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Kerr Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Kerr 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.

$83k
Granted FY2025still arriving
21
Grants FY2025still arriving
2
States reached
$24k
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.

Human Services$203kAnimals$107kArts & Culture$103kEducation$103kHealth$39kInternational$24kRecreation & Sports$6kYouth Development$5kOther$0
02FY2025 · 21 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k18 grants · $39k
  • $10k–50k3 grants · $44k
$2,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$536k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
HOME OF GUIDING HANDS CORPORATION$24,000
VISION OF CHILDREN$10,000
THEATRE & ARTS FOUNDATION OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY$10,000
VAPA FOUNDATION$5,000
THEATRE & ARTS FOUNDATION OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY$5,000
OLD GLOBE THEATRE$5,000
FOUNDATION FOR ANIMAL CARE AND EDUCATION$4,400
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY FOUNDATION$4,000
SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATION$4,000
GLOBAL SANCTUARY FOR ELEPHANTS$2,000
GLOBAL SANCTUARY FOR ELEPHANTS$2,000
THE COUNTRY FRIENDS INC$1,500
VISION OF CHILDREN$1,500
PERFORMING ANIMAL WELFARE SOCIETY$1,500
SAN DIEGO AUTOMOTIVE MUSEUM INC$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:

Its human-services grants (FY17–25, $177k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%MIRACLE BABIES: $3k → 11%SAN DIEGO CENTER FOR CHILDREN: $5k → 11%SAN DIEGO CENTER FOR CHILDREN: $3k → 11%SAN DIEGO CENTER FOR CHILDREN: $344 → 11%RANCHO SANTA FE TEA3 FOUNDATION: $2k → 11%RANCHO SANTA FE TEA3 FOUNDATION: $2k → 11%RANCHO SANTA FE TEA3 FOUNDATION: $1k → 11%RANCHO SANTA FE TEA3 FOUNDATION: $350 → 11%RANCHO SANTA FE TEA3 FOUNDATION: $100 → 11%FREEDOM DOGS: $4k → 11%FREEDOM DOGS: $3k → 11%HOME OF GUIDING HANDS CORPORATION: $24k → 11%HOME OF GUIDING HANDS CORPORATION: $18k → 11%HOME OF GUIDING HANDS CORPORATION: $17k → 11%HOME OF GUIDING HANDS CORPORATION: $15k → 11%HOME OF GUIDING HANDS CORPORATION: $15k → 11%HOME OF GUIDING HANDS CORPORATION: $15k → 11%HOME OF GUIDING HANDS CORPORATION: $15k → 11%HOME OF GUIDING HANDS CORPORATION: $15k → 11%HOME OF GUIDING HANDS CORPORATION: $5k → 11%FREEDOM DOGS: $6k → 11%FREEDOM DOGS: $3k → 11%FREEDOM DOGS: $3k → 11%FREEDOM DOGS: $3k → 11%FREEDOM DOGS: $1k → 11%MIRACLE BABIES: $500 → 11%MIRACLE BABIES: $500 → 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.

Which US states its grants reach

WA
MN
NY
MA
CA
AZ
TN
HI
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.

87%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$418k · 24 repeat orgs$63k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +38% since the first grant, against +9% for those funded once.

24 repeat relationships: 10 still active in FY2025, 14 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

24
36

Total granted

$418k
$62k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+38%
+9%

Still filing today

100%
83%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 98% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $1k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’20’21’22’23’24’25
AnimalsArts & CultureHealthHuman ServicesPhilanthropyScience & TechOther
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

  • HO
    HOME OF GUIDING HANDS CORPORATION
    8× · 2017–2025 · $139k · revenue +74%
  • PA
    PERFORMING ANIMAL WELFARE SOCIETY
    8× · 2017–2025 · $53k · revenue +118%
  • FD
    FREEDOM DOGS
    6× · 2017–2023 · $22k · revenue +90%

Funded once

  • SD
    San Diego Opera Association
    one grant, 2017 · $15k · revenue -15%
  • BG
    BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF GREATER SAN DIEGO
    one grant, 2024 · $5k · revenue -2%
  • MO
    MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART SAN DIEGO
    one grant, 2018 · $5k · revenue -90%
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 Habitat Conservancy

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.

