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· Private foundation

Stuart & Jesse Abelson 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.

$600k
Granted FY2024still arriving
8
Grants FY2024still arriving
4
States reached
$100k
Largest
01What it funds
0180% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Arts & Culture$950kHealth$860kEnvironment$350kScience & Tech$300kCrime & Legal$210kAnimals$100kEducation$50kOther$0
02FY2024 · 8 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$100,000
Median grant
4
States reached
$5.3M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
COMPANIS$100,000
FIELD MUSEUM$100,000
CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES$100,000
UCSF FOUNDATION$100,000
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW & POLICY CENTER$50,000
LINCOLN PARK ZOO$50,000
WORKING IN THE SCHOOLS$50,000
EQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE$50,000
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 11%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 33% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES: $100k → 10%EQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE: $50k → 18%COMPANIS: $100k → 9%FACETS MULTI-MEDIA: $20k → 14%CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES: $100k → 10%EQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE: $50k → 18%COMPANIS: $100k → 9%FACETS MULTI-MEDIA: $20k → 14%CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES: $100k → 10%EQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE: $50k → 18%COMPANIS: $100k → 9%WORKING IN THE SCHOOLS: $50k → 14%EQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE: $20k → 18%COMPANIS: $100k → 9%LITERATURE FOR ALL OF US: $50k → 14%EQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE: $20k → 18%COMPANIS: $40k → 9%LITERATURE FOR ALL OF US: $50k → 14%EQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE: $20k → 18%COMPANIS: $40k → 9%ENVIRONMENTAL LAW & POLICY CENTER: $50k → 14%COMPANIS: $40k → 9%ENVIRONMENTAL LAW & POLICY CENTER: $50k → 14%COMPANIS: $40k → 9%ENVIRONMENTAL LAW & POLICY CENTER: $50k → 14%KEXP 903 FM: $140k → 9%ENVIRONMENTAL LAW & POLICY CENTER: $40k → 14%KEXP 903 FM: $140k → 9%ENVIRONMENTAL LAW & POLICY CENTER: $40k → 14%KEXP 903 FM: $140k → 9%ENVIRONMENTAL LAW & POLICY CENTER: $40k → 14%KEXP 903 FM: $100k → 9%ENVIRONMENTAL LAW & POLICY CENTER: $40k → 14%KEXP 903 FM: $100k → 9%ENVIRONMENTAL LAW & POLICY CENTER: $40k → 14%KEXP 903 FM: $40k → 9%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.

99%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$3.4M · 11 repeat orgs$50k to everyone else

11 repeat relationships: 7 still active in FY2024, 4 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

11
1

Total granted

$3.4M
$50k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+4%
+10%

Still filing today

64%
100%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 92% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $50k 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
Arts & CultureEducationEnvironmentCivil RightsAnimalsOther
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

  • EL
    ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY CENTER OF THE MIDWEST
    8× · 2017–2024 · $350k · revenue +72%
  • CA
    CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
    3× · 2022–2024 · $300k · revenue +1%
  • EQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE
    6× · 2017–2024 · $210k · revenue +85%

Funded once

  • WI
    WORKING IN THE SCHOOLS INC
    one grant, 2024 · $50k · revenue +10%
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
American Museum of Natural History

The museum's mission statement is: "to discover, interpret, and disseminate - through scientific research and education - knowledge about human cultures, the natural world, and the universe."

Arts & Culture
2
The Adler Planetarium

The adler planetarium ('adler') is a not-for-profit cultural institution whose mission is to connect people to the universe and each other under the sky we all share. it aspires to be the world's premier center for engaging in astronomy…

Arts & Culture
3
Marine Biological Laboratory

The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) is a world-renowned center for biological discovery and training that is notably affiliated with more than 60 Nobel Prize winners. Research is conducted by full-time faculty as well as hundreds of the…

Science & Tech
4
The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia

The mission is "to understand the natural world and inspire everyone to care for it." the academy implements its mission through understanding the diversity of life; developing and applying science to protect the environment; and informing…

Science & Tech
5
The Living Planet Inc

We inspire people to explore, discover and learn about earth's diverse ecosystems.

—
6
Children's Museum of Oak Park

To spark curiosity and creativity in all young children through positive, play-based learning experiences.

Arts & Culture
7
San Francisco Zoological Society

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

Animals
8
Aquarium of the Pacific Corporation

The aquarium of the pacific's mission is to instill a sense of wonder, respect, and stewardship for the pacific ocean, its inhabitants, and ecosystems.

Animals
9
United States Naval Institute

Provide an independent forum for those who dare to read, think, speak, and write to advance the professional, literary, and scientific understanding of sea power and other issues critical to global security.

—
10
American Association for the Advancement of Science

Advance science, engineering, and innovation throughout the world for the benefit of all. the world's largest multidisciplinary scientific society and a leading publisher of cutting-edge research through its science family of journals,…

Science & Tech
11
Public Library of Science

Please see schedule o for complete description of the organization's mission.

Science & Tech
12
Museum of Science

The mission of the museum of science is to inspire a lifelong love of science in everyone. through exhibits, curricula, programs, and events, both live and virtual, we aim to make science and scientific thinking accessible, engaging, and…

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Field Museum of Natural History; the most unlike its peers is Facets Film Forum. 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

9 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. 9 of the 12 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)
0
Early backer (in before they grew)
8/9
Grantees still filing
6/9
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

KEXP 903 FM: $660,000 · OtherKEXP 903 FMCOMPANIS: $560,000 · OtherCOMPANISLITERATURE FOR ALL OF US: $100,000 · OtherLITERATURE FOR ALL OF US+1 more: $20,000 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO FOUNDATION: $860,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN F…WORKING IN THE SCHOOLS INC: $50,000 · EducationWORKING IN THE SCHOOLS INCCALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES: $300,000 · Arts & CultureCALIFORNIA ACADE…FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY: $150,000 · Arts & CultureFIELD MUSEUM OF …Facets Film Forum: $40,000 · Arts & CultureFacets Film Foru…ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY CENTER OF THE MIDWEST: $350,000 · EnvironmentENVIRONMENT…EQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE: $210,000 · Civil RightsLINCOLN PARK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $100,000 · Animals
Other$1,340,000Education$910,000Arts & Culture$490,000Environment$350,000Civil Rights$210,000Animals$100,000

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetUNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO FOUNDATION: $860,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY CENTER OF THE MIDWEST: $350,000 over 8y, 0.6% of budgetCALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES: $300,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetEQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE: $210,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetFIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY: $150,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetLINCOLN PARK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $100,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetWORKING IN THE SCHOOLS INC: $50,000 over 1y, 2.9% of budgetFacets Film Forum: $40,000 over 2y, 1.8% 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 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY CENTER OF THE MIDWEST ↗
  • Who funds CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES ↗
  • Who funds EQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE ↗
  • Who funds FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ↗
  • Who funds LINCOLN PARK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds LITERATURE FOR ALL OF US ↗
  • Who funds WORKING IN THE SCHOOLS INC ↗
  • Who funds Facets Film Forum ↗

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Stuart & Jesse Abelson Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Stuart & Jesse Abelson Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%3%5%8%10%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–10%
    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 Stuart & Jesse Abelson Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Stuart & Jesse Abelson 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 12 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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