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Lawrence E & Elaine Smith Irell Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Lawrence E & Elaine Smith Irell 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.

$230k
Granted FY2025still arriving
8
Grants FY2025still arriving
3
States reached
$120k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
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.

Science & Tech$1.0MInternational$168kSocial Science$102kCivil Rights$91kHealth$58kCrime & Legal$44kAnimals$16kEmployment$12kOther$0
02FY2025 · 8 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • $10k–50k7 grants · $110k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $120k
$15,000
Median grant
3
States reached
$2.0M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS$120,000
AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION$30,000
SALK INSTTUTE FOR BIOLOGICAL STUDIES$15,000
DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS USA$15,000
TRINITY CARE HOSPICE FOUNDATION$15,000
DEATH PENALTY FOCUS$15,000
LOS ANGELES INNOCENCE PROJECT$10,000
PLANNED PARENTHOOD LOS ANGELES$10,000
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 (FY18–18, $2k) land where the poverty rate runs at 17%, 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%INNOCENCE PROJECT: $1k → 17%CHARITY WATER: $1k → 17%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

NY
MA
CA
CO
VA
MD
DC
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.

93%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.6M · 17 repeat orgs$117k to everyone else

17 repeat relationships: 7 still active in FY2025, 10 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

17
15

Total granted

$1.6M
$102k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+27%
+32%

Still filing today

94%
73%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 93% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $15k 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
InternationalHealthCivil RightsAnimalsEducationHuman ServicesOther
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

  • THE UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS INC
    9× · 2017–2025 · $1.1M · revenue +12%
  • AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION INC
    4× · 2022–2025 · $120k · revenue +27%
  • MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC
    7× · 2018–2025 · $114k · revenue +89%

Funded once

  • EI
    EVOLUTION INSTITUTE
    one grant, 2019 · $36k
  • AF
    ANGIOGENESIS FOUNDATION INCgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $30k · revenue +383%
  • CQ
    CREATIVE QUEST FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2023 · $12k
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
Conservation International Foundation

Ci works to spotlight and secure the critical benefits that nature provides to humanity.

Environment
2
World Wildlife Fund Inc

Wwf's mission is to conserve nature and reduce the most pressing threats to the diversity of life on earth. (continued on schedule o)

Environment
3
International Center for Research On Women

The international center for research for women (icrw) is a global research institute, with a mission to advance rights and opportunities for women, girls, and structurally excluded populations with actionable evidence and solutions.

International
4
International Aids Vaccine Initiative Inc

A global nonprofit biomedical research organization that develops vaccines and antibodies for hiv, tuberculosis, and emerging infectious diseases.

International
5
Asociacion Interamericana Para La Defensa Del Ambiente

To strenghten people's ability to guarantee their individual and collective right to a healthy environment, via the development, implementation, and effective enforcement of national and international law.

Crime & Legal
6
International Life Sciences Institute

Ilsi is a global, nonprofit federation dedicated to generating and advancing emerging science and groundbreaking research to ensure foods are safe, nutritious and sustainable, and that they improve planetary and human health and well-being…

Science & Tech
7
World Resources Institute

Wri is committed to creating change that improves people's lives and ensures the natural world can thrive. (see schedule o)wri's bold vision requires a formula for success we call "count it. change it. scale it.": - count it: our work is…

International
8
American Association for the Advancement of Science

Advance science, engineering, and innovation throughout the world for the benefit of all. the world's largest multidisciplinary scientific society and a leading publisher of cutting-edge research through its science family of journals,…

Science & Tech
9
Open Markets Institute

The open markets institute works to help people relearn how to use competition policy to build stronger democracies, more just and equitable societies, more innovative and sustainable economies, and a more secure and peaceful world.

Education
10
Actionaid Usa

Actionaid is an international network building a just, equitable, and sustainable world in solidarity with communities on the frontlines of poverty and injustice. actionaid usa is the u.s. branch of actionaid international, which works in…

Social Science
11
The Population Council Inc

We generate ideas, produce evidence, and design solutions to improve the lives of underserved populations around the world. we take a multidisciplinary, intergenerational, life-cycle approach that contributes to (see schedule o)four global…

International
12
Center for International Environmental Law Inc

To investigate, research, write, publish, present conferences and teach with respect to global, regional, transboundary, and comparative environmental issues and to make the findings from such activities available to the general public; to…

International
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Center for Science in the Public Interest; the most unlike its peers is Humane World for Animals Inc. 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

27 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. 27 of the 33 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)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
27/27
Grantees still filing
22/27
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS INC: $1,085,000 · InternationalTHE UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS INCMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $114,000 · InternationalMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INCInternational Rescue Committee INC: $45,000 · International+2 more: $21,000 · InternationalAMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION INC: $120,000 · Civil RightsAMERICAN …DEATH PENALTY FOCUS: $28,000 · Civil RightsDEATH PEN…+1 more: $1,000 · Civil RightsEVOLUTION INSTITUTE: $36,000 · OtherTRINITY CARE HOSPICE FOUNDATION: $15,000 · OtherCREATIVE QUEST FOUNDATION: $12,000 · OtherElectronic Frontier Foundation Inc: $9,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $5,000 · OtherAmerican Bird Conservancy: $8,000 · OtherHumane World for Animals Inc: $4,000 · OtherWIKIMEDIA FOUNDATION INC: $5,000 · Other+10 more: $18,000 · OtherEVOLUTION INSTITUTE INC: $66,000 · Social ScienceANGIOGENESIS FOUNDATION INC: $30,000 · HealthCREATE CURES FOUNDATION: $19,000 · HealthPLANNED PARENTHOOD LOS ANGELES: $15,000 · Health+1 more: $1,000 · HealthThe Salk Institute for Biological Studies: $60,000 · Science & TechLos Angeles Innocence Project Inc: $40,000 · Crime & Legal
International$1,265,000Civil Rights$149,000Other$112,000Social Science$66,000Health$65,000Science & Tech$60,000Crime & Legal$40,000

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 budgetTHE UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS INC: $1,085,000 over 9y, 0.4% of budgetAMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION INC: $120,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $114,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetEVOLUTION INSTITUTE INC: $66,000 over 2y, 2.3% of budgetThe Salk Institute for Biological Studies: $60,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetInternational Rescue Committee INC: $45,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetLos Angeles Innocence Project Inc: $40,000 over 4y, 2.9% of budgetANGIOGENESIS FOUNDATION INC: $30,000 over 1y, 4.7% of budgetDEATH PENALTY FOCUS: $28,000 over 3y, 2.3% of budgetCREATE CURES FOUNDATION: $19,000 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetOXFAM-AMERICA INC: $19,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD LOS ANGELES: $15,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetElectronic Frontier Foundation Inc: $9,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican Bird Conservancy: $8,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetWIKIMEDIA FOUNDATION INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHumane World for Animals Inc: $4,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBAT CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL: $3,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN INDIAN COLLEGE FUND: $3,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetLA GOAL: $3,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetUNITED STATES FUND FOR UNICEF: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCHARITY GLOBAL INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNATIVE AMERICAN RIGHTS FUND INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetANIMAL WELFARE INSTITUTE: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCALIFORNIA STATE PARKS FOUNDATION: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE INNOCENCE PROJECT INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCENTER FOR SCIENCE IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST: $1,000 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.

Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift FundMA6.1× affinity6 shared granteesties to 1 of 1Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: 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 Lawrence E & Elaine Smith Irell Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Lawrence E & Elaine Smith Irell Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • Oxfam-America Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
2get 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.

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 33 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 Lawrence E & Elaine Smith Irell’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