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Richard C Seaver 1978 Trust at a glance

· Private foundation

Richard C Seaver 1978 Trust

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.

$1.6M
Granted FY2025still arriving
59
Grants FY2025still arriving
11
States reached
$300k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0195% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2018 to 2025.

Education$5.2MArts & Culture$3.0MEnvironment$830kHealth$530kPhilanthropy$226kAnimals$201kCivil Rights$170kPublic Benefit$95kOther$0
02FY2025 · 59 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k23 grants · $105k
  • $10k–50k30 grants · $621k
  • $50k–250k5 grants · $565k
  • $250k+1 grant · $300k
$10,000
Median grant
11
States reached
$28M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
USCS FOUNDATION$300,000
YALE UNIVERSITY$155,000
UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON$150,000
SANTA BARBARA BOTANIC GARDEN$110,000
LOS ANGELES OPERA$100,000
HEARTBEAT OPERA$50,000
MARIST UNIVERSITY WEIL COLLECTION$40,000
LEWA WILDLIFE CONSERVANCY USA$40,000
GEFFEN SCHOOL OF DRAMA YALE UNIVERSITY$37,500
WESTERLY SCHOOL OF LONG BEACH$35,000
SCRIPPS COLLEGE$30,000
HUNTINGTON ART COLLECTOR CIRCLE$25,000
THE J PAUL GETTY TRUST$25,000
CATALINA ISLAND CONSERVANCY$25,000
THE HUNTINGTON LIBRARY$25,000
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 (FY18–25, $80k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, 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%Union Rescue Mission: $20k → 14%Union Rescue Mission: $10k → 14%UNION RESCUE MISSION: $10k → 14%UNION RESCUE MISSION: $10k → 14%Union Rescue Mission: $10k → 14%Union Rescue Mission: $10k → 14%Union Rescue Mission: $10k → 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

WA
MI
NY
MA
PA
NJ
CT
CA
CO
NE
VA
AZ
NM
TN
DC
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.

93%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$9.8M · 68 repeat orgs$762k to everyone else

68 repeat relationships: 42 still active in FY2025, 26 since wound down; 16 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

68
34

Total granted

$9.8M
$497k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+24%
+69%

Still filing today

60%
38%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 83% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $265k 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
EducationHealthArts & CultureEnvironmentPublic BenefitCommunity ImprovementOther
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

  • SC
    SANTA CATALINA ISLAND CONSERVANCY
    8× · 2018–2025 · $525k · revenue +109%
  • LB
    LONG BEACH OPERA
    7× · 2018–2024 · $510k · revenue +46%
  • TT
    THE TRUSTEES OF THE SMITH COLLEGE
    8× · 2018–2025 · $390k · revenue +31%

Funded once

  • RT
    RATTLESTICK THEATER
    one grant, 2022 · $70k
  • UO
    University of Miamigraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $50k · revenue +29%
  • HL
    HUNTINGTON LIBRARIES ART MUSEUM
    one grant, 2024 · $40k
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
Ucla Foundation

The ucla foundation is the giving, receiving, and investing arm of the ucla campus. the foundation enables private donors to help build, sustain and advance one of the world's finest academic and research institutions. private philanthropy…

Education
2
University of Southern California

The central mission of the university of southern california is the development of human beings and society as a whole through the cultivation and enrichment of the human mind and spirit. the principal means by which our mission is…

Education
3
President-Board of Trustees Santa Clara College

Scu is a catholic and jesuit institution that makes student learning its central focus, promotes faculty and staff learning in its various forms, and exhibits organizational learning.

Education
4
University of La Verne

The university of la verne offers a distinctive and relevant educational experience to a diverse population of traditional-age, adult, and graduate learners, preparing them for successful careers and a commitment to lifelong learning…

Education
5
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
6
University of the Pacific

To provide a superior, student-centered learning experience integrating liberal arts and professional education and preparing individuals for lasting achievement and responsible leadership in their careers and communities.

