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The Elva & Lawrence O'Brien Family at a glance

· Private foundation

The Elva & Lawrence O'Brien Family

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$386k
Granted FY2024still arriving
9
Grants FY2024still arriving
3
States reached
$270k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Arts & Culture$450kEducation$365kAnimals$105kEnvironment$79kReligion$79kCrime & Legal$43kPublic Benefit$38kCivil Rights$35kOther$0
02FY2024 · 9 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k3 grants · $12k
  • $10k–50k5 grants · $104k
  • $250k+1 grant · $270k
$12,000
Median grant
3
States reached
$6.1M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
NATIONAL ARCHIVES FOUNDATION$270,000
CITY WILDLIFE$37,000
Individual grant recipient$30,000
AMERICAN RESILIENCE PROJECT$15,000
HOLY TRINITY CHURCH$12,000
SANDY HOOK PROMISE$10,000
BARNSTABLE LAND TRUST$5,000
COTUIT LIBRARY$5,000
BIRDSEY CAPE WILDLIFE CENTER$2,000
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 (FY21–22, $4k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%BEAU BIDEN FOUNDATION: $2k → 10%BEAU BIDEN FOUNDATION: $2k → 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.

Which US states its grants reach

NY
MA
CT
MD
DE
NC
DC
MS
TX
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.

98%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.2M · 18 repeat orgs$27k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +22% since the first grant, against +19% for those funded once.

18 repeat relationships: 7 still active in FY2024, 11 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

18
3

Total granted

$1.2M
$20k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+22%
+19%

Still filing today

67%
67%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 98% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $7k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
Civil RightsEducationArts & CultureEnvironmentInternationalCrime & 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

  • NA
    NATIONAL ARCHIVES FOUNDATION
    8× · 2017–2024 · $440k · revenue +20%
  • CW
    City Wildlife Inc
    7× · 2018–2024 · $103k · revenue +143%
  • SANDY HOOK PROMISE FOUNDATION
    4× · 2021–2024 · $43k · revenue +105%

Funded once

  • US
    UNITED STATES CAPITOL HISTORICAL SOCIETY
    one grant, 2023 · $10k · revenue +19%
  • CT
    COMMITTEE TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS INC
    one grant, 2023 · $5k · revenue +9%
  • MP
    MARYLAND PROVINCE JESUITS
    one grant, 2022 · $5k
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
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research

The american enterprise institute is a community of scholars and supporters committed to expanding liberty, increasing individual opportunity, and strengthening free enterprise. aei pursues these ideals through independent thinking and the…

Social Science
2
Eastern National

Eastern national promotes the public's understanding and support of america's national parks and other public trust partners by providing quality educational experiences, products and services.

Recreation & Sports
3
United States Naval Institute

Provide an independent forum for those who dare to read, think, speak, and write to advance the professional, literary, and scientific understanding of sea power and other issues critical to global security.

—
4
Boston Architectural College

The bac is committed to provide excellence in design education grounded in practice and accessible to diverse communities.

—
5
Native Plant Trust Inc

The organization's mission is to conserve and promote new england's native plants to ensure healthy, biologically diverse landscapes.

Environment
6
Foreign Policy Research Institute

The foreign policy research institute (frpi) is dedicated to producing the highest quality scholarship and nonpartisan policy analysis focused on crucial foreign policy and national security challenges facing the united states. we educate…

International
7
National Academy of Public Administration

The National Academy of Public Administration is an independent, 501(c)(3) nonprofit, non partisan Organization established in 1967 and chartered by Congress in 1984. See Schedule O

Public Benefit
8
Npr Foundation

The npr foundation ("foundation") is organized and operated exclusively for the benefit of its sole supported organization, national public radio, inc. ("npr inc."). the foundation supports npr inc. through various activities such as…

—
9
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation

To sustain, restore, and enhance the nation's fish, wildlife, plants, and habitats.

