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· Private foundation

The Phyllis & Donald Epstein 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.

$118k
Granted FY2024still arriving
12
Grants FY2024still arriving
7
States reached
$25k
Largest
01What it funds
0194% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Animals$142kHealth$122kInternational$96kArts & Culture$60kEnvironment$48kEducation$26kHuman Services$19kHousing & Shelter$17kOther$0
02FY2024 · 12 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k5 grants · $23k
  • $10k–50k7 grants · $95k
$10,000
Median grant
7
States reached
$555k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
AUSTRIAN-AMERICAN COUNCIL WEST$25,000
DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS$15,000
OPERATION SMILE$15,000
TUNNELS TO TOWERS$10,000
SHRINERS HOSPITAL FOR CHILDREN$10,000
ST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL$10,000
MERCY SHIPS$10,000
UNITED IN HARMONY$5,000
LUSTGARTEN FOUNDATION$5,000
WAGS AND WALKS ADOPTION CENTER$5,000
FARM SANCTUARY$5,000
LANGE FOUNDATION$2,500
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, $33k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 54% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants spread fairly evenly across need levels.

area typical 10%BOY'S TOWN: $30 → 12%ORPHAN ACRES: $1k → 16%ORPHAN ACRES: $250 → 16%ORPHAN ACRES: $200 → 16%ORPHAN ACRES: $200 → 16%ORPHAN ACRES: $100 → 16%LUSTGARTEN FOUNDATION: $10k → 6%LUSTGARTEN FOUNDATION: $5k → 6%LUSTGARTEN FOUNDATION: $300 → 6%INNOCENCE PROJECT: $4k → 17%LANGE FOUNDATION: $3k → 14%LANGE FOUNDATION: $1k → 14%LANGE FOUNDATION: $600 → 14%LANGE FOUNDATION: $300 → 14%LANGE FOUNDATION: $300 → 14%LANGE FOUNDATION: $250 → 14%LANGE FOUNDATION: $200 → 14%MEALS ON WHEELS4 WEST: $300 → 14%BRAILLE INSTITUTE OF AMERICA INC: $300 → 14%UNITED IN HARMONY: $5k → 14%LANGE FOUNDATION: $500 → 14%LANGE FOUNDATION: $500 → 14%LANGE FOUNDATION: $500 → 14%LANGE FOUNDATION: $400 → 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

ME
NH
ID
MN
MI
NY
MA
NV
SD
IA
IN
NJ
CA
UT
CO
NE
KY
WV
VA
MD
AZ
NM
KS
AR
TN
DC
OK
LA
AL
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 78% of The Phyllis & Donald Epstein Foundation’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address. By recipient address, 35% of the giving stays in CA; by stated purpose, 14%.

The Phyllis & Donald Epstein 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.

82%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$508k · 152 repeat orgs$110k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +40% since the first grant, against +26% for those funded once.

152 repeat relationships: 9 still active in FY2024, 143 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

152
93

Total granted

$508k
$75k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+40%
+26%

Still filing today

51%
31%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 70% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $35k 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
AnimalsHuman ServicesInternationalHealthEnvironmentArts & CultureOther
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
    OPERATION SMILE INC
    5× · 2020–2024 · $21k · revenue +14%
  • ST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC
    5× · 2020–2024 · $17k · revenue +78%
  • LA
    LOS ANGELES SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS
    7× · 2017–2023 · $16k · revenue +40%

Funded once

  • WA
    WALLIS ANNENBERG CENTER FOR THE ARTS
    one grant, 2017 · $20k
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2023 · $5k
  • AC
    ANGELA CITY PITT BULLS
    one grant, 2023 · $5k
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
American Humane Association

Founded in 1877, american humane association, dba american humane society (american humane) is committed to ensuring the safety, welfare and well-being of animals. our leadership programs are first to serve in promoting and nurturing the…

Animals
2
Conservation International Foundation

Ci works to spotlight and secure the critical benefits that nature provides to humanity.

Environment
3
Animal Wellness Action

To prevent cruelty to animals, we promote enacting and enforcing good public policies. enacting good laws depends upon electing good lawmakers, and we remind voters which candidates care about and support animal issues.

Human Services
4
World Animal Protection

World animal protection is a global organization working to end factory farming and wildlife exploitation. we expose cruel systems, promote animal-friendly alternatives, and influence policy change. for over 75 years, we've been rewriting…

Animals
5
Rainforest Trust

Rainforest trust saves endangered wildlife and protects our planet by creating rainforest reserves through partnerships, community engagement, and donor support.

International
6
Humane World Action Fund

To pass animal protection laws, educate the public, and support humane candidates for office.

