. Purposes are read from the funder’s own 990 grant descriptions.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

81%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$551k · 14 repeat orgs$132k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +81% since the first grant, against +14% for those funded once.

14 repeat relationships: 4 still active in FY2024, 10 since wound down; 8 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

14
23

Total granted

$551k
$102k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+81%
+14%

Still filing today

64%
78%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 70% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $30k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
Human ServicesAnimalsEducationInternationalArts & CultureCommunity ImprovementOther
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

  • RU
    ROWAN UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC
    5× · 2017–2023 · $35k · revenue +37%
  • GL
    GREAT LAKES ADAPTIVE SPORTS ASSOCIATION
    2× · 2021–2022 · $30k · revenue +92%
  • IR
    International Rescue Committee INC
    2× · 2017–2021 · $20k · revenue +81%

Funded once

  • AMERICARES FOUNDATION INC
    one grant, 2017 · $10k · revenue -22%
  • BO
    BRIDGES OUTREACH INCgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $10k · revenue +67%
  • MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC
    one grant, 2023 · $10k · revenue +1%
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
Marin Humane Society

Marin humane transforms lives through exceptional animal care, humane education, and advocacy. every day, marin humane inspires compassion and positive relationships between people and animals.

Animals
2
Animal Outlook Inc

Animal outlook is a national animal protection organization working to end the abuse of farmed animals using a variety of strategies, including investigations, legal advocacy, corporate and food system reform, and vegan outreach.

Animals
3
Animal Care Sanctuary

Animal care sanctuary's lifesaving mission as a no kill organization envisions a community that promotes turning compassion into action for companion animals by: 1.) adopting healthy pet companions into loving homes. 2.) promoting the…

Animals
4
United Animal Nations Dba Redrover

To bring animals out of crisis and strengthen the bond between people and animals through emergency sheltering, disaster relief services, financial assistance and education. redrover accomplishes its mission by engaging volunteers and…

—
5
Humane Animal Partners

Founded in 2023, humane animal partners is a nonprofit no-kill animal care and adoption center. we are committed to providing for the needs of homeless and owned dogs and cats in our community. we make "friends for life" by connecting…

Animals
6
The Humane Society for Seattleking County

Seattle humane promotes the human-animal bond by saving and serving pets in need, regardless of age, ability, circumstance or geography.

Animals
7
Friends for Animals of Metro Detroit

The friends are dedicated to the rescue, protection, and adoption of companion animals in need while inspiring the human-animal bond. we meet our mission by:-saving 100% of healthy and treatable animals.-providing high-quality animal care…

Animals
8
Mercy for Animals Inc

Mercy for animals' mission is to construct a compassionate food system that is not just kind to animals but essential for the future of our planet and all who share it. our vision of a world where animals are respected, protected, and free…

Animals
9
Animal Equality

Animal equality is an international organization working with society, governments, and companies to end cruelty to farmed animals.

Animals
10
Washington Humane Society

The washington humane society protects animals, supports families, and advocates for positive change to create a world where all animals can thrive. we enrich the humanity of our communities by promoting compassion and encouraging people…

Animals
11
Worldwide Vets Incorporated

Our goal is to sustainably improve animal welfare, provide veterinary care, and improve veterinary education globally. in order to achieve this goal, we work in over 10 countries, across 5 continents, supporting local people and animals,…

Animals
12
Humane Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

The primary mission of the humane society is to end animal cruelty, neglect and overpopulation in south carolina.

Animals
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Jersey Battered Women's Service Inc; the most unlike its peers is International Rescue Committee Inc. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
05the grantee network

37 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

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 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 37 of the 46 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)
36/37
Grantees still filing
26/37
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

