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The Ashken Family Charitable Foundation Inc at a glance

· Private foundation

The Ashken Family Charitable Foundation Inc

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.

$360k
Granted FY2024still arriving
7
Grants FY2024still arriving
3
States reached
$179k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0196% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2019 to 2024.

Environment$2.7MHealth$2.0MPhilanthropy$272kEducation$259kArts & Culture$111kFood & Nutrition$63kCivil Rights$54kCommunity Improvement$40kOther$0
02FY2024 · 7 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $10k–50k5 grants · $131k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $229k
$27,906
Median grant
3
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
THE EVERGLADES FOUNDATION$178,800
MOUNT SINAI MEDICAL CENTER FOUNDATION$50,000
LEELANAU CONSERVANCY (FRIENDS OF FARMING)$43,333
WATERSHED$27,906
ADAM J LEWIS ACADEMY$25,000
WESTPORT COUNTRY PLAYHOUSE$25,000
WESTPORT LIBRARY ASSOCIATION$10,000
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.

US giving: 81% of grant dollars ($4.5M). The need read here covers only this US portion; the 19% that went abroad ($1.0M) is mapped below.

show:

Its human-services grants (FY20–23, $190k) land where the poverty rate runs at 19%, against an area that typically sits at 14%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 14%HEALTH IN THE HOOD: $50k → 15%FRIENDS OF LAKE LEELANAU: $100k → 21%HEALTH IN THE HOOD: $10k → 15%FRIENDS OF LAKE LEELANAU: $30k → 21%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.

Beyond the US: 19% of all-years giving ($1.0M)

1 country, by the recipient’s country on the filing.

grant dollars sentlessmore
United Kingdom$1.0M · 5 grants
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. International giving is mapped by the recipient’s country from the same 990 filings; comparable need data isn’t available at that grain.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

80%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$4.4M · 15 repeat orgs$1.1M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +38% since the first grant, against +21% for those funded once.

15 repeat relationships: 6 still active in FY2024, 9 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

15
20

Total granted

$4.4M
$1.1M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+38%
+21%

Still filing today

73%
65%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 92% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $28k went to new ones.

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

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

’19’20’21’22’23’24
EducationEnvironmentHealthHuman ServicesCommunity ImprovementArts & 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

  • THE EVERGLADES FOUNDATION INC
    6× · 2019–2024 · $1.4M · revenue +226%
  • MS
    MOUNT SINAI MEDICAL CENTER FOUNDATION
    3× · 2022–2024 · $150k · revenue +60%
  • AJ
    ADAM J LEWIS ACADEMY INC
    6× · 2019–2024 · $150k · revenue +166%

Funded once

  • WC
    WEILL CORNELL MEDICINE
    one grant, 2020 · $400k
  • NC
    NAPLES CHILDREN FOUNDATION INCgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $272k · revenue +43%
  • TH
    The Hospital for Special Surgery Fund Inc
    one grant, 2022 · $125k · revenue +16%
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
University of New Haven

The University of New Haven is a student-centered comprehensive university with an emphasis on excellence in liberal arts and professional education. Our mission is to prepare our students to lead purposeful and fulfilling lives in a…

Education
2
Uhiwai O Haleakala

The mission of the corporation shall be to work with partners to protect and restore native ecosystems and watersheds, to improve the quality and quantity of freshwater resources to perpetuate hawaiian cultural resources and practices, to…

Environment
3
American Law Institute

The institute's mission, as set out in its certificate of incorporation, is to promote the clarification and simplification of the law and its better adaptation to social needs, to secure the better administration of justice, and to…

Crime & Legal
4
Land Trust Accreditation Commission

The mission of the land trust accreditation commission is to inspire excellence, promote public trust and ensure permanence in the conservation of open lands by recognizing land trust organizations that meet rigorous quality standards and…

Environment
5
The North Shore Land Alliance Inc

To conserve and steward long island's natural and historic lands, waters and environmental resources. through education, outreach and volunteerism, we connect people to nature and inspire a community conservation ethic.

Environment
6
The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel

Enhance the ability of actec members to provide the most efficient and highest quality services to their clients; develop qualified trust and estate counselors; improve and reform probate, trust and tax laws, procedures, and standards of…

Community Improvement
7
Norwalk Seaport Association Inc

The norwalk seaport association, inc. offers a cultural, environmental, and historical journey to the norwalk islands. the sheffield island lighthouse and the light keeper's cottage provide a unique historical and educational venue which…

Arts & Culture
8
The American Institute of Architects

Vision: drive positive change through the power of design and focused activism.mission: aia inspires and empowers architects to improve society and transform the world.

—
9
The Connecticut Community Foundation

To foster an equitable and inclusive community in greater waterbury and litchfield hills by inspiring generosity, supporting organizations, and cultivating effective leaders. the foundation works to address the community's critical issues,…

Philanthropy
10
The Architectural League of New York

The architectural league of new york supports critically transformative work in the allied fields that shape the built environment. as a vital, independent forum, the league stimulates thinking, debate, and action on today's (continued on…

—
11
Long Island University

To provide excellence and access in private higher education to those who seek to expand their knowledge and prepare themselves for meaningful, educated lives and for service to their communities and the world.

