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· Private foundation

Steiner-Helsby Family Foundation

Its FY2023 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$61k
Granted FY2023
13
Grants FY2023
2
States reached
$56k
Largest
01What you fund
0190% classified

What you funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year — across FY20172023.

Arts & Culture$81kPhilanthropy$58kEducation$33kCivil Rights$8kHuman Services$3kScience & Tech$3kEnvironment$2kHealth$2kOther$0
02FY2023 · 13 grants

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

By grant size · FY2023

  • Under $10k12 grants · $5k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $56k
$200
Median grant
2
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
SCHWAB CHARITABLE FUND CARLYN J STEINER DONOR JOANNA STEINER HELSBY DONOR$55,922
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON FOUNDATION$2,000
ARCS FOUNDATION$1,000
BAINBRIDGE ISLAND MUSEUM OF ART$500
KCTS 9$300
RENEGADES FOR LIFE$250
BUSH SCHOOL$200
ARBORETUM FOUNDATION$100
SMITH COLLEGE$100
PIKE PLACE MARKET FOUNDATION$100
JUNIOR LEAGUE OF SEATTLE$80
Individual grant recipient$75
SEATTLE HUMANE SOCIETY$50
02The need
03

Do your dollars go where the need is?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, then read against the area’s typical level.

show:

Your human-services grants (FY22–23, $500) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Your grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%RENEGADES FOR LIFE: $250 → 9%RENEGADES FOR LIFE: $250 → 9%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount

Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty linein the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP; grantee ZIP can differ from where services are delivered.

US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are actually delivered. Need from public data — U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA — shown as context about the area, never attributed to your giving.

03Your edge
repeat funding

Who you back again

Which organizations you funded more than once, and which you funded a single time. Each grantee is matched to its own filings.

67%of every dollar goes to organizations you’ve funded before.
$134k · 22 repeat orgs$66k to everyone else

And the relationships you keep tend to grow: grantees you re-up on have seen median revenue of +52% since the first grant, against +36% for the ones you funded once.

22 repeat relationships — 9 still active in FY2023, 13 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2023 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

22
19

Total granted

$134k
$10k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+52%
+36%

Still filing today

73%
68%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2023, 7% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $56k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23
Arts & CultureEducationHuman ServicesCommunity ImprovementEnvironmentHealthOther

First-time = a grantee’s first year in your filing window; renewed = funded in an earlier year too. As a portfolio matures the renewed share naturally climbs — once funded, an org stays “renewable” — so the signal is the years that buck it (a new-grantee intake wave). 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

  • SA
    SEATTLE ART MUSEUM
    5× · 2017–2022 · $41k · revenue +0%
  • SEATTLE REPERTORY THEATRE
    3× · 2018–2020 · $30k · revenue +15%
  • TT
    THE TRUSTEES OF THE SMITH COLLEGE
    7× · 2017–2023 · $18k · revenue +52%

Funded once

  • SF
    SOCIETY FOR TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION INC
    one grant, 2018 · $3k · revenue -34%
  • TD
    THE DUNHUANG FOUNDATION INC
    one grant, 2020 · $3k · revenue +22%
  • P
    PLANTAMNESTY
    one grant, 2022 · $500 · revenue -5%

Repeat = funded in two or more distinct years; growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Your field

The map has a center of gravity: the average direction from the rest of the sector toward the organizations the foundation funds — the shape of its giving. Scoring every nonprofit along that direction surfaces the ones that look most like the portfolio. These are the closest matchesthat aren’t grantees — a resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Seattle Architectural Foundation

The Seattle Architecture Foundation connects people to the architecture, design, and history of Seattle. We believe the more you engage with design, the more you feel connected to your changing city. As a volunteer driven organization, we…

Arts & Culture
2
Siff

Siff is a seattle-based 501(c)(3) arts nonprofit dedicated to the creation of vibrant experiences and spaces that champion film discovery and arts education.

