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The Lenfest Foundation Inc at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Private foundation

The Lenfest Foundation Inc

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$13M
Granted FY2022
73
Grants FY2022
7
States reached
$1.3M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead

Read this first · the figures below need context

95% of The Lenfest Foundation Inc’s FY2023 grant dollars went to Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program, not to grantees.

Its money now reaches organizations through that sponsor, which does not report who recommended each grant. FY2023 names 2 organizations directly, so a portfolio cannot be read from it. Everything below is therefore FY2022, the last year The Lenfest Foundation Inc named its own grantees at scale: 50 organizations, $13M. It is dated, not current.

Organizations named directly on the return

55
’19
53
’20
49
’21
50
’22
2
’23

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

01What it funds
0199% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2019 to 2023.

Education$35MYouth Development$9.5MCommunity Improvement$6.4MPhilanthropy$3.9MEmployment$3.3MArts & Culture$3.3MHuman Services$3.2MHealth$1.3MOther$0
02FY2022 · 73 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2022

  • Under $10k1 grant · $5k
  • $10k–50k21 grants · $535k
  • $50k–250k38 grants · $4.8M
  • $250k+13 grants · $8.0M
$100,000
Median grant
7
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
STEPPINGSTONE SCHOLARS INC$1,300,000
TEMPLE UNIVERSITY$1,200,000
PHILADELPHIA YOUTH BASKETBALL$1,200,000
EDUCATION WORKS$1,000,000
WHYY$600,000
THE MAYOR'S FUND FOR PHILADELPHIA$500,000
PER SCHOLAS$450,000
CODED BY KIDS$400,000
Individual grant recipient$300,000
UNIVERSITY CITY DISTRICT$250,000
TURNING POINTS FOR CHILDREN$250,000
CONGRESSO DE LATINOS UNIDOS INC$250,000
PHILADELPHIA MURAL ARTS ADVOCATES$250,000
SALVATION ARMY - PHILADELPHIA$230,000
GIRL SCOUTS OF EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA$230,000
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 (FY19–22, $1.4M) land where the poverty rate runs at 19%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 85% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%BUCKS FOR KIDS: $15k → 6%Bucks for Kids: $5k → 6%Bucks for Kids: $5k → 6%Bucks for Kids: $5k → 6%YWCA OF BUCKS COUNTY: $90k → 6%YWCA of Bucks County: $30k → 6%YWCA of Bucks County: $30k → 6%YWCA of Bucks County: $30k → 6%TURNING POINTS FOR CHILDREN: $250k → 22%Turning Points for Children: $250k → 22%CHILDREN FIRST: $40k → 22%Turning Points for Children: $250k → 22%DRUEDING CENTER: $40k → 22%Drueding Center: $20k → 22%Public Citizens for Children and Youth: $20k → 22%Drueding Center: $20k → 22%Public Citizens for Children and Youth: $20k → 22%Drueding Center: $20k → 22%Public Citizens for Children and Youth: $20k → 22%CRADLES TO CRAYONS: $40k → 22%Cradles to Crayons: $10k → 22%Cradles to Crayons: $10k → 22%Cradles to Crayons: $10k → 22%Broad Street Ministry: $200k → 22%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.

85%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$56M · 69 repeat orgs$10M to everyone else

69 repeat relationships: 46 still active in FY2022, 23 since wound down; 22 grantees were first funded in FY2022 (too recent to call). Read against FY2022, 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

69
27

Total granted

$56M
$7.7M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+24%
+40%

Still filing today

77%
59%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2023, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

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

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

’19’20’21’22’23
EducationArts & CultureEmploymentHuman ServicesRecreation & SportsYouth DevelopmentOther
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

  • DU
    DREXEL UNIVERSITY
    4× · 2019–2023 · $14M · revenue +9%
  • TU
    Temple University - Of The Commonwealth System of Higher Education
    3× · 2020–2022 · $9.0M · revenue +14%
  • UC
    UNIVERSITY CITY DISTRICT
    4× · 2019–2022 · $4.2M · revenue +28%

Funded once

  • TL
    THE LENFEST SCHOLARS FOUNDATION INC
    one grant, 2021 · $2.6M · revenue -53% · 58% of their budget
  • E2
    Elevate 215
    one grant, 2020 · $1.2M · revenue -71%
  • C1
    COVID 19 PHL Fund
    one grant, 2020 · $1.0M
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
Heights Philadelphia

Heights is a new kind of organization, an economic mobility catalyst. we believe that creating pathways to educational and workforce success for low-income, black and brown, and first-generation-to-college students is the keystone of a…

Education
2
Philadelphia Academy of School Leaders Inc

We develop, engage, and retain principals and system leaders who transform schools, dramatically improve student outcomes, and drive systemic change to prepare all philadelphia students for college, career, and life.

Education
3
Youth Enrichment Services Inc

Youth enrichment services, inc. was founded in 1994 for the purpose of providing at-risk teens and low-income families residing in allegheny county a comprehensive in-home peer mentoring program, juvenile alternative to detention,…

Human Services
4
Albright College

As a diverse community of learners, we cultivate integrity, curiosity, connection and resilience.

