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Posner Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Posner 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.

$167k
Granted FY2025still arriving
15
Grants FY2025still arriving
2
States reached
$25k
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, FY2018 to 2025.

Arts & Culture$391kEducation$210kYouth Development$197kHealth$104kHuman Services$56kHousing & Shelter$50kPhilanthropy$46kEnvironment$2k
02FY2025 · 15 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k6 grants · $37k
  • $10k–50k9 grants · $130k
$10,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$1.5M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
THE DESERT BIENNIAL$25,000
THE BRANSON SCHOOL$25,000
SAINT JOSEPHS ARTS FOUNDATION$20,000
MARIN MONTESSORI SCHOOL INC$10,000
COALITION FOR CHILDREN YOUTH & FAMILIES$10,000
GREATER MILWAUKEE FOUNDATION INC$10,000
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN FOUNDATION$10,000
MUSEUM ASSOCIATES$10,000
CHILDRENS HOSPITAL OF WISCONSIN INC$10,000
MILWAUKEE ART MUSEUM INC$9,400
CHILDRENS OUTING ASSN$9,400
BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF GREATER MILWAUKEE INC$8,000
THE BAY SCHOOL OF SAN FRANCISCO$5,000
GET LIT WORDS IGNITE INC$4,000
PLANNED PARENTHOOD LOS ANGELES$1,000
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 (FY19–19, $3k) land where the poverty rate runs at 17%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%MILWAUKEE CENTER FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH INC: $3k → 17%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.

97%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$981k · 22 repeat orgs$32k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +28% since the first grant, against +15% for those funded once.

22 repeat relationships: 14 still active in FY2025, 8 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

22
9

Total granted

$981k
$32k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+28%
+15%

Still filing today

100%
78%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

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

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

’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
Arts & CultureEducationHealthHousing & ShelterYouth DevelopmentHuman ServicesOther
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

  • TD
    THE DESERT BIENNIAL DBA DESERT X
    8× · 2018–2025 · $95k · revenue +268%
  • TB
    THE BRANSON SCHOOL
    4× · 2022–2025 · $72k · revenue +24%
  • CH
    CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF WISCONSIN INC
    8× · 2018–2025 · $71k · revenue +37%

Funded once

  • UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2018 · $10k · revenue -9%
  • O
    OUTFEST
    one grant, 2019 · $5k · revenue -70%
  • MC
    MILWAUKEE CENTER FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH INCgraduated
    one grant, 2019 · $3k · revenue +133%
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
Marin Academy

Marin academy asks every individual to think, question, and create in an environment of encouragement and compassion, and challenges each person to accept the responsibilities posed by education in a democratic society.

Education
2
The International School of San Francisco

Guided by the principles of academic rigor and diversity, the international school of san francisco offers programs of study in french and english to prepare its graduates for a world in which the ability to think critically and to…

Education
3
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.

—
4
Millennium School of San Francisco

See schedule oto realize the transformative potential of middle school. millennium school believes in developing each student to their fullest potential, this involves providing both a rigorous academic program and a science-based…

Education
5
Minneapolis College of Art and Design

Mcad provides a transformative education within a community of support for creative students of all backgrounds to work, collaborate, and lead with confidence in a dynamic, interconnected world.

Education
6
Association of California School Administrators

The association serves its members by creating resources that enable california school administrators to develop and apply creative leadership and management skills and in turn, improve the educational process for all students.

—
7
Mark Day School

Innovative and full of heart, mark day school nurtures each child to pursue their curiosity, think critically, embrace challenge with courage and joy, and work in partnership with others to build more caring and inclusive communities.

—
8
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
9
University Cooperative School

We take a joyful, community-oriented approach to raising engaged citizens, deep learners, and brave adventurers with the skills, creativity, and heart needed to better the world.

—
10
Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation Inc

See schedule othe marine corps scholarship foundation is the nation's oldest and largest provider of need-based scholarships to military children. founded in 1962, the marine corps scholarship foundation provides access to education for…

Education
11
California College of the Arts

California college of the arts educates students to shape culture and society through the practice and critical study of art, architecture, design, and writing. benefitting from its san francisco bay area location, the college prepares…

Education
12
Columbia College Chicago

The organization's mission is to educate students for creative occupations in diverse fields of arts and media.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Milwaukee Art Museum Inc; the most unlike its peers is Saint Josephs Arts Foundation. 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

