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Plinth

· Private foundation

The Esther Foundation

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.

$198k
Granted FY2024still arriving
11
Grants FY2024still arriving
4
States reached
$110k
Largest
01What you fund
0180% classified

What you funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year — across FY20172024.

Housing & Shelter$878kEducation$719kHuman Services$298kRecreation & Sports$100kInternational$75kReligion$63kPhilanthropy$49kEnvironment$45kOther$0
02FY2024 · 11 grants

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k5 grants · $18k
  • $10k–50k5 grants · $70k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $110k
$10,000
Median grant
4
States reached
$2.4M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
ACE SCHOLARSHIPS$110,000
ATHLETES IN ACTION$15,000
INTERVARSITY$15,000
Individual grant recipient$15,000
Individual grant recipient$15,000
Individual grant recipient$10,000
LOS ANGELES OPERA$7,500
HOPE WITHOUT BOUNDARIES$5,000
CHERRY HILLS COMMUNITY CHURCH$2,500
FOCUS ON THE FAMILY$2,500
POINT LOMA NAZARENE UNIVERSITY$300
02The need
03

Do your dollars go where the need is?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, then read against the area’s typical level.

show:

Your human-services grants (FY18–19, $20k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of your grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%FAMILY RESEARCH COUNCIL: $15k → 14%FAMILY RESEARCH COUNCIL: $5k → 14%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount

Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty linein the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP; grantee ZIP can differ from where services are delivered.

Which US states your grants reach

MT
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
CA
CO
NC
DC
HI
GA
TX
FL

US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are actually delivered. Need from public data — U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA — shown as context about the area, never attributed to your giving.

03Your edge
repeat funding

Who you back again

Which organizations you funded more than once, and which you funded a single time. Each grantee is matched to its own filings.

84%of every dollar goes to organizations you’ve funded before.
$2.0M · 16 repeat orgs$378k to everyone else

And the relationships you keep tend to grow: grantees you re-up on have seen median revenue of +60% since the first grant, against -45% for the ones you funded once.

16 repeat relationships — 9 still active in FY2024, 7 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

16
22

Total granted

$2.0M
$371k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+60%
-45%

Still filing today

38%
32%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 96% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $8k 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
EducationInternationalHuman ServicesHealthEnvironmentPhilanthropyOther

First-time = a grantee’s first year in your filing window; renewed = funded in an earlier year too. As a portfolio matures the renewed share naturally climbs — once funded, an org stays “renewable” — so the signal is the years that buck it (a new-grantee intake wave). 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

  • AF
    ALLIANCE FOR CHOICE IN EDUCATION
    5× · 2020–2024 · $523k · revenue +100%
  • WP
    WILD PHILANTHROPY INC
    2× · 2018–2020 · $75k · revenue +240% · 26% of their budget
  • SL
    Scholar Leaders International
    3× · 2020–2023 · $45k · revenue +388%

Funded once

  • JH
    JEREMIAH'S HOPE INC
    one grant, 2023 · $250k · revenue -56% · 60% of their budget
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2019 · $15k
  • FF
    FORTE FOR CHILDREN
    one grant, 2019 · $10k · revenue -86%

Repeat = funded in two or more distinct years; growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Your field

The map has a center of gravity: the average direction from the rest of the sector toward the organizations the foundation funds — the shape of its giving. Scoring every nonprofit along that direction surfaces the ones that look most like the portfolio. These are the closest matchesthat aren’t grantees — a resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Los Angeles Pacific University

Los angeles pacific university exists to deliver high quality, accessible christ-centered education to learners everywhere.

Education
2
Southwestern Christian University

Scu is a christ-centered liberal arts institution equipping students for a life of learning, leadership, and service; integrating faith, learning, and living; and empowering graduates to excel and to positively impact their world for jesus…

Education
3
Hope International University

The mission of hope international university is to empower students through christian higher education to serve the church and impact the world for christ. the university specializes in fields offering significant influence on society…

Education
4
Evangel University

Evangel is a comprehensive christian university that is committed to excellence in educating and equipping students to become spirit empowered servants of god who will impact the church and society globally.

