· Private foundation
The Gess 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.
What it funded, over time
Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.
Where the money goes
Grants by size, and the largest recipients.
By grant size · FY2024
- Under $10k19 grants · $44k
- $10k–50k6 grants · $78k
- $50k–250k1 grant · $61k
| Recipient | Amount |
|---|---|
| FROM THE TOP | $60,500 |
| 30 MILE RIVER WATERSHED ASSOCIATION | $25,000 |
| LA JOLLA MUSIC SOCIETY | $13,000 |
| NORTH COAST REPERTORY THEATER | $10,000 |
| WEST NEWTON CINEMA FOUNDATION | $10,000 |
| JEWISH GRANDPARENTS NETWORK | $10,000 |
| VANGUARD CULTURE | $10,000 |
| TEMPLE BETH ELOHIM | $8,600 |
| ILLUSTRATION INSTITUTE | $7,500 |
| ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE | $5,000 |
| MAINE DEFAMATION LEAGUE | $3,500 |
| THE OLD GLOBE | $3,000 |
| HOUSE ON THE MOON | $2,500 |
| HEBREW SENIOR LIFE | $2,500 |
| WBUR | $2,000 |
Does the money reach high-need areas?
Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.
Its human-services grants (FY17–24, $13k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, 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.
How this is measured
Which US states its grants reach
How this is measured
Who it funds again
Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.
41 repeat relationships: 19 still active in FY2024, 22 since wound down; 7 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).
How the two cohorts compare
Organizations
Total granted
Median revenue growth · since first grant
Still filing today
New vs renewed · share of each year
In FY2024, 81% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $35k went to new ones.
Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant
How this is measured
Backed again, and grew
- 3M30 Mile River Watershed Association8× · 2017–2024 · $118k · revenue +190%
- IIILLUSTRATION INSTITUTE8× · 2017–2024 · $54k · revenue +60%
- ALANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE6× · 2019–2024 · $24k · revenue +47%
Funded once
- USUC SAN DIEGO'S DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC - CAMERA LUCIDA CONCERTone grant, 2021 · $10k
- NSNYAKA SCHOOLone grant, 2017 · $5k
- IGIndividual grant recipientone grant, 2023 · $3k
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.
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.
The bac is committed to provide excellence in design education grounded in practice and accessible to diverse communities.
The mission of the jewish museum is to collect, preserve, exhibit and interpret art and jewish culture. see schedule o for more information.
San Diego Jewish Academy empowers each student to learn for life, guided by Jewish values and rooted in strength of community.
To bring quality public television programs and resources to communities throughout new jersey and its tri-state neighbors. its content, both on-air and online, aims to reflect the diverse
Mission: the mission of san diego opera is to deliver exceptional performances and exciting, accessible programs to diverse audiences, focusing on community partnerships, and the transformative and expressive power of the human voice. as…
The University of New Haven is a student-centered comprehensive university with an emphasis on excellence in liberal arts and professional education. Our mission is to prepare our students to lead purposeful and fulfilling lives in a…
Nashville public radio's mission is to be the most trusted & independent nashville voice, connecting our communities through non-partisan journalism, compelling storytelling, civil conversation and music discovery.
To serve the public by producing world-class opera that preserves, promotes and advances the art form while embodying the diversity, spirit and artistic sensibility unique to los angeles. we envision an engaged and enlightened community in…
We invite people of all ages to experience the natural beauty of our campus and the transformative power of the arts. usdan was founded on jewish values that inspire us to make the world more just and more beautiful. when we welcome the…
Vermont public informs, educates, and entertains through public service journalism and enlightening content rooted in vermont. our storytelling enriches lives and fosters community connection and understanding.
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.
Through thought leadership, community programs, leadership development, and organizational partnerships, jsp is building a movement to activate the creative power of the jewish community.
How this is measured
36 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.
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 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 36 of the 70 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.
Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee
Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing
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.
- Who funds FROM THE TOP INC ↗
- Who funds 30 Mile River Watershed Association ↗
- Who funds JEWISH ARTS COLLABORATIVE INC ↗
- Who funds ILLUSTRATION INSTITUTE ↗
- Who funds Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston Inc ↗
- Who funds LA JOLLA MUSIC SOCIETY ↗
- Who funds ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE ↗
- Who funds BOSTON JEWISH FILM INC ↗
- Who funds Maine Public Broadcasting Corporation ↗
- Who funds THEATER & ARTS FOUNDATION OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY DBA LA JOLLA PLAYHOUSE ↗
- Who funds JEWISH GRANDPARENTS NETWORK INC ↗
- Who funds Vanguard Culture ↗
- Who funds WEST NEWTON CINEMA FOUNDATION INC ↗
- Who funds TRUSTEES OF BOSTON UNIVERSITY ↗
- Who funds Hebrew Senior Life Inc ↗
- Who funds YMCA OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY ↗
- Who funds NEIGHBORS DRIVING NEIGHBORS ↗
- Who funds SAN DIEGO YOUTH SYMPHONY & CONSERVATORY ↗
- Who funds BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC ↗
- Who funds NATIONAL CENTER FOR JEWISH FILMINC ↗
- Who funds Bowdoin College ↗
- Who funds PORTLAND CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL ↗
- Who funds AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL OF THE USA INC ↗
- Who funds POLITICAL ASYLUMIMMIGRATION REPRESENTATION PROJECT INC ↗
- Who funds PROVIDENCE PROMISE ↗
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.
Open a dossier: Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston Inc · Boston Foundation Inc · The Klarman Family Foundation · Eastern Bank Foundation · Joseph and Rae Gann Charitable Foundation · Onion Foundation · Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego · Maine Community Foundation Inc · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Charities Aid Foundation America
How this is measured
How much its grantees rely on government
Each dot is one organization The Gess Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Gess Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.
- Trustees of Boston University: 12% of income from government
- Project Citizenship Inc: 10% of income from government
- From the Top Inc: 6% of income from government
- National Center for Jewish Filminc: 4% of income from government
- Neads Inc: 1% of income from government
- New England Conservatory of Music: 1% of income from government
- Boston Symphony Orchestra Inc: 0% of income from government
- Hebrew Senior Life Inc: 0% of income from government
How this is measured
Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus
How do I get to The Gess Foundation?
Find your warmest path to The Gess 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.
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