· Private foundation
The Lehrer Family Foundation
Its FY2019 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.
What it funded, over time
Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2019.
Where the money goes
Grants by size, and the largest recipients.
By grant size · FY2019
- Under $10k27 grants · $85k
- $10k–50k9 grants · $158k
- $50k–250k1 grant · $210k
| Recipient | Amount |
|---|---|
| MUSIC ACADEMY OF THE WEST | $210,000 |
| JEWISH FEDERATION OF SANTA BARBARA | $25,000 |
| SANTA BARBARA FOUNDATION | $21,000 |
| SANTA BARBARA ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS | $20,000 |
| CONGREGATION B'NAI B'RITH | $20,000 |
| DIRECT RELIEF INTERNATIONAL | $20,000 |
| SANTA BARBARA HILLEL | $20,000 |
| CANCER CENTER OF SANTA BARBARA | $12,000 |
| Individual grant recipient | $10,000 |
| PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF AMERICASANTA BARBARA | $10,000 |
| SANTA BARBARA SYMPHONY | $8,000 |
| KCRW | $5,000 |
| SANTA BARBARA FOODBANK | $5,000 |
| SANTA BARBARA MUSUEM OF ART | $5,000 |
| CAMA | $5,000 |
Does the money reach high-need areas?
Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.
Its human-services grants (FY18–19, $14k) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 79% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.
How this is measured
How this is measured
Who it funds again
Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.
31 repeat relationships: 30 still active in FY2019, 1 since wound down; 5 grantees were first funded in FY2019 (too recent to call).
How the two cohorts compare
Organizations
Total granted
Median revenue growth · since first grant
Still filing today
New vs renewed · share of each year
In FY2019, 95% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $21k went to new ones.
Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant
How this is measured
Backed again, and grew
- MAMUSIC ACADEMY OF THE WEST3× · 2017–2019 · $315k · revenue +18%
DIRECT RELIEF3× · 2017–2019 · $60k · revenue +94%- SBSANTA BARBARA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATION3× · 2017–2019 · $23k · revenue +51%
Funded once
- SBSANTA BARBARA CHAMBER ORCHESTRAone grant, 2017 · $25k
- CECASA ESPERANZA HOMELESS CENTERone grant, 2017 · $8k
- PPATHgraduatedone grant, 2018 · $6k · revenue +267%
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.
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.
The santa barbara zoo is dedicated to the preservation, conservation, and enhancement of the natural world and its living treasures through education, research, recreation and conservation.
Our mission is to build a unique institute that bridges basic research and drug discovery, and that attracts the best and brightest scientists, physicians and students to work together synergistically to find cures for neglected human…
The uc santa barbara foundation actively works to further the goals of the university of california, santa barbara. the foundation seeks to maintain and nurture the university's quality and distinction. on behalf of the campus, the…
Mission: the mission of san diego opera is to deliver exceptional performances and exciting, accessible programs to diverse audiences, focusing on community partnerships, and the transformative and expressive power of the human voice. as…
Santa Barbara Education Foundation (SBEF) provides and supports programs that enrich the academic, artistic, and personal development of all students in the Santa Barbara Unified School District.
The scholarship foundation of santa barbara inspires, encourages and supports santa barbara county students to and through college, graduate and vocational school by providing information, advising, and scholarships.
Santa barbara humane operates two campuses located in santa barbara and santa maria providing care for community-owned and homeless animals. both campuses offer affordable high quality veterinary care, compassionate behavior training…
To distribute public affairs and other educational information in order to create an electronic bridge between californians and their public officials, and, in the process educate a new generation of voting citizens and civic leaders who…
The San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory is dedicated to the conservation of birds and their habitats through science and outreach.
The union of concerned scientists puts rigorous, independent science into action, developing solutions and advocating for a healthy, safe, and just future.
The san diego foundation inspires enduring philanthropy and enables community solutions to improve the quality of life in our region.
A private institution of higher education, offering both undergraduate and graduate courses to students.
How this is measured
24 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. 24 of the 44 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.
Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee
Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing
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.
- Who funds MUSIC ACADEMY OF THE WEST ↗
- Who funds DIRECT RELIEF ↗
- Who funds SANTA BARBARA FOUNDATION ↗
- Who funds Santa Barbara Hillel ↗
- Who funds SANTA BARBARA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATION ↗
- Who funds TRANSITION HOUSE ↗
- Who funds OPERA SANTA BARBARA ↗
- Who funds SURGICAL EYE EXPEDITIONS INTERNATIONAL INC ↗
- Who funds STATE STREET BALLET ↗
- Who funds ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE CENTER ↗
- Who funds GIRLS INCORPORATED OF GREATER SANTA BARBARA ↗
- Who funds SEVA FOUNDATION ↗
- Who funds PATH ↗
- Who funds ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE ↗
- Who funds ESALEN INSTITUTE ↗
- Who funds NBCC ↗
- Who funds WORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC ↗
- Who funds UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ↗
- Who funds SHELTERBOX USA INC ↗
- Who funds UNITED BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF SANTA BARBARA COUNTY ↗
- Who funds CENTRAL COAST JR GOLF INC ↗
- Who funds AMERICAN PRECISION MUSEUM INC ↗
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.
Open a dossier: Santa Barbara Foundation · Hutton Foundation Dba Hutton Parker Foundation · The Wood-Claeyssens Foundation · Mosher Foundation · Williams-Corbett Foundation · Ann Jackson Family Foundation · The Turpin-Allebrand Family Charitable Foundation · Walter J & Holly O Thomson Charitable · Schlinger Chrisman Foundation Northern Trust Company Trustee · Roy and Ida Eagle Foundation · June G Outhwaite Charitable Trust JS Poucher KL Englert & CM Cooney Co-Tr · Stone Family Foundation
How this is measured
How much its grantees rely on government
Each dot is one organization The Lehrer Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Lehrer Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.
How this is measured
Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus
How do I get to The Lehrer Family Foundation?
Find your warmest path to The Lehrer Family 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.
Play a game based on Lehrer Family’s filings →