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Lee and Stuart Rolfe Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Lee and Stuart Rolfe 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.

$258k
Granted FY2020
12
Grants FY2020
3
States reached
$50k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead

Read this first · the figures below need context

100% of Lee and Stuart Rolfe Family Foundation’s FY2024 grant dollars went to Goldman Sachs Philanthropy Fund, not to grantees.

Its money now reaches organizations through that sponsor, which does not report who recommended each grant. FY2024 names 0 organizations directly, so a portfolio cannot be read from it. Everything below is therefore FY2020, the last year Lee and Stuart Rolfe Family Foundation named its own grantees at scale: 7 organizations, $258k. It is dated, not current.

Organizations named directly on the return

4
’17
6
’18
2
’19
7
’20
4
’21
4
’22
2
’23
0
’24

Amber years are those where most dollars went to a sponsor.

01What it funds
0193% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Philanthropy$1.4MReligion$200kEducation$121kRecreation & Sports$68kEnvironment$60kHealth$48kArts & Culture$40kAnimals$13kOther$0
02FY2020 · 12 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2020

  • Under $10k2 grants · $10k
  • $10k–50k9 grants · $198k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $50k
$25,000
Median grant
3
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
SOCIETY OF JESUS$50,000
EISENHOWER MEDICAL CENTER$48,000
Individual grant recipient$27,500
SEATTLE UNIVERSITY$27,400
FULCRUM FOUNDATION$25,000
SEATTLE PARKS FOUNDATION$25,000
ORCAS ISLAND COMMUNITY FOUNDATION$15,000
LAKESIDE SCHOOL$10,000
SEATTLE UNIVERSITY$10,000
RAINIER SCHOLARS$10,000
SEATTLE PARKS FOUNDATION$5,000
PLYMOUTH HOUSING$5,000
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 (FY19–19, $3k) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%YMCA OF GREATER SEATTLE: $3k → 9%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.
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 74% of Lee and Stuart Rolfe Family Foundation’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address.

Lee and Stuart Rolfe Family Foundationlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address
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.

69%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$448k · 9 repeat orgs$197k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +138% since the first grant, against +31% for those funded once.

9 repeat relationships: 5 still active in FY2020, 4 since wound down; 5 grantees were first funded in FY2020 (too recent to call). Read against FY2020, the last year this funder named its own grantees directly; its giving has since run through a sponsor, which reports no donor behind each grant.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

9
7

Total granted

$448k
$41k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+138%
+31%

Still filing today

78%
71%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2023, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23
EducationArts & CultureEnvironmentAnimalsRecreation & SportsCommunity 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

  • SU
    SEATTLE UNIVERSITY
    3× · 2018–2022 · $67k · revenue +58%
  • TS
    THE SEATTLE AQUARIUM SOCIETY
    2× · 2017–2021 · $55k · revenue +180%
  • SP
    SEATTLE PARKS FOUNDATION
    3× · 2017–2020 · $43k · revenue +138%

Funded once

  • UO
    UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA DAVIS - SEA DOC SOCIETY FUND
    one grant, 2018 · $13k
  • T5
    THE 5TH AVENUE THEATRE
    one grant, 2018 · $10k
  • PP
    PIKE PLACE MARKET FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2017 · $5k · revenue -27%
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
The Seattle Academy of Arts & Sciences

Seattle academy is a dynamic community that challenges students to question, imagine, and create in order to contribute to a changing world.

Education
2
Seattle Symphony Orchestra Inc

To present symphonic music of the highest quality in a distinctive way for the cultural enrichment, education, engagement and enjoyment of the people of our community.

Arts & Culture
3
Seattle Pacific University

Seattle pacific university is a christian university fully committed to engaging the culture and changing the world by graduating people of competence and character, becoming people of wisdom, and modeling grace-filled community.

Education
4
University Cooperative School

We take a joyful, community-oriented approach to raising engaged citizens, deep learners, and brave adventurers with the skills, creativity, and heart needed to better the world.

—
5
Siff

Siff is a seattle-based 501(c)(3) arts nonprofit dedicated to the creation of vibrant experiences and spaces that champion film discovery and arts education.

Youth Development
6
Puget Sound Community School

Founded in 1994, PSCS is a small, independent middle and high school located in the Chinatown/International District of downtown Seattle. PSCS is committed to co-creating a brave space for community-centered education, critical curriculum,…

—
7
Seattle Public Library Foundation

The seattle public library foundation inspires the community's philanthropic support, advocacy for, and pride in the library.

