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Plinth

· Private foundation

The Karen & Drew Peslar 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.

$557k
Granted FY2025still arriving
18
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$110k
Largest
01What you fund
01100% classified

What you funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year — across FY20202025.

Education$932kArts & Culture$635kAnimals$265kHuman Services$235kFood & Nutrition$170kHousing & Shelter$150kEnvironment$113kHealth$90k
02FY2025 · 18 grants

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k5 grants · $28k
  • $10k–50k8 grants · $100k
  • $50k–250k5 grants · $429k
$10,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$5.5M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA$110,000
ANGEL'S PLACE$110,000
DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS$100,000
DETROIT ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY$55,000
LOYOLA HIGH SCHOOL$54,320
CRANBROOK INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE$20,000
THE NATURE CONSERVANCY MICHIGAN CHAPTER$15,000
MICHIGAN HUMANE SOCIETY$15,000
MOTOR CITY LYRIC OPERA$10,000
BEDS 4 KIDS$10,000
GLEANERS COMMUNITY FOOD BANK$10,000
POPE FRANCIS CENTER$10,000
FORGOTTEN HARVEST$10,000
FURNITURE BANK OF SOUTHEASTERN MICHIGAN$7,500
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN$5,000
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 (FY20–25, $305k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 48% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Your grants spread fairly evenly across need levels.

area typical 11%POPE FRANCIS CENTER: $35k → 21%POPE FRANCIS CENTER: $35k → 21%POPE FRANCIS CENTER: $15k → 21%POPE FRANCIS CENTER: $10k → 21%POPE FRANCIS CENTER: $10k → 21%POPE FRANCIS CENTER: $10k → 21%KIDS ON THE GO: $5k → 21%KIDS ON THE GO: $5k → 21%ANGEL'S PLACE: $110k → 8%KIDS ON THE GO: $5k → 21%ANGEL'S PLACE: $10k → 8%KIDS ON THE GO: $5k → 21%ANGEL'S PLACE: $10k → 8%ANGEL'S PLACE: $10k → 8%ANGEL'S PLACE: $10k → 8%ANGEL'S PLACE: $10k → 8%KIDS ON THE GO: $5k → 21%KIDS ON THE GO: $5k → 21%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.

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.

99%of every dollar goes to organizations you’ve funded before.
$2.5M · 24 repeat orgs$30k to everyone else

And the relationships you keep tend to grow: grantees you re-up on have seen median revenue of +48% since the first grant, against +41% for the ones you funded once.

24 repeat relationships — 17 still active in FY2025, 7 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

24
3

Total granted

$2.5M
$30k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+48%
+41%

Still filing today

83%
33%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24’25
Arts & CultureHuman ServicesEducationAnimalsFood & NutritionEnvironmentOther

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

  • Detroit Historical Society
    4× · 2020–2023 · $205k · revenue +129%
  • DZ
    DETROIT ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY
    6× · 2020–2025 · $180k · revenue +106%
  • THE DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS
    4× · 2021–2025 · $160k · revenue +47%

Funded once

  • CF
    COMMUNITY FOUNDATION FOR SE MI
    one grant, 2020 · $15k
  • CH
    COREWELL HEALTH FOUNDATION SE
    one grant, 2024 · $10k
  • HI
    HARSENS ISLAND-ST CLAIR FLATS HISTORICAL SOCIETYgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $5k · revenue +41% · 29% of their budget

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
Michigan Enviromental Council

Informing and educating the public and decision makers about environmental issues.

Environment
2
Michigan Farm Bureau

Michigan farm bureau (mfb) is a member directed agricultural organization whose purpose is to represent, protect, and enhance the business, economic, social, and educational interests of our members located throughout the state of michigan.

3
Detroit Regional Chamber

The chamber is the voice for business and works to power the economy for southeast michigan through public policy, advocacy and leading regional economic development and talent initiatives.

4
Museum of Arts and Design

To collect, display and interpret objects in craft art and design.

Arts & Culture
5
Michigan Chamber of Commerce

To promote conditions favorable to job creation and business success in michigan.

6
Michigan Science Center

The mission of the michigan science center is to inspire curious minds of all ages to discover, explore and appreciate science, technology, engineering and math in a creative, dynamic learning environment.

Education
7
Michigan Farmers Market Association

Mifma supports the viability of all community-driven marketplaces so that they can connect all consumers to local farms and businesses.

Food & Nutrition
8
Michigan Maritime Museum Inc

The organization is dedicated to preservation of michigan great lakes and waterways, maritime history and culture, and provides maritime education opportunities to the public through permanent and changing exhibits, research library, and…

Arts & Culture
9
Michigan Legacy Art Park

Inspire awareness, appreciation and passion for michigan's history and stories, culture and environment through the arts.

Arts & Culture
10
Historical Society of Michigan

The Historical Society of Michigan will foster in citizens a deeper understanding of and appreciation for all Michigan history through programs and publications; preserve and promote Michigan history through conferences, publications,…

Arts & Culture
11
Detroit Public Media

Educate, engage, entertain, and inspire through the power of public media.

Arts & Culture
12
Delta Dental Fund

Delta dental fund's mission is to improve the oral health of the public and to advance dental science and the dental profession through research and education.

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Michigan Humane Society and the most unlike its peers is Kids On the Go. 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 49 years old; the field is 13. You back the established end — and your money leans older still.

