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Sternberg Charitable Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Sternberg Charitable 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.

$86k
Granted FY2024still arriving
23
Grants FY2024still arriving
7
States reached
$8k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0199% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Education$66kArts & Culture$65kEnvironment$63kCivil Rights$62kReligion$60kAnimals$54kFood & Nutrition$49kHealth$37kOther$0
02FY2024 · 23 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$3,761
Median grant
7
States reached
$1.8M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION$7,522
PLANNED PARENTHOOD MAR MONTE$7,522
RUTH ASAWA SAN FRANCISCO SCHOOL OF THE ARTS$7,522
SANTA TERESA PARENT-TEACHER ORGANIZATION$7,522
TAWONGA JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER-CAMP TAWONGA$5,265
SAN FRANCISCO FOOD BANK$3,761
SPARK SF PUBLIC SCHOOLS$3,761
SECOND HARVEST FOOD BANK OF SANTA CLARA AND SAN MATEO COUNTIES$3,761
SAVE THE REDWOODS LEAGUE$3,761
SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER INC$3,761
ELECTRONIC FRONTIER FOUNDATION INC$3,761
TREES FOR THE FUTURE$3,761
MAKE IT HOME BAY AREA$3,009
OPERA SAN JOSE$2,507
SAN JOSE ANIMAL CARE CENTER$2,507
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, $30k) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 45% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants spread fairly evenly across need levels.

area typical 9%MAKE IT HOME BAY AREA: $6k → 8%ADOPT AMERICA NETWORK: $914 → 18%MAKE IT HOME BAY AREA: $3k → 8%MAKE IT HOME BAY AREA: $3k → 8%MAKE IT HOME BAY AREA: $3k → 8%LARKIN STREET YOUTH SERVICES: $3k → 10%LARKIN STREET YOUTH SERVICES: $2k → 10%YWCA OF SILICON VALLEY: $1k → 8%LARKIN STREET YOUTH SERVICES: $2k → 10%YWCA OF SILICON VALLEY: $965 → 8%LARKIN STREET YOUTH SERVICES: $2k → 10%LARKIN STREET YOUTH SERVICES: $2k → 10%LARKIN STREET YOUTH SERVICES: $2k → 10%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
MA
OH
CA
MD
TN
DC
AL
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.

98%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$524k · 33 repeat orgs$10k to everyone else

33 repeat relationships: 22 still active in FY2024, 11 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

33
3

Total granted

$524k
$8k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+55%
+554%

Still filing today

70%
67%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 97% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $2k 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
HealthHuman ServicesAnimalsEducationEnvironmentArts & CultureOther
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

  • SP
    SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER INC
    8× · 2017–2024 · $26k · revenue +10%
  • EF
    Electronic Frontier Foundation Inc
    8× · 2017–2024 · $26k · revenue +24%
  • SH
    SECOND HARVEST OF SILICON VALLEY
    8× · 2017–2024 · $25k · revenue +138%

Funded once

  • CH
    CHURCH HEALTH CENTER OF MEMPHIS INC
    one grant, 2022 · $5k · revenue +21%
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2017 · $2k
  • AA
    ADOPT AMERICA NETWORKgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $914 · revenue +554%
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
The San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

To ensure every companion animal has access to quality medical care, compassionate shelter, and a loving home.

Animals
2
Parents for Public Schools of San Francisco

PPS-SF's mission is to promote the fundamental value of public education and pursue the success of every public school by sharing knowledge, bridging communities, and informing policy.

—
3
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
4
Sutter Bay Medical Foundation

Mission statement: mission: caring for our patients first and our people always. vision: to be the most comprehensive, integrated and connected health system for getting and staying well. values: excellence - we deliver high-quality,…

Health
5
Pangea Legal Services

Pangea's mission is to provide deportation defense services, advocate for policy change, and provide education and legal empowerment for our immigrant communities.

Crime & Legal
6
San Francisco Zoological Society

To connect all people with wildlife, inspire caring for nature, and advance conservation action.

