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Sara A Maisano Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Sara A Maisano 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.

$25k
Granted FY2025still arriving
8
Grants FY2025still arriving
6
States reached
$3k
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 2025.

Animals$219kEducation$43kHuman Services$36kArts & Culture$10kReligion$1k
02FY2025 · 8 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$3,125
Median grant
6
States reached
$410k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Rainbow Feathers Bird Club$3,125
Alley Cat Allies$3,125
Michigan Animal Rescue League$3,125
Best Friends Animal Society$3,125
World Animal Protection$3,125
Michigan Animal Adoption Network$3,125
The Elephant Sanctuary$3,125
The Gorilla Foundation$3,125
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 (FY17–22, $36k) land where the poverty rate runs at 8%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%Leader Dogs for the Blind: $10k → 8%Leader Dogs for the Blind: $8k → 8%Leader Dogs for the Blind: $6k → 8%Leader Dogs for the Blind: $5k → 8%Leader Dogs for the Blind: $4k → 8%Leader Dogs for the Blind: $2k → 8%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.

95%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$293k · 12 repeat orgs$15k to everyone else

12 repeat relationships: 8 still active in FY2025, 4 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

12
4

Total granted

$293k
$15k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+26%
+30%

Still filing today

83%
25%

New vs renewed · share of each year

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

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
AnimalsEducationHuman 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

  • TE
    THE ELEPHANT SANCTUARY IN TENNESSEE
    9× · 2017–2025 · $46k · revenue +13%
  • MA
    MICHIGAN ANIMAL ADOPTION NETWORK INC
    9× · 2017–2025 · $46k · revenue +85%
  • UNIVERSITY LIGGETT SCHOOL
    4× · 2017–2021 · $40k · revenue +28%

Funded once

  • TA
    Texas AM Corpus Christi
    one grant, 2019 · $10k
  • WS
    Wayne State University
    one grant, 2017 · $3k
  • OL
    Our Lady Queen of Apostles Church
    one grant, 2017 · $1k
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
Global Animal Partnership
Animals
2
All About Animals Rescue

All about animals rescue's mission is no more homeless pets.

Animals
3
Progressive Animal Welfare Society aka Paws

A champion for animals since 1967, PAWS is a nationally recognized leader - rehabilitating injured and orphaned wildlife, sheltering and adopting homeless cats and dogs, and educating people to make a better world for animals and people.

Animals
4
Animal Care Sanctuary

Animal care sanctuary's lifesaving mission as a no kill organization envisions a community that promotes turning compassion into action for companion animals by: 1.) adopting healthy pet companions into loving homes. 2.) promoting the…

Animals
5
Animal Humane Society

Animal Humane Society (AHS) established in 1878 and incorporated as a nonprofit charitable organization in 1891 works to engage the hearts, hands, and minds of the community to help animals. AHS's vision is to compassionately and…

Animals
6
Friends for Animals of Metro Detroit

The friends are dedicated to the rescue, protection, and adoption of companion animals in need while inspiring the human-animal bond. we meet our mission by:-saving 100% of healthy and treatable animals.-providing high-quality animal care…

Animals
7
The Animal Rescue League
Animals
8
Michigan Humane Society

To improve and save lives through compassionate care, community engagement and advocacy for animals.

Animals
9
Friendship Animal Protective League

Friendship apl receives companion animals through cruelty investigations, rescue from high volume shelters and direct owner surrender. the staff and volunteers care for the animals until they are adopted into a new home.

Animals
10
Humane Society of Southern Arizona

To compassionately serve pets and the people who love them.

Animals
11
Animal Rescue League of Boston

The animal rescue league of boston's vision is to confront animal cruelty and neglect at its root causes. through programs, services, and facilities focused on accessible animal care, public advocacy, and sustained anti-cruelty efforts...…

Animals
12
Michigan Anti-Cruelty Society

To maintain and operate a hospital, ambulance and veterinary services for the care of animals. the maintenance and operation of kennels and suitable chambers for the humane destruction of wounded animals.

