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Robert and Lisa Margolis Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Robert and Lisa Margolis 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.

$3.9M
Granted FY2024still arriving
26
Grants FY2024still arriving
6
States reached
$1.7M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0197% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Education$13MPhilanthropy$6.1MScience & Tech$3.6MHealth$2.0MEnvironment$1.0MHuman Services$886kFood & Nutrition$795kEmployment$505kOther$0
02FY2024 · 26 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k2 grants · $10k
  • $10k–50k11 grants · $288k
  • $50k–250k11 grants · $845k
  • $250k+2 grants · $2.7M
$50,000
Median grant
6
States reached
$88M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
DUKE UNIVERSITY CONCENTRATION$1,710,000
CALIFORNIA SCIENCE CENTER FOUNDATIO$1,025,000
CANINE COMPANIONS$100,000
US VETS$100,000
AQUARIUM OF THE PACIFIC$100,000
SAVE THE REDWOODS LEAGUE$95,000
CAMPBELL HALL$90,000
ST JOSEPH'S CENTER$75,000
USC NIEGHBORHOOD ACADEMIC INTIATIVE$75,000
Individual grant recipient$60,000
ACCOUNTABLE FOR HEALTH INSTITUTE$50,000
SWIPE OUT HUNGER$50,000
FOOD FORWARD$50,000
NATURE BRIDGE$32,500
MENDEZ NATIONAL INST OF TRANSPLANTA$30,000
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 (FY17–24, $1.4M) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%SWIPE OUT HUNGER: $150k → 14%ACCOUNTABLE FOR HEALTH INSTITUTE: $50k → 14%HELPING HANDS MINISTRIES: $250 → 13%SWIPE OUT HUNGER: $128k → 14%SWIPE OUT HUNGER: $75k → 14%SWIPE OUT HUNGER: $50k → 14%SWIPE OUT HUNGER: $50k → 14%SWIPE OUT HUNGER: $25k → 14%GRIEF HAVEN: $25k → 14%GRIEF HAVEN: $10k → 14%GRIEF HAVEN: $10k → 14%GRIEF HAVEN: $10k → 14%GRIEF HAVEN: $5k → 14%GRIEF HAVEN: $3k → 14%GRIEF HAVEN: $3k → 14%US VETS: $100k → 14%US VETS: $100k → 14%US VETS: $100k → 14%US VETS: $100k → 14%US VETS: $100k → 14%THE MIDNIGHT MISSION: $15k → 14%ST JOSEPH'S CENTER: $75k → 14%THE MIDNIGHT MISSION: $10k → 14%ST JOSEPH'S CENTER: $75k → 14%THE MIDNIGHT MISSION: $10k → 14%ST JOSEPH'S CENTER: $50k → 14%THE MIDNIGHT MISSION: $10k → 14%ST JOSEPH'S CENTER: $30k → 14%THE MIDNIGHT MISSION: $10k → 14%ST JOSEPH'S CENTER: $25k → 14%FOOD ON FOOT: $1k → 14%FOOD ON FOOT: $1k → 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

NY
MA
NV
IN
OH
NJ
CT
CA
MO
TN
NC
DC
HI
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.

97%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$28M · 42 repeat orgs$847k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +60% since the first grant, against +44% for those funded once.

42 repeat relationships: 22 still active in FY2024, 20 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

42
38

Total granted

$28M
$722k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+60%
+44%

Still filing today

52%
53%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 97% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $125k 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 ServicesEnvironmentEducationHealthAnimalsFood & NutritionOther
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

  • CS
    CALIFORNIA SCIENCE CENTER FOUNDATION
    8× · 2017–2024 · $3.6M · revenue +14%
  • US
    UNITED STATES VETERANS INITIATIVE
    5× · 2018–2024 · $500k · revenue +97%
  • AO
    AQUARIUM OF THE PACIFIC CORPORATION
    5× · 2018–2024 · $500k · revenue +46%

Funded once

  • DH
    DIGNITY HEALTHgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $100k · revenue +33%
  • TM
    THE MAYORS FUND
    one grant, 2020 · $100k
  • AF
    AMERICAN FRIENDS OF MAGEN DAVID ADO
    one grant, 2023 · $50k
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
Ucsf Foundation Investment Company

The organization provides professional investment management services for endowed gifts and financial assets entrusted to the ucsf foundation.

