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Lee Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Lee 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.

$95k
Granted FY2024still arriving
5
Grants FY2024still arriving
1
States reached
$25k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0199% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Education$618kArts & Culture$488kSocial Science$301kHealth$235kHousing & Shelter$50kReligion$6kPublic Benefit$5kHuman Services$616Other$0
02FY2024 · 5 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k1 grant · $5k
  • $10k–50k4 grants · $90k
$20,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$1.4M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
FU-JEN UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION$25,000
THE J PAUL GETTY TRUST$25,000
CALTECH$20,000
DOOR OF HOPE$20,000
HARBOR DAY ENDOWMENT CORPORATION$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 (FY17–22, $550) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, 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%UNION RESCUE MISSION: $100 → 14%WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT INC: $150 → 14%Wounded Warrior Project Inc: $100 → 14%FOOTHILL FAMILY SERVICE: $100 → 14%Union Station Homeless Services: $100 → 14%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

WI
NY
MA
CA
CO
VA
AZ
KS
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.

97%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.6M · 15 repeat orgs$46k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +48% since the first grant, against +34% for those funded once.

15 repeat relationships: 4 still active in FY2024, 11 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

15
19

Total granted

$1.6M
$21k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+48%
+34%

Still filing today

93%
79%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 74% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $25k 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
EducationArts & CultureHuman ServicesHealthInternationalPublic BenefitOther
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

  • TJ
    THE J PAUL GETTY TRUST
    4× · 2019–2024 · $400k · revenue +48%
  • AA
    AMERICAN ACADEMY OF ARTS & SCIENCES
    2× · 2019–2022 · $301k · revenue +1%
  • PH
    Pasadena Hospital Association Ltd
    6× · 2017–2022 · $230k · revenue +25%

Funded once

  • TH
    THE HARPSWELL FOUNDATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2018 · $5k · revenue +131%
  • AQ
    Augies Quest to Cure ALS Incgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $5k · revenue +34%
  • IC
    InterVarsity Christian FellowshipUSA
    one grant, 2023 · $3k · revenue +9%
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 Uc Davis Foundation

The mission of the uc davis foundation is to secure, steward and manage private gifts for uc davis.

Education
2
Academy of Television Arts and Sciences

The Television Academy is dedicated to celebrating excellence, innovation and the advancement of the telecommunications arts and sciences through recognition, education and leadership, while fostering a diverse, inclusive and accessible…

—
3
California College of the Arts

California college of the arts educates students to shape culture and society through the practice and critical study of art, architecture, design, and writing. benefitting from its san francisco bay area location, the college prepares…

Education
4
The American Institute of Architects California

The AIA California, in collaboration with local components, is the voice of the architectural profession.

—
5
Association of California School Administrators

The association serves its members by creating resources that enable california school administrators to develop and apply creative leadership and management skills and in turn, improve the educational process for all students.

—
6
Ucsf Foundation Investment Company

The organization provides professional investment management services for endowed gifts and financial assets entrusted to the ucsf foundation.

Education
7
The International School of San Francisco

Guided by the principles of academic rigor and diversity, the international school of san francisco offers programs of study in french and english to prepare its graduates for a world in which the ability to think critically and to…

Education
8
United States Naval Institute

Provide an independent forum for those who dare to read, think, speak, and write to advance the professional, literary, and scientific understanding of sea power and other issues critical to global security.

—
9
Los Angeles Pacific University

Los angeles pacific university exists to deliver high quality, accessible christ-centered education to learners everywhere.

