Skip to content

California · Private foundation

William and Karen Lavoie 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.

$126k
Granted FY2025(still arriving)
48
Grants FY2025
48
Organizations funded FY2024
13%
First-time grantees FY2024
Read the full brief
Median grant, FY2025
$1,500
Largest grant, FY2025
$28,000
Organizations funded a year
20 to 49
FY2018 to FY2024
States reached, FY2025
9
Total assets, FY2025
$2.6M
Applications
Preselected organizations only
Per its most recent filing; check its own site

How open it is to new grantees

In FY2024, 13% of the organizations William and Karen Lavoie Foundation funded were first-time grantees, receiving 6% of its grant dollars.

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 94% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $8k went to new ones.

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

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

’19’20’21’22’23’24
AnimalsEnvironmentArts & CultureHealthEducationReligionOther
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.
The numbers by year
Fiscal yearOrganizations fundedTo those organizationsFirst-time grantees
FY2025still arriving47$125k6%
FY202448$121k13%
FY202349$127k27%
FY202236$112k17%
FY202141$122k17%
FY202040$131k43%
FY201931$126k48%
FY201820$35kn/a
92% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Environment$343kArts & Culture$271kAnimals$38kReligion$29kFood & Nutrition$25kPublic Safety & Disaster$25kRecreation & Sports$20kEducation$18kOther$0

Where its grants go

Grant dollars by states, across the years we hold.

Which US states its grants reach

NY
MA
CA
CO
VA
MD
AZ
AR
DC
GA
FL

Top grantees

Largest recipients by total granted, FY2018 to FY2025, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.

Show all 40 grantees
All grantees of William and Karen Lavoie Foundation by total granted
GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
Save the Redwoods League$237,00080%
Public Broadcasting Service$82,74450%
Sierra Club Foundation$30,00080%
Ocean Institute$25,50050%
World Central Kitchen Inc$24,50060%
Medecins Sans Frontieres USA Inc$16,50080%
Feeding America$15,50060%
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation$12,43270%
International Bird Rescue$11,00060%
Shriners Hospitals for Children$10,00020%
Greenpeace Inc$9,50080%
Baltimore Museum of Industry Inc$8,00080%
Plug in America$8,00070%
Heal the Bay$7,00070%
Southern California Public Radio$6,50640%
Monterey Bay Aquarium Foundation$6,00060%
Costumer's Guild West Inc$5,49322%
Sempervirens Fund$5,25060%
Torrance Education Foundation$5,25060%
Los Angeles Regional Food Bank$3,60020%
Mini Therapy Horses$3,50031%
Treepeople Inc$3,00040%
Aquarium of the Pacific Corporation$3,00030%
Shakespeare By The Sea$3,00060%
California Masonic Foundation$3,00010%
Washington County Historical Society$2,20041%
Elderhostel Inc$2,00080%
350org$1,75020%
Santa Barbara Humane Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals$1,50030%
National Parks Conservation Association$1,50020%
Cheer for Children Inc$1,0001n/a
Pedro Pet Pals Inc$1,00020%
Friends of Madrona Marsh$1,00021%
United Service Organizations Inc$1,0001n/a
The Palos Verdes Symphonic Band$1,0002n/a
Oceanographic Teaching Stations Inc$1,00020%
Cultural Heritage Foundation of Southern California$1,00020%
Santa Maria Valley Humane Society$70020%
Carson Cats Rescue$50010%
The Center for Investigative Reporting formrly Foundation for National Progress$20010%

What it could do for these grantees

Plus 47 recipients with no EIN on record ($336k), not named here.

Where it is load-bearing

Each grantee by its size and the share of its budget William and Karen Lavoie Foundation supplied at peak.

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetSave the Redwoods League: $237,000 over 8y, 0.2% of budgetPublic Broadcasting Service: $82,744 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetSierra Club Foundation: $30,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetOcean Institute: $25,500 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetWorld Central Kitchen Inc: $24,500 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetMedecins Sans Frontieres USA Inc: $16,500 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetFeeding America: $15,500 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetColonial Williamsburg Foundation: $12,432 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetInternational Bird Rescue: $11,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetShriners Hospitals for Children: $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetGreenpeace Inc: $9,500 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetBaltimore Museum of Industry Inc: $8,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetPlug in America: $8,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetHeal the Bay: $7,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetSouthern California Public Radio: $6,506 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetMonterey Bay Aquarium Foundation: $6,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetCostumer's Guild West Inc: $5,493 over 2y, 2.0% of budgetSempervirens Fund: $5,250 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetTorrance Education Foundation: $5,250 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetLos Angeles Regional Food Bank: $3,600 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMini Therapy Horses: $3,500 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetTreepeople Inc: $3,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetAquarium of the Pacific Corporation: $3,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetShakespeare By The Sea: $3,000 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetCalifornia Masonic Foundation: $3,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetWashington County Historical Society: $2,200 over 4y, 0.7% of budgetElderhostel Inc: $2,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budget350org: $1,750 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSanta Barbara Humane Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals: $1,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetNational Parks Conservation Association: $1,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPedro Pet Pals Inc: $1,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetFriends of Madrona Marsh: $1,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetOceanographic Teaching Stations Inc: $1,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCultural Heritage Foundation of Southern California: $1,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetSanta Maria Valley Humane Society: $700 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCarson Cats Rescue: $500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetThe Center for Investigative Reporting formrly Foundation for National Progress: $200 over 1y, 0.0% of budget

Tap a dot to name the grantee.

How this is measured
Share of budget is the funder’s grant in a year over the grantee’s total revenue that year, at its highest across the years we hold; revenue is from all sources. Only grantees confirmed against their own filings, whose grants do not exceed their revenue, are plotted: the largest 37.

Nonprofits that may fit its grantmaking

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.

Sempra FoundationCA11.9× affinity4 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Sempra Foundation · Shell USA Company Foundation · American Endowment Foundation · Network for Good · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · Paypal Charitable Giving Fund · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · American Online Giving Foundation 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.

Compare William and Karen Lavoie Foundation with peer funders

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to William and Karen Lavoie Foundation?

Find your warmest path to William and Karen Lavoie 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.

About William and Karen Lavoie Foundation

How much does William and Karen Lavoie Foundation give?
William and Karen Lavoie Foundation reported 48 grants totaling $126,026 in its FY2025 IRS filing. It funded between 20 and 49 organizations a year over FY2018 to FY2024.
What does William and Karen Lavoie Foundation fund?
By grant dollars over FY2018 to FY2025, its largest causes are Environment (38%), Arts & Culture (30%), Animals (4%).
Who are William and Karen Lavoie Foundation's largest grantees?
By total granted over FY2018 to FY2025: Save the Redwoods League ($237k), Public Broadcasting Service ($83k), Sierra Club Foundation ($30k).
Does William and Karen Lavoie Foundation fund new organizations?
In FY2024, 13% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
Does William and Karen Lavoie Foundation accept unsolicited applications?
Its most recent filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and does not take unsolicited requests. Check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.
Which funders back the same organizations as William and Karen Lavoie Foundation?
Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include Sempra Foundation, Shell USA Company Foundation, American Endowment Foundation.
Where is William and Karen Lavoie Foundation based?
William and Karen Lavoie Foundation is based in CA.

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 89 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

Play a game based on William and Karen Lavoie’s filings →

More from the funding graph