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· Private foundation

Vesper Foundation

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.

$165k
Granted FY2025still arriving
1
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$165k
Largest
01What you fundRead
02The needRead
03Your edgeRead
04Your fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What you fund
0196% classified

What you funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year — across FY2020–2025.

Environment$663kEducation$315kArts & Culture$197kYouth Development$163kInternational$35kHealth$25kHuman Services$13kRecreation & Sports$12kOther$0
02FY2025 · 1 grant

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

$165,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$1.1M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
WETLANDS FOUNDATION$165,000
02The need
03

Do your dollars go where the need is?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, then read against the area’s typical level.

show:

Your human-services grants (FY20–23, $4k) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 29% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Your grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%THE TEARS FOUNDATION: $3k → 9%WELLSPRING HOUSE: $1k → 10%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount

Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty linein the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP; grantee ZIP can differ from where services are delivered.

Which US states your grants reach

ME
NH
WA
MN
IL
NY
MA
OH
GA

US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are actually delivered. Need from public data — U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA — shown as context about the area, never attributed to your giving.

03Your edge
repeat funding

Who you back again

Which organizations you funded more than once, and which you funded a single time. Each grantee is matched to its own filings.

79%of every dollar goes to organizations you’ve funded before.
$1.2M · 10 repeat orgs$300k to everyone else

And the relationships you keep tend to grow: grantees you re-up on have seen median revenue of +34% since the first grant, against +19% for the ones you funded once.

10 repeat relationships — 1 still active in FY2025, 9 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

10
24

Total granted

$1.2M
$300k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+34%
+19%

Still filing today

90%
83%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24’25
Arts & CultureEducationEnvironmentHuman ServicesPhilanthropyHealthOther

First-time = a grantee’s first year in your filing window; renewed = funded in an earlier year too. As a portfolio matures the renewed share naturally climbs — once funded, an org stays “renewable” — so the signal is the years that buck it (a new-grantee intake wave). 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

  • WF
    WETLANDS FOUNDATION
    5× · 2020–2025 · $570k · revenue +175% · 100% of their budget
  • TA
    TABOR ACADEMY
    2× · 2020–2021 · $210k · revenue +54%
  • PS
    PARK SCHOOL CORPORATION
    2× · 2020–2021 · $40k · revenue +34%

Funded once

  • THE TRUSTEES OF RESERVATIONSgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $60k · revenue +29%
  • TA
    THE ADVENT SCHOOL CORPORATION
    one grant, 2020 · $35k · revenue -6%
  • AI
    AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE CENTER
    one grant, 2020 · $32k · revenue -7%

Repeat = funded in two or more distinct years; growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Your field

The map has a center of gravity: the average direction from the rest of the sector toward the organizations the foundation funds — the shape of its giving. Scoring every nonprofit along that direction surfaces the ones that look most like the portfolio. These are the closest matchesthat aren’t grantees — a resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Boston Architectural College

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

—
2
Rhode Island School of Design

The mission of rhode island school of design, through its college and museum,is to educate its students and the public in the creation and (see schedule o)appreciation of works of art and design, to discover and transmit knowledge and to…

Education
3
Bartlett Arboretum Association Inc

To cultivate and develop an expansive collection of trees, gardens, and plants for all to explore, enjoy and study; and to provide through education and stewardship, a greener, healthier, more beautiful environment.

Environment
4
Saint Anselm College

Saint anselm is a catholic, benedictine college providing all of its students a distinctive liberal arts education that incorporates opportunities for professional and career preparation. it does so in a learning community that encourages…

Education
5
Museum of Arts and Design

To collect, display and interpret objects in craft art and design.

Arts & Culture
6
Native Plant Trust Inc

The organization's mission is to conserve and promote new england's native plants to ensure healthy, biologically diverse landscapes.

Environment
7
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.

—
8
National Academy of Design

The mission of the national academy of design is to promote the fine arts in america through exhibition and education.

Education
9
Wheaton College

Wheaton college provides a transformative liberal arts education, combining theory and practice, for intellectually curious students within a collaborative and vibrant extended community and network that values and strives to create an…

Education
10
University of New Haven

The University of New Haven is a student-centered comprehensive university with an emphasis on excellence in liberal arts and professional education. Our mission is to prepare our students to lead purposeful and fulfilling lives in a…

Education
11
Florence Griswold Museum Inc

The florence griswold museum seeks to promote a greater understanding of connecticut's contribution to american art and history through public exhibitions and educational programs.

Arts & Culture
12
Northeast College of Health Sciences

Northeast college of health sciences (the college) is committed to academic excellence, leadership, and professional best practices in the health sciences.