THE FIELDby orgYOUR GRANTEESby number25%0%<5yr15%5%5–10yr19%14%10–20yr16%19%20–35yr12%19%35–55yr13%43%55yr+
THE FIELDby orgYOUR MONEYby value25%0%<5yr15%2%5–10yr19%9%10–20yr16%14%20–35yr12%14%35–55yr13%61%55yr+

The field is 25% 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 17% of the field you don’t fund.

orgs you fund
0.0%0/22
the rest of the field
17%
2,883/16,586

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

22 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. 22 of the 28 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.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
7
Early backer (in before they grew)
22/22
Grantees still filing
19/22
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

LOYOLA HIGH SCHOOL — $772,947 · OtherLOYOLA HIGH SCHOOLTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY — $85,000 · OtherTHE NATURE CONSERVANCYTHE FURNITURE RESOURCE CENTER — $45,000 · OtherTHE COMMUNITY HOUSE — $35,000 · Other+5 more — $95,000 · Other+5 moreDetroit Historical Society — $205,000 · Arts & CultureDetroit Historical SocietyTHE DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS — $160,000 · Arts & CultureTHE DETROIT INSTITUTE OF AR…DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC — $140,000 · Arts & CultureDETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA …DETROIT OPERA — $70,000 · Arts & CultureDETROIT OPERATHE PEWABIC SOCIETY INC — $30,000 · Arts & CultureMOTOR CITY LYRIC OPERA — $25,000 · Arts & Culture+1 more — $5,000 · Arts & CultureANGELS' PLACE — $160,000 · Human ServicesANGELS' PLACEPOPE FRANCIS CENTER — $115,000 · Human ServicesPOPE FRANCIS …KIDS ON THE GO — $30,000 · Human ServicesKIDS ON THE G…DETROIT ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY — $180,000 · AnimalsDETROIT ZOO…MICHIGAN HUMANE SOCIETY — $85,000 · AnimalsMICHIGAN HU…FORGOTTEN HARVEST INC — $110,000 · Food & NutritionGLEANERS COMMUNITY FOOD BANK OF SOUTHEASTERN MICHIGAN — $60,000 · Food & NutritionCRANBROOK EDUCATIONAL COMMUNITY — $98,664 · EducationBEYOND BASICS — $20,000 · EducationMERCY EDUCATION PROJECT — $20,000 · EducationBEDS 4 KIDS — $30,000 · Housing & ShelterMICHIGAN NATURE ASSOCIATION — $12,500 · Environment
Other$1,032,947Arts & Culture$635,000Human Services$305,000Animals$265,000Food & Nutrition$170,000Education$138,664Housing & Shelter$30,000Environment$12,500

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

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ your share of their budgetDetroit Historical Society — $205,000 over 4y, 2.3% of budgetDETROIT ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY — $180,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetTHE DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS — $160,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetANGELS' PLACE — $160,000 over 6y, 0.9% of budgetDETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC — $140,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetPOPE FRANCIS CENTER — $115,000 over 6y, 0.4% of budgetFORGOTTEN HARVEST INC — $110,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetCRANBROOK EDUCATIONAL COMMUNITY — $98,664 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY — $85,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetMICHIGAN HUMANE SOCIETY — $85,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetDETROIT OPERA — $70,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetGLEANERS COMMUNITY FOOD BANK OF SOUTHEASTERN MICHIGAN — $60,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetTHE FURNITURE RESOURCE CENTER — $45,000 over 6y, 0.5% of budgetBEDS 4 KIDS — $30,000 over 3y, 3.1% of budgetTHE PEWABIC SOCIETY INC — $30,000 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetKIDS ON THE GO — $30,000 over 6y, 1.3% of budgetUniversity of Michigan — $30,000 over 6y, 1.9% of budgetMOTOR CITY LYRIC OPERA — $25,000 over 4y, 8.7% of budgetBEYOND BASICS — $20,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetMERCY EDUCATION PROJECT — $20,000 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetMICHIGAN NATURE ASSOCIATION — $12,500 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetHARSENS ISLAND-ST CLAIR FLATS HISTORICAL SOCIETY — $5,000 over 1y, 29% 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 Detroit Historical Society
  • Who funds DETROIT ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY
  • Who funds THE DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS
  • Who funds ANGELS' PLACE
  • Who funds DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC
  • Who funds POPE FRANCIS CENTER
  • Who funds FORGOTTEN HARVEST INC
  • Who funds CRANBROOK EDUCATIONAL COMMUNITY
  • Who funds THE NATURE CONSERVANCY
  • Who funds MICHIGAN HUMANE SOCIETY
  • Who funds DETROIT OPERA
  • Who funds GLEANERS COMMUNITY FOOD BANK OF SOUTHEASTERN MICHIGAN
  • Who funds THE FURNITURE RESOURCE CENTER
  • Who funds BEDS 4 KIDS
  • Who funds THE PEWABIC SOCIETY INC
  • Who funds KIDS ON THE GO
  • Who funds University of Michigan
  • Who funds MOTOR CITY LYRIC OPERA
  • Who funds BEYOND BASICS
  • Who funds MERCY EDUCATION PROJECT
  • Who funds MICHIGAN NATURE ASSOCIATION
  • Who funds HARSENS ISLAND-ST CLAIR FLATS HISTORICAL SOCIETY

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.

Community Foundation for Southeast MichiganMI21.3× affinity8 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan · Young Woman's Home Association of Detroit Michigan · Aa Van Elslander Foundation · Detroit Industrial School · Dte Energy Foundation · The Kresge Foundation · Charities Aid Foundation America · National Philanthropic Trust · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Network for Good · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund

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 Karen & Drew Peslar 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 · 00%2%8%17%30%your share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    6report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    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 28 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 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    More from the funding graph