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Macdonald Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Macdonald 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.

$2.4M
Granted FY2020
31
Grants FY2020
8
States reached
$1.5M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead

Read this first · the figures below need context

75% of Macdonald Family Foundation’s FY2025 grant dollars went to Santa Barbara Foundation, not to grantees.

Its money now reaches organizations through that sponsor, which does not report who recommended each grant. FY2025 names 45 organizations directly, so a portfolio cannot be read from it. Everything below is therefore FY2020, the last year Macdonald Family Foundation named its own grantees at scale: 25 organizations, $2M. It is dated, not current.

Organizations named directly on the return

25
’20
45
’25

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

01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2025.

Philanthropy$5.1MEducation$2.1MAnimals$474kHealth$388kEnvironment$184kRecreation & Sports$145kArts & Culture$142kCrime & Legal$110kOther$0
02FY2020 · 31 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2020

  • Under $10k4 grants · $26k
  • $10k–50k22 grants · $554k
  • $50k–250k4 grants · $270k
  • $250k+1 grant · $1.5M
$28,000
Median grant
8
States reached
$38M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
WINE EDUCATION COUNCIL$1,500,000
HARBOR DAY SCHOOL$100,000
COUNCIL ON ALCOHOLISM AND DRUG ABUSE$70,000
WOMEN FOR WOMEN INTERNATIONAL$50,000
RIVERSIDE SCHOOL$50,000
LAGUNA BLANCE SCHOOL$45,000
CAL POLY FOUNDATION CENTER$40,000
BREAST CANCER RESOURCE CENTER OF SANTA BARBARA$35,000
GLOBAL LYME ALLIANCE$35,000
YOSEMITE CONSERVANCY$35,000
WESTMINSTER SCHOOLS$35,000
DREAM FOUNDATION$35,000
RM PYLES BOYS CAMP$35,000
PIERRE CLAEYSSENS VETERANS FOUNDATION$28,000
SANTA BARBARA REGION OF CATHOLIC$28,000
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 (FY20–25, $140k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 64% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%FAMILY SUPPORT NETWORK OF CENTRAL CAROLINA: $10k → 16%CHARITY WATER: $50k → 4%THE DREAM FOUNDATION: $45k → 14%DREAM FOUNDATION: $35k → 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

WA
NY
MA
IA
CT
CA
VA
TN
NC
DC
GA
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.

22%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$893k · 16 repeat orgs$3.1M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +42% since the first grant, against 0% for those funded once.

16 repeat relationships: 16 still active in FY2020, 0 since wound down; 49 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

16
49

Total granted

$893k
$3.1M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+42%
0%

Still filing today

94%
73%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 28% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $1.2M went to new ones.

50%100%’20’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’20’25
AnimalsHealthEducationArts & CultureHuman ServicesEnvironmentOther
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

  • CO
    Council on Alcoholism & Drug Abuse
    2× · 2020–2025 · $114k · revenue +69%
  • LB
    LAGUNA BLANCA SCHOOL
    2× · 2020–2025 · $90k · revenue +33%
  • WF
    WOMEN FOR WOMEN INTERNATIONAL
    2× · 2020–2025 · $87k · revenue +49%

Funded once

  • WE
    WINE EDUCATION COUNCIL INC
    one grant, 2020 · $1.5M · revenue +6%
  • HD
    Harbor Day Schoolgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $100k · revenue +78%
  • Rape Abuse & Incest National Network
    one grant, 2025 · $100k · revenue 0%
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
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
2
Santa Barbara Humane Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

Santa barbara humane operates two campuses located in santa barbara and santa maria providing care for community-owned and homeless animals. both campuses offer affordable high quality veterinary care, compassionate behavior training…

Animals
3
Santa Barbara Channelkeeper Inc

The organization was established to protect and restore the santa barbara channel and its watersheds through science-based advocacy, education, field work, community engagement, and citizen enforcement of environmental laws.

Environment
4
Santa Barbara Education Foundation

Santa Barbara Education Foundation (SBEF) provides and supports programs that enrich the academic, artistic, and personal development of all students in the Santa Barbara Unified School District.

