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The Sebastian Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Sebastian Foundation

Its FY2021 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$2.1M
Granted FY2021
59
Grants FY2021
1
States reached
$100k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0198% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2018 to 2021.

Education$582kHuman Services$551kArts & Culture$546kHousing & Shelter$535kHealth$399kReligion$287kYouth Development$190kEmployment$170kOther$0
02FY2021 · 59 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2021

  • Under $10k4 grants · $18k
  • $10k–50k42 grants · $1.1M
  • $50k–250k13 grants · $970k
$30,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
MEL TROTTER MINISTRIES$100,000
JOHN BALL ZOO$100,000
GRAND RAPIDS PUBLIC MUSEUM$100,000
OTTAWA COUNTY PARKS FOUNDATION$100,000
MEALS ON WHEELS WEST MICHIGAN$75,000
CHILDREN'S ADVOCACY CENTER$75,000
JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF THE MICHIGAN GREAT LAKES$75,000
DWELLING PLACE$75,000
GRAND VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY$60,000
LITERACY CENTER OF WEST MICHIGAN$60,000
NEXT STEP OF WEST MICHIGAN$50,000
BLANDFORD NATURE CENTER$50,000
CAMP BLODGETT$50,000
CHILDREN'S HEALING CENTER$45,000
REFUGEE EDUCATION CENTER$45,000
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 (FY18–21, $251k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%CAMP SUNSHINE: $6k → 10%BAXTER COMMUNITY CENTER: $20k → 14%CAMP SUNSHINE: $5k → 10%BAXTER COMMUNITY CENTER: $10k → 14%BAXTER COMMUNITY CENTER: $15k → 11%UNITED CHURCH OUTREACH MINISTRY: $25k → 11%ARBOR CIRCLE: $20k → 11%UNITED CHURCH OUTREACH MINISTRY: $20k → 11%UNITED CHURCH OUTREACH MINISTRY: $20k → 11%YWCA WEST CENTRAL MICHIGAN: $40k → 11%YWCA WEST CENTRAL MICHIGAN: $20k → 11%YWCA WEST CENTRAL MICHIGAN: $20k → 11%DEGAGE MINISTRIES: $10k → 11%DEGAGE MINISTRIES: $10k → 11%DEGAGE MINISTRIES: $10k → 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.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

81%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$3.3M · 53 repeat orgs$799k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +54% since the first grant, against +21% for those funded once.

53 repeat relationships: 40 still active in FY2021, 13 since wound down; 18 grantees were first funded in FY2021 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

53
9

Total granted

$3.3M
$106k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+54%
+21%

Still filing today

77%
44%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2021, 66% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $692k went to new ones.

50%100%’18’19’21
RenewedFirst-time

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

’18’19’21
HealthEducationArts & CultureHuman ServicesHousing & ShelterCivil RightsOther
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

  • GR
    GRAND RAPIDS PUBLIC MUSEUM
    3× · 2018–2021 · $200k · revenue +136%
  • MT
    MEL TROTTER MINISTRIES
    3× · 2018–2021 · $120k · revenue +136%
  • LC
    Literacy Center of West Michigan
    3× · 2018–2021 · $100k · revenue +114%

Funded once

  • BG
    BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF GRAND RAPIDS YOUTH COMMONWEALTH
    one grant, 2018 · $25k
  • BC
    BETHANY CHRISTIAN SERVICES
    one grant, 2018 · $20k
  • HF
    HABITAT FOR HUMANITY OF KENT COUNTY INC
    one grant, 2019 · $15k · revenue -43%
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
Mid Michigan Community Action Agency Inc

Mid michigan community action guides local residents on the path to self-sufficiency through empowerment, education and community enrichment.

—
2
Great Lakes Community Action Partnership

The mission of great lakes community action partnership is to create partnerships and opportunites to help individuals, families and communities thrive.

Human Services
3
Lakeshore Legal Aid

Standing with our neighbors, Lakeshore Legal Aid fights poverty and injustice through advocacy and by providing meaningful and dignified access to the legal system.

Crime & Legal
4
Great Lakes Center for the Arts

The Center's mission is to inspire, entertain, educate, and serve all in Northern Michigan year-round by presenting exceptional experiences across the full spectrum of the performing arts and offering impactful educational opportunities.

Arts & Culture
5
African Resource Center of West Michigan

The African Resource Center informs connects and equips African immigrants in West Michigan with people and resources to foster a flourishing community in which recent African immigrants can prosper emotionally economically and socially.

Human Services
6
Family Outreach Center

Leading the way in promoting healthy family living by reaching out to underserved populations and those who are in our community.

—
7
Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy

The mission of gtrlc is to protect significant natural, scenic and farm lands and advance land stewardship now and for future generations.