Youth Development
3
Seattle Symphony Orchestra Inc

To present symphonic music of the highest quality in a distinctive way for the cultural enrichment, education, engagement and enjoyment of the people of our community.

Arts & Culture
4
Association of Washington Cities

The association of washington cities builds connections between our state's diverse cities and towns, while providing our members with the support needed to thrive through delivery of data-driven education, nationally recognized pooling…

5
Seattle Public Library Foundation

The seattle public library foundation inspires the community's philanthropic support, advocacy for, and pride in the library.

Education
6
The Seattle Academy of Arts & Sciences

Seattle academy is a dynamic community that challenges students to question, imagine, and create in order to contribute to a changing world.

Education
7
Seattle International Foundation

Seattle international foundation (sif) champions equity and rule of law in central america through good governance and a robust civil society. sif works with other donors to the region to increase philanthropy and to promote collaboration,…

Philanthropy
8
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
9
The University of British Columbia

Pursuing excellence in research learning and engagement to foster global citizenship and advance a sustainable and just society across British Columbia Canada and the world.

Education
10
Seattle Foundation

Seattle foundation's mission is to ignite powerful and rewarding philanthropy to make greater seattle a stronger, more vibrant community for all.

Philanthropy
11
Friends of the Seattle Public Library

The Friends of the Seattle Public Library's mission is to elevate the Library and inspire the love of reading in our communities.

Education
12
Washington Filmworks

To build and enhance the competitiveness of Washington State's film and associated creative industry. We accomplish this by marketing and managing the state's production incentive program, representing the state in national and…

Community Improvement

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Seattle Art Museum and the most unlike its peers is Renegades for Life Inc. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.

Your grantees are a median of 43 years old; the field is 17. You back the established end — and your money leans older still.

THE FIELDby orgYOUR GRANTEESby number20%0%<5yr14%0%5–10yr20%10%10–20yr21%28%20–35yr13%24%35–55yr12%38%55yr+
THE FIELDby orgYOUR MONEYby value20%0%<5yr14%0%5–10yr20%5%10–20yr21%3%20–35yr13%13%35–55yr12%79%55yr+

The field is 20% startups (under 5 years old) — 0% of your grantees by number, and just 0% of your money.

Closures · last 5 years

The orgs you fund almost never close 0.0% lost their exemption, against 12% of the field you don’t fund.

orgs you fund
0.0%0/32
the rest of the field
12%
3,838/32,890

Age = years since IRS exemption (a founding proxy). “Closed” = auto-revocation for 3 years of non-filing — a floor on closure, not proof, and bigger established orgs lapse least. Association, not causation.

04the grantee network

31 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each one resolved to its own IRS returns and tracked year by year — your grant beside their revenue from every source. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

Counted here: distinct organizations you funded across 20172025, not grant rows in a single year — so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 31 of the 45 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile; the rest are funded organizations whose filings we could not track year by year.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
5
Early backer (in before they grew)
31/31
Grantees still filing
24/31
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

SEATTLE ART MUSEUM — $40,500 · Arts & CultureSEATTLE ART MUSEUMSEATTLE REPERTORY THEATRE — $30,294 · Arts & CultureSEATTLE REPERTORY THEATREBAINBRIDGE ISLAND MUSEUM OF ART — $3,300 · Arts & Culture+4 more — $4,980 · Arts & Culture+4 moreSCHWAB CHARITABLE FUND CARLYN J STEINER DONOR JOANNA STEINER HELSBY DONOR — $55,922 · OtherSCHWAB CHARITABLE FUND CARLYN J STEINER DO…ARCS FOUNDATION — $5,000 · OtherARCS FOUNDATIONSOCIETY FOR TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION INC — $3,000 · Other+21 more — $11,139 · Other+21 moreTHE TRUSTEES OF THE SMITH COLLEGE — $17,600 · EducationTHE TRUSTEES OF TH…UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON FOUNDATION — $14,625 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF WASH…+4 more — $1,300 · EducationAMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE — $7,800 · Civil RightsINTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S HOUSE INC — $2,000 · Human ServicesRENEGADES FOR LIFE INC — $500 · Human ServicesEverstrong Prevention — $250 · Human ServicesARBORETUM FOUNDATION — $600 · EnvironmentSeattle Garden Club Inc — $500 · EnvironmentNorthwest Parkinsons Foundation — $500 · HealthFred Hutchinson Cancer Center — $250 · Health
Arts & Culture$79,074Other$75,061Education$33,525Civil Rights$7,800Human Services$2,750Environment$1,100Health$750

