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Waterman Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Waterman Family 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.

$385k
Granted FY2017
46
Grants FY2017
7
States reached
$250k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its fieldRead
04Through PlinthRead

Read this first · the figures below need context

100% of Waterman Family Foundation’s FY2025 grant dollars went to Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund, not to grantees.

Its money now reaches organizations through that sponsor, which does not report who recommended each grant. FY2025 names 0 organizations directly, so a portfolio cannot be read from it. Everything below is therefore FY2017, the last year Waterman Family Foundation named its own grantees at scale: 26 organizations, $385k. It is dated, not current.

Organizations named directly on the return

26
’17
1
’18
1
’19
1
’20
0
’21
0
’22
0
’24
0
’25

Amber years are those where most dollars went to a sponsor.

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 2025.

Philanthropy$1.3MReligion$854kCivil Rights$18kArts & Culture$13kHealth$10kHuman Services$10kInternational$10kScience & Tech$10kOther$0
02FY2017 · 46 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2017

  • Under $10k43 grants · $81k
  • $10k–50k2 grants · $53k
  • $250k+1 grant · $250k
$1,000
Median grant
7
States reached
$2.0M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
TEMPLE BETH EL$250,000
FIDELITY INVESTMENT CHARITABLE GIFT$43,394
DISCOVERY CENTER$10,000
CENTER THEATRE GROUP$9,000
BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB$5,250
SOVA FOOD BANK$5,000
SOUTHERN POVERTY CENTER$5,000
ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE$5,000
SIMON WEISENTHAL CENTER$5,000
CITY OF HOPE$5,000
AMER JEWISH WORLD SERVICE$3,500
FEEDING AMERICA$3,000
ALZHEIMER ASSOCIATION$2,500
DIRECT RELIEF INTERNATIONAL$2,500
CHILDRENS HOSPITAL OF LOS ANGELES$2,500
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 (FY17–17, $3k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 67% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%CASA PACIFICA: $1k → 10%WOMEN IN NEED: $1k → 17%TOBERMAN NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER: $500 → 14%GUIDE DOGS OF AMERICA: $500 → 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.
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 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
Us Middle East Project Inc

The organization's mission is to engage in non partisan analysis of u.s. foreign policy in the middle east, with special emphasis on the middle east peace process, and to present policymakers in the united states, in the region and in the…

International
2
New York Genome Center Inc

Operate a state-of-the-art, world-class genomic research center that creates and uses advanced genomics to understand the genetic basis of disease. for more information, see schedule o.

Health
3
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Chartered by a unanimous act of congress, the museum is america's national institution for the documentation, study, interpretation, and education of holocaust history and serves as our country's memorial to the victims of the holocaust.…

Arts & Culture
4
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
5
New York University

Nyu is a private university with approximately 60,000 matriculating students in 20 schools and institutes. nyu's primary missions are education, research and scholarship, and patient care.

Education
6
Committee to Protect Journalists Inc

The committee to protect journalists promotes press freedom worldwide and defends the right of journalists to report the news safely and without fear of reprisal. cpj ensures the free flow of news and commentary by taking action wherever…

Civil Rights
7
Middle East Media and Research Institute Inc

The middle east media research institute (memri) explores the middle east through its media, providing timely translations from arabic, farsi, urdu, pashtu, and turkish media and publishing original analysis of political, ideological,…

International
8
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

Leadership in the prevention, treatment, and cure of cancer through excellence, vision and cost effectiveness in patient care, outreach programs, research, and education.

Health
9
Management Sciences for Health Inc

(msh) saves lives and improves the health of the world's poorest (see schedule o) and most vulnerable people by closing the gap between knowledge and action in public health.

International
10
The Population Council Inc

We generate ideas, produce evidence, and design solutions to improve the lives of underserved populations around the world. we take a multidisciplinary, intergenerational, life-cycle approach that contributes to (see schedule o)four global…

International
11
MRIGlobal

To improve the lives of people through innovative scientific and engineering research.

Science & Tech
12
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
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Simon Wiesenthal Center Inc; the most unlike its peers is Chrysalis 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

26 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. 26 of the 46 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)
26/26
Grantees still filing
19/26
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND: $1,276,616 · Community ImprovementFIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUNDTEMPLE BETH EL: $850,000 · OtherTEMPLE BETH ELFIDELITY INVESTMENT CHARITABLE GIFT: $43,394 · Other+29 more: $53,350 · Other+29 moreCENTER THEATRE GROUP OF LOS ANGELES: $9,000 · Arts & CultureSIMON WIESENTHAL CENTER INC: $7,000 · Arts & CultureALLIANCE FOR MIDDLE EAST PEACE INC: $1,000 · Arts & CultureDIRECT RELIEF: $2,500 · InternationalMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $2,500 · InternationalJEWISH NATIONAL FUND (KEREN KAYEMETH LEISRAEL) INC: $1,000 · InternationalAMNESTY INTERNATIONAL OF THE USA INC: $1,000 · InternationalOPERATION SMILE INC: $500 · InternationalChildren's Hospital Los Angeles: $2,500 · HealthNATIONAL MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SOCIETY: $1,500 · HealthPLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC: $1,000 · HealthST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $500 · HealthANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE: $5,000 · Civil RightsFeeding America: $3,000 · Food & Nutrition
Community Improvement$1,276,616Other$946,744Arts & Culture$17,000International$7,500Health$5,500Civil Rights$5,000Food & Nutrition$3,000

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

25%50%75%100%$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetFIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND: $1,276,616 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetDISCOVERY CENTER DBA FRESNO DISCOVERY CENTER: $10,000 over 1y, 3.6% of budgetCENTER THEATRE GROUP OF LOS ANGELES: $9,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSIMON WIESENTHAL CENTER INC: $7,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFeeding America: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetChildren's Hospital Los Angeles: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SOCIETY: $1,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetJEWISH NATIONAL FUND (KEREN KAYEMETH LEISRAEL) INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetJEWISH WORLD WATCH: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetAMNESTY INTERNATIONAL OF THE USA INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetALLIANCE FOR MIDDLE EAST PEACE INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWOMEN IN NEED INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCasa Pacifica Centers for Children & Families: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMARINE TOYS FOR TOTS FOUNDATION: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetOPERATION SMILE INC: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTOBERMAN NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER INC: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAssistance League of San Pedro-South Bay: $500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetJEWISH GEN INC: $400 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.

Vanguard Charitable E…Jpmorgan Chase Founda…National Philanthropi…The Bank of America C…Morgan Stanley Global…American Online Givin…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Vanguard Charitable Endowment ProgramPA11.6× affinity8 shared granteesties to 8 of 8Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Jpmorgan Chase Foundation · National Philanthropic Trust · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · 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 Waterman Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Waterman Family 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%10%20%30%40%share of the org’s 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 · 0–40%
    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.
    04Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to Waterman Family Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Waterman 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 46 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 2017, released 2017. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Waterman 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