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Schlesinger Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Schlesinger Family Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$210k
Granted FY2024still arriving
17
Grants FY2024still arriving
4
States reached
$40k
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, FY2020 to 2024.

Education$629kAnimals$137kEnvironment$65kArts & Culture$36kRecreation & Sports$28kHousing & Shelter$21kFood & Nutrition$9kPublic Safety & Disaster$3kOther$0
02FY2024 · 17 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k7 grants · $25k
  • $10k–50k10 grants · $185k
$10,000
Median grant
4
States reached
$4.7M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
USC VITERBI SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING$40,000
PITZER COLLEGE$30,000
OHSU FOUNDATION$25,000
OREGON ZOO FOUNDATION$25,000
NORTH COAST LAND CONSERVANCY INC$12,500
FRESHWATER TRUST$12,500
OREGON HUMANITIES$10,000
OREGON PARKS FOREVER$10,000
HELPING HANDS RE-ENTRY OUTREACH CENTERS$10,000
MONTESSORI NORTHWEST$10,000
JAMES BEARD PUBLIC MARKET$9,000
NW ASSOCIATION FOR BLIND ATHLETES$5,000
READING RESULTS$2,500
COLLEGE POSSIBLE OREGON$2,500
CHARITABLE PARTNERSHIP FUND$2,500
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 (FY24–24, $1k) land where the poverty rate runs at 6%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%TURTLE SHELTER PROJECT: $1k → 6%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.

89%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$743k · 16 repeat orgs$89k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +11% since the first grant, against 0% for those funded once.

16 repeat relationships: 10 still active in FY2024, 6 since wound down; 6 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

16
8

Total granted

$743k
$59k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+11%
0%

Still filing today

81%
88%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 82% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $30k went to new ones.

50%100%’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’20’21’22’23’24
EducationAnimalsArts & CultureEnvironmentPhilanthropyInternationalOther
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

  • PC
    Pitzer College
    5× · 2020–2024 · $195k · revenue +30%
  • THE OREGON ZOO FOUNDATION
    4× · 2021–2024 · $77k · revenue +27%
  • PORTLAND COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC
    3× · 2020–2022 · $70k · revenue +10%

Funded once

  • LU
    Linfield University
    one grant, 2023 · $25k · revenue +5%
  • PC
    PORTLAND COMMUNITY COLLEGE
    one grant, 2023 · $20k
  • HIGH DESERT MUSEUMgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $5k · revenue +39%
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
Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences

Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences educates and trains health care professionals emphasizing service among rural and medically under-served communities throughout the Northwest.

Education
2
Portland State University Foundation

Portland state university foundation is responsible for raising and managing private resources to advance psu's priorities and mission to be a leading urban university.

—
3
Oregon Agricultural Trust

Oregon agricultural trust partners with farmers and ranchers to protect agricultural lands for the benefit of oregons economy, communities, and landscapes.

Environment
4
Oregon Research Institute

Oregon research institute is an independent behavioral sciences research center dedicated to understanding human behavior and improving the quality of human life through the prevention and treatment of health, educational, and social…

Social Science
5
Portland Public Library

Portland Public Library is a welcoming cultural center that brings people together and connects them with trusted resources, ideas, experiences, and information. We build a stronger community by inspiring learning, creativity, and…

Education
6
University of Oregon Foundation

The purpose and mission of the foundation are, acting on its own or through affiliates, to support and assist the university of oregon in its activities by management and administration of foundation assets representing privately donated…

Education
7
Oregon Natural Resources Council Fund Oregon Wild

Oregon Wild works to protect and restore Oregon's wildlands, wildlife and waters as an enduring legacy for future generations.

Environment
8
Aquarium of the Pacific Corporation

The aquarium of the pacific's mission is to instill a sense of wonder, respect, and stewardship for the pacific ocean, its inhabitants, and ecosystems.

Animals
9
Oregon Center for Public Policy

The oregon center for public policy's mission is to achieve economic justice for all oregonians through research, analysis, and advocacy. ocpp works to change policies that foster economic security and stability for all oregonians. we do…

Employment
10
Oregon Public Broadcasting

Connecting people across oregon and the pacific northwest through the power of a shared story.

Arts & Culture
11
Great Peninsula Conservancy

Preserve in perpetuity the natural habitats, rural landscapes, and open spaces of the great peninsula of washington's puget sound.