32 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. 32 of the 33 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)
5
Early backer (in before they grew)
31/32
Grantees still filing
25/32
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE DESERT BIENNIAL DBA DESERT X: $94,500 · Arts & CultureTHE DESERT BIENNIAL DBA DESERT XSAINT JOSEPHS ARTS FOUNDATION: $85,000 · Arts & CultureSAINT JOSEPHS ARTS FOUNDATIONMUSEUM ASSOCIATES: $70,000 · Arts & CultureMUSEUM ASSOCIATESMILWAUKEE ART MUSEUM INC: $51,850 · Arts & CultureMILWAUKEE ART MUSEUM INCGET LIT - WORDS IGNITE INC: $45,000 · Arts & CultureGET LIT - WORDS IGNITE INCIntersection for the Arts: $28,000 · Arts & CultureIntersection for the Arts+2 more: $12,000 · Arts & CultureTHE BRANSON SCHOOL: $72,000 · EducationTHE BRANSON SCHOOLMARIN COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL: $52,000 · EducationMARIN COUNTRY DAY SCHOO…UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN FOUNDATION: $45,750 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN…MARIN MONTESSORI SCHOOL: $20,500 · EducationMARIN MONTESSORI SCHOOLTHE BAY SCHOOL OF SAN FRANCISCO: $15,000 · EducationTHE BAY SCHOOL OF SAN F…UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO FOUNDATION: $10,000 · Education+2 more: $4,500 · EducationCHILDREN'S OUTING ASSOCIATION: $66,400 · OtherCHILDREN'S OUTING AS…DREW SCHOOL: $62,500 · OtherDREW SCHOOLCOALITION FOR CHILDREN YOUTH & FAMILIES INC: $53,000 · OtherCOALITION FOR CHILDR…+4 more: $12,000 · Other+4 moreCHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF WISCONSIN INC: $70,750 · HealthCHILDREN'…CONQUER CANCER FOUNDATION OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CLINICAL ONCOLOGY: $13,000 · HealthCONQUER C…PLANNED PARENTHOOD LOS ANGELES: $5,500 · HealthPLANNED P…BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF GREATER MILWAUKEE INC: $68,500 · Youth DevelopmentM F PLACE INC: $29,500 · Housing & ShelterHOPE HOUSE OF MILWAUKEE INCORPORATED: $20,000 · Housing & ShelterMILWAUKEE JEWISH FEDERATION INC: $34,000 · PhilanthropyGREATER MILWAUKEE FOUNDATION INC: $10,000 · PhilanthropyWHITE FEATHER FOUNDATION: $2,000 · PhilanthropyMILWAUKEE CENTER FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH INC: $3,000 · Human Services
Arts & Culture$386,350Education$219,750Other$193,900Health$89,250Youth Development$68,500Housing & Shelter$49,500Philanthropy$46,000Human Services$3,000

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 budgetTHE DESERT BIENNIAL DBA DESERT X: $94,500 over 8y, 1.8% of budgetSAINT JOSEPHS ARTS FOUNDATION: $85,000 over 4y, 3.3% of budgetTHE BRANSON SCHOOL: $72,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetCHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF WISCONSIN INC: $70,750 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetMUSEUM ASSOCIATES: $70,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetBOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF GREATER MILWAUKEE INC: $68,500 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetCHILDREN'S OUTING ASSOCIATION: $66,400 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetDREW SCHOOL: $62,500 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetCOALITION FOR CHILDREN YOUTH & FAMILIES INC: $53,000 over 6y, 0.8% of budgetMARIN COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL: $52,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetMILWAUKEE ART MUSEUM INC: $51,850 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN FOUNDATION: $45,750 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetGET LIT - WORDS IGNITE INC: $45,000 over 6y, 0.4% of budgetMILWAUKEE JEWISH FEDERATION INC: $34,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetM F PLACE INC: $29,500 over 7y, 0.4% of budgetIntersection for the Arts: $28,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetMARIN MONTESSORI SCHOOL: $20,500 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetTHE BAY SCHOOL OF SAN FRANCISCO: $15,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCONQUER CANCER FOUNDATION OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CLINICAL ONCOLOGY: $13,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNAVY SEAL FOUNDATION INC: $7,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD LOS ANGELES: $5,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetOUTFEST: $5,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCREATIVE VISIONS FOUNDATION: $4,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMILWAUKEE CENTER FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH INC: $3,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetMARIN PRIMARY & MIDDLE SCHOOL: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCHILDREN'S CANCER RESEARCH FUND: $2,500 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetWHITE FEATHER FOUNDATION: $2,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetISRAEL CANCER RESEARCH FUND INC: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetChildren's Enviromental Literacy Fdn: $2,000 over 1y, 0.3% 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.

Jewish Community Fede…Marin Community Found…Baird Foundation IncGs Donor Advised Phil…The Chicago Community…The San Francisco Fou…Youth Foundation IncEvan & Marion Helfaer…United Way of Greater…Greater Milwaukee Fou…National Philanthropi…The Bessemer Giving F…
Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco the Peninsula Marin & SonomaCA18.7× affinity7 shared granteesties to 9 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco the Peninsula Marin & Sonoma · Marin Community Foundation · Baird Foundation Inc · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · The Chicago Community Trust · The San Francisco Foundation · Youth Foundation Inc · Evan & Marion Helfaer Foundation · United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County Inc · Greater Milwaukee Foundation Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · The Bessemer Giving Fund

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 Posner Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Posner 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%19%38%56%75%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    11report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–75%
    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 33 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 Posner’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