Skip to content
The Legler Benbough Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Legler Benbough Foundation

Its FY2020 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$5.2M
Granted FY2019
26
Grants FY2019
3
States reached
$1.6M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead

Read this first · the figures below need context

56% of The Legler Benbough Foundation’s FY2020 grant dollars went to The San Diego Foundation, not to grantees.

Its money now reaches organizations through that sponsor, which does not report who recommended each grant. FY2020 names 12 organizations directly, so a portfolio cannot be read from it. Everything below is therefore FY2019, the last year The Legler Benbough Foundation named its own grantees at scale: 21 organizations, $5M. It is dated, not current.

Organizations named directly on the return

21
’19
12
’20

Amber years are those where most dollars went to a sponsor.

01What it funds
0195% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2019 to 2020.

Education$2.6MPhilanthropy$2.6MCommunity Improvement$1.2MHuman Services$900kCivil Rights$735kYouth Development$684kCrime & Legal$450kArts & Culture$280kOther$0
02FY2019 · 26 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2019

  • Under $10k2 grants · $10k
  • $10k–50k6 grants · $173k
  • $50k–250k11 grants · $1.1M
  • $250k+7 grants · $3.9M
$100,000
Median grant
3
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
UC SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION$1,610,000
JACKIE ROBINSON YMCA$900,000
RISE URBAN LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE$307,500
SAN DIEGO CONVENTION AND TOURIST BUREAU$290,000
PLAZA DE PANAMA COMMITTEE$277,000
OUTDOOR OUTREACH$260,000
CONNECT FOUNDATION$250,000
BALBOA PARK ONLINE COLLABORATIVE INC$200,000
ELEMENTARY INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE$150,000
NATIONAL CONFLICT RESOLUTION CENTER$150,000
URBAN YOUTH COLLABORATIVE (POLLARD)$134,000
SAN DIEGO ART INSTITUTE$100,000
ACCESS YOUTH ACADEMY$100,000
Individual grant recipient$80,000
BALBOA PARK CULTURAL PARTNERSHIP$75,000
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY19–20) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 100% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%ACHIEVEMENT REWARDS FOR COLLEGE SCIENTIST: $45k → 11%NATIONAL UNIVERSITY: $30k → 11%TEACH FOR AMERICA: $50k → 17%COUNCIL ON FOUNDATIONS INC: $3k → 14%SISU ACADEMY: $10k → 11%GRANTMAKERS FOR EFFECTIVE ORGANIZATIONS: $1k → 14%JACKIE ROBINSON YMCA: $900k → 11%RISE URBAN LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE: $308k → 11%OUTDOOR OUTREACH: $260k → 11%RISE URBAN LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE: $150k → 11%ELEMENTARY INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE: $150k → 11%OUTDOOR OUTREACH: $150k → 11%TECH SAN DIEGO: $80k → 11%THE LEAGUE OF AMAZING PROGRAMMERS: $34k → 11%TECH SAN DIEGO: $25k → 11%THE LEAGUE OF AMAZING PROGRAMMERS: $18k → 11%PLAZA DE PANAMA COMMITTEE: $277k → 11%ACCESS YOUTH ACADEMY: $100k → 11%CONNECT FOUNDATION: $250k → 11%SAN DIEGO GRANTMAKERS: $8k → 11%UNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO: $675k → 11%SAN DIEGO GRANTMAKERS: $8k → 11%UC SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION: $1.6M → 11%UC SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION: $100k → 11%BALBOA PARK CULTURAL PARTNERSHIP: $75k → 11%SAN DIEGO CONVENTION AND TOURIST BUREAU: $400k → 11%NATIONAL CONFLICT RESOLUTION CENTER: $300k → 11%SAN DIEGO CONVENTION AND TOURIST BUREAU: $290k → 11%BALBOA PARK ONLINE COLLABORATIVE INC: $200k → 11%NATIONAL CONFLICT RESOLUTION CENTER: $150k → 11%SAN DIEGO ART INSTITUTE: $100k → 11%COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL: $55k → 11%VOICE OF SAN DIEGO: $50k → 11%BALBOA PARK ONLINE COLLABORATIVE INC: $50k → 11%BALBOA PARK CONSERVANCY: $29k → 11%VOICE OF SAN DIEGO: $25k → 11%BURNHAM CENTER FOR COMMUNITY ADVANCEMENT: $20k → 11%SAN DIEGO REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: $2k → 11%SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION: $2.5M → 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.
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.