Education

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Cape Ann Museum Inc and the most unlike its peers is The Red Sea Foundation. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.

For each theme you fund, this compares how the sector’s money is shifting with how your own giving is shifting.

← shrinkinggrowing →↓ leaning in → pulling backsteadyCommunity Health CentersCancer Support OrganizationsProfessional Ballet Compani…Faith-Based Liberal Arts Co…Food Pantries & AssistanceChristian Missionary Organi…Early Childhood Education C…Land Conservation Organizat…Community Arts OrganizationsIndependent K-8 Schools
the sector your giving your giving is ahead of the sector the sector’s ahead of you· dot size = how much the theme matters to each side
Ordered by the change in your giving — leaning in on top, pulling back at the bottom. The bar between the two dots is how out of step you are with the sector. Hover any row for detail.

Sector change and giving change are each shown relative to their own range, growing (right) or shrinking (left); both normalized, so inflation isn’t mistaken for growth.

Your grantees are a median of 43 years old; the field is 17. You back the established end — and your money leans older still.

THE FIELDby orgYOUR GRANTEESby number20%3%<5yr14%0%5–10yr20%13%10–20yr19%23%20–35yr14%23%35–55yr14%39%55yr+
THE FIELDby orgYOUR MONEYby value20%0%<5yr14%0%5–10yr20%4%10–20yr19%49%20–35yr14%17%35–55yr14%30%55yr+

The field is 20% startups (under 5 years old) — 3% of your grantees by number, and just 0% of your money.

Closures · last 5 years

The orgs you fund almost never close — 0.0% lost their exemption, against 11% of the field you don’t fund.

orgs you fund
0.0%0/31
the rest of the field
11%
4,714/42,327

Age = years since IRS exemption (a founding proxy). “Closed” = auto-revocation for 3 years of non-filing — a floor on closure, not proof, and bigger established orgs lapse least. Association, not causation.

04the grantee network

30 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each one resolved to its own IRS returns and tracked year by year — your grant beside their revenue from every source. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

Counted here: distinct organizations you funded across 2017–2025, not grant rows in a single year — so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 30 of the 35 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile; the rest are funded organizations whose filings we could not track year by year.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
9
Early backer (in before they grew)
30/30
Grantees still filing
20/30
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

WETLANDS FOUNDATION — $570,000 · EnvironmentWETLANDS FOUNDATIONTHE TRUSTEES OF RESERVATIONS — $60,000 · EnvironmentTHE TRUSTEES OF RESERVATIONSESSEX COUNTY GREENBELT ASSOCIATION — $33,000 · Environment+1 more — $10,000 · EnvironmentREHEARSAL FOR LIFE INC — $162,500 · Arts & CultureREHEARSAL FOR LIFE INCPEABODY ESSEX MUSEUM INC — $85,000 · Arts & CulturePEABODY ESSEX MUSEUM INCAMERICAN INDEPENDENCE CENTER — $31,500 · Arts & CultureAMERICAN INDEPENDENCE CENTERMUSEUM OF FINE ARTS — $20,000 · Arts & CultureMUSEUM OF FINE ARTSVIA ART FUND INC — $20,000 · Arts & CultureVIA ART FUND INCCAPE ANN MUSEUM INC — $16,000 · Arts & CultureTHE WASSAIC PROJECT INC — $15,000 · Arts & Culture+4 more — $11,500 · Arts & CultureTABOR ACADEMY — $210,000 · EducationTABOR ACADEMYPARK SCHOOL CORPORATION — $40,000 · EducationPARK SCHOOL CORPORATI…BEACON HILL NURSERY SCHOOL INC — $20,000 · EducationBEACON HILL NURSERY S…+3 more — $6,500 · EducationTHE ADVENT SCHOOL CORPORATION — $35,000 · OtherMASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL FOR CHILDREN — $22,329 · OtherBHYC — $10,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient — $10,000 · OtherTHE OPEN DOOR CAPE ANN FOOD PANTRY INC — $10,000 · OtherCITY OF AVON — $5,000 · OtherSHORE COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL — $4,100 · Other+2 more — $3,000 · OtherROOT CAPITAL INC — $20,000 · InternationalTHE RED SEA FOUNDATION — $15,000 · PhilanthropyTears Foundation — $2,500 · Human ServicesWELLSPRING HOUSE INC — $1,000 · Human ServicesALZHEIMER'S DISEASE & RELATED DISORDERS ASSOCIATION INC — $2,500 · Health
Environment$673,000Arts & Culture$361,500Education$276,500Other$99,429International$20,000Philanthropy$15,000Human Services$3,500Health$2,500