Education
7
Pitzer College

Pitzer College produces engaged socially responsible citizens of the world through an academically rigorous, interdisciplinary liberal arts education emphasizing social justice, intercultural understanding and environmental sensitivity.…

Education
8
Boston Architectural College

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

—
9
Uc Santa Barbara Foundation

The uc santa barbara foundation actively works to further the goals of the university of california, santa barbara. the foundation seeks to maintain and nurture the university's quality and distinction. on behalf of the campus, the…

Education
10
Claremont Graduate University

Claremont Graduate University prepares individuals to be leaders for positive change in the world. Unique in its transdisciplinary approach, the University is dedicated to the creation, dissemination, and application of new knowledge and…

Education
11
California Western School of Law

California western school of law is an independent, aba/aals and wasc senior college and university commission (wscuc) accredited s.d. law school that prepares graduates for the practice of law through a carefully sequenced program of…

Education
12
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.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Saint John's Health Center Foundation; the most unlike its peers is The J Paul Getty Trust. 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

65 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

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 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 65 of the 121 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.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
11
Early backer (in before they grew)
64/65
Grantees still filing
50/65
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON: $910,000 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF HOUSTONUCSC Foundation: $750,000 · OtherUCSC FoundationUSCS FOUNDATION: $556,000 · OtherUSCS FOUNDATIONJewel Theatre: $550,000 · OtherJewel TheatreYALE UNIVERSITY: $527,000 · OtherYALE UNIVERSITYSANTA CATALINA ISLAND CONSERVANCY: $525,000 · OtherSANTA CATALINA ISLAND CONSERVANCYLA Opera: $475,000 · OtherLA OperaYALE UNIVERSITY: $462,000 · OtherYALE UNIVERSITYIndividual grant recipient: $270,000 · Other+65 more: $1,982,250 · Other+65 moreTHE TRUSTEES OF THE SMITH COLLEGE: $390,000 · EducationTHE TRUSTEES OF THE…Scripps College: $267,000 · EducationScripps CollegeTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $260,000 · EducationTHE BOARD OF TRUSTE…UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON FOUNDATION: $161,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF WASHI…The Trustees of Princeton University: $110,000 · EducationThe Trustees of Pri…THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN CAIRO: $100,000 · EducationTHE CENTER FOR HEARING AND SPEECH: $100,000 · EducationMARLBOROUGH SCHOOL: $87,500 · EducationTHE LIBRARY FOUNDATION OF LOS ANGELES: $81,250 · EducationWESTERLY SCHOOL OF LONG BEACH: $80,000 · EducationLOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY: $65,000 · Education+8 more: $200,500 · Education+8 moreLONG BEACH OPERA: $510,000 · Arts & CultureLONG BEAC…Heartbeat Opera Ltd: $318,000 · Arts & CultureHeartbeat…COMMUNITY ARTS & EMPOWERMENT: $40,000 · Arts & Culture+6 more: $93,750 · Arts & Culture+6 moreChildren's Hospital Los Angeles: $110,000 · HealthSAINT JOHN'S HEALTH CENTER FOUNDATION: $80,000 · HealthRARE VILLAGE FOUNDATION: $79,000 · HealthPLANNED PARENTHOOD LOS ANGELES: $35,000 · HealthUSC ARCADIA HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $30,000 · HealthPIH Health Good Samaritan Hospital: $30,000 · HealthNEBRASKA METHODIST HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $20,000 · HealthBREAKTHROUGH T1D: $16,000 · HealthCONVALESCENT AID SOCIETY: $15,000 · Health+1 more: $3,500 · HealthCALIFORNIA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $225,500 · PhilanthropyTHE J PAUL GETTY TRUST: $75,000 · Philanthropy+1 more: $5,000 · PhilanthropySANTA BARBARA BOTANIC GARDEN: $210,000 · EnvironmentTHEODORE PAYNE FOUNDATION FOR WILD FLOWERS AND NATIVE PLANTS INC: $20,000 · EnvironmentSustainable Conservation: $10,000 · EnvironmentChannel Islands Restoration: $10,000 · EnvironmentTejon Ranch Conservancy: $10,000 · EnvironmentLewa Wildlife Conservancy USA: $200,000 · Animals
Other$7,007,250Education$1,902,250Arts & Culture$961,750Health$418,500Philanthropy$305,500Environment$260,000Animals$200,000

