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Oscar & Elsa Mayer Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Oscar & Elsa Mayer Family 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.

$531k
Granted FY2024still arriving
48
Grants FY2024still arriving
17
States reached
$100k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0196% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Education$1.4MHealth$1.2MHuman Services$474kEnvironment$466kHousing & Shelter$377kCommunity Improvement$230kCrime & Legal$209kYouth Development$207kOther$0
02FY2024 · 48 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k41 grants · $92k
  • $10k–50k2 grants · $39k
  • $50k–250k5 grants · $400k
$2,500
Median grant
17
States reached
$12M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
STRONGHEARTS NATIVE HELPLINE$100,000
THE TREVOR PROJECT$100,000
DAY ONE RHODE ISLAND$75,000
ACTIVE MINDS$62,500
CENTER FOR MENTAL HEALTH INNOVATION$62,500
ITHACA COLLEGE$29,000
WAYLAND ACADEMY$10,000
NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR SCIENCE LAW AND POLICY$8,600
OVERTURE CENTER FOR ARTS$7,500
LAKE FOREST ACADEMY$7,500
BELOIT COLLEGE$7,500
STAR CHARTER SCHOOL$5,000
JUVENILE DIABETES RESEARCH ASSOCATION$3,500
Individual grant recipient$3,000
DENVER CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS$2,644
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 (FY17–24, $512k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 88% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%CHRYSALIS: $1k → 11%NATIVE AMERICAN ADVANCEMENT FOUNDATION: $1k → 15%EMPOWER MT: $500 → 9%NATIONAL INDIGENOUS WOMENS RESOURCE CENTER: $1k → 18%LYMELIGHT FOUNDATION: $3k → 7%SACARMENTO CHILDREN'S HOME: $1k → 12%PATIENT AIRLIFT SERVICES: $4k → 7%RIP MEDICAL DEBT: $500 → 13%PARTNERSHIP WITH NATIVE AMERICANS: $50k → 14%SEVEN ACRES FOUNDATION: $23k → 9%AGE WELL: $3k → 10%CHRYSALIS: $1k → 11%LYMELIGHT FOUNDATION: $1k → 7%IMMIGRANTS RISING: $2k → 10%RIP MEDICAL DEBT: $500 → 13%PARTNERSHIP WITH NATIVE AMERICANS: $1k → 14%ADELANTE MUJERES: $5k → 8%SEVEN ACRES FOUNDATION: $8k → 9%LYMELIGHT FOUNDATION INC: $750 → 7%COVENANT HOUSE: $500 → 17%SEVEN ACRES FOUNDATION: $8k → 9%CHRYSALIS: $1k → 11%YELLOWSTONE BOYS AND GIRLS RANCH FOUNDATION: $3k → 9%SEVEN ACRES FOUNDATION: $6k → 9%CHARITY WATER: $1k → 17%ATTENTION HOMES: $59k → 12%SEVEN ACRES FOUNDATION: $3k → 9%VERA COURT NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER: $3k → 10%ATTENTION HOMES: $52k → 12%VERA COURT NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER: $1k → 10%ATTENTION HOMES: $52k → 12%RYTHER FOUNDATION: $1k → 9%ABORTION LIBERATION FUND OF PA: $500 → 22%VERA COURT NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER: $1k → 10%TGTHR: $50k → 12%FRIENDLY HOUSE: $3k → 12%WISCONSIN COUNCIL ON CHILDREN AND FAMILIES: $30k → 10%FRIENDLY HOUSE: $2k → 12%ATTENTION HOMES: $41k → 12%FRIENDLY HOUSE: $2k → 12%FRIENDLY HOUSE: $1k → 12%FRIENDLY HOUSE: $1k → 12%ACCESS OPPORTUNITY: $500 → 12%METROPOLITAN FAMILY SERVICE: $45k → 12%SEASONS HOSPICE FOUNDATION: $37k → 14%METROPOLITAN FAMILY SERVICE: $750 → 12%METROPOLITAN FAMILY SERVICE: $500 → 12%HYDE PARK NEIGHBORHOOD CLUB: $3k → 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

VT
WA
MT
MN
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
OR
IA
IN
PA
NJ
CT
RI
CA
UT
CO
VA
MD
AZ
NM
TN
NC
DC
AL
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.

