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The Courtney Roberts and Steve Preston Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Courtney Roberts and Steve Preston Family Foundation

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.

$734k
Granted FY2025still arriving
14
Grants FY2025still arriving
5
States reached
$167k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0193% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Environment$1.2MAnimals$927kArts & Culture$525kPhilanthropy$310kEducation$305kHealth$275kYouth Development$110kFood & Nutrition$67kOther$0
02FY2025 · 14 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k2 grants · $7k
  • $10k–50k7 grants · $215k
  • $50k–250k5 grants · $512k
$35,000
Median grant
5
States reached
$8.7M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
SAN FRANCISCO SPCA$167,000
THE GRABHORN INSTITUTE$115,000
5 GYRES INSTITUTE$100,000
GREAT BASIN WILDLIFE RESCUE$80,000
EARTH SPECIES PROJECT$50,000
CALIFORNIA OCEAN ALLIANCE$40,000
UC SANTA CRUZ FOUNDATION$35,000
THE OPPORTUNITY TRUST$35,000
MENLO PARK ATHERTON EDUCATION FOUNDATION$35,000
ONE COMMUNITY CAMPAIGN$25,000
JOY CULTURE FOUNDATION$25,000
FOR-SITE FOUNDATION$20,000
ONE TREE PLANTED$4,000
BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF THE BIG ISLAND$2,500
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 (FY17–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 61% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%HOPI TUTSKWA PERMACULTURE: $40k → 26%CONSERVATION EARTH INC DBA WILDMIND: $145k → 7%LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $100k → 8%SWEET RELIEF MUSICIANS FUND: $20k → 10%EARTH SPECIES PROJECT: $75k → 10%SAN FRANCISCO SPCA: $167k → 10%CALIFORNIA OCEAN ALLIANCE: $40k → 13%THE EARTH SPECIES PROJECT: $50k → 14%CHILD MIND INSTITUTE: $100k → 17%THE OPPORTUNITY TRUST: $35k → 21%GREAT BASIN WILDLIFE RESCUE: $80k → 8%ONE TREE PLANTED: $30k → 10%CONSERVATION EARTH INC DBA WILDMIND: $55k → 7%EARTH SPECIES PROJECT: $50k → 10%SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART: $35k → 10%UC SANTA CRUZ FOUNDATION: $50k → 13%CHILD MIND INSTITUTE: $50k → 17%GREAT BASIN WILDLIFE RESCUE: $20k → 8%CONSERVATION EARTH INC DBA WILDMIND: $50k → 7%EARTH SPECIES PROJECT: $50k → 10%SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART: $25k → 10%UC SANTA CRUZ FOUNDATION: $35k → 13%THE OCEAN CLEANUP NORTH PACIFIC FOUNDATION: $30k → 17%OAKLAND ZOO: $30k → 10%SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART: $25k → 10%WILDLIFE ASSOCIATES: $50k → 7%SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART: $25k → 10%THE FOOD BASKET INC: $50k → 15%WILDLIFE ASSOCIATES: $50k → 7%BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF THE PENINSULA: $76k → 7%BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF THE PENINSULA: $26k → 7%THE GRABHORN INSTITUTE: $150k → 10%JOY CULTURE FOUNDATION: $25k → 7%THE GRABHORN INSTITUTE: $115k → 10%JOY CULTURE FOUNDATION: $25k → 7%SF ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $100k → 10%JOY CULTURE FOUNDATION: $25k → 7%SF ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $50k → 10%JOY CULTURE FOUNDATION: $20k → 7%SAN FRANCISCO ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $50k → 10%SAMARITAN HOUSE: $17k → 7%FOR-SITE FOUNDATION: $20k → 10%REDF: $27k → 10%ONE COMMUNITY CAMPAIGN: $45k → 7%ONE COMMUNITY CAMPAIGN: $40k → 7%ONE COMMUNITY CAMPAIGN: $25k → 7%ONE COMMUNITY CAMPAIGN: $25k → 7%SACRED HEART SCHOOLS: $20k → 7%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

VT
NY
OH
CA
UT
MO
AZ
DC
HI
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.

