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· Private foundation

McCarthy Family Foundation Inc

$524k
Granted FY2019
40
Grants FY2019
3
States reached
$100k
Largest

Read this first · the figures below need context

100% of McCarthy Family Foundation Inc’s FY2022 grant dollars went to The San Diego Foundation, not to grantees.

Its money now reaches organizations through that sponsor, which does not report who recommended each grant. FY2022 names 0 organizations directly, so a portfolio cannot be read from it. Everything below is therefore FY2019, the last year McCarthy Family Foundation Inc named its own grantees at scale: 34 organizations, $524k. It is dated, not current.

Organizations named directly on the return

25
17
33
18
34
19
4
20
4
21
0
22

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

01What you fund
01100% classified

What you funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year — across FY20172022.

Philanthropy$8.6MEducation$3.3MHuman Services$1.3MArts & Culture$1.1MHealth$220kYouth Development$173kCommunity Improvement$105kScience & Tech$64kOther$0
02FY2019 · 40 grants

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

By grant size · FY2019

  • Under $10k12 grants · $54k
  • $10k–50k27 grants · $370k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $100k
$10,000
Median grant
3
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
SAN DIEGO GRANTMAKERS$100,000
JUST IN TIME FOR FOSTER YOUTH$20,000
VOICES FOR CHILDREN$20,000
YWCA OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY$20,000
Individual grant recipient$20,000
HANNAH'S HOUSE$15,000
ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF SAN DIEGO$15,000
ANGELS FOSTER FAMILY NETWORK$15,000
CANYON CREST ACADEMY FOUNDATION TEAM 3128 ALUMINUM NARWHALS$15,000
SAN DIEGUITO ACADEMY FOUNDATION$15,000
ELEMENTARY INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE$15,000
CRISIS HOUSE$15,000
KIDS' TURN SAN DIEGO$15,000
NORTH COUNTY LGBTQ RESOURCE CENTER$15,000
BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF OCEANSIDE$15,000
02The need
03

Do your dollars go where the need is?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, then read against the area’s typical level.

show:

Your human-services grants (FY17–19, $245k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Your grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%WALDEN ENVIRONMENT INC DBA WALDEN FAMILY SERVICES: $20k → 11%YMCA OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY: $15k → 11%KIDS' TURN SAN DIEGO: $15k → 11%ANGELS FOSTER FAMILY NETWORK: $15k → 11%KIDS TURN SAN DIEGO: $15k → 11%ANGELS FOSTER FAMILY AGENCY: $10k → 11%GENERATE HOPE: $10k → 11%SAN DIEGO CENTER FOR CHILDREN: $10k → 11%SAN DIEGO CENTER FOR CHILDREN: $10k → 11%EPISCOPAL COMMUNITY SERVICES: $15k → 11%WOMEN'S RESOURCE CENTER: $10k → 11%NORTH COUNTY LIFELINE: $15k → 11%CASA DE AMPARO: $10k → 11%CASA DE AMPARO: $10k → 11%CRISIS HOUSE: $15k → 11%YWCA OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY: $20k → 11%YWCA OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY: $15k → 11%CRISIS HOUSE: $15k → 11%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount

Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty linein the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP; grantee ZIP can differ from where services are delivered.

US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are actually delivered. Need from public data — U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA — shown as context about the area, never attributed to your giving.

04

Where the work is directed

The same grants, placed two ways — where each recipient sits, and where its stated purpose earmarks the money.

About 12% of McCarthy Family Foundation Inc’s grant dollars are earmarked, by their stated purpose, for a different county than the recipient’s own address — money that lands at a nonprofit in one place but is meant to do its work in another.

McCarthy Family Foundation Inclessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address

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 foundation’s own 990 grant descriptions.

03Your edge
repeat funding

Who you back again

Which organizations you funded more than once, and which you funded a single time. Each grantee is matched to its own filings.

