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The Lester Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Lester Family 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.

$105k
Granted FY2025still arriving
2
Grants FY2025still arriving
2
States reached
$100k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0196% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2019 to 2025.

Health$2.8MPublic Benefit$1.5MEducation$797kRecreation & Sports$345kArts & Culture$290kReligion$249kYouth Development$77kEnvironment$68kOther$0
02FY2025 · 2 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k1 grant · $5k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $100k
$100,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$659k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
SACRED HEART SCHOOL$100,000
LENITY PROJECT INC$5,000
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 (FY19–21, $56k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%LARKIN STREET YOUTH SERVICES: $30k → 10%LARKIN STREET YOUTH SERVICES: $25k → 10%OPERATION SAFEHOUSE: $1k → 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.

Which US states its grants reach

IL
MI
OR
CA
VA
MD
KS
TN
TX
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.

50%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$3.1M · 9 repeat orgs$3.1M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +97% since the first grant, against +24% for those funded once.

9 repeat relationships: 0 still active in FY2025, 9 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

9
29

Total granted

$3.1M
$3.0M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+97%
+24%

Still filing today

67%
48%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 0% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $105k went to new ones.

50%100%’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
Arts & CultureEducationHealthEnvironmentHuman ServicesPublic BenefitOther
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

  • NC
    NATIONAL COWGIRL MUSEUM AND HALL OF FAME INC
    2× · 2019–2023 · $100k · revenue +159%
  • AH
    American Heart Association Inc
    4× · 2019–2024 · $100k · revenue +43%
  • LD
    LIVING DESERT THE
    2× · 2019–2021 · $68k · revenue +138%

Funded once

  • AS
    ALSAC - ST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL
    one grant, 2022 · $1.0M
  • UO
    UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MD ANDERSON CANCER CENTER
    one grant, 2021 · $500k
  • GG
    GOLDEN GATE NATIONAL PARKS CONSERVANCY
    one grant, 2020 · $335k · revenue -10%
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
Sutter Bay Hospitals

MISSION STATEMENT: MISSION: CARING FOR OUR PATIENTS FIRST AND OUR PEOPLE ALWAYS. VISION: TO BE THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE, INTEGRATED AND CONNECTED HEALTH SYSTEM FOR GETTING AND STAYING WELL. VALUES: EXCELLENCE - We deliver high-quality,…

Health
2
Sonoma Botanical Garden
—
3
The American Institute of Architects California

The AIA California, in collaboration with local components, is the voice of the architectural profession.

—
4
Pasadena Hospital Association Ltd

Huntington Health stands for community. We stand for compassion. But more than anything, Huntington stands for health. Providing world-class health care is our specialty, and it's what we've been doing for the San Gabriel Valley since…

Health
5
Sf Partnership

SF Partnership is an organization comprised of SF's leading employers dedicated to supporting an equitable, resilient, and vibrant economy shared by all people working and living in San Francisco. Through education, advocacy, and research,…

—
6
San Jose Museum of Art Association

Nurture empathy and connection by engaging communities with socially relevant contemporary art

Arts & Culture
7
American Society of Civil Engineers Inc

To provide essential value to our members, their careers, our partners, and the public, asce will: facilitate the advancement of technology; encourage and provide the tools for lifelong learning; promote professionalism and the profession;…

Science & Tech
8
The San Diego Foundation

The san diego foundation inspires enduring philanthropy and enables community solutions to improve the quality of life in our region.

Philanthropy
9
Phoenix Art Museum

Phoenix art museum creates spaces of exchange and belonging for all audiences through dynamic exhibitions, collections, and experiences with art. this mission is supported by seven strategic pillars:(continued on schedule o)1. be a space…

Arts & Culture
10
Armand Hammer Museum of Art and Cultural Center Inc

The hammer museum at ucla believes in the promise of art and ideas to illuminate our lives and build a more just world.

