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· Private foundation

The Samuel L Westerman Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$534k
Granted FY2025still arriving
144
Grants FY2025still arriving
15
States reached
$30k
Largest
01What it funds
0193% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Education$1.1MHealth$455kReligion$259kHuman Services$234kArts & Culture$205kPublic Benefit$102kPhilanthropy$90kRecreation & Sports$77kOther$0
02FY2025 · 144 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k130 grants · $335k
  • $10k–50k14 grants · $199k
$2,000
Median grant
15
States reached
$5.4M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
GRAND VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY$30,000
Individual grant recipient$22,000
HENRY FORD HEALTH SYSTEMS$17,000
OHIO WESLEYEN UNIVERSITY$15,000
EASTER SEALS OF MI$15,000
GRAND RAPIDS CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS$15,000
ORCHARD LAKE COMMUNITY CHURCH PRESBYTERIAN$12,500
DOWN SYNDROME ASSOCIATION OF WEST MICHIGAN$12,000
NOORTHOEK ACADEMY - GRAND RAPIDS COMMUNITY COLLEGE$10,000
THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION$10,000
UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME$10,000
VAN ANDEL INSITUTE$10,000
NEW ERA CHRISTIAN SCHOOL$10,000
ALLENDALE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL$10,000
WAYBIRDS OF GLORY MUSEUM$9,500
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 (FY20–25, $105k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 40% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%BENJAMIN'S HOPE: $5k → 8%PAWS WITH A CAUSE: $1k → 10%CAMP SUNSHINE: $4k → 8%PAWS WITH A CAUSE: $1k → 10%LITTLE BROTHERS FRIENDS OF THE ELDERLY: $3k → 14%CAMP SUNSHINE: $4k → 8%LITTLE BROTHERS FRIENDS OF THE ELDERLY: $3k → 14%SAN DIEGO YOUGH SERVICES: $2k → 11%LITTLE BROTHERS FRIENDS OF THE ELDERLY: $3k → 14%SAN DIEGO YOUGH SERVICES: $1k → 11%CAMP SUNSHINE: $3k → 8%LITTLE BROTHERS FRIENDS OF THE ELDERLY: $3k → 14%SAN DIEGO YOUGH SERVICES: $1k → 11%LITTLE BROTHERS FRIENDS OF THE ELDERLY: $2k → 14%CAMP SUNSHINE: $3k → 8%LITTLE BROTHERS FRIENDS OF THE ELDERLY: $2k → 14%CAMP SUNSHINE: $3k → 8%OAKLAND FAMILY SERVICES: $1k → 8%CAMP SUNSHINE: $3k → 8%OAKLAND FAMILY SERVICES: $1k → 8%BENJAMIN'S HOPE: $2k → 8%OAKLAND FAMILY SERVICES: $1k → 8%OAKLAND FAMILY SERVICES: $1k → 8%OAKLAND FAMILY SERVICES: $1k → 8%OAKLAND FAMILY SERVICES: $1k → 8%JOY'S HOUSE: $1k → 16%JOY'S HOUSE: $1k → 16%JOY'S HOUSE: $1k → 16%JOY'S HOUSE: $1k → 16%JOY'S HOUSE: $1k → 16%EASTER SEALS OF MICHIGAN: $5k → 8%HOPE INCHOPE HOSPITALITY AND WARMING CENTER INC: $2k → 8%HOPE INCHOPE HOSPITALITY AND WARMING CENTER INC: $2k → 8%LOVE IN ACTION OF THE TRI-CITIES: $3k → 8%HOPE INCHOPE HOSPITALITY AND WARMING CENTER INC: $2k → 8%HOPE INCHOPE HOSPITALITY AND WARMING CENTER INC: $2k → 8%HOPE INCHOPE HOSPITALITY AND WARMING CENTER INC: $2k → 8%LOVE IN ACTION OF THE TRI-CITIES: $2k → 8%HOPE INCHOPE HOSPITALITY AND WARMING CENTER INC: $1k → 8%JUDSON CENTER: $5k → 21%LOVE IN ACTION OF THE TRI-CITIES: $2k → 8%LOVE IN ACTION OF THE TRI-CITIES: $2k → 8%LOVE IN ACTION OF THE TRI-CITIES: $2k → 8%LOVE IN ACTION OF THE TRI-CITIES: $2k → 8%METHODIST CHILDREN'S HOME SOCIETY: $4k → 21%METHODIST CHILDREN'S HOME SOCIETY: $4k → 21%METHODIST CHILDREN'S HOME SOCIETY: $3k → 21%METHODIST CHILDREN'S HOME SOCIETY: $2k → 21%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

