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Plinth

· Private foundation

The Sear 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.

$92k
Granted FY2025still arriving
13
Grants FY2025still arriving
8
States reached
$33k
Largest
01What you fund
0199% classified

What you funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year — across FY20172025.

Human Services$137kArts & Culture$35kEducation$35kAnimals$28kPhilanthropy$20kHousing & Shelter$12kInternational$12kFood & Nutrition$8kOther$0
02FY2025 · 13 grants

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k10 grants · $37k
  • $10k–50k3 grants · $55k
$5,000
Median grant
8
States reached
$686k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
GARY SINISE FOUNDATION$33,000
TUNNELS TO TOWERS FOUNDATION$12,000
NAVY SEAL FOUNDATION$10,000
TRAVIS MILLS FOUNDATION$8,000
SAMARITAN'S PURSE$5,000
VICTORY JUNCTION$5,000
TURNING POINT USA INC$5,000
DOBERMAN RESCUE LEAGUE$4,000
DOGS FOR LIFE$4,000
THE LYRIC THEATER$2,500
SPIKES K-9 FUND$1,500
HOMES FOR TROOPS INC$1,000
MARTIN COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS$700
02The need
03

Do your dollars go where the need is?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, then read against the area’s typical level.

show:

Dollar for dollar, your grants (FY17–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 97% of your dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of your grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%TURNING POINT USA INC: $5k → 11%HOUSING 4 THE HOMELESS: $2k → 11%TUNNELS TO TOWERS FOUNDATION: $12k → 11%THE LYRIC THEATER: $3k → 10%DOGS FOR LIFE: $4k → 12%DOBERMAN RESCUE LEAGUE: $4k → 13%GARY SINISE FOUNDATION: $33k → 14%VICTORY JUNCTION: $5k → 14%SAMARITAN'S PURSE: $5k → 21%K9 HURRICANE HEROES: $2k → 4%HOPE FOR THE WARRIORS: $2k → 6%SPIKES K-9 FUND: $2k → 10%DOBERMAN RESCUE: $2k → 5%MAYFIELD GRAVES COUNTY TORNADO RELIEF FUND: $3k → 19%TRAVIS MILLS FOUNDATION: $6k → 12%TUNNELS TO TOWERS FOUNDATION: $10k → 11%THE LYRIC THEATHER: $3k → 10%DOGS FOR LIFE: $4k → 12%DOBERMAN RESCUE LEAGUE: $4k → 13%GARY SINISE FOUNDATION: $25k → 14%SAMARITAN'S PURSE: $5k → 21%TRAVIS MILLS FOUNDATION: $5k → 12%TUNNEL TO TOWERS: $5k → 11%DOGS FOR LIFE: $2k → 12%NAVY SEAL FOUNDATION: $10k → 10%TRAVIS MILLS FOUNDATION: $4k → 12%STEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION: $4k → 11%NAVY SEAL FOUNDATION: $8k → 10%TRAVIS MILLS FOUNDATION: $2k → 12%STEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION: $3k → 11%NAVY SEAL FOUNDATION: $4k → 10%TRAVIS MILLS FOUNDATION: $2k → 12%SEMPER FI FUND: $2k → 11%NAVY SEAL FOUNDATION: $3k → 10%TRAVIS MILLS FOUNDATION: $8k → 12%ALPHA PROJECT: $5k → 11%NAVY SEAL FOUNDATION: $3k → 10%TRAVIS MILLS FOUNDATION: $5k → 12%ALPHA PROJECT: $2k → 11%NAVY SEAL FOUNDATION: $2k → 10%SHELTER TO SOLDIER: $2k → 11%JACOBS & CUSHMAN SAN DIEGO FOOD BANK: $4k → 11%JACOBS & CUSHMAN SAN DIEGO FOOD BANK: $2k → 11%JACOBS & CUSHMAN SAN DIEGO FOOD BANK: $2k → 11%GOODWILL INDUSTRIES OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY: $4k → 11%GOODWILL INDUSTRIES OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY: $2k → 11%RANCHO COASTAL HUMANE SOCIETY: $2k → 11%RANCHO COASTAL HUMANE SOCIETY: $2k → 11%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount

Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty linein the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP; grantee ZIP can differ from where services are delivered.

