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The Acer Fund at a glance

· Private foundation

The Acer Fund

Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$12k
Granted FY2025still arriving
14
Grants FY2025still arriving
3
States reached
$2k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0188% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2025.

Education$12kHuman Services$9kEnvironment$6kArts & Culture$5kHealth$5kMembership Benefit$3kPublic Benefit$2kRecreation & Sports$2kOther$0
02FY2025 · 14 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$1,000
Median grant
3
States reached
$246k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Princeton University$2,000
Reid Cemetery Association$2,000
Next Village SF$1,200
West County Health Centers$1,000
Ritenour Pride and Promise Fnd$1,000
Margaret Jenkins Dance Company$1,000
SPUR$1,000
Ecologistics$500
Landpaths$500
Francisco Park Conservancy$500
Sonoma Land Trust$500
Individual grant recipient$300
Santa Catalina School$300
Russian Hill Neighbors$100
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 (FY20–25, $7k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%North Beach Citizens: $2k → 10%Next Village SF: $2k → 10%Next Village SF: $1k → 10%NORTH BEACH CITIZENS: $1k → 10%Next Village SF: $600 → 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.
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.

85%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$41k · 16 repeat orgs$7k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +51% since the first grant, against +1% for those funded once.

16 repeat relationships: 13 still active in FY2025, 3 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

16
13

Total granted

$41k
$7k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+51%
+1%

Still filing today

69%
54%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 96% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $500 went to new ones.

50%100%’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’20’21’22’23’24’25
Arts & CultureEnvironmentEducationHuman ServicesHealthPhilanthropyOther
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

  • The Trustees of Princeton University
    5× · 2020–2025 · $6k · revenue +51%
  • RP
    RITENOUR PRIDE & PROMISE FOUNDATION
    4× · 2021–2025 · $4k · revenue +233%
  • NE
    North East Exchange Team - San Francisco
    3× · 2022–2025 · $4k · revenue +72%

Funded once

  • LC
    LA CASA DE LOS NINOS
    one grant, 2024 · $2k
  • GA
    GREENBELT ALLIANCEPEOPLE FOR OPEN SPACE
    one grant, 2020 · $1k · revenue +1%
  • SR
    SANTA ROSA MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
    one grant, 2022 · $1k
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
Sonoma Botanical Garden
—
2
San Francisco Performances Inc

SFP presents internationally acclaimed and emerging performing artists, introduces innovative programs, and builds new and diversified audiences for the arts through education and outreach activities.

Arts & Culture
3
Ucsf Foundation Investment Company

The organization provides professional investment management services for endowed gifts and financial assets entrusted to the ucsf foundation.

Education
4
Monterey Peninsula Ballet Theatre Corp

Fostering the passion and development of local youth through the performing arts, where talents and life skills may grow in an inspiring and nurturing environment.

Arts & Culture
5
New Century Chamber Orchestra

New century chamber orchestra, a virtuoso, conductorless string ensemble founded in 1992, presents performances of extraordinary quality in the san francisco bay area with a commitment to innovation, education, and accessibility.

Arts & Culture
6
San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory

The San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory is dedicated to the conservation of birds and their habitats through science and outreach.

Environment
7
Balboa Park Conservancy

Balboa Park Conservancy (the Conservancy) was organized on November 3, 1923. The Conservancy is the City of San Diegos (the City) partner and advocated for the greater good of Balboa Park (the Park). The Conservancy collaborated with and…

—
8
Presidio Theatre

The mission of the presidio theatre is to ensure that the magic of live performance is accessible to the entire community.

Philanthropy
9
Camerata Pacifica

Camerata Pacifica's mission is to affect positively how people experience live performances of classical music. The Organization will engage our audience intellectually and emotionally by presenting the finest performance of familiar and…

Arts & Culture
10
Marin Open Studios

Marin open studios is a non-profit visual arts organization dedicated to engaging and supporting marin county artists and their audiences through events, programs and services. marin open studios champions a diverse and inclusive community…

Arts & Culture
11
Sonoma Mountain Institute
Environment
12
Monterey Museum of Art

The monterey museum of art cultivates curiosity in the visual arts and engages community with the diversity of california art - past, present, and future.