Animals
7
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
8
Panthera Corporation

Panthera's mission is the conservation of the world's 40 wild cat species, many of which are endangered or threatened. panthera develops, implements and oversees wild cat conservation strategies on a global scale.

Animals
9
Four Paws International Inc

Our vision is a world where humans treat animals with respect, empathy and understanding. four paws mission is to be the strong, global and independent voice for animals.

Animals
10
The Humane League

We exist to end the abuse of animals raised for food. this mission is executed by persuading companies and institutions to adopt animal welfare policies through negotiation and pressure campaigns, and then holding them accountable to their…

Animals
11
Oceana Inc

To advocate for policy changes by governments and corporations in order to preserve ocean life and return the oceans to their former abundance.

Environment
12
Project Drawdown

Project drawdown's mission is to drive meaningful climate action by advancing science-based solutions and strategies. project drawdown's work is focused on three pillars: science - advancing science-based climate solutions and strategies;…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Seeing Eye Inc; the most unlike its peers is The Healing Hands 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.
05the grantee network

111 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

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 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 111 of the 250 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)
111/111
Grantees still filing
92/111
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

AUSTRIAN-AMERICAN COUNCIL WEST: $25,000 · OtherAUSTRIAN-AMERICAN COUNCIL WESTWALLIS ANNENBERG CENTER FOR THE ARTS: $20,000 · OtherWALLIS ANNENBERG CENTER FOR THE ARTSDOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS: $18,800 · OtherDOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERSSHRINERS HOSPITAL FOR CHILDREN: $13,800 · Other+125 more: $256,740 · Other+125 moreLOS ANGELES SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS: $15,500 · AnimalsLOS ANGELES SO…THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS: $8,850 · AnimalsTHE AMERICAN S…Humane World for Animals Inc: $7,700 · AnimalsHumane World f…JANE GOODALL INSTITUTE FOR WILDLIFE RESEARCH EDUCATION AND CONSERVATION: $5,350 · AnimalsJANE GOODALL I…I Stand With My Pack Inc: $5,000 · AnimalsI Stand With M…THE MARINE MAMMAL CENTER: $3,850 · AnimalsDefenders of Wildlife: $3,300 · AnimalsGREATER LOS ANGELES ZOOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION: $3,300 · AnimalsCHIMP HAVEN INC: $3,050 · Animals+19 more: $21,500 · Animals+19 moreOPERATION SMILE INC: $20,700 · InternationalOPERATION S…Mercy Ships International: $15,100 · InternationalMercy Ships…MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $8,300 · InternationalMEDECINS SA…WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $6,300 · InternationalWORLD CENTR…AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL OF THE USA INC: $3,000 · InternationalSave The Children Federation Inc: $2,200 · International+5 more: $5,800 · International+5 moreMARC LUSTGARTEN PANCREATIC CANCER FOUNDATION: $15,300 · Human ServicesMARC LUST…LANGE FOUNDATION: $7,050 · Human ServicesLANGE FOU…GUIDE DOGS FOR THE BLIND INC: $7,050 · Human ServicesGUIDE DOG…UNITED IN HARMONY: $5,000 · Human ServicesUNITED IN…THE SEEING EYE INC: $3,600 · Human ServicesTHE SEEIN…THE INNOCENCE PROJECT INC: $3,500 · Human ServicesTHE INNOC…UNION RESCUE MISSION: $2,000 · Human ServicesORPHAN ACRES INC: $1,750 · Human Services+5 more: $4,200 · Human Services+5 moreST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $16,650 · HealthChildren's Hospital Los Angeles: $15,300 · HealthAMERICAN INSTITUTE FOR CANCER RESEARCH: $10,700 · HealthMARCH OF DIMES INC: $1,800 · Health+2 more: $1,300 · HealthWORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $7,750 · EnvironmentTREEPEOPLE INC: $7,200 · EnvironmentENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND INCORPORATED: $4,200 · EnvironmentTHE WILDERNESS SOCIETY: $4,200 · EnvironmentNATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY INC: $1,600 · EnvironmentOCEAN CONSERVANCY: $1,500 · EnvironmentNATIONAL PARK TRUST INC: $1,000 · Environment+3 more: $1,500 · EnvironmentSTEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION: $13,500 · EducationUCLA FOUNDATION: $4,500 · Education+1 more: $550 · Education
Other$334,340Animals$77,400International$61,400Human Services$49,450Health$45,750Environment$28,950Education$18,550

Showing the 200 largest grantees by grant value.

