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Mesara Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Mesara Family Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$484k
Granted FY2025still arriving
43
Grants FY2025still arriving
12
States reached
$50k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0199% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2019 to 2025.

Education$472kEnvironment$321kRecreation & Sports$307kHuman Services$286kFood & Nutrition$265kAnimals$221kInternational$213kHealth$140kOther$0
02FY2025 · 43 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k22 grants · $115k
  • $10k–50k19 grants · $269k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $100k
$8,500
Median grant
12
States reached
$5.4M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
WMU FOUNDATION$50,000
SHE JUMPS$50,000
BUILDING TOMORROW$40,000
LEADER DOGS FOR THE BLIND$30,000
SPECIAL FORCES ASSOCIATION CHAPTER 7$25,000
PYXERA GLOBAL INC$15,000
FIRST DAY SHOE FUND$15,000
SPECIAL DAYS CAMPS$12,000
SEASON OF JUSTICE$12,000
THE CHILL FOUNDATION$10,000
GOD'S SPECIAL PEOPLES CAMP$10,000
KALAMAZOO COUNTY NATURE CENTER$10,000
WILD SHEEP FOUNDATION$10,000
FEEDING TAMPA BAY$10,000
SEWARD ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF MARINE SCIENCE$10,000
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 (FY19–25, $262k) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 31% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%CETERA INC: $8k → 12%LEADER DOGS FOR THE BLIND: $30k → 8%SEASON OF JUSTICE: $12k → 5%CETERA INC: $7k → 12%LEADER DOGS FOR THE BLIND: $20k → 8%SEASONS OF JUSTICE: $10k → 5%CETERA INC: $4k → 12%LEADER DOGS FOR THE BLIND: $19k → 8%LEADER DOGS FOR THE BLIND: $18k → 8%LEADER DOGS FOR THE BLIND: $14k → 8%LEADER DOGS FOR THE BLIND: $5k → 8%LEADER DOGS FOR THE BLIND: $5k → 8%CATAMOUNT INSTITUTE: $11k → 9%CATAMOUNT INSTITUTE: $10k → 9%CATAMOUNT INSTITUTE: $10k → 9%CATAMOUNT INSTITUTE: $10k → 9%CATAMOUNT INSTITUTE: $9k → 9%HOSPICE CARE OF SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN: $8k → 12%FIRST DAY SHOE FUND: $15k → 12%FIRST DAY SHOE FUND: $10k → 12%FIRST DAY SHOE FUND: $10k → 12%FIRST DAY SHOE FUND: $10k → 12%FIRST DAY SHOE FUND: $5k → 12%FIRST DAY SHOE FUND: $5k → 12%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

AK
VT
MT
MN
IL
MI
NY
OR
IN
RI
CA
UT
CO
NC
DC
HI
GA
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.

86%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$2.2M · 50 repeat orgs$362k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +34% since the first grant, against +25% for those funded once.

50 repeat relationships: 38 still active in FY2025, 12 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

50
47

Total granted

$2.2M
$345k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+34%
+25%

Still filing today

78%
64%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 97% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $17k went to new ones.

50%100%’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
AnimalsEducationHuman ServicesHealthRecreation & SportsYouth DevelopmentOther
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

  • WM
    WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION
    6× · 2019–2025 · $246k · revenue +149%
  • BT
    BUILDING TOMORROW INC
    5× · 2019–2025 · $153k · revenue +158%
  • SheJumps
    6× · 2019–2025 · $124k · revenue +182%

Funded once

  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2020 · $30k
  • HH
    HELPING HANDS OF PAULDING COUNTY Igraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $20k · revenue +74%
  • DC
    DISCOVERY CENTER GREAT LAKESgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $15k · revenue +978%
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
Wildcoast

The mission of wildcoast is to conserve coastal and marine ecosystems and address climate change through natural solutions. our staff is dedicated to conserving threatened and endangered coastlines and wildlife in california and mexico.…