Environment
12
Fsc I&P

Fsc i&p promotes environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial, and economically viable management of the world's forests. this mission aligns with the forest stewardship council (fsc), its network of offices, and other organizations.…

Philanthropy
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Portland Parks Foundation; the most unlike its peers is The Turtle Shelter Project. 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

24 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. 24 of the 31 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)
0
Early backer (in before they grew)
24/24
Grantees still filing
13/24
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Pitzer College: $195,000 · EducationPitzer CollegeUNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: $100,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIATHE UNIVERSITY OF PUGET SOUND: $40,000 · EducationTHE UNIVERSITY OF PUGET SOUNDLinfield University: $25,000 · EducationLinfield UniversityOregon State University Foundation: $25,000 · EducationOregon State University FoundationMontessori Northwest: $20,000 · EducationPSU FOUNDATION: $61,417 · OtherPSU FOUNDATIONOHSU FOUNDATION: $60,000 · OtherOHSU FOUNDATIONPORTLAND COMMUNITY COLLEGE: $20,000 · OtherPORTLAND COMMUNITY COL…OREGON HUMANITIES: $10,000 · OtherOREGON HUMANITIESJAMES BEARD PUBLIC MARKET: $9,000 · OtherREADING RESULTS: $7,500 · Other+7 more: $19,500 · Other+7 moreTHE OREGON ZOO FOUNDATION: $76,500 · AnimalsTHE OREGON ZOO FOUN…OREGON COAST AQUARIUM INC: $60,000 · AnimalsOREGON COAST AQUARI…THE FRESHWATER TRUST: $25,000 · AnimalsTHE FRESHWATER TRUS…PORTLAND COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC: $70,333 · PhilanthropyCHARITABLE PARTNERSHIP FUND: $2,500 · PhilanthropyNorth Coast Land Conservancy Inc: $37,500 · EnvironmentOregon Parks Forever: $20,000 · EnvironmentWILLAMETTE FALLS TRUST: $2,500 · EnvironmentYOUTH MUSIC PROJECT: $20,000 · Arts & CultureHIGH DESERT MUSEUM: $5,000 · Arts & Culture+1 more: $500 · Arts & CultureHELPING HANDS REENTRY OUTREACH CENTERS: $20,000 · Health
Education$405,000Other$187,417Animals$161,500Philanthropy$72,833Environment$60,000Arts & Culture$25,500Health$20,000

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 budgetPitzer College: $195,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: $100,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetTHE OREGON ZOO FOUNDATION: $76,500 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetPORTLAND COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC: $70,333 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetOREGON COAST AQUARIUM INC: $60,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetTHE UNIVERSITY OF PUGET SOUND: $40,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetNorth Coast Land Conservancy Inc: $37,500 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetLinfield University: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE FRESHWATER TRUST: $25,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetOregon State University Foundation: $25,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMontessori Northwest: $20,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetHELPING HANDS REENTRY OUTREACH CENTERS: $20,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetYOUTH MUSIC PROJECT: $20,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetOregon Parks Forever: $20,000 over 2y, 1.8% of budgetREADING RESULTS: $7,500 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetHIGH DESERT MUSEUM: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWILLAMETTE FALLS TRUST: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCHARITABLE PARTNERSHIP FUND: $2,500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCommunity Services Network: $2,500 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetPORTLAND PARKS FOUNDATION: $2,500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetThe Turtle Shelter Project: $1,000 over 1y, 2.4% of budgetThe DPI Group: $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.

The Oregon Community …Maybelle Clark Macdon…Juan Young TrustMeyer Memorial TrustThe Autzen FoundationMarie Lamfrom Charita…OCF Joseph E Weston P…The Swigert FoundationWheeler FoundationRose E Tucker Charita…The Jackson FoundationThe Reser Family Foun…
The Oregon Community FoundationOR26.8× affinity12 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Oregon Community Foundation · Maybelle Clark Macdonald Fund · Juan Young Trust · Meyer Memorial Trust · The Autzen Foundation · Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation Trust · OCF Joseph E Weston Public Foundation · The Swigert Foundation · Wheeler Foundation · Rose E Tucker Charitable Trust · The Jackson Foundation · The Reser Family 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 Schlesinger Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Schlesinger Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 60%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%19%38%56%75%share of the org’s income from government →median 6%
  • Oregon Coast Aquarium Inc: 24% of income from government
  • Helping Hands Reentry Outreach Centers: 18% of income from government
  • The Freshwater Trust: 17% of income from government
  • High Desert Museum: 11% of income from government
  • North Coast Land Conservancy Inc: 6% of income from government
  • Portland Community College Foundation Inc: 5% of income from government
  • Linfield University: 4% of income from government
  • Youth Music Project: 1% of income from government
  • Oregon State University Foundation: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
6get no government money at all
4report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–75%
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 Schlesinger Family Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Schlesinger Family 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 31 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 Schlesinger 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