Arts & Culture
11
Aerospace Museum of California

As a Smithsonian Affiliate, the Aerospace Museum of California (AMC) serves as a dynamic hub for discovery, where visitors of all ages can engage with the past, present, and future of aviation and space exploration. AMC provides immersive,…

—
12
Museum of Modern Art

The Museum of Modern Art is a private, non-profit institution chartered by the State of New York Department of Education in 1929 to foster public awareness of modern and contemporary art. (Continued in Schedule O)

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Stand Together Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Lenity Project 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

22 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. 22 of the 40 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)
7
Early backer (in before they grew)
21/22
Grantees still filing
15/22
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

EISENHOWER MEDICAL CENTER FOUNDATION: $1,000,000 · OtherEISENHOWER MEDICAL CENTER FOUNDATIONALSAC - ST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL: $1,000,000 · OtherALSAC - ST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITALUNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MD ANDERSON CANCER CENTER: $500,000 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MD ANDERSON CANCER CENTERSACRED HEART CHURCH: $204,000 · OtherSACRED HEART CHURCH+18 more: $623,000 · Other+18 moreStand Together Foundation: $1,500,000 · Public BenefitStand Together FoundationYouth Entrepreneurs Inc: $250,000 · EducationYouth Ent…THE SEMINAR NETWORK INC: $250,000 · EducationTHE SEMIN…CALIFORNIA COLLEGE OF THE ARTS: $25,000 · Education+1 more: $1,500 · EducationGOLDEN GATE NATIONAL PARKS CONSERVANCY: $335,348 · EnvironmentLIVING DESERT THE: $67,500 · EnvironmentSONOMA VALLEY HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $100,000 · HealthAmerican Heart Association Inc: $100,000 · HealthEisenhower Medical Center: $50,640 · Health+1 more: $5,000 · HealthNATIONAL COWGIRL MUSEUM AND HALL OF FAME INC: $100,000 · Arts & CultureMcCallum Theatre Foundation Inc: $25,000 · Arts & CultureSAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART: $25,000 · Arts & Culture+2 more: $10,000 · Arts & CultureLarkin Street Youth Services: $55,000 · Human Services+1 more: $1,000 · Human Services
Other$3,327,000Public Benefit$1,500,000Education$526,500Environment$402,848Health$255,640Arts & Culture$160,000Human Services$56,000

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 budgetStand Together Foundation: $1,500,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetGOLDEN GATE NATIONAL PARKS CONSERVANCY: $335,348 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetYouth Entrepreneurs Inc: $250,000 over 1y, 6.3% of budgetTHE SEMINAR NETWORK INC: $250,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetSONOMA VALLEY HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $100,000 over 1y, 2.5% of budgetNATIONAL COWGIRL MUSEUM AND HALL OF FAME INC: $100,000 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetAmerican Heart Association Inc: $100,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetLIVING DESERT THE: $67,500 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetLarkin Street Youth Services: $55,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetEisenhower Medical Center: $50,640 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCALIFORNIA COLLEGE OF THE ARTS: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMcCallum Theatre Foundation Inc: $25,000 over 1y, 14% of budgetSAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF COACHELLA VALLEY: $22,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetPets Lifeline Inc: $20,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetONE PURPOSE SCHOOL INC: $20,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetNATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR ECTODERMAL DYSPLASIAS: $5,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetHARMON RECOVERY FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 2.3% of budgetPALM SPRINGS ART MUSEUM: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLenity Project Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 2.0% of budgetTHE BREAKTHROUGH COLLABORATIVE: $1,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetOPERATION SAFE HOUSE INC: $1,000 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.

Marin Community Found…Morgan Stanley Global…Silicon Valley Commun…American Endowment Fo…The Ayco Charitable F…The San Francisco Fou…Communities Foundatio…McNabb FoundationJewish Community Fede…Orange County Communi…Gs Donor Advised Phil…National Philanthropi…
Marin Community FoundationCA16.3× affinity6 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Marin Community Foundation · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · Silicon Valley Community Foundation · American Endowment Foundation · The Ayco Charitable Foundation · The San Francisco Foundation · Communities Foundation of Texas Inc · McNabb Foundation · Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco the Peninsula Marin & Sonoma · Orange County Community Foundation · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · National Philanthropic Trust

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 Lester Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Lester Family 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%8%15%22%30%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    4report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–30%
    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 Lester Family Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to The Lester 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.

    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 40 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 Lester Family’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