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Kessinger Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Kessinger 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.

$4k
Granted FY2025still arriving
1
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$4k
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.

Education$210kArts & Culture$41kRecreation & Sports$1kPhilanthropy$750
02FY2025 · 1 grant

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$3,500
Median grant
1
States reached
$2.0M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
SAN MATEO ARBORETUM SOCIETY INC$3,500
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 8%, against an area that typically sits at 6%. 100% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 6%CORPORATION OF HAVERFORD COLLEGE: $25k → 10%MUSIC AT KOHL MANSION INC: $10k → 7%GIRLS MIDDLE SCHOOL: $9k → 8%PTA CALIFORNIA CONGRESS OF PARENTS TEACHERS & STUD: $100 → 8%IMMACULATE CONCEPTION ACADEMY: $250 → 10%DECLAN DRUMM SULLIVAN MEMORIAL FUND: $500 → 8%CORPORATION OF HAVERFORD COLLEGE: $20k → 10%MUSIC AT KOHL MANSION INC: $10k → 7%THE STANFORD FUND OF STANFORD UNIVERSITY: $25k → 8%MARIN BASEBALL AND SOFTBALL: $1k → 8%DECLAN DRUMM SULLIVAN MEMORIAL FUND: $250 → 8%CORPORATION OF HAVERFORD COLLEGE: $10k → 10%MUSIC AT KOHL MANSION INC: $10k → 7%THE STANFORD FUND OF STANFORD UNIVERSITY: $25k → 8%THE BRANSON SCHOOL: $10k → 8%CORPORATION OF HAVERFORD COLLEGE: $10k → 10%SAN MATEO ARBORETUM SOCIETY INC: $4k → 7%STANFORD UNIVERSITY: $25k → 8%THE BRANSON SCHOOL: $5k → 8%CORPORATION OF HAVERFORD COLLEGE: $5k → 10%THE STANFORD FUND OF STANFORD UNIVERSITY: $25k → 8%THE BRANSON SCHOOL: $5k → 8%THE BRANSON SCHOOL: $1k → 8%THE BRANSON SCHOOL: $250 → 8%REDWOOD HIGH SCHOOL FOUNDATION: $5k → 8%REDWOOD HIGH SCHOOL FOUNDATION: $5k → 8%MARIN STABLES & TRAILS INC: $500 → 8%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.

92%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$148k · 6 repeat orgs$13k to everyone else

6 repeat relationships: 0 still active in FY2025, 6 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

6
4

Total granted

$148k
$10k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+16%
+3468%

Still filing today

83%
50%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 0% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $4k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’23’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’23’25
EducationArts & CultureYouth DevelopmentEnvironmentPhilanthropyOther
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

  • TB
    THE BRANSON SCHOOL
    4× · 2017–2020 · $21k · revenue +97%
  • MS
    MARIN STABLES & TRAILS INC
    4× · 2017–2023 · $11k · revenue +295%
  • RH
    REDWOOD HIGH SCHOOL FOUNDATION
    2× · 2019–2020 · $10k · revenue +7%

Funded once

  • TG
    THE GIRLS' MIDDLE SCHOOLgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $9k · revenue +109%
  • MB
    Marin Baseball and Softballgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $1k · revenue ×36
  • IC
    IMMACULATE CONCEPTION ACADEMY
    one grant, 2020 · $250
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 Academy

Marin academy asks every individual to think, question, and create in an environment of encouragement and compassion, and challenges each person to accept the responsibilities posed by education in a democratic society.

Education
2
San Francisco Girls' School

To educate and inspire girls to become innovators and leaders in stem.

—
3
Terra Marin School

Our mission is to spark wonder and intellectual curiosity in each child. We achieve this through a purposeful blend of:Engaging academics custom-tailored to each child's abilities, strengths and interests;An unparalleled social-emotional…

Education
4
Menlo School

Menlo school's mission is to empower students to explore and expand their interests, reach their fullest potential, develop the skills necessary for success in college, and become ethical, responsible, and engaged members of ever wider…

—
5
Marin School of the Arts Foundation

Our mission is to create opportunities for Marin School of the Arts to innovate and support a quality arts education experience for all of its students.