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Sonoma Land Trust; the most unlike its peers is Blood Cancer United Inc. 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

22 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. 22 of the 31 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)
6
Early backer (in before they grew)
20/22
Grantees still filing
15/22
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Reid Cemetery Association: $3,000 · OtherReid Cemetery AssociationMargaret Jenkins Dance Company: $2,950 · OtherMargaret Jenkins Dance CompanyIndividual grant recipient: $2,200 · OtherIndividual grant recipientSPUR - SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA PLANNING AND URBAN RESEARCH ASSOCIATION: $2,000 · OtherSPUR - SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA PLANN…LA CASA DE LOS NINOS: $2,000 · OtherLA CASA DE LOS NINOSIndividual grant recipient: $1,750 · OtherIndividual grant recipientSANTA ROSA MEMORIAL HOSPITAL: $1,000 · OtherSANTA ROSA MEMORIAL HOSPITAL+5 more: $785 · OtherThe Trustees of Princeton University: $6,000 · EducationThe Trustees of Princeton U…RITENOUR PRIDE & PROMISE FOUNDATION: $4,000 · EducationRITENOUR PRIDE & PROMISE FO…SANTA CATALINA SCHOOL: $1,950 · EducationSANTA CATALINA SCHOOLNorth East Exchange Team - San Francisco: $3,800 · Human ServicesNorth East Exch…NORTH BEACH CITIZENS: $3,000 · Human ServicesNORTH BEACH CIT…SONOMA LAND TRUST: $3,500 · EnvironmentSONOMA LAND T…GREENBELT ALLIANCEPEOPLE FOR OPEN SPACE: $1,000 · EnvironmentGREENBELT ALL…LandPaths: $1,000 · EnvironmentLandPathsECOLOGISTICS INC: $500 · EnvironmentECOLOGISTICS …WEST COUNTY HEALTH CENTERS INC: $3,000 · HealthWEST COUN…BLOOD CANCER UNITED INC: $1,000 · HealthBLOOD CAN…Marin Museum of Contemporary Art: $1,000 · Arts & CulturePACIFIC CHAMBER ORCHESTRA: $500 · Arts & CultureMARGARET JENKINS DANCE STUDIO INC: $300 · Arts & CultureInterMusic SF: $200 · Arts & Culture+1 more: $50 · Arts & CultureFrancisco Park Conservancy: $2,000 · Recreation & SportsSONOMA COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $1,000 · PhilanthropyTHE CLEAR FUND: $100 · Philanthropy
Other$15,685Education$11,950Human Services$6,800Environment$6,000Health$4,000Arts & Culture$2,050Recreation & Sports$2,000Philanthropy$1,100

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 Trustees of Princeton University: $6,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetRITENOUR PRIDE & PROMISE FOUNDATION: $4,000 over 4y, 1.7% of budgetNorth East Exchange Team - San Francisco: $3,800 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetSONOMA LAND TRUST: $3,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetNORTH BEACH CITIZENS: $3,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetWEST COUNTY HEALTH CENTERS INC: $3,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSPUR - SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA PLANNING AND URBAN RESEARCH ASSOCIATION: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFrancisco Park Conservancy: $2,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetSANTA CATALINA SCHOOL: $1,950 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetGREENBELT ALLIANCEPEOPLE FOR OPEN SPACE: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMarin Museum of Contemporary Art: $1,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetLandPaths: $1,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBLOOD CANCER UNITED INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSONOMA COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetECOLOGISTICS INC: $500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetPACIFIC CHAMBER ORCHESTRA: $500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetMARGARET JENKINS DANCE STUDIO INC: $300 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetInterMusic SF: $200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE CLEAR FUND: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetDANCE PALACE: $50 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 tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Marin Community Found…Sonoma County Communi…The San Francisco Fou…McNabb FoundationJessie Cheng Charitab…Mary a Crocker TrustBothin FoundationThe William & Flora H…Jewish Community Fede…Silicon Valley Commun…American Endowment Fo…Morgan Stanley Global…
Marin Community FoundationCA24× affinity10 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Marin Community Foundation · Sonoma County Community Foundation · The San Francisco Foundation · McNabb Foundation · Jessie Cheng Charitable Foundation · Mary a Crocker Trust · Bothin Foundation · The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation · Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco the Peninsula Marin & Sonoma · Silicon Valley Community Foundation · American Endowment Foundation · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc

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 The Acer Fund funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Acer Fund. 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%8%15%22%30%share of the org’s income from government →median 11%
  • The Trustees of Princeton University: 11% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get 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
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–30%
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 31 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 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Acer’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