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New York · Private foundation

The John S Hilson Family Fund

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.

$4.6M
Granted FY2025(still arriving)
76
Grants FY2025
41
Organizations funded FY2024
46%
First-time grantees FY2024
Read the full brief
Median grant, FY2025
$2,000
Largest grant, FY2025
$1,466,508
Organizations funded a year
37 to 41
FY2019 to FY2024
States reached, FY2025
14
Applications
Preselected organizations only
Per its most recent filing; check its own site

How open it is to new grantees

In FY2024, 46% of the organizations The John S Hilson Family Fund funded were first-time grantees, receiving 11% of its grant dollars.

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 89% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $29k went to new ones.

50%100%’20’21’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’20’21’24
EducationAnimalsArts & CultureEnvironmentHealthHuman ServicesOther
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.
The numbers by year
Fiscal yearOrganizations fundedTo those organizationsFirst-time grantees
FY2025still arriving60$4.6M32%
FY202441$267k46%
FY202138$261k68%
FY202041$343k27%
FY201937$239kn/a
94% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Philanthropy$4.3MEducation$836kArts & Culture$156kScience & Tech$142kAnimals$133kHealth$106kHuman Services$23kCrime & Legal$20kOther$0

Where its grants go

Grant dollars by states, across the years we hold.

Which US states its grants reach

VT
IL
NY
MA
CT
CA
MO
VA
DE
NC
SC
DC
AL
FL

Top grantees

Largest recipients by total granted, FY2019 to FY2025, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.

Show all 49 grantees
All grantees of The John S Hilson Family Fund by total granted
GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
Hilson Fam Fund Tr Agreement 04292023$1,391,091151%
The Hilson Parker Fund Trust Ua Dtd 4/24/2023$1,370,142141%
Pratt Institute$235,00030%
Manhattanville University$105,00030%
Big Dog Ranch Rescue Inc$65,00030%
Trustees of Boston University$52,50030%
Silvermine Guild of Artists Inc$39,00031%
Trustees of Deerfield Academy$26,53030%
Lake Worth Christian School Society$25,00010%
One Story Inc$20,00022%
Vermont College of Fine Arts Inc$15,00030%
Allen-Chase Foundation Dba Eaglebrook School$11,50030%
Leeds Foundation Pbc Inc$10,00013%
Humane World for Animals Inc$5,00020%
West Palm Beach Fishing Club Inc$5,00011%
Crohn's & Colitis Foundation Inc$4,50030%
Grateful Gatherings$4,00020%
New Hope Charities Inc$4,0001n/a
Bonefish & Tarpon Trust Inc$3,00030%
Northwestern University$2,60030%
Canine Companions for Independence Inc$2,50010%
Friends of Karen Inc$2,50010%
Kwmr$2,50010%
Trout Unlimited Inc$2,00020%
Fractured Atlas Inc$2,00020%
Hope Chicago Inc$2,00020%
Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Founda Foundation Inc$2,00020%
Planned Parenthood of Southern New England Inc$2,00020%
NAACP Legal Defense & Educ Fund Inc$2,00020%
The Whitby School Incorporated$1,70030%
Southern Poverty Law Center Inc$1,50030%
University of Richmond$1,50030%
New Canaan Beautification League Inc$1,25020%
Project Sunshine Inc$1,15030%
Amnesty International of the USA Inc$1,00020%
1898 Foundation Inc$1,0001n/a
Smile Train Inc$1,00020%
National Parks Conservation Association$1,00020%
1898 Foundation Inc$1,00011%
Spca of Westchester Inc$1,00010%
Jacob Burns Film Center Inc$1,00010%
Sesame Workshop$1,00010%
Earthjustice$75010%
350org$75010%
Strays & Others Inc$75011%
Staying Put in New Canaan Inc$75010%
Collegiate School Inc$60030%
New Canaan Nature Center Association Inc$50010%
Greenwich Emergency Medical Service Inc$20010%

What it could do for these grantees

Plus 63 recipients with no EIN on record ($2.3M), not named here.

Where it is load-bearing

The John S Hilson Family Fund supplied at least a quarter of the budget for 2 of its grantees at some point. The chart plots its 47 largest grantees; load-bearing ones sit top left.

