Skip to content
The Les and Nss Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Les and Nss Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$3k
Granted FY2025still arriving
4
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$1k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2021 to 2025.

Health$205kAnimals$6kEducation$5kArts & Culture$5k
02FY2025 · 4 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$500
Median grant
1
States reached
$39k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
SOUTHWEST WILDLIFE CONSERVATION CENTER$1,000
PHOENIX HERPETOLOGICAL SANCTUARY$500
WILD AT HEART$500
ARIZONA HUMANE SOCIETY$500
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 (FY21–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 8% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%DIGNITY HEALTH FOUNDATION-EAST VALLEY: $3k → 11%MAYO CLINIC: $100k → 9%NATIONAL CENTER ON SEXUAL EXPLOITATION: $5k → 14%WILD AT HEART: $500 → 11%MAYO CLINIC: $100k → 9%WILD AT HEART: $500 → 11%PLAYA DEL REY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PARENT TEACHER STUDENT ORGNZTN: $5k → 11%SOUTHWEST WILDLIFE CONSERVATION CENTER: $1k → 11%SOUTHWEST WILDLIFE CONSERVATION CENTER: $500 → 11%PHOENIX HERPETOLOGICAL SANCTUARY: $500 → 11%PHOENIX HERPETOLOGICAL SANCTUARY: $500 → 11%ARIZONA HUMANE SOCIETY: $2k → 11%ARIZONA HUMANE SOCIETY: $500 → 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.

29%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$6k · 4 repeat orgs$15k to everyone else

4 repeat relationships: 4 still active in FY2025, 0 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

4
4

Total granted

$6k
$15k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+2%
+84%

Still filing today

100%
75%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

50%100%’21’22’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’21’22’24’25
AnimalsHealthArts & CultureOther
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

  • AH
    Arizona Humane Society
    2× · 2024–2025 · $3k · revenue 0%
  • SW
    SOUTHWEST WILDLIFE CONSERVATION CENTER
    2× · 2024–2025 · $2k · revenue +115%
  • PH
    PHOENIX HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY INC
    2× · 2024–2025 · $1k · revenue +2%

Funded once

  • PD
    PLAYA DEL REY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PARENT TEACHER STUDENT ORGNZTN
    one grant, 2021 · $5k
  • NC
    NATIONAL CENTER ON SEXUAL EXPLOITATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $5k · revenue +84%
  • DH
    DIGNITY HEALTH FOUNDATION EAST VALLEY
    one grant, 2022 · $3k · revenue -38%
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
Desert Willow Wildlife Rehabilitation Center

Large mammals, birds of prey, reptiles, amphibians, and other bird species. there is a full surgery area and recovery areas based on the species needs. the facility is supported by volunteers in addition to staff who are trained to the…

Health
2
Arizona Center for Nature Conservation

The arizona center for nature conservation advances the stewardship and conservation of animals and their habitats while providing experiences that inspire people and motivate them to care for the natural world.

Animals
3
American Humane Association

Founded in 1877, american humane association, dba american humane society (american humane) is committed to ensuring the safety, welfare and well-being of animals. our leadership programs are first to serve in promoting and nurturing the…

Animals
4
Phoenix Children's Hospital Foundation

Phoenix children's hospital foundation supports phoenix children's hospital through fundraising ensuring that the hospital continues to stay on the leading edge of pediatric medicine and is equipped to fulfill its mission to advance hope,…

Health
5
Wild Souls Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation
Animals
6
Predators of the Heart Dba Because We Matter Exotic Animal Res

Operation of a wildlife rescue that is usda licensed and insured, providing forever homes, care and rehabilitation for exotic animals that are released into our care from government agencies(i.e. animal control, fish & wildlife), and from…

Youth Development
7
Associated Humane Societies Inc

Associated humane societies, (ahs), is the largest animal sheltering organization in new jersey and is also home to popcorn park, located at our ahs-lacey branch. popcorn park was established in 1977 and is a sanctuary for abused,…

Animals
8
Denver Zoological Foundation

Inspiring communities to save wildlife for future generations.

Animals
9
The Wildcat Sanctuary

Provide a natural sanctuary to wild cats in need and inspire change to end the captive wildlife crisis.

Animals
10
National Aviary in Pittsburgh Inc

To protect and provide for endangered species, to conduct avian research and provide information as a national resource, to provide a recreational and educational experience for the general public and to promote an appreciation of natural…

Animals
11
Honorhealth

Honorhealth's mission is to improve the health and well-being of those we serve.

Health
12
The Dons of Arizona
Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Arizona Humane Society; the most unlike its peers is Ear Community 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

8 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. 8 of the 9 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)
3
Early backer (in before they grew)
8/8
Grantees still filing
5/8
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

MAYO CLINIC: $200,000 · HealthMAYO CLINIC+2 more: $5,000 · HealthArizona Humane Society: $2,500 · AnimalsSOUTHWEST WILDLIFE CONSERVATION CENTER: $1,500 · AnimalsPHOENIX HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY INC: $1,000 · AnimalsWILD AT HEART INC: $1,000 · AnimalsPLAYA DEL REY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PARENT TEACHER STUDENT ORGNZTN: $5,000 · OtherNATIONAL CENTER ON SEXUAL EXPLOITATION: $5,000 · Arts & Culture
Health$205,000Animals$6,000Other$5,000Arts & Culture$5,000

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 budgetMAYO CLINIC: $200,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL CENTER ON SEXUAL EXPLOITATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetDIGNITY HEALTH FOUNDATION EAST VALLEY: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetEAR COMMUNITY INC: $2,500 over 1y, 2.0% of budgetArizona Humane Society: $2,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSOUTHWEST WILDLIFE CONSERVATION CENTER: $1,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPHOENIX HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY INC: $1,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWILD AT HEART INC: $1,000 over 2y, 0.1% 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.

Arizona Community Fou…Morgan Stanley Global…The Bank of America C…Vanguard Charitable E…American Online Givin…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Arizona Community FoundationAZ13.2× affinity4 shared granteesties to 6 of 6Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Arizona Community Foundation · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · American Online Giving Foundation 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 Les and Nss Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Les and Nss Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%3%5%8%10%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    2report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–10%
    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 9 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 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Les and Nss’ 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