Education
2
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
3
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
4
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
5
California Forward

Ca fwd drives action to identify solutions that can be taken to scale to meet the challenges the state is facing. the organization is driven by the belief that regional solutions across the state will help ensure economic, environmental,…

Public Benefit
6
Arizona Community Foundation

To lead, serve and collaborate to mobilize enduring philanthropy for a better arizona.

Philanthropy
7
The Uc Davis Foundation

The mission of the uc davis foundation is to secure, steward and manage private gifts for uc davis.

Education
8
The San Diego Foundation

The san diego foundation inspires enduring philanthropy and enables community solutions to improve the quality of life in our region.

Philanthropy
9
Community Foundation Santa Cruz County

To promote philanthropy to make santa cruz county a better place to live, now and in the future.we bring together people, ideas, and resources to inspire philanthropy and accomplish great things.

Philanthropy
10
California Dental Association Foundation

The foundation's mission is to improve the oral health of all californians by supporting the dental profession and its efforts to meet community needs.

Science & Tech
11
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation

To sustain, restore, and enhance the nation's fish, wildlife, plants, and habitats.

Animals
12
Uc Riverside Foundation

To support educational, research and public functions and programs of the riverside campus of the university of california.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Greater Houston Community Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Friends of Foster Children. 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

48 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. 48 of the 86 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)
9
Early backer (in before they grew)
47/48
Grantees still filing
33/48
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

DUKE UNIVERSITY CONCENTRATION: $11,682,283 · OtherDUKE UNIVERSITY CONCENTRATIONGOLDMAN SACHS DONOR ADVISED FUNDS: $5,930,847 · OtherGOLDMAN SACHS DONOR ADVISED FUNDS+56 more: $4,248,366 · Other+56 moreCALIFORNIA SCIENCE CENTER FOUNDATION: $3,578,335 · Arts & CultureCALIFORNIA SC…UNITED STATES VETERANS INITIATIVE: $500,000 · Human ServicesSWIPE OUT HUNGER: $478,000 · Human ServicesCANINE COMPANIONS FOR INDEPENDENCE INC: $373,000 · Human ServicesST JOSEPH CENTER: $255,000 · Human ServicesThe Erika Whitmore Godwin Foundation: $65,000 · Human Services+5 more: $108,250 · Human ServicesAQUARIUM OF THE PACIFIC CORPORATION: $500,000 · Animals+3 more: $31,000 · AnimalsYEAR UP INC: $450,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO FOUNDATION: $50,000 · EducationIndiana University Foundation: $25,000 · Education+2 more: $6,000 · EducationSAVE THE REDWOODS LEAGUE: $338,000 · EnvironmentNATUREBRIDGE: $147,500 · Environment+5 more: $25,020 · EnvironmentCOMMUNITY PARTNERS: $347,243 · Community Improvement
Other$21,861,496Arts & Culture$3,578,335Human Services$1,779,250Animals$531,000Education$531,000Environment$510,520Community Improvement$347,243

