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The Stern Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Stern Family 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.

$108k
Granted FY2024still arriving
36
Grants FY2024still arriving
10
States reached
$12k
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.

Arts & Culture$430kHealth$197kEducation$102kHuman Services$94kYouth Development$68kInternational$58kPhilanthropy$45kPublic Safety & Disaster$40kOther$0
02FY2024 · 36 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k33 grants · $74k
  • $10k–50k3 grants · $34k
$1,500
Median grant
10
States reached
$2.1M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Individual grant recipient$12,000
CALVARY BAPTIST CHURCH$11,681
DIRECT RELIEF - CALIFORNIA WILDFIRE$10,000
CAMPBELL HALL SCHOOL$8,000
COLLEGE GROVE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PTO$8,000
IMACA$5,447
WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN$5,000
HUMANITY HALE$4,000
SOAR INC$4,000
HEROES LINKED - MVAT FOUNDATION$4,000
THE BRETT BOYER FOUNDATION$4,000
EDUCATION PIONEERS$3,000
SAN FRANCISCO - MARIN FOOD BANK$3,000
COLLEGE TRACK$3,000
MAMMOTH HOSPITAL FOUNDATION$2,000
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 (FY17–24, $21k) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 99% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%KNOTS OF LOVE: $2k → 10%NATIONAL DIAPER BANK: $1k → 12%RURAL UTAH PROJECT EDUCATION FUND: $200 → 8%KNOTS OF LOVE: $2k → 10%KNOTS OF LOVE: $1k → 10%KNOTS OF LOVE: $750 → 10%A CHANCE IN LIFE: $10k → 17%KNOTS OF LOVE: $500 → 10%THE INNOCENCE PROJECT: $1k → 17%THE INNOCENCE PROJECT: $1k → 17%THE LAUNDRY TRUCK LA: $500 → 14%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $750 → 14%LANGE FOUNDATION: $250 → 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

WA
ID
MT
MN
IL
NY
MA
OR
OH
NJ
CT
CA
UT
CO
MO
VA
MD
AZ
TN
NC
DC
HI
AL
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.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

87%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$989k · 65 repeat orgs$151k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +44% since the first grant, against +8% for those funded once.

65 repeat relationships: 24 still active in FY2024, 41 since wound down; 12 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

65
78

Total granted

$989k
$130k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+44%
+8%

Still filing today

74%
60%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 81% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $21k 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
HealthEducationAnimalsHuman ServicesInternationalEnvironmentOther
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

  • CEDARS-SINAI MEDICAL CENTER
    2× · 2018–2019 · $125k · revenue +52%
  • MC
    McKinley Children's Center Inc
    4× · 2017–2020 · $50k · revenue +180%
  • DIRECT RELIEF
    6× · 2017–2024 · $43k · revenue +94%

Funded once

  • LJ
    LA JEWISH HOME FOR THE AGING
    one grant, 2023 · $17k
  • AC
    A CHANCE IN LIFEINC
    one grant, 2022 · $10k · revenue +1%
  • ALL HANDS AND HEARTS SMART RESPONSE INC
    one grant, 2019 · $10k · revenue +13%
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
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
2
Food Forward Inc

Food forward fights hunger and prevents food waste by rescuing fresh surplus produce, connecting this abundance with people experiencing food insecurity, and inspiring others to do the same.

Food & Nutrition
3
Altamed Health Services Corporation

To eliminate disparities in health care access and outcomes by providing superior quality health and human services through an integrated world-class delivery system for latino, multi-ethnic underserved communities in southern california.

Health
4
Friends of the Earth

Friends of the earth strives for a more healthy and just world by defendng the environment and human health while advancing social and economic justice by conducting research and education, transforming the economy so it protects the…

Environment
5
California Dental Association Foundation

The foundation's mission is to improve the oral health of all californians by supporting the dental profession and its efforts to meet community needs.

Science & Tech
6
The San Diego Foundation

The san diego foundation inspires enduring philanthropy and enables community solutions to improve the quality of life in our region.

Philanthropy
7
University of Southern California

The central mission of the university of southern california is the development of human beings and society as a whole through the cultivation and enrichment of the human mind and spirit. the principal means by which our mission is…

Education
8
United Animal Nations Dba Redrover

To bring animals out of crisis and strengthen the bond between people and animals through emergency sheltering, disaster relief services, financial assistance and education. redrover accomplishes its mission by engaging volunteers and…

—
9
City of Hope

City of Hope's mission is to make hope a reality for all touched by cancer and diabetes. PLEASE SEE SCHEDULE O FOR A CONTINUATION OF OUR MISSION

Health
10
American Flood Coalition Inc

To drive transformational adaptation to protect communities across the country from higher seas, stronger storms, and more frequent flooding.

Environment
11
Children's Hospital Los Angeles

Promotion and advancement of children's health through patient care, research, and education.

Health
12
The California Channel

To distribute public affairs and other educational information in order to create an electronic bridge between californians and their public officials, and, in the process educate a new generation of voting citizens and civic leaders who…

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Action Against Hunger - Usa; the most unlike its peers is Living Hope Foundation. 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

108 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. 108 of the 160 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)
17
Early backer (in before they grew)
107/108
Grantees still filing
65/108
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