Environment
2
Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation Inc

To champion a collaborative campaign to permanently connect, protect and restore the Florida Wildlife Corridor, a statewide network of lands and waters that supports wildlife and people. We combine conservation science with compelling…

Environment
3
Marine Megafauna Foundation

Save threatened marine life using pioneering research, education, and sustainable conservation solutions

International
4
National Marine Mammal Foundation Inc

The nmmf's mission is to improve and protect life for marine mammals, humans, and our shared oceans through science, service, and education. our vision is to be the leading laboratory in marine mammal science, where critical questions…

Animals
5
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
6
Rocky Mountain Wild

Rocky mountain wild works to protect, connect, and restore wildlife and wild lands in the southern rocky mountain region. we work to secure the biodiversity of the mountains, plains, and desert ecosystems of colorado, wyoming, utah, and…

Environment
7
Washington Wildlife & Recreation Coalition

Creating a greener, healthier, more equitable, and better Washington for all through community outreach, network building, and advocacy for conservation and outdoor recreation funding.

—
8
Alaska Whale Foundation

Alaska Whale Foundation is dedicated to marine mammal conservation through research monitoring and education.

Environment
9
Land Conservancy of West Michigan

Our mission is conserving West Michigans ecologically critical land. We protect land by creating public nature preserves, providing support to communities and local governments in creating natural areas, and helping private landowners…

Environment
10
Wild Orca

Translating science into action to save Southern Resident killer whales from extinction.

Animals
11
Wyoming Outdoor Council

The wyoming outdoor council's mission is to protect wyoming's environment and quality of life now and for future generations.

Environment
12
Wildlife Protection Solutions

To protect endangered species.

Animals
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Special Operations Warrior Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Cetera 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

77 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. 77 of the 102 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)
25
Early backer (in before they grew)
74/77
Grantees still filing
62/77
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

CARE AND SHARE FOOD BANK OF SOUTHERN COLORADO: $64,000 · OtherCARE AND SHARE FOOD BANK OF SOUTHERN COLORADOAMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE OCEAN CLEANUP FOUNDATION: $60,000 · OtherAMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE OCEAN CLEANUP FOUNDAT…Special Days Camps: $51,500 · OtherSPECIAL FORCES ASSOCIATION: $50,000 · OtherGODS SPECIAL PEOPLES CAMP: $40,000 · OtherCHILL FOUNDATION: $42,500 · OtherINSIDE OUT YOUTH SERVICES: $35,500 · OtherMALAMA KAUAI: $40,000 · OtherMOUNTAIN VIEW LAKES FOUNDATION INC: $38,500 · OtherMICHIGAN INTERFAITH POWER & LIGHT INC: $50,000 · Other+54 more: $569,720 · Other+54 moreWESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $246,410 · EducationWESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVER…SheJumps: $123,525 · EducationSheJumpsSPECIAL OPERATIONS WARRIOR FOUNDATION: $105,000 · EducationSPECIAL OPERATIONS WARR…SPECIAL FORCES SCHOLARSHIP FUND: $50,000 · EducationSPECIAL FORCES SCHOLARS…+3 more: $14,500 · EducationLEADER DOGS FOR THE BLIND: $110,100 · Human ServicesLEADER DOGS …FIRST DAY SHOE FUND: $55,000 · Human ServicesFIRST DAY SH…The Catamount Institute: $49,500 · Human ServicesThe Catamoun…CETERA INC: $34,000 · Human ServicesCETERA INCSEASON OF JUSTICE CORPORATION: $22,000 · Human ServicesSEASON OF JU…+1 more: $7,500 · Human ServicesWILD SHEEP FOUNDATION: $65,000 · AnimalsWILD SHEEP …SEWARD ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF MARINE SCIENCE: $60,000 · AnimalsSEWARD ASSO…Hidden Harbor Marine Environmental Project Inc: $33,000 · AnimalsHidden Harb…BOONE AND CROCKETT CLUB: $25,000 · AnimalsBOONE AND C…MACKENZIE'S ANIMAL SANCTUARY INC: $20,000 · AnimalsMACKENZIE'S…Wild Blue Cats: $11,000 · AnimalsHUMANE SOCIETY OF WEST MICHIGAN: $10,000 · Animals+7 more: $32,500 · Animals+7 moreBUILDING TOMORROW INC: $153,000 · InternationalPYXERA GLOBAL INC: $50,000 · InternationalFEEDING AMERICA TAMPA BAY INC: $64,000 · Food & NutritionKALAMAZOO LOAVES & FISHES INC: $64,000 · Food & NutritionMAUI FOOD BANK INC: $5,000 · Food & NutritionTHE FLORIDA TRAIL ASSOCIATION INC: $37,880 · Recreation & SportsREEF ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $25,000 · Recreation & SportsFRIENDS OF CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN STATE PARK: $23,280 · Recreation & SportsGREAT LAKES BURN CAMP INC: $12,500 · Recreation & SportsShare Winter Foundation: $10,000 · Recreation & SportsKALAMAZOO COUNTY PARKS AND RECREATION DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION: $10,000 · Recreation & Sports
Other$1,041,720Education$539,435Human Services$278,100Animals$256,500International$203,000Food & Nutrition$133,000Recreation & Sports$118,660

