Skip to content
The Mesdag Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Mesdag 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.

$810k
Granted FY2025still arriving
46
Grants FY2025still arriving
11
States reached
$100k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0197% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2025.

Education$1.2MArts & Culture$1.1MEnvironment$555kInternational$415kReligion$326kPhilanthropy$276kPublic Benefit$106kPublic Safety & Disaster$99kOther$0
02FY2025 · 46 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k18 grants · $60k
  • $10k–50k21 grants · $300k
  • $50k–250k7 grants · $451k
$10,000
Median grant
11
States reached
$16M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
ASPEN MUSIC FESTIVAL AND SCHOOL$100,000
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY$75,000
ST MONICA'S CATHOLIC CHURCH$60,000
HARVARD-WESTLAKE SCHOOL$60,000
OBAMA FOUNDATION$55,600
GOLDMAN SACHS PHILANTHROPY FUND$50,000
LA CLIPPERS FIRE AID$50,000
THEATER ASPEN$35,000
PACIFIC COUNCIL ON INTERNATIONAL POLICY$34,600
COLORADO ACADEMY$30,000
ASPEN CENTER FOR ENVIROMENTAL STUDIES$25,000
KELLOGG SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT$15,000
LOS ANGELES MISSION$10,000
Individual grant recipient$10,000
LOS ANGELES LIBRARY FOUNDATION$10,000
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 (FY24–24, $26k) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 4% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%VISIBLE FIGURES: $25k → 9%EVERYCHILD FOUNDATION: $1k → 14%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

NH
MT
MN
IL
NY
MA
NJ
RI
CA
CO
MO
VA
KS
TN
DC
AL
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.

90%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$3.8M · 54 repeat orgs$433k to everyone else

54 repeat relationships: 40 still active in FY2025, 14 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

54
38

Total granted

$3.8M
$363k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+18%
+20%

Still filing today

67%
37%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 91% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $70k went to new ones.

50%100%’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’20’21’22’23’24’25
Arts & CultureEnvironmentInternationalEducationPublic Safety & DisasterCivil RightsOther
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

  • MA
    MUSIC ASSOCIATES OF ASPEN INC
    6× · 2020–2025 · $787k · revenue +410%
  • The Trustees of Princeton University
    6× · 2020–2025 · $650k · revenue +51%
  • HS
    HARVARD-WESTLAKE SCHOOL
    6× · 2020–2025 · $225k · revenue +31%

Funded once

  • HR
    HARVARD-WESTLAKE RIVER PROJECT
    one grant, 2022 · $50k
  • SM
    ST MONICAS CATHOLIC COMMUNITY
    one grant, 2024 · $50k
  • AH
    ANNUNCIATION HOUSE INC
    one grant, 2020 · $30k
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
The Water Research Foundation

The purpose of the water research foundation (wrf) is a definitive research organization to advance the science of all things water to better meet the evolving needs of its subscribers and the water sector. to engage exclusively in…

Environment
2
The Union of Concerned Scientists Inc

The union of concerned scientists puts rigorous, independent science into action, developing solutions and advocating for a healthy, safe, and just future.

International
3
American Gas Association

American gas association's (the association) mission is to develop and advocate for informed, innovative, and durable policy that fulfills our nation's energy needs, environmental aspirations and economic potential. we are committed to…

—
4
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.

—
5
American Flood Coalition Inc

To drive transformational adaptation to protect communities across the country from higher seas, stronger storms, and more frequent flooding.

Environment
6
Friends of the Earth

Friends of the earth strives for a more healthy and just world by defendng the environment and human health while advancing social and economic justice by conducting research and education, transforming the economy so it protects the…

Environment
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
Cdp North America Inc

Cdp north america, inc. 's ("cdp-na") vision for the future is a thriving economy that works for people and planet in the long term. we focus investors and companies on taking urgent action to build a truly sustainable economy by measuring…

Environment
9
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research

See schedule ouniversity corporation for atmospheric research (ucar), on behalf of, and in cooperation with its member university members, is engaged in the management of long-term atmospheric and related research and educational…

Science & Tech
10
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The mission of mit is to advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century.

