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· Private foundation

The Zelman Family Fund

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.

$206k
Granted FY2025still arriving
44
Grants FY2025still arriving
10
States reached
$58k
Largest
01What it funds
0191% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2018 to 2025.

Human Services$288kEnvironment$208kYouth Development$155kInternational$106kHealth$96kEducation$79kAnimals$53kPhilanthropy$36kOther$0
02FY2025 · 44 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k40 grants · $116k
  • $10k–50k3 grants · $33k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $58k
$2,094
Median grant
10
States reached
$2.1M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
JEWISH BIG BRFOTHERS BIG SISTERS OF$58,000
LAFD FOUNDATION$12,348
NATURE CONSERVANCY$10,300
WORLD WILDLIFE FUND$10,010
DIRECT RELIEF$7,168
HUMANE SOCIETY$6,500
DIDI HIRSCH MENTAL HEALTH$6,180
NRDC$6,000
LOS ANGELES REG FOOD BANK$6,000
UCLA FOUNDATION$5,600
OCEANA INC$5,150
SPCA LA$5,000
UC BERKELEY FOUNDATION$5,000
PASADENA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION$5,000
WWWRESCUEORG$4,215
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 (FY20–25, $2k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%THE DREAM STREET FOUNDATION: $200 → 14%FOOT ON FOOT: $103 → 14%THE DREAM STREET FOUNDATION: $200 → 14%LOS ANGELES POLICE FOUNDATION: $1k → 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

MN
NY
MA
IA
CT
CA
CO
VA
AZ
TN
SC
DC
TX
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.

83%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$906k · 51 repeat orgs$187k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +37% since the first grant, against +23% for those funded once.

51 repeat relationships: 31 still active in FY2025, 20 since wound down; 8 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

51
32

Total granted

$906k
$115k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+37%
+23%

Still filing today

49%
28%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 61% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $72k went to new ones.

50%100%’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
InternationalHuman ServicesEnvironmentAnimalsEducationHousing & ShelterOther
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

  • JB
    JEWISH BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS ASSOCIATION OF LOS ANGELES
    2× · 2018–2019 · $94k · revenue +22%
  • WORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC
    7× · 2018–2025 · $72k · revenue +43%
  • LA
    LOS ANGELES SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS
    6× · 2020–2025 · $31k · revenue +27%

Funded once

  • UO
    UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES - INFECTIOUS DISEASE
    one grant, 2018 · $32k
  • UO
    UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES - GERIATRICS
    one grant, 2018 · $27k
  • TS
    THE SANTA MONICA COLLEGE FOUNDATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $10k · revenue +85%
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
Conservation International Foundation

Ci works to spotlight and secure the critical benefits that nature provides to humanity.

Environment
2
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
3
Project Drawdown

Project drawdown's mission is to drive meaningful climate action by advancing science-based solutions and strategies. project drawdown's work is focused on three pillars: science - advancing science-based climate solutions and strategies;…

Education
4
Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Foundation

To engage and catalyze global seafood supply chains in rebuilding depleted fish stocks and reducing the environmental impacts of fishing and fish farming.

Animals
5
Ocean Conservancy

Ocean conservancy unites science, people, and policy to protect our ocean, today and for generations to come.

Environment
6
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
7
International Crisis Group

Crisis group works to prevent and resolve deadly conflict around the world by informing and influencing the perceptions and actions of policymakers and other key conflict actors. to this end, we endeavour to talk to all sides and provide…

International
8
Rainforest Foundation Inc

The purpose of rainforest foundation us is to support indigenous peoples and forest communities in their efforts to secure their lands, protect their environment, and uphold their rights.

Environment
9
We Are Family Foundation

The we are family foundation celebrates the vision of a global family by creating and supporting programs that inspire and educate people about mutual respect, understanding and appreciation of cultural diversity.

Civil Rights
10
Observer Research Foundation America

Organization mission the observer research foundation america orf america is an independent, non-partisan, and nonprofit organization in washington dc dedicated to addressing policy challenges facing the united states, india, and their…

International
11
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
12
Actionaid Usa

Actionaid is an international network building a just, equitable, and sustainable world in solidarity with communities on the frontlines of poverty and injustice. actionaid usa is the u.s. branch of actionaid international, which works in…

Social Science
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Save the Children Federation Inc; the most unlike its peers is Humane World for Animals 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

43 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. 43 of the 96 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)
6
Early backer (in before they grew)
42/43
Grantees still filing
34/43
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

