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The David & Mildred Morse Charitable Trust C/O Joan Straus at a glance

· Private foundation

The David & Mildred Morse Charitable Trust C/O Joan Straus

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$3.5M
Granted FY2018
11
Grants FY2018
3
States reached
$1.0M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
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 2018.

Education$2.2MArts & Culture$410kHealth$255kCommunity Improvement$75kReligion$31kSocial Science$25kHuman Services$10kOther$0
02FY2018 · 11 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2018

  • $10k–50k2 grants · $55k
  • $50k–250k5 grants · $575k
  • $250k+4 grants · $2.9M
$100,000
Median grant
3
States reached
$169k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
SALVE REGINA UNIVERSITY$1,000,000
REGIS HIGH SCHOOL$800,000
Individual grant recipient$660,000
STRAUS HISTORICAL SOCIETY$400,000
PROMISE PROJECT$200,000
DOMINICAN ACADEMY$100,000
ANDREW K DWYER FOUNDATION$100,000
HOTCHKISS SCHOOL$100,000
CITIZENS COMMITTEE FOR NEW YORK CITY$75,000
TEMPLE EMANUEL$30,000
LEO BAECK INSTITUTE NEW YORK$25,000
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:

Its human-services grants (FY17–17, $10k) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 7%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 7%JACK & JILL CHILDREN'S CENTER: $10k → 13%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.

95%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$3.6M · 9 repeat orgs$183k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +88% since the first grant, against +19% for those funded once.

9 repeat relationships: 9 still active in FY2018, 0 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2018 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

9
7

Total granted

$3.6M
$83k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+88%
+19%

Still filing today

44%
71%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2018, 97% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $100k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18
EducationArts & CultureHuman ServicesCommunity ImprovementOther
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

  • SALVE REGINA UNIVERSITY
    2× · 2017–2018 · $1.0M · revenue +52%
  • TH
    THE HOTCHKISS SCHOOL
    2× · 2017–2018 · $110k · revenue +88%
  • TA
    THE ANDREW K DWYER FOUNDATION
    2× · 2017–2018 · $105k · revenue +198%

Funded once

  • SH
    ST HILDAS AND ST HUGHS SCHOOL
    one grant, 2017 · $25k
  • BJ
    BROOKLYN JESUIT PREPgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $20k · revenue +126%
  • JA
    JACK AND JILL CHILDREN'S CENTER INC
    one grant, 2017 · $10k · revenue +5%
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
Phillips Exeter Academy

Unite goodness and knowledge and inspire youth from every quarter to lead purposeful lives. [text in quotations is taken from the academy's deed of gift, drafted in 1781] knowledge and goodness "above all, it is expected that the attention…

Education
2
Masters School

The masters school celebrates active participation, deep understanding, and meaningful connection. a community of diverse individuals, we gather to learn, to strive, to dare, to do - to be a power for good in the world.

—
3
Lycee Francais De New York

"citizens of culture and courage"committed to bilingual french and american education of the highest standard, our mission is to prepare students of many origins to be thinkers, innovators and leaders, at home in the world. we inspire and…

Education
4
Abraham Joshua Heschel School

The abraham joshua heschel school is an independent jewish day school which includes students from a wide range of jewish backgrounds, practices and beliefs. (see schedule o for continuation)

Education
5
Dickinson College

Dickinson college provides a useful, innovative and interdisciplinary education in the liberal arts and sciences to prepare students to lead rich and fulfilling lives of engaged global citizenship

Education
6
Pembroke Hill School

A preschool through 12th grade, private, college preparatory school. the school's mission statement is "together, cultivating the best in each for the benefit of all."