Education
11
American Foreign Service Association

American foreign service association (afsa) is both the principal advocate for the long-term institutional wellbeing of the professional career foreign service and responsible for safeguarding the interest of afsa members. (continued on…

—
12
Asociacion Interamericana Para La Defensa Del Ambiente

To strenghten people's ability to guarantee their individual and collective right to a healthy environment, via the development, implementation, and effective enforcement of national and international law.

Crime & Legal
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Denver Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Prospect Foundation Inc. 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

56 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. 56 of the 101 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)
5
Early backer (in before they grew)
56/56
Grantees still filing
35/56
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

MUSIC ASSOCIATES OF ASPEN INC: $787,100 · Arts & CultureMUSIC ASSOCIATES OF ASPEN INCTHEATRE ASPEN: $165,000 · Arts & CultureTHEATRE ASPENTHE BARACK OBAMA FOUNDATION: $105,600 · Arts & CultureTHE BARACK OBAMA FOUNDATIONLOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC ASSOCIATION: $60,000 · Arts & CultureASPEN ART MUSEUM: $50,000 · Arts & Culture+4 more: $25,500 · Arts & CultureST MONICA CATHOLIC CHURCH: $215,000 · OtherST MONICA CATHOLIC CHURCHKELLOGG SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT: $75,000 · OtherKELLOGG SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENTLOS ANGELES LIBRARY FOUNDATION: $75,000 · OtherLOS ANGELES LIBRARY FOUNDATIONHARVARD-WESTLAKE RIVER PROJECT: $50,000 · OtherST MONICAS CATHOLIC COMMUNITY: $50,000 · OtherLA CLIPPERS FIRE AID: $50,000 · OtherNorthwestern University: $75,000 · OtherNorthwestern UniversityTHE ASPEN INSTITUTE INC: $60,000 · OtherLOS ANGELES MISSION INC: $55,000 · Other+56 more: $587,740 · Other+56 moreThe Trustees of Princeton University: $650,000 · EducationThe Trustees of Princeto…HARVARD-WESTLAKE SCHOOL: $225,000 · EducationHARVARD-WESTLAKE SCHOOLCOLORADO ACADEMY: $80,000 · EducationCOLORADO ACADEMY+1 more: $6,000 · EducationPACIFIC COUNCIL ON INTERNATIONAL POLICY: $184,600 · InternationalPACIFIC C…INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL CORPS: $80,000 · InternationalINTERNATI…International Rescue Committee INC: $50,000 · InternationalInternati…COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS INC: $45,000 · InternationalCOUNCIL O…+2 more: $15,000 · InternationalASPEN CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES: $130,100 · EnvironmentASPEN VALLEY LAND TRUST: $65,000 · EnvironmentHEAL THE BAY: $40,000 · EnvironmentRAINFOREST FOUNDATION INC: $25,000 · EnvironmentCLEAN AIR TASK FORCE INC: $20,000 · EnvironmentENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND INCORPORATED: $20,000 · Environment+3 more: $20,000 · EnvironmentGS DONOR ADVISED PHILANTHROPY FUND FOR WEALTH MANAGEMENT INC: $150,000 · PhilanthropyASPEN COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $91,000 · PhilanthropyCALIFORNIA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $15,000 · PhilanthropyTHE DENVER FOUNDATION: $10,000 · Philanthropy+1 more: $5,000 · PhilanthropyLOS ANGELES FIRE DEPARTMENT FOUNDATION: $39,393 · Public Safety & DisasterTEAM RUBICON INC: $25,000 · Public Safety & DisasterRENEGADE RELIEF FOUNDATION INC: $20,000 · Public Safety & Disaster
Arts & Culture$1,193,200Other$1,292,740Education$961,000International$374,600Environment$320,100Philanthropy$271,000Public Safety & Disaster$84,393