MN
IL
MI
NY
MA
OR
IN
OH
CA
CO
KY
VA
NC
DC
GA
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.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

97%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$2.9M · 162 repeat orgs$101k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +36% since the first grant, against +29% for those funded once.

162 repeat relationships: 125 still active in FY2025, 37 since wound down; 15 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

162
33

Total granted

$2.9M
$66k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+36%
+29%

Still filing today

52%
33%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 93% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $36k 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
EducationHuman ServicesArts & CultureHealthCrime & LegalPhilanthropyOther
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

  • HF
    HENRY FORD HEALTH SYSTEM
    6× · 2020–2025 · $81k · revenue +48%
  • VA
    VAN ANDEL INSTITUTE
    6× · 2020–2025 · $75k · revenue +25%
  • OW
    OHIO WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY
    5× · 2021–2025 · $75k · revenue +46%

Funded once

  • FU
    FINLANDIA UNIVERSITY
    one grant, 2020 · $10k · revenue +6%
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2023 · $5k
  • WI
    WAYCROSS INC
    one grant, 2024 · $5k · 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
The Northern Michigan University Foundation

The nmu foundation will establish and foster relationships to generate resources that benefit the strategic goals of northern michigan university.

Education
2
Detroit Historical Society

The Detroit Historical Society tells Detroit's stories and why they matter through its exhibits, programs, outreach, and the preservation and dissemination of its artifacts and collections.

Arts & Culture
3
Grand View University

Engages, equips and empowers learners to explore their vocations, fulfill their potential and serve the world.

Education
4
Dallas International University

As a christian university, we provide education and research opportunities preparing global leaders to partner with local communities.

Education
5
Evangel University

Evangel is a comprehensive christian university that is committed to excellence in educating and equipping students to become spirit empowered servants of god who will impact the church and society globally.

Education
6
Madonna University

The mission of madonna university, a catholic and franciscan institution of higher learning, is to instill in its students christain humanistic values, intellectual inquiry, a respect for university and a committment to serving others…

Education
7
Union Health System

To serve our communities by provding innovative and compassionate healthcare.

Health
8
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
9
Kalamazoo College

The mission of kalamazoo college is to prepare its graduates to better understand, live sucessfully within, and provide enlightened leadership to a richly diverse and increasingly complex world. as a highly selective, nationally renowened…

Education
10
Augustana College

Rooted in the liberal arts & sciences & lutheran expression of the christian faith, & is committed to offering a challenging education that develops qualities of mind, spirit, & body necessary for a rewarding life of leadership & service…

Education
11
Lake Forest College

Provide post-secondary education leading to a baccalaureate degree. Program service expenditures are made in conjunction with the operation of a liberal arts college spread over 107 acres with approximately 63 educational and support…

Education
12
Illinois College

Illinois college is a co-educational institution of higher education learning providing a four-year educational program leading to the baccalaureate degree. illinois college is a community committed to the highest standards of scholarship…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Heritage Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Innocent. 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