Education
5
Fresno Pacific University

The university is the central valley's only accredited christian university, offering leading academic programs and ethical and spiritual development through traditional bachelor's degree, adult degree completion, master's, certificate,…

6
California Lutheran University

The mission of the university is to educate leaders for a global society who are strong in character and judgment, confident in their identity and vocation, and committed to service and justice.

Education
7
Christian Mission for the United Nations Community

Christian Mission for the United Nations Community is a ministry aimed at leading the head of every nation and other top leaders to faith in Jesus Christ and helping them to walk in dependence upon God as they discharge the…

8
Dallas International University

As a christian university, we provide education and research opportunities preparing global leaders to partner with local communities.

Education
9
Pacific School of Religion

Pacific school of religion prepares a diverse cadre of spiritually rooted leaders with the vision, resilience, and skill to create a world where all can thrive. grounded in the rigorous study and faithful practice of progressive christian…

Education
10
Arizona Christian University

Arizona christian university provides a biblically-integrated, liberal arts education equipping graduates to serve the lord jesus christ in all aspects of life, as leaders of influence and excellence.

Education
11
Association for Biblical Higher Education

Abhe is the quality and credibility resource partner that connects efforts among christian postsecondary educational institutions and with others invested in serious bible learning that shapes a life of godly influence and service to the…

Education
12
California Baptist University

A private institution of higher education, offering both undergraduate and graduate courses to students.

Education

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Scholar Leaders International and the most unlike its peers is Upper Colorado River Alliance. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.

Your grantees are a median of 30 years old; the field is 14. You back the established end — and your money leans older still.

THE FIELDby orgYOUR GRANTEESby number23%0%<5yr15%15%5–10yr21%15%10–20yr17%30%20–35yr12%20%35–55yr13%20%55yr+
THE FIELDby orgYOUR MONEYby value23%0%<5yr15%8%5–10yr21%5%10–20yr17%68%20–35yr12%7%35–55yr13%13%55yr+

The field is 23% startups (under 5 years old) — 0% of your grantees by number, and just 0% of your money.

Closures · last 5 years

The orgs you fund almost never close 0.0% lost their exemption, against 13% of the field you don’t fund.

orgs you fund
0.0%0/22
the rest of the field
13%
4,367/33,395

Age = years since IRS exemption (a founding proxy). “Closed” = auto-revocation for 3 years of non-filing — a floor on closure, not proof, and bigger established orgs lapse least. Association, not causation.

04the grantee network

17 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each one resolved to its own IRS returns and tracked year by year — your grant beside their revenue from every source. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

Counted here: distinct organizations you funded across 20172025, not grant rows in a single year — so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 17 of the 42 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile; the rest are funded organizations whose filings we could not track year by year.

4
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
16/17
Grantees still filing
9/17
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

HABITAT FOR HUMANITY — $726,000 · OtherHABITAT FOR HUMANITYHABITAT FOR HUMANITY INC — $150,000 · OtherHABITAT FOR HUMANITY INCATHLETES IN ACTION — $100,000 · OtherATHLETES IN ACTION+23 more — $242,150 · Other+23 moreALLIANCE FOR CHOICE IN EDUCATION — $523,000 · EducationALLIANCE FOR CHOICE IN EDUCATIONAZUSA PACIFIC UNIVERSITY — $130,000 · EducationAZUSA PACIFIC UNIVERSITYScholar Leaders International — $45,000 · EducationScholar Leaders International+3 more — $10,550 · EducationJEREMIAH'S HOPE INC — $250,000 · Human ServicesJEREMIAH'S H…FAMILY RESEARCH COUNCIL — $20,000 · Human ServicesFAMILY RESEA…WILD PHILANTHROPY INC — $75,000 · InternationalHOPE WITHOUT BOUNDARIES — $40,000 · International+1 more — $220 · InternationalHAWAII COMMUNITY FOUNDATION — $20,000 · PhilanthropyFORTE FOR CHILDREN — $10,000 · PhilanthropyMichael S Heiser Foundation — $10,000 · ReligionUPPER COLORADO RIVER ALLIANCE — $5,000 · EnvironmentFND Courage — $1,260 · Health
Other$1,218,150Education$708,550Human Services$270,000International$115,220Philanthropy$30,000Religion$10,000Environment$5,000Health$1,260

