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The Kathy and Al Gordon Fund at a glance

· Private foundation

The Kathy and Al Gordon Fund

Its FY2022 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$205k
Granted FY2022
2
Grants FY2022
1
States reached
$119k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0196% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2022.

Arts & Culture$656kEducation$638kEnvironment$280kPhilanthropy$225kFood & Nutrition$62kHealth$53kRecreation & Sports$43kHousing & Shelter$42kOther$0
02FY2022 · 2 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$118,744
Median grant
1
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
FIDELITY CHARITABLE FUND$118,744
FIDELITY CHARITABLE FUND$85,790
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:

Its human-services grants (FY19–19, $5k) land where the poverty rate runs at 17%, against an area that typically sits at 15%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 15%THE READING TEAM: $5k → 17%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.
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.

97%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$2.0M · 25 repeat orgs$70k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +38% since the first grant, against -20% for those funded once.

25 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2022, 24 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

25
6

Total granted

$2.0M
$70k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+38%
-20%

Still filing today

60%
83%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2022, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’22
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’22
Recreation & SportsEducationFood & NutritionArts & CultureEnvironmentHealthOther
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

  • TL
    THE LITERARY CLASSICS OF THE US INC D/B/A LIBRARY OF AMERICA
    3× · 2017–2019 · $606k · revenue +3%
  • VC
    VASSAR COLLEGE
    2× · 2017–2018 · $540k · revenue +19%
  • BB
    BROOKLYN BOTANIC GARDEN CORPORATION
    3× · 2017–2019 · $280k · revenue +53%

Funded once

  • CH
    CHERYL HURLEY FUND FOR NEW AUDIENCE
    one grant, 2018 · $30k
  • RH
    Raising Hands Tutoring Incgraduated
    one grant, 2019 · $10k · revenue +173%
  • KI
    KHELSHALA INC
    one grant, 2018 · $10k · revenue -24%
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
New York University

Nyu is a private university with approximately 60,000 matriculating students in 20 schools and institutes. nyu's primary missions are education, research and scholarship, and patient care.

Education
2
The Graduate Center Foundation Inc

The graduate center foundation is committed to promoting and safe-guarding the success of the graduate center by raising funds and managing and investing donations for use by the graduate center. the board of trustees of the foundation…

—
3
Manhattanville University

To educate students to be ethical and socially responsible leaders in a global community.

Education
4
Teachers College Columbia University

Teachers College, Columbia Universitys (TC or the College) mission is to empower committed learners and leaders to build a smarter, healthier, more just and equitable world through multidisciplinary knowledge creation, policy engagement,…

Education
5
Fordham University

Fordham university, the jesuit university of new york, is committed to the discovery of wisdom and the transmission of learning, through research and through education of the highest quality. for more information, see schedule o.

Education
6
The City Tutors Inc

The City Tutors (CT) is NYC's educational subway-a free, citywide learning and career center open to everyone, centering first-gen, immigrant, and historically low-resourced communities. We operate through a select network of partner…

Education
7
School in the Square Public Charter School

School in the square ("s2") engages, educates and empowers adolescents to respond mindfully and creatively to life's opportunities and challenges. s2 is a place where students, families and educators are seen, heard, and inspired and where…

Education
8
New York Botanical Garden

The new york botanical garden is a museum of plants and a scientific research center devoted to the study of plants and their uses. it is the garden's mission to improve public understanding of the natural world, horticulture, and the…

Environment
9
The Trustees of the New York Society Library

The new york society library was founded in 1754 by the new york society, a civic-minded group formed in the belief that the availability of books would help the city of new york to prosper.

—
10
Long Island University

To provide excellence and access in private higher education to those who seek to expand their knowledge and prepare themselves for meaningful, educated lives and for service to their communities and the world.

—
11
Manhattan University

Manhattan university is an independent catholic instituion of higher learning that embraces qualified men and women of all faiths, cultures, and traditions. the mission of manhattan university is to provide a contemporary, person-centered…

Education
12
Mitchell College

Mitchell college educates students through a highly individualized educational approach that brings forward each student's potential, reveals their strengths, and fosters personal growth.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The New York Public Library Astor Lenox and Tilden Foundations; the most unlike its peers is Khelshala Inc. 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

21 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. 21 of the 32 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)
5
Early backer (in before they grew)
21/21
Grantees still filing
15/21
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

VASSAR COLLEGE: $540,000 · OtherVASSAR COLLEGEFIDELITY CHARITABLE FUND: $225,435 · OtherFIDELITY CHARITABLE FUND+15 more: $282,016 · Other+15 moreTHE LITERARY CLASSICS OF THE US INC D/B/A LIBRARY OF AMERICA: $606,400 · Arts & CultureTHE LITERARY CLASSICS OF THE US I…BROOKLYN BOTANIC GARDEN CORPORATION: $280,000 · EnvironmentBROOKLYN BOTANI…Capitol Squash Inc: $11,000 · Recreation & SportsKHELSHALA INC: $10,000 · Recreation & SportsCENTRAL PARK CONSERVANCY INC: $10,000 · Recreation & SportsCENTRAL PARK TRACK CLUB CORPORATION: $8,000 · Recreation & SportsSQUASHSMARTS INC: $5,000 · Recreation & SportsCity Squash Inc: $4,000 · Recreation & SportsCITYMEALS-ON-WHEELS: $22,000 · Food & NutritionAMPLE TABLE FOR EVERYONE INC: $16,000 · Food & NutritionRaising Hands Tutoring Inc: $10,000 · EducationThe New York Public Library Astor Lenox and Tilden Foundations: $8,000 · EducationTRINITY COLLEGE: $5,000 · EducationTHE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK: $2,500 · EducationVISITING NURSE SERVICE OF NEW YORK: $22,250 · Health
Other$1,047,451Arts & Culture$606,400Environment$280,000Recreation & Sports$48,000Food & Nutrition$38,000Education$25,500Health$22,250

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetTHE LITERARY CLASSICS OF THE US INC D/B/A LIBRARY OF AMERICA: $606,400 over 3y, 6.7% of budgetVASSAR COLLEGE: $540,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetBROOKLYN BOTANIC GARDEN CORPORATION: $280,000 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetVISITING NURSE SERVICE OF NEW YORK: $22,250 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetINNER CITY SCHOLARSHIP FUND INC: $22,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetCITYMEALS-ON-WHEELS: $22,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetCOALITION FOR THE HOMELESS INC: $22,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetTHE DOE FUND INC: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetAMPLE TABLE FOR EVERYONE INC: $16,000 over 3y, 12% of budgetLifebox Foundation Inc: $15,000 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetCapitol Squash Inc: $11,000 over 3y, 1.0% of budgetKHELSHALA INC: $10,000 over 1y, 13% of budgetCENTRAL PARK CONSERVANCY INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCENTRAL PARK TRACK CLUB CORPORATION: $8,000 over 3y, 1.7% of budgetThe New York Public Library Astor Lenox and Tilden Foundations: $8,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTRINITY COLLEGE: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetREADING TEAM INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetCity Squash Inc: $4,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTHE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK: $2,500 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.

Charities Aid Foundat…Vanguard Charitable E…American Online Givin…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Charities Aid Foundation AmericaVA9.8× affinity4 shared granteesties to 5 of 5Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Charities Aid Foundation America · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · 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 Kathy and Al Gordon Fund funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Kathy and Al Gordon Fund. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 30%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%
  • Trinity College: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
3get 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
⤢ 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.
05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to The Kathy and Al Gordon Fund?

Find your warmest path to The Kathy and Al Gordon 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.

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 32 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 2022, released 2022. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Kathy and Al Gordon’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