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The Mellor Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Mellor Family Foundation

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.

$27k
Granted FY2024still arriving
9
Grants FY2024still arriving
4
States reached
$10k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0199% 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$227kEducation$122kAnimals$45kReligion$32kHealth$24kRecreation & Sports$13kPhilanthropy$13kHuman Services$12kOther$0
02FY2024 · 9 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k8 grants · $17k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $10k
$2,000
Median grant
4
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY$10,000
HARBOR DAY ENDOWMENT CORPORATION$5,000
ALPINE ACADEMY$3,000
ORANGE COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC$2,500
SOUL SHEPHERDING$2,000
PATRICKS PURPOSE FOUNDATION$1,000
ESTANCIA HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL BOOSTER$1,000
IRVINE CHILDRENS FUND$1,000
NOBLE VIKING CHARITIES$1,000
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 (FY17–24, $14k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 19% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%KIDWORKS: $3k → 11%DECORATIVE ARTS SOCIETY: $5k → 10%NOBLE VIKING CHARITIES: $1k → 10%NOBLE VIKING CHARITIES: $1k → 10%NOBLE VIKING CHARITIES: $1k → 10%NOBLE VIKING CHARITIES: $1k → 10%NOBLE VIKING CHARITIES: $1k → 10%NOBLE VIKING CHARITIES: $1k → 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.

Which US states its grants reach

ME
NY
IN
NJ
CA
UT
VA
NC
DC
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.

77%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$387k · 16 repeat orgs$113k to everyone else

16 repeat relationships: 7 still active in FY2024, 9 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

16
27

Total granted

$387k
$108k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+46%
+57%

Still filing today

75%
59%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 79% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $5k 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 & CultureEducationHuman ServicesAnimalsHealthHousing & ShelterOther
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

  • LC
    LAGUNA COLLEGE OF ART & DESIGN
    3× · 2017–2019 · $58k · revenue +322%
  • FO
    FRIENDS OF THE SEA LIONS INC DBA PACIFIC MARINE MAMMAL CENTER
    4× · 2017–2022 · $45k · revenue +51%
  • LA
    LAGUNA ART MUSEUM
    2× · 2017–2020 · $22k · revenue +46%

Funded once

  • NG
    National Gallery of Artgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $20k · revenue +57%
  • CH
    CHILDRENS HOSPITAL
    one grant, 2022 · $10k
  • AO
    ASSOCIATION OF FUNDRAISING
    one grant, 2017 · $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
Ucla Foundation

The ucla foundation is the giving, receiving, and investing arm of the ucla campus. the foundation enables private donors to help build, sustain and advance one of the world's finest academic and research institutions. private philanthropy…

Education
2
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
3
Orange County School of the Arts

We provide an unparalleled arts and acdademic education in a creative, challenging and nurturing environment to a diverse student body passionate about the arts, preparing them to reach their highest potential.

Education
4
Uc Riverside Foundation

To support educational, research and public functions and programs of the riverside campus of the university of california.

Education
5
Uc Santa Barbara Foundation

The uc santa barbara foundation actively works to further the goals of the university of california, santa barbara. the foundation seeks to maintain and nurture the university's quality and distinction. on behalf of the campus, the…

Education
6
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
7
Uc Santa Cruz Foundation

To benefit the university of california santa cruz.

Education
8
The Uc Davis Foundation

The mission of the uc davis foundation is to secure, steward and manage private gifts for uc davis.

Education
9
Ucsf Foundation Investment Company

The organization provides professional investment management services for endowed gifts and financial assets entrusted to the ucsf foundation.

Education
10
University of California Irvine Foundation

The mission of the university of california, irvine foundation (uc irvine foundation) is to raise and manage private funds to support uc irvine's broader mission of excellence in teaching, research and public service. to this end, the uc…

Education
11
California State University Long Beach Research Foundation

Serves the mission of the university by supporting and engaging in research, entrepreneurship, community service, sponsored programs and the acquisition of private resources.

Education
12
Pacific University

A diverse and sustainable learning community dedicated to discovery and excellence in teaching, scholarship and practice, pacific university inspires students to think, care, create and pursue justice in our world.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Laguna Playhouse; the most unlike its peers is Patrick's Purpose Foundation. 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

