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Second Star Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Second Star Foundation

Its FY2021 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$205k
Granted FY2021
21
Grants FY2021
11
States reached
$125k
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 2021.

Animals$145kReligion$51kPhilanthropy$4kEnvironment$3kInternational$3kHousing & Shelter$2kArts & Culture$1kFood & Nutrition$1kOther$0
02FY2021 · 21 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2021

  • Under $10k18 grants · $19k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $11k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $175k
$1,000
Median grant
11
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
NF ANIMAL WELFARE LEAGUE$125,000
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CONGREGATIONAL C$50,000
MARA ELEPHANT PROJECT$11,000
Individual grant recipient$2,000
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY$1,984
NDRI$1,500
Individual grant recipient$1,000
ARBOR DAY FOUNDATION$1,000
TIGER CREEK ANIMAL SANCTUARY$1,000
EQUINE VOICES RESCUE & SANCTUARY$1,000
PETA$1,000
ALLEY CAT RESCUE$1,000
PCRM$1,000
NORTH FORK AUDUBON SOCIETY$1,000
ASPCA$1,000
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–21) land where the poverty rate runs at 7%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 7% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%EQUINE VOICES RESCUE & SANCTUARY: $1k → 19%ARBOR DAY FOUNDATION: $1k → 13%NDRI: $2k → 22%PEACEFUL VALLEY RANCH: $100 → 11%THE WESTON COLLECTIVE: $500 → 12%QUOGUE WILDLIFE RESCUE: $2k → 7%SPECIAL OLYMPICS: $200 → 12%NRDC: $250 → 17%TIGER CREEK ANIMAL SANCTUARY: $1k → 12%PEACEFUL VALLEY: $1k → 13%NPR: $250 → 14%DREAM CHASERS: $500 → 11%BEST FRIENDS SAVE THEM ALL: $1k → 9%MARA ELEPHANT PROJECT: $11k → 5%PETA: $1k → 19%ALLEY CAT RESCUE: $1k → 11%FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CONGREGATIONAL C: $50k → 7%ASPCA: $1k → 17%PCRM: $1k → 14%PETA: $250 → 19%NFAWL: $750 → 7%DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS: $1k → 17%GREENPEACE: $500 → 14%PETA: $200 → 19%NFAWL: $275 → 7%JANE GOODALL INSTITUTE: $1k → 14%MATTITUCKLAUREL VET: $100 → 7%JAMESPORT MEETING HOUSE: $500 → 7%JAMESPORT MEETING HOUSE: $495 → 7%NF ANIMAL WELFARE LEAGUE: $125k → 7%MATTITUCK LIBRARY: $100 → 7%PECONIC LAND TRUST: $1k → 7%HALLOCKVILLE MUSEUM FARM: $1k → 7%RIVER AND ROOTS COMMUNITY: $700 → 7%HABITAT FOR HUMANITY: $2k → 7%PLANNED PARENTHOOD: $250 → 7%NORTH FORK AUDUBON SOCIETY: $1k → 7%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
IN
PA
CA
UT
NE
VA
MD
AZ
TN
DC
TX
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.

2%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$3k · 3 repeat orgs$208k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +147% since the first grant, against +71% for those funded once.

3 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2021, 2 since wound down; 20 grantees were first funded in FY2021 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

3
10

Total granted

$3k
$3k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+147%
+71%

Still filing today

33%
40%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2021, 0% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $204k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’21
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’21
AnimalsEnvironmentArts & CulturePhilanthropyInternationalYouth DevelopmentOther
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

  • PF
    PEOPLE FOR THE ETHICAL TREATMENT OF ANIMALS INC
    3× · 2017–2021 · $1k · revenue +147%
  • N
    NFAWL
    2× · 2017–2018 · $1k
  • JM
    JAMESPORT MEETING HOUSE
    2× · 2017–2018 · $995

Funded once

  • HI
    HALLOCKVILLE INCgraduated
    one grant, 2018 · $1k · revenue +73%
  • RA
    RIVER AND ROOTS COMMUNITY
    one grant, 2017 · $700
  • TW
    THE WESTON COLLECTIVE
    one grant, 2018 · $500
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
World Animal Protection

World animal protection is a global organization working to end factory farming and wildlife exploitation. we expose cruel systems, promote animal-friendly alternatives, and influence policy change. for over 75 years, we've been rewriting…

Animals
2
World Wildlife Fund Inc

Wwf's mission is to conserve nature and reduce the most pressing threats to the diversity of life on earth. (continued on schedule o)

Environment
3
American Humane Association

Founded in 1877, american humane association, dba american humane society (american humane) is committed to ensuring the safety, welfare and well-being of animals. our leadership programs are first to serve in promoting and nurturing the…

Animals
4
Panthera Corporation

Panthera's mission is the conservation of the world's 40 wild cat species, many of which are endangered or threatened. panthera develops, implements and oversees wild cat conservation strategies on a global scale.