66%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$3.6M · 105 repeat orgs$1.8M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +47% since the first grant, against +23% for those funded once.

105 repeat relationships: 22 still active in FY2024, 83 since wound down; 26 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

105
148

Total granted

$3.6M
$1.5M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+47%
+23%

Still filing today

67%
58%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 30% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $373k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
Human ServicesHealthEducationEnvironmentArts & CultureCivil RightsOther
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

  • AI
    ATTENTION INC
    5× · 2017–2022 · $255k · revenue +176%
  • TC
    THE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA
    4× · 2017–2023 · $181k · revenue +88%
  • SE
    SAVANNAH EARLY CHILDHOOD FOUNDATION
    4× · 2017–2020 · $164k · revenue +46%

Funded once

  • GA
    GRID ALTERNATIVES COLORADO INC
    one grant, 2023 · $125k
  • SE
    SOUTHWEST ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROJECT
    one grant, 2023 · $125k · revenue +2%
  • INSTITUTE FOR TRANSPORTATION AND DEVELOPMENT POLICYgraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $75k · revenue +135%
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
Central Indiana Corporate Partnership Inc

Central indiana corporate partnership (cicp) is an alliance of indiana's business and research university leaders coming together to foster long-term prosperity for the region. cicp's mission is to transform the economy of indiana in order…

Community Improvement
2
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
3
The Water Research Foundation

The purpose of the water research foundation (wrf) is a definitive research organization to advance the science of all things water to better meet the evolving needs of its subscribers and the water sector. to engage exclusively in…

Environment
4
University of New Haven

The University of New Haven is a student-centered comprehensive university with an emphasis on excellence in liberal arts and professional education. Our mission is to prepare our students to lead purposeful and fulfilling lives in a…

Education
5
Public Health Institute

Public health institute generates and promotes research, leadership and partnerships to build capacity for strong public health policy, programs, systems and practices.

Health
6
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The mission of mit is to advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century.

Education
7
Augustana College

Rooted in the liberal arts & sciences & lutheran expression of the christian faith, & is committed to offering a challenging education that develops qualities of mind, spirit, & body necessary for a rewarding life of leadership & service…

Education
8
Boston Architectural College

The bac is committed to provide excellence in design education grounded in practice and accessible to diverse communities.

—
9
Western Healthconnect

Support significant improvements in health care delivery and outcomes within the context of nonprofit, charitable ownership.

Health
10
The Rand Corporation

Help improve policy and decision making through research and analysis.

Public Benefit
11
Seattle Biomedical Research Institute

We conduct fundamental infectious disease research to generate critical new knowledge about pathogens and their interactions with see schedule o for continuationhumans to enable the discovery and development of novel interventions,…

—
12
Banner -University Medical Group

Assist banner health complete its mission to make health care easier so life can be better by providing integrated & coordinated care & population health management.

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is United Way of the Coastal Empire; the most unlike its peers is Indigenous Women Rising Indigeous Women Rising. 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

180 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. 180 of the 286 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)
34
Early backer (in before they grew)
174/180
Grantees still filing
132/180
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

