Skip to content
The Nathan & Priscilla Gordon Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Nathan & Priscilla Gordon 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.

$253k
Granted FY2025still arriving
22
Grants FY2025still arriving
8
States reached
$100k
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, FY2017 to 2025.

Education$531kArts & Culture$414kPublic Benefit$79kAnimals$35kHuman Services$30kHealth$8kPublic Safety & Disaster$5kCrime & Legal$5kOther$0
02FY2025 · 22 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k17 grants · $33k
  • $10k–50k2 grants · $20k
  • $50k–250k3 grants · $200k
$2,500
Median grant
8
States reached
$3.6M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
LOUISIANA MUSEUM FOUNDATION$100,000
FRACTURED ATLAS INC$50,000
FRACTURED ATLAS INC$50,000
LOYOLA UNIVERSITY$10,000
UNIVERSITY OF NEW ORLEANS FOUNDATION$10,000
THE ADMINISTRATORS OF THE TULANE EDUCATIONAL FUND$5,000
THE WILD ANIMAL SANCTUARY A COLORADO NON-PROFIT CO$5,000
LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE$5,000
NEW ORLEANS JAZZ CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION INC$4,000
STEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION$3,000
NEW ORLEANS CENTER FOR CREATIVE ARTS FOUNDATION$2,500
NEW ORLEANS JAZZ & HERITAGE FOUNDATION INC$2,000
FRIENDS OF WWOZ INC$1,500
NEW ORLEANS JAZZ CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION INC$1,000
ELLIS MARSALIS CENTER FOR MUSIC INC$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 (FY17–25, $37k) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 35% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%ELLIS MARSALIS CENTER FOR MUSIC INC: $5k → 8%ELLIS MARSALIS CENTER FOR MUSIC INC: $5k → 8%ELLIS MARSALIS CENTER FOR MUSIC INC: $5k → 8%ELLIS MARSALIS CENTER FOR MUSIC INC: $5k → 8%ELLIS MARSALIS CENTER FOR MUSIC INC: $3k → 8%ELLIS MARSALIS CENTER FOR MUSIC INC: $1k → 8%ELLIS MARSALIS CENTER FOR MUSIC INC: $5k → 23%ELLIS MARSALIS CENTER FOR MUSIC INC: $5k → 23%ELLIS MARSALIS CENTER FOR MUSIC INC: $3k → 23%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

MI
NY
MA
NV
OH
CA
CO
VA
MD
TN
NC
DC
LA
GA
TX
FL
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 14% of The Nathan & Priscilla Gordon Foundation’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address.

The Nathan & Priscilla Gordon Foundationlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address
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.

89%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$957k · 23 repeat orgs$119k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +44% since the first grant, against +3% for those funded once.

23 repeat relationships: 12 still active in FY2025, 11 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

23
10

Total granted

$957k
$17k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+44%
+3%

Still filing today

83%
80%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 59% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $102k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
Arts & CultureEducationPublic BenefitHealthHuman ServicesAnimalsOther
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

  • OS
    OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION
    7× · 2017–2023 · $357k · revenue +36%
  • TL
    The Louisiana Museum Foundation
    5× · 2020–2025 · $142k · revenue +106%
  • LU
    LOYOLA UNIVERSITY
    9× · 2017–2025 · $61k · revenue +50%

Funded once

  • TS
    THE SALVATION ARMY
    one grant, 2017 · $5k
  • AF
    America First Legal Foundation
    one grant, 2024 · $5k · revenue 0%
  • SP
    SAMARITAN'S PURSE
    one grant, 2024 · $3k · revenue 0%
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
New Orleans Museum of Art

The mission of the new orleans museum of art is to inspire the love of art; to collect, preserve, exhibit and present excellence in the visual arts; to educate, challenge and engage a diverse public.

Arts & Culture
2
Jazz St Louis

Jazz st louis is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to lead our community in advancing the uniquely american art of jazz through performance, education, and community engagement.

Arts & Culture
3
Thomas Jefferson School of Law

The mission of the school is to provide outstanding legal education in a collegial and supportive environment with attention to newly emerging areas of law, particularly those related to technological development, globalization and the…

Education
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
Lsu Foundation

The lsu foundation cultivates and invests in philanthropic partnerships to support and advance lsu's academic priorities.

Education
6
Vanderbilt University

See Disclosure Above.

Education
7
The Foundation for Sfjazz

The foundation for sfjazz is a ca non-for-profit corporation organized on september 14, 2011. the foundation, whose sole member is san francisco jazz organization, was specifically organized for the exclusive benefit of the organization.…

Education
8
Npr Foundation

The npr foundation ("foundation") is organized and operated exclusively for the benefit of its sole supported organization, national public radio, inc. ("npr inc."). the foundation supports npr inc. through various activities such as…

—
9
Furman University

The primary mission of furman as a liberal arts institution is to provide a distinctive education in fine arts, humanities, social sciences, mathematics and the sciences, as well as selected professional disciplines.

Education
10
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
11
North Carolina Symphony Society Inc

To be north carolina's state orchestra, an orchestra achieving the highest level of artistic quality and performance standards, and embracing its dual legacies of statewide service and music education.

Arts & Culture
12
United States Artists Inc

To invest in america's finest artists and illuminate the value of artists to society.