Education
10
University of California Irvine Foundation

The mission of the university of california, irvine foundation (uc irvine foundation) is to raise and manage private funds to support uc irvine's broader mission of excellence in teaching, research and public service. to this end, the uc…

Education
11
United States Telecom Association

See schedule oustelecom exists to ensure members can compete, grow and thrive to build a world where families, enterprises and communities are connected through the power of broadband.our member companies have committed a considerable…

—
12
Harvey Mudd College

HMC seeks to educate engineers, scientists, and mathematicians well versed in all of these areas and in the humanities, social sciences and the arts so that they may assume leadership in their fields with a clear understanding of the…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Make-a-Wish Foundation of America; the most unlike its peers is The Harpswell 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

35 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. 35 of the 39 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)
34/35
Grantees still filing
27/35
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE CALTECH Y: $505,000 · EducationTHE CALTECH YUNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: $60,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA+5 more: $25,500 · EducationTHE J PAUL GETTY TRUST: $400,000 · PhilanthropyTHE J PAUL GETTY TRUSTFU-JEN UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $25,000 · PhilanthropyFU-JEN UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION+1 more: $300 · PhilanthropyAMERICAN ACADEMY OF ARTS & SCIENCES: $301,000 · Social ScienceAMERICAN ACADEMY OF …Pasadena Hospital Association Ltd: $230,000 · HealthPasadena Hospit…+1 more: $5,000 · HealthHENRY E HUNTINGTON LIBRARY AND ART GALLERY: $50,000 · Arts & CulturePUBLIC MEDIA GROUP OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: $20,000 · Arts & CulturePERFORMING ARTS CENTER OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY: $7,500 · Arts & CultureMUSIC CENTER FOUNDATION: $7,000 · Arts & Culture+2 more: $3,250 · Arts & CultureDOOR OF HOPE: $50,000 · OtherInterVarsity Christian FellowshipUSA: $2,500 · Other+16 more: $7,516 · OtherTHE HARPSWELL FOUNDATION: $5,000 · Public Benefit+1 more: $50 · Public Benefit
Education$590,500Philanthropy$425,300Social Science$301,000Health$235,000Arts & Culture$87,750Other$60,016Public Benefit$5,050

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 CALTECH Y: $505,000 over 8y, 15% of budgetTHE J PAUL GETTY TRUST: $400,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN ACADEMY OF ARTS & SCIENCES: $301,000 over 2y, 1.3% of budgetPasadena Hospital Association Ltd: $230,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: $60,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetDOOR OF HOPE: $50,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetHENRY E HUNTINGTON LIBRARY AND ART GALLERY: $50,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFU-JEN UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetPUBLIC MEDIA GROUP OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetHarbor Day Endowment Corporation: $10,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetPERFORMING ARTS CENTER OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY: $7,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMUSIC CENTER FOUNDATION: $7,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetUCLA FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFLINTRIDGE PREPARATORY SCHOOL: $5,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetAugies Quest to Cure ALS Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetPOLYTECHNIC SCHOOL: $5,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFRACTURED ATLAS INC: $2,250 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSOUTH COAST CHINESE CULTURAL ASSOCIATION: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSan Marino Schools Foundation: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHRIVE ANIMAL RESCUE INC: $500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetTHE PEGASUS SCHOOL: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT INC: $320 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE JEWISH FEDERATIONS OF NORTH AMERICA INC: $300 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $300 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFoothill Family Service: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUnited States Association for UNHCR: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION OF AMERICA: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFRESH AIR FUND: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUNION RESCUE MISSION: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUNION STATION HOMELESS SERVICES: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUNITED SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS INC: $50 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.

Gail G Ellis Foundati…The Rose Hills Founda…Pasadena Community Fo…The Ayco Charitable F…Edmund and Mary Shea …Wm Keck FoundationThe Ahmanson Foundati…Orange County Communi…Morgan Stanley Global…Greater HorizonsCalifornia Community …American Endowment Fo…
Gail G Ellis Foundation IncIL15.7× affinity5 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Gail G Ellis Foundation Inc · The Rose Hills Foundation · Pasadena Community Foundation · The Ayco Charitable Foundation · Edmund and Mary Shea Family Foundation · Wm Keck Foundation · The Ahmanson Foundation · Orange County Community Foundation · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · Greater Horizons · California Community Foundation · American Endowment 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 Lee Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Lee Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%1%5%11%20%funder's share of their income ↑0%10%20%30%40%share of the org’s income from government →median 3%
  • American Academy of Arts & Sciences: 3% of income from government
  • Wounded Warrior Project Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
4report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–40%
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 Lee Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Lee 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 39 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 Lee’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