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The Seaver Institute at a glance

· Private foundation

The Seaver Institute

Its FY2023 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$1.7M
Granted FY2023
79
Grants FY2023
17
States reached
$400k
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, FY2021 to 2023.

Education$1.5MEnvironment$1.4MAnimals$782kPhilanthropy$552kHealth$168kYouth Development$103kArts & Culture$72kHuman Services$40kOther$0
02FY2023 · 79 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2023

  • Under $10k61 grants · $174k
  • $10k–50k11 grants · $184k
  • $50k–250k5 grants · $715k
  • $250k+2 grants · $650k
$5,000
Median grant
17
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
SUSTAINABLE CONSERVATION$400,000
MOUNT SAINT MARY'S UNIVERSITY$250,000
SAN DIEGO ZOO WILDLIFE ALLIANCE$247,000
UCLA FOUNDATION$150,000
UC SANTA CRUZ$110,000
ISLAND CONSERVATION$105,000
THE GREATER LOS ANGELES ZOO ASSOCIA$102,500
SCRIPPS COLLEGE$27,500
CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY$25,000
JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF SOUTHERN CALI$20,000
UNIV SYSTEM OF MARYLAND FOUNDATION$20,000
ARCS FOUNDATION INC$20,000
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY$16,000
GOOD SAMARITAN HOSPITAL$15,000
DIGITAL NEST$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 (FY21–23, $7k) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 86% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%POWERFUL VOICES: $1k → 9%CIRCLE FAMILY CENTER: $500 → 13%STEP UP ON SECOND: $2k → 14%STEP UP ON SECOND INC: $1k → 14%SAFE PLACE FOR YOUTH: $3k → 14%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

NH
WA
MN
IL
MI
NY
MA
OR
OH
PA
NJ
CT
CA
CO
KY
VA
MD
TN
NC
DC
HI
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.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

88%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$3.8M · 63 repeat orgs$497k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +29% since the first grant, against +24% for those funded once.

63 repeat relationships: 54 still active in FY2023, 9 since wound down; 20 grantees were first funded in FY2023 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

63
40

Total granted

$3.8M
$419k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+29%
+24%

Still filing today

67%
73%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2023, 95% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $79k went to new ones.

50%100%’21’22’23
RenewedFirst-time

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

’21’22’23
EducationEnvironmentArts & CultureAnimalsInternationalHealthOther
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

  • ZS
    ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF SAN DIEGO
    3× · 2021–2023 · $657k · revenue +23%
  • SC
    Sustainable Conservation
    2× · 2022–2023 · $600k · revenue +65%
  • MS
    MOUNT SAINT MARY'S UNIVERSITY
    2× · 2022–2023 · $275k · revenue +2%

Funded once

  • MS
    MARLBOROUGH SCHOOL
    one grant, 2021 · $253k · revenue +12%
  • JE
    JOINT EDUCATION PROJECT - USC
    one grant, 2022 · $25k
  • ST
    SAVE THE REDWOODS LEAGUE
    one grant, 2022 · $20k · revenue +24%
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
President-Board of Trustees Santa Clara College

Scu is a catholic and jesuit institution that makes student learning its central focus, promotes faculty and staff learning in its various forms, and exhibits organizational learning.

Education
2
Pacific University

A diverse and sustainable learning community dedicated to discovery and excellence in teaching, scholarship and practice, pacific university inspires students to think, care, create and pursue justice in our world.

Education
3
The Union of Concerned Scientists Inc

The union of concerned scientists puts rigorous, independent science into action, developing solutions and advocating for a healthy, safe, and just future.

International
4
United States Naval Institute

Provide an independent forum for those who dare to read, think, speak, and write to advance the professional, literary, and scientific understanding of sea power and other issues critical to global security.

—
5
Pitzer College

Pitzer College produces engaged socially responsible citizens of the world through an academically rigorous, interdisciplinary liberal arts education emphasizing social justice, intercultural understanding and environmental sensitivity.…

Education
6
University of La Verne

The university of la verne offers a distinctive and relevant educational experience to a diverse population of traditional-age, adult, and graduate learners, preparing them for successful careers and a commitment to lifelong learning…

Education
7
University of the Pacific

To provide a superior, student-centered learning experience integrating liberal arts and professional education and preparing individuals for lasting achievement and responsible leadership in their careers and communities.

Education
8
Association of California School Administrators

The association serves its members by creating resources that enable california school administrators to develop and apply creative leadership and management skills and in turn, improve the educational process for all students.

—
9
University of Redlands

We welcome, educate, and empower a diverse community of learners for lives of meaning, impact, and joy.

Education
10
California Western School of Law

California western school of law is an independent, aba/aals and wasc senior college and university commission (wscuc) accredited s.d. law school that prepares graduates for the practice of law through a carefully sequenced program of…

Education
11
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The mission of mit is to advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century.

