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Payson Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Payson Family Foundation

Its FY2018 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$3k
Granted FY2018
21
Grants FY2018
8
States reached
$250
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
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 2018.

Environment$500Arts & Culture$450Animals$450Human Services$400International$300Civil Rights$300Food & Nutrition$200Education$200Other$0
02FY2018 · 21 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$100
Median grant
8
States reached
$60k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
WORLD WILDLIFE FUND$250
AZ SONORA DESERT MUSEUM$200
AZ MAYFLOWER SOCIETY$200
HERMITAGE CAT SHELTER$200
SALVATION ARMY$200
JUDICIAL WATCH$100
CHILDRENS HOSPITAL LA$100
SOPHIE MILLER FUND$100
LOS ANGELES REGIONAL FOOD BANK$100
UC BERKELEY FOUNDATION$100
GUIDE DOGS FOR THE BLIND$100
OCEAN CONSERVANCY$100
PAWS FOR PURPLE HEARTS$100
NEW ENGLAND HISTORIC GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY$100
PROJECT K9 HERO$100
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–18) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 70% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%AZ MAYFLOWER SOCIETY: $200 → 11%AZ SONORA DESERT MUSEUM: $200 → 15%NEW ENGLAND HISTORIC GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY: $100 → 16%ARBOR DAY FOUNDATION: $50 → 10%PAWS FOR PURPLE HEARTS: $100 → 9%UC BERKELEY FOUNDATION: $100 → 10%LOS ANGELES MISSION: $50 → 14%DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS: $200 → 17%JUDICIAL WATCH: $100 → 14%ELK RAPIDS AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $50 → 9%FRIENDS IN DEED: $100 → 14%PROJECT K9 HERO: $100 → 21%NATURE CONSERVANCY: $100 → 7%AZ MAYFLOWER SOCIETY: $100 → 11%AZ SONORA DESERT MUSEUM: $100 → 15%UC BERKELEY FOUNDATION: $100 → 10%CHILDRENS HOSPITAL LA: $100 → 14%DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS: $100 → 17%WORLD WILDLIFE FUND: $250 → 14%HERMITAGE CAT SHELTER: $200 → 15%UC BERKELEY FOUNDATION: $100 → 10%PASADENA HUMANE SOCIETY: $100 → 14%OCEAN CONSERVANCY: $100 → 14%PASADENA HUMANE SOCIETY: $50 → 14%LOS ANGELES REGIONAL FOOD BANK: $100 → 14%LOS ANGELES REGIONAL FOOD BANK: $100 → 14%SOPHIE MILLER FUND: $100 → 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

MI
NY
MA
CA
NE
VA
AZ
DC
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.
04

Where the work is directed

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

About 57% of Payson Family Foundation’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address. By recipient address, 24% of the giving stays in AZ; by stated purpose, 0%.

Payson Family Foundationlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address · 7.5% directed abroad (not shown)
How this is measured
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 funder’s own 990 grant descriptions.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

48%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$2k · 6 repeat orgs$2k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +98% since the first grant, against +36% for those funded once.

6 repeat relationships: 6 still active in FY2018, 0 since wound down; 13 grantees were first funded in FY2018 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

6
2

Total granted

$2k
$150

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+98%
+36%

Still filing today

67%
50%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2018, 35% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $2k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18
AnimalsEnvironmentHealthPublic BenefitArts & CultureInternationalOther
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

  • AD
    ARIZONA-SONORA DESERT MUSEUM
    2× · 2017–2018 · $300 · revenue +93%
  • MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC
    2× · 2017–2018 · $300 · revenue +98%
  • LA
    LOS ANGELES REGIONAL FOOD BANK
    2× · 2017–2018 · $200 · revenue +315%

Funded once

  • FI
    Friends In Deedgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $100 · revenue +36%
  • ER
    ELK RAPIDS AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETY
    one grant, 2017 · $50
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
Rainforest Trust

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

International
2
American Humane Association

Founded in 1877, american humane association, dba american humane society (american humane) is committed to ensuring the safety, welfare and well-being of animals. our leadership programs are first to serve in promoting and nurturing the…

Animals
3
Friends of the Earth

Friends of the earth strives for a more healthy and just world by defendng the environment and human health while advancing social and economic justice by conducting research and education, transforming the economy so it protects the…

Environment
4
National Association of Clean Water Agencies

Nacwa is the national voice of public clean water utilities, shaping water policy, convening a vibrant peer network, and empowering water leaders.