Animals
5
Animal Wellness Action

To prevent cruelty to animals, we promote enacting and enforcing good public policies. enacting good laws depends upon electing good lawmakers, and we remind voters which candidates care about and support animal issues.

Human Services
6
Wildlife Conservation Society

The wildlife conservation society (wcs) saves wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, conservation action, education, and inspiring people to value nature.

Animals
7
Global Animal Partnership
Animals
8
Wildlife Alliance Inc

Wildlife alliance is the leader in direct protection of forests and wildlife in tropical asia. our mission is to combat deforestation, biodiversity loss, climate change, and poverty by partnering with local communities and governments.…

Animals
9
Northern Jaguar Project

The mission of the northern jaguar project is to preserve and recover the world's northermost population of the jaguar, its unique natural habitat, and native wildlife under its protection as a flagship, keystone, and umbrella species.

Animals
10
Humane World for Animals International

HUMANE WORLD FOR ANIMALS INTERNATIONAL, FKA HUMANE SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL (HSI), works around the globe to promote the human-animal bond, rescue and protect dogs and cats, improve farm animal welfare, protect wildlife, promote animal-free…

Animals
11
Four Paws International Inc

Our vision is a world where humans treat animals with respect, empathy and understanding. four paws mission is to be the strong, global and independent voice for animals.

Animals
12
Sweet Farm Foundation

Sweet farm is the world's first nonprofit sanctuary to address the devastating impact that factory farming has on climate change from the perspective of animals, plants, and the planet. we must first understand how these pieces are…

Animals
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is National Foundation for Rescued Animals Dba Tiger Creek Animal Sanctuary; the most unlike its peers is North Fork Audubon Society. 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, 2017–2025.

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. 17 of the 33 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)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
17/17
Grantees still filing
14/17
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

NF ANIMAL WELFARE LEAGUE: $125,000 · OtherNF ANIMAL WELFARE LEAGUEFIRST PRESBYTERIAN CONGREGATIONAL C: $50,000 · OtherFIRST PRESBYTERIAN CONGREGATIONAL C+17 more: $13,704 · Other+17 moreMARA ELEPHANT PROJECT USA INC: $11,000 · PhilanthropyPEOPLE FOR THE ETHICAL TREATMENT OF ANIMALS INC: $1,450 · AnimalsAlley Cat Rescue Inc: $1,000 · AnimalsEquine Voices Rescue & Sanctuary: $1,000 · AnimalsTHE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS: $1,000 · AnimalsJANE GOODALL INSTITUTE FOR WILDLIFE RESEARCH EDUCATION AND CONSERVATION: $1,000 · AnimalsNATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR RESCUED ANIMALS DBA TIGER CREEK ANIMAL SANCTUARY: $1,000 · AnimalsNATIONAL ARBOR DAY FOUNDATION: $1,000 · EnvironmentPECONIC LAND TRUST INC: $1,000 · EnvironmentNATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC: $250 · EnvironmentHALLOCKVILLE INC: $1,000 · Arts & CultureTHE WESTON COLLECTIVE: $500 · Arts & CultureMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $1,000 · InternationalDREAMCHASERS: $500 · Youth Development
Other$188,704Philanthropy$11,000Animals$6,450Environment$2,250Arts & Culture$1,500International$1,000Youth Development$500

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 budgetMARA ELEPHANT PROJECT USA INC: $11,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetPEOPLE FOR THE ETHICAL TREATMENT OF ANIMALS INC: $1,450 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetAlley Cat Rescue Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetEquine Voices Rescue & Sanctuary: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetNORTH FORK AUDUBON SOCIETY: $1,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetTHE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetJANE GOODALL INSTITUTE FOR WILDLIFE RESEARCH EDUCATION AND CONSERVATION: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR RESCUED ANIMALS DBA TIGER CREEK ANIMAL SANCTUARY: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHALLOCKVILLE INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetNATIONAL ARBOR DAY FOUNDATION: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPECONIC LAND TRUST INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetDREAMCHASERS: $500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetGREENPEACE INC: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSPECIAL OLYMPICS NEW YORK INC: $200 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.

Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift FundMA4.9× affinity5 shared granteesties to 1 of 1Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: 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 Second Star Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Second Star Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%15%30%45%60%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    1get 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 · 0–60%
    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 Second Star Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Second Star 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 33 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 2021, released 2021. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Second Star’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