Animals
7
Public Advocates Inc

For more than five decades, public advocates has challenged the systemic causes of poverty and racial discrimination by strengthening community voices in public policy and achieving tangible legal victories advancing education, housing,…

—
8
Sutter Bay Hospitals

MISSION STATEMENT: MISSION: CARING FOR OUR PATIENTS FIRST AND OUR PEOPLE ALWAYS. VISION: TO BE THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE, INTEGRATED AND CONNECTED HEALTH SYSTEM FOR GETTING AND STAYING WELL. VALUES: EXCELLENCE - We deliver high-quality,…

Health
9
San Francisco Public Press

The mission of the San Francisco Public Press is to enrich civic life by publishing investigative and solutions journalism that engages diverse audiences and promotes public accountability. The San Francisco Public Press…

Education
10
Planned Parenthood California Central Coast

To improve our communities' sexual and reproductive health outcomes through health care, education, and advocacy.

Health
11
Planned Parenthood Los Angeles

To provide convenient and affordable access to a comprehensive range of quality reproductive health care and sexual health information through patient services, education, and advocacy.

Health
12
Sf Partnership

SF Partnership is an organization comprised of SF's leading employers dedicated to supporting an equitable, resilient, and vibrant economy shared by all people working and living in San Francisco. Through education, advocacy, and research,…

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Planned Parenthood Mar Monte Inc; the most unlike its peers is Everett Middle School Ptsa. 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

26 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. 26 of the 37 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)
26/26
Grantees still filing
22/26
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

TAWONGA JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER-CAMP TAWONGA: $33,706 · OtherTAWONGA JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER-CAMP TAWONGAAMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION: $29,982 · OtherAMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNIONRUTH ASAWA SAN FRANCISCO SCHOOL OF THE ARTS: $29,532 · OtherRUTH ASAWA SAN FRANCISCO SCHOOL OF THE ARTSElectronic Frontier Foundation Inc: $26,221 · OtherElectronic Frontier Foundation IncSAN FRANCISCO FOOD BANK: $24,727 · OtherSAN FRANCISCO FOOD BANKSANTA TERESA PARENT-TEACHER ORGANIZATION: $21,125 · OtherSANTA TERESA PARENT-TEACHER ORGANIZATIONSAN JOSE ANIMAL CARE CENTER: $15,985 · OtherCONGREGATION SHIR HADASH: $14,068 · OtherCONGREGATION EMANU-EL: $12,571 · OtherEVERETT MIDDLE SCHOOL PTSA: $12,528 · OtherSOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER INC: $26,222 · OtherSOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER INCSECOND HARVEST OF SILICON VALLEY: $24,727 · OtherSECOND HARVEST OF SILICON VALLEYOVERTON PARK CONSERVANCY: $15,735 · Other+6 more: $29,126 · Other+6 morePLANNED PARENTHOOD MAR MONTE INC: $20,882 · HealthPLANNED P…PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC: $11,034 · HealthPLANNED P…Rape Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN): $9,137 · HealthRape Abus…CHURCH HEALTH CENTER OF MEMPHIS INC: $5,000 · HealthCHURCH HE…TREES FOR THE FUTURE INC: $22,060 · EnvironmentSAVE THE REDWOODS LEAGUE: $19,918 · EnvironmentMONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM FOUNDATION: $17,483 · AnimalsMemphis Zoological Society: $15,735 · AnimalsHUMANE SOCIETY SILICON VALLEY: $2,748 · AnimalsSAN JOSE CHILDRENS MUSICAL THEATER: $18,139 · Arts & CultureOPERA SAN JOSE INCORPORATED: $17,483 · Arts & CultureMAKE IT HOME - BAY AREA: $14,592 · Human ServicesLarkin Street Youth Services: $12,780 · Human ServicesYWCA GOLDEN GATE SILICON VALLEY: $2,062 · Human Services+1 more: $914 · Human ServicesTHE TRUSTEES OF THE SMITH COLLEGE: $12,236 · EducationSPARK SF PUBLIC SCHOOLS: $12,200 · EducationKHAN ACADEMY INC: $3,741 · Education
Other$316,255Health$46,053Environment$41,978Animals$35,966Arts & Culture$35,622Human Services$30,348Education$28,177