Education
12
Boston Architectural College

The bac is committed to provide excellence in design education grounded in practice and accessible to diverse communities.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is National Center for Family Philanthropy Inc; the most unlike its peers is Circle Family Center. 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

91 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. 91 of the 129 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)
16
Early backer (in before they grew)
91/91
Grantees still filing
70/91
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Individual grant recipient: $430,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $320,000 · OtherTHE NATURE CONSERVANCYUC REGENTS: $295,000 · OtherUC REGENTSUC SANTA CRUZ: $210,000 · OtherUC SANTA CRUZARCS FOUNDATION INC: $60,000 · Other+70 more: $463,960 · Other+70 moreSustainable Conservation: $600,000 · EnvironmentSustainable ConservationCalifornia Native Plant Society: $220,000 · EnvironmentCalifornia Native Plant S…ISLAND CONSERVATION: $205,000 · EnvironmentISLAND CONSERVATION+6 more: $41,000 · EnvironmentMOUNT SAINT MARY'S UNIVERSITY: $275,000 · EducationMOUNT SAINT MARY'S UN…MARLBOROUGH SCHOOL: $252,500 · EducationMARLBOROUGH SCHOOLUCLA FOUNDATION: $150,000 · EducationUCLA FOUNDATIONScripps College: $82,000 · EducationScripps College+19 more: $151,500 · Education+19 moreZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF SAN DIEGO: $657,000 · AnimalsZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY…GREATER LOS ANGELES ZOOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION: $112,500 · AnimalsGREATER LOS ANGELE…+5 more: $16,400 · AnimalsPIH Health Good Samaritan Hospital: $115,000 · HealthPLANNED PARENTHOOD LOS ANGELES: $20,000 · Health+3 more: $6,000 · HealthJUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA INC: $60,000 · InternationalGLOBALGIVING FOUNDATION INC: $5,000 · InternationalInternational Rescue Committee INC: $5,000 · InternationalEQUITARIAN INITIATIVE: $4,000 · International+3 more: $2,200 · InternationalDIGITAL NEST INC: $30,000 · Youth DevelopmentELSO INC: $5,000 · Youth DevelopmentGirls Incorporated of the Central Coast: $2,000 · Youth Development
Other$1,778,960Environment$1,066,000Education$911,000Animals$785,900Health$141,000International$76,200Youth Development$37,000

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 budgetZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF SAN DIEGO: $657,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetSustainable Conservation: $600,000 over 2y, 7.4% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $320,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMOUNT SAINT MARY'S UNIVERSITY: $275,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetMARLBOROUGH SCHOOL: $252,500 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetCalifornia Native Plant Society: $220,000 over 3y, 3.2% of budgetISLAND CONSERVATION: $205,000 over 2y, 1.5% of budgetUCLA FOUNDATION: $150,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPIH Health Good Samaritan Hospital: $115,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetGREATER LOS ANGELES ZOOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION: $112,500 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetScripps College: $82,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetJUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA INC: $60,000 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetDIGITAL NEST INC: $30,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetPOMONA COLLEGE: $28,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $27,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE RAPE FOUNDATION: $22,500 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetSWARTHMORE COLLEGE: $22,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD LOS ANGELES: $20,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSAVE THE REDWOODS LEAGUE: $20,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetVOICES OF ASCENSION INC: $15,000 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetCOMMITTEE TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS INC: $13,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCommunity Bridges: $11,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetHARVARD-WESTLAKE SCHOOL: $11,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF COLORADO FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSCHOOL FOR FIELD STUDIES INC: $10,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetSANTA CATALINA ISLAND CONSERVANCY: $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetDON BOSCO TECHNICAL INSTITUTE: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetLOS ANGELES REGIONAL FOOD BANK: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTRUSTEES OF BOSTON COLLEGE: $9,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION INC: $9,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: $9,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetWATSONVILLE WETLANDS WATCH: $8,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetLOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY: $7,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAQUARIUM OF THE PACIFIC CORPORATION: $7,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetUC SANTA CRUZ FOUNDATION: $7,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMUSEUM OF JURASSIC TECHNOLOGY: $7,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetDucks Unlimited Inc: $6,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLos Angeles Maritime Institute: $5,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetCALIFORNIA TROUT INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAUTRY MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN WEST: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetGLOBALGIVING FOUNDATION INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFRIENDS OF BALLONA WETLANDS: $5,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetWESTSIDE FOOD BANK: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetELSO INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetInternational Rescue Committee INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetDUKE UNIVERSITY: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION SANTA CRUZ COUNTY: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSanta Monica Mountains Fund: $5,000 over 1y, 0.2% 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.

The Seaver InstituteCommunity Foundation …The Annenberg Foundat…California Community …The David and Lucile …Monterey Peninsula Fo…The Ralph M Parsons F…Silicon Valley Commun…Stern Sidney Memorial…The Ahmanson Foundati…The J Miles and Rosan…The Confidence Founda…
The Seaver InstituteCA39× affinity16 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Seaver Institute · Community Foundation Santa Cruz County · The Annenberg Foundation · California Community Foundation · The David and Lucile Packard Foundation · Monterey Peninsula Foundation · The Ralph M Parsons Foundation · Silicon Valley Community Foundation · Stern Sidney Memorial Tuw · The Ahmanson Foundation · The J Miles and Rosanne Reiter Family Foundation · The Confidence 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 Seaver Institute funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Seaver Institute. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 11%
  • Elso Inc: 100% of income from government
  • The Trustees of Princeton University: 11% of income from government
  • Trustees of Boston College: 3% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
2get no government money at all
18report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
1rely 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 129 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 2023, released 2023. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

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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