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Skestos Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Skestos Family Foundation

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.

$145k
Granted FY2024still arriving
4
Grants FY2024still arriving
2
States reached
$50k
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 2024.

Education$661kHealth$449kArts & Culture$301kPhilanthropy$125kHuman Services$75kEnvironment$70kAnimals$50kRecreation & Sports$5kOther$0
02FY2024 · 4 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $10k–50k3 grants · $95k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $50k
$40,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$3k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Columbus Academy$50,000
University of Michigan$40,000
Columbus Museum of Art$30,000
GiGi's Shelter$25,000
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 (FY17–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 100% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%Project ALS: $5k → 17%Univ of Michigan Office of Gift Admin: $75k → 14%Flying Horse Farms: $5k → 11%Columbus Museum of Art: $100k → 15%Madison Square Park Conservancy: $70k → 17%Univ of Michigan Office of Gift Admin: $50k → 14%Columbus Museum of Art: $46k → 15%Univ of Michigan Office of Gift Admin: $50k → 14%Columbus Museum of Art: $37k → 15%University of Michigan: $40k → 14%Columbus Museum of Art: $34k → 15%University of Michigan: $40k → 14%Columbus Museum of Art: $33k → 15%University of Michigan: $40k → 14%Columbus Museum of Art: $30k → 15%German Village Society: $5k → 15%German Village Society: $5k → 15%COSI: $3k → 15%Greater Columbus Film Commission: $1k → 15%Columbus College of Art & Design: $1k → 15%Wexner Center-Ohio State: $5k → 15%Wexner Center-Ohio State: $5k → 15%Wexner Center-Ohio State: $5k → 15%Gigi's Shelter: $25k → 15%GiGi's Shelter: $25k → 15%Crohn's & Colitis Foundation: $10k → 15%Columbus School for Girls: $30k → 15%Center for Family Safety & Healing: $15k → 15%Center for Family Safety & Healing: $10k → 15%American Heart Association: $10k → 15%Columbus Academy: $150k → 15%Columbus Academy: $125k → 15%Columbus Academy: $100k → 15%Columbus Academy: $100k → 15%Columbus Academy: $50k → 15%Columbus Academy: $50k → 15%Columbus Academy: $50k → 15%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.

92%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.6M · 10 repeat orgs$135k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +48% since the first grant, against +13% for those funded once.

10 repeat relationships: 4 still active in FY2024, 6 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

10
9

Total granted

$1.6M
$135k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+48%
+13%

Still filing today

40%
78%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
EducationArts & CultureHealthRecreation & SportsEnvironmentOther
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

  • TC
    THE COLUMBUS ACADEMY
    7× · 2017–2024 · $625k · revenue +48%
  • NC
    Nationwide Children's Hospital
    3× · 2018–2022 · $300k
  • CM
    COLUMBUS MUSEUM OF ART
    6× · 2017–2024 · $280k · revenue -6%

Funded once

  • MS
    MADISON SQUARE PARK CONSERVANCY INC
    one grant, 2018 · $70k · revenue -2%
  • CS
    Columbus School for Girlsgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $30k · revenue +31%
  • AH
    American Heart Association Incgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $10k · revenue +33%
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
Columbia College Chicago

The organization's mission is to educate students for creative occupations in diverse fields of arts and media.

Education
2
The Common Application Inc

The common application is a not-for-profit membership organization of over 1,100 colleges and universities across the globe committed to access, equity, and integrity in the college admission process. every year, over 1.5 million students…

Education
3
Capital University

Capital university transforms lives by empowering an inclusive community of learners through engaging academic, co-curricular, and professional experiences.

Education
4
Cincinnati Museum Center

Cincinnati museum center inspires people of all ages to learn more about our world through science, regional history, and educational, engaging and meaningful experiences.

Arts & Culture
5
Carleton College

See schedule o.founded in 1866, carleton college is a private, coeducational liberal arts college of 2,007 students located in the historic river town of northfield, minnesota. nationally recognized as the nation's top college for…

Education
6
Columbus Medical Association

We are physicians and other experts improving the health of caregivers, patients and communities.

