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The Kestenbaum Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Kestenbaum Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$15k
Granted FY2024still arriving
1
Grants FY2024still arriving
1
States reached
$15k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0198% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Religion$122kHuman Services$50kEducation$12kHealth$1kFood & Nutrition$986International$822Philanthropy$820Arts & Culture$320Other$0
02FY2024 · 1 grant

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$15,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$1k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
AL KANFEI NISHARIM INC$15,000
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 (FY18–19, $20k) land where the poverty rate runs at 6%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 1% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%AL KANFEI NISHRAIM INC: $10k → 6%TIKVAH LAYELED FOUNDATION: $72 → 17%AL KANFEI NISHRAIM INC: $10k → 6%TIKVAH LAYELED FOUNDATION: $72 → 17%OTSAR FAMILY SERVICES: $18 → 20%UNITED CHARITY INSTITUTIONS OF JERUSALEM: $18 → 20%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
WI
NY
MA
OH
NJ
CT
CA
VA
KS
DC
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.

42%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$80k · 18 repeat orgs$109k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +79% since the first grant, against +28% for those funded once.

18 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2024, 17 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

18
90

Total granted

$80k
$109k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+79%
+28%

Still filing today

50%
31%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
PhilanthropyInternationalReligionHuman ServicesArts & CultureHealthOther
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

  • AK
    AL KANFEI NISHARIM INC
    2× · 2018–2019 · $20k · revenue +252%
  • OI
    ORAYSA INC
    2× · 2020–2021 · $2k · revenue +128%
  • TS
    TOMCHEI SHABBOS-YAD YESHAYA INC
    3× · 2019–2021 · $878 · revenue +67%

Funded once

  • TY
    TORAS YISROEL YEVORCHU METZION
    one grant, 2017 · $31k
  • TY
    TORAS YISROEL YEVORCHU ETZION
    one grant, 2019 · $29k
  • TY
    TORAS YISRAEL YEVORCHU METZION
    one grant, 2018 · $29k
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
Zichron Avrohom Yosef
Philanthropy
2
Yeshiva Ohr Yisroel
Philanthropy
3
Sherit Isroel
—
4
Keren Yaakov Ben Menachen Tzvi Foundation
Philanthropy
5
The Keren Rachaim Fund
—
6
The Nochim & Rivka Zeldes Foundation
—
7
University of Judaism Foundation
—
8
American Friends of Yeshiva Aish Hatorah
—
9
Idf Memorial Foundation
Philanthropy
10
Zichron Chaim Avraham Foundation
Philanthropy
11
Zicron Eliyahu Inc
—
12
Ohr Meir Ubracha

The organization provides financial assistance to victims of acts of terrorism in the state of israel.

Philanthropy
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is American Society for Yad Vashem Inc; the most unlike its peers is Global Medical Volunteers formerly Milphap 19. 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

41 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. 41 of the 109 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)
11
Early backer (in before they grew)
38/41
Grantees still filing
31/41
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

TORAS YISROEL YEVORCHU METZION: $31,200 · OtherTORAS YISROEL YEVORCHU METZIONTORAS YISROEL YEVORCHU ETZION: $28,600 · OtherTORAS YISROEL YEVORCHU ETZIONTORAS YISRAEL YEVORCHU METZION: $28,600 · OtherTORAS YISRAEL YEVORCHU METZIONAL KANFEI NISBARIM INC: $25,000 · OtherAL KANFEI NISBARIM INCMOSSAD HARIM LEVIN PROJECT WITNESS: $5,000 · Other+77 more: $14,294 · Other+77 moreAl Kanfei Nisharim Inc: $30,000 · PhilanthropyAl Kanfei Nisharim…+7 more: $875 · PhilanthropyAL KANFEI NISHARIM INC: $20,000 · Human ServicesAL KANFEI NI…+4 more: $200 · Human ServicesORAYSA INC: $2,000 · Education+1 more: $50 · EducationAmerican Friends of Mercaz Harav Kook: $500 · ReligionYESHIVA OF FAR ROCKAWAY: $360 · ReligionNATIONAL JEWISH OUTREACH PROGRAM IN: $100 · ReligionGreat Charity Chaye Olam Institutions of Jerusalem Inc: $41 · Religion+1 more: $18 · ReligionTOMCHEI SHABBOS-YAD YESHAYA INC: $878 · Food & NutritionGlobal Medical Volunteers formerly Milphap 19: $500 · InternationalBIRTHRIGHT ISRAEL FOUNDATION: $100 · InternationalFRIENDS OF ISRAEL DISABLED VETERANS INC: $54 · InternationalCOMMITTEE FOR ACCURACY IN MIDDLE EAST REPORTING IN AMERICA INC: $38 · International+2 more: $28 · International
Other$132,694Philanthropy$30,875Human Services$20,200Education$2,050Religion$1,019Food & Nutrition$878International$720