AFRICAN OYSTER TRUST: $210,000 · OtherAFRICAN OYSTER TRUSTLITTLE BOOST PRESS INC: $65,000 · OtherLITTLE BOOST PRESS INCFIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH: $42,000 · OtherFIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCHCOUPONS FOR THE COMMUNITY: $31,000 · OtherCOUPONS FOR THE COMMUNITY+20 more: $89,000 · Other+20 moreSONGS OF LOVE FOUNDATION: $70,000 · Human ServicesSONGS OF LOVE …JERSEY BATTERED WOMEN'S SERVICE INC: $10,000 · Human ServicesJERSEY BATTERE…BRIDGES OUTREACH INC: $10,000 · Human ServicesBRIDGES OUTREA…UNCHAINED AT LAST INC: $5,000 · Human Services+2 more: $5,000 · Human ServicesUNITED CHARITABLE: $82,000 · PhilanthropyUNITED CHARI…ROWAN UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $34,500 · EducationSOUND START BABIES PROGRAM FOR DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING CHILDREN: $10,000 · EducationONLINE NEWS ASSOCIATION: $2,000 · EducationInternational Rescue Committee INC: $20,000 · InternationalAMERICARES FOUNDATION INC: $10,000 · InternationalMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $10,000 · InternationalGREAT LAKES ADAPTIVE SPORTS ASSOCIATION: $30,000 · Health+2 more: $1,300 · HealthWOODLANDS WILDLIFE REFUGE INC: $10,000 · AnimalsBROKEN SOULS RESCUE & RECOVERY INC: $5,000 · AnimalsFriends of Lakota Wolf Preserve Inc: $5,000 · AnimalsTHE RAPTOR TRUST: $3,000 · AnimalsANIMAL RESCUE MISSION: $3,000 · AnimalsSKYLANDS ANIMAL SANCTUARY AND RESCUE INC: $2,000 · Animals
Other$437,000Human Services$100,000Philanthropy$82,000Education$46,500International$40,000Health$31,300Animals$28,000

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 budgetUNITED CHARITABLE: $82,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetSONGS OF LOVE FOUNDATION: $70,000 over 6y, 3.2% of budgetROWAN UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $34,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetGREAT LAKES ADAPTIVE SPORTS ASSOCIATION: $30,000 over 2y, 1.8% of budgetInternational Rescue Committee INC: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCOMMUNITY PARTNERS: $13,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetJERSEY BATTERED WOMEN'S SERVICE INC: $10,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetAMERICARES FOUNDATION INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWOODLANDS WILDLIFE REFUGE INC: $10,000 over 1y, 2.3% of budgetBRIDGES OUTREACH INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSOUND START BABIES PROGRAM FOR DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING CHILDREN: $10,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetBIG APPLE PERFORMING ARTS INC: $8,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetTHE 30 DAY FUND INC: $6,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNEWARK ARTS COUNCIL: $5,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetINVESTIGATIVE REPORTERS & EDITORS INC: $5,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetBROKEN SOULS RESCUE & RECOVERY INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetFriends of Lakota Wolf Preserve Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 5.4% of budgetSTREET LAB INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetUNCHAINED AT LAST INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetSPARTA COMMUNITY FOOD PANTRY INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetALI FORNEY CENTER INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE RAPTOR TRUST: $3,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetHISPANIC FEDERATION INC: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetANIMAL RESCUE MISSION: $3,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetPROJECT SELF-SUFFICIENCY OF SUSSEX COUNTY INC: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSANDY HOOK PROMISE FOUNDATION: $3,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFAIRY GODMOTHER PROJECT: $2,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetSKYLANDS ANIMAL SANCTUARY AND RESCUE INC: $2,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetBLANCHET HOUSE OF HOSPITALITY: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetONLINE NEWS ASSOCIATION: $2,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetPRELUDE MUSIC FOUNDATION: $2,000 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetAPPALACHIAN TRAIL CONSERVANCY: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA FOUNDATION: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSPARTA AMBULANCE SERVICE INC: $300 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.

Community Foundation …The Ford FoundationBristol-Myers Squibb …The Pfizer Foundation…Jewish Communal FundVerizon FoundationMightycause Charitabl…National Philanthropi…Gs Donor Advised Phil…Jpmorgan Chase Founda…The Bank of America C…Network for Good
Community Foundation of New JerseyNJ15.4× affinity6 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Community Foundation of New Jersey · The Ford Foundation · Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation Inc · The Pfizer Foundation Inc · Jewish Communal Fund · Verizon Foundation · Mightycause Charitable Foundation · National Philanthropic Trust · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · Jpmorgan Chase Foundation · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Network for Good

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 Karen Stirling Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Karen Stirling Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 50%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • Jersey Battered Women's Service Inc: 40% of income from government
  • Bridges Outreach Inc: 25% of income from government
  • Newark Arts Council: 16% of income from government
  • Sparta Ambulance Service Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Sandy Hook Promise Foundation: 0% of income from government
  • Rowan University Foundation Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Americares Foundation Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
5get 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
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 Karen Stirling Family Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Karen Stirling Family 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 46 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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Karen Stirling 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