74%of every dollar goes to organizations you’ve funded before.
$5.0M · 24 repeat orgs$1.8M to everyone else

24 repeat relationships — 20 still active in FY2019, 4 since wound down; 20 grantees were first funded in FY2019 (too recent to call). Read against FY2019, 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

24
38

Total granted

$5.0M
$582k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+32%
+48%

Still filing today

92%
74%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2021, 54% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $1.0M went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21
EducationHuman ServicesYouth DevelopmentPhilanthropyHealthArts & CultureOther

First-time = a grantee’s first year in your filing window; renewed = funded in an earlier year too. As a portfolio matures the renewed share naturally climbs — once funded, an org stays “renewable” — so the signal is the years that buck it (a new-grantee intake wave). 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

  • Catalyst of San Diego & Imperial Counties
    5× · 2017–2021 · $2.4M · revenue +208% · 39% of their budget
  • PC
    POWAY CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS FOUNDATION
    5× · 2017–2021 · $1.1M · revenue +13%
  • PF
    PROMISES2KIDS FOUNDATION
    3× · 2017–2020 · $1.0M · revenue +85%

Funded once

  • HA
    HIV AIDS UCLA FOUNDATION (AIDS INSTITUTE)
    one grant, 2017 · $150k
  • AI
    Access Inc
    one grant, 2017 · $25k · revenue -8%
  • AS
    ARMED SERVICES YMCA SAN DIEGO
    one grant, 2018 · $25k

Repeat = funded in two or more distinct years; growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Your field

The map has a center of gravity: the average direction from the rest of the sector toward the organizations the foundation funds — the shape of its giving. Scoring every nonprofit along that direction surfaces the ones that look most like the portfolio. These are the closest matchesthat aren’t grantees — a resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
San Diego Jewish Academy

San Diego Jewish Academy empowers each student to learn for life, guided by Jewish values and rooted in strength of community.

Education
2
Stem Advantage

Talent is equally distributed, but opportunity is not. STEM Advantage mentors, prepares, and inspires first-generation, low-income, and underserved college students for careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). We level…

Youth Development
3
Social Advocates for Youth San Diego Inc

To partner with youth, families, adults and communities to reach their full potential and is achieved through comprehensive and integrated programming in the areas of child and youth development; youth, adult and family wellness and…

Human Services
4
California School-Age Consortium Inc

The California School-Age Consortium (CalSAC) builds professional networks that provide training, leadership development and advocacy to ensure that all young people have access to high quality out-of-school time programs and to create a…

5
Linda Vista Children's Center

We help children discover a way of dealing with life that is realistic, comfortable, and satisfying. Self-confidence is nurtured as children learn to rely on themselves and each other. The noncompetitive environment is one that allows each…

6
Partners in College Success

Partners in College Success (PiCS) ensures equal access to higher education and an equitable college experience for low-income, refugee, immigrant, foster, homeless and disadvantaged youth in San Diego County. PiCS provides dedicated,…

Education
7
Institute for Public Strategies

Institute of Public Strategies (IPS) is a nonprofit corporation that receives its funding from local and federal governmental agencies and private foundations, through long-term grants or contracts to provide community-level services…

Health
8
United Way of San Diego County

To spark breakthrough community action that elevates every child and family toward a brighter future.

Philanthropy
9
Kidworks Community Development Corp

Kidworks inspires purpose in youth, fuels their growth, and catalyzes their impact in the community and the world.

Human Services
10
University of San Diego

The university of san diego is a contemporary catholic university, grounded in the liberal arts and anchored along an international border, advancing academic excellence to create a more inclusive, sustainable and hopeful world.

11
Policy & Innovation Center

The policy & innovation center's (pic) mission is to unlock the region's potential by cultivating and building partnerships. our niche is to address intractable issues that can only be solved with cross-sector, multi-jurisdictional…

Philanthropy
12
Ucp San Diego

The mission of the san diego cooperative preschool is to provide the highest quality care, while creating a nurturing and supportive community of children, parents, and highly skilled staff. through a play-based program that attends to the…

Education

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is San Diego Center for Children and the most unlike its peers is Musicians for Education Inc Dba Street of Dreams. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.

For each theme you fund, this compares how the sector’s money is shifting with how your own giving is shifting.

← shrinkinggrowing →↓ leaning in → pulling backsteadyPerforming Arts & Music Cen…Community Fundraising Organ…Jewish Community San DiegoBiomedical Research Institu…Youth Education & Empowerme…Community Health CentersSan Diego Environmental Con…Higher Education Institutio…Charter and Independent Sch…School Support FoundationsYouth Recreation & Developm…Substance Abuse Recovery Pr…
the sector your giving your giving is ahead of the sector the sector’s ahead of you· dot size = how much the theme matters to each side
Ordered by the change in your giving — leaning in on top, pulling back at the bottom. The bar between the two dots is how out of step you are with the sector. Hover any row for detail.

Sector change and giving change are each shown relative to their own range, growing (right) or shrinking (left); both normalized, so inflation isn’t mistaken for growth.

Your grantees are a median of 41 years old; the field is 12. You back the established end — and your money leans older still.

