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The Desantis Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Desantis 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.

$64k
Granted FY2025still arriving
8
Grants FY2025still arriving
4
States reached
$21k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0197% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Education$571kPhilanthropy$281kCivil Rights$107kHuman Services$37kEnvironment$34kHealth$24kRecreation & Sports$19kPublic Safety & Disaster$15kOther$0
02FY2025 · 8 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k5 grants · $14k
  • $10k–50k3 grants · $50k
$5,000
Median grant
4
States reached
$1.6M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
NATIONAL CHRISTIAN FOUNDATION$21,000
RFK HUMAN RIGHTS$18,933
SAINT MARY'S COLLEGE$10,000
SANTA BARBARA VOLLEYBALL CLUB$5,000
LAGUNA BLANCA SCHOOL$5,000
SANTA BARBARA SOUTH COAST FIREFIGHTER FOUNDATION$2,000
THE ART OF ELYSIUM$1,250
CLEVELAND CLINIC$1,000
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 (FY17–20, $18k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%A BRIDGE FOR KIDS: $100 → 11%WALK WITH SALLY: $5k → 14%HARRISON GREENBERG MEMORIAL FOUNDATION: $10k → 14%SKECHERS FOUNDATION: $3k → 14%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

WA
ID
IL
NY
MA
OH
NJ
RI
CA
VA
MD
DE
AR
DC
GA
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.

87%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$947k · 14 repeat orgs$140k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +33% since the first grant, against +16% for those funded once.

14 repeat relationships: 3 still active in FY2025, 11 since wound down; 5 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

14
40

Total granted

$947k
$121k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+33%
+16%

Still filing today

64%
68%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 70% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $19k 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
EducationHealthPhilanthropyHuman ServicesPublic Safety & DisasterCrime & LegalOther
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

  • HS
    HILLBROOK SCHOOL
    3× · 2017–2019 · $462k · revenue +87%
  • LB
    LAGUNA BLANCA SCHOOL
    4× · 2022–2025 · $32k · revenue +3%
  • GW
    GANNA WALSKA LOTUSLAND
    3× · 2022–2024 · $21k · revenue +40%

Funded once

  • OI
    ONE805 INCgraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $10k · revenue +45%
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2024 · $10k
  • OU
    ONE2ONE USA FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2020 · $10k
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
Uc Santa Barbara Foundation

The uc santa barbara foundation actively works to further the goals of the university of california, santa barbara. the foundation seeks to maintain and nurture the university's quality and distinction. on behalf of the campus, the…

Education
2
Ucsf Foundation Investment Company

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

Education
3
Uc Santa Cruz Foundation

To benefit the university of california santa cruz.

Education
4
The San Francisco School

A private school that cultivates and celebrates the intellectual, imaginative, and humanitarian promise of each student in a community that practices mutual respect, embraces diversity, and inspires passion for learning.

—
5
Ucla Foundation

The ucla foundation is the giving, receiving, and investing arm of the ucla campus. the foundation enables private donors to help build, sustain and advance one of the world's finest academic and research institutions. private philanthropy…

Education
6
Silicon Schools Fund Inc

The mission of the silicon schools fund is to improve education through supporting the launch of excellent new schools, improving academic instruction in existing schools, and by funding some of the boldest innovations in education…

Education
7
San Francisco Girls' School

To educate and inspire girls to become innovators and leaders in stem.

—
8
Santa Barbara Education Foundation

Santa Barbara Education Foundation (SBEF) provides and supports programs that enrich the academic, artistic, and personal development of all students in the Santa Barbara Unified School District.

Education
9
The San Diego Foundation

The san diego foundation inspires enduring philanthropy and enables community solutions to improve the quality of life in our region.

Philanthropy
10
Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara

The scholarship foundation of santa barbara inspires, encourages and supports santa barbara county students to and through college, graduate and vocational school by providing information, advising, and scholarships.

—
11
Foundation of California State University Monterey Bay

To further the scientific, literary, educational and charitable purposes of california state university, monterey bay, including fundraising, development, endowment management, financial assistance, public relations and other support.

Education
12
The Foundation for Santa Barbara City College

The sbcc foundation fuels the excellence of santa barbara city college by engaging the community, building relationships, and inviting the generosity of donors. the resources raised and managed by the foundation enrich college programs,…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is California Community Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Shirts Across America. 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

44 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. 44 of the 63 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)
7
Early backer (in before they grew)
44/44
Grantees still filing
29/44
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

