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The Sean Joslyn Sean-Karl and Johanna Grace Dobson Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Sean Joslyn Sean-Karl and Johanna Grace Dobson 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.

$10k
Granted FY2024still arriving
1
Grants FY2024still arriving
1
States reached
$10k
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 2024.

Education$323kScience & Tech$150kRecreation & Sports$116kHealth$87kPublic Safety & Disaster$25kEnvironment$15kHuman Services$15kInternational$5kOther$0
02FY2024 · 1 grant

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$10,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$60k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
FIBROLAMELLAR CANCER FOUNDATION$10,000
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 (FY19–19, $5k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%FOSTER ANGELS OF CENTRAL TEXAS: $5k → 10%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

NY
MA
CT
CA
NC
OK
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 12% of The Sean Joslyn Sean-Karl and Johanna Grace Dobson Foundation’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address. By recipient address, 65% of the giving stays in TX; by stated purpose, 75%.

The Sean Joslyn Sean-Karl and Johanna Grace Dobson 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.

77%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$556k · 9 repeat orgs$171k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +99% since the first grant, against +81% for those funded once.

9 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2024, 8 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

9
21

Total granted

$556k
$171k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+99%
+81%

Still filing today

78%
52%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 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
EducationHealthHuman ServicesEnvironmentYouth DevelopmentRecreation & SportsOther
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

  • AJ
    American Junior Golf Association Inc
    3× · 2018–2022 · $90k · revenue +37%
  • KH
    KIRBY HALL SCHOOL
    3× · 2017–2019 · $72k · revenue +34%
  • CC
    Capital City Fund for Education Inc
    6× · 2017–2023 · $45k · revenue +303%

Funded once

  • TS
    THE SETON FUND
    one grant, 2017 · $40k
  • ZG
    ZINA GARRISON ACADEMY
    one grant, 2019 · $25k
  • AI
    ABACO ISLAND RELIEF FUND
    one grant, 2019 · $25k
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
Texas Children's Hospital Foundation

To create a healthier future for children and women throughout our global community by leading in patient care, education and research.

Health
2
Texas Business Hall of Fame Foundation

To recognize the accomplishments and contributions of our outstanding Texas business leaders and to perpetuate and inspire the values of entrepreneurial spirit, personal integrity, and community leadership in all generations of Texans.

Community Improvement
3
Tsrhc Scholarship Fund Dba Legacy Scholarship Fund

Provides educational scholarships to former tsrhc patients to further their education beyond high school. the program assists with tuition, fees, books, room and board. scholarships are based primarily on financial need, academic record…

Education
4
Physicians for Children

To deliver primary care to children in critically under served areas of the North Central Texas community in a private physician office setting.

—
5
Cook Children's Medical Center

Knowing that every child's life is sacred, our promise is to improve the health of every child in our region through the prevention and treatment of illness, disease and injury.

Health
6
Cook Children's Health Care System

Knowing that every child's life is sacred, our promise is to improve the health of every child in our region through the prevention and treatment of illness, disease and injury.

Health
7
Austin Community College Foundation

Making education accessible for students through philanthropic support, aligned with Austin Community College (ACC) strategic priorities.

Education
8
Cook Children's Physician Network

Knowing that every child's life is sacred, our promise is to improve the health of every child in our region through the prevention and treatment of illness, disease, and injury.

Health
9
Cook Children's Health Plan

Knowing that every child's life is sacred, our promise is to improve the health of every child in our region through the prevention and treatment of illness, disease, and injury.

Health
10
Mhs Physicians of Texas

Memorial hermann health system is a nonprofit, values-driven, community-owned health system dedicated to improving health. our vision is to create healthier communities, now and for generations to come. our values are community,…

Health
11
Texas a&M University-Central Tx Foundati

Operated exclusively for educational purposes specifically including to further educational activities at texas a& m university-central texas within the meaning of 501(c)(3).