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 budgetAUSTRIAN-AMERICAN COUNCIL WEST: $25,000 over 1y, 8.9% of budgetOPERATION SMILE INC: $20,700 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $16,650 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetLOS ANGELES SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS: $15,500 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetMARC LUSTGARTEN PANCREATIC CANCER FOUNDATION: $15,300 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetChildren's Hospital Los Angeles: $15,300 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetMercy Ships International: $15,100 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSTEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION: $13,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN INSTITUTE FOR CANCER RESEARCH: $10,700 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetTHE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS: $8,850 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $8,300 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetWORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $7,750 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetHumane World for Animals Inc: $7,700 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetLA FAMILY HOUSING CORPORATION: $7,500 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetTREEPEOPLE INC: $7,200 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetLANGE FOUNDATION: $7,050 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetGUIDE DOGS FOR THE BLIND INC: $7,050 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $6,300 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PUBLIC RADIO: $5,700 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetJANE GOODALL INSTITUTE FOR WILDLIFE RESEARCH EDUCATION AND CONSERVATION: $5,350 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetUNITED IN HARMONY: $5,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetI Stand With My Pack Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetUCLA FOUNDATION: $4,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND INCORPORATED: $4,200 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetTHE WILDERNESS SOCIETY: $4,200 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetTHE MARINE MAMMAL CENTER: $3,850 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetTHE SEEING EYE INC: $3,600 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetTHE INNOCENCE PROJECT INC: $3,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetDefenders of Wildlife: $3,300 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetGREATER LOS ANGELES ZOOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION: $3,300 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCHIMP HAVEN INC: $3,050 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetAMNESTY INTERNATIONAL OF THE USA INC: $3,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSMILE TRAIN INC: $3,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetBEVERLY HILLS POLICE FOUNDATION: $2,900 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetGREENPEACE INC: $2,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetBEST FRIENDS ANIMAL SOCIETY: $2,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetPEOPLE FOR THE ETHICAL TREATMENT OF ANIMALS INC: $2,400 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetSave The Children Federation Inc: $2,200 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetUNION RESCUE MISSION: $2,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetMUTTVILLE: $2,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetMARCH OF DIMES INC: $1,800 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetORPHAN ACRES INC: $1,750 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetAlley Cat Allies Inc: $1,700 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCALIFORNIA STATE PARKS FOUNDATION: $1,700 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetWOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT INC: $1,600 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetAFRICAN WILDLIFE FOUNDATION INC: $1,600 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY INC: $1,600 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetLITTLE LONGEARS MINI DONKEY RESCUE INC: $1,600 over 3y, 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.

  • Who funds AUSTRIAN-AMERICAN COUNCIL WEST ↗
  • Who funds OPERATION SMILE INC ↗
  • Who funds ST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC ↗
  • Who funds LOS ANGELES SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS ↗
  • Who funds MARC LUSTGARTEN PANCREATIC CANCER FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Children's Hospital Los Angeles ↗
  • Who funds Mercy Ships International ↗
  • Who funds STEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds AMERICAN INSTITUTE FOR CANCER RESEARCH ↗
  • Who funds THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS ↗
  • Who funds MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC ↗
  • Who funds WORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC ↗
  • Who funds Humane World for Animals Inc ↗
  • Who funds NPR FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds LA FAMILY HOUSING CORPORATION ↗
  • Who funds TREEPEOPLE INC ↗
  • Who funds LANGE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds GUIDE DOGS FOR THE BLIND INC ↗
  • Who funds WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC ↗
  • Who funds SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PUBLIC RADIO ↗
  • Who funds JANE GOODALL INSTITUTE FOR WILDLIFE RESEARCH EDUCATION AND CONSERVATION ↗
  • Who funds UNITED IN HARMONY ↗
  • Who funds I Stand With My Pack Inc ↗
  • Who funds UCLA FOUNDATION ↗

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.

Amg Charitable Gift FoundationCO20.6× affinity8 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Amg Charitable Gift Foundation · Joyce a Ward Foundation · PC Fund for Animals Charitable Tr · Sempra Foundation · Bernard Weinberg Foundation · Paula Knickerbocker Foundation Inc · Gat Family Foundation · The Susan and Ford Schumann Foundation · Grace and Li Yu Family Foundation · Seckinger Foundation Corporation · The Gerald B Shreiber Foundation · American Express 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 Phyllis & Donald Epstein Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Phyllis & Donald Epstein Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 70%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%23%45%68%90%share of the org’s income from government →median 6%
  • National Park Trust Inc: 51% of income from government
  • Mercy Corps: 47% of income from government
  • Save the Children Federation Inc: 30% of income from government
  • From the Top Inc: 6% of income from government
  • Feed the Children Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Wounded Warrior Project Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Shriners Hospitals for Children: 0% of income from government
  • Oxfam-America Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
7get no government money at all
18report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
1rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–90%
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 Phyllis & Donald Epstein Foundation?

Find your warmest path to The Phyllis & Donald Epstein 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 250 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

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