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 budgetAl Kanfei Nisharim Inc: $30,000 over 2y, 7.7% of budgetORAYSA INC: $2,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTOMCHEI SHABBOS-YAD YESHAYA INC: $878 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSHUVU RETURN INC: $576 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican Friends of Mercaz Harav Kook: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGlobal Medical Volunteers formerly Milphap 19: $500 over 1y, 2.7% of budgetISRAEL CHILDRENS CANCER FOUNDATION INC: $277 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFRIENDS OF YAD SARAH INC: $198 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN SOCIETY FOR YAD VASHEM INC: $144 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTIKVAH LAYELED FOUNDATION INC: $144 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCHEBRA AGUDAS ACHIM CHESED SHEL EMETH HEBREW FREE BURIAL ASSOCIATIONINC: $122 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBOYS TOWN JERUSALEM FOUNDATION OF AMERICA: $118 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBIRTHRIGHT ISRAEL FOUNDATION: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL JEWISH OUTREACH PROGRAM IN: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWestern Wall Heritage Foundation Inc: $90 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFEDERATION OF JEWISH COMMUNITIES OF THE CIS INC: $57 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHEBRON FUND INC: $54 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFRIENDS OF ISRAEL DISABLED VETERANS INC: $54 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetKEREN OR INC: $50 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetVISITING NURSE SERVICE OF NEW YORK: $50 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHEBREW ACADEMY OF CLEVELAND: $46 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetGreat Charity Chaye Olam Institutions of Jerusalem Inc: $41 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCOMMITTEE FOR ACCURACY IN MIDDLE EAST REPORTING IN AMERICA INC: $38 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMAZON A Jewish Response to Hunger: $36 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: $36 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSimchas Yom Tov Inc: $36 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUNITED JEWISH APPEAL-FEDERATION OF JEWISH PHILANTHROPIES OF NEW YORK INC: $36 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSIMON WIESENTHAL CENTER INC: $30 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAARP FOUNDATION: $20 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN FRIENDS OF MAGEN DAVID ADOM: $18 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetOtsar Family Services Inc: $18 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLEV MALKA INC: $18 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMILWAUKEE B'NAI B'RITH NON-PROFIT HOUSING CORPORATION-COVENANT HOUSE: $18 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUnited Charity of Jerusalem: $18 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNoam Shabbos Inc: $18 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN FRIENDS OF TZOHAR: $18 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetROFEH CHOLIM CANCER SOCIETY INC: $16 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN FRIENDS OF HEBRON YESHIVA IN JERUSALEM INC: $10 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.

The Ojc FundJewish Communal FundZichron Chaim Charity…The Setton FoundationF G FoundationHouse of Gross Founda…Moses and Miriam Voge…Jack Adjmi Family Fou…The Tzedaka FundGertrude and Morris B…Joseph H Feldman Fami…Marbeh Shalom Foundat…
The Ojc FundNY29.1× affinity16 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Ojc Fund · Jewish Communal Fund · Zichron Chaim Charity Fund · The Setton Foundation · F G Foundation · House of Gross Foundation Inc · Moses and Miriam Vogel Charitable Foundation Tr · Jack Adjmi Family Foundation Inc · The Tzedaka Fund · Gertrude and Morris Bienenfeld Charitable Foundation · Joseph H Feldman Family Foundation Inc · Marbeh Shalom Foundation 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.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization The Kestenbaum Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Kestenbaum Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%10%20%30%40%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    2get no government money at all
    5report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–40%
    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 Kestenbaum Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to The Kestenbaum 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.

    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 109 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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2025) is on record and reports no grant expense, so the figures above are from FY2024, the most recent year this funder made grants.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Kestenbaum’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