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The Ruth & Louis Gerstle Foundation Inc at a glance

· Private foundation

The Ruth & Louis Gerstle Foundation Inc

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.

$5k
Granted FY2024still arriving
10
Grants FY2024still arriving
3
States reached
$500
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
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 2024.

Health$28kEducation$10kReligion$10kInternational$6kPublic Safety & Disaster$3kHuman Services$1kPublic Benefit$1kArts & Culture$750Other$0
02FY2024 · 10 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$500
Median grant
3
States reached
$51k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
ISRAEL CANCER RESEARCH FUND$500
GLAUCOMA RESEARCH FOUNDATION$500
SUSAN G KOMEN BREAST CANCER FOUNDATION$500
AMERICAN FRIENDS OF MAGEN DAVID ADOM$500
AMERICAN PARKINSONS DISEASE ASSN$500
FRIENDS OF THE IDF$500
AMERICAN FRIENDS OF UNITED HATZALAH$500
LUSTGARTEN FDN FOR PANCREATIC CANCER$500
ZAKA RESCUE & RECOVERY$500
MACULAR DEGENERATION RESEARCH$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 (FY17–22, $3k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT: $500 → 14%AMERICAN FRIENDS OF YAD ELIEZER: $750 → 11%WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT: $250 → 14%AMERICAN FRIENDS OF YAD ELIEZER: $500 → 11%AMERICAN FRIENDS OF YAD ELIEZER: $500 → 11%FRIENDSHIP CIRCLE: $250 → 16%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.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

94%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$55k · 22 repeat orgs$4k to everyone else

22 repeat relationships: 8 still active in FY2024, 14 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

22
5

Total granted

$55k
$3k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+61%
+137%

Still filing today

68%
60%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 80% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $1k 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
HealthInternationalHuman ServicesPublic Safety & DisasterReligionPublic BenefitOther
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

  • MS
    MAIMONIDES SHALOM ACADEMY INC
    4× · 2017–2022 · $7k · revenue +115%
  • AF
    AMERICAN FRIENDS OF MAGEN DAVID ADOM
    7× · 2017–2024 · $3k · revenue +206%
  • AF
    AMERICAN FRIENDS OF DBI INC
    2× · 2018–2019 · $3k · revenue +38%

Funded once

  • FO
    FRIENDS OF UNITED HATZALAH INCgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $750 · revenue +383%
  • AF
    AMERICAN FRIENDS OF YAD ELIEZAR
    one grant, 2017 · $500
  • AF
    AMERICAN FRIENDS OF GENESIS JERUSALEM INCgraduated
    one grant, 2018 · $500 · revenue +71%
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
Idf Memorial Foundation
Philanthropy
2
Zichron Avrohom Yosef
Philanthropy
3
American Friends of Ish El Rayahu

To promote, benefit, and support Jewish religious, charitable & educational activities in Israel and the USA.

Religion
4
Adi Israel Foundation Inc

Aleh Israel Foundation, Inc.(The Foundation)is a Foundation that provides support to rehabilitative centers caring for most severely disabled children in Israel.

International
5
American Friends of Yeshiva Aish Hatorah
—
6
Israel Medical Fund Corp

To provide guidance and support to families with ill or physically disabled family members

Human Services
7
Zichron Chaim Avraham Foundation
Philanthropy
8
American Friends of Oseh Chayil

To further jewish education in israel

Religion
9
American Friends of Hakav Hameached Inc

To help and support children with rare sybfromes and disorders and their families. to help and support children victimized and traumatized by terror attacks and thier families.

International
10
Sherit Isroel
—
11
American Friends of Israel Emergency Aid Fund

To provide funding for medical and humanitarian projects throughout israel. the organization might make grants to other organizations providing such services, including, but not limited to, evp israel and israel emergency aid fund, israeli…

Public Safety & Disaster
12
American Friends of Daas Aharon Inc

To promote, assist, and sponsor the spreading of Jewish religious education in Israel. The organization will also organize inspirational gatherings in the USA to enhance the participants' Torah knowledge.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is American Friends of Alyn Hospitalinc; the most unlike its peers is Zaka Rescue & Recovery 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

19 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. 19 of the 29 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)
7
Early backer (in before they grew)
19/19
Grantees still filing
17/19
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