Animals
10
Natural History Institute

Natural History Institute is organized to provide leadership and resources for a revitalized practice of natural history that integrates art, science, and humanities to promote the health and well-being of humans and the rest of the…

Arts & Culture
11
National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners

Founded in 1889, the national association of regulatory utility commisioners (naruc) is a non-profit organization dedicated to representing the state public service commisions who regulate the utilities that provide essential services such…

—
12
National Public Radio Inc

National public radio, inc. ("npr") works collaboratively with member public radio station licensees ("member stations") to create a more informed public, one that is challenged and invigorated by a deeper understanding and appreciation of…

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Center for American Progress; the most unlike its peers is Piney Woods School. 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

15 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. 15 of the 23 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)
3
Early backer (in before they grew)
15/15
Grantees still filing
11/15
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Individual grant recipient: $155,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientSANDY HOOK PROMISE: $115,000 · OtherSANDY HOOK PROMISEHARVARD COLLEGE FUND: $60,000 · OtherHARVARD COLLEGE FUNDHOLY TRINITY CHURCH: $38,000 · OtherHOLY TRINITY CHURCHLBJ FOUNDATION: $37,500 · OtherLBJ FOUNDATIONST PETER CATHOLIC CHURCH: $36,000 · OtherST PETER CATHOLIC CHURCH+5 more: $26,000 · Other+5 moreNATIONAL ARCHIVES FOUNDATION: $440,000 · Arts & CultureNATIONAL ARCHIVES FOUNDATION+1 more: $10,000 · Arts & CultureCity Wildlife Inc: $102,500 · EducationCity Wildlif…JOHN FITZGERALD KENNEDY LIBRARY FOUNDATION INCORPORATED: $20,000 · EducationJOHN FITZGER…Piney Woods School: $10,000 · EducationPiney Woods …American Resilience Project Inc: $35,000 · Civil RightsCENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS: $30,000 · Civil RightsCOMMITTEE TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS INC: $5,000 · Civil RightsSANDY HOOK PROMISE FOUNDATION: $42,500 · Crime & LegalBARNSTABLE LAND TRUST INC: $19,000 · EnvironmentALLIANCE TO PROTECT NANTUCKET SOUND INC: $15,000 · EnvironmentENVIRONMENTAL INVESTIGATION AGENCY: $10,000 · International
Other$467,500Arts & Culture$450,000Education$132,500Civil Rights$70,000Crime & Legal$42,500Environment$34,000International$10,000

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

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetNATIONAL ARCHIVES FOUNDATION: $440,000 over 8y, 1.6% of budgetCity Wildlife Inc: $102,500 over 7y, 4.2% of budgetSANDY HOOK PROMISE FOUNDATION: $42,500 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetAmerican Resilience Project Inc: $35,000 over 3y, 6.2% of budgetCENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS: $30,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetJOHN FITZGERALD KENNEDY LIBRARY FOUNDATION INCORPORATED: $20,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetBARNSTABLE LAND TRUST INC: $19,000 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetALLIANCE TO PROTECT NANTUCKET SOUND INC: $15,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetENVIRONMENTAL INVESTIGATION AGENCY: $10,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetUNITED STATES CAPITOL HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $10,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetThe Bhutan Foundation: $10,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetCOMMITTEE TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBEAU BIDEN FOUNDATION FOR THE PROTECTION OF CHILDREN INC: $4,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetNEW ENGLAND WILDLIFE CENTER INC: $2,000 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 Ford FoundationVanguard Charitable E…Ge Aerospace Foundati…Silicon Valley Commun…American Endowment Fo…National Philanthropi…The Bank of America C…Morgan Stanley Global…The Blackbaud Giving …American Online Givin…Donor Advised Charita…Paypal Charitable Giv…
The Ford FoundationNY12.5× affinity4 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Ford Foundation · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Ge Aerospace Foundation · Silicon Valley Community Foundation · American Endowment Foundation · National Philanthropic Trust · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Paypal Charitable Giving Fund

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 Elva & Lawrence O'Brien Family funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Elva & Lawrence O'Brien Family. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%19%38%56%75%share of the org’s income from government →median 1%
  • Barnstable Land Trust Inc: 4% of income from government
  • New England Wildlife Center Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Sandy Hook Promise Foundation: 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 · 0–75%
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 Elva & Lawrence O'Brien Family?

Find your warmest path to The Elva & Lawrence O'Brien Family 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 23 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.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Elva & Lawrence O'Brien 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