Skip to content
Plinth

· Private foundation

The Mayer 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.

$804k
Granted FY2023
26
Grants FY2023
4
States reached
$500k
Largest
01What you fund
0186% classified

What you funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year — across FY20192025.

Education$811kArts & Culture$73kEnvironment$33kHealth$32kPhilanthropy$22kAnimals$10kReligion$5kYouth Development$4kOther$0
02FY2023 · 26 grants

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

The 26 grants below total $772,010 — the rows itemised in this filing. The $803,520 headline is the total grant expense reported on the return, so the remaining $31,510 is giving the schedule does not break out: grants under the $5,000 itemisation floor, grants to individuals, and grants reported on other schedules. Every figure below describes the itemised rows only.

By grant size · FY2023

  • Under $10k15 grants · $42k
  • $10k–50k8 grants · $80k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $150k
  • $250k+1 grant · $500k
$6,000
Median grant
4
States reached
$3.6M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Union College$500,000
Fordham Preparatory School$100,000
Union College$50,000
Catholic Academy Of Bridgeport Inc$10,200
American Museum Of Natural History$10,000
New York Botanical Garden$10,000
The Windward School$10,000
University At Albany Foundation$10,000
The Metropolitan Opera Guild$10,000
The Metropolitan Museum Of Art$10,000
The Greenwich United Way$10,000
St. Vincent's Hospital Westchester$7,110
Foundations In Education$6,000
Breast Cancer Alliance$5,000
Bruce Museum$5,000
02Your edge
repeat funding

Who you back again

Which organizations you funded more than once, and which you funded a single time. Each grantee is matched to its own filings.

40%of every dollar goes to organizations you’ve funded before.
$396k · 17 repeat orgs$596k to everyone else

And the relationships you keep tend to grow: grantees you re-up on have seen median revenue of +36% since the first grant, against +23% for the ones you funded once.

17 repeat relationships — 17 still active in FY2023, 0 since wound down; 5 grantees were first funded in FY2023 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

17
7

Total granted

$396k
$22k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+36%
+23%

Still filing today

82%
57%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2023, 26% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $574k went to new ones.

50%100%’22’23
RenewedFirst-time

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

’22’23
Arts & CultureEducationPhilanthropyYouth DevelopmentEnvironmentHealthOther

First-time = a grantee’s first year in your filing window; renewed = funded in an earlier year too. As a portfolio matures the renewed share naturally climbs — once funded, an org stays “renewable” — so the signal is the years that buck it (a new-grantee intake wave). 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

  • AM
    American Museum of Natural History
    2× · 2022–2023 · $20k · revenue +8%
  • THE WINDWARD SCHOOL
    2× · 2022–2023 · $20k · revenue +20%
  • UA
    UNIVERSITY AT ALBANY FOUNDATION
    2× · 2022–2023 · $20k · revenue +95%

Funded once

  • TL
    The Lake George Association Inc
    one grant, 2022 · $10k · revenue +22%
  • RH
    ROUND HILL COMMUNITY CHURCH INC
    one grant, 2022 · $5k
  • WC
    WGA Caddie Scholarship Fund
    one grant, 2022 · $3k

Repeat = funded in two or more distinct years; growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

03Your field

The map has a center of gravity: the average direction from the rest of the sector toward the organizations the foundation funds — the shape of its giving. Scoring every nonprofit along that direction surfaces the ones that look most like the portfolio. These are the closest matchesthat aren’t grantees — a resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
The Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences

The mission of the brooklyn institute of arts and sciences, d/b/a brooklyn museum (the "museum") is to bring people together through art and experiences that inspire celebration, compassion, courage, and the will to act. (see schedule o).

Arts & Culture
2
The Pierpont Morgan Library

The Morgan Library & Museum celebrates and shares the history and process of human creativity from antiquity to the present day through the preservation, study, and interpretation of a dynamic and growing collection.

Education
3
Governors Island Corporation

The governors island corporation, doing business as the trust for governors island, is the 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization created by the city of new york and charged with the planning, redevelopment and ongoing operations of 150…

Animals
4
University of New Haven

The University of New Haven is a student-centered comprehensive university with an emphasis on excellence in liberal arts and professional education. Our mission is to prepare our students to lead purposeful and fulfilling lives in a…

Education
5
Bard College

Bard college seeks to provide a challenging academic program and a supportive environment that fosters a collaborative interchange of ideas in the classroom as well as ambition to achieve excellence.

Education
6
The Trustees of the New York Society Library

The new york society library was founded in 1754 by the new york society, a civic-minded group formed in the belief that the availability of books would help the city of new york to prosper.

7
The Frick Collection

The Frick Collection (the "Collection") operates an internationally recognized art museum and library program for the inspiration and enjoyment of the public and for the advancement of the study of fine arts and kindred subjects.

8
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Inc

Organization's mission statement true to the ambitious vision of its founder and her spirit of creative risk-taking, the mission of the isabella stewart gardner museum is: - to bring to life and preserve the rich historic collection; - to…

Arts & Culture
9
Staten Island Institute of Arts and Sciences dba the Staten Island Museum

Founded in 1881 the Staten Island Museum engages visitors with interdisciplinary exhibitions, public programs, and educational activities for all ages. It is the mission of the Staten Island Museum to spark curiosity and generate…

Arts & Culture
10
Boston Architectural College

The bac is committed to provide excellence in design education grounded in practice and accessible to diverse communities.

11
Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation

Brooklyn bridge park corporation's mission, d/b/a brooklyn bridge park ("bbp") mission is to provide an exceptional public space that connects people, nature, and the waterfront, through inclusive, innovative, and sustainable management…

Recreation & Sports
12
The Jewish Museum

The mission of the jewish museum is to collect, preserve, exhibit and interpret art and jewish culture. see schedule o for more information.