Education
7
Luria Academy of Brooklyn

Luria academy is a child-centered environment dedicated to academic excellence and a sophisticated knowledge of jewish text and jewish heritage. located in the prospect heights neighborhood of brookly, luria academy is a jewish…

Education
8
School in the Square Public Charter School

School in the square ("s2") engages, educates and empowers adolescents to respond mindfully and creatively to life's opportunities and challenges. s2 is a place where students, families and educators are seen, heard, and inspired and where…

Education
9
Hillsdale College

Hillsdale college is a private liberal arts college with approximately 1,500 students. founded in 1844, the college remains, in the words of its articles of association, "grateful to god for the inestimable blessings resulting from the…

Education
10
Children's Aid College Prep Charter School

Prepare elementary & middle school students for success in high school, college & life.

Education
11
Tower Hill School Association

Tower hill school prepares students from diverse backgrounds for full and creative engagement with a dynamic world. each student is provided with an educational experience that emphasizes the development of an inquisitive, discerning and…

Education
12
Darrow School

Darrow school is dedicated to serving students with diverse backgrounds and abilities, building on each student's talents and interests to inspire enduring confidence for success in college and life. this mission is accomplished through…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is De La Salle Academy; the most unlike its peers is The Andrew K Dwyer Foundation. 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

11 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. 11 of the 18 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.

2
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
3
Early backer (in before they grew)
10/11
Grantees still filing
8/11
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

REGIS HIGH SCHOOL: $810,000 · OtherREGIS HIGH SCHOOLIndividual grant recipient: $760,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientPROMISE PROJECT INC: $250,000 · OtherPROMISE PROJECT INCDOMINICAN ACADEMY: $110,000 · OtherDOMINICAN ACADEMY+4 more: $86,000 · OtherSALVE REGINA UNIVERSITY: $1,025,000 · EducationSALVE REGINA UNIVERSITYTHE HOTCHKISS SCHOOL: $110,000 · EducationTHE HOTCHKISS SCHOOLTHE ANDREW K DWYER FOUNDATION: $105,000 · EducationTHE ANDREW K DWYER FOUNDATION+4 more: $43,000 · EducationStraus Historical Society: $410,000 · Arts & CultureStraus Histo…CITIZENS COMMITTEE FOR NEW YORK CITY INC: $75,000 · Community ImprovementJACK AND JILL CHILDREN'S CENTER INC: $10,000 · Human Services
Other$2,016,000Education$1,283,000Arts & Culture$410,000Community Improvement$75,000Human Services$10,000

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

25%50%75%100%$10k$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetSALVE REGINA UNIVERSITY: $1,025,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetStraus Historical Society: $410,000 over 2y, 84% of budgetTHE HOTCHKISS SCHOOL: $110,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTHE ANDREW K DWYER FOUNDATION: $105,000 over 2y, 13% of budgetCITIZENS COMMITTEE FOR NEW YORK CITY INC: $75,000 over 1y, 2.3% of budgetBROOKLYN JESUIT PREP: $20,000 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetDE LA SALLE ACADEMY: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetEXODUS SCHOOL: $10,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetTHE BUBBA FUND INC: $5,000 over 1y, 85% of budgetThe Rippowam Cisqua School Inc: $3,000 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.

The Bessemer Giving F…The Goldman Sachs Cha…Jewish Communal FundNational Philanthropi…Vanguard Charitable E…Morgan Stanley Global…The Bank of America C…American Online Givin…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
The Bessemer Giving FundNJ16.8× affinity6 shared granteesties to 10 of 10Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Bessemer Giving Fund · The Goldman Sachs Charitable Gift Fund · Jewish Communal Fund · National Philanthropic Trust · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile Foundation

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 David & Mildred Morse Charitable Trust C/O Joan Straus funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The David & Mildred Morse Charitable Trust C/O Joan Straus. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%3%5%8%10%share of the org’s income from government →median 2%
  • Jack and Jill Children's Center Inc: 2% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
2get no government money at all
3report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–10%
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.

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 18 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 2018, released 2018. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2024) is on record but names no grant recipient in the published copy, so the figures above are from FY2018, the most recent year this funder’s grantee list reached the public record.

Source object · view filing

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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