91%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$3.3M · 23 repeat orgs$332k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +28% since the first grant, against +22% for those funded once.

23 repeat relationships: 11 still active in FY2025, 12 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

23
12

Total granted

$3.3M
$237k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+28%
+22%

Still filing today

74%
83%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 87% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $95k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
AnimalsEducationArts & CultureHealthPhilanthropyFood & NutritionOther
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

  • T5
    The 5 Gyres Institute
    6× · 2020–2025 · $866k · revenue +51%
  • TE
    THE EARTH SPECIES PROJECT
    4× · 2021–2025 · $225k · revenue ×13
  • TS
    THE SAN FRANCISCO SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS
    3× · 2020–2025 · $192k · revenue +28%

Funded once

  • TF
    THE FOOD BASKET INC
    one grant, 2021 · $50k · revenue +22%
  • CS
    CONSERVATION SOCIETY OF CALIFORNIAgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $30k · revenue +59%
  • AF
    AMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE OCEAN CLEANUP FOUNDATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $30k · revenue +47%
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
World Wildlife Fund Inc

Wwf's mission is to conserve nature and reduce the most pressing threats to the diversity of life on earth. (continued on schedule o)

Environment
2
Conservation International Foundation

Ci works to spotlight and secure the critical benefits that nature provides to humanity.

Environment
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
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
5
Sweet Farm Foundation

Sweet farm is the world's first nonprofit sanctuary to address the devastating impact that factory farming has on climate change from the perspective of animals, plants, and the planet. we must first understand how these pieces are…

Animals
6
Denver Zoological Foundation

Inspiring communities to save wildlife for future generations.

Animals
7
Project Drawdown

Project drawdown's mission is to drive meaningful climate action by advancing science-based solutions and strategies. project drawdown's work is focused on three pillars: science - advancing science-based climate solutions and strategies;…

Education
8
Resource Renewal Institute

The resource renewal institute facilitates the creation, development and implementation of practical strategies to solve the entire complex environmental problem by addressing it comprehensively.

Environment
9
California Academy of Sciences

The academy is a renowned scientific and educational institution with a mission to regenerate the natural world through science, learning, and collaboration. based in san francisco's golden gate park, it is home to a world-class aquarium,…

Arts & Culture
10
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
—
11
Earth & Space Research

Increase societal understanding of the earth system through scientific research and education.

Science & Tech
12
American Humane Association

Founded in 1877, american humane association, dba american humane society (american humane) is committed to ensuring the safety, welfare and well-being of animals. our leadership programs are first to serve in promoting and nurturing the…

Animals
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is San Francisco Zoological Society; the most unlike its peers is The 5 Gyres Institute. 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

32 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. 32 of the 40 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)
32/32
Grantees still filing
21/32
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