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 budgetMUSIC ASSOCIATES OF ASPEN INC: $787,100 over 6y, 3.1% of budgetThe Trustees of Princeton University: $650,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetHARVARD-WESTLAKE SCHOOL: $225,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetPACIFIC COUNCIL ON INTERNATIONAL POLICY: $184,600 over 6y, 1.7% of budgetTHEATRE ASPEN: $165,000 over 6y, 1.3% of budgetGS DONOR ADVISED PHILANTHROPY FUND FOR WEALTH MANAGEMENT INC: $150,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetASPEN CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES: $130,100 over 6y, 0.5% of budgetTHE BARACK OBAMA FOUNDATION: $105,600 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetASPEN COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $91,000 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetCOLORADO ACADEMY: $80,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetINTERNATIONAL MEDICAL CORPS: $80,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetNorthwestern University: $75,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetASPEN VALLEY LAND TRUST: $65,000 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetTHE ASPEN INSTITUTE INC: $60,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetLOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC ASSOCIATION: $60,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetLOS ANGELES MISSION INC: $55,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetInternational Rescue Committee INC: $50,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetASPEN ART MUSEUM: $50,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetCOUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS INC: $45,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetHEAL THE BAY: $40,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetLOS ANGELES FIRE DEPARTMENT FOUNDATION: $39,393 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetINDEPENDENCE PASS FOUNDATION: $35,000 over 4y, 2.9% of budgetRAINFOREST FOUNDATION INC: $25,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetTEAM RUBICON INC: $25,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetVISIBLE FIGURES: $25,000 over 1y, 19% of budgetRocky Mountain Institute: $25,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCLEAN AIR TASK FORCE INC: $20,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetRENEGADE RELIEF FOUNDATION INC: $20,000 over 1y, 2.3% of budgetENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND INCORPORATED: $20,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCONSERVATION COLORADO: $20,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetCALIFORNIA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $15,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetEQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE: $14,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetDENVER ART MUSEUM: $13,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetTHE WILDERNESS LAND TRUST: $10,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetTHE LIBRARY FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetHUMANITY IN ACTION INC: $10,000 over 1y, 2.8% of budgetUNITED STATES FUND FOR UNICEF: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE DENVER FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE RAPE FOUNDATION: $8,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetPADDINGTON STATION INC: $6,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTIDES FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetInformation Technology and Innovation Foundation: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetGRADES OF GREEN INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetCOALITION FOR RAINFOREST NATIONS SECRETARIAT: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetLOS ANGELES REGIONAL FOOD BANK: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART DENVER: $4,500 over 4y, 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.

  • Who funds MUSIC ASSOCIATES OF ASPEN INC ↗
  • Who funds The Trustees of Princeton University ↗
  • Who funds HARVARD-WESTLAKE SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds PACIFIC COUNCIL ON INTERNATIONAL POLICY ↗
  • Who funds THEATRE ASPEN ↗
  • Who funds GS DONOR ADVISED PHILANTHROPY FUND FOR WEALTH MANAGEMENT INC ↗
  • Who funds ASPEN CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES ↗
  • Who funds THE BARACK OBAMA FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds ASPEN COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds COLORADO ACADEMY ↗
  • Who funds INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL CORPS ↗
  • Who funds Northwestern University ↗
  • Who funds ASPEN VALLEY LAND TRUST ↗
  • Who funds THE ASPEN INSTITUTE INC ↗
  • Who funds LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds LOS ANGELES MISSION INC ↗
  • Who funds International Rescue Committee INC ↗
  • Who funds ASPEN ART MUSEUM ↗
  • Who funds COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS INC ↗
  • Who funds HEAL THE BAY ↗
  • Who funds LOS ANGELES FIRE DEPARTMENT FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds INDEPENDENCE PASS FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds RAINFOREST FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds TEAM RUBICON INC ↗
  • Who funds VISIBLE FIGURES ↗
  • Who funds Rocky Mountain Institute ↗
  • Who funds CLEAN AIR TASK FORCE INC ↗
  • Who funds RENEGADE RELIEF FOUNDATION INC ↗

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.

Colorado Gives Founda…The Paula and William…Aspen Community Found…The Ayco Charitable F…National Philanthropi…Morgan Stanley Global…American Endowment Fo…Charities Aid Foundat…The Blackbaud Giving …Vanguard Charitable E…Donor Advised Charita…Paypal Charitable Giv…
Colorado Gives FoundationCO15.8× affinity6 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Colorado Gives Foundation · The Paula and William Bernstein Family Foundation · Aspen Community Foundation · The Ayco Charitable Foundation · National Philanthropic Trust · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · American Endowment Foundation · Charities Aid Foundation America · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Paypal Charitable Giving Fund

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 Mesdag Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Mesdag Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 30%1%5%11%20%funder's share of their income ↑0%15%30%45%60%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
3get no government money at all
17report 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.

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 101 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 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Mesdag 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