Arts & Culture
2
The San Diego Foundation

The san diego foundation inspires enduring philanthropy and enables community solutions to improve the quality of life in our region.

Philanthropy
3
Zoological Society of San Diego

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.

Animals
4
Spot

SPOT Saving Pets One at a Time is a leading San Diego County all-volunteer rescue organization whose main focus is to save dogs and cats in shelters who are at risk of euthanization and to help other dogs and cats in need as well. In…

Animals
5
San Diego Humane Society Foundation

Inactive

—
6
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…

—
7
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
8
San Diego Society of Natural History

Conserving nature through science and discovery.

Arts & Culture
9
Santa Barbara Zoological Foundation

The santa barbara zoo is dedicated to the preservation, conservation, and enhancement of the natural world and its living treasures through education, research, recreation and conservation.

Animals
10
San Diego State University Foundation Sdsu Research Foundation

To support and further the research, education and community service objectives of san diego state university.

Education
11
San Diego Coasters
Arts & Culture
12
San Francisco Zoological Society

To connect all people with wildlife, inspire caring for nature, and advance conservation action.

Animals
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Ronald Mcdonald House Charities of San Diego Inc; the most unlike its peers is Captain Paul Watson 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

61 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. 61 of the 65 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)
17
Early backer (in before they grew)
59/61
Grantees still filing
41/61
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

HOME OF GUIDING HANDS CORPORATION: $138,500 · Human ServicesHOME OF GUIDING HANDS CORPORATIONFREEDOM DOGS: $22,400 · Human ServicesFREEDOM DOGSSAN DIEGO CENTER FOR CHILDREN: $7,444 · Human Services+2 more: $8,750 · Human ServicesOLD GLOBE THEATRE: $19,763 · Arts & CultureOLD GLOBE THEATRETHE SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATION: $19,500 · Arts & CultureTHE SAN DIEGO SYMPH…SAN DIEGO MUSEUM OF ART: $18,500 · Arts & CultureSAN DIEGO MUSEUM OF…THEATER & ARTS FOUNDATION OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY DBA LA JOLLA PLAYHOUSE: $15,500 · Arts & CultureTHEATER & ARTS FOUN…San Diego Opera Association: $15,000 · Arts & CultureSan Diego Opera Ass…THE NEW CHILDRENS MUSEUM: $6,500 · Arts & CultureTHE NEW CHILDRENS M…MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART SAN DIEGO: $5,000 · Arts & Culture+2 more: $1,500 · Arts & CultureTHE CAMPANILE FOUNDATION: $90,000 · EducationTHE CAMPANILE FOUND…VAPA Foundation: $9,700 · EducationVAPA Foundation+1 more: $1,200 · EducationPERFORMING ANIMAL WELFARE SOCIETY: $52,575 · AnimalsPERFORMING ANIM…GLOBAL SANCTUARY FOR ELEPHANTS: $11,150 · AnimalsGLOBAL SANCTUAR…SPAY-NEUTER ACTION PROJECT: $3,500 · Animals+13 more: $13,050 · Animals+13 moreThe Vision of Children: $18,550 · OtherThe Vision of Child…THE COUNTRY FRIENDS: $17,410 · OtherTHE COUNTRY FRIENDSPROMISES2KIDS FOUNDATION: $11,150 · OtherPROMISES2KIDS FOUND…VISIONS GLOBAL EMPOWERMENT: $13,307 · OtherVISIONS GLOBAL EMPO…INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $8,000 · OtherINTERNATIONAL COMMU…The Abraham Foundation: $4,000 · OtherCHARLEY HOFFMAN FOUNDATION: $3,500 · OtherBOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF GREATER SAN DIEGO: $5,000 · Other+15 more: $21,172 · Other+15 moreFOUNDATION FOR ANIMAL CARE & EDUCATION: $15,400 · Science & TechThe Salk Institute for Biological Studies: $2,400 · Science & Tech+1 more: $200 · Science & TechCUREBOUND: $14,600 · HealthALZHEIMER'S SAN DIEGO: $2,000 · HealthUNRAVEL: $1,000 · Health+3 more: $328 · Health
Human Services$177,094Arts & Culture$101,263Education$100,900Animals$80,275Other$102,089Science & Tech$18,000Health$17,928

