Skip to content
Pell Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Pell Family Foundation

Its FY2017 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$1.4M
Granted FY2017
20
Grants FY2017
3
States reached
$1.0M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its fieldRead
04Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
01FY2017 · 20 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2017

  • Under $10k12 grants · $30k
  • $10k–50k4 grants · $63k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $100k
  • $250k+2 grants · $1.3M
$5,000
Median grant
3
States reached
$23M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
MARIN GENERAL HOSPITAL$1,004,239
MARIN GENERAL HOSPITAL$250,000
JEWISH FAMILY AND CHILDREN'S SERVICES$50,250
JEWISH COMMUNITY FEDERATION$50,000
CONGREGATION RODEF SHOLOM$33,000
LEHRHAUS JUDAICA$10,000
MOUNTAIN PLAY ASSOCIATION$10,000
SF-MARIN FOOD BANK$10,000
JEWISH FEDERATIONS OF NORTH AMERICA$5,000
ORT-AMERICA$5,000
CHRONICLE SEASON OF SHARING FUND$5,000
JEWISH COMMUNITY RELATIONS COUNCIL$3,600
SOAR -HIDE AND SEEK FOUNDATION$3,000
MARIN SYMPHONY$2,500
JEWISH VOCATIONAL SERVICE$1,500
02The need
02

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 (FY17–17, $50k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%JEWISH FAMILY AND CHILDREN'S SERVICES: $50k → 10%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 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
San Francisco Challenge dba AmericaOne
Recreation & Sports
2
San Francisco Jazz Organization

The san francisco jazz organization (the organization) is a recognized international leader in jazz creation, presentation, and education. the organization explores the full spectrum of jazz, from the music's origins in the african…

Arts & Culture
3
The Contemporary Jewish Museum

The contemporary jewish museum (the cjm) makes the diversity of the jewish experience relevant for a twenty-first-century audience through innovative exhibitions and programs that educate, challenge, and inspire.

Arts & Culture
4
Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History

The weitzman national museum of american jewish history, on independence mall in philadelphia, presents educational programs and experiences that preserve, explore, and celebrate the history of jews in america. its purpose is to connect…

Arts & Culture
5
University of Judaism Foundation
—
6
Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago

Juf provides critical resources that bring food, refuge, health care, education and emergency assistance to over 500,000 chicagoans of all faiths and millions of jews in israel and around the world, funding a network of 100+ agencies,…

Philanthropy
7
Limmud Bay Area

Provide jewish education and cultural services to the jewish community of the s.f. bay area

Religion
8
Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago

Federation amplifies our collective strength to make the world a better place for everyone. we assist people in need, impact chicagoans of all faiths; support israel and the jewish people worldwide; respond swiftly to crises; cultivate…

Philanthropy
9
Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia

The jewish federation of greater philadelphia mobilizes financial and volunteer resources to create a bright future for jewish people everywhere. the jewish federation cares for those in need, combats antisemitism and global crises, and…

Philanthropy
10
San Francisco Opera Association

We believe opera is a uniquely compelling, entertaining and emotionally thrilling art form. our mission is to bring together growing audiences to experience opera's transformative power.

Arts & Culture
11
Abraham & Florence Mendel Foundation
—
12
San Francisco Family Foundation
—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco the Peninsula Marin & Sonoma; the most unlike its peers is Achieve Foundation Inc. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
03the grantee network

14 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. 14 of the 19 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)
1
Early backer (in before they grew)
13/14
Grantees still filing
9/14
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

MARIN GENERAL HOSPITAL: $1,254,239 · HealthMARIN GENERAL HOSPITAL+1 more: $1,500 · HealthCONGREGATION RODEF SHOLOM: $33,000 · OtherLehrhaus Judaica dba HAMAQOM The Place: $10,000 · OtherSAN FRANCISCO FOOD BANK: $10,000 · OtherORT AMERICA INC: $5,000 · OtherJEWISH COMMUNITY RELATIONS COUNCIL OF SAN FRANCISCO MARIN & PENINSULA: $3,600 · OtherSOAR -HIDE AND SEEK FOUNDATION: $3,000 · Other+4 more: $3,000 · OtherJEWISH COMMUNITY FEDERATION OF SAN FRANCISCO THE PENINSULA MARIN & SONOMA: $50,000 · PhilanthropyTHE JEWISH FEDERATIONS OF NORTH AMERICA INC: $5,000 · Philanthropy+1 more: $1,000 · PhilanthropyJEWISH FAMILY AND CHILDREN'S SERVICES: $50,250 · Human ServicesMOUNTAIN PLAY ASSOCIATION: $10,000 · Arts & CultureMARIN SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION: $2,500 · Arts & CultureCHRONICLE SEASON OF SHARING FUND: $5,000 · Food & Nutrition
Health$1,255,739Other$67,600Philanthropy$56,000Human Services$50,250Arts & Culture$12,500Food & Nutrition$5,000

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 budgetMARIN GENERAL HOSPITAL: $1,254,239 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetJEWISH FAMILY AND CHILDREN'S SERVICES: $50,250 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetJEWISH COMMUNITY FEDERATION OF SAN FRANCISCO THE PENINSULA MARIN & SONOMA: $50,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLehrhaus Judaica dba HAMAQOM The Place: $10,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetSAN FRANCISCO FOOD BANK: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMOUNTAIN PLAY ASSOCIATION: $10,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetCHRONICLE SEASON OF SHARING FUND: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE JEWISH FEDERATIONS OF NORTH AMERICA INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetORT AMERICA INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetJEWISH COMMUNITY RELATIONS COUNCIL OF SAN FRANCISCO MARIN & PENINSULA: $3,600 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMARIN SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION: $2,500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetMAZON A Jewish Response to Hunger: $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.

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.

Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Donor Advised Charitable Giving IncCO6.2× affinity5 shared granteesties to 2 of 2Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: 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 Pell Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Pell Family 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%1%3%4%5%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get 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 · 0–5%
    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.
    04Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to Pell Family Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Pell 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 19 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 2017, released 2017. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Pell 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