Arts & Culture

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is New York Botanical Garden and the most unlike its peers is Wildlife Conservation Society. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.

Your grantees are a median of 71 years old; the field is 21. You back the established end — and your money leans older still.

THE FIELDby orgYOUR GRANTEESby number18%0%<5yr12%4%5–10yr18%4%10–20yr18%21%20–35yr14%8%35–55yr20%63%55yr+
THE FIELDby orgYOUR MONEYby value18%0%<5yr12%0%5–10yr18%1%10–20yr18%12%20–35yr14%2%35–55yr20%85%55yr+

The field is 18% startups (under 5 years old) — 0% of your grantees by number, and just 0% of your money.

Closures · last 5 years

The orgs you fund almost never close 0.0% lost their exemption, against 10% of the field you don’t fund.

orgs you fund
0.0%0/24
the rest of the field
10%
2,154/22,421

Age = years since IRS exemption (a founding proxy). “Closed” = auto-revocation for 3 years of non-filing — a floor on closure, not proof, and bigger established orgs lapse least. Association, not causation.

03the grantee network

21 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each one resolved to its own IRS returns and tracked year by year — your grant beside their revenue from every source. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

Counted here: distinct organizations you funded across 20172025, not grant rows in a single year — so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 21 of the 29 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile; the rest are funded organizations whose filings we could not track year by year.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
0
Early backer (in before they grew)
21/21
Grantees still filing
16/21
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

Union College — $550,000 · OtherUnion CollegeFORDHAM PREPARATORY SCHOOL — $200,300 · OtherFORDHAM PREPARATORY SCHOOL+8 more — $63,560 · Other+8 moreAmerican Museum of Natural History — $20,000 · Arts & CultureAmerican …METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART — $20,000 · Arts & CultureMETROPOLI…The Metropolitan Opera Guild Inc — $20,000 · Arts & CultureThe Metro…The Lake George Association Inc — $10,000 · Arts & CultureThe Lake …BRUCE MUSEUM INC — $10,000 · Arts & CultureBRUCE MUS…Museum of Modern Art — $3,000 · Arts & CultureTHE WINDWARD SCHOOL — $20,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY AT ALBANY FOUNDATION — $20,000 · EducationBucknell University — $2,000 · EducationTHE GREENWICH LIBRARY — $2,000 · Education+1 more — $500 · EducationNEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN — $20,000 · EnvironmentTHE GREENWICH LAND TRUST INC — $2,500 · EnvironmentWildlife Conservation Society — $10,000 · AnimalsFoundations in Education Inc — $6,000 · PhilanthropyGREENWICH DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES FUND INC — $1,800 · PhilanthropyBREAST CANCER ALLIANCE INC — $6,000 · HealthBOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF GREENWICH — $2,000 · Youth DevelopmentGREENWICH COUNCIL BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA INCORPORATED — $2,000 · Youth Development
Other$813,860Arts & Culture$83,000Education$44,500Environment$22,500Animals$10,000Philanthropy$7,800Health$6,000Youth Development$4,000

Each org by its size and your share of it — top-left is where you’re load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ your share of their budgetAmerican Museum of Natural History — $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE WINDWARD SCHOOL — $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY AT ALBANY FOUNDATION — $20,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetUNITED WAY OF GREENWICH INC — $20,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetNEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN — $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMETROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART — $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetThe Metropolitan Opera Guild Inc — $20,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetWildlife Conservation Society — $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetThe Lake George Association Inc — $10,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetBRUCE MUSEUM INC — $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFoundations in Education Inc — $6,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetBREAST CANCER ALLIANCE INC — $6,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetMuseum of Modern Art — $3,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE GREENWICH LAND TRUST INC — $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetBucknell University — $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE GREENWICH LIBRARY — $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF GREENWICH — $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetGREENWICH COUNCIL BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA INCORPORATED — $2,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetGREENWICH DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES FUND INC — $1,800 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetST JOSEPH'S HEALTH FUND — $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetBOLTON FREE LIBRARY — $500 over 1y, 0.4% of budget
Go grantee by grantee — a decade per org, and how each moved after you funded them

A decade per grantee — revenue shaded, your grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

The grantmakers whose grantees overlap with yours far more than size alone predicts. Each orbits closer the stronger the alignment; the arcs between them show where they also fund each other. Here it reads as a tightly interlocked camp — most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Jewish Communal FundNY11.6× affinity4 shared granteesties to 7 of 7Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Jewish Communal Fund · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · National Philanthropic Trust · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile Foundation

Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. A research starting point: overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

04Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to The Mayer Family Foundation?

Find your warmest path to The Mayer 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 directly from IRS e-file XML — your own 990/990-PF and the multi-year returns of the 29 grantees we resolved across every year we hold, several hundred filings in all (a different count from the grant rows on the cover, which are one fiscal year)— each linked to its source. Grantee achievements and outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III); we read these as association with sustained funding — the foundation is one of several forces — suppress low-confidence name matches rather than guess, and say so where a figure rests on a single grant or filing. Not everything on this page is a filed figure, and the difference matters. Filed is what you reported on your 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. How we build these →

Generated from your IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2023, released 2023. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2025) is on record and reports $368k of grant expense with no grantee named in the published copy. A private foundation itemizes every grant it makes, so a return carrying none has filed its list as an attachment that the public copy does not include. The figures above are therefore from FY2023, the most recent year this funder’s grantee list reached the public record.

Source object · view filing

More from the funding graph