Education
12
Memorial Hermann Medical Group

Memorial hermann health system is a nonprofit, values-driven, community-owned health system dedicated to improving health. our vision is to create healthier communities, now and for generations to come. our values are community,…

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Crippled Children; the most unlike its peers is Ian Supra Memorial Foundation. 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

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 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)
8
Early backer (in before they grew)
19/19
Grantees still filing
15/19
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

DANA FARBER BIG DATA RESEARCH FUND: $150,000 · OtherDANA FARBER BIG DATA RESEARCH FUNDTHE SETON FUND: $40,000 · OtherTHE SETON FUNDUNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK: $39,259 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORKZINA GARRISON ACADEMY: $25,000 · OtherZINA GARRISON ACADEMYABACO ISLAND RELIEF FUND: $25,000 · OtherABACO ISLAND RELIEF FUNDUNIVERSITY OF TEXAS: $25,000 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF TEXAS+9 more: $28,100 · Other+9 moreThe Nobelity Project: $105,000 · EducationThe Nobelity ProjectKIRBY HALL SCHOOL: $72,000 · EducationKIRBY HALL SCHOOLCapital City Fund for Education Inc: $44,578 · EducationCapital City Fund for Education IncTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $10,000 · Education+2 more: $1,500 · EducationAmerican Junior Golf Association Inc: $90,000 · Recreation & SportsAmerican Juni…THE FIBROLAMELLAR CANCER FOUNDATION: $20,000 · HealthThe Hospital for Special Surgery Fund Inc: $5,000 · HealthTEXAS SCOTTISH RITE HOSPITAL FOR CRIPPLED CHILDREN: $1,000 · Health+1 more: $100 · HealthJOHNNY MAC TENNIS PROJECT INC: $25,000 · Youth DevelopmentMAGIC INCORPORATED: $10,000 · EnvironmentHILL COUNTRY CONSERVANCY: $5,000 · EnvironmentFOSTER ANGELS OF CENTRAL TEXAS FOUNDATION: $10,000 · Human ServicesPARTNERSHIPS FOR CHILDREN: $5,000 · Human Services
Other$332,359Education$233,078Recreation & Sports$90,000Health$26,100Youth Development$25,000Environment$15,000Human Services$15,000

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 budgetThe Nobelity Project: $105,000 over 3y, 7.0% of budgetAmerican Junior Golf Association Inc: $90,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetKIRBY HALL SCHOOL: $72,000 over 3y, 1.6% of budgetCapital City Fund for Education Inc: $44,578 over 6y, 17% of budgetJOHNNY MAC TENNIS PROJECT INC: $25,000 over 2y, 2.0% of budgetTHE FIBROLAMELLAR CANCER FOUNDATION: $20,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetMAGIC INCORPORATED: $10,000 over 1y, 2.3% of budgetFOSTER ANGELS OF CENTRAL TEXAS FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHILL COUNTRY CONSERVANCY: $5,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetAUSTIN SERVING ABACO FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetThe Hospital for Special Surgery Fund Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPARTNERSHIPS FOR CHILDREN: $5,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetFOLDS OF HONOR FOUNDATION: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTEXAS SCOTTISH RITE HOSPITAL FOR CRIPPLED CHILDREN: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHannon Cup Association: $500 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetPOWER FOR PARKINSONS: $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.

Austin Community Foun…Morgan Stanley Global…Donor Advised Charita…Vanguard Charitable E…National Philanthropi…American Online Givin…Natl Christian Charit…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Austin Community Foundation IncTX15× affinity5 shared granteesties to 8 of 8Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Austin Community Foundation Inc · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · National Philanthropic Trust · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Natl Christian Charitable Fdn 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 Sean Joslyn Sean-Karl and Johanna Grace Dobson Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Sean Joslyn Sean-Karl and Johanna Grace Dobson 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%13%25%38%50%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    3get 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 · 0–50%
    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 Sean Joslyn Sean-Karl and Johanna Grace Dobson Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to The Sean Joslyn Sean-Karl and Johanna Grace Dobson 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 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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Sean Joslyn Sean-Karl and Johanna Grace Dobson’s filings →

    More from the funding graph

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    The endowment market
    who holds foundation money, and what just moved
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