—
5
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
6
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
7
Conservation International Foundation

Ci works to spotlight and secure the critical benefits that nature provides to humanity.

Environment
8
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…

—
9
Oceana Inc

To advocate for policy changes by governments and corporations in order to preserve ocean life and return the oceans to their former abundance.

Environment
10
World Animal Protection

World animal protection is a global organization working to end factory farming and wildlife exploitation. we expose cruel systems, promote animal-friendly alternatives, and influence policy change. for over 75 years, we've been rewriting…

Animals
11
Wildaid Inc

Wildaid's mission is to inspire change and empower the world to protect wildlife and vital habitats from critical threats.

Animals
12
Animal Wellness Action

To prevent cruelty to animals, we promote enacting and enforcing good public policies. enacting good laws depends upon electing good lawmakers, and we remind voters which candidates care about and support animal issues.

Human Services
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Medecins Sans Frontieres Usa Inc; the most unlike its peers is Friends in Deed. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
05the grantee network

19 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. 19 of the 22 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)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
18/19
Grantees still filing
16/19
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

AZ MAYFLOWER SOCIETY: $300 · OtherAZ MAYFLOWER SOCIETYUC BERKELEY FOUNDATION: $300 · OtherUC BERKELEY FOUNDATIONLOS ANGELES REGIONAL FOOD BANK: $200 · OtherLOS ANGELES REGIONAL FOOD BANKSALVATION ARMY: $200 · OtherSALVATION ARMYFriends In Deed: $100 · OtherFriends In DeedNEW ENGLAND HISTORIC GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY: $100 · OtherNEW ENGLAND HISTORIC GENEALOGICAL SOCIETYTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $100 · OtherTHE NATURE CONSERVANCYELK RAPIDS AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $50 · OtherGUIDE DOGS FOR THE BLIND INC: $100 · OtherGUIDE DOGS FOR THE BLIND INCLOS ANGELES MISSION INC: $50 · OtherThe Hermitage No Kill Cat Shelter: $200 · AnimalsThe Hermitage N…PASADENA HUMANE: $150 · AnimalsPASADENA HUMANEPROJECT K9 HERO: $100 · AnimalsPROJECT K9 HEROWORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $250 · EnvironmentWORLD WILDLIF…OCEAN CONSERVANCY: $100 · EnvironmentOCEAN CONSERV…NATIONAL ARBOR DAY FOUNDATION: $50 · EnvironmentNATIONAL ARBO…ARIZONA-SONORA DESERT MUSEUM: $300 · Arts & CultureARIZONA-SO…MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $300 · InternationalMEDECINS S…ECS SUPPORTIVE FUND MANAGEMENT: $100 · HealthChildren's Hospital Los Angeles: $100 · HealthPAWS FOR PURPLE HEARTS: $100 · Public BenefitJUDICIAL WATCH INC: $100 · Public Benefit
Other$1,500Animals$450Environment$400Arts & Culture$300International$300Health$200Public Benefit$200

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

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetARIZONA-SONORA DESERT MUSEUM: $300 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $300 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLOS ANGELES REGIONAL FOOD BANK: $200 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetThe Hermitage No Kill Cat Shelter: $200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPASADENA HUMANE: $150 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetOCEAN CONSERVANCY: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFriends In Deed: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGUIDE DOGS FOR THE BLIND INC: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNEW ENGLAND HISTORIC GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetECS SUPPORTIVE FUND MANAGEMENT: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPROJECT K9 HERO: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetChildren's Hospital Los Angeles: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPAWS FOR PURPLE HEARTS: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetJUDICIAL WATCH INC: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL ARBOR DAY FOUNDATION: $50 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetELK RAPIDS AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $50 over 1y, 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.

Vanguard Charitable E…Amazonsmile Foundation
Vanguard Charitable Endowment ProgramPA9.4× affinity4 shared granteesties to 1 of 1Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · 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 Payson Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Payson Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2023
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%15%30%45%60%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    1get no government money at all
    3report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–60%
    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 22 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 2018, released 2018. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Payson 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