Each org by its size and your share of it — top-left is where you’re load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ your share of their budgetWETLANDS FOUNDATION — $570,000 over 5y, 100% of budgetTABOR ACADEMY — $210,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetREHEARSAL FOR LIFE INC — $162,500 over 2y, 8.4% of budgetPEABODY ESSEX MUSEUM INC — $85,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTHE TRUSTEES OF RESERVATIONS — $60,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetPARK SCHOOL CORPORATION — $40,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTHE ADVENT SCHOOL CORPORATION — $35,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetESSEX COUNTY GREENBELT ASSOCIATION — $33,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetAMERICAN INDEPENDENCE CENTER — $31,500 over 1y, 9.9% of budgetMUSEUM OF FINE ARTS — $20,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetROOT CAPITAL INC — $20,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetVIA ART FUND INC — $20,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetBEACON HILL NURSERY SCHOOL INC — $20,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetCAPE ANN MUSEUM INC — $16,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetTHE RED SEA FOUNDATION — $15,000 over 2y, 21% of budgetTHE WASSAIC PROJECT INC — $15,000 over 1y, 2.0% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE PUBLIC GARDEN INC — $10,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetTHE OPEN DOOR CAPE ANN FOOD PANTRY INC — $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMontserrat College Of Art Inc — $5,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBOSTON BALLET INC — $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSHORE COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL — $4,100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTears Foundation — $2,500 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetISABELLA STEWART GARDNER MUSEUM INC — $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetALZHEIMER'S DISEASE & RELATED DISORDERS ASSOCIATION INC — $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetESPLANADE ASSOCIATION INC — $2,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetFRACTURED ATLAS INC — $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWELLSPRING HOUSE INC — $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPresident and Fellows of Harvard College — $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHEALTHY PENINSULA — $500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetNORTH SHORE NURSERY SCHOOL INC — $500 over 1y, 0.1% of budget
Go grantee by grantee — a decade per org, and how each moved after you funded them

A decade per grantee — revenue shaded, your grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

The grantmakers whose grantees overlap with yours far more than size alone predicts. Each orbits closer the stronger the alignment; the arcs between them show where they also fund each other. Here it reads as a tightly interlocked camp — most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Boston Foundation IncCombined Jewish Phila…Fidelity FoundationEssex County Communit…Richard & Susan Smith…Eastern Bank Foundati…Silicon Valley Commun…Morgan Stanley Global…National Philanthropi…The Bank of America C…American Endowment Fo…Gs Donor Advised Phil…
Boston Foundation IncMA23.1× affinity10 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Boston Foundation Inc · Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston Inc · Fidelity Foundation · Essex County Community Foundation Inc · Richard & Susan Smith Family Foundation · Eastern Bank Foundation · Silicon Valley Community Foundation · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · American Endowment Foundation · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc

Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. A research starting point: overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

Government reliance of your grantees

Every dot is one organization Vesper Foundation funds. Left–right is the share of its income from government; up–down is the share from you. Bigger dots raise more. Filter to federal, a single department, or state — and drag the year to watch it move.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 70%6%25%56%100%your share of their income ↑0%10%20%30%40%share of the org’s income from government →median 7%
  • Cape Ann Museum Inc — 38% of income from government
  • Rehearsal for Life Inc — 11% of income from government
  • Root Capital Inc — 9% of income from government
  • Wellspring House Inc — 9% of income from government
  • Essex County Greenbelt Association — 8% of income from government
  • President and Fellows of Harvard College — 7% of income from government
  • Montserrat College of Art Inc — 3% of income from government
  • Peabody Essex Museum Inc — 3% of income from government
  • The Trustees of Reservations — 2% of income from government
  • Friends of the Public Garden Inc — 1% of income from government
  • Boston Ballet Inc — 0% of income from government
  • Museum of Fine Arts — 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
7get no government money at all
4report 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

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 your grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first — a floor, not 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 12–24 months.

05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Vesper Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Vesper 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 directly from IRS e-file XML — your own 990/990-PF and the multi-year returns of the 35 grantees we resolved across every year we hold, several hundred filings in all (a different count from the grant rows on the cover, which are one fiscal year)— each linked to its source. Grantee achievements and outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III); we read these as association with sustained funding — the foundation is one of several forces — suppress low-confidence name matches rather than guess, and say so where a figure rests on a single grant or filing. Not everything on this page is a filed figure, and the difference matters. Filed is what you reported on your 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. How we build these →

Generated from your IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

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 camps
funders cluster by geography, not ideology
By state
where grant money is based, and what stays home
State money flows
the interactive map of money crossing state lines