TEMPLE OF THE ARTS: $400,852 · OtherTEMPLE OF THE ARTSIndividual grant recipient: $52,100 · OtherIndividual grant recipientCALVARY BAPTIST CHURCH: $31,433 · Other+101 more: $273,861 · Other+101 moreCEDARS-SINAI MEDICAL CENTER: $125,000 · HealthCEDARS-SINAI MEDICA…McKinley Children's Center Inc: $50,089 · HealthMcKinley Children's…THE BRETT BOYER FOUNDATION INC: $11,000 · HealthTHE BRETT BOYER FOU…+12 more: $18,709 · Health+12 moreDIRECT RELIEF: $43,000 · InternationalAMERICAN FRIENDS OF MAGEN DAVID ADOM: $5,400 · InternationalWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $5,000 · InternationalA SPRING OF HOPE INC: $2,500 · International+5 more: $5,294 · InternationalCOLLEGE TRACK: $14,168 · EducationEDUCATION PIONEERS: $11,575 · EducationARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION FOR A NEW AMERICAN UNIVERSITY: $8,000 · EducationFREE SPEECH FOUNDATION INC: $6,000 · EducationThe Oakland REACH: $2,500 · EducationThe Blind Childrens Center Inc: $2,250 · EducationLOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY: $2,000 · Education+6 more: $5,795 · EducationCALIFORNIA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $35,000 · PhilanthropyJewish Federation of Greater Portland: $5,000 · PhilanthropyCONCERN FOUNDATION: $3,550 · PhilanthropyThe Relational Center: $3,045 · Philanthropy+1 more: $100 · PhilanthropyCENTER THEATRE GROUP OF LOS ANGELES: $20,000 · Arts & CultureOUR RESCUE: $5,075 · Arts & CultureHumanity Hale: $4,000 · Arts & CultureAmerican Friends of Israel Philharmonic Orchestra: $2,700 · Arts & Culture+2 more: $758 · Arts & CultureSOAR Inc: $12,600 · EnvironmentWILDLAND FIREFIGHTER FOUNDATION: $6,087 · EnvironmentTRUCKEE DONNER LAND TRUST: $2,000 · EnvironmentNATIONAL NETWORK OF ABORTION FUNDS INC: $1,520 · EnvironmentBACKCOUNTRY HUNTERS & ANGLERS: $1,500 · EnvironmentAMERICAN RIVERS INC: $1,280 · EnvironmentTAHOE FUND: $1,000 · Environment+1 more: $515 · Environment
Other$758,246Health$204,798International$61,194Education$52,288Philanthropy$46,695Arts & Culture$32,533Environment$26,502

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 budgetCEDARS-SINAI MEDICAL CENTER: $125,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMcKinley Children's Center Inc: $50,089 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetDIRECT RELIEF: $43,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetCALIFORNIA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $35,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCENTER THEATRE GROUP OF LOS ANGELES: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetHEROES LINKED: $17,975 over 7y, 2.6% of budgetCOLLEGE TRACK: $14,168 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetSAN FRANCISCO FOOD BANK: $14,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetSOAR Inc: $12,600 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetEDUCATION PIONEERS: $11,575 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetTHE BRETT BOYER FOUNDATION INC: $11,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetA CHANCE IN LIFEINC: $10,256 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetALL HANDS AND HEARTS SMART RESPONSE INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetLOMA LINDA UNIVERSITY HEALTH: $8,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION FOR A NEW AMERICAN UNIVERSITY: $8,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWILDLAND FIREFIGHTER FOUNDATION: $6,087 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetKnots of Love Inc: $6,060 over 5y, 0.9% of budgetFeeding America: $6,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCENTER FOR DISASTER PHILANTHROPY INC: $6,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFREE SPEECH FOUNDATION INC: $6,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetAMERICAN FRIENDS OF MAGEN DAVID ADOM: $5,400 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetOUR RESCUE: $5,075 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHILLEL 818: $5,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetLOS ANGELES REGIONAL FOOD BANK: $5,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetJewish Federation of Greater Portland: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSIERRA CLUB: $5,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetDOGS WITHOUT BORDERS INC: $4,800 over 7y, 0.4% of budgetGIRL SCOUTS OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA: $4,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMammoth Hospital Foundation: $4,015 over 5y, 1.2% of budgetHumanity Hale: $4,000 over 1y, 2.8% of budgetGIRLS EDUCATIONAL AND MENTORING SERVICES INC: $4,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCALIFORNIA TROUT INC: $3,810 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetBETTERTOGETHER FOREVER: $3,700 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetCONCERN FOUNDATION: $3,550 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetTHE CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS INC: $3,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUNCOMMON LAW: $3,116 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC: $3,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican Friends of Israel Philharmonic Orchestra: $2,700 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetA SPRING OF HOPE INC: $2,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetNETWORK FOR TEACHING ENTREPRENEURSHIP: $2,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetRonald McDonald House Global: $2,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSierra State Parks Foundation: $2,500 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetCALIFORNIA FIRE FOUNDATION: $2,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetThe Oakland REACH: $2,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetMARIN TRAIL STEWARDS: $2,250 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetThe Blind Childrens Center Inc: $2,250 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetTHE INNOCENCE PROJECT INC: $2,080 over 2y, 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.

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.

California Community …The Annenberg Foundat…Sempra FoundationMary Jo and Hank Gree…Jewish Community Foun…The James Irvine Foun…Marin Community Found…Thornton S Jr and Kat…Gs Donor Advised Phil…The Yelp FoundationThe San Francisco Fou…Arthur J Gallagher Fo…
California Community FoundationCA21.4× affinity13 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: California Community Foundation · The Annenberg Foundation · Sempra Foundation · Mary Jo and Hank Greenberg Animal Welfare Foundation · Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles · The James Irvine Foundation · Marin Community Foundation · Thornton S Jr and Katrina D Glide Foundation · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · The Yelp Foundation · The San Francisco Foundation · Arthur J Gallagher 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 Stern Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Stern Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 100%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%
  • Americares Foundation Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Partners in Health a Nonprofit Corporation: 0% of income from government
  • Pan-Massachusetts Challenge Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
10get no government money at all
23report 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.
05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to The Stern Family Foundation?

Find your warmest path to The Stern Family 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 160 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 Stern 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