Each org by its size and your share of it — top-left is where you’re load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ your share of their budgetALLIANCE FOR CHOICE IN EDUCATION — $523,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetJEREMIAH'S HOPE INC — $250,000 over 1y, 60% of budgetHABITAT FOR HUMANITY INC — $150,000 over 2y, 74% of budgetAZUSA PACIFIC UNIVERSITY — $130,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetWILD PHILANTHROPY INC — $75,000 over 2y, 26% of budgetScholar Leaders International — $45,000 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetHOPE WITHOUT BOUNDARIES — $40,000 over 3y, 29% of budgetFAMILY RESEARCH COUNCIL — $20,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetHAWAII COMMUNITY FOUNDATION — $20,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFORTE FOR CHILDREN — $10,000 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetMichael S Heiser Foundation — $10,000 over 1y, 4.4% of budgetColorado Christian University — $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUPPER COLORADO RIVER ALLIANCE — $5,000 over 1y, 11% of budgetFND Courage — $1,260 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetPOINT LOMA NAZARENE UNIVERSITY — $300 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY — $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC — $220 over 1y, 0.0% of budget
Go grantee by grantee — a decade per org, and how each moved after you funded them

A decade per grantee — revenue shaded, your grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

  • Who funds ALLIANCE FOR CHOICE IN EDUCATION
  • Who funds JEREMIAH'S HOPE INC
  • Who funds HABITAT FOR HUMANITY INC
  • Who funds AZUSA PACIFIC UNIVERSITY
  • Who funds WILD PHILANTHROPY INC
  • Who funds Scholar Leaders International
  • Who funds HOPE WITHOUT BOUNDARIES
  • Who funds FAMILY RESEARCH COUNCIL
  • Who funds HAWAII COMMUNITY FOUNDATION
  • Who funds FORTE FOR CHILDREN
  • Who funds Michael S Heiser Foundation
  • Who funds Colorado Christian University
  • Who funds UPPER COLORADO RIVER ALLIANCE
  • Who funds FND Courage
  • Who funds POINT LOMA NAZARENE UNIVERSITY
  • Who funds THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY

The grantmakers whose grantees overlap with yours far more than size alone predicts. Each orbits closer the stronger the alignment; the arcs between them show where they also fund each other. Here it reads as a tightly interlocked camp — most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Natl Christian Charitable Fdn IncGA10.3× affinity7 shared granteesties to 4 of 4Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Natl Christian Charitable Fdn Inc · American Endowment Foundation · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Amazonsmile Foundation

Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. A research starting point: overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

Government reliance of your grantees

Every dot is one organization The Esther Foundation funds. Left–right is the share of its income from government; up–down is the share from you. Bigger dots raise more. Filter to federal or a single department — and drag the year to watch it move.

2024
202122232425
no gov · 10%5%19%42%75%your share of their income ↑0%5%10%15%20%share of the org’s income from government
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    1get no government money at all
    1report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–20%
    typical government reliance, FY2025

    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 your grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first — a floor, not 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 12–24 months.

    On method. Every financial figure here is read directly from IRS e-file XML — your own 990/990-PF and the multi-year returns of the 42 grantees we resolved across every year we hold, several hundred filings in all (a different count from the grant rows on the cover, which are one fiscal year)— each linked to its source. Grantee achievements and outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III); we read these as association with sustained funding — the foundation is one of several forces — suppress low-confidence name matches rather than guess, and say so where a figure rests on a single grant or filing. Not everything on this page is a filed figure, and the difference matters. Filed is what you reported on your 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. How we build these →

    Generated from your IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    More from the funding graph