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The Herbster Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Herbster Family 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.

$35k
Granted FY2025still arriving
15
Grants FY2025still arriving
7
States reached
$10k
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.

Health$79kEducation$23kArts & Culture$17kPublic Benefit$16kCrime & Legal$13kAnimals$11kRecreation & Sports$10kYouth Development$6kOther$0
02FY2025 · 15 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k14 grants · $25k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $10k
$1,500
Median grant
7
States reached
$613k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
HONORHEALTH FOUNDATION$10,000
SPECIAL OLYMPICS MECKLENBURG COUNTY$5,000
APPALACHIAN STATE UNIVERSITY FDN$3,000
FOOTHILLS ANIMAL RESCUE$2,600
PUBLIC INTEREST LEGAL FOUNDATION$2,000
AMERICAN TRANSPARENCY$2,000
YOUTH CHALLENGE OF CONNECTICUT$2,000
PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION$1,500
SAMARITAN'S PURSE$1,500
MIKEROWEWORKS FOUNDATION$1,500
LOWE'S EMPLOYEE RELIEF FUND$1,000
CAMBODIAN CHILDREN'S FUND$1,000
JUDICIAL WATCH INC$500
THE GOLDWATER INSTITUTE$500
CENTRAL PIEDMONT COMMUNITY COLLEGE$500
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 90% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%HONORHEALTH FOUNDATION: $22k → 11%UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH: $3k → 11%HOOVER INSTITUTION: $1k → 8%NATIONAL NOVEL WRITING MONTH: $1k → 10%PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION: $2k → 12%MIKEROWEWORKS FOUNDATION: $2k → 14%TEXAS PTA: $13k → 10%AHS SCHOLARSHIP FUND: $1k → 16%ROGER MILLER MUSEUM: $3k → 17%ROGER MILLER MUSEUM: $5k → 19%JUDICIAL WATCH INC: $1k → 14%HILLSDALE COLLEGE: $1k → 14%YOUTH CHALLENGE OF CONNECTICUT: $2k → 11%SPECIAL OLYMPICS MECKLENBURG COUNTY: $5k → 8%PIEDMONT ANIMAL RESCUE: $2k → 9%VICTORIA BOWLER MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP: $1k → 10%SAMARITAN'S PURSE: $3k → 21%PUBLIC INTEREST LEGAL FOUNDATION: $3k → 16%OPEN THE BOOKS: $2k → 7%ALZHEIMER'S ASSOCIATION: $1k → 14%HONORHEALTH FOUNDATION: $10k → 11%PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION: $2k → 12%CAMBODIAN CHILDREN'S FUND: $1k → 14%TEXAS PTA: $10k → 10%ROGER MILLER MUSEUM: $3k → 17%ROGER MILLER MUSEUM: $2k → 19%JUDICIAL WATCH INC: $1k → 14%YOUTH CHALLENGE OF CONNECTICUT: $2k → 11%NC STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $2k → 8%LOWE'S EMPLOYEE RELIEF FUND: $1k → 9%HOUGH ATHLETIC BOOSTER CLUB: $1k → 10%SAMARITAN'S PURSE: $2k → 21%PUBLIC INTEREST LEGAL FOUNDATION: $2k → 16%AMERICAN TRANSPARENCY: $2k → 7%HONORHEALTH FOUNDATION: $10k → 11%PANTHER CLUB UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBUR: $3k → 11%ROGER MILLER MUSEUM: $2k → 19%YOUTH CHALLENGE OF CONNECTICUT: $2k → 11%PUBLIC INTEREST LEGAL FOUNDATION: $2k → 16%AMERICAN TRANSPARENCY: $2k → 7%HONORHEALTH FOUNDATION: $10k → 11%PUBLIC INTEREST LEGAL FOUNDATION: $2k → 16%AMERICAN TRANSPARENCY: $2k → 7%HONORHEALTH FOUNDATION: $10k → 11%HONORHEALTH FOUNDATION: $5k → 11%HONORHEALTH FOUNDATION: $5k → 11%FOOTHILLS ANIMAL RESCUE: $4k → 11%FOOTHILLS ANIMAL RESCUE: $3k → 11%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

IL
MI
NY
IN
PA
CT
CA
AZ
KS
NC
DC
OK
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.

86%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$178k · 17 repeat orgs$29k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +37% since the first grant, against +26% for those funded once.

17 repeat relationships: 11 still active in FY2025, 6 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

17
19

Total granted

$178k
$21k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+37%
+26%

Still filing today

76%
42%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 75% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $9k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’20’21’22’23’24’25
HealthEducationPublic BenefitAnimalsArts & CultureCrime & 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

  • HF
    HONORHEALTH FOUNDATION
    7× · 2017–2025 · $72k · revenue +31%
  • PI
    PUBLIC INTEREST LEGAL FOUNDATION
    5× · 2021–2025 · $9k · revenue +43%
  • AS
    APPALACHIAN STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC
    3× · 2023–2025 · $9k · revenue +19%

Funded once

  • UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGHgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $3k · revenue +26%
  • PC
    PANTHER CLUB UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBUR
    one grant, 2022 · $3k
  • NC
    NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INCgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $2k · revenue +214%
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
Furman University

The primary mission of furman as a liberal arts institution is to provide a distinctive education in fine arts, humanities, social sciences, mathematics and the sciences, as well as selected professional disciplines.

