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The Max Stenbeck Charitable Fund at a glance

· Private foundation

The Max Stenbeck Charitable Fund

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.

$2.1M
Granted FY2024still arriving
8
Grants FY2024still arriving
6
States reached
$500k
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, FY2021 to 2024.

Arts & Culture$6.1MEducation$3.2MInternational$2.5MCrime & Legal$1.0MHealth$550kHuman Services$500kSocial Science$475kPublic Benefit$426kOther$0
02FY2024 · 8 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $50k–250k3 grants · $402k
  • $250k+5 grants · $1.7M
$250,000
Median grant
6
States reached
$20M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY$500,000
CHOATE ROSEMARY HALL FOUNDATION$425,000
RIDGEFIELD ACADEMY$250,000
Friends of Hih International Inc$250,000
Washington International Horse Show$250,000
Friends of Challenging Heights$202,412
Sonia Nabeta Foundation$150,000
Upwell Turtles$50,000
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 (FY21–23, $2.2M) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, 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%INTERNET ARCHIVE: $115k → 10%THORN: $358k → 14%TIDES CENTER: $50k → 10%THORN: $333k → 14%THORN: $333k → 14%WORLD CHILDHOOD FOUNDATION: $515k → 17%WORLD CHILDHOOD FOUNDATION INC: $500k → 17%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

WA
NY
MA
PA
NJ
CT
CA
VA
MD
AR
NC
DC
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.
04

Where the work is directed

The same grants placed two ways: where each recipient sits, and where its stated purpose sends the money.

About 10% of The Max Stenbeck Charitable Fund’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address. By recipient address, 10% of the giving stays in CA; by stated purpose, 7%.

The Max Stenbeck Charitable Fundlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address · 26% directed abroad (not shown)
How this is measured
Recipient view: each grant at its grantee’s ZIP, mapped to a county. Directed view: each grant at the county its stated purpose names, falling back to the recipient’s county when the purpose names no place; US grants only. A county shows only if it carries the top 95% of that view’s dollars. Purposes are read from the funder’s own 990 grant descriptions.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

82%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$13M · 13 repeat orgs$2.8M to everyone else

13 repeat relationships: 4 still active in FY2024, 9 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

13
25

Total granted

$13M
$2.0M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

-20%
+24%

Still filing today

92%
84%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 61% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $800k went to new ones.

50%100%’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’21’22’23’24
InternationalEducationArts & CulturePhilanthropyHuman ServicesCommunity ImprovementOther
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

  • NY
    New York University
    3× · 2022–2024 · $1.5M · revenue +21%
  • WC
    WORLD CHILDHOOD FOUNDATION INC
    2× · 2021–2022 · $1.0M · revenue +13% · 37% of their budget
  • TS
    THE SONIA NABETA FOUNDATION
    3× · 2021–2024 · $450k · revenue +77%

Funded once

  • AI
    ARTCOUNCIL INC DBA ARTADIAgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $463k · revenue +118%
  • THE ASPEN INSTITUTE INCgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $425k · revenue +159%
  • BL
    B LAB COMPANYgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $140k · revenue +69%
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
Open Markets Institute

The open markets institute works to help people relearn how to use competition policy to build stronger democracies, more just and equitable societies, more innovative and sustainable economies, and a more secure and peaceful world.

Education
2
United States Naval Institute

Provide an independent forum for those who dare to read, think, speak, and write to advance the professional, literary, and scientific understanding of sea power and other issues critical to global security.

—
3
Observer Research Foundation America

Organization mission the observer research foundation america orf america is an independent, non-partisan, and nonprofit organization in washington dc dedicated to addressing policy challenges facing the united states, india, and their…

International
4
Peter G Peterson Institute for International Economics

The peterson institute for international economics (piie) is an independent nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization dedicated to strengthening prosperity and human welfare in the global economy through expert analysis and practical…

Social Science
5
International Aids Vaccine Initiative Inc

A nonprofit scientific research organization that develops vaccines and antibodies for hiv, tuberculosis, and emerging infectious diseases.