Education
8
Rainier Prep

Rainier prep provides public education to students in grades 5-8 in the highline area near seattle/tacoma. rainier prep seeks to prepare students for college, career readiness, and to become leaders in their communities.

Education
9
Portland State University Foundation

Portland state university foundation is responsible for raising and managing private resources to advance psu's priorities and mission to be a leading urban university.

—
10
City University of Seattle

See schedule ofounded in 1973, city university of seattle's mission is to change lives for good by offering high quality and relevant lifelong education to anyone with the desire to learn. city university's vision is to provide underserved…

Education
11
Islandwood

The primary goal is to help children & adults develop a commitment to lifelong learning & environmental and community stewardship through hands-on learning experiences combining science, technology, & the arts at islandwood's 255-acre…

Environment
12
Great Peninsula Conservancy

Preserve in perpetuity the natural habitats, rural landscapes, and open spaces of the great peninsula of washington's puget sound.

Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Seattle Repertory Theatre; the most unlike its peers is Seattle University. 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

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 23 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)
3
Early backer (in before they grew)
16/16
Grantees still filing
13/16
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

GS DONOR ADVISED PHILANTHROPY FUND FOR WEALTH MANAGEMENT INC: $1,371,845 · PhilanthropyGS DONOR ADVISED PHILANTHROPY FUND FOR WEALTH MANAGEMENT INC+1 more: $15,000 · PhilanthropyUSA WEST PROVINCE SOCIETY OF JESUS: $150,075 · OtherUSA WEST PROVINCE SOCIE…SEATTLE UNIVERSITY: $67,400 · OtherSEATTLE UNIVERSITYFULCRUM FOUNDATION: $50,000 · OtherFULCRUM FOUNDATIONSOCIETY OF JESUS: $50,000 · OtherSOCIETY OF JESUSIndividual grant recipient: $27,500 · OtherIndividual grant recipi…THE ASSOCIATED RECREATION COUNCILGREENLAKE ROWING ADVISORY COUNCIL: $25,000 · OtherTHE ASSOCIATED RECREATI…+7 more: $45,476 · Other+7 moreTHE SEATTLE AQUARIUM SOCIETY: $55,150 · AnimalsRAINIER SCHOLARS: $32,500 · EducationLAKESIDE SCHOOL: $20,000 · Education+1 more: $1,000 · EducationEisenhower Medical Center: $48,000 · HealthSEATTLE PARKS FOUNDATION: $42,500 · Recreation & SportsSEATTLE REPERTORY THEATRE: $25,000 · Arts & CultureCLASSICAL 981: $5,000 · Arts & Culture
Philanthropy$1,386,845Other$415,451Animals$55,150Education$53,500Health$48,000Recreation & Sports$42,500Arts & Culture$30,000

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 budgetGS DONOR ADVISED PHILANTHROPY FUND FOR WEALTH MANAGEMENT INC: $1,371,845 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSEATTLE UNIVERSITY: $67,400 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE SEATTLE AQUARIUM SOCIETY: $55,150 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetEisenhower Medical Center: $48,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSEATTLE PARKS FOUNDATION: $42,500 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetRAINIER SCHOLARS: $32,500 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetSEATTLE REPERTORY THEATRE: $25,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetLAKESIDE SCHOOL: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetORCAS ISLAND COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $15,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCLASSICAL 981: $5,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetPLYMOUTH HOUSING GROUP AND SUBSIDIARIES: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPIKE PLACE MARKET FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetNEIGHBORS TO NICARAGUA: $5,000 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetMERWIN CONSERVANCY INC: $5,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetTHE YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF GREATER SEATTLE (6871): $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCollege Success Foundation: $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.

Seattle FoundationThe US Charitable Gif…Moccasin Lake Foundat…The Norcliffe Foundat…Gates FoundationMorgan Stanley Global…The Blackbaud Giving …National Philanthropi…Gs Donor Advised Phil…Jpmorgan Chase Founda…American Endowment Fo…Vanguard Charitable E…
Seattle FoundationWA20.8× affinity8 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Seattle Foundation · The US Charitable Gift Trust · Moccasin Lake Foundation · The Norcliffe Foundation · Gates Foundation · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · National Philanthropic Trust · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · Jpmorgan Chase Foundation · American Endowment Foundation · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program

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 Lee and Stuart Rolfe Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Lee and Stuart Rolfe 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%1%3%4%5%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    1get no government money at all
    3report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–5%
    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 23 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 2020, released 2020. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Lee and Stuart Rolfe 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