109 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. 109 of the 216 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)
28
Early backer (in before they grew)
106/109
Grantees still filing
89/109
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Individual grant recipient: $150,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientGRAND VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY: $90,250 · OtherORCHARD LAKE COMMUNITY CHURCH PRESBYTERIAN: $67,000 · Other+135 more: $1,633,965 · Other+135 moreOHIO WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY: $75,000 · EducationOHIO WESLEYAN UNIVERS…GRAND RAPIDS CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS: $62,000 · EducationGRAND RAPIDS CHRISTIA…Indiana University Foundation: $61,500 · EducationIndiana University Fo…CALVIN UNIVERSITY: $45,500 · EducationCALVIN UNIVERSITYDePauw University: $45,000 · EducationDePauw UniversityUniversity of Notre Dame du Lac: $40,000 · EducationUniversity of Notre D…HOPE COLLEGE: $37,000 · EducationHOPE COLLEGECulver Educational Foundation: $31,500 · EducationCulver Educational Fo…Spring Arbor University: $31,000 · EducationSpring Arbor Universi…HILLSDALE COLLEGE: $30,000 · EducationCedarville University: $30,000 · EducationWestside Christian Academy: $25,000 · Education+9 more: $65,500 · Education+9 moreDETROIT OPERA: $30,000 · Arts & CultureWEST MICHIGAN SYMPHONY: $25,798 · Arts & CultureDETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC: $12,000 · Arts & CultureTHE DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS: $12,000 · Arts & CultureGRAND RAPIDS ART MUSEUM: $12,000 · Arts & CultureWARBIRDS OF GLORY MUSEUM: $11,500 · Arts & CultureINDIANAPOLIS CHAMBER ORCHESTRA INC: $10,500 · Arts & CultureHOLLAND SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: $6,500 · Arts & CultureGRAND RAPIDS CIVIC THEATRE INC: $5,000 · Arts & Culture+3 more: $6,504 · Arts & CultureHENRY FORD HEALTH SYSTEM: $81,000 · HealthALANO CLUB OF KENT COUNTY: $14,000 · HealthLAKESHORE PREGNANCY CENTER INC: $6,500 · HealthRESILIENCE: $6,000 · HealthDetroit Rescue Mission Ministries: $6,000 · HealthTRINITY HEALTH - MICHIGAN: $5,000 · Health+2 more: $2,750 · HealthCAMP SUNSHINE: $19,500 · Human ServicesLITTLE BROTHERS FRIENDS OF THE ELDERLY UPPER MICHIGAN CHAPTER: $14,750 · Human ServicesLOVE INC OF THE TRI-CITIES: $13,000 · Human ServicesMethodist Children's Home Society: $12,500 · Human ServicesHOPE HOSPITALITY AND WARMING CENTER INC: $11,000 · Human ServicesBENJAMIN'S HOPE: $6,500 · Human ServicesOAKLAND FAMILY SERVICES: $6,000 · Human ServicesPINE REST FOUNDATION: $6,000 · Human ServicesTMP Enterprises Inc: $5,750 · Human ServicesJUDSON CENTER INC: $5,000 · Human ServicesEASTERSEALS MORC HEALTH CARE INC: $5,000 · Human ServicesSAN DIEGO YOUTH SERVICES: $4,000 · Human Services+1 more: $2,000 · Human ServicesTHE HERITAGE FOUNDATION: $60,000 · Public BenefitJUDICIAL WATCH INC: $30,000 · Public BenefitLeadership Institute: $12,000 · Public BenefitVAN ANDEL INSTITUTE: $75,000 · PhilanthropyST BALDRICK'S FOUNDATION INC: $4,000 · PhilanthropyGRACIOUS GROUNDS INC: $3,000 · Philanthropy+2 more: $2,500 · Philanthropy
Other$1,941,215Education$579,000Arts & Culture$131,802Health$121,250Human Services$111,000Public Benefit$102,000Philanthropy$84,500