Education
2
Atlantic University Inc

Provide post-secondary education of excellence.

Education
3
Augustana College

Rooted in the liberal arts & sciences & lutheran expression of the christian faith, & is committed to offering a challenging education that develops qualities of mind, spirit, & body necessary for a rewarding life of leadership & service…

Education
4
University of New Haven

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…

Education
5
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.

—
6
The Trustees of Princeton University

Research, education and general - princeton university is a private not-for-profit, non-sectarian institution of higher learning with approximately 5,700 undergraduate and 3,300 graduate students. 2,500 students graduated in the 2024-2025…

Education
7
The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel

Enhance the ability of actec members to provide the most efficient and highest quality services to their clients; develop qualified trust and estate counselors; improve and reform probate, trust and tax laws, procedures, and standards of…

Community Improvement
8
Stony Brook Urology University Faculty Practice Corporation

Provide clinical instruction to and supervision of medical school students, interns and residents and, incident thereto, rendering professional services.

Health
9
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…

—
10
Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States Inc

The fsmb serves as the voice for state medical boards, supporting them through education, assessment, research and advocacy while providing services and initiatives that promote patient safety, quality health care and regulatory best…

Health
11
National Association of College and University Attorneys

To advance the practice of higher education attorneys for the benefit of the institutions they serve.

—
12
American Civil Liberties Union Fund of the District of Columbia

Preservation of civil liberties through litigation and public education.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Judicial Watch Inc; the most unlike its peers is Samaritan's Purse. 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

27 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. 27 of the 42 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)
6
Early backer (in before they grew)
26/27
Grantees still filing
21/27
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

HONORHEALTH FOUNDATION: $72,000 · HealthHONORHEALTH FOUNDATIONATRIUM HEALTH FOUNDATION: $6,000 · HealthATRIUM HEALTH FOUNDATIONTHE LIFE CENTER OF CONNECTICUT INC: $6,000 · HealthTHE LIFE CENTER OF CONNECTICUT INC+1 more: $1,000 · HealthIndividual grant recipient: $22,500 · OtherIndividual grant recipientROGER MILLER MUSEUM: $14,700 · OtherROGER MILLER MUSEUMAPPALACHIAN STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $8,500 · OtherAPPALACHIAN STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION…SPECIAL OLYMPICS MECKLENBURG COUNTY: $5,000 · OtherSPECIAL OLYMPICS MECKLENBURG COUNTYCENTRAL PIEDMONT COMMUNITY COLLEGE: $3,000 · OtherPANTHER CLUB UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBUR: $2,500 · Other+17 more: $16,600 · Other+17 moreAMERICAN TRANSPARENCY: $5,500 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH: $2,500 · EducationNORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $2,000 · EducationTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $1,500 · EducationHILLSDALE COLLEGE: $1,500 · EducationSTEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION: $500 · EducationPUBLIC INTEREST LEGAL FOUNDATION: $8,500 · Crime & LegalPacific Legal Foundation: $4,500 · Crime & LegalFOOTHILLS ANIMAL RESCUE: $7,100 · AnimalsPIEDMONT ANIMAL RESCUE INC: $2,500 · AnimalsCarolina Raptor Center Inc: $1,000 · AnimalsJUDICIAL WATCH INC: $5,500 · Public BenefitBARRY GOLDWATER INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY RESEARCH: $4,000 · Public BenefitCATO INSTITUTE: $1,000 · Public BenefitSAMARITAN'S PURSE: $4,500 · Religion
Health$85,000Other$72,800Education$13,500Crime & Legal$13,000Animals$10,600Public Benefit$10,500Religion$4,500

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 budgetHONORHEALTH FOUNDATION: $72,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetPUBLIC INTEREST LEGAL FOUNDATION: $8,500 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetAPPALACHIAN STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $8,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetFOOTHILLS ANIMAL RESCUE: $7,100 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetATRIUM HEALTH FOUNDATION: $6,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE LIFE CENTER OF CONNECTICUT INC: $6,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetAMERICAN TRANSPARENCY: $5,500 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetJUDICIAL WATCH INC: $5,500 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetSAMARITAN'S PURSE: $4,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPacific Legal Foundation: $4,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetBARRY GOLDWATER INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY RESEARCH: $4,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPIEDMONT ANIMAL RESCUE INC: $2,500 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetNORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $1,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT INC: $1,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHILLSDALE COLLEGE: $1,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetLowes Employee Relief Fund Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetALZHEIMER'S DISEASE & RELATED DISORDERS ASSOCIATION INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCambodian Childrens Fund: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCATO INSTITUTE: $1,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCarolina Raptor Center Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budget100 CLUB OF ARIZONA: $750 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSTEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION: $500 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.

Jpmorgan Chase Founda…Morgan Stanley Global…The Bank of America C…Paypal Charitable Giv…Natl Christian Charit…Vanguard Charitable E…American Online Givin…Network for GoodNational Philanthropi…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Jpmorgan Chase FoundationNY9.9× affinity4 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Jpmorgan Chase Foundation · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Paypal Charitable Giving Fund · Natl Christian Charitable Fdn Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Network for Good · National Philanthropic Trust · 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 Herbster Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Herbster Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%5%10%15%20%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • Wounded Warrior Project Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get 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 · 0–20%
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 42 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 Herbster 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