THE FIELDby orgYOUR GRANTEESby number25%0%<5yr16%2%5–10yr21%16%10–20yr16%31%20–35yr10%23%35–55yr12%28%55yr+
THE FIELDby orgYOUR MONEYby value25%0%<5yr16%0%5–10yr21%1%10–20yr16%27%20–35yr10%55%35–55yr12%17%55yr+

The field is 25% startups (under 5 years old) — 0% of your grantees by number, and just 0% of your money.

Closures · last 5 years

The orgs you fund almost never close 3% lost their exemption, against 14% of the field you don’t fund.

orgs you fund
3%2/69
the rest of the field
14%
2,127/14,692

Age = years since IRS exemption (a founding proxy). “Closed” = auto-revocation for 3 years of non-filing — a floor on closure, not proof, and bigger established orgs lapse least. Association, not causation.

05the grantee network

67 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each one resolved to its own IRS returns and tracked year by year — your grant beside their revenue from every source. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

Counted here: distinct organizations you funded across 20172025, not grant rows in a single year — so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 67 of the 84 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile; the rest are funded organizations whose filings we could not track year by year.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
19
Early backer (in before they grew)
66/67
Grantees still filing
55/67
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

THE SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION — $6,257,880 · PhilanthropyTHE SAN DIEGO FOUNDATIONCatalyst of San Diego & Imperial Counties — $2,445,500 · PhilanthropyCatalyst of San Diego & Imperial Counties+4 more — $34,500 · PhilanthropyPROMISES2KIDS FOUNDATION — $1,030,000 · OtherPROMISES2KIDS FOUND…POWAY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT — $1,000,000 · OtherPOWAY UNIFIED SCHOO…HIV AIDS UCLA FOUNDATION (AIDS INSTITUTE) — $150,000 · OtherHIV AIDS UCLA FOUND…+35 more — $459,500 · Other+35 moreUCLA FOUNDATION — $2,000,000 · EducationUCLA FOUNDATION+16 more — $208,900 · Education+16 morePOWAY CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS FOUNDATION — $1,059,750 · Arts & Culture+2 more — $25,000 · Arts & CultureYWCA OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY — $35,000 · Human ServicesCRISIS HOUSE — $30,000 · Human ServicesKids Turn San Diego — $30,000 · Human ServicesANGELS FOSTER FAMILY AGENCY — $25,000 · Human ServicesCasa De Amparo — $20,000 · Human ServicesWALDEN ENVIRONMENT DBA WALDEN FAMILY SERVICES — $20,000 · Human ServicesSAN DIEGO CENTER FOR CHILDREN — $20,000 · Human ServicesNORTH COUNTY LIFELINE INC DBA LIFELINE COMMUNITY SERVICES — $15,000 · Human ServicesYMCA OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY — $15,000 · Human ServicesEpiscopal Community Services — $15,000 · Human ServicesWOMENS RESOURCE CENTER — $10,000 · Human ServicesGENERATEHOPE INC — $10,000 · Human ServicesBOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF GREATER SAN DIEGO — $35,000 · Youth DevelopmentJUST IN TIME FOR FOSTER YOUTH — $30,000 · Youth DevelopmentREADING LEGACIES — $15,000 · Youth DevelopmentACCESS YOUTH ACADEMY — $10,000 · Youth DevelopmentBOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF NORTHWEST SAN DIEGO COUNTY INC — $10,000 · Youth DevelopmentBOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF CARLSBAD — $5,000 · Youth DevelopmentVOICES FOR CHILDREN — $40,000 · Civil RightsNorth County LGBTQ Resource Center — $15,000 · Civil Rights
Philanthropy$8,737,880Other$2,639,500Education$2,208,900Arts & Culture$1,084,750Human Services$245,000Youth Development$105,000Civil Rights$55,000

