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The Louisa Stude Sarofim Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Louisa Stude Sarofim 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.

$51k
Granted FY2024still arriving
1
Grants FY2024still arriving
1
States reached
$51k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Arts & Culture$8.3MEducation$650kInternational$400kSocial Science$239k
02FY2024 · 1 grant

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$51,251
Median grant
1
States reached
$1.9M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
ASIA SOCIETY TEXAS CENTER$51,251
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 (FY17–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 93% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%HOPITAL ALBERT SCHWEITZER HAITI: $200k → 11%ASIA SOCIETY TEXAS CENTER: $51k → 16%SANTA FE CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL: $500k → 12%THE PHILLIPS COLLECTION: $400k → 14%PRINCETON UNIVERSITY: $250k → 11%THE GRANT FOUNDATION: $119k → 11%MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS HOUSTON: $1.5M → 16%SITE SANTA FE: $400k → 12%THE GRANT FOUNDATION: $81k → 11%MENIL FOUNDATION INC: $3.1M → 16%SITE SANTA FE: $200k → 12%MENIL COLLECTION: $550k → 16%SCHOOL FOR ADVANCED RESEARCH: $113k → 12%MENIL FOUNDATION INC: $250k → 16%SCHOOL FOR ADVANCED RESEARCH: $87k → 12%ST JOHN'S SCHOOL: $200k → 16%SCHOOL FOR ADVANCED RESEARCH: $39k → 12%MENIL FOUNDATION INC: $250k → 16%ST JOHN'S SCHOOL: $200k → 16%HOUSTON GRAND OPERA: $400k → 16%ALLEY THEATER: $400k → 16%HOUSTON GRAND OPERA: $300k → 16%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.

68%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$6.5M · 6 repeat orgs$3.1M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +130% since the first grant, against +41% for those funded once.

6 repeat relationships: 0 still active in FY2024, 6 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

6
5

Total granted

$6.5M
$3.0M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+130%
+41%

Still filing today

100%
100%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 0% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $51k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
Arts & CultureEducationInternationalSocial ScienceOther
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

  • SS
    SITE SANTA FE
    2× · 2017–2018 · $600k · revenue +65%
  • SJ
    St John's School
    2× · 2017–2018 · $400k · revenue +130%
  • GF
    GRANT FOUNDATION INC
    3× · 2020–2022 · $400k · revenue +258%

Funded once

  • TM
    THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS HOUSTONgraduated
    one grant, 2018 · $1.5M · revenue +54%
  • SF
    SANTA FE CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL LTDgraduated
    one grant, 2018 · $500k · revenue +29%
  • AT
    ALLEY THEATREgraduated
    one grant, 2018 · $400k · revenue +41%
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
Kimbell Art Foundation
Arts & Culture
2
Henry E Huntington Library and Art Gallery

The huntington library, art museum, and botanical gardens shares its world-renowned collections to support scholarship, foster learning, inspire creativity, and offer transformative experiences for diverse audiences.

Arts & Culture
3
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

See schedule osfmoma believes the art of our time is vital and shares it with passion and purpose, and that art and the creative process can open minds and help build a better world. for that reason, we assemble unparalleled collections,…

Arts & Culture
4
Honolulu Museum of Art

To create relevant and transformative experiences through the study, preservation, presentation and creation of art.

Arts & Culture
5
Institute of Contemporary Art Miami Inc

The institute of contemporary art, miami (ica miami), is dedicated to promoting the work of contemporary artists, and to the exchange of art and ideas throughout the miami region and internationally. through an energetic calendar of…

Arts & Culture
6
Solomon R Guggenheim Foundation

Committed to innovation, the solomon r. guggenheim foundation (the "foundation") collects, (continued on schedule o)

Arts & Culture
7
Metropolitan Museum of Art

The metropolitan museum of art collects, studies, conserves, and presents significant works of art across all times and cultures in order to connect people to creativity, knowledge, and ideas.

Arts & Culture
8
San Diego Museum of Art

To inspire, educate and cultivate curiosity through great works of art.

Arts & Culture
9
Smithsonian Institution

*increase and diffusion of knowledge* is the mission set forth by james smithson. the smithsonian endeavors to shape the future by preserving our heritage, discovering new knowledge, and sharing our resources with the world.

Arts & Culture
10
Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute

Munson-williams-proctor arts institute (mwpai) is a fine arts center dedicated to serving diverse audiences by advancing the appreciation, understanding, and enjoyment of the arts. the art institute aims to promote interest and…

Arts & Culture
11
Artpace Inc (Audit)

Artpace san antonio is a nonprofit residency program which supports texas, national, and international artists in the creation of new art. see schedule o for continuation.

Arts & Culture
12
Museum of the City of New York

The museum of the city of new york fosters understanding of the distinctive nature of urban life in the world's most influential metropolis. it engages visitors by celebrating, documenting, and interpreting the city's past, present, and…

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Menil Foundation Inc; the most unlike its peers is School for Advanced Research. 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

12 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.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
12/12
Grantees still filing
10/12
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Menil Foundation Inc: $4,165,863 · Arts & CultureMenil Foundation IncTHE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS HOUSTON: $1,500,000 · Arts & CultureTHE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS HOUSTONHouston Grand Opera Association Inc: $700,000 · Arts & CultureHouston Grand Opera Association IncSITE SANTA FE: $600,000 · Arts & CultureSITE SANTA FESANTA FE CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL LTD: $500,000 · Arts & CultureSANTA FE CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL LTDALLEY THEATRE: $400,000 · Arts & CultureTHE PHILLIPS COLLECTION: $400,000 · Arts & Culture+1 more: $51,251 · Arts & CultureSt John's School: $400,000 · OtherGRANT FOUNDATION INC: $400,000 · InternationalThe Trustees of Princeton University: $250,000 · EducationSCHOOL FOR ADVANCED RESEARCH: $239,104 · Social Science
Arts & Culture$8,317,114Other$400,000International$400,000Education$250,000Social Science$239,104

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetMenil Foundation Inc: $4,165,863 over 4y, 13% of budgetTHE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS HOUSTON: $1,500,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetHouston Grand Opera Association Inc: $700,000 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetSITE SANTA FE: $600,000 over 2y, 10% of budgetSANTA FE CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL LTD: $500,000 over 1y, 21% of budgetSt John's School: $400,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetALLEY THEATRE: $400,000 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetTHE PHILLIPS COLLECTION: $400,000 over 1y, 2.9% of budgetGRANT FOUNDATION INC: $400,000 over 3y, 3.8% of budgetThe Trustees of Princeton University: $250,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSCHOOL FOR ADVANCED RESEARCH: $239,104 over 3y, 2.4% of budgetASIA SOCIETY TEXAS CENTER: $51,251 over 1y, 0.7% 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.

Morgan Stanley Global…National Philanthropi…Vanguard Charitable E…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust IncIN10.5× affinity4 shared granteesties to 5 of 5Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Donor Advised Charitable Giving 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 Louisa Stude Sarofim Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Louisa Stude Sarofim 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%6%13%19%25%share of the org’s income from government →median 11%
  • The Trustees of Princeton University: 11% of 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 · 0–25%
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 Louisa Stude Sarofim Foundation?

Find your warmest path to The Louisa Stude Sarofim 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 12 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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2025) is on record and reports no grant expense, so the figures above are from FY2024, the most recent year this funder made grants.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Louisa Stude Sarofim’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