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· Private foundation

Michael J Kirsch 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.

$9k
Granted FY2025still arriving
8
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$2k
Largest
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Religion$11kFood & Nutrition$10kHuman Services$10kYouth Development$9kArts & Culture$7kHealth$7kEducation$6kScience & Tech$4kOther$0
02FY2025 · 8 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$1,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$194k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Bethel Lutheran Church School$2,000
Pacifica Resource Center$1,000
Sacred Heart Community Service$1,000
Community Music Center$1,000
Second Harvest Food Bank$1,000
Esperanza Services$1,000
Real Options for City Kids$1,000
San Francisco Fire Fighters Toy Pro$500
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 (FY21–25, $7k) land where the poverty rate runs at 8%, against an area that typically sits at 7%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 7%Pacifica Resource Center: $1k → 7%Pacifica Resource Center: $1k → 7%San Francisco Fire Fighters Toy Pro: $500 → 10%Sacred Heart Community Service: $1k → 8%Sacred Heart Community Service: $1k → 8%Sacred Heart Community Service: $1k → 8%Sacred Heart Community Service: $750 → 8%Sacred Heart Community Service: $500 → 8%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 grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

91%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$62k · 18 repeat orgs$6k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +20% since the first grant, against +5% for those funded once.

18 repeat relationships: 5 still active in FY2025, 13 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

18
4

Total granted

$62k
$3k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+20%
+5%

Still filing today

56%
25%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 59% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $4k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
Arts & CultureHuman ServicesHealthEducationYouth DevelopmentAnimalsOther
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

  • RO
    REAL OPTIONS FOR CITY KIDS
    5× · 2021–2025 · $5k · revenue +36%
  • SACRED HEART COMMUNITY SERVICE
    5× · 2021–2025 · $4k · revenue +3%
  • CM
    COMMUNITY MUSIC CENTER
    5× · 2021–2025 · $4k · revenue +35%

Funded once

  • SA
    ST ANTHONY FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2018 · $1k
  • TM
    THE MARINE MAMMAL CENTER
    one grant, 2020 · $500 · revenue +5%
  • SC
    Santa Clara City Library Fnd Friend
    one grant, 2017 · $500
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
Pacific Science Center Foundation

Pacific science center (pacsci) ignites curiosity in every child and fuels a passion for discovery, experimentation, and critical thinking in all of us.

Arts & Culture
2
Chico Children's Museum

None

Education
3
Monterey Museum of Art

The monterey museum of art cultivates curiosity in the visual arts and engages community with the diversity of california art - past, present, and future.

Arts & Culture
4
The New Childrens Museum

The New Childrens Museum (the Museum) in San Diego is an arts-based childrens museum whose mission is to stimulate imagination, creativity, and critical thinking in children and families through inventive, engaging experiences with…

Arts & Culture
5
Aquarium of the Pacific Corporation

The aquarium of the pacific's mission is to instill a sense of wonder, respect, and stewardship for the pacific ocean, its inhabitants, and ecosystems.

Animals
6
Museum of Sonoma County

The museum of sonoma county engages and inspires our diverse community with art and history exhibitions, collections, and public programs that are inclusive, educational, and relevant.

Arts & Culture
7
Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego

The museum of contemporary art san diego invites all audiences to experience our world, our region, and ourselves through the prism of contemporary art.

Arts & Culture
8
San Diego Society of Natural History

Conserving nature through science and discovery.

Arts & Culture
9
San Francisco Zoological Society

To connect all people with wildlife, inspire caring for nature, and advance conservation action.

Animals
10
The San Francisco School

A private school that cultivates and celebrates the intellectual, imaginative, and humanitarian promise of each student in a community that practices mutual respect, embraces diversity, and inspires passion for learning.

—
11
American Museum of Natural History

The museum's mission statement is: "to discover, interpret, and disseminate - through scientific research and education - knowledge about human cultures, the natural world, and the universe."