Environment
8
Midmichigan Health Services

To provide high quality community-oriented, patient-centered health services for all.

Health
9
The Right Place Inc

The right place is the economic development organization that drives current and long-term economic prosperity in west michigan.

—
10
Community Education Commission

CEC works with diverse stakeholders across Detroit to develop critical resources and system-level solutions that address common challenges faced by Detroit families in accessing quality education.

Education
11
Area Agency On Aging of Western Michigan Inc

Through internal expertise, external partnerships, and advocacy, the area agency on aging of western michigan provides older adults, adults with disabilities, and their caregivers equitable access to services that promote independence and…

Human Services
12
Michigan Assoc of Community Mental Health Boards

Assisting the community mental health boards of michigan in developing methods for mental health planning, care and treatment.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Gilda's Club Grand Rapids; the most unlike its peers is Roosevelt Park Ministries Inc. 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

56 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. 56 of the 81 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)
20
Early backer (in before they grew)
54/56
Grantees still filing
39/56
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

MEL TROTTER MINISTRIES: $120,000 · OtherMEL TROTTER MINISTRIESMIND MEETS MUSIC INC: $110,000 · OtherDA BLODGETT - ST JOHN'S: $110,000 · OtherGRAND VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY: $100,000 · OtherDWELLING PLACE: $100,000 · OtherSAN JUAN DIEGO ACADEMY: $82,000 · OtherFIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH: $78,500 · OtherCHILDREN'S ADVOCACY CENTER: $75,000 · OtherMEALS ON WHEELS WEST MICHIGAN: $75,000 · OtherThe Refugee Education Center: $75,000 · OtherNEXT STEP OF WEST MICHIGAN: $100,000 · OtherJOHN BALL ZOO: $100,000 · OtherJUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF THE MICHIGAN GREAT LAKES INC: $75,000 · Other+34 more: $1,012,000 · Other+34 moreGRAND RAPIDS PUBLIC MUSEUM: $200,000 · Arts & CultureGRAND RAPIDS…GRAND RAPIDS CHILDREN'S MUSEUM: $85,000 · Arts & CultureGRAND RAPIDS…GRAND RAPIDS ART MUSEUM: $70,000 · Arts & CultureGRAND RAPIDS…Grandville Avenue Arts and Humanities Inc: $50,000 · Arts & CultureGrandville A…Girls Choral Academy: $40,000 · Arts & CultureGirls Choral…Opera Grand Rapids: $20,500 · Arts & CultureLiteracy Center of West Michigan: $100,000 · EducationLiteracy …WEST MICHIGAN CENTER FOR ARTS & TECHNOLOGY: $80,000 · EducationWEST MICH…BLANDFORD NATURE CENTER: $75,000 · EducationBLANDFORD…FIRST STEPS KENT: $45,000 · EducationFIRST STE…Conductive Learning Center of North America: $25,000 · EducationConductiv…NOORTHOEK ACADEMY: $22,000 · EducationNOORTHOEK…+1 more: $2,500 · EducationSAFE HAVEN MINISTRIES INC: $125,000 · Housing & ShelterSAFE HAVE…HOME REPAIR SERVICES OF KENT COUNTY INC: $85,000 · Housing & ShelterHOME REPA…FAMILY PROMISE OF GRAND RAPIDS: $50,000 · Housing & ShelterFAMILY PR…ICCF COMMUNITY HOMES: $50,000 · Housing & ShelterICCF COMM…HEALTHY HOMES COALITION OF WEST MICHIGAN INC: $25,000 · Housing & ShelterHEALTHY H…CHILDREN'S HEALING CENTER: $75,000 · HealthMARY FREE BED REHABILITATION HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $62,500 · HealthCherry Street Services Inc: $50,000 · HealthSPECIALIZED LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT CENTER INC: $50,000 · HealthCATHERINES HEALTH CENTER: $40,000 · HealthCOMPREHENSIVE THERAPY CENTER: $28,000 · Health+2 more: $13,000 · HealthYWCA WEST CENTRAL MICHIGAN: $80,000 · Human ServicesUNITED CHURCH OUTREACH MINISTRY: $65,000 · Human ServicesBAXTER COMMUNITY CENTER: $45,000 · Human ServicesDEGAGE MINISTRIES: $30,000 · Human ServicesTHE ARBOR CIRCLE CORPORATION: $20,000 · Human ServicesCAMP SUNSHINE: $11,000 · Human ServicesCAMP BLODGETT: $100,000 · Recreation & SportsOTTAWA COUNTY PARKS FOUNDATION INC: $100,000 · Recreation & Sports
Other$2,212,500Arts & Culture$465,500Education$349,500Housing & Shelter$335,000Health$318,500Human Services$251,000Recreation & Sports$200,000

