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The Mel and Leta Ramos Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Mel and Leta Ramos Family Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$35k
Granted FY2024still arriving
9
Grants FY2024still arriving
3
States reached
$26k
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, FY2019 to 2024.

Arts & Culture$69kEducation$56kPhilanthropy$15kSocial Science$2kYouth Development$2kHealth$25
02FY2024 · 9 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k8 grants · $8k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $26k
$675
Median grant
3
States reached
$4.3M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CAL STATE UNIVERSITY EAST BAY FOUNDATION$26,050
CAL STATE UNIVERSITY EAST BAY FOUNDATION$4,200
DONORSCHOOSEORG$1,382
ASPEN INSTITUTE$1,000
DANVILLE CHILDREN'S GUILD$675
Individual grant recipient$500
Individual grant recipient$500
CROCKER MUSEUM$100
Individual grant recipient$100
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 (FY20–20, $500) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%YOUTH ART EXCHANGE: $500 → 10%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.
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 6% of The Mel and Leta Ramos Family Foundation’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address.

The Mel and Leta Ramos Family Foundationlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address · 7.5% 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.

46%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$60k · 7 repeat orgs$69k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +25% since the first grant, against +14% for those funded once.

7 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2024, 6 since wound down; 7 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

7
11

Total granted

$60k
$35k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+25%
+14%

Still filing today

86%
27%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 3% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $34k went to new ones.

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

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

’19’20’21’22’23’24
Arts & CultureEducationYouth DevelopmentSocial SciencePhilanthropyHealthOther
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

  • CA
    CROCKER ART MUSEUM ASSOCIATION
    2× · 2019–2021 · $36k · revenue +16%
  • LA
    LOS ANGELES CONTEMPORARY EXHIBITIONS INC
    2× · 2020–2021 · $6k · revenue +76%
  • THE ASPEN INSTITUTE INC
    2× · 2021–2024 · $2k · revenue +159%

Funded once

  • PC
    PICASSO CENTER
    one grant, 2021 · $11k
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2022 · $10k
  • UB
    UC BERKELEY
    one grant, 2021 · $10k
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
California Institute of Contemporary Art
—
2
Craft Contemporary

Craft contemporary challenges established ideas about craft and folk art and engages people through diverse exhibitions and programs.

Arts & Culture
3
California College of the Arts

California college of the arts educates students to shape culture and society through the practice and critical study of art, architecture, design, and writing. benefitting from its san francisco bay area location, the college prepares…

Education
4
Museum of Arts and Design

To collect, display and interpret objects in craft art and design.

Arts & Culture
5
Chico Children's Museum

None

Education
6
Cartoon Art Museum of California

Cartoon Art Museum is committed to fostering a greater appreciation of cartoon art. This it achieves through collecting, cataloging, preserving and displaying the finest representations of original cartoon art as well as providing…

Arts & Culture
7
Marin Open Studios

Marin open studios is a non-profit visual arts organization dedicated to engaging and supporting marin county artists and their audiences through events, programs and services. marin open studios champions a diverse and inclusive community…

Arts & Culture
8
American Museum of Ceramic Art

Amoca believes clay is magic. it is a simple yet extraordinary material from which artistic masterpieces are created and everyday products are made. from dinnerware to sculpture to cell phone chips and cosmetics, clay is a part of…

Arts & Culture
9
Chinese Culture Foundation of San Francisco

To elevate underserved communities and gives voice to equality through education and contemporary art.

Arts & Culture
10
Association of California School Administrators

The association serves its members by creating resources that enable california school administrators to develop and apply creative leadership and management skills and in turn, improve the educational process for all students.

—
11
Monterey Museum of Art

The monterey museum of art cultivates curiosity in the visual arts and engages community with the diversity of california art - past, present, and future.

Arts & Culture
12
Contemporary Art Group

To educate the public about important art and improving the public's access to it through curated programming.

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is East Bay Community Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Bobby Jackson Foundation. 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

14 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. 14 of the 27 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)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
14/14
Grantees still filing
8/14
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

CAL STATE UNIVERSITY EAST BAY: $12,764 · OtherCAL STATE UNIVERSITY EAST BAYPICASSO CENTER: $10,840 · OtherPICASSO CENTERIndividual grant recipient: $10,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientUC BERKELEY: $10,000 · OtherUC BERKELEY+9 more: $3,320 · Other+9 moreCROCKER ART MUSEUM ASSOCIATION: $35,763 · Arts & CultureCROCKER ART MUSEUM ASSOCIATIONLOS ANGELES CONTEMPORARY EXHIBITIONS INC: $6,000 · Arts & CultureLOS ANGELES CONTEMPORARY EXHIBITIO…ARTS FOR OAKLAND KIDS: $1,541 · Arts & Culture+1 more: $500 · Arts & CultureCALIFONIA STATE UNIVERSITY EAST BAY FOUNDATION INC: $30,250 · EducationCALIFONIA STATE UNIVERSITY…DONORSCHOOSEORG: $1,382 · Education+2 more: $1,570 · EducationEAST BAY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $15,000 · PhilanthropyEAST BAY COM…GRATITUDE GLOBAL: $1,250 · PhilanthropyGRATITUDE GL…THE ASPEN INSTITUTE INC: $2,000 · Social ScienceDANVILLE CHILDRENS GUILD: $675 · Youth DevelopmentTIDES CENTER: $500 · Human ServicesCreative Growth Art Center: $450 · Health
Other$46,924Arts & Culture$43,804Education$33,202Philanthropy$16,250Social Science$2,000Youth Development$675Human Services$500Health$450

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

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetCROCKER ART MUSEUM ASSOCIATION: $35,763 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetCALIFONIA STATE UNIVERSITY EAST BAY FOUNDATION INC: $30,250 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetEAST BAY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $15,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLOS ANGELES CONTEMPORARY EXHIBITIONS INC: $6,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetTHE ASPEN INSTITUTE INC: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetARTS FOR OAKLAND KIDS: $1,541 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetDONORSCHOOSEORG: $1,382 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGRATITUDE GLOBAL: $1,250 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetBobby Jackson Foundation: $1,050 over 3y, 2.4% of budgetDANVILLE CHILDRENS GUILD: $675 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetThe Crayon Initiative: $520 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTIDES CENTER: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCreative Growth Art Center: $450 over 2y, 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.

The San Francisco Fou…American Online Givin…The Bank of America C…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
The San Francisco FoundationCA12.7× affinity4 shared granteesties to 5 of 5Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The San Francisco Foundation · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · 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 Mel and Leta Ramos Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Mel and Leta Ramos Family 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%25%50%75%100%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
    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 Mel and Leta Ramos Family Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to The Mel and Leta Ramos 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 27 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

    Play a game based on Mel and Leta Ramos 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