Each org by its size and your share of it — top-left is where you’re load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ your share of their budgetSEATTLE ART MUSEUM — $40,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetSEATTLE REPERTORY THEATRE — $30,294 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetTHE TRUSTEES OF THE SMITH COLLEGE — $17,600 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON FOUNDATION — $14,625 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE — $7,800 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetBAINBRIDGE ISLAND MUSEUM OF ART — $3,300 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetSOCIETY FOR TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION INC — $3,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetTHE DUNHUANG FOUNDATION INC — $2,500 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetINTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S HOUSE INC — $2,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetTown Hall Association — $1,200 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetHolocaust Center For Humanity — $800 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCASCADE PUBLIC MEDIA — $780 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetUniversity of Chicago — $750 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetARBORETUM FOUNDATION — $600 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE HUMANE SOCIETY FOR SEATTLEKING COUNTY — $550 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetSeattle Garden Club Inc — $500 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetRENEGADES FOR LIFE INC — $500 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetPLANTAMNESTY — $500 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetSeattle Chamber Music Festival — $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE BUSH SCHOOL — $300 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetEverstrong Prevention — $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC — $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFred Hutchinson Cancer Center — $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetALLIANCE FOR GUN RESPONSIBILITY — $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetVILLAGEREACH — $200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSEATTLE PARKS FOUNDATION — $200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWOODLAND PARK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY — $150 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPIKE PLACE MARKET FOUNDATION — $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetJUNIOR LEAGUE OF SEATTLE — $80 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe New York Public Library Astor Lenox and Tilden Foundations — $50 over 1y, 0.0% of budget
Go grantee by grantee — a decade per org, and how each moved after you funded them

A decade per grantee — revenue shaded, your grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

The grantmakers whose grantees overlap with yours far more than size alone predicts. Each orbits closer the stronger the alignment; the arcs between them show where they also fund each other. Here it reads as a tightly interlocked camp — most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Seattle FoundationWA34.3× affinity16 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Seattle Foundation · Wyman Youth Trust · The Norcliffe Foundation · Artsfund · Baird Foundation Inc · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · Loeb Charitable Foundation · Thurston Charitable Foundation · Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle · United Way of King County · M J Murdock Charitable Trust · American Gift Fund

Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. A research starting point: overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

Government reliance of your grantees

Every dot is one organization Steiner-Helsby Family Foundation funds. Left–right is the share of its income from government; up–down is the share from you. Bigger dots raise more. Filter to federal or a single department — and drag the year to watch it move.

2024
202122232425
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%your share of their income ↑0%13%25%38%50%share of the org’s income from governmentmedian 1%
  • The Trustees of the Smith College1% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
7report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–50%
typical government reliance, FY2025

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 your grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first — a floor, not 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 12–24 months.

On method. Every financial figure here is read directly from IRS e-file XML — your own 990/990-PF and the multi-year returns of the 45 grantees we resolved across every year we hold, several hundred filings in all (a different count from the grant rows on the cover, which are one fiscal year)— each linked to its source. Grantee achievements and outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III); we read these as association with sustained funding — the foundation is one of several forces — suppress low-confidence name matches rather than guess, and say so where a figure rests on a single grant or filing. Not everything on this page is a filed figure, and the difference matters. Filed is what you reported on your 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. How we build these →

Generated from your IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2023, released 2023. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

More from the funding graph