Which US states your grants reach

ME
NH
IL
NY
MA
CA
NE
KY
VA
AZ
TN
NC
TX
FL

US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are actually delivered. Need from public data — U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA — shown as context about the area, never attributed to your giving.

03Your edge
repeat funding

Who you back again

Which organizations you funded more than once, and which you funded a single time. Each grantee is matched to its own filings.

88%of every dollar goes to organizations you’ve funded before.
$273k · 15 repeat orgs$37k to everyone else

And the relationships you keep tend to grow: grantees you re-up on have seen median revenue of +59% since the first grant, against +29% for the ones you funded once.

15 repeat relationships — 9 still active in FY2025, 6 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

15
16

Total granted

$273k
$24k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+59%
+29%

Still filing today

87%
56%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 86% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $13k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’17’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
AnimalsPhilanthropyEducationPublic Safety & DisasterPublic BenefitHousing & ShelterOther

First-time = a grantee’s first year in your filing window; renewed = funded in an earlier year too. As a portfolio matures the renewed share naturally climbs — once funded, an org stays “renewable” — so the signal is the years that buck it (a new-grantee intake wave). 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

  • GARY SINISE FOUNDATION
    8× · 2017–2025 · $114k · revenue +196%
  • STEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION
    5× · 2021–2025 · $34k · revenue +112%
  • NAVY SEAL FOUNDATION INC
    6× · 2020–2025 · $30k · revenue +59%

Funded once

  • MG
    MAYFIELD GRAVES COUNTY TORNADO RELIEF FUND INC
    one grant, 2021 · $3k · revenue -98%
  • TL
    THE LYRIC THEATHER
    one grant, 2024 · $3k
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2023 · $2k

Repeat = funded in two or more distinct years; growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Your field

The map has a center of gravity: the average direction from the rest of the sector toward the organizations the foundation funds — the shape of its giving. Scoring every nonprofit along that direction surfaces the ones that look most like the portfolio. These are the closest matchesthat aren’t grantees — a resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Shield of Faith Missions

Sof is called to empower warriors to find purpose, be resilient, and live well. we develop and provide customized treatment plans for veterans through our national network of partners.

Religion
2
Leashes of Valor

Our organization's mission is to raise awareness for and provide physical aid and support to disabled us military veterans. our program covers a crucial gap in the industry-a veteran operated organization, that can assist veterans with…

Public Benefit
3
Special Forces Foundation

The special forces foundation provides immediate and ongoing support to the special forces community and their families.

Philanthropy
4
United States War Dogs Association Inc

The mission of the corporation is to provide support for the war dogs of the united states military. the organization provides care packages to war dogs and their handlers serving overseas. the organization also provides support for…

Animals
5
Fallen Soldiers March

Providing highly trained service dogs for wounded united states military veterans in need of assistance

6
Operational K9 Medical Team of Wisconsin
Animals
7
K9 Hurricane's Heroes Inc

K9 hurricane's heroes, a federally recognized, non-profit organization, provides "retired law enforcement and military dogs" with subsidized veterinary care so they can live a long and healthy life. often these incredible dogs are the…

Animals
8
CJ3 Foundation

Cj3 foundation provides services, support, and advocacy to united states military service members, veterans/disabled veterans, law enforcement, and emergency responders who need/require assistance, and then connecting them with resources…

Human Services
9
Semper K9 Assistance Dogs

Combat veteran-founded and operated Semper K9s mission is to enhance the quality of life for wounded members of the U.S. Armed Forces and their families by providing them with custom-trained mental health mobility service dogs. Using…

Public Benefit
10
Duty First Assistance Dogs

Providing service dogs to veterans and first responders

Human Services
11
Dogs to Dog Tags Inc

D2dt creates an opportunity to save at risk, rescued, or donated dogs, train them, and place them with deserving service members who have been diagnosed with post combat stress and anxiety. the purpose is to provide the veteran, at no…

Public Benefit
12
United Service Organization Uso Council of San Diego

The primary mission of the uso san diego is to strengthen america's military service members by keeping them connected to family, home and country, throughout their service to the nation.