Education
5
Santa Barbara Middle School

To operate a school for grades 6-9, delivering a holistic program of academics, arts & athletics, community service, and outdoor education that fosters passion for life and learning, self trust, strength and courage to succeed, and…

Education
6
Uc Santa Barbara Foundation

The uc santa barbara foundation actively works to further the goals of the university of california, santa barbara. the foundation seeks to maintain and nurture the university's quality and distinction. on behalf of the campus, the…

Education
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
Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network

Santa barbara wildlife care network (sbwcn) serves to rescue, rehabilitate and return to the wild sick, injured, orphaned, or oil-impaired wild birds, reptiles, amphibians, and small mammals in santa barbara and ventura counties and to…

Animals
9
San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory

The San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory is dedicated to the conservation of birds and their habitats through science and outreach.

Environment
10
The California Wildlife Center

The california wildlife center (cwc) takes responsibility for the protection of all native wildlife through rehabilitiation, education and conservation. as the los angeles area's premier wildlife medical care and rehabilitation facility,…

Health
11
Sustainable Conservation

Sustainable Conservation advances the collaborative stewardship of Californias land, air, and water for the benefit of nature and people. For over three decades, Sustainable Conservation has built coalitions of people with different…

Environment
12
San Bruno Mountain Watch

The mission of San Bruno Mountain Watch is to care for San Bruno Mountain through conservation, ecological restoration, education,and advocacy in partnership with local communities.

Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Santa Barbara Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Dana-Farber Cancer Institute 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

54 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. 54 of the 66 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)
18
Early backer (in before they grew)
52/54
Grantees still filing
30/54
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

SANTA BARBARA FOUNDATION: $4,999,987 · PhilanthropySANTA BARBARA FOUNDATION+2 more: $60,000 · PhilanthropyWINE EDUCATION COUNCIL INC: $1,500,000 · EducationWINE EDUCATION COUNCIL…Harbor Day School: $100,000 · EducationHarbor Day SchoolLAGUNA BLANCA SCHOOL: $90,000 · Education+3 more: $107,500 · Education+3 morePEACHTREE PRESBYTERIAN PRE-SCHOOL INC: $67,000 · OtherPEACHTREE PR…RM PYLES BOYS CAMP: $65,000 · OtherRM PYLES BOY…CAL POLY FOUNDATION CENTER: $40,000 · OtherGATEWAY EDUCATION CENTER PTA: $35,000 · OtherWESTMINSTER SCHOOLS: $35,000 · OtherTHE COLONEL JF TONEY MEMORIAL LIBRARY: $35,000 · OtherLOBERO THEATRE FOUNDATION: $43,000 · OtherTHE SURFRIDER FOUNDATION: $50,000 · OtherTHE ATLANTA BOTANICAL GARDEN INC: $35,000 · OtherWOMEN FOR WOMEN INTERNATIONAL: $87,000 · OtherWOMEN FOR WO…SANTA BARBARA SCHOOL OF SQUASH: $36,000 · OtherSANTA BARBARA POLICE FOUNDATION: $35,000 · Other+25 more: $459,000 · Other+25 moreANIMAL SERVICES OF RICHMOND INC: $80,000 · AnimalsHAPPY DOGGO: $73,500 · AnimalsWILDLIFE RESCUE AND REHABILITATION INC: $73,500 · AnimalsSOUTH FLORIDA WILDLIFE CENTER INC: $73,500 · AnimalsTHE GREY MUZZLE ORGANIZATION: $73,500 · AnimalsCHARLES RIVER ALLEYCATS INCORPORATED: $25,000 · AnimalsATLANTA FULTON COUNTY ZOO INC: $25,000 · AnimalsGEORGIA AQUARIUM INC & SUBSIDIARY: $25,000 · AnimalsCouncil on Alcoholism & Drug Abuse: $114,000 · HealthRape Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN): $100,000 · HealthGLOBAL LYME ALLIANCE INC: $60,000 · HealthTHE BREAST CANCER RESOURCE CENTER OF SANTA BARBARA: $35,000 · HealthTEDDY BEAR CANCER FOUNDATION: $31,000 · HealthHOAG HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $25,000 · HealthDana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc: $18,000 · HealthRIVER CITY INCLUSIVE GYMNASTICS INC: $80,000 · Recreation & SportsYOSEMITE FOUNDATION: $75,000 · Recreation & SportsDALMATIAN DREAMS DBA DREAM FOUNDATION: $80,000 · Human ServicesCHARITY GLOBAL INC: $50,000 · Human ServicesFAMILY SUPPORT NETWORK OF CENTRAL CAROLINA: $10,000 · Human Services
Philanthropy$5,059,987Education$1,797,500Other$1,022,000Animals$449,000Health$383,000Recreation & Sports$155,000Human Services$140,000

