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Matt and Lesley Becker Foundation at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Private foundation

Matt and Lesley Becker 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.

$73k
Granted FY2024still arriving
15
Grants FY2024still arriving
6
States reached
$25k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01FY2024 · 15 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k11 grants · $8k
  • $10k–50k4 grants · $65k
$1,000
Median grant
6
States reached
$1.2M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
THE CONTEMPORARY AUSTIN$25,000
THE LOVETT SCHOOL$20,000
VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER$10,000
WONDERS & WORRIES$10,000
AMERICAN RED CROSS$1,000
AUSTIN WILDLIFE RESCUE$1,000
AUSTIN THEATRE ALLIANCE$1,000
WORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC$1,000
AUSTIN PETS ALIVE$1,000
CHI OMEGA FOUNDATION$1,000
BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB$500
WEST AUSTIN YOUTH ASSOCIATION$500
CENTRAL TEXAS FOOD BANK$500
THE SALVATION ARMY$500
HEIFER INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION$100
02The need
02

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 (FY24–24, $11k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 9% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $1k → 14%WONDERS & WORRIES: $10k → 10%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 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
Witte Museum

The witte museum inspires people to shape the future of texas through transformative and relevant experiences in nature, science and culture.

Arts & Culture
2
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
3
Rainforest Trust

Rainforest trust saves endangered wildlife and protects our planet by creating rainforest reserves through partnerships, community engagement, and donor support.

International
4
The University of TexasTexas a&M Investment Management Company

To generate superior long-term investment returns to support The University of Texas and Texas A&M University systems as they provide world-class teaching, push the boundaries of discovery, and achieve excellence in patient healthcare for…

Education
5
Austin College

The mission of austin college is to educate students in the liberal arts and sciences in order to prepare them for rewarding careers and for full, engaged and meaningful lives.

Education
6
Uatx

Uatx is a nonprofit dedicated to building a liberal arts university committed to freedom of inquiry, freedom of conscience, and civil discourse. to maintain these principles, the university will be fiercely independent financially,…

Education
7
American Water Works Association

To promote public health, safety, and welfare through the improvement of the quality and quantity of drinking water and the development and furtherance of understanding of the problems relating thereto.

Public Benefit
8
Texas Medical Association

The texas medical association (tma), the nation's largest and one of the oldest state medical societies, represents over 59,000 physicians and medical students dedicated to enhancing the health of all texans. in collaboration with 110…

—
9
American Gas Association

American gas association's (the association) mission is to develop and advocate for informed, innovative, and durable policy that fulfills our nation's energy needs, environmental aspirations and economic potential. we are committed to…

—
10
Air Transport Association of America Inc

Airlines for america (a4a) vigorously advocates for america's airlines as models of safety, customer service, and environmental responsibility; and as the indispensable network that drives our nation's economy and global…

—
11
Trinity University

Trinity university is an independent co-educational university whose mission is excellence in the interrelated areas of teaching, research and services.

Education
12
Houston Zoo Inc

Mission: Connect communities with animals, inspiring action to save wildlife. Vision: Be a leader in the global movement to save wildlife. (Continued on Schedule O) Houston Zoo, Inc. (HZI) strives to be a zoo that practices exemplary…

Animals
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Heifer International Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
03the grantee network

13 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. 13 of the 15 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)
0
Early backer (in before they grew)
13/13
Grantees still filing
5/13
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE CONTEMPORARY AUSTIN MUSEUM INC: $25,000 · Arts & CultureTHE CONTEMPORARY AUSTIN MUSEUM INCAUSTIN THEATRE ALLIANCE: $1,000 · Arts & CultureTHE LOVETT SCHOOL INC: $20,000 · EducationTHE LOVETT SCHOOL INCWonders & Worries Inc: $10,000 · Human ServicesWonders & Worries…American National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $1,000 · Human ServicesAmerican National…Vanderbilt University Medical Center: $10,000 · HealthVanderbilt Univ…CHI OMEGA FOUNDATION: $1,000 · OtherBOYS AND GIRLS CLUB: $500 · OtherTHE SALVATION ARMY: $500 · OtherWEST AUSTIN YOUTH ASSOCIATION: $500 · OtherCentral Texas Food Bank Inc: $500 · Other+1 more: $100 · OtherAUSTIN PETS ALIVE INC: $1,000 · AnimalsAustin Wildlife Rescue: $1,000 · AnimalsWORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $1,000 · Environment
Arts & Culture$26,000Education$20,000Human Services$11,000Health$10,000Other$3,100Animals$2,000Environment$1,000

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

25%50%75%100%$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetTHE CONTEMPORARY AUSTIN MUSEUM INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetTHE LOVETT SCHOOL INC: $20,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWonders & Worries Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetVanderbilt University Medical Center: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAUSTIN PETS ALIVE INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAustin Wildlife Rescue: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetAUSTIN THEATRE ALLIANCE: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCHI OMEGA FOUNDATION: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCentral Texas Food Bank Inc: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWEST AUSTIN YOUTH ASSOCIATION: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHEIFER INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION: $100 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.

Austin Community Foun…The Moody FoundationBetter Business BureauUnited Way WorldwideRaymond James Charita…National Philanthropi…American Online Givin…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Austin Community Foundation IncTX15.5× affinity5 shared granteesties to 9 of 9Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Austin Community Foundation Inc · The Moody Foundation · Better Business Bureau · United Way Worldwide · Raymond James Charitable Endowment Fund · National Philanthropic Trust · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving 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 Matt and Lesley Becker Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Matt and Lesley Becker 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%4%8%11%15%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 · 0–15%
    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 15 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 Matt and Lesley Becker’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