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The San Diego Foundation and the most unlike its peers is Samaritan's Purse. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.

For each theme you fund, this compares how the sector’s money is shifting with how your own giving is shifting.

← shrinkinggrowing →↓ leaning in → pulling backsteadyVeteran Support ServicesAnimal Rescue and AdoptionJewish Community FederationsPublic University Foundatio…Food Pantries & Assistance
the sector your giving your giving is ahead of the sector the sector’s ahead of you· dot size = how much the theme matters to each side
Ordered by the change in your giving — leaning in on top, pulling back at the bottom. The bar between the two dots is how out of step you are with the sector. Hover any row for detail.

Sector change and giving change are each shown relative to their own range, growing (right) or shrinking (left); both normalized, so inflation isn’t mistaken for growth.

Your grantees are a median of 23 years old; the field is 16. You back the established end — and your money leans older still.

THE FIELDby orgYOUR GRANTEESby number22%4%<5yr14%4%5–10yr19%30%10–20yr16%37%20–35yr13%11%35–55yr16%15%55yr+
THE FIELDby orgYOUR MONEYby value22%2%<5yr14%1%5–10yr19%25%10–20yr16%59%20–35yr13%7%35–55yr16%7%55yr+

The field is 22% startups (under 5 years old) — 4% of your grantees by number, and just 2% of your money.

Closures · last 5 years

The orgs you fund almost never close 0.0% lost their exemption, against 13% of the field you don’t fund.

orgs you fund
0.0%0/29
the rest of the field
13%
240,396/1,819,536

Age = years since IRS exemption (a founding proxy). “Closed” = auto-revocation for 3 years of non-filing — a floor on closure, not proof, and bigger established orgs lapse least. Association, not causation.

04the grantee network

25 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each one resolved to its own IRS returns and tracked year by year — your grant beside their revenue from every source. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

Counted here: distinct organizations you funded across 20172025, not grant rows in a single year — so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 25 of the 36 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile; the rest are funded organizations whose filings we could not track year by year.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
5
Early backer (in before they grew)
25/25
Grantees still filing
18/25
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

GARY SINISE FOUNDATION — $113,500 · PhilanthropyGARY SINISE FOUNDATIONLA JOLLA CHRISTMAS PARADE AND HOLIDAY FESTIVAL FOUNDATION — $4,200 · Philanthropy+2 more — $3,000 · PhilanthropyTRAVIS MILLS FOUNDATION — $13,000 · OtherTRAVIS MILLS FOUNDATIONALPHA PROJECT FOR THE HOMELESS — $8,500 · OtherALPHA PROJECT FOR THE HOM…TURNING POINT USA INC — $5,000 · OtherTURNING POINT USA INCTHE LYRIC THEATHER — $2,500 · OtherTHE LYRIC THEATER — $2,500 · OtherJACOBS & CUSHMAN SAN DIEGO FOOD BANK — $8,000 · OtherJACOBS & CUSHMAN SAN DIEG…GOODWILL INDUSTRIES OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY — $6,000 · OtherGOODWILL INDUSTRIES OF SA…Spikes K9 Fund — $3,000 · OtherMAYFIELD GRAVES COUNTY TORNADO RELIEF FUND INC — $3,000 · OtherVICTORY JUNCTION GANG CAMP INC — $5,000 · OtherVICTORY JUNCTION GANG CAM…+11 more — $14,200 · Other+11 moreSTEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION — $34,000 · EducationSTEPHEN SILL…+1 more — $1,000 · EducationNAVY SEAL FOUNDATION INC — $30,000 · Arts & CultureNAVY SEAL …DOGS FOR LIFE INC — $10,000 · AnimalsDOGS FOR …DOBERMAN RESCUE LEAGUE INC — $8,000 · AnimalsDOBERMAN …RANCHO COASTAL HUMANE SOCIETY — $4,600 · AnimalsRANCHO CO…SHELTER TO SOLDIER INC — $2,000 · AnimalsSHELTER T…+1 more — $500 · AnimalsTRAVIS MILLS FOUNDATION — $19,000 · Public BenefitUNITED SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS INC — $1,000 · Public BenefitSAMARITAN'S PURSE — $10,000 · Religion
Philanthropy$120,700Other$70,700Education$35,000Arts & Culture$30,000Animals$25,100Public Benefit$20,000Religion$10,000