International
6
International Consortium of Investigative Journalists Inc

International consortium of investigative journalists, inc.'s (icij) mission is to show people how the world really works through stories that rock the world; forcing positive change.

International
7
World Resources Institute

Wri is committed to creating change that improves people's lives and ensures the natural world can thrive. (see schedule o)wri's bold vision requires a formula for success we call "count it. change it. scale it.":- count it: our work is…

International
8
The International Institute for Strategic Studies - Us

To provide accurate, objective information and analysis on international strategic issues for legislators, diplomats, foreign affairs analysts, international business leaders, economists, the military, defense commentators, journalists,…

International
9
New York School of Interior Design

New york school of interior design provides the most innovative, immersive, and transformative interior design education in the world, demonstrating the impact of professionally designed interiors on the health, happiness, and well-being…

Education
10
Accion International

Our mission is to create a fair and inclusive economy where underserved people have quality financial choices and opportunities to improve their economic well-being. we find and help build innovative companies with the potential to reach…

International
11
American Association for the Advancement of Science

Advance science, engineering, and innovation throughout the world for the benefit of all. the world's largest multidisciplinary scientific society and a leading publisher of cutting-edge research through its science family of journals,…

Science & Tech
12
Internet Society Foundation

At the internet society foundation, we focus on funding initiatives that strengthen the internet in function and reach so that it can effectively serve all people. our work advances the vision of the internet society (isoc): the internet…

International
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Policylink; the most unlike its peers is Internet Archive. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
05the grantee network

39 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. 39 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.

2
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
6
Early backer (in before they grew)
39/39
Grantees still filing
21/39
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

SHED NYC INC: $5,120,845 · Arts & CultureSHED NYC INC+4 more: $290,000 · Arts & Culture+4 moreNew York University: $1,500,000 · EducationNew York UniversityCHOATE ROSEMARY HALL FOUNDATION INCORPORATED: $1,275,000 · EducationCHOATE ROSEMARY HALL F…RIDGEFIELD ACADEMY INC: $250,000 · EducationRIDGEFIELD ACADEMY INC+3 more: $102,953 · EducationTHORN: $1,024,595 · Human ServicesTHORNWORLD CHILDHOOD FOUNDATION INC: $1,015,464 · Human ServicesWORLD CHILDHOOD…Internet Archive: $115,000 · Human Services+1 more: $50,000 · Human ServicesFRIENDS OF CHALLENGING HEIGHTS: $1,116,678 · PhilanthropyFRIENDS OF C…ARTCOUNCIL INC DBA ARTADIA: $462,800 · PhilanthropyARTCOUNCIL I…HOPEWELL FUND: $120,000 · PhilanthropyHOPEWELL FUN…+1 more: $12,000 · PhilanthropyTHE SONIA NABETA FOUNDATION: $450,000 · InternationalTHE SONIA…ASHOKA: $291,492 · InternationalASHOKAFRIENDS OF HIH INTERNATIONAL INC: $250,000 · InternationalFRIENDS O…GLOBALGIVING FOUNDATION INC: $215,000 · InternationalGLOBALGIV…THE GOOD PEOPLE FUND INC: $50,000 · International+1 more: $21,000 · InternationalHAND IN HAND: $250,000 · OtherHAND IN HAN…NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CITIZENSHIP: $176,808 · OtherNATIONAL CO…POLICYLINK: $291,997 · OtherPOLICYLINKWashington International Horse Show: $250,000 · OtherWashington …B LAB COMPANY: $139,794 · OtherB LAB COMPA…CITIZEN UNIVERSITY: $59,000 · OtherCHILD MIND INSTITUTE INC: $100,000 · OtherCHILD MIND …+10 more: $356,000 · Other+10 moreTHE ASPEN INSTITUTE INC: $425,162 · Social ScienceRADICALXCHANGE FOUNDATION LTD: $50,000 · Social Science
Arts & Culture$5,410,845Education$3,127,953Human Services$2,205,059Philanthropy$1,711,478International$1,277,492Other$1,623,599Social Science$475,162