Each org by its size and your share of it — top-left is where you’re load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ your share of their budgetTHE SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION — $6,257,880 over 1y, 2.2% of budgetCatalyst of San Diego & Imperial Counties — $2,445,500 over 5y, 39% of budgetUCLA FOUNDATION — $2,000,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetPOWAY CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS FOUNDATION — $1,059,750 over 5y, 2.8% of budgetPROMISES2KIDS FOUNDATION — $1,030,000 over 3y, 12% of budgetVOICES FOR CHILDREN — $40,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetBOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF GREATER SAN DIEGO — $35,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetYWCA OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY — $35,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF SAN DIEGO — $30,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCRISIS HOUSE — $30,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetHANNAHS FAMILY CENTER — $30,000 over 2y, 2.7% of budgetELEMENTARY INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE — $30,000 over 2y, 1.4% of budgetKids Turn San Diego — $30,000 over 2y, 5.3% of budgetJUST IN TIME FOR FOSTER YOUTH — $30,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetANGELS FOSTER FAMILY AGENCY — $25,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetSAN DIEGUITO ACADEMY FOUNDATION — $25,000 over 2y, 1.8% of budgetAccess Inc — $25,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetHOME START INC — $25,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetPTA CALIFORNIA CONGRESS OF PARENTS TEACHERS & STUDENTS INC — $22,000 over 2y, 4.5% of budgetCasa De Amparo — $20,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetREALITY CHANGERS — $20,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetWALDEN ENVIRONMENT DBA WALDEN FAMILY SERVICES — $20,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCARLSBAD EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION — $20,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetREUBEN H FLEET SCIENCE CENTER — $20,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetSAN DIEGO CENTER FOR CHILDREN — $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetNORTH COUNTY LIFELINE INC DBA LIFELINE COMMUNITY SERVICES — $15,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSECOND CHANCE INC — $15,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetOCEAN DISCOVERY INSTITUTE — $15,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetBOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF OCEANSIDE INC — $15,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetALLIANCE FOR HOPE INTERNATIONAL — $15,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetYMCA OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY — $15,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetENCORPSINC — $15,000 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetASELTINE SCHOOL — $15,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetCENTER FOR COMMUNITY SOLUTIONS — $15,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetNorth County LGBTQ Resource Center — $15,000 over 1y, 4.5% of budgetInterfaith Community Services Inc — $15,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetREADING LEGACIES — $15,000 over 1y, 5.2% of budgetSAN DIEGO PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION — $15,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetEpiscopal Community Services — $15,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHERESA HESSLING CHARTER SCHOOL PROJECT DBA SAN DIEGO COOPERATIVE CHARTERS — $12,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetSan Diego-Imperial Council Boy Scouts of America — $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetALPINE EDUCATION FOUNDATION INC — $10,000 over 1y, 6.2% of budgetTHE CHILDRENS INITIATIVE INC — $10,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetSAN DIEGO COASTKEEPER — $10,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetMUSICIANS FOR EDUCATION INC DBA STREET OF DREAMS — $10,000 over 1y, 7.5% of budgetVISTA COMMUNITY CLINIC — $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY SAN MARCOS FOUNDATION — $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetWOMENS RESOURCE CENTER — $10,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budget
Go grantee by grantee — a decade per org, and how each moved after you funded them

A decade per grantee — revenue shaded, your grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

The grantmakers whose grantees overlap with yours far more than size alone predicts. Each orbits closer the stronger the alignment; the arcs between them show where they also fund each other. Here it reads as a tightly interlocked camp — most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

The San Diego FoundationCA76.8× affinity43 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The San Diego Foundation · The Conrad Prebys Foundation · The Nordson Corporation Foundation · Price Philanthropies Foundation · Walter J & Betty C Zable Foundation · Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego · David C Copley Foundation · Rancho Santa Fe Foundation · Sempra Foundation · The Cushman Foundation · Boys and Girls Aid Society of San Diego Ltd · The Parker Foundation

Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. A research starting point: overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

Government reliance of your grantees

Every dot is one organization McCarthy Family Foundation Inc funds. Left–right is the share of its income from government; up–down is the share from you. Bigger dots raise more. Filter to federal or a single department — and drag the year to watch it move.

2024
202122232425
no gov · 00%6%25%56%100%your share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    28report 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, FY2025

    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 your grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first — a floor, not 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 12–24 months.

    05Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to McCarthy Family Foundation Inc?

    Find your warmest path to McCarthy Family Foundation Inc 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 directly from IRS e-file XML — your own 990/990-PF and the multi-year returns of the 84 grantees we resolved across every year we hold, several hundred filings in all (a different count from the grant rows on the cover, which are one fiscal year)— each linked to its source. Grantee achievements and outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III); we read these as association with sustained funding — the foundation is one of several forces — suppress low-confidence name matches rather than guess, and say so where a figure rests on a single grant or filing. Not everything on this page is a filed figure, and the difference matters. Filed is what you reported on your 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. How we build these →

    Generated from your IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2019, released 2019. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2024) is on record and reports no grant expense, so the figures above are from FY2019, the most recent year this funder made grants.

    Source object · view filing

    More from the funding graph