61%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$4.4M · 11 repeat orgs$2.8M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +106% since the first grant, against +42% for those funded once.

11 repeat relationships: 11 still active in FY2019, 0 since wound down; 19 grantees were first funded in FY2019 (too recent to call). Read against FY2019, the last year this funder named its own grantees directly; its giving has since run through a sponsor, which reports no donor behind each grant.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

11
19

Total granted

$4.4M
$2.8M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+106%
+42%

Still filing today

73%
74%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2020, 65% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $699k went to new ones.

50%100%’19’20
RenewedFirst-time

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

’19’20
EducationPhilanthropyArts & CultureYouth DevelopmentCommunity ImprovementScience & TechOther
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

  • US
    UC SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION
    2× · 2019–2020 · $1.7M · revenue +106%
  • SD
    SAN DIEGO CONVENTION AND TOURIST BUREAU
    2× · 2019–2020 · $690k · revenue +14%
  • NC
    NATIONAL CONFLICT RESOLUTION CENTER
    2× · 2019–2020 · $450k · revenue +151%

Funded once

  • JR
    JACKIE ROBINSON YMCA
    one grant, 2019 · $900k
  • UO
    UNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGOgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $675k · revenue +42%
  • PD
    PLAZA DE PANAMA COMMITTEE ATT RC
    one grant, 2019 · $277k
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
San Diego Diplomacy Council

Programmed and coordinated visits to san diego by international visitors and escorts, working in association with appropriate united states government agencies and the global ties u.s. network.

Community Improvement
2
Building Industry Association of San Diego

The mission of the building industry association of san diego is to proactively promote a positive business environment for the land development, home building and commercial development industry throughout san diego county.

—
3
Policy & Innovation Center

The policy & innovation center's (pic) mission is to unlock the region's potential by cultivating and building partnerships. our niche is to address intractable issues that can only be solved with cross-sector, multi-jurisdictional…

Philanthropy
4
Associated Students of San Diego State University

To support the social, recreational, cultural and education programs and facilities, both on campus and in the community, and to advocate for student interests, provide leadership opportunities and participate in shared governance.

—
5
San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council Afl-Cio

The Labor Council offers an avenue for local unions to come together as one group.

—
6
San Diego Municipal Employees Assn

The san diego municipal employees association (sdmea) is dedicated to being a strong and effective advocate for san diego city employees. sdmea is united to improve employees' standard of living and promote their fair treatment by…

—
7
Pasadena Bio Collaborative Incubator

Pasadena bio collaborative incubator is a nonprofit organization focused on economic development and job creation in southern california. we encourage the growth of an innovative biotechnology industry by providing educational/training…

Science & Tech
8
San Diego County Bar Association

The mission of the san diego county bar association is to be the representative of the san diego county legal profession, serving the prblic and the profession by enhancing the legal system and promoting justice, professional excellence,…

—
9
San Diego Christian College

San Diego Christian College exists to educate and inspire students through the truth of scripture and the development of competencies that prepare graduates whose purpose is to impact the world.

Education
10
San Diego Theatres Inc

San Diego Theatres, Inc. (SDTI) is a not-for-profit public benefit corporation established to manage and operate publicly owned performing arts theatres. SDTI was established in 2003 by the San Diego Convention Center Corporation (SDCCC),…

Arts & Culture
11
United Way of San Diego County

To spark breakthrough community action that elevates every child and family toward a brighter future.

Philanthropy
12
San Diego Coasters
Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The San Diego Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Plaza De Panama Committee Att Rc. 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

26 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. 26 of the 31 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.