JBBBSLA: $266,000 · OtherJBBBSLAJEWISH BIG BRFOTHERS BIG SISTERS OF: $58,000 · OtherJEWISH BIG BRFOTHERS BIG SISTERS OFTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $52,440 · OtherTHE NATURE CONSERVANCYUNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES - INFECTIOUS DISEASE: $31,950 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES - GERIATRICS: $26,625 · Other+68 more: $284,754 · Other+68 moreWORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $71,535 · EnvironmentWORLD WILDLI…OCEANA INC: $30,150 · EnvironmentOCEANA INCNATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC: $23,000 · EnvironmentNATURAL RESO…+1 more: $3,058 · EnvironmentUNITED STATES FUND FOR UNICEF: $27,104 · InternationalUNITED STA…Save The Children Federation Inc: $26,440 · InternationalSave The C…DIRECT RELIEF: $16,660 · InternationalDIRECT REL…FRIENDS OF THE ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES: $12,740 · InternationalFRIENDS OF…International Rescue Committee INC: $8,370 · InternationalInternatio…WATER MISSIONS INTERNATIONAL: $5,052 · InternationalMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $5,000 · InternationalWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $4,178 · International+1 more: $1,000 · InternationalJEWISH BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS ASSOCIATION OF LOS ANGELES: $93,600 · Youth DevelopmentUCLA FOUNDATION: $26,900 · EducationWILDWOOD SCHOOL INC: $16,500 · EducationTHE SANTA MONICA COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $9,513 · EducationBRENTWOOD SCHOOL: $8,000 · EducationLOS ANGELES SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS: $30,500 · AnimalsHumane World for Animals Inc: $21,000 · Animals+1 more: $1,020 · AnimalsLOS ANGELES FIRE DEPARTMENT FOUNDATION: $27,593 · Public Safety & DisasterTEAM RUBICON INC: $1,032 · Public Safety & Disaster
Other$719,769Environment$127,743International$106,544Youth Development$93,600Education$60,913Animals$52,520Public Safety & Disaster$28,625

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 budgetJEWISH BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS ASSOCIATION OF LOS ANGELES: $93,600 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetWORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $71,535 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $52,440 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetLOS ANGELES SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS: $30,500 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetOCEANA INC: $30,150 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetLOS ANGELES FIRE DEPARTMENT FOUNDATION: $27,593 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetUNITED STATES FUND FOR UNICEF: $27,104 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetUCLA FOUNDATION: $26,900 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetSave The Children Federation Inc: $26,440 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetNATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC: $23,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetHumane World for Animals Inc: $21,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetDIRECT RELIEF: $16,660 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetWILDWOOD SCHOOL INC: $16,500 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES: $12,740 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetMAYO CLINIC: $11,750 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetHOMES FOR OUR TROOPS INC: $10,270 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetTHE SANTA MONICA COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $9,513 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetOPERATION FINALLY HOME: $9,355 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetInternational Rescue Committee INC: $8,370 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetBRENTWOOD SCHOOL: $8,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetWATER MISSIONS INTERNATIONAL: $5,052 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetPasadena Community Foundation: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND INCORPORATED: $3,058 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCENTER FOR THE STUDY OF YOUNG PEOPLE IN GROUPS: $2,060 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetA PLACE CALLED HOME: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL SCLERODERMA FOUNDATION INC: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCOVENANT HOUSE: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLOS ANGELES REGIONAL FOOD BANK: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetUsher 1F Collaborative Inc: $1,531 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetSIERRA CLUB: $1,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTEAM RUBICON INC: $1,032 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS: $1,020 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFEMINIST MAJORITY FOUNDATION: $816 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetGOFUNDMEORG: $525 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE GIVING BACK FUND: $511 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetDREAM STREET FOUNDATION: $400 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCENTER THEATRE GROUP OF LOS ANGELES: $212 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFOOD ON FOOT: $103 over 1y, 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.

  • Who funds JEWISH BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS ASSOCIATION OF LOS ANGELES ↗
  • Who funds WORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC ↗
  • Who funds THE NATURE CONSERVANCY ↗
  • Who funds LOS ANGELES SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS ↗
  • Who funds OCEANA INC ↗
  • Who funds LOS ANGELES FIRE DEPARTMENT FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds UNITED STATES FUND FOR UNICEF ↗
  • Who funds UCLA FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Save The Children Federation Inc ↗
  • Who funds NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC ↗
  • Who funds Humane World for Animals Inc ↗
  • Who funds DIRECT RELIEF ↗
  • Who funds WILDWOOD SCHOOL INC ↗
  • Who funds FRIENDS OF THE ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES ↗
  • Who funds MAYO CLINIC ↗
  • Who funds HOMES FOR OUR TROOPS INC ↗
  • Who funds THE SANTA MONICA COLLEGE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds OPERATION FINALLY HOME ↗
  • Who funds International Rescue Committee INC ↗
  • Who funds BRENTWOOD SCHOOL ↗

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.

American Endowment FoundationOH10.6× affinity4 shared granteesties to 2 of 2Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: American Endowment Foundation · 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 Zelman Family Fund funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Zelman Family Fund. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 40%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%10%20%30%40%share of the org’s income from government →median 30%
  • Save the Children Federation Inc: 30% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
4get no government money at all
9report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–40%
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 96 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 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

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