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Thomas E Lemons Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Thomas E Lemons 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.

$189k
Granted FY2024still arriving
5
Grants FY2024still arriving
2
States reached
$100k
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, FY2017 to 2024.

International$1.1MEnvironment$148kHealth$72kHousing & Shelter$25kCivil Rights$17kHuman Services$16kYouth Development$15kEducation$6kOther$0
02FY2024 · 5 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $10k–50k3 grants · $39k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $150k
$17,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$4.1M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
THE HUNGER PROJECT$100,000
POLG FOUNDATION$50,000
COALITION TO ABOLISH SLAVERY & TRAFFICKING$17,000
INSTITUTE OF HEARTMATH$12,000
GIVE TO GIVE FOUNDATION$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 (FY21–24, $15k) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 66% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%HELP OF OJAI INC: $5k → 10%CHARITY NAVIGATOR: $100 → 7%GIVE TO GIVE FOUNDATION: $10k → 17%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
NY
MA
NJ
CA
UT
CO
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.

90%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.3M · 7 repeat orgs$140k to everyone else

7 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2024, 6 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

7
17

Total granted

$1.3M
$51k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+41%
+76%

Still filing today

43%
65%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 53% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $89k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’23’24
HealthHuman ServicesCrime & LegalEnvironmentInternationalEducationOther
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

  • TG
    THE GLOBAL HUNGER PROJECT
    7× · 2017–2024 · $1.1M · revenue +41%
  • FF
    FOUNDATION FOR CLIMATE RESTORATION INC
    3× · 2019–2021 · $85k
  • TP
    The Pachamama Alliance
    4× · 2019–2023 · $43k · revenue +68%

Funded once

  • SY
    SO YOU WANT TO CHANGE THE WORLD INC
    one grant, 2018 · $20k · revenue -69%
  • C
    CLAREMATRIXgraduated
    one grant, 2018 · $5k · revenue +76%
  • ST
    ST THOMAS UNIVERSITY INCgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $5k · revenue +80%
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
Center for Humane Technology

Center for Humane Technology is a nonprofit dedicated to ensuring that the most consequential technologies actually serve humanity. We bring clarity to how the tech ecosystem works in order to shift the incentives that drive it.

Science & Tech
2
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
3
The Climate Center

The Climate Center is a climate and energy policy nonprofit working to rapidly reduce climate pollution at scale, starting in California.

Education
4
California Institute for BioMedical Research

Our mission is to build a unique institute that bridges basic research and drug discovery, and that attracts the best and brightest scientists, physicians and students to work together synergistically to find cures for neglected human…

—
5
Claremont Graduate University

Claremont Graduate University prepares individuals to be leaders for positive change in the world. Unique in its transdisciplinary approach, the University is dedicated to the creation, dissemination, and application of new knowledge and…

Education
6
Children's Heartlink

We save children's lives by transforming pediatric heart care in underserved parts of the world.

—
7
Public Health Institute

Public health institute generates and promotes research, leadership and partnerships to build capacity for strong public health policy, programs, systems and practices.

Health
8
One Earth Philanthropy

One Earth's mission is to empower everyone, everywhere, with the knowledge, inspiration, and opportunity to heal the Earth and reclaim our future.

Environment
9
Ucla Foundation

The ucla foundation is the giving, receiving, and investing arm of the ucla campus. the foundation enables private donors to help build, sustain and advance one of the world's finest academic and research institutions. private philanthropy…

Education
10
Clinton Health Access Initiative Inc

For over 20 years, chai's mission has been to save lives and improve health outcomes in low-and middle-income countries around the world. we do this by enabling the government and private sector to strengthen and sustain quality health…

International
11
The Chicago School of Professional Psychology

The Chicago School educates the next generation of change-makers in innovative theory and culturally competent practice to strengthen the integrated health of individuals, organizations, and communities.

Education
12
Compass Science Communication Inc

Compass champions, connects, and supports diverse scientist leaders to improve the well-being of people and nature.

Science & Tech
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Give to Give Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking. 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

18 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. 18 of the 28 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)
5
Early backer (in before they grew)
18/18
Grantees still filing
14/18
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE GLOBAL HUNGER PROJECT: $1,107,827 · InternationalTHE GLOBAL HUNGER PROJECTFOUNDATION FOR CLIMATE RESTORATION INC: $84,500 · OtherFOUNDATION…OUR HOUSE: $25,000 · OtherOUR HOUSECASA: $6,000 · OtherST THOMAS UNIVERSITY INC: $5,000 · OtherAGAPE INTERNATIONAL SPIRITUAL CENTER: $5,000 · Other+7 more: $8,032 · Other+7 moreTHE POLG FOUNDATION INC: $50,000 · HealthINSTITUTE OF HEARTMATH: $12,000 · HealthCLAREMATRIX: $5,000 · Health+3 more: $2,500 · HealthThe Pachamama Alliance: $42,500 · Environment+1 more: $1,000 · EnvironmentCOALITION TO ABOLISH SLAVERY & TRAFFICKING: $17,000 · Crime & LegaliEmpathize: $15,000 · Crime & LegalSO YOU WANT TO CHANGE THE WORLD INC: $20,000 · EducationTHE GIVE TO GIVE FOUNDATION: $10,000 · Human ServicesHELP OF OJAI INC: $5,000 · Human Services+1 more: $100 · Human ServicesSOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PUBLIC RADIO: $1,000 · Arts & Culture
International$1,107,827Other$133,532Health$69,500Environment$43,500Crime & Legal$32,000Education$20,000Human Services$15,100Arts & Culture$1,000

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 budgetTHE GLOBAL HUNGER PROJECT: $1,107,827 over 7y, 1.1% of budgetTHE POLG FOUNDATION INC: $50,000 over 1y, 3.9% of budgetThe Pachamama Alliance: $42,500 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetSO YOU WANT TO CHANGE THE WORLD INC: $20,000 over 1y, 14% of budgetCOALITION TO ABOLISH SLAVERY & TRAFFICKING: $17,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetiEmpathize: $15,000 over 2y, 3.0% of budgetINSTITUTE OF HEARTMATH: $12,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetTHE GIVE TO GIVE FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetST THOMAS UNIVERSITY INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHELP OF OJAI INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetBROADWAY CARESEQUITY FIGHTS AIDS INC: $1,032 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNATUREBRIDGE: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PUBLIC RADIO: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetChildren's Hospital Los Angeles: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCLAIRE'S PLACE FOUNDATION INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetHUNTSMAN CANCER FOUNDATION: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCharity Navigator: $100 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.

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 Bank of America C…Paypal Charitable Giv…Network for GoodNational Philanthropi…American Online Givin…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
The Bank of America Charitable Foundation IncNC7.9× affinity5 shared granteesties to 7 of 7Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Paypal Charitable Giving Fund · Network for Good · National Philanthropic Trust · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · 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 Thomas E Lemons Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Thomas E Lemons Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%19%38%56%75%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • St Thomas University Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
5report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–75%
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 28 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

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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