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Robert M Lee Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Robert M Lee Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$382k
Granted FY2024still arriving
8
Grants FY2024still arriving
5
States reached
$340k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
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 2024.

Arts & Culture$11MAnimals$482kEducation$115kYouth Development$70kCrime & Legal$45kInternational$25kHousing & Shelter$7kPublic Safety & Disaster$3kOther$0
02FY2024 · 8 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k4 grants · $11k
  • $10k–50k3 grants · $31k
  • $250k+1 grant · $340k
$10,000
Median grant
5
States reached
$19k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
NEVADA MUSEUM OF ART$340,000
TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION$11,000
UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA FOUNDATION$10,000
PEBBLE BEACH COMPANY FOUNDATION$10,000
BOONE & CROCKETT CLUB FOUNDATION INC$4,465
CONFEDERATE HOME AND COLLEGE$4,000
WASHOE COUNTY HONORARY DEPUTY SHERIFF'S ASSOCIATION$1,400
NATIONAL AUTOMOBILE MUSEUM$860
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 (FY17–17, $1k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 7%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 7%THE CHILDREN'S CABINET INC: $1k → 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.

Which US states its grants reach

MT
NY
NV
CA
VA
MD
SC
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.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

99%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$12M · 13 repeat orgs$72k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +49% since the first grant, against +24% for those funded once.

13 repeat relationships: 7 still active in FY2024, 6 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

13
12

Total granted

$12M
$61k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+49%
+24%

Still filing today

77%
42%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 97% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $11k 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
EducationArts & CultureCrime & LegalAnimalsYouth 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

  • NM
    Nevada Museum of Art
    7× · 2017–2024 · $1.6M · revenue +199%
  • BA
    BOONE AND CROCKETT CLUB FOUNDATION INC
    7× · 2018–2024 · $468k · revenue +48%
  • TL
    THUNDERBIRD LODGE PRESERVATION SOCIETY
    4× · 2017–2020 · $90k · revenue +49%

Funded once

  • AS
    AMERICAN SOCIETY OF INTERNATIONAL LAW
    one grant, 2019 · $25k
  • TP
    The Preservation Society of Charleston Inc
    one grant, 2020 · $10k · revenue -5%
  • PB
    PEBBLE BEACH FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2017 · $10k
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
Harvard Conservation Trust

To preserve the unique character and natural resources of harvard.

Environment
2
Conservation Farms & Ranches

Preserving and enhancing the habitat of wildlife, such as sandhill cranes, waterfowl, raptors, which habitat expenses are supported by agricultural activities.

Housing & Shelter
3
The Nevada Discovery Museum

Educating children and adults through interactive hands-on exhibits and educational programming.

—
4
Tahoe Community Foundation

The Foundation envisions a thriving community created through meaningful philanthropy, inclusive communication, and the willingness to explore possibilities together.

Education
5
Harvard Club of Washington Dc

To inform and enrich the intellectual lives of 20,000 alumni of harvard university in the washington, dc area and to assist harvard university with respect to applicants and undergraduates from the dc area.

Education
6
Detroit Historical Society

The Detroit Historical Society tells Detroit's stories and why they matter through its exhibits, programs, outreach, and the preservation and dissemination of its artifacts and collections.

Arts & Culture
7
Santa Fe Community Foundation

The santa fe community foundation inspires philanthropic generosity, strengthens nonprofits, and fosters positive change to build a more vibrant, healthy, and resilient region. the foundation's vision is a thriving northern new mexico,…

Philanthropy
8
Sierra Watch

Sierra watch secures conservation outcomes to protect the natural resources, mountain communities, and timeless values of the tahoe sierra.

Environment
9
Furman University

The primary mission of furman as a liberal arts institution is to provide a distinctive education in fine arts, humanities, social sciences, mathematics and the sciences, as well as selected professional disciplines.

Education
10
Colorado Museum of Natural History

Be a catalyst! Ignite our community's passion for nature and science.

Arts & Culture
11
Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance

The mission of the jackson hole conservation alliance is to protect the wildlife, wild places and community character of jackson hole.

Environment
12
Tucson Audubon Society

Inspire people to enjoy and protect birds through recreation, education, conservation, and restoration of the environment, upon which we all depend.

Animals
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Thunderbird Lodge Preservation Society; the most unlike its peers is Washoe County Honorary Deputy Sheriffs Association Inc. 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

17 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. 17 of the 26 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)
16/17
Grantees still filing
10/17
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART DEPARTMENT OF ARMS & ARMOUR: $9,433,462 · OtherMETROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART DEPARTMENT OF ARMS & ARMOUR+14 more: $67,060 · OtherNevada Museum of Art: $1,612,255 · Arts & CultureNevada Museum of…THUNDERBIRD LODGE PRESERVATION SOCIETY: $90,000 · Arts & CultureBOONE AND CROCKETT CLUB FOUNDATION INC: $468,000 · Recreation & SportsTHE UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA FOUNDATION: $85,000 · EducationSTEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION: $11,000 · EducationASHLEY HALL FOUNDATION: $6,909 · EducationPebble Beach Company Foundation: $65,000 · PhilanthropyNRA FOUNDATION INC: $42,000 · Crime & LegalWashoe County Honorary Deputy Sheriffs Association Inc: $2,400 · Crime & LegalPet Network Humane Society: $14,450 · AnimalsMZURI WILDLIFE FOUNDATION: $2,500 · Animals
Other$9,500,522Arts & Culture$1,702,255Recreation & Sports$468,000Education$102,909Philanthropy$65,000Crime & Legal$44,400Animals$16,950

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 budgetNevada Museum of Art: $1,612,255 over 7y, 2.7% of budgetBOONE AND CROCKETT CLUB FOUNDATION INC: $468,000 over 7y, 18% of budgetTHUNDERBIRD LODGE PRESERVATION SOCIETY: $90,000 over 4y, 1.4% of budgetTHE UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA FOUNDATION: $85,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetPebble Beach Company Foundation: $65,000 over 7y, 0.4% of budgetNRA FOUNDATION INC: $42,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetPet Network Humane Society: $14,450 over 2y, 1.4% of budgetSTEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION: $11,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Preservation Society of Charleston Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCONFEDERATE HOME AND COLLEGE: $7,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetASHLEY HALL FOUNDATION: $6,909 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF TRUCKEE MEADOWS: $4,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMZURI WILDLIFE FOUNDATION: $2,500 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetWashoe County Honorary Deputy Sheriffs Association Inc: $2,400 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetTHE HARRAH AUTOMOBILE FOUNDATION NATIONAL AUTOMOBILE MUSEUM: $1,860 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetYOUTH FOR TOMORROW FOUNDATION: $1,000 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.

Community Foundation …Tahoe Community Found…Thelma B & Thomas P H…Morgan Stanley Global…National Philanthropi…Vanguard Charitable E…American Endowment Fo…The Bank of America C…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …American Online Givin…Amazonsmile Foundation
Community Foundation of Northern NevadaNV15.6× affinity5 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Community Foundation of Northern Nevada · Tahoe Community Foundation · Thelma B & Thomas P Hart Foundation · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · American Endowment Foundation · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · 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 Robert M Lee Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Robert M Lee Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%5%11%20%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
    5report 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.
    05Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to Robert M Lee Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Robert M Lee 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 26 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 M Lee’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