Each org by its size and your share of it — top-left is where you’re load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ your share of their budgetGARY SINISE FOUNDATION — $113,500 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetSTEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION — $34,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetNAVY SEAL FOUNDATION INC — $30,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetTRAVIS MILLS FOUNDATION — $19,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetDOGS FOR LIFE INC — $10,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetSAMARITAN'S PURSE — $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetALPHA PROJECT FOR THE HOMELESS — $8,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetDOBERMAN RESCUE LEAGUE INC — $8,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetJACOBS & CUSHMAN SAN DIEGO FOOD BANK — $8,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetGOODWILL INDUSTRIES OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY — $6,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTURNING POINT USA INC — $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetRANCHO COASTAL HUMANE SOCIETY — $4,600 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetLA JOLLA CHRISTMAS PARADE AND HOLIDAY FESTIVAL FOUNDATION — $4,200 over 4y, 2.0% of budgetSpikes K9 Fund — $3,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetMAYFIELD GRAVES COUNTY TORNADO RELIEF FUND INC — $3,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetHousing 4 the Homeless — $2,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetSHELTER TO SOLDIER INC — $2,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetHope For The Warriors — $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUNITED SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS INC — $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION — $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUC SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION — $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMission K9 Rescue Inc — $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetINTERNATIONAL FELLOWSHIP OF CHRISTIANS & JEWS INC — $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budget
Go grantee by grantee — a decade per org, and how each moved after you funded them

A decade per grantee — revenue shaded, your grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

The grantmakers whose grantees overlap with yours far more than size alone predicts. Each orbits closer the stronger the alignment; the arcs between them show where they also fund each other. Here it reads as a tightly interlocked camp — most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Sempra FoundationCA14.4× affinity5 shared granteesties to 10 of 10Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Sempra Foundation · The San Diego Foundation · The Pfizer Foundation Inc · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · Paypal Charitable Giving Fund · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile Foundation

Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. A research starting point: overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

Government reliance of your grantees

Every dot is one organization The Sear Foundation funds. Left–right is the share of its income from government; up–down is the share from you. Bigger dots raise more. Filter to federal or a single department — and drag the year to watch it move.

2024
202122232425
no gov · 20%0%1%3%5%your share of their income ↑0%5%10%15%20%share of the org’s income from government
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    2get no government money at all
    4report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–20%
    typical government reliance, FY2025

    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 your grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first — a floor, not 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 12–24 months.

    On method. Every financial figure here is read directly from IRS e-file XML — your own 990/990-PF and the multi-year returns of the 36 grantees we resolved across every year we hold, several hundred filings in all (a different count from the grant rows on the cover, which are one fiscal year)— each linked to its source. Grantee achievements and outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III); we read these as association with sustained funding — the foundation is one of several forces — suppress low-confidence name matches rather than guess, and say so where a figure rests on a single grant or filing. Not everything on this page is a filed figure, and the difference matters. Filed is what you reported on your 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. How we build these →

    Generated from your IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    More from the funding graph