2
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
10
Early backer (in before they grew)
23/26
Grantees still filing
20/26
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

JACKIE ROBINSON YMCA: $900,000 · OtherJACKIE ROBINSON YMCASAN DIEGO CONVENTION AND TOURIST BUREAU: $690,000 · OtherSAN DIEGO CONVENTION AND TOURIST BUREAUUNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO: $675,000 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGORISE URBAN LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE: $457,500 · OtherRISE URBAN LEADERSHIP INSTITUTENATIONAL CONFLICT RESOLUTION CENTER: $450,000 · OtherNATIONAL CONFLICT RESOLUTION CENTERPLAZA DE PANAMA COMMITTEE ATT RC: $277,000 · OtherPLAZA DE PANAMA COMMITTEE ATT RC+6 more: $295,570 · Other+6 moreTHE SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION: $2,546,613 · PhilanthropyTHE SAN DIEGO FOUNDATIONBALBOA PARK ONLINE COLLABORATIVE INC: $250,000 · PhilanthropyBALBOA PARK ONLINE COLLABORATIVE…+3 more: $18,890 · PhilanthropyUC SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION: $1,710,000 · EducationUC SAN DIEGO FOUNDATIONCONNECT FOUNDATION: $250,000 · EducationCONNECT FOUNDATION+2 more: $80,000 · EducationOUTDOOR OUTREACH: $410,000 · Youth DevelopmentURBAN YOUTH COLLABORATIVE: $174,000 · Youth DevelopmentACCESS YOUTH ACADEMY: $100,000 · Youth DevelopmentINSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY ART SAN DIEGO: $100,000 · Arts & CultureVOICE OF SAN DIEGO: $75,000 · Arts & CultureBALBOA PARK CULTURAL PARTNERSHIP: $75,000 · Arts & CultureIZCALLI ESCUELA DE LA RAZA: $50,000 · Arts & CultureELEMENTARY INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE: $150,000 · Science & TechBURNHAM CENTER FOR COMMUNITY ADVANCEMENT: $20,000 · Community ImprovementSAN DIEGO REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION: $2,000 · Community Improvement
Other$3,745,070Philanthropy$2,815,503Education$2,040,000Youth Development$684,000Arts & Culture$300,000Science & Tech$150,000Community Improvement$22,000

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 budgetTHE SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION: $2,546,613 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetUC SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION: $1,710,000 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetSAN DIEGO CONVENTION AND TOURIST BUREAU: $690,000 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO: $675,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetNATIONAL CONFLICT RESOLUTION CENTER: $450,000 over 2y, 6.9% of budgetOUTDOOR OUTREACH: $410,000 over 2y, 13% of budgetBALBOA PARK ONLINE COLLABORATIVE INC: $250,000 over 2y, 17% of budgetCONNECT FOUNDATION: $250,000 over 1y, 15% of budgetURBAN YOUTH COLLABORATIVE: $174,000 over 2y, 18% of budgetELEMENTARY INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE: $150,000 over 1y, 14% of budgetINSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY ART SAN DIEGO: $100,000 over 1y, 25% of budgetACCESS YOUTH ACADEMY: $100,000 over 1y, 15% of budgetVOICE OF SAN DIEGO: $75,000 over 2y, 1.4% of budgetBALBOA PARK CULTURAL PARTNERSHIP: $75,000 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetSAN DIEGO COMIC CONVENTION: $55,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetTeach for America Inc: $50,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetIZCALLI ESCUELA DE LA RAZA: $50,000 over 1y, 43% of budgetNATIONAL UNIVERSITY: $30,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBALBOA PARK CONSERVANCY: $29,070 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetBURNHAM CENTER FOR COMMUNITY ADVANCEMENT: $20,000 over 1y, 12% of budgetCatalyst of San Diego & Imperial Counties: $15,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetSISU ACADEMY: $10,000 over 1y, 7.3% of budgetCouncil on Foundations Inc: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSAN DIEGO REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION: $2,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetGRANTMAKERS FOR EFFECTIVE ORGANIZATIONS: $1,390 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 Conrad Prebys Fou…The San Diego Foundat…Jewish Community Foun…Price Philanthropies …Rancho Santa Fe Found…David C Copley Founda…Girard FoundationThe Parker FoundationThe Nordson Corporati…Sempra FoundationThe Cushman FoundationThe California Endowm…
The Conrad Prebys FoundationCA34.3× affinity14 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Conrad Prebys Foundation · The San Diego Foundation · Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego · Price Philanthropies Foundation · Rancho Santa Fe Foundation · David C Copley Foundation · Girard Foundation · The Parker Foundation · The Nordson Corporation Foundation · Sempra Foundation · The Cushman Foundation · The California Endowment

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 Legler Benbough Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Legler Benbough Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%4%8%15%funder's share of their income ↑0%15%30%45%60%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
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–60%
    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 31 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 2019, released 2019. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Legler Benbough’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