—
12
Connecticut Aeronautical Historical Association Inc

The new england air museum's mission is to preserve and present the story of aviation and aerospace, with an emphasis on new england's role, and the genius and inspiration that made it possible. the museum also seeks to inspire young…

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Mercy Learning Center of Bridgeport Inc; the most unlike its peers is University of Miami. 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

24 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. 24 of the 36 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)
24/24
Grantees still filing
16/24
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: $1,325,000 · OtherREGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGANTHE EDEN TRUST: $962,647 · OtherTHE EDEN TRUSTWEILL CORNELL MEDICINE: $400,000 · OtherWEILL CORNELL MEDICINE+17 more: $301,922 · Other+17 moreTHE EVERGLADES FOUNDATION INC: $1,440,300 · EnvironmentTHE EVERGLADES FOUNDATION INC+3 more: $16,000 · EnvironmentMOUNT SINAI MEDICAL CENTER FOUNDATION: $150,000 · HealthThe Hospital for Special Surgery Fund Inc: $125,000 · HealthNAPLES CHILDREN FOUNDATION INC: $271,812 · PhilanthropyADAM J LEWIS ACADEMY INC: $150,000 · EducationUniversity of Miami: $50,000 · EducationWESTPORT LIBRARY ASSOCIATION INC: $26,240 · EducationFairfield University: $16,550 · Education+1 more: $6,000 · EducationFRIENDS OF LAKE LEELANAU: $130,000 · Human ServicesHEALTH IN THE HOOD INC: $60,000 · Human ServicesSoundview Empowerment Alliance Inc: $60,000 · Community ImprovementTHE NEAR AND FAR ASSOCIATION INC: $40,000 · Community Improvement
Other$2,989,569Environment$1,456,300Health$275,000Philanthropy$271,812Education$248,790Human Services$190,000Community Improvement$100,000

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 EVERGLADES FOUNDATION INC: $1,440,300 over 6y, 2.8% of budgetNAPLES CHILDREN FOUNDATION INC: $271,812 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetMOUNT SINAI MEDICAL CENTER FOUNDATION: $150,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetADAM J LEWIS ACADEMY INC: $150,000 over 6y, 1.2% of budgetFRIENDS OF LAKE LEELANAU: $130,000 over 2y, 4.3% of budgetThe Hospital for Special Surgery Fund Inc: $125,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetSoundview Empowerment Alliance Inc: $60,000 over 1y, 5.5% of budgetHEALTH IN THE HOOD INC: $60,000 over 2y, 5.9% of budgetUKRAINIAN CONGRESS COMMITTEE OF AMERICA: $50,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetUniversity of Miami: $50,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWESTPORT COUNTRY PLAYHOUSE INC: $50,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetTHE NEAR AND FAR ASSOCIATION INC: $40,000 over 2y, 1.8% of budgetWESTPORT LIBRARY ASSOCIATION INC: $26,240 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetAnimal Justice League: $20,000 over 1y, 7.8% of budgetFairfield University: $16,550 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetEARTHPLACE INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetMERCY LEARNING CENTER OF BRIDGEPORT INC: $6,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetLEELANAU CHRISTIAN NEIGHBORS INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetLAKE LEELANAU LAKE ASSOCIATION: $4,000 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetCONNECTICUT FOODSHARE INC: $3,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetARCHANGEL ANCIENT TREE ARCHIVE: $2,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetCONNECT US INC: $2,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetCAREERS THROUGH CULINARY ARTS PROGRAM DBA CULINARY CAREERS PROGRAM: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE ALDRICH CONTEMPORARY ART MUSEUM INC: $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.

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.

Fairfield County's Co…Morgan Stanley Global…Jewish Communal FundThe James & Mary Elle…National Philanthropi…The Bessemer Giving F…Gs Donor Advised Phil…The Ayco Charitable F…Jpmorgan Chase Founda…The Bank of America C…Vanguard Charitable E…The Pfizer Foundation…
Fairfield County's Community Foundation IncCT21.4× affinity8 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Fairfield County's Community Foundation Inc · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · Jewish Communal Fund · The James & Mary Ellen Marpe Family Foundation · National Philanthropic Trust · The Bessemer Giving Fund · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · The Ayco Charitable Foundation · Jpmorgan Chase Foundation · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · The Pfizer Foundation 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 Ashken Family Charitable Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Ashken Family Charitable Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 70%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%13%25%38%50%share of the org’s income from government →median 4%
  • The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum Inc: 9% of income from government
  • Connecticut Foodshare Inc: 5% of income from government
  • University of Miami: 5% of income from government
  • Mercy Learning Center of Bridgeport Inc: 4% of income from government
  • Westport Country Playhouse Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Fairfield University: 1% of income from government
  • Health in the Hood Inc: 1% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
7get no government money at all
4report 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, 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 The Ashken Family Charitable Foundation Inc?

Find your warmest path to The Ashken Family Charitable Foundation Inc 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 36 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.

Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2025) is on record and reports no grant expense, so the figures above are from FY2024, the most recent year this funder made grants.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Ashken 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