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 budgetWESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $246,410 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetBUILDING TOMORROW INC: $153,000 over 5y, 1.4% of budgetSheJumps: $123,525 over 6y, 7.0% of budgetLEADER DOGS FOR THE BLIND: $110,100 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetSPECIAL OPERATIONS WARRIOR FOUNDATION: $105,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetWILD SHEEP FOUNDATION: $65,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetFEEDING AMERICA TAMPA BAY INC: $64,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetKALAMAZOO LOAVES & FISHES INC: $64,000 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetSEWARD ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF MARINE SCIENCE: $60,000 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetAMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE OCEAN CLEANUP FOUNDATION: $60,000 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetFIRST DAY SHOE FUND: $55,000 over 6y, 2.9% of budgetSpecial Days Camps: $51,500 over 6y, 7.1% of budgetSPECIAL FORCES ASSOCIATION: $50,000 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetSPECIAL FORCES SCHOLARSHIP FUND: $50,000 over 2y, 7.5% of budgetMICHIGAN INTERFAITH POWER & LIGHT INC: $50,000 over 5y, 4.8% of budgetPYXERA GLOBAL INC: $50,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetThe Catamount Institute: $49,500 over 5y, 1.7% of budgetCHILL FOUNDATION: $42,500 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetMALAMA KAUAI: $40,000 over 4y, 0.7% of budgetMOUNTAIN VIEW LAKES FOUNDATION INC: $38,500 over 5y, 12% of budgetTHE FLORIDA TRAIL ASSOCIATION INC: $37,880 over 2y, 1.6% of budgetINSIDE OUT YOUTH SERVICES: $35,500 over 5y, 0.6% of budgetCETERA INC: $34,000 over 5y, 0.6% of budgetHidden Harbor Marine Environmental Project Inc: $33,000 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetBOONE AND CROCKETT CLUB: $25,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetPenrickton Center for Blind Children: $25,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetREEF ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetMusk Ox Development Corporation: $25,000 over 6y, 2.0% of budgetFRIENDS OF CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN STATE PARK: $23,280 over 2y, 18% of budgetSEASON OF JUSTICE CORPORATION: $22,000 over 2y, 2.2% of budgetMACKENZIE'S ANIMAL SANCTUARY INC: $20,000 over 4y, 0.6% of budgetHELPING HANDS OF PAULDING COUNTY I: $20,000 over 1y, 7.8% of budgetCONCH REPUBLIC MARINE ARMY: $18,500 over 5y, 5.1% of budgetBronson Health Foundation: $17,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetSEEDING CHANGE: $15,000 over 2y, 8.9% of budgetDISCOVERY CENTER GREAT LAKES: $15,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetHUNT2HEAL: $13,000 over 2y, 3.7% of budgetLOCKS OF LOVE INC: $12,500 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetGREAT LAKES BURN CAMP INC: $12,500 over 5y, 1.1% of budgetWild Blue Cats: $11,000 over 4y, 0.6% of budgetSPECIAL OPERATORS TRANSITION FOUNDATION INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetShare Winter Foundation: $10,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetST JOHNS RIVERKEEPER INC: $10,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetHIGH FIVES NONPROFIT FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetCOLE COMMUNITY SOLUTIONS INC: $10,000 over 1y, 7.2% of budgetThe Sandals Foundation Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetKALAMAZOO COUNTY PARKS AND RECREATION DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 4.8% of budgetSea to Shore Alliance: $10,000 over 1y, 8.1% 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.