Education
6
Marin Horizon School Inc

We ground students in a deep sense of belonging so they become enthusiastic learners, develop confident voices, and emerge as beacons of kindness in their communities.

Education
7
Midland School Corporation

Midland school provides a distinctive co-educational boarding school experience to a diverse student body in grades 9-12. through study and work, midland teaches the value of a lifetime of learning, self-reliance, simplicity,…

Education
8
Maranatha High School

Maranatha high school is a christ-centered, evangelical college preparatory school that celebrates the whole student by equipping hearts and minds to reflect god's glory through academics, as well as the arts, athletics, and service. we…

Education
9
Millennium School of San Francisco

See schedule oto realize the transformative potential of middle school. millennium school believes in developing each student to their fullest potential, this involves providing both a rigorous academic program and a science-based…

Education
10
Mark Day School

Innovative and full of heart, mark day school nurtures each child to pursue their curiosity, think critically, embrace challenge with courage and joy, and work in partnership with others to build more caring and inclusive communities.

—
11
The San Francisco School

A private school that cultivates and celebrates the intellectual, imaginative, and humanitarian promise of each student in a community that practices mutual respect, embraces diversity, and inspires passion for learning.

—
12
San Francisco High School of the Arts

San Francisco Arts and Science Academy (ASA) provides TK5 grade students with a strong foundation in the arts, language, math, and science, fostering creativity, curiosity, and character development. Our bilingual, hands-on curriculum…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Music At Kohl Mansion Inc; the most unlike its peers is The Declan Drumm Sullivan Memorial. 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

10 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. 10 of the 13 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)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
10/10
Grantees still filing
8/10
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

CORPORATION OF HAVERFORD COLLEGE: $70,000 · EducationCORPORATION OF HAVERFORD COLLEGETHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $25,000 · EducationTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERS…THE BRANSON SCHOOL: $21,450 · EducationTHE BRANSON SCHOOLREDWOOD HIGH SCHOOL FOUNDATION: $10,000 · EducationREDWOOD HIGH SCHOOL FOUNDATIONTHE GIRLS' MIDDLE SCHOOL: $8,500 · EducationTHE GIRLS' MIDDLE SCHOOLTHE STANFORD FUND OF STANFORD UNIVERSITY: $75,000 · OtherTHE STANFORD FUND OF STANFORD UNI…+2 more: $350 · OtherMUSIC AT KOHL MANSION INC: $30,000 · Arts & CultureMUSIC AT KOHL MANS…MARIN STABLES & TRAILS INC: $10,750 · Arts & CultureMARIN STABLES & TR…San Mateo Arboretum Society Inc: $3,500 · EnvironmentMarin Baseball and Softball: $1,000 · Youth DevelopmentTHE DECLAN DRUMM SULLIVAN MEMORIAL: $750 · Philanthropy
Education$134,950Other$75,350Arts & Culture$40,750Environment$3,500Youth Development$1,000Philanthropy$750

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 budgetCORPORATION OF HAVERFORD COLLEGE: $70,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetMUSIC AT KOHL MANSION INC: $30,000 over 3y, 2.0% of budgetTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE BRANSON SCHOOL: $21,450 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetMARIN STABLES & TRAILS INC: $10,750 over 4y, 14% of budgetTHE GIRLS' MIDDLE SCHOOL: $8,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSan Mateo Arboretum Society Inc: $3,500 over 1y, 3.0% of budgetMarin Baseball and Softball: $1,000 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetTHE DECLAN DRUMM SULLIVAN MEMORIAL: $750 over 2y, 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.

Jewish Community Fede…Gs Donor Advised Phil…American Endowment Fo…Morgan Stanley Global…National Philanthropi…Vanguard Charitable E…Donor Advised Charita…American Online Givin…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco the Peninsula Marin & SonomaCA15.3× affinity5 shared granteesties to 9 of 9Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco the Peninsula Marin & Sonoma · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · American Endowment Foundation · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · American Online Giving Foundation 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 Kessinger Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Kessinger Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%5%10%15%20%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    1report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–20%
    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 Kessinger Family Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Kessinger 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 13 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 Kessinger 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