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 budgetSANTA CATALINA ISLAND CONSERVANCY: $525,000 over 8y, 1.4% of budgetLONG BEACH OPERA: $510,000 over 7y, 18% of budgetTHE TRUSTEES OF THE SMITH COLLEGE: $390,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetHeartbeat Opera Ltd: $318,000 over 7y, 14% of budgetScripps College: $267,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $260,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetCALIFORNIA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $225,500 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetSANTA BARBARA BOTANIC GARDEN: $210,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetLewa Wildlife Conservancy USA: $200,000 over 7y, 1.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON FOUNDATION: $161,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetChildren's Hospital Los Angeles: $110,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetThe Trustees of Princeton University: $110,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetTHE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN CAIRO: $100,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE CENTER FOR HEARING AND SPEECH: $100,000 over 4y, 0.6% of budgetMARLBOROUGH SCHOOL: $87,500 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetTHE LIBRARY FOUNDATION OF LOS ANGELES: $81,250 over 7y, 0.3% of budgetUNION RESCUE MISSION: $80,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetSAINT JOHN'S HEALTH CENTER FOUNDATION: $80,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetWESTERLY SCHOOL OF LONG BEACH: $80,000 over 4y, 0.8% of budgetRARE VILLAGE FOUNDATION: $79,000 over 2y, 1.5% of budgetTHE J PAUL GETTY TRUST: $75,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetLOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY: $65,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetHARVARD-WESTLAKE SCHOOL: $60,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetUniversity of Miami: $50,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMEHER MOUNT CORP: $46,500 over 6y, 8.6% of budgetCOMMUNITY ARTS & EMPOWERMENT: $40,000 over 2y, 10% of budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD LOS ANGELES: $35,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCATALYST CALIFORNIA: $35,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetYOSEMITE FOUNDATION: $32,500 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA IRVINE FOUNDATION: $30,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetUSC ARCADIA HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $30,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetPIH Health Good Samaritan Hospital: $30,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCALIFORNIA STATE PARKS FOUNDATION: $27,500 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetINSTITUTE FOR JUSTICE: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetDIGITAL NEST INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetSan Francisco Playhouse: $25,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetHENRY E HUNTINGTON LIBRARY AND ART GALLERY: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNEBRASKA METHODIST HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $20,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTHEODORE PAYNE FOUNDATION FOR WILD FLOWERS AND NATIVE PLANTS INC: $20,000 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetCALIFORNIA ART CLUB: $20,000 over 4y, 0.6% of budgetBREAKTHROUGH T1D: $16,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetPOMONA COLLEGE: $15,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWESTSIDE FOOD BANK: $15,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetCONVALESCENT AID SOCIETY: $15,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetTHE REASON FOUNDATION: $15,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetLOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC ASSOCIATION: $13,750 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetREADY TO SUCCEED: $13,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetSustainable Conservation: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% 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 SANTA CATALINA ISLAND CONSERVANCY ↗
  • Who funds LONG BEACH OPERA ↗
  • Who funds THE TRUSTEES OF THE SMITH COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds Heartbeat Opera Ltd ↗
  • Who funds Scripps College ↗
  • Who funds THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds SANTA BARBARA BOTANIC GARDEN ↗
  • Who funds Lewa Wildlife Conservancy USA ↗
  • Who funds UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Children's Hospital Los Angeles ↗
  • Who funds The Trustees of Princeton University ↗
  • Who funds THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN CAIRO ↗
  • Who funds THE CENTER FOR HEARING AND SPEECH ↗
  • Who funds MARLBOROUGH SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds THE LIBRARY FOUNDATION OF LOS ANGELES ↗
  • Who funds UNION RESCUE MISSION ↗
  • Who funds SAINT JOHN'S HEALTH CENTER FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds WESTERLY SCHOOL OF LONG BEACH ↗
  • Who funds RARE VILLAGE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds THE J PAUL GETTY TRUST ↗
  • Who funds LOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds HARVARD-WESTLAKE SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds University of Miami ↗

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.

California Community …The Annenberg Foundat…The Seaver EndowmentThe Seaver InstituteAdams FundThe Rose Hills Founda…Pasadena Community Fo…The Ahmanson Foundati…The Ralph M Parsons F…The Seaver InstituteMarin Community Found…The Confidence Founda…
California Community FoundationCA23.4× affinity12 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: California Community Foundation · The Annenberg Foundation · The Seaver Endowment · The Seaver Institute · Adams Fund · The Rose Hills Foundation · Pasadena Community Foundation · The Ahmanson Foundation · The Ralph M Parsons Foundation · The Seaver Institute · Marin Community Foundation · The Confidence 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 Richard C Seaver 1978 Trust funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Richard C Seaver 1978 Trust. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%3%13%28%50%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 7%
  • The Trustees of Princeton University: 11% of income from government
  • President and Fellows of Harvard College: 7% of income from government
  • University of Miami: 5% of income from government
  • The Trustees of the Smith College: 1% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
10report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely 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 Richard C Seaver 1978 Trust?

Find your warmest path to Richard C Seaver 1978 Trust 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 121 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 Richard C Seaver 1978’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