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 budgetHOME OF GUIDING HANDS CORPORATION: $138,500 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetTHE CAMPANILE FOUNDATION: $90,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetPERFORMING ANIMAL WELFARE SOCIETY: $52,575 over 8y, 0.2% of budgetFREEDOM DOGS: $22,400 over 6y, 1.8% of budgetOLD GLOBE THEATRE: $19,763 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATION: $19,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetThe Vision of Children: $18,550 over 6y, 1.8% of budgetSAN DIEGO MUSEUM OF ART: $18,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTHE COUNTRY FRIENDS: $17,410 over 7y, 1.5% of budgetTHEATER & ARTS FOUNDATION OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY DBA LA JOLLA PLAYHOUSE: $15,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetFOUNDATION FOR ANIMAL CARE & EDUCATION: $15,400 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetSan Diego Opera Association: $15,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCUREBOUND: $14,600 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetVISIONS GLOBAL EMPOWERMENT: $13,307 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetPROMISES2KIDS FOUNDATION: $11,150 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetGLOBAL SANCTUARY FOR ELEPHANTS: $11,150 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetVAPA Foundation: $9,700 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetINTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $8,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSAN DIEGO CENTER FOR CHILDREN: $7,444 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE NEW CHILDRENS MUSEUM: $6,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetRancho Santa Fe Tea 3 Foundation: $5,250 over 3y, 2.0% of budgetBOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF GREATER SAN DIEGO: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART SAN DIEGO: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Abraham Foundation: $4,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetSPAY-NEUTER ACTION PROJECT: $3,500 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetCHARLEY HOFFMAN FOUNDATION: $3,500 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetMIRACLE BABIES: $3,500 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetIMMUNOTHERAPY FOUNDATION: $3,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetPATRONS OF THE PRADO: $2,500 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetSAN DIEGO POLICE FOUNDATION: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSHELTER TO SOLDIER INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE ELEPHANT SANCTUARY IN TENNESSEE: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLIONS TIGERS AND BEARS: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetJUST LIKE MY CHILD FOUNDATION: $2,500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetRONALD MCDONALD HOUSE CHARITIES OF SAN DIEGO INC: $2,450 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetThe Salk Institute for Biological Studies: $2,400 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetOperation Game On: $2,200 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetTHRIVE ANIMAL RESCUE INC: $2,050 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetALZHEIMER'S SAN DIEGO: $2,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTorrey Pines High School Foundation Inc: $1,200 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSAN DIEGO AUTOMOTIVE MUSEUM: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetRancho Santa Fe Rotary Foundation Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetTHE SPIRIT OF LIBERTY FOUNDATON: $1,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetUNRAVEL: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetRANCHO COASTAL HUMANE SOCIETY: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMBOSELI TRUST FOR ELEPHANTS: $750 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSEACREST FOUNDATION: $600 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWords Alive: $500 over 1y, 0.1% 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.

The San Diego Foundat…Jewish Community Foun…Sempra FoundationDavid C Copley Founda…Rancho Santa Fe Found…Price Philanthropies …The Cushman FoundationThe Conrad Prebys Fou…French Fund Samuel Ka…Walter J & Betty C Za…The Parker FoundationSamuel I & John Henry…
The San Diego FoundationCA52.7× affinity28 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The San Diego Foundation · Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego · Sempra Foundation · David C Copley Foundation · Rancho Santa Fe Foundation · Price Philanthropies Foundation · The Cushman Foundation · The Conrad Prebys Foundation · French Fund Samuel Katherine Tua · Walter J & Betty C Zable Foundation · The Parker Foundation · Samuel I & John Henry Fox 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 Kerr Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Kerr 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%13%25%38%50%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    1get no government money at all
    14report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–50%
    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 Kerr Family Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Kerr 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 65 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 Kerr 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