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 budgetSOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER INC: $26,222 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetElectronic Frontier Foundation Inc: $26,221 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetSECOND HARVEST OF SILICON VALLEY: $24,727 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetSAN FRANCISCO FOOD BANK: $24,727 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetTREES FOR THE FUTURE INC: $22,060 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD MAR MONTE INC: $20,882 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetSAVE THE REDWOODS LEAGUE: $19,918 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetSAN JOSE CHILDRENS MUSICAL THEATER: $18,139 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetOPERA SAN JOSE INCORPORATED: $17,483 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetMONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM FOUNDATION: $17,483 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetMemphis Zoological Society: $15,735 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetOVERTON PARK CONSERVANCY: $15,735 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetMAKE IT HOME - BAY AREA: $14,592 over 4y, 1.9% of budgetLarkin Street Youth Services: $12,780 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetEVERETT MIDDLE SCHOOL PTSA: $12,528 over 5y, 4.2% of budgetTHE TRUSTEES OF THE SMITH COLLEGE: $12,236 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetSPARK SF PUBLIC SCHOOLS: $12,200 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC: $11,034 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetRape Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN): $9,137 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetJEWISH COMMUNITY RELATIONS COUNCIL OF SAN FRANCISCO MARIN & PENINSULA: $6,181 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCHURCH HEALTH CENTER OF MEMPHIS INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetKHAN ACADEMY INC: $3,741 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetHUMANE SOCIETY SILICON VALLEY: $2,748 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetYWCA GOLDEN GATE SILICON VALLEY: $2,062 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetADOPT AMERICA NETWORK: $914 over 1y, 0.1% 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 SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds Electronic Frontier Foundation Inc ↗
  • Who funds SECOND HARVEST OF SILICON VALLEY ↗
  • Who funds SAN FRANCISCO FOOD BANK ↗
  • Who funds TREES FOR THE FUTURE INC ↗
  • Who funds PLANNED PARENTHOOD MAR MONTE INC ↗
  • Who funds SAVE THE REDWOODS LEAGUE ↗
  • Who funds SAN JOSE CHILDRENS MUSICAL THEATER ↗
  • Who funds OPERA SAN JOSE INCORPORATED ↗
  • Who funds MONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Memphis Zoological Society ↗
  • Who funds OVERTON PARK CONSERVANCY ↗
  • Who funds MAKE IT HOME - BAY AREA ↗
  • Who funds Larkin Street Youth Services ↗
  • Who funds EVERETT MIDDLE SCHOOL PTSA ↗
  • Who funds THE TRUSTEES OF THE SMITH COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds SPARK SF PUBLIC SCHOOLS ↗
  • Who funds PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC ↗
  • Who funds Rape Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) ↗
  • Who funds JEWISH COMMUNITY RELATIONS COUNCIL OF SAN FRANCISCO MARIN & PENINSULA ↗
  • Who funds CHURCH HEALTH CENTER OF MEMPHIS INC ↗
  • Who funds KHAN ACADEMY INC ↗
  • Who funds HUMANE SOCIETY SILICON VALLEY ↗
  • Who funds FAMILY DOG & PUPPY RESCUE ↗
  • Who funds YWCA GOLDEN GATE SILICON VALLEY ↗
  • Who funds ADOPT AMERICA NETWORK ↗

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 David and Lucile …Silicon Valley Commun…Jewish Community Fede…The San Francisco Fou…American Endowment Fo…Morgan Stanley Global…American Online Givin…Vanguard Charitable E…Donor Advised Charita…National Philanthropi…The Bank of America C…Fidelity Investments …
The David and Lucile Packard FoundationCA15.1× affinity5 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The David and Lucile Packard Foundation · Silicon Valley Community Foundation · Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco the Peninsula Marin & Sonoma · The San Francisco Foundation · American Endowment Foundation · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund

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 Sternberg Charitable Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Sternberg Charitable 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%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 1%
  • The Trustees of the Smith College: 1% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
8report 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.

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 37 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 Sternberg’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