  • Who funds WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds BUILDING TOMORROW INC ↗
  • Who funds SheJumps ↗
  • Who funds LEADER DOGS FOR THE BLIND ↗
  • Who funds SPECIAL OPERATIONS WARRIOR FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds WILD SHEEP FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds FEEDING AMERICA TAMPA BAY INC ↗
  • Who funds KALAMAZOO LOAVES & FISHES INC ↗
  • Who funds SEWARD ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF MARINE SCIENCE ↗
  • Who funds AMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE OCEAN CLEANUP FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds FIRST DAY SHOE FUND ↗
  • Who funds Special Days Camps ↗
  • Who funds SPECIAL FORCES ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds SPECIAL FORCES SCHOLARSHIP FUND ↗
  • Who funds MICHIGAN INTERFAITH POWER & LIGHT INC ↗
  • Who funds PYXERA GLOBAL INC ↗
  • Who funds The Catamount Institute ↗
  • Who funds CHILL FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds MALAMA KAUAI ↗
  • Who funds MOUNTAIN VIEW LAKES FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds THE FLORIDA TRAIL ASSOCIATION INC ↗
  • Who funds INSIDE OUT YOUTH SERVICES ↗
  • Who funds CETERA INC ↗
  • Who funds Hidden Harbor Marine Environmental Project Inc ↗
  • Who funds BOONE AND CROCKETT CLUB ↗
  • Who funds Penrickton Center for Blind Children ↗
  • Who funds REEF ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Musk Ox Development Corporation ↗
  • Who funds FRIENDS OF CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN STATE PARK ↗
  • Who funds SEASON OF JUSTICE CORPORATION ↗
  • Who funds MACKENZIE'S ANIMAL SANCTUARY INC ↗
  • Who funds HELPING HANDS OF PAULDING COUNTY I ↗
  • Who funds CONCH REPUBLIC MARINE ARMY ↗

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.

Kalamazoo Community F…Mike and Sharon Seely…United Way of South C…Marvin and Rosalie Ok…Tyler-Little Family F…Irving S Gilmore Foun…John E Fetzer Institu…Molitor Family Founda…Dorothy U Dalton Foun…Harold and Grace Upjo…WK Kellogg FoundationThe Burdick-Thorne Fo…
Kalamazoo Community FoundationMI28.7× affinity12 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Kalamazoo Community Foundation · Mike and Sharon Seelye Family Foundation · United Way of South Central Michigan · Marvin and Rosalie Okun Foundation · Tyler-Little Family Foundation · Irving S Gilmore Foundation · John E Fetzer Institute Inc · Molitor Family Foundation · Dorothy U Dalton Foundation Inc · Harold and Grace Upjohn Foundation · WK Kellogg Foundation · The Burdick-Thorne 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 Mesara Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Mesara Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 110%1%5%11%20%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 2%
  • The Florida Trail Association Inc: 100% of income from government
  • Feeding America Tampa Bay Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Chill Foundation: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
11get no government money at all
21report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
1rely 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.

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 102 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 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Mesara 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