30 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. 30 of the 45 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)
11
Early backer (in before they grew)
30/30
Grantees still filing
20/30
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE LAGUNA PLAYHOUSE: $152,700 · Arts & CultureTHE LAGUNA PLAYHOUSELAGUNA ART MUSEUM: $22,000 · Arts & CultureLAGUNA ART MUSEUMNational Gallery of Art: $20,000 · Arts & CultureNational Gallery of ArtLaguna Radio Inc: $12,000 · Arts & CultureLaguna Radio Inc+3 more: $8,000 · Arts & CultureALPINE ACADEMY: $28,500 · OtherALPINE ACADEMYCHILDRENS HOSPITAL: $10,000 · OtherCHILDRENS HOSPITALASSOCIATION OF FUNDRAISING: $10,000 · OtherASSOCIATION OF FUNDRAISIN…ASSOCIATION OF PARKINSONS AND OTHER RELATED DISORDERS: $10,000 · OtherASSOCIATION OF PARKINSONS…IRVINE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH: $7,500 · OtherIRVINE PRESBYTERIAN CHURC…SPECTRUM CHURCH IRVINE: $7,000 · OtherSPECTRUM CHURCH IRVINEPRINCETON MENS VOLLEYBALL: $5,000 · OtherFRIENDS OF PRINCETON WOMENS VOLLEYBALL: $5,000 · OtherFESTIVAL OF ARTS: $5,000 · Other+14 more: $23,000 · Other+14 moreLAGUNA COLLEGE OF ART & DESIGN: $58,000 · EducationLAGUNA COLLEGE OF AR…The Trustees of Princeton University: $15,000 · EducationThe Trustees of Prin…PATRICK'S PURPOSE FOUNDATION: $7,000 · EducationPATRICK'S PURPOSE FO…THE IRVINE CHILDRENS FUND: $6,000 · EducationTHE IRVINE CHILDRENS…Harbor Day Endowment Corporation: $5,000 · EducationHarbor Day Endowment…+1 more: $2,000 · EducationFRIENDS OF THE SEA LIONS INC DBA PACIFIC MARINE MAMMAL CENTER: $45,000 · AnimalsFRIENDS OF…THE DRAKE GIVES: $2,500 · AnimalsSoul Shepherding: $10,000 · ReligionNortheast of the Well: $5,000 · ReligionNoble Viking Charities: $6,000 · Human ServicesDECORATIVE ARTS SOCIETY: $5,000 · Human ServicesKIDWORKS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORP: $2,500 · Human ServicesBEATRICE F KROESCHE FOUNDATION: $5,000 · PhilanthropyORANGE COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $2,500 · Philanthropy
Arts & Culture$214,700Other$111,000Education$93,000Animals$47,500Religion$15,000Human Services$13,500Philanthropy$7,500

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 budgetTHE LAGUNA PLAYHOUSE: $152,700 over 7y, 1.7% of budgetLAGUNA COLLEGE OF ART & DESIGN: $58,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE SEA LIONS INC DBA PACIFIC MARINE MAMMAL CENTER: $45,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetLAGUNA ART MUSEUM: $22,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetNational Gallery of Art: $20,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Trustees of Princeton University: $15,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetLaguna Radio Inc: $12,000 over 3y, 1.2% of budgetSoul Shepherding: $10,000 over 7y, 0.6% of budgetPATRICK'S PURPOSE FOUNDATION: $7,000 over 6y, 2.3% of budgetNoble Viking Charities: $6,000 over 6y, 1.8% of budgetTHE IRVINE CHILDRENS FUND: $6,000 over 6y, 0.5% of budgetBEATRICE F KROESCHE FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 5y, 1.7% of budgetNortheast of the Well: $5,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetDECORATIVE ARTS SOCIETY: $5,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetHarbor Day Endowment Corporation: $5,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetSegerstrom Center for the Arts: $4,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL TRUST FOR THE HUMANITIES: $2,500 over 1y, 2.6% of budgetKIDWORKS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORP: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetORANGE COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE DRAKE GIVES: $2,500 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetRUBY'S RAINBOW: $2,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetSECOND HARVEST FOOD BANK OF ORANGE COUNTY INC: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE MICHAEL J FOX FOUNDATION FOR PARKINSON'S RESEARCH: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetEVERY CAMPUS A REFUGE: $1,500 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetTHE CENTER FOR GRIEVING CHILDREN: $1,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetThe Fistula Foundation: $1,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetArt & Creativity for Healing: $1,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetOrange County Rescue Mission Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLoloma Foundation: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSANTA CATALINA ISLAND CONSERVANCY: $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.

Orange County Communi…The William Jeff and …The Hanauer Family Fo…The Hexberg Family Fo…Laguna Beach Communit…Natl Christian Charit…American Endowment Fo…Donor Advised Charita…Vanguard Charitable E…Morgan Stanley Global…Fidelity Investments …American Online Givin…
Orange County Community FoundationCA20.4× affinity8 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Orange County Community Foundation · The William Jeff and Jennifer Gross Family Foundation · The Hanauer Family Foundation · The Hexberg Family Foundation · Laguna Beach Community Foundation · Natl Christian Charitable Fdn Inc · American Endowment Foundation · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · American Online Giving Foundation Inc

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 Mellor Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Mellor 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%5%10%15%20%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
7report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–20%
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.

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 45 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 Mellor 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