Animals
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Michigan Animal Rescue League; the most unlike its peers is World Animal Protection. 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

11 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. 11 of the 16 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)
1
Early backer (in before they grew)
11/11
Grantees still filing
9/11
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE ELEPHANT SANCTUARY IN TENNESSEE: $45,609 · AnimalsTHE ELEPHANT SANCTUARY IN TENNESSEEMICHIGAN ANIMAL ADOPTION NETWORK INC: $45,608 · AnimalsMICHIGAN ANIMAL ADOPTION NETWORK INCDETROIT ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $35,504 · AnimalsDETROIT ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETYWORLD ANIMAL PROTECTION: $10,105 · AnimalsWORLD ANIMAL PROTECTIONMICHIGAN ANIMAL RESCUE LEAGUE: $10,105 · AnimalsMICHIGAN ANIMAL RESCUE LEAGUEAlley Cat Allies Inc: $10,105 · AnimalsAlley Cat Allies IncBEST FRIENDS ANIMAL SOCIETY: $10,105 · AnimalsBEST FRIENDS ANIMAL SOCIETY+1 more: $1,000 · AnimalsRainbow Feathers Bird Club and Resc: $22,943 · OtherRainbow Feathers Bird Cl…RAINBOW FEATHERS BIRD CLUB: $17,905 · OtherRAINBOW FEATHERS BIRD CL…The Gorilla Foundation: $10,105 · OtherThe Gorilla FoundationTexas AM Corpus Christi: $10,000 · OtherTexas AM Corpus ChristiWayne State University: $3,000 · Other+1 more: $1,485 · OtherUNIVERSITY LIGGETT SCHOOL: $39,684 · EducationUNIVERSITY LIG…LEADER DOGS FOR THE BLIND: $35,503 · Human ServicesLEADER DOGS F…
Animals$168,141Other$65,438Education$39,684Human Services$35,503

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 ELEPHANT SANCTUARY IN TENNESSEE: $45,609 over 9y, 0.2% of budgetMICHIGAN ANIMAL ADOPTION NETWORK INC: $45,608 over 9y, 11% of budgetUNIVERSITY LIGGETT SCHOOL: $39,684 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetDETROIT ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $35,504 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetLEADER DOGS FOR THE BLIND: $35,503 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetWORLD ANIMAL PROTECTION: $10,105 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetThe Gorilla Foundation: $10,105 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetMICHIGAN ANIMAL RESCUE LEAGUE: $10,105 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetAlley Cat Allies Inc: $10,105 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetBEST FRIENDS ANIMAL SOCIETY: $10,105 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetGREAT LAKES RABBIT SANCTUARY INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.7% 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 THE ELEPHANT SANCTUARY IN TENNESSEE ↗
  • Who funds MICHIGAN ANIMAL ADOPTION NETWORK INC ↗
  • Who funds UNIVERSITY LIGGETT SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds DETROIT ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds LEADER DOGS FOR THE BLIND ↗
  • Who funds WORLD ANIMAL PROTECTION ↗
  • Who funds The Gorilla Foundation ↗
  • Who funds MICHIGAN ANIMAL RESCUE LEAGUE ↗
  • Who funds Alley Cat Allies Inc ↗
  • Who funds BEST FRIENDS ANIMAL SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds GREAT LAKES RABBIT SANCTUARY 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.

The Pfizer Foundation…The Bank of America C…Paypal Charitable Giv…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
The Pfizer Foundation IncNY10.8× affinity4 shared granteesties to 4 of 4Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Pfizer Foundation Inc · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Paypal Charitable Giving Fund · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · 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 Sara A Maisano Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Sara A Maisano Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%1%3%6%10%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
    1get no government money at all
    1report 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 Sara A Maisano Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Sara A Maisano 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 16 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 Sara A Maisano’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