· Private foundation
Robert Nelson 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.
What it funded, over time
Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2025.
Where the money goes
Grants by size, and the largest recipients.
By grant size · FY2025
- Under $10k19 grants · $88k
- $10k–50k15 grants · $320k
- $50k–250k2 grants · $160k
| Recipient | Amount |
|---|---|
| GRAND VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY | $80,000 |
| CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY LOS ANGELES | $80,000 |
| LOS ANGELES MISSION | $35,000 |
| HAPPY TRAILS FOR KIDS | $35,000 |
| JOVENES INC | $30,000 |
| LOS ANGELES FIRE DEPARTMENT FOUNDATION | $30,000 |
| UNION RESCUE MISSION | $30,000 |
| THE MUSIC CENTER | $25,000 |
| CHILDRENS LAW CENTER OF CA | $20,000 |
| HCRI INC (HEALTH COMMUNICATION RESEARCH) | $20,000 |
| LA EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS FOUNDATION | $20,000 |
| KENT ISD | $15,000 |
| WISE READERS TO LEADERS | $15,000 |
| CITY OF GRANDVILLE | $15,000 |
| THE HEALTH COMMUNICATION RESEARCH INSTITUTE | $10,000 |
Does the money reach high-need areas?
Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.
Its human-services grants (FY20–25, $435k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 94% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.
How this is measured
How this is measured
Who it funds again
Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.
Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +23% since the first grant, against +4% for those funded once.
22 repeat relationships: 15 still active in FY2025, 7 since wound down; 20 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).
How the two cohorts compare
Organizations
Total granted
Median revenue growth · since first grant
Still filing today
New vs renewed · share of each year
In FY2025, 57% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $240k went to new ones.
Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant
How this is measured
Backed again, and grew
- URUNION RESCUE MISSION6× · 2020–2025 · $200k · revenue +67%
HAPPY TRAILS FOR KIDS5× · 2021–2025 · $90k · revenue +45%- MAMinority Aids Project Los Angeles4× · 2021–2025 · $80k · revenue +3%
Funded once
- CSCALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY LOS ANGELES FOUNDATIONone grant, 2024 · $80k · revenue -55%
- PLPenny Lane Centersone grant, 2022 · $75k · revenue +16%
- ARABBEY ROAD INCgraduatedone grant, 2022 · $50k · revenue +181%
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.
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.
Our mission is to create housing and service options that model, with respect and dignity, sustainable, environmentally sensitive, affordable communities for people of limited resources.
Family promise of the south bay assists families experiencing housing insecurity with short-term shelter, case management, and navigation with the goal of creating a sustainable solution for their family.
Hunger action los angeles ends hunger and promotes healthy eating through advocacy, education, and appropriate direct service. the chief program area currently is the market match prgram operated by hala at 22 farmers markets in la county…
Lafh permanent housing corp. i (casa central) has been established to own a 6-unit complex located in los angeles, california, which provides permanent housing for families with low income.
The organization's mission is to mobilize resources to fight hunger in our community. to fulfill its mission, the food bank:* sources and acquires nutritious food and other products and distribute them to people experiencing nutrition…
Farm2People's mission is to secure local harvests and fight hunger in Greater Los Angeles.
Community organizing, education, advocacy, leadership development, direct services and organizational development for communities faced with immense poverty.
La Casa de las Madres' mission is to respond to calls for help from DV victims, of all ages, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. We give survivors the tools to transform their lives. We seek to prevent future violence by educating the…
Mercy house's most significant exempt activities focus on ending homelessness and providing comprehensive housing and support services. the organization offers homeless prevention, rapid rehousing, permanent supportive housing, and…
Project angel food (the organization) improves health and fights food insecurity for critically ill individuals in los angeles county through its medically tailored meal program and nutrition counseling. for over 35 years, they have served…
L.a. family housing corporation and its affiliated organizations help homeless and low-income families and individuals of the greater los angeles area transition out of poverty and create lasting stability by providing a comprehensive…
Food on foot is a nonprofit dedicated to assisting our unhoused and low-income neighbors in los angeles with nutritious meals, clothing, and a fresh start through life-skills training, full-time employment, and permanent housing.
How this is measured
50 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. 50 of the 95 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.
Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee
Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing
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 LOS ANGELES MISSION INC ↗
- Who funds UNION RESCUE MISSION ↗
- Who funds HAPPY TRAILS FOR KIDS ↗
- Who funds CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY LOS ANGELES FOUNDATION ↗
- Who funds Minority Aids Project Los Angeles ↗
- Who funds Penny Lane Centers ↗
- Who funds ABBEY ROAD INC ↗
- Who funds WISE READERS TO LEADERS ↗
- Who funds Project Ride Inc ↗
- Who funds LOS ANGELES FIRE DEPARTMENT FOUNDATION ↗
- Who funds JOVENES INC ↗
- Who funds LEADERSHIP STOCKTON ALUMNI ASSOCIATION ↗
- Who funds GRAND RAPIDS YOUTH COMMONWEALTH INC ↗
- Who funds UCLA FOUNDATION ↗
- Who funds OKIZU FOUNDATION ↗
- Who funds GUIDING LIGHT MISSION INC ↗
- Who funds BEYOND 26 INC ↗
- Who funds Project Ropa ↗
- Who funds FOOD FORWARD INC ↗
- Who funds SAFE HAVEN MINISTRIES INC ↗
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.
Open a dossier: California Community Foundation · Grand Rapids Community Foundation · Conrad N Hilton Foundation · The Rose Hills Foundation · The Annenberg Foundation · Heart of West Michigan United Way · Shelter Partnership Inc · The Ralph M Parsons Foundation · Consumers Energy Foundation · Cdv5 Foundation · The Mercantile Bank Foundation · The Ahmanson Foundation
How this is measured
How much its grantees rely on government
Each dot is one organization Robert Nelson Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Robert Nelson Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.
How this is measured
Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus
How do I get to Robert Nelson Foundation?
Find your warmest path to Robert Nelson 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.
Play a game based on Robert Nelson’s filings →