MONTESSORI SCHOOL OF ENGLEWOOD: $243,500 · OtherMONTESSORI SCHOOL OF ENGLEWOODSAVANNAH EARLY CHILDHOOD FOUNDATION: $163,500 · OtherSAVANNAH EARLY CHILDHOOD FOUNDATIONProvidence St Mel School: $156,000 · OtherProvidence St Mel SchoolTHE CAMPBELL INSTITUTE: $150,000 · OtherSTART EARLY: $100,000 · OtherSTRONGHEARTS NATIVE HELPLINE: $100,000 · OtherINVEST IN KIDS: $150,000 · Other+119 more: $1,840,403 · Other+119 moreTHE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA: $180,710 · HealthTHE CHILDREN'S …FAMILIES OF SPINAL MUSCULAR ATROPHY DBA CURE SMA: $152,750 · HealthFAMILIES OF SPI…CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF WISCONSIN FOUNDATION INC: $93,500 · HealthCHILDREN'S HOSP…Active Minds Inc: $62,500 · HealthActive Minds In…THE RYR-1 FOUNDATION: $54,500 · HealthTHE RYR-1 FOUND…THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS: $50,000 · HealthTHROUGH THE LOO…CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF WISCONSIN INC: $50,000 · HealthCHILDREN'S HOSP…+16 more: $112,821 · Health+16 moreATTENTION INC: $254,500 · Human ServicesATTENTION …Partnership With Native Americans: $51,000 · Human ServicesPartnershi…Metropolitan Family Service: $46,550 · Human ServicesMetropolit…Seven Acres Foundation: $45,655 · Human ServicesSeven Acre…SEASONS HOSPICE FOUNDATION: $36,750 · Human ServicesSEASONS HO…KIDS FORWARD INC: $30,000 · Human ServicesKIDS FORWA…+11 more: $40,000 · Human Services+11 moreGRID ALTERNATIVES COLORADO INC: $125,000 · EnvironmentSOUTHWEST ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROJECT: $125,000 · EnvironmentCENTER FOR CARBON REMOVAL: $75,000 · EnvironmentTHORNE ECOLOGICAL INSTITUTE: $50,000 · EnvironmentLIVING DESERT THE: $25,000 · EnvironmentCHILDREN'S HEALTH DEFENSE: $14,000 · Environment+1 more: $1,000 · EnvironmentARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION FOR A NEW AMERICAN UNIVERSITY: $116,880 · EducationBELOIT COLLEGE: $77,500 · EducationITHACA COLLEGE: $52,000 · EducationRAINIER PREP: $40,000 · EducationLAKE FOREST ACADEMY: $25,000 · EducationNORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $12,500 · Education+10 more: $45,550 · EducationSOCIAL VENTURE PARTNERS PORTLAND: $102,500 · PhilanthropyTHE OREGON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $100,000 · PhilanthropyCOMMUNITY UNITED SERVICES INC: $60,000 · PhilanthropyCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION BOULDER COUNTY: $30,000 · Philanthropy+3 more: $22,950 · PhilanthropyTransgender Law Center: $122,000 · Civil RightsTREVOR PROJECT INC: $100,000 · Civil RightsEQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE: $53,000 · Civil RightsALLIANCE DEFENDING FREEDOM: $14,000 · Civil Rights
Other$2,903,403Health$756,781Human Services$504,455Environment$415,000Education$369,430Philanthropy$315,450Civil Rights$289,000

Showing the 200 largest grantees by grant value.