Arts & Culture
12
The Union of Concerned Scientists Inc

The union of concerned scientists puts rigorous, independent science into action, developing solutions and advocating for a healthy, safe, and just future.

International
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Exploratorium; the most unlike its peers is Sacred Heart Community Service. 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

12 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. 12 of the 25 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)
12/12
Grantees still filing
9/12
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Bethel Lutheran Church: $10,200 · OtherBethel Lutheran ChurchSecond Harvest Food Bank: $8,000 · OtherSecond Harvest Food BankJBJ Soul Foundation: $3,500 · OtherJBJ Soul FoundationBethel Lutheran Church School: $2,000 · OtherBethel Lutheran Church SchoolSanta Clara City Library Foundation: $2,000 · OtherSanta Clara City Library FoundationMeals on Wheels of SF: $1,800 · OtherEsperanza: $1,750 · OtherS C Library FDN Friends: $1,500 · OtherSouth Bay Muscical Theater: $1,300 · Other+4 more: $3,000 · Other+4 moreCOMMUNITY MUSIC CENTER: $4,250 · Arts & CultureCOMMUNITY MUSIC …THE EXPLORATORIUM: $2,500 · Arts & CultureTHE EXPLORATORIU…CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES: $1,600 · Arts & CultureCALIFORNIA ACADE…CORPORATION OF THE FINE ARTS MUSEUMS: $1,600 · Arts & CultureCORPORATION OF T…SACRED HEART COMMUNITY SERVICE: $4,250 · Human ServicesSACRED HEAR…Pacifica Resource Center: $2,000 · Human ServicesPacifica Re…SAN FRANCISCO FIRE FIGHTERS' TOY PROGRAM: $500 · Human ServicesSAN FRANCIS…JW HOUSE: $3,500 · HealthJW HOUSEST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $3,000 · HealthST JUDE CH…REAL OPTIONS FOR CITY KIDS: $4,500 · EducationGIRL SCOUTS OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA: $4,450 · Youth DevelopmentTHE MARINE MAMMAL CENTER: $500 · Animals
Other$35,050Arts & Culture$9,950Human Services$6,750Health$6,500Education$4,500Youth Development$4,450Animals$500

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 budgetREAL OPTIONS FOR CITY KIDS: $4,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetGIRL SCOUTS OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA: $4,450 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetSACRED HEART COMMUNITY SERVICE: $4,250 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetCOMMUNITY MUSIC CENTER: $4,250 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetJW HOUSE: $3,500 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $3,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetTHE EXPLORATORIUM: $2,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetPacifica Resource Center: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES: $1,600 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCORPORATION OF THE FINE ARTS MUSEUMS: $1,600 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSAN FRANCISCO FIRE FIGHTERS' TOY PROGRAM: $500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE MARINE MAMMAL CENTER: $500 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.

  • Who funds REAL OPTIONS FOR CITY KIDS ↗
  • Who funds GIRL SCOUTS OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA ↗
  • Who funds SACRED HEART COMMUNITY SERVICE ↗
  • Who funds COMMUNITY MUSIC CENTER ↗
  • Who funds JW HOUSE ↗
  • Who funds ST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC ↗
  • Who funds THE EXPLORATORIUM ↗
  • Who funds Pacifica Resource Center ↗
  • Who funds CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES ↗
  • Who funds CORPORATION OF THE FINE ARTS MUSEUMS ↗
  • Who funds SAN FRANCISCO FIRE FIGHTERS' TOY PROGRAM ↗
  • Who funds THE MARINE MAMMAL CENTER ↗

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.

Silicon Valley Community FoundationCA14.2× affinity5 shared granteesties to 7 of 7Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Silicon Valley Community Foundation · The San Francisco Foundation · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · 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 Michael J Kirsch Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Michael J Kirsch 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%3%5%8%10%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get 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 · 0–10%
    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 25 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

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