—
7
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science & Art

See schedule ovision: the cooper union for the advancement of science and art is dedicated to peter cooper's radical commitment to diversity and his founding vision that fair access to an inspiring free education and forums for courageous…

Education
8
Columbus Association of Realtors

The columbus association of realtors is a local level, not-for-profit trade association. founded in 1908, columbus association of realtors is comprised of more than 9,100 real estate professionals engaged in residential sales and leasing,…

—
9
Central Indiana Corporate Partnership Inc

Central indiana corporate partnership (cicp) is an alliance of indiana's business and research university leaders coming together to foster long-term prosperity for the region. cicp's mission is to transform the economy of indiana in order…

Community Improvement
10
College for Creative Studies

The college for creative studies nurtures the creativity that is vital to the enrichment of modern culture. the college educates visual artists and designers, knowledgeable in varied fields, who will be leaders in creative professions that…

Education
11
Lehigh University

The university's goal in the coming decade is to advance learning through the integration of teaching, research and service to others. the core of this goal is to prepare graduates to engage with the world and lead lives of meaning. to do…

Education
12
Union Health System

To serve our communities by provding innovative and compassionate healthcare.

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Columbus Academy; the most unlike its peers is University of Michigan. 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 19 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
6/11
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Nationwide Children's Hospital: $300,000 · OtherNationwide Children's HospitalUniv of Michigan Office of Gift Admin: $175,000 · OtherUniv of Michigan Office of Gift AdminUniversity of Michigan: $120,000 · OtherUniversity of MichiganGiGi's Shelter: $50,000 · OtherGiGi's ShelterCenter for Family Safety & Healing: $25,000 · Other+4 more: $30,000 · OtherTHE COLUMBUS ACADEMY: $625,000 · EducationTHE COLUMBUS ACADEMYColumbus School for Girls: $30,000 · Education+1 more: $1,000 · EducationCOLUMBUS MUSEUM OF ART: $279,700 · Arts & CultureCOLUMBUS MUSEUM OF …GERMAN VILLAGE SOCIETY: $10,000 · Arts & Culture+1 more: $2,500 · Arts & CultureMADISON SQUARE PARK CONSERVANCY INC: $70,000 · EnvironmentAmerican Heart Association Inc: $10,000 · HealthPROJECT ALS INC: $5,000 · HealthFLYING HORSE FARMS: $5,000 · Recreation & Sports
Other$700,000Education$656,000Arts & Culture$292,200Environment$70,000Health$15,000Recreation & Sports$5,000

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 budgetTHE COLUMBUS ACADEMY: $625,000 over 7y, 0.5% of budgetCOLUMBUS MUSEUM OF ART: $279,700 over 6y, 0.9% of budgetUniversity of Michigan: $120,000 over 3y, 12% of budgetMADISON SQUARE PARK CONSERVANCY INC: $70,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetColumbus School for Girls: $30,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetGERMAN VILLAGE SOCIETY: $10,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetAmerican Heart Association Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFLYING HORSE FARMS: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetPROJECT ALS INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetFRANKLIN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY DBA COSI COLUMBUS: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCOLUMBUS COLLEGE OF ART & DESIGN: $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.

  • Who funds THE COLUMBUS ACADEMY ↗
  • Who funds COLUMBUS MUSEUM OF ART ↗
  • Who funds University of Michigan ↗
  • Who funds MADISON SQUARE PARK CONSERVANCY INC ↗
  • Who funds Columbus School for Girls ↗
  • Who funds GERMAN VILLAGE SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds American Heart Association Inc ↗
  • Who funds FLYING HORSE FARMS ↗
  • Who funds PROJECT ALS INC ↗
  • Who funds FRANKLIN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY DBA COSI COLUMBUS ↗
  • Who funds COLUMBUS COLLEGE OF ART & DESIGN ↗

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.

L Brands FoundationUnited Way of Central…Columbus FoundationDonor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
L Brands FoundationOH15.7× affinity5 shared granteesties to 5 of 5Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: L Brands Foundation · United Way of Central Ohio Inc · Columbus Foundation · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · 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 Skestos Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Skestos Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%4%8%15%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    3report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    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 Skestos Family Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Skestos 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 19 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 Skestos 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