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The Schwarz Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Schwarz 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.

$30k
Granted FY2025still arriving
8
Grants FY2025still arriving
4
States reached
$11k
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 2025.

Health$38kRecreation & Sports$37kEducation$29kEnvironment$28kPhilanthropy$20kHuman Services$10kYouth Development$4kCivil Rights$2kOther$0
02FY2025 · 8 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k7 grants · $19k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $11k
$2,000
Median grant
4
States reached
$317k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF ST CLAIR COUNTY$11,000
CAMP MANITOWISH-YMCA$6,000
ALLIANCE FOR THE GREAT LAKES$6,000
KIDS IN DISTRESS$2,000
FIRST TEE$2,000
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY$1,500
OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY$1,000
WOSU PUBLIC MEDIA$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 (FY20–22, $2k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%KIDS IN DISTRESS: $500 → 13%FISH OF SANIBEL-CAPTIVE INC: $1k → 11%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.
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 12% of The Schwarz Family Foundation’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address.

The Schwarz Family Foundationlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address · 7.7% directed abroad (not shown)
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.
$133k · 15 repeat orgs$16k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +34% since the first grant, against -12% for those funded once.

15 repeat relationships: 5 still active in FY2025, 10 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

15
13

Total granted

$133k
$13k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+34%
-12%

Still filing today

40%
54%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 87% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $3k 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
Recreation & SportsEnvironmentHuman ServicesYouth DevelopmentAnimalsArts & 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

  • UO
    University of Michigan
    5× · 2018–2022 · $32k · revenue +195%
  • ALLIANCE FOR THE GREAT LAKES
    5× · 2021–2025 · $19k · revenue +34%
  • LT
    Little Traverse Conservancy Inc
    6× · 2017–2024 · $9k · revenue +95%

Funded once

  • SC
    ST CLAIR HIGH SCHOOL BUILDING FUND
    one grant, 2017 · $3k
  • AA
    ALZHEIMERS ASSOCIATION
    one grant, 2022 · $3k
  • Northwestern Universitygraduated
    one grant, 2019 · $1k · revenue +34%
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
Coalition to Protect Michigan Resources

The coalition to protect michigan resources's mission is to be a strong voice for the equitable co-management of michigan's fisheries, with both the great lakes and inland lakes and streams, to insure that conservation principles remain in…

Environment
2
Huron Pines Resource Conservation & Development Council Inc

It is our mission at huron pines to conserve and enhance northern michigan's natural resources to ensure healthy water, protected places and vibrant communities. for alomst 50 years, our work across the forests, lakes and streams of…

Environment
3
Lake Leelanau Lake Association

The lake leelanau lake association is dedicated to protecting and enhancing the quality and beauty of lake leelanau and its surrounding watershed for current and future generations.

Environment
4
Maine Lakes Society Dba Maine Lakes

To protect and preserve of maine's lakes, both today and long into the future. our programs and activities promote healthy lakes for all lake users, including residents, visitors, lake associations, communities, and the next generation of…

Environment
5
Conservation International Foundation

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

Environment
6
Friends of Schlitz Audubon Nature Center Inc

Schlitz audubon nature center conserves our land's diverse habitats on lake michigan and provides meaningful experiences and environmental education for all.

Environment
7
Institute for Journalism & Natural Resources

The organization pursues higher standards of news coverage of natural resources and the environment -- standards of accuracy, fairness, balance, depth and context.

Arts & Culture
8
World Wildlife Fund Inc

Wwf's mission is to conserve nature and reduce the most pressing threats to the diversity of life on earth. (continued on schedule o)

Environment
9
Northland College

Northland college's mission is to integrate undergraduate liberal arts studies with an environmental emphasis, enabling those it serves to address the challenges of the future.

Education
10
Green Lake Association Inc

Safeguard green lake by improving its water quality, protecting it from critical threats, and accelerating its return to a clean lake.

Environment
11
Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Foundation

To engage and catalyze global seafood supply chains in rebuilding depleted fish stocks and reducing the environmental impacts of fishing and fish farming.