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 budgetHENRY FORD HEALTH SYSTEM: $81,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetVAN ANDEL INSTITUTE: $75,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetOHIO WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY: $75,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetGRAND RAPIDS CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS: $62,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetIndiana University Foundation: $61,500 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetTHE HERITAGE FOUNDATION: $60,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetNEW ERA CHRISTIAN SCHOOL: $56,000 over 6y, 1.1% of budgetTHE SOCIETY FOR CHRISTIAN INSTRUCT ALLENDALE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL: $56,000 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetDOWN SYNDROME ASSOCIATION OF WEST MICHIGAN: $49,500 over 6y, 3.0% of budgetCALVIN UNIVERSITY: $45,500 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetDePauw University: $45,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetUniversity of Notre Dame du Lac: $40,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetHOPE COLLEGE: $37,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetCulver Educational Foundation: $31,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetSpring Arbor University: $31,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetDETROIT OPERA: $30,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetJUDICIAL WATCH INC: $30,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetHILLSDALE COLLEGE: $30,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetCedarville University: $30,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetWEST MICHIGAN SYMPHONY: $25,798 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetWestside Christian Academy: $25,000 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetCAMP SUNSHINE: $19,500 over 6y, 1.1% of budgetCAMP BLODGETT: $18,000 over 6y, 0.4% of budgetLivingston Christian Schools: $18,000 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetMEDIEVAL ACADEMY OF AMERICA: $18,000 over 6y, 0.4% of budgetSpringHill Camps: $18,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetTRI-CITIES HISTORICAL MUSEUM INC: $15,000 over 6y, 0.4% of budgetTHE GALWAY UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $15,000 over 3y, 1.3% of budgetLITTLE BROTHERS FRIENDS OF THE ELDERLY UPPER MICHIGAN CHAPTER: $14,750 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetHARBOR HUMANE SOCIETY: $14,500 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetODC NETWORK: $14,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetCURE INTERNATIONAL INC: $14,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetALANO CLUB OF KENT COUNTY: $14,000 over 4y, 1.8% of budgetUniversity of Michigan: $13,500 over 4y, 1.5% of budgetLOVE INC OF THE TRI-CITIES: $13,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetMethodist Children's Home Society: $12,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetMOUNTAIN STATES LEGAL FOUNDATION: $12,000 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetMEL TROTTER MINISTRIES: $12,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL LEGAL AND POLICY CENTER: $12,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetPacific Legal Foundation: $12,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetLeadership Institute: $12,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetInstitute for Humane Studies: $12,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetLaw Enforcement Legal Defense Fund: $12,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetINNOCENT: $12,000 over 6y, 0.6% of budgetDETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC: $12,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetTHE DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS: $12,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetCOMMUNITY ACTION HOUSE: $12,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetGRAND RAPIDS ART MUSEUM: $12,000 over 6y, 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 HENRY FORD HEALTH SYSTEM ↗
  • Who funds VAN ANDEL INSTITUTE ↗
  • Who funds OHIO WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds GRAND RAPIDS CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS ↗
  • Who funds Indiana University Foundation ↗
  • Who funds THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds NEW ERA CHRISTIAN SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds THE SOCIETY FOR CHRISTIAN INSTRUCT ALLENDALE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds DOWN SYNDROME ASSOCIATION OF WEST MICHIGAN ↗
  • Who funds CALVIN UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds DePauw University ↗
  • Who funds University of Notre Dame du Lac ↗
  • Who funds HOPE COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds Culver Educational Foundation ↗
  • Who funds Spring Arbor University ↗
  • Who funds DETROIT OPERA ↗
  • Who funds JUDICIAL WATCH INC ↗
  • Who funds HILLSDALE COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds Cedarville University ↗
  • Who funds WEST MICHIGAN SYMPHONY ↗
  • Who funds Westside Christian Academy ↗

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.

Grand Haven Area Community Foundation IncMI55× affinity25 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Grand Haven Area Community Foundation Inc · The Community Foundation of the Holland/Zeeland Area Inc · Grand Rapids Community Foundation · Consumers Energy Foundation · Dick and Betsy Devos Family Foundation · Edgar and Elsa Prince Foundation · Peter C & Emajean Cook Foundation · Frey Foundation · Community Foundation for Muskegon County · Michigan Health Endowment Fund · Jim and Ginger Jurries Foundation · Barnabas 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 Samuel L Westerman Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Samuel L Westerman Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    2get no government money at all
    27report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    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 Samuel L Westerman Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to The Samuel L Westerman 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 216 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

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