MACULAR DEGENERATION RESEARCH: $5,000 · OtherMACULAR DEGENERATION RESEARCHLUSTGARTEN FDN FOR PANCREATIC CANCER: $4,500 · OtherLUSTGARTEN FDN FOR PANCREATIC CANCERCONGREGATION ETZ CHAIM: $3,000 · OtherCONGREGATION ETZ CHAIMJEC: $2,600 · OtherJECCONGREGATION BETH SHOLOM: $2,500 · OtherCONGREGATION BETH SHOLOMAMERICAN FRIENDS OF UNITED HATZALAH: $2,470 · OtherAMERICAN FRIENDS OF UNITED HATZALAHGLAUCOMA RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $2,220 · OtherGLAUCOMA RESEARCH FOUNDATIONISRAEL CANCER RESEARCH FUND INC: $2,000 · OtherISRAEL CANCER RESEARCH FUND INCCHAYAL EL CHAYAL INC: $1,000 · Other+4 more: $2,250 · Other+4 moreCHAI LIFELINE INC: $2,750 · HealthCHAI LIFELINE INCAMERICAN PARKINSON DISEASE ASSOC: $2,720 · HealthAMERICAN PARKINSON D…FOUNDATION FOR DIABETES RESEARCH: $2,500 · HealthFOUNDATION FOR DIABE…ISRAEL CHILDRENS CANCER FOUNDATION INC: $1,500 · HealthISRAEL CHILDRENS CAN…ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE & RELATED DISORDERS ASSOCIATION INC: $1,250 · HealthALZHEIMER'S DISEASE …MAIMONIDES SHALOM ACADEMY INC: $7,000 · ReligionMAIMONIDES SH…AMERICAN FRIENDS OF MAGEN DAVID ADOM: $3,470 · InternationalAMERICAN F…AMERICAN FRIENDS OF ALYN HOSPITALINC: $750 · InternationalAMERICAN F…FRIENDS OF THE ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES: $500 · InternationalFRIENDS OF…AMERICAN FRIENDS OF GENESIS JERUSALEM INC: $500 · InternationalAMERICAN F…AMERICAN FRIENDS OF DBI INC: $3,000 · EducationAMERICAN FRIENDS OF YAD ELIEZER: $1,750 · Human ServicesWOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT INC: $750 · Human ServicesTHE FRIENDSHIP CIRCLE INC: $250 · Human ServicesZaka Rescue & Recovery Inc: $1,610 · Public Safety & DisasterHATZALAH OF THE ROCKAWAYS & NASSAU COUNTY INC: $1,000 · Public Safety & Disaster
Other$27,540Health$10,720Religion$7,000International$5,220Education$3,000Human Services$2,750Public Safety & Disaster$2,610

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 budgetMAIMONIDES SHALOM ACADEMY INC: $7,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN FRIENDS OF MAGEN DAVID ADOM: $3,470 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetCHAI LIFELINE INC: $2,750 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN PARKINSON DISEASE ASSOC: $2,720 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetISRAEL CANCER RESEARCH FUND INC: $2,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN FRIENDS OF YAD ELIEZER: $1,750 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetZaka Rescue & Recovery Inc: $1,610 over 4y, 1.6% of budgetISRAEL CHILDRENS CANCER FOUNDATION INC: $1,500 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetALZHEIMER'S DISEASE & RELATED DISORDERS ASSOCIATION INC: $1,250 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetHATZALAH OF THE ROCKAWAYS & NASSAU COUNTY INC: $1,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCHAYAL EL CHAYAL INC: $1,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetFRIENDS OF UNITED HATZALAH INC: $750 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN FRIENDS OF ALYN HOSPITALINC: $750 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetWOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT INC: $750 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN FRIENDS OF GENESIS JERUSALEM INC: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE FRIENDSHIP CIRCLE INC: $250 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.

Jewish Communal FundThe Pfizer Foundation…The Bank of America C…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Jewish Communal FundNY17.3× affinity7 shared granteesties to 5 of 5Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Jewish Communal Fund · The Pfizer 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 Ruth & Louis Gerstle Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Ruth & Louis Gerstle Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 40%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%1%3%4%5%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • Wounded Warrior Project Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
4get no government money at all
2report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–5%
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 29 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.

Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2025) is on record but names no grant recipient in the published copy, so the figures above are from FY2024, the most recent year this funder’s grantee list reached the public record.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Ruth & Louis Gerstle’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