Education
5
Springside Chestnut Hill Academy

See schedule owe are an inclusive community on a mission to inspire unbounded curiosity and independent thought in every one of our students. in a unique educational environment that extends well beyond campus, we nurture students'…

Education
6
Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadephia

The chamber of commerce for greater philadelphia (the chamber) brings area businesses and civic leaders together to promote growth and create opportunity in our region. our members represent eleven counties, three states, and roughly…

—
7
Youthbuild Dc Public Charter School Inc

Youthbuild pcs seeks to transform the lives of disconnected youth by offering a program, in english and spanish, that combines rigorous academic instruction with vocational training, life and employability skills- building, and community…

Education
8
Communities in Schools of Philadelphia Inc

Create educational and occupational opportunities for students and adults, launching them towards success in school and in life.

Education
9
Philadelphia Public Access Corporation

Phillycam provides transformative opportunities for people and communities to express themselves, to learn from each other, and to produce and share media reflective of the experiences of everyday people.

—
10
Urban League of Greater Philadelphia

The mission of the urban league is to empower disadvantaged, underresourced and marginalized communities to secure economic self-reliance, parity, power and civil rights.

—
11
Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation

Pidc plans and implements economic development initiatives (see schedule o) which enhance the competitive environment, generate jobs and produce higher tax ratables throughout philadelphia.

Community Improvement
12
Philadelphia Health Partnership
Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Graduate Philadelphia; the most unlike its peers is Hoop Dreams- Live-Learn-Hoop. 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

86 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. 86 of the 123 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.

4
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
17
Early backer (in before they grew)
85/86
Grantees still filing
55/86
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

DREXEL UNIVERSITY: $14,150,000 · EducationDREXEL UNIVERSITYTemple University - Of The Commonwealth System of Higher Education: $8,973,000 · EducationTemple University - Of The Commonwealth System of Higher…THE LENFEST SCHOLARS FOUNDATION INC: $2,605,679 · EducationTHE LENFEST SCHOLARS FOUNDATION INCVILLANOVA UNIVERSITY: $2,000,000 · EducationVILLANOVA UNIVERSITYElevate 215: $1,200,000 · Education+18 more: $5,593,000 · Education+18 moreEDUCATION WORKS INC: $2,500,000 · OtherEDUCATION WORKS INCSTEPPINGSTONE SCHOLARS INC: $2,030,000 · OtherSTEPPINGSTONE SCHOLARS INCJEVS HUMAN SERVICES: $1,150,000 · OtherJEVS HUMAN SERVICESCOVID 19 PHL Fund: $1,000,000 · OtherBig Brothers Big Sisters of Southeastern PA: $1,000,000 · OtherProject Based Learning Center Inc: $690,000 · OtherTURNING POINTS FOR CHILDREN: $750,000 · OtherCONGRESO DE LATINOS UNIDOS INC: $705,000 · Other+61 more: $9,927,000 · Other+61 moreUNIVERSITY CITY DISTRICT: $4,200,000 · Community ImprovementPHILADELPHIA CITY FUND INC: $1,100,000 · Community Improvement+2 more: $200,000 · Community ImprovementVANGUARD CHARITABLE ENDOWMENT PROGRAM: $2,900,000 · PhilanthropyTHE PHILADELPHIA FOUNDATION: $300,000 · Philanthropy+2 more: $62,500 · PhilanthropyWHYY INC: $1,200,000 · Arts & CultureKIMMEL CENTER INC: $600,000 · Arts & CulturePHILADELPHIA MURAL ARTS ADVOCATES INC: $475,000 · Arts & CulturePLAY ON PHILLY: $350,000 · Arts & CultureSETTLEMENT MUSIC SCHOOL OF PHILADELPHIA: $150,000 · Arts & CultureOPERA PHILADELPHIA: $108,160 · Arts & Culture+3 more: $160,000 · Arts & CulturePHILADELPHIA YOUTH BASKETBALL INC: $1,600,000 · Recreation & SportsBOURNELYF SPECIAL CAMP: $150,000 · Recreation & SportsBEAT THE STREETS WRESTLING PROGRAM PHILADELPHIA: $80,000 · Recreation & Sports+3 more: $50,000 · Recreation & SportsFirst Step Staffing Inc: $800,000 · EmploymentCENTER FOR EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES INC: $250,000 · EmploymentSUMMER SEARCH: $200,000 · EmploymentGTIA FOUNDATION INC: $175,000 · EmploymentJOBS FOR THE FUTURE INC: $166,000 · EmploymentResilient Coders Inc: $150,000 · EmploymentPHILADELPHIA WORKS INC: $80,000 · Employment+1 more: $25,000 · Employment
Education$34,521,679Other$19,752,000Community Improvement$5,500,000Philanthropy$3,262,500Arts & Culture$3,043,160Recreation & Sports$1,880,000Employment$1,846,000

