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Sesame Foundation C-O Jan Gordon Co-Trustee at a glance

· Private foundation

Sesame Foundation C-O Jan Gordon Co-Trustee

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$80k
Granted FY2024still arriving
6
Grants FY2024still arriving
3
States reached
$20k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0197% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Health$125kEducation$95kHuman Services$58kEnvironment$43kAnimals$30kInternational$15kOther$0
02FY2024 · 6 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$15,000
Median grant
3
States reached
$1.8M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
WK PRESERVATION GROUP$20,000
WHEELCHAIRS 4 KIDS INC$15,000
SAMARATIN'S PURSE$15,000
STEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION$10,000
CLOTHES TO KIDS$10,000
FIRST CHRISTIAN ACADEMY$10,000
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:

Its human-services grants (FY17–24, $193k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 84% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%SOUTHEASTERN GUIDE DOGS: $10k → 10%CLOTHES TO KIDS: $10k → 12%SOUTHEASTERN GUIDE DOGS: $10k → 10%CLOTHES TO KIDS: $10k → 12%SOUTHEASTERN GUIDE DOGS: $10k → 10%CLOTHES TO KIDS: $8k → 12%CLOTHES TO KIDS: $8k → 12%CLOTHES TO KIDS: $8k → 12%CLOTHES TO KIDS: $8k → 12%CLOTHES TO KIDS: $8k → 12%WHEELCHAIRS 4 KIDS INC: $15k → 12%WHEELCHAIRS 4 KIDS: $15k → 12%WHEELCHAIRS 4 KIDS: $15k → 12%WHEELCHAIRS 4 KIDS: $15k → 12%WHEELCHAIRS 4 KIDS INC: $15k → 12%WHEELCHAIRS 4 KIDS: $15k → 12%WHEELCHAIRS 4 KIDS: $15k → 12%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.

78%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$283k · 6 repeat orgs$80k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +146% since the first grant, against +126% for those funded once.

6 repeat relationships: 3 still active in FY2024, 3 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

6
4

Total granted

$283k
$35k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+146%
+126%

Still filing today

83%
50%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 44% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $45k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’19’20’21’22’23’24
Human ServicesHealthEducationEnvironmentReligionOther
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

  • W4
    Wheelchairs 4 Kids Inc
    7× · 2017–2024 · $105k · revenue +469%
  • CLOTHES TO KIDS INC
    7× · 2017–2024 · $58k · revenue +115%
  • STEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION
    5× · 2020–2024 · $50k · revenue +392%

Funded once

  • TS
    THE SHRINERS' HOSPITAL FOR CHILDREN
    one grant, 2017 · $10k · revenue -14%
  • PA
    PLATO ACADEMY SCHOOLS CORPTRINITY PTO
    one grant, 2023 · $10k
  • SHRINERS HOSPITALS FOR CHILDRENgraduated
    one grant, 2019 · $10k · revenue +126%
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
Shriners Hospital for Children
Philanthropy
2
Safe Kids Worldwide

Safe kids worldwide is a global nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing childhood injuries.

Health
3
Children's Hospital Corporation

Provider of pediatric healthcare, education, research & community service

Health
4
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

The children's hospital of philadelphia, the oldest hospital in the united states dedicated exclusively to pediatrics, strives to be the world leader in the advancement of health care for children by integrating excellent patient care,…

Health
5
East Tennessee Children's Hospital Association Inc

East tennessee children's hospital is a free-standing, independent, not-for-profit pediatric health care system which serves the east tennessee region. children's hospital is certified by the state of tennessee as a comprehensive regional…

Health
6
Variety Children's Hospital

To inspire hope and promote lifelong health by providing the best care to every child.

Health
7
Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital Inc

Mission: johns hopkins all children's hospital (all children's), a member of johns hopkins medicine, strives to provide the highest quality care to improve the health of our entire community through innovation, collaboration, service…

Health
8
Stc Healthcare Partners Llc

Website: https://towerhealth.org/locations/st-christophers-hospital- children stc opco, llc (st. christopher's hospital for children) provides a full range of high-quality healthcare services to all children and youth up to age 21 who seek…

Health
9
Conservation International Foundation

Ci works to spotlight and secure the critical benefits that nature provides to humanity.

Environment
10
Zenobia Shriners

Shriners believe in god and that he created man to service his purpose, among which is service to others in his name. we believe that care for the less fortunate, especially children who suffer from burns and crippling disease, is our…

—
11
Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Foundation

To engage and catalyze global seafood supply chains in rebuilding depleted fish stocks and reducing the environmental impacts of fishing and fish farming.

Animals
12
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

Leadership in the prevention, treatment, and cure of cancer through excellence, vision and cost effectiveness in patient care, outreach programs, research, and education.

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Shriners Hospitals for Children; the most unlike its peers is Samaritan's Purse. 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

10 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. 10 of the 14 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)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
10/10
Grantees still filing
6/10
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Wheelchairs 4 Kids Inc: $105,000 · Human ServicesWheelchairs 4 Kids IncCLOTHES TO KIDS INC: $57,500 · Human ServicesCLOTHES TO KIDS INCSoutheastern Guide Dogs Inc: $30,000 · Human ServicesSoutheastern Guide Dogs IncSTEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION: $50,000 · EducationSTEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL …PINELLAS COUNTY EDUCATION FOUNDATION INC: $25,000 · EducationPINELLAS COUNTY EDUCAT…THE NATURE CONSERVANCY OF FLORIDA: $15,000 · OtherTHE NATURE CON…FIRST CHRISTIAN ACADEMY INC: $10,000 · OtherFIRST CHRISTIA…PLATO ACADEMY SCHOOLS CORPTRINITY PTO: $10,000 · OtherPLATO ACADEMY …THE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $7,500 · OtherTHE NATURE CON…Individual grant recipient: $5,000 · OtherIndividual gra…WK PRESERVATION GROUP INC: $20,000 · EnvironmentTHE SHRINERS' HOSPITAL FOR CHILDREN: $10,000 · HealthSHRINERS HOSPITALS FOR CHILDREN: $10,000 · HealthSAMARITAN'S PURSE: $15,000 · Religion
Human Services$192,500Education$75,000Other$47,500Environment$20,000Health$20,000Religion$15,000

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 budgetWheelchairs 4 Kids Inc: $105,000 over 7y, 3.1% of budgetCLOTHES TO KIDS INC: $57,500 over 7y, 0.6% of budgetSTEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetSoutheastern Guide Dogs Inc: $30,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetPINELLAS COUNTY EDUCATION FOUNDATION INC: $25,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetWK PRESERVATION GROUP INC: $20,000 over 1y, 2.6% of budgetSAMARITAN'S PURSE: $15,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE SHRINERS' HOSPITAL FOR CHILDREN: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSHRINERS HOSPITALS FOR CHILDREN: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $7,500 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 set of overlaps that mostly run through this funder rather than between each other.

Amazonsmile Foundation
Amazonsmile FoundationWA3.3× affinity4 shared granteesties to 0 of 0Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: 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 Sesame Foundation C-O Jan Gordon Co-Trustee funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Sesame Foundation C-O Jan Gordon Co-Trustee. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 30%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%6%13%19%25%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • The Shriners' Hospital for Children: 6% of income from government
  • Southeastern Guide Dogs Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Shriners Hospitals for Children: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
3get 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 · 0–25%
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.

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 14 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

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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