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetGRAND RAPIDS PUBLIC MUSEUM: $200,000 over 3y, 1.2% of budgetSAFE HAVEN MINISTRIES INC: $125,000 over 3y, 2.5% of budgetMEL TROTTER MINISTRIES: $120,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetMIND MEETS MUSIC INC: $110,000 over 2y, 23% of budgetDA BLODGETT - ST JOHN'S: $110,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetLiteracy Center of West Michigan: $100,000 over 3y, 4.5% of budgetJOHN BALL ZOO: $100,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetNEXT STEP OF WEST MICHIGAN: $100,000 over 3y, 4.8% of budgetCAMP BLODGETT: $100,000 over 3y, 4.1% of budgetOTTAWA COUNTY PARKS FOUNDATION INC: $100,000 over 1y, 6.7% of budgetHOME REPAIR SERVICES OF KENT COUNTY INC: $85,000 over 3y, 1.2% of budgetGRAND RAPIDS CHILDREN'S MUSEUM: $85,000 over 3y, 3.1% of budgetYWCA WEST CENTRAL MICHIGAN: $80,000 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetWEST MICHIGAN CENTER FOR ARTS & TECHNOLOGY: $80,000 over 3y, 1.5% of budgetJUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF THE MICHIGAN GREAT LAKES INC: $75,000 over 1y, 2.2% of budgetThe Refugee Education Center: $75,000 over 3y, 2.4% of budgetCHILDREN'S HEALING CENTER: $75,000 over 3y, 3.6% of budgetBLANDFORD NATURE CENTER: $75,000 over 2y, 1.6% of budgetGRAND RAPIDS ART MUSEUM: $70,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetWomen's Resource Center: $70,000 over 3y, 3.2% of budgetUNITED CHURCH OUTREACH MINISTRY: $65,000 over 3y, 2.5% of budgetMARY FREE BED REHABILITATION HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $62,500 over 3y, 2.9% of budgetGUIDING LIGHT MISSION INC: $60,000 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetDISABILITY ADVOCATES OF KENT COUNTY: $55,000 over 3y, 0.9% of budgetSENIOR NEIGHBORS INC: $55,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetGrandville Avenue Arts and Humanities Inc: $50,000 over 3y, 3.3% of budgetFAMILY PROMISE OF GRAND RAPIDS: $50,000 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetCherry Street Services Inc: $50,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetICCF COMMUNITY HOMES: $50,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetSPECIALIZED LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT CENTER INC: $50,000 over 2y, 2.8% of budgetFIRST STEPS KENT: $45,000 over 2y, 1.3% of budgetBAXTER COMMUNITY CENTER: $45,000 over 3y, 0.9% of budgetLand Conservancy of West Michigan: $45,000 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetWEST MICHIGAN FLIGHT ACADEMY: $40,000 over 2y, 15% of budgetCATHERINES HEALTH CENTER: $40,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetGILDA'S CLUB GRAND RAPIDS: $40,000 over 1y, 2.3% of budgetGirls Choral Academy: $40,000 over 3y, 9.8% of budgetCASA of Kent County Inc: $35,000 over 3y, 1.5% of budgetGRAND RAPIDS COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $35,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetMIGRANT LEGAL AID INC: $30,000 over 3y, 3.7% of budgetDEGAGE MINISTRIES: $30,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetSTEEPLETOWN NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES INC: $30,000 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetCOMPREHENSIVE THERAPY CENTER: $28,000 over 3y, 1.1% of budgetGRAND RAPIDS OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN: $25,000 over 3y, 1.2% of budgetHEALTHY HOMES COALITION OF WEST MICHIGAN INC: $25,000 over 1y, 4.9% of budgetConductive Learning Center of North America: $25,000 over 1y, 2.4% of budgetPORTER HILLS FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetNOORTHOEK ACADEMY: $22,000 over 3y, 5.2% 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.

Grand Rapids Communit…Frey FoundationThe Wege FoundationThe Meijer FoundationPeter C & Emajean Coo…Heart of West Michiga…Steelcase FoundationDouglas & Maria Devos…Cdv5 FoundationThe Mercantile Bank F…Corewell Health Group…Krw Foundation
Grand Rapids Community FoundationMI110.2× affinity54 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Grand Rapids Community Foundation · Frey Foundation · The Wege Foundation · The Meijer Foundation · Peter C & Emajean Cook Foundation · Heart of West Michigan United Way · Steelcase Foundation · Douglas & Maria Devos Foundation · Cdv5 Foundation · The Mercantile Bank Foundation · Corewell Health Group Return · Krw 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 Sebastian Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Sebastian Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%3%6%10%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
    0get no government money at all
    24report 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.

    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 81 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 2021, released 2021. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Sebastian’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