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetCouncil on Alcoholism & Drug Abuse: $114,000 over 2y, 1.3% of budgetHarbor Day School: $100,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetRape Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN): $100,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetLAGUNA BLANCA SCHOOL: $90,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetWOMEN FOR WOMEN INTERNATIONAL: $87,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetDALMATIAN DREAMS DBA DREAM FOUNDATION: $80,000 over 2y, 1.5% of budgetYOSEMITE FOUNDATION: $75,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetHAPPY DOGGO: $73,500 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetWILDLIFE RESCUE AND REHABILITATION INC: $73,500 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetSOUTH FLORIDA WILDLIFE CENTER INC: $73,500 over 1y, 2.8% of budgetTHE GREY MUZZLE ORGANIZATION: $73,500 over 1y, 4.0% of budgetPEACHTREE PRESBYTERIAN PRE-SCHOOL INC: $67,000 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetRM PYLES BOYS CAMP: $65,000 over 2y, 4.9% of budgetGLOBAL LYME ALLIANCE INC: $60,000 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetTIM TEBOW FOUNDATION INC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetThe Westminster Schools Inc: $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCHARITY GLOBAL INC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetRIVERSIDE SCHOOL INC: $50,000 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetLOBERO THEATRE FOUNDATION: $43,000 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetSANTA BARBARA SCHOOL OF SQUASH: $36,000 over 2y, 6.4% of budgetTHE ATLANTA BOTANICAL GARDEN INC: $35,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE BREAST CANCER RESOURCE CENTER OF SANTA BARBARA: $35,000 over 1y, 14% of budgetSANTA BARBARA YOUTH PROJECT: $34,000 over 2y, 24% of budgetTEDDY BEAR CANCER FOUNDATION: $31,000 over 2y, 1.8% of budgetCHARLES RIVER ALLEYCATS INCORPORATED: $25,000 over 1y, 14% of budgetATLANTA FULTON COUNTY ZOO INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSANTA BARBARA REVELS INC: $23,000 over 2y, 11% of budgetDana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc: $18,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSANTA BARBARA POLICE ACTIVITIES LEAGUE INC: $17,500 over 2y, 2.0% of budgetDIRECT RELIEF: $15,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCENTER FOR URBAN AGRICULTURE AT FAIRVIEW GARDENS: $14,000 over 1y, 2.4% of budgetNEWPORT HARBOR FOOTBALL BOOSTERS: $10,000 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetUNITED WAY OF SANTA BARBARA COUNTY INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCOURT APPOINTED SPECIAL ADVOCATE OF ORANGE COUNTY: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetFAMILY SUPPORT NETWORK OF CENTRAL CAROLINA: $10,000 over 1y, 3.0% of budgetSTORYTELLER CHILDRENS CENTER INC: $8,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetELINGS PARK FOUNDATION: $7,500 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetNEWPORT HARBOR ATHLETIC FOUNDATION: $7,500 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetCASA DEL HERRERO: $3,000 over 1y, 0.3% 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.

Santa Barbara Foundat…Hutton Foundation Dba…Ann Jackson Family Fo…The Wood-Claeyssens F…Alice Tweed Tuohy Fou…Mosher FoundationElizabeth and John Mo…Rudi Schulte Family F…Williams-Corbett Foun…Kim and Andrew D Busc…Www FoundationBrittingham Family Fo…
Santa Barbara FoundationCA38.4× affinity17 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Santa Barbara Foundation · Hutton Foundation Dba Hutton Parker Foundation · Ann Jackson Family Foundation · The Wood-Claeyssens Foundation · Alice Tweed Tuohy Foundation · Mosher Foundation · Elizabeth and John Moller Foundation · Rudi Schulte Family Foundation · Williams-Corbett Foundation · Kim and Andrew D Busch Family Foundation · Www Foundation · Brittingham Family 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 Macdonald Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Macdonald Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 40%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 16%
  • The Coral Restoration Foundation Inc: 16% of income from government
  • Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc: 7% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
4get no government money at all
10report 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.
05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Macdonald Family Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Macdonald 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 66 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 Macdonald 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