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 budgetDREXEL UNIVERSITY: $14,150,000 over 4y, 1.0% of budgetTemple University - Of The Commonwealth System of Higher Education: $8,973,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetUNIVERSITY CITY DISTRICT: $4,200,000 over 4y, 18% of budgetVANGUARD CHARITABLE ENDOWMENT PROGRAM: $2,900,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetTHE LENFEST SCHOLARS FOUNDATION INC: $2,605,679 over 1y, 58% of budgetEDUCATION WORKS INC: $2,500,000 over 3y, 12% of budgetSTEPPINGSTONE SCHOLARS INC: $2,030,000 over 4y, 8.2% of budgetVILLANOVA UNIVERSITY: $2,000,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetPHILADELPHIA YOUTH BASKETBALL INC: $1,600,000 over 4y, 15% of budgetElevate 215: $1,200,000 over 1y, 7.8% of budgetWHYY INC: $1,200,000 over 4y, 1.2% of budgetJEVS HUMAN SERVICES: $1,150,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetPHILADELPHIA CITY FUND INC: $1,100,000 over 2y, 3.8% of budgetCODED BY: $950,000 over 4y, 17% of budgetFirst Step Staffing Inc: $800,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetGRADUATE PHILADELPHIA: $775,000 over 2y, 40% of budgetTURNING POINTS FOR CHILDREN: $750,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetCONGRESO DE LATINOS UNIDOS INC: $705,000 over 4y, 1.3% of budgetBUILDING 21: $675,000 over 2y, 18% of budgetPHILADELPHIA YOUTH NETWORK INC: $650,000 over 4y, 1.3% of budgetKIMMEL CENTER INC: $600,000 over 3y, 1.5% of budgetAFTER-SCHOOL ALL-STARS: $523,000 over 3y, 1.5% of budgetPEIRCE COLLEGE: $500,000 over 1y, 2.3% of budgetEducation Law Center - PA: $500,000 over 4y, 8.6% of budgetBOYS LATIN OF PHILADELPHIA CHARTER SCHOO: $500,000 over 4y, 1.1% of budgetPHILADELPHIA MURAL ARTS ADVOCATES INC: $475,000 over 4y, 1.9% of budgetREBUILDING TOGETHER PHILADELPHIA: $425,000 over 3y, 7.4% of budgetKIPP PHILADELPHIA CHARTER SCHOOL: $400,000 over 3y, 0.9% of budgetUniversity City Science Center: $380,000 over 4y, 0.6% of budgetPLAY ON PHILLY: $350,000 over 4y, 7.8% of budgetGIRL SCOUTS OF EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA INC: $320,000 over 4y, 1.2% of budgetTHE PHILADELPHIA FOUNDATION: $300,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetPHILADELPHIA YOUTH FOR CHANGE CHARTER SCHOOL INC: $300,000 over 1y, 4.0% of budgetCENTER FOR EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES INC: $250,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetURBAN AFFAIRS COALITION: $250,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetMIGHTY WRITERS: $220,000 over 4y, 3.7% of budgetTRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: $200,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetLIGUORI INC: $200,000 over 2y, 2.9% of budgetSUMMER SEARCH: $200,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetBROAD STREET MINISTRY: $200,000 over 1y, 4.5% of budgetYWCA OF BUCKS COUNTY: $180,000 over 4y, 2.9% of budgetCARING PEOPLE ALLIANCE: $175,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetGTIA FOUNDATION INC: $175,000 over 3y, 1.2% of budgetCHESTER COUNTY FUTURES INC: $175,000 over 4y, 12% of budgetCRADLE OF LIBERTY COUNCIL 525 BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA: $170,000 over 4y, 1.4% of budgetJOBS FOR THE FUTURE INC: $166,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetPHILANTHROPI CHARITABLE: $150,000 over 3y, 6.0% of budgetTECH IMPACT: $150,000 over 3y, 0.6% 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 William Penn Foun…The Philadelphia Foun…United Way of Greater…The Barra Foundation …Henry Dolfinger 2 Tru…Lindback Cr & Mf Foun…Connelly FoundationThe Patricia Kind Fam…The Pew Charitable Tr…Td Charitable Foundat…The Gordon Charter Fo…Independence Foundati…
The William Penn FoundationPA86.6× affinity44 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The William Penn Foundation · The Philadelphia Foundation · United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey · The Barra Foundation Inc · Henry Dolfinger 2 Trust Uw · Lindback Cr & Mf Foundation Tw Main · Connelly Foundation · The Patricia Kind Family Foundation · The Pew Charitable Trusts · Td Charitable Foundation · The Gordon Charter Foundation · Independence 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 Lenfest Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Lenfest Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%5%19%42%75%funder's share of their income ↑0%19%38%56%75%share of the org’s income from government →median 11%
  • Jobs for the Future Inc: 11% of income from government
  • Cradles to Crayons Inc: 2% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
2get no government money at all
31report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–75%
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 Lenfest Foundation Inc?

Find your warmest path to The Lenfest Foundation Inc 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 123 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.

Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2024) is on record and reports no grant expense, so the figures above are from FY2022, the most recent year this funder made grants.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Lenfest’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