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation Inc; the most unlike its peers is Samaritan's Purse. 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

36 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. 36 of the 39 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)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
33/36
Grantees still filing
27/36
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $357,000 · EducationOHIO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATIONLOYOLA UNIVERSITY: $61,000 · EducationLOYOLA UNIVERSITYUniversity of New Orleans Foundation: $44,000 · EducationUniversity of New Orleans FoundationTHE ADMINISTRATORS OF THE TULANE EDUCATIONAL FUND: $41,000 · EducationTHE ADMINISTRATORS OF THE TULANE EDUCATIONAL FUND+4 more: $27,684 · EducationFRACTURED ATLAS INC: $100,000 · Arts & CultureFRACTURED ATLAS INCNEW ORLEANS JAZZ ORCHESTRA INC: $43,000 · Arts & CultureNEW ORLEANS JAZZ ORC…NEW ORLEANS CENTER FOR CREATIVE ARTS FOUNDATION: $39,500 · Arts & CultureNEW ORLEANS CENTER F…FRIENDS OF WWOZ INC: $12,250 · Arts & CultureFRIENDS OF WWOZ INC+8 more: $10,449 · Arts & CultureThe Louisiana Museum Foundation: $142,350 · OtherThe Louisiana Museum …PROJECT VERITAS: $29,000 · OtherPROJECT VERITASTHE SALVATION ARMY: $15,000 · OtherTHE SALVATION ARMYFISHER HOUSE FOUNDATION INC: $8,000 · Other+6 more: $15,800 · Other+6 moreJUDICIAL WATCH INC: $37,000 · Public BenefitLeadership Institute: $25,000 · Public BenefitTHE HERITAGE FOUNDATION: $17,000 · Public BenefitNAVY-MARINE CORPS RELIEF SOCIETY: $6,000 · Public Benefit+1 more: $500 · Public BenefitELLIS MARSALIS CENTER FOR MUSIC INC: $37,000 · Human ServicesTHE WILD ANIMAL SANCTUARY: $34,954 · AnimalsSHRINERS HOSPITALS FOR CHILDREN: $6,500 · HealthST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $1,000 · Health
Education$530,684Arts & Culture$205,199Other$210,150Public Benefit$85,500Human Services$37,000Animals$34,954Health$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 budgetOHIO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $357,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetThe Louisiana Museum Foundation: $142,350 over 5y, 5.9% of budgetLOYOLA UNIVERSITY: $61,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetUniversity of New Orleans Foundation: $44,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetNEW ORLEANS JAZZ ORCHESTRA INC: $43,000 over 7y, 1.2% of budgetTHE ADMINISTRATORS OF THE TULANE EDUCATIONAL FUND: $41,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetNEW ORLEANS CENTER FOR CREATIVE ARTS FOUNDATION: $39,500 over 9y, 0.3% of budgetELLIS MARSALIS CENTER FOR MUSIC INC: $37,000 over 9y, 0.4% of budgetJUDICIAL WATCH INC: $37,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetTHE WILD ANIMAL SANCTUARY: $34,954 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetPROJECT VERITAS: $29,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetLeadership Institute: $25,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE HERITAGE FOUNDATION: $17,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetSTEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION: $13,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetFRIENDS OF WWOZ INC: $12,250 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetHILLSDALE COLLEGE: $10,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetFISHER HOUSE FOUNDATION INC: $8,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetSHRINERS HOSPITALS FOR CHILDREN: $6,500 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetNAVY-MARINE CORPS RELIEF SOCIETY: $6,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetAmerica First Legal Foundation: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWARREN EASTON HIGH SCHOOL FOUNDATION INC DBA WARREN EASTON CHARTER SCHOOL: $3,250 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetTRUE THE VOTE INC: $2,500 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetSAMARITAN'S PURSE: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCOLORADO JAZZ INC: $1,700 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF DENVER: $1,434 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetRENO JAZZ ORCHESTRA: $575 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetUNITED SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS INC: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetColorado Conservatory For the Jazz Arts: $500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCITY PARK JAZZ INC: $300 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetFRENCH QUARTER FESTIVALS INC: $149 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFriends of Beauregard-Keyes House Inc: $125 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetVIEUX CARRE COMMISSION FOUNDATION: $100 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.

Ella West Freeman Fou…The Helis FoundationNew Orleans Theatre A…Goldring Family Found…The Greater New Orlea…The Alex Berger Found…Gia Maione Prima Foun…Leslie Fund IncEugenie & Joseph Jone…Bentson FoundationShell USA Company Fou…Arthur J Gallagher Fo…
Ella West Freeman FoundationLA17.8× affinity6 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Ella West Freeman Foundation · The Helis Foundation · New Orleans Theatre Association Inc · Goldring Family Foundation · The Greater New Orleans Foundation · The Alex Berger Foundation · Gia Maione Prima Foundation · Leslie Fund Inc · Eugenie & Joseph Jones Family Foundation · Bentson Foundation · Shell USA Company Foundation · Arthur J Gallagher 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 Nathan & Priscilla Gordon Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Nathan & Priscilla Gordon Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%8%15%22%30%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • Shriners Hospitals for Children: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
11report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–30%
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 Nathan & Priscilla Gordon Foundation?

Find your warmest path to The Nathan & Priscilla Gordon 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 39 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 Nathan & Priscilla Gordon’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