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 budgetCALIFORNIA SCIENCE CENTER FOUNDATION: $3,578,335 over 8y, 1.7% of budgetUNITED STATES VETERANS INITIATIVE: $500,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetAQUARIUM OF THE PACIFIC CORPORATION: $500,000 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetSWIPE OUT HUNGER: $478,000 over 6y, 24% of budgetYEAR UP INC: $450,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetCANINE COMPANIONS FOR INDEPENDENCE INC: $373,000 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetCOMMUNITY PARTNERS: $347,243 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetSAVE THE REDWOODS LEAGUE: $338,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetST JOSEPH CENTER: $255,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetFOOD FORWARD INC: $185,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetLAND OF THE FREE FOUNDATION: $150,000 over 7y, 1.7% of budgetNATUREBRIDGE: $147,500 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $125,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetDIGNITY HEALTH: $100,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Erika Whitmore Godwin Foundation: $65,000 over 7y, 7.3% of budgetTHE MIDNIGHT MISSION: $55,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetCHRYSALIS CENTER: $55,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE RAPE FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetTHE MISSION CONTINUES: $50,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetVENICE FAMILY CLINIC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetAccountable for Health Institute: $50,000 over 1y, 7.7% of budgetLOS ANGELES REGIONAL FOOD BANK: $35,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWESTSIDE FOOD BANK: $35,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetSTRONG FOODLA KITCHEN: $25,000 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetCHOC FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetHAWAII COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetIndiana University Foundation: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE ELEPHANT SANCTUARY IN TENNESSEE: $15,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCAROLINA TIGER RESCUE: $15,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetSANTA CATALINA ISLAND CONSERVANCY: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE CORAL RESTORATION FOUNDATION INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetInstitute for Exceptional Care: $10,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetGREATER HOUSTON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetDa Vinci Schools: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetOjai Raptor Center: $5,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetREDWOOD FOREST FOUNDATION INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetHAW RIVER ASSEMBLY INC: $5,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetAMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE BREAST CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION INC: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFOOD ON FOOT: $2,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetPARTNERS IN CARE FOUNDATION: $1,700 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFRIENDS OF FOSTER CHILDREN: $1,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetSAVE THE MANATEE CLUB INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetRUTGERS UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMILL VALLEY LIBRARY FOUNDATION: $500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetHELPING HANDS MINISTRIES INC: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $20 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.

  • Who funds CALIFORNIA SCIENCE CENTER FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds UNITED STATES VETERANS INITIATIVE ↗
  • Who funds AQUARIUM OF THE PACIFIC CORPORATION ↗
  • Who funds SWIPE OUT HUNGER ↗
  • Who funds YEAR UP INC ↗
  • Who funds CANINE COMPANIONS FOR INDEPENDENCE INC ↗
  • Who funds COMMUNITY PARTNERS ↗
  • Who funds SAVE THE REDWOODS LEAGUE ↗
  • Who funds ST JOSEPH CENTER ↗
  • Who funds FOOD FORWARD INC ↗
  • Who funds LAND OF THE FREE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds NATUREBRIDGE ↗
  • Who funds WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC ↗
  • Who funds DIGNITY HEALTH ↗
  • Who funds The Erika Whitmore Godwin Foundation ↗
  • Who funds THE MIDNIGHT MISSION ↗
  • Who funds CHRYSALIS CENTER ↗
  • Who funds UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds THE RAPE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds THE MISSION CONTINUES ↗
  • Who funds VENICE FAMILY CLINIC ↗
  • Who funds Accountable for Health Institute ↗

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 Foun…California Community …The Ahmanson Foundati…The Ralph M Parsons F…Weingart FoundationThe Annenberg Foundat…Wm Keck FoundationThe Confidence Founda…The Rose Hills Founda…Gs Donor Advised Phil…Jewish Communal FundCharities Aid Foundat…
Jewish Community Foundation of Los AngelesCA18.7× affinity7 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles · California Community Foundation · The Ahmanson Foundation · The Ralph M Parsons Foundation · Weingart Foundation · The Annenberg Foundation · Wm Keck Foundation · The Confidence Foundation · The Rose Hills Foundation · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · Jewish Communal Fund · Charities Aid Foundation America

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 Robert and Lisa Margolis Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Robert and Lisa Margolis Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%1%4%8%15%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • The Coral Restoration Foundation Inc: 16% of income from government
  • Year Up Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Rutgers University Foundation: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
2get no government money at all
12report 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.

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 86 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 Robert and Lisa Margolis 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