Animals
12
Swan Valley Connections

Maintain the swan valley's unique natural resources and ensure that a vibrant human community can sustain itself through stewardship, education, economic viability, and conservation on public and private lands.

Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Kids in Distress Inc; the most unlike its peers is Liberty Riders 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

14 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. 14 of the 31 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)
1
Early backer (in before they grew)
14/14
Grantees still filing
5/14
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

University of Michigan: $32,000 · OtherUniversity of MichiganCAMP MANITO-WISH YMCA INC: $23,500 · OtherCAMP MANITO-WISH YMCA INCALLIANCE FOR THE GREAT LAKES: $18,500 · OtherALLIANCE FOR THE GREAT LAKESSANIBEL PUBLIC LIBRARY: $13,000 · OtherSANIBEL PUBLIC LIBRARYOHIO STATE SAILORS CLUB: $6,500 · OtherSALVATION ARMY: $6,000 · Other+14 more: $23,400 · Other+14 moreCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF ST CLAIR COUNTY: $20,000 · PhilanthropyCOMMUNITY FOU…Little Traverse Conservancy Inc: $8,500 · EnvironmentOCEAN CONSERVANCY: $1,000 · EnvironmentLIBERTY RIDERS INC: $8,000 · Recreation & SportsNorthwestern University: $1,000 · Recreation & SportsBurr Oak 4-H Club - Michigan State: $4,000 · Youth DevelopmentATHLETIC FACTORY INC: $1,000 · Youth DevelopmentFISH OF SANIBEL-CAPTIVA INC: $1,000 · Human ServicesKIDS IN DISTRESS INC: $500 · Human ServicesDING DARLING WILDLIFE SOCIETY INC: $500 · AnimalsBARRIER ISLAND GROUP FOR THE ARTS: $500 · Arts & Culture
Other$122,900Philanthropy$20,000Environment$9,500Recreation & Sports$9,000Youth Development$5,000Human Services$1,500Animals$500Arts & Culture$500

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 budgetUniversity of Michigan: $32,000 over 5y, 3.1% of budgetCAMP MANITO-WISH YMCA INC: $23,500 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF ST CLAIR COUNTY: $20,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetALLIANCE FOR THE GREAT LAKES: $18,500 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetLittle Traverse Conservancy Inc: $8,500 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetLIBERTY RIDERS INC: $8,000 over 5y, 1.8% of budgetBurr Oak 4-H Club - Michigan State: $4,000 over 3y, 2.2% of budgetNorthwestern University: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetOCEAN CONSERVANCY: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFISH OF SANIBEL-CAPTIVA INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetATHLETIC FACTORY INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetDING DARLING WILDLIFE SOCIETY INC: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBARRIER ISLAND GROUP FOR THE ARTS: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetKIDS IN DISTRESS INC: $500 over 1y, 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 University of Michigan ↗
  • Who funds CAMP MANITO-WISH YMCA INC ↗
  • Who funds COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF ST CLAIR COUNTY ↗
  • Who funds ALLIANCE FOR THE GREAT LAKES ↗
  • Who funds Little Traverse Conservancy Inc ↗
  • Who funds LIBERTY RIDERS INC ↗
  • Who funds Burr Oak 4-H Club - Michigan State ↗
  • Who funds Northwestern University ↗
  • Who funds OCEAN CONSERVANCY ↗
  • Who funds FISH OF SANIBEL-CAPTIVA INC ↗
  • Who funds ATHLETIC FACTORY INC ↗
  • Who funds DING DARLING WILDLIFE SOCIETY INC ↗
  • Who funds BARRIER ISLAND GROUP FOR THE ARTS ↗
  • Who funds KIDS IN DISTRESS 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 set of overlaps that mostly run through this funder rather than between each other.

Amazonsmile Foundation
Amazonsmile FoundationWA2.4× affinity4 shared granteesties to 0 of 0Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 30%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • Kids in Distress Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
3get no government money at all
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.

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 31 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 Schwarz 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