The 5 Gyres Institute: $866,000 · OtherThe 5 Gyres InstituteTHE EARTH SPECIES PROJECT: $225,000 · OtherTHE EARTH SPECIES PROJECTSF ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $150,000 · OtherSF ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETYONE COMMUNITY CAMPAIGN: $135,000 · OtherONE COMMUNITY CAMPAIGNGREAT BASIN WILDLIFE RESCUE: $115,000 · OtherGREAT BASIN WILDLIFE RESCUEWILDLIFE ASSOCIATES: $100,000 · Other+12 more: $356,000 · Other+12 moreCONSERVATION EARTH INC: $250,000 · AnimalsCONSERVATION EA…THE SAN FRANCISCO SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS: $191,500 · AnimalsTHE SAN FRANCIS…SAN FRANCISCO ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $65,000 · AnimalsSAN FRANCISCO Z…CONSERVATION SOCIETY OF CALIFORNIA: $30,000 · AnimalsCONSERVATION SO…+2 more: $25,000 · AnimalsGRABHORN INSTITUTE: $265,000 · Arts & CultureGRABHORN INSTI…SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART: $125,000 · Arts & CultureSAN FRANCISCO …THE JOY CULTURE FOUNDATION: $95,000 · Arts & CultureTHE JOY CULTUR…FOR-SITE Foundation: $20,000 · Arts & CultureFIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND: $300,000 · Community ImprovementTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $100,000 · EducationUC SANTA CRUZ FOUNDATION: $85,000 · EducationMENLO PARK-ATHERTON EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $45,000 · EducationTHE OPPORTUNITY TRUST D/B/A ZEST EDUCATION: $35,000 · EducationHUALALAI OHANA FOUNDATION: $10,000 · EducationTeach for America Inc: $10,000 · EducationCHILD MIND INSTITUTE INC: $150,000 · HealthGRACE SCIENCE FOUNDATION: $105,000 · HealthSWEET RELIEF MUSICIANS FUND: $20,000 · HealthBOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF THE PENINSULA: $102,000 · Youth DevelopmentBOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF THE BIG ISLAND: $8,000 · Youth Development
Other$1,947,000Animals$561,500Arts & Culture$505,000Community Improvement$300,000Education$285,000Health$275,000Youth Development$110,000

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 5 Gyres Institute: $866,000 over 6y, 20% of budgetFIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND: $300,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGRABHORN INSTITUTE: $265,000 over 2y, 13% of budgetCONSERVATION EARTH INC: $250,000 over 3y, 21% of budgetTHE EARTH SPECIES PROJECT: $225,000 over 4y, 3.1% of budgetTHE SAN FRANCISCO SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS: $191,500 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetCHILD MIND INSTITUTE INC: $150,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetSAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART: $125,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetGRACE SCIENCE FOUNDATION: $105,000 over 3y, 4.2% of budgetBOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF THE PENINSULA: $102,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $100,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE JOY CULTURE FOUNDATION: $95,000 over 4y, 4.3% of budgetUC SANTA CRUZ FOUNDATION: $85,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetSAN FRANCISCO ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $65,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetTHE FOOD BASKET INC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetONE TREE PLANTED INC: $50,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetMENLO PARK-ATHERTON EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $45,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetTHE OPPORTUNITY TRUST D/B/A ZEST EDUCATION: $35,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetSAMARITAN HOUSE: $32,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetCONSERVATION SOCIETY OF CALIFORNIA: $30,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetAMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE OCEAN CLEANUP FOUNDATION: $30,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetREDF: $27,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSWEET RELIEF MUSICIANS FUND: $20,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetSECOND HARVEST OF SILICON VALLEY: $17,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPERFORMING ANIMAL WELFARE SOCIETY: $15,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetTHE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHUALALAI OHANA FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetTeach for America Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF THE BIG ISLAND: $8,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetAmerican Forests: $5,000 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.

Silicon Valley Commun…Marin Community Found…The Roberts FoundationThe San Francisco Fou…Gs Donor Advised Phil…The Eric and Lulu Rob…Jewish Community Fede…The Ayco Charitable F…The Chicago Community…Greater HorizonsMimi and Peter Haas F…National Philanthropi…
Silicon Valley Community FoundationCA25.5× affinity13 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Silicon Valley Community Foundation · Marin Community Foundation · The Roberts Foundation · The San Francisco Foundation · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · The Eric and Lulu Roberts Family Foundation · Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco the Peninsula Marin & Sonoma · The Ayco Charitable Foundation · The Chicago Community Trust · Greater Horizons · Mimi and Peter Haas Fund · National Philanthropic Trust

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 Courtney Roberts and Steve Preston Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Courtney Roberts and Steve Preston Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%2%6%14%25%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    2get no government money at all
    6report 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.
    05Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to The Courtney Roberts and Steve Preston Family Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to The Courtney Roberts and Steve Preston Family 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 40 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 Courtney Roberts and Steve Preston Family’s filings →

    More from the funding graph

    The unnamed billions
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    The regranting layer
    51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
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    $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