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetHilson Fam Fund Tr Agreement 04292023: $1,391,091 over 1y, 51% of budgetThe Hilson Parker Fund Trust Ua Dtd 4/24/2023: $1,370,142 over 1y, 41% of budgetPratt Institute: $235,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetManhattanville University: $105,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetBig Dog Ranch Rescue Inc: $65,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetTrustees of Boston University: $52,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSilvermine Guild of Artists Inc: $39,000 over 3y, 0.9% of budgetTrustees of Deerfield Academy: $26,530 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetLake Worth Christian School Society: $25,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetOne Story Inc: $20,000 over 2y, 1.9% of budgetVermont College of Fine Arts Inc: $15,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetAllen-Chase Foundation Dba Eaglebrook School: $11,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetLeeds Foundation Pbc Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 2.8% of budgetHumane World for Animals Inc: $5,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWest Palm Beach Fishing Club Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetCrohn's & Colitis Foundation Inc: $4,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetGrateful Gatherings: $4,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetBonefish & Tarpon Trust Inc: $3,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetNorthwestern University: $2,600 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCanine Companions for Independence Inc: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFriends of Karen Inc: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetKwmr: $2,500 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetTrout Unlimited Inc: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFractured Atlas Inc: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetHope Chicago Inc: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMarine Corps-Law Enforcement Founda Foundation Inc: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPlanned Parenthood of Southern New England Inc: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetNAACP Legal Defense & Educ Fund Inc: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetThe Whitby School Incorporated: $1,700 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSouthern Poverty Law Center Inc: $1,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetUniversity of Richmond: $1,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetNew Canaan Beautification League Inc: $1,250 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetProject Sunshine Inc: $1,150 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetAmnesty International of the USA Inc: $1,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSmile Train Inc: $1,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetNational Parks Conservation Association: $1,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budget1898 Foundation Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetSpca of Westchester Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetJacob Burns Film Center Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSesame Workshop: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetEarthjustice: $750 over 1y, 0.0% of budget350org: $750 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetStrays & Others Inc: $750 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetStaying Put in New Canaan Inc: $750 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCollegiate School Inc: $600 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetNew Canaan Nature Center Association Inc: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGreenwich Emergency Medical Service Inc: $200 over 1y, 0.0% of budget

Tap a dot to name the grantee.

How this is measured
Share of budget is the funder’s grant in a year over the grantee’s total revenue that year, at its highest across the years we hold; revenue is from all sources. Only grantees confirmed against their own filings, whose grants do not exceed their revenue, are plotted: the largest 47.

Nonprofits that may fit its grantmaking

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 Morris Family FoundationTN15.7× affinity5 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Morris Family Foundation · Hobbs Family Charitable Trust · New Canaan Community Foundation Inc · Fairfield County's Community Foundation Inc · Synchrony Foundation · The Chicago Community Trust · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · The Pfizer Foundation Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc

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.

Compare The John S Hilson Family Fund with peer funders

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to The John S Hilson Family Fund?

Find your warmest path to The John S Hilson Family Fund 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.

About The John S Hilson Family Fund

How much does The John S Hilson Family Fund give?
The John S Hilson Family Fund reported 76 grants totaling $4,627,925 in its FY2025 IRS filing. It funded between 37 and 41 organizations a year over FY2019 to FY2024.
What does The John S Hilson Family Fund fund?
By grant dollars over FY2019 to FY2025, its largest causes are Philanthropy (59%), Education (12%), Arts & Culture (2%).
Who are The John S Hilson Family Fund's largest grantees?
By total granted over FY2019 to FY2025: Hilson Fam Fund Tr Agreement 04292023 ($1.4M), The Hilson Parker Fund Trust Ua Dtd 4/24/2023 ($1.4M), Pratt Institute ($235k).
Does The John S Hilson Family Fund fund new organizations?
In FY2024, 46% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
Does The John S Hilson Family Fund accept unsolicited applications?
Its most recent filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and does not take unsolicited requests. Check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.
Which funders back the same organizations as The John S Hilson Family Fund?
Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include The Morris Family Foundation, Hobbs Family Charitable Trust, New Canaan Community Foundation Inc.
Where is The John S Hilson Family Fund based?
The John S Hilson Family Fund is based in NY.

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 114 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

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