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 budgetATTENTION INC: $254,500 over 5y, 2.5% of budgetTHE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA: $180,710 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetSAVANNAH EARLY CHILDHOOD FOUNDATION: $163,500 over 4y, 21% of budgetProvidence St Mel School: $156,000 over 6y, 1.0% of budgetFAMILIES OF SPINAL MUSCULAR ATROPHY DBA CURE SMA: $152,750 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetINVEST IN KIDS: $150,000 over 3y, 1.9% of budgetTHE CAMPBELL INSTITUTE: $150,000 over 3y, 2.4% of budgetSOUTHWEST ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROJECT: $125,000 over 1y, 5.3% of budgetTransgender Law Center: $122,000 over 5y, 0.8% of budgetARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION FOR A NEW AMERICAN UNIVERSITY: $116,880 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetSOCIAL VENTURE PARTNERS PORTLAND: $102,500 over 2y, 4.5% of budgetTREVOR PROJECT INC: $100,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSTART EARLY: $100,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTHE OREGON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $100,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF WISCONSIN FOUNDATION INC: $93,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetINCLUSIVE ACTION FOR THE CITY: $85,879 over 3y, 1.3% of budgetBELOIT COLLEGE: $77,500 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetINSTITUTE FOR TRANSPORTATION AND DEVELOPMENT POLICY: $75,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetCENTER FOR CARBON REMOVAL: $75,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetActive Minds Inc: $62,500 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetDENVER CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS: $60,913 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetCOMMUNITY UNITED SERVICES INC: $60,000 over 2y, 14% of budgetTHE RYR-1 FOUNDATION: $54,500 over 5y, 6.7% of budgetThe People's Music School: $54,000 over 4y, 2.6% of budgetEQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE: $53,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetITHACA COLLEGE: $52,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetSOUND: $52,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetPartnership With Native Americans: $51,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetTHROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS: $50,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetCHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF WISCONSIN INC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHORNE ECOLOGICAL INSTITUTE: $50,000 over 1y, 2.8% of budgetBOULDER SHELTER FOR THE HOMELESS INC: $47,500 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetMetropolitan Family Service: $46,550 over 4y, 0.7% of budgetSeven Acres Foundation: $45,655 over 5y, 0.9% of budgetTHE COLORADO NONPROFIT DEVELOPMENT CENTER: $41,251 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetMENTAL HEALTH CENTER OF BOULDER COUNTY INC: $40,350 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetRAINIER PREP: $40,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetInternational Rescue Committee INC: $36,833 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSEASONS HOSPICE FOUNDATION: $36,750 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $33,333 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPHOENIX SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION: $30,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION BOULDER COUNTY: $30,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetGREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY: $30,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLIVING DESERT THE: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetLAKE FOREST ACADEMY: $25,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetBREAKTHROUGH T1D: $23,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetPORTLAND CHILDREN'S MUSEUM: $22,500 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetMONTAGE HEALTH FOUNDATION: $17,500 over 2y, 0.1% 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.

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.

Community Foundation …M J Murdock Charitabl…Rose E Tucker Charita…The Denver FoundationThe Collins FoundationOCF Joseph E Weston P…Seattle FoundationHillman Family Founda…The Oregon Community …The Longmont Communit…The Jackson FoundationColorado Gives Founda…
Community Foundation Boulder CountyCO21.7× affinity9 shared granteesties to 7 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Community Foundation Boulder County · M J Murdock Charitable Trust · Rose E Tucker Charitable Trust · The Denver Foundation · The Collins Foundation · OCF Joseph E Weston Public Foundation · Seattle Foundation · Hillman Family Foundations · The Oregon Community Foundation · The Longmont Community Foundation · The Jackson Foundation · Colorado Gives 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 Oscar & Elsa Mayer Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Oscar & Elsa Mayer Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 60%1%5%11%20%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 8%
  • Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution: 63% of income from government
  • Age Well Inc: 60% of income from government
  • Adelante Mujeres: 31% of income from government
  • Metropolitan Family Service: 29% of income from government
  • Oregon Food Bank: 21% of income from government
  • Central City Concern: 10% of income from government
  • The Shadow Project: 8% of income from government
  • The Shriners' Hospital for Children: 6% of income from government
  • Smart Reading: 3% of income from government
  • Friendly House Inc: 3% of income from government
  • The Oregon Community Foundation: 2% of income from government
  • The Campbell Institute: 0% of income from government
  • Partners in Health a Nonprofit Corporation: 0% of income from government
  • Shriners Hospitals for Children: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
6get no government money at all
43report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
2rely 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 Oscar & Elsa Mayer Family Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Oscar & Elsa Mayer 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 286 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 Oscar & Elsa Mayer 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