HILLBROOK SCHOOL: $461,500 · EducationHILLBROOK SCHOOLTHE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK: $50,000 · EducationTHE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW Y…LAGUNA BLANCA SCHOOL: $31,519 · EducationLAGUNA BLANCA SCHOOL+6 more: $28,200 · EducationNATIONAL CHRISTIAN FOUNDATION: $147,000 · OtherNATIONAL CHRISTIAN FOUNDATIONTHE NUEVA FUND: $80,000 · OtherTHE NUEVA FUNDROBERT F KENNEDY CENTER FOR JUSTICE AND HUMAN RIGHTS: $69,525 · OtherROBERT F KENNEDY CENTER FOR JUSTICE AND HUMAN…RFK HUMAN RIGHTS: $37,883 · OtherRFK HUMAN RIGHTSRICHSTONE FAMILY CENTER: $28,500 · OtherRICHSTONE FAMILY CENTERGANNA WALSKA LOTUSLAND: $20,736 · Other+25 more: $72,570 · Other+25 moreNATIONAL CHRISTIAN FOUNDATION INC: $42,000 · PhilanthropyCENTURY CLUB OF SAN DIEGO: $7,248 · Philanthropy+5 more: $5,259 · PhilanthropyHARRISON GREENBERG MEMORIAL FOUNDATION: $10,000 · Human ServicesWALK WITH SALLY: $5,000 · Human ServicesSKECHERS FOUNDATION: $2,500 · Human Services+1 more: $100 · Human ServicesONE805 INC: $10,401 · Public Safety & DisasterSANTA BARBARA SOUTH COAST FIREFIGHTER FOUNDATION INC: $2,000 · Public Safety & DisasterSpikes K9 Fund: $1,000 · Public Safety & DisasterNETWORK FOR GOOD: $500 · Public Safety & DisasterJIMMY MILLER MEMORIAL FOUNDATION: $10,000 · EnvironmentNatureServe: $3,000 · EnvironmentTorrance Memorial Medical Center Health Care Foundation: $5,000 · HealthWEST COAST SPORTS MEDICINE FOUNDATION: $5,000 · HealthCUREBOUND: $1,218 · HealthCEDARS-SINAI MEDICAL CENTER: $500 · Health+2 more: $450 · Health
Education$571,219Other$456,214Philanthropy$54,507Human Services$17,600Public Safety & Disaster$13,901Environment$13,000Health$12,168

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 budgetHILLBROOK SCHOOL: $461,500 over 3y, 1.1% of budgetROBERT F KENNEDY CENTER FOR JUSTICE AND HUMAN RIGHTS: $69,525 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetTHE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK: $50,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL CHRISTIAN FOUNDATION INC: $42,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetLAGUNA BLANCA SCHOOL: $31,519 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetGANNA WALSKA LOTUSLAND: $20,736 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetONE805 INC: $10,401 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetSAINT MARY'S COLLEGE OF CALIFORNIA: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetJIMMY MILLER MEMORIAL FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 5.3% of budgetHARRISON GREENBERG MEMORIAL FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetLOS GATOS HIGH SCHOOL NEW MILLENNIUM FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetCENTURY CLUB OF SAN DIEGO: $7,248 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSanta Barbara Volleyball Club: $5,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetWALK WITH SALLY: $5,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetTorrance Memorial Medical Center Health Care Foundation: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCALM INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetFoundation of La Jolla High School Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetSTATE STREET BALLET: $3,500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetNatureServe: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL ASSOCIATION OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA: $2,500 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetSKECHERS FOUNDATION: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSANTA BARBARA POLICE FOUNDATION: $1,850 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetUNITED WAY OF SANTA BARBARA COUNTY INC: $1,759 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetENCYCLOPEDIA OF SURFING INC: $1,750 over 2y, 1.4% of budgetCUREBOUND: $1,218 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetALL IN ALL THE TIME: $1,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetPLAYERS PHILANTHROPY FUND INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPS I Love You Foundation: $1,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetSpikes K9 Fund: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetPROJECT BIOME INC: $849 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFIREWORK FOUNDATION: $518 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPAN-MASSACHUSETTS CHALLENGE INC: $513 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCALIFORNIA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetJOHN P BURKE MEMORIAL FUND: $500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCEDARS-SINAI MEDICAL CENTER: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNETWORK FOR GOOD: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE ANDREW MCDONOUGH B FOUNDATION: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetDONORSCHOOSEORG: $200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetA BRIDGE FOR KIDS: $100 over 1y, 0.1% 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.

California Community …Santa Barbara Foundat…Ann Jackson Family Fo…Hutton Foundation Dba…Macdonald Family Foun…Mosher FoundationManitou FundMorrison Institute fo…The Arnold & Jill Bel…G a Fowler Family Fou…Gs Donor Advised Phil…Sempra Foundation
California Community FoundationCA20× affinity10 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: California Community Foundation · Santa Barbara Foundation · Ann Jackson Family Foundation · Hutton Foundation Dba Hutton Parker Foundation · Macdonald Family Foundation · Mosher Foundation · Manitou Fund · Morrison Institute for Decentralism · The Arnold & Jill Bellowe Family Foundation · G a Fowler Family Foundation · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · Sempra 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 Desantis Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Desantis Foundation. 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%15%30%45%60%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • Pan-Massachusetts Challenge Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
2get 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 · 0–60%
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 63 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 Desantis’ 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