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 budgetSHED NYC INC: $5,120,845 over 3y, 5.4% of budgetNew York University: $1,500,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCHOATE ROSEMARY HALL FOUNDATION INCORPORATED: $1,275,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetFRIENDS OF CHALLENGING HEIGHTS: $1,116,678 over 3y, 97% of budgetTHORN: $1,024,595 over 3y, 2.3% of budgetWORLD CHILDHOOD FOUNDATION INC: $1,015,464 over 2y, 37% of budgetTHE SONIA NABETA FOUNDATION: $450,000 over 3y, 15% of budgetTHE ASPEN INSTITUTE INC: $425,162 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetPOLICYLINK: $291,997 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetASHOKA: $291,492 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetRIDGEFIELD ACADEMY INC: $250,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetWashington International Horse Show: $250,000 over 1y, 6.6% of budgetFRIENDS OF HIH INTERNATIONAL INC: $250,000 over 1y, 9.0% of budgetGLOBALGIVING FOUNDATION INC: $215,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CITIZENSHIP: $176,808 over 2y, 1.3% of budgetB LAB COMPANY: $139,794 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetHOPEWELL FUND: $120,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetInternet Archive: $115,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetAmplifier Foundation: $110,000 over 2y, 4.2% of budgetMARTHA'S VINEYARD PRESERVATION TRUST INC: $100,000 over 1y, 2.3% of budgetCHILD MIND INSTITUTE INC: $100,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCITIZEN UNIVERSITY: $59,000 over 1y, 3.9% of budgetTHE GOOD PEOPLE FUND INC: $50,000 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetRADICALXCHANGE FOUNDATION LTD: $50,000 over 1y, 3.9% of budgetDIGITAL PUBLIC LIBRARY OF AMERICA: $50,000 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetHeartland Forward Inc: $50,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetTIDES CENTER: $50,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPAVE ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL: $50,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetUpwell Turtles: $50,000 over 1y, 4.2% of budgetINSTITUTE FOR FREEDOMS INC: $45,000 over 1y, 2.8% of budgetAMERICAN FRIENDS OF ZEITZ MOCAA: $40,000 over 1y, 23% of budgetCOMMON FUTURE: $36,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetJOHN FITZGERALD KENNEDY LIBRARY FOUNDATION INCORPORATED: $27,953 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetTeach for America Inc: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN FRIENDS OF MAGEN DAVID ADOM: $21,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHARLEM STAGE INC: $20,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetINDEPENDENT SECTOR: $12,000 over 1y, 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.

The Ford FoundationTides FoundationImpactassetsincRockefeller Philanthr…Silicon Valley Commun…Skoll FundOmidyar Network Fund …The Andrew W Mellon F…The Annenberg Foundat…The William & Flora H…New Venture FundThe Robert Wood Johns…
The Ford FoundationNY23× affinity10 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Ford Foundation · Tides Foundation · Impactassetsinc · Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors Inc · Silicon Valley Community Foundation · Skoll Fund · Omidyar Network Fund Inc · The Andrew W Mellon Foundation · The Annenberg Foundation · The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation · New Venture Fund · The Robert Wood Johnson 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 Max Stenbeck Charitable Fund funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Max Stenbeck Charitable Fund. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 40%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%15%30%45%60%share of the org’s income from government →median 2%
  • Martha's Vineyard Preservation Trust Inc: 4% of income from government
  • Digital Public Library of America: 2% of income from government
  • Choate Rosemary Hall Foundation Incorporated: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
4get no government money at all
8report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–60%
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 Max Stenbeck Charitable Fund?

Find your warmest path to The Max Stenbeck Charitable Fund 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 44 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.

Source object · view filing

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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