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Zerbe Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Zerbe Family 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.

$77k
Granted FY2024still arriving
22
Grants FY2024still arriving
12
States reached
$50k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0192% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Education$329kPhilanthropy$59kArts & Culture$39kHealth$6kPublic Benefit$2kCivil Rights$2kPublic Safety & Disaster$2kHuman Services$1kOther$0
02FY2024 · 22 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k20 grants · $17k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $10k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $50k
$250
Median grant
12
States reached
$1.3M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
INDIANA UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION$50,000
SAVANNAH BOOK FESTIVAL$10,000
BETHESDA ACADEMY$6,837
UNITED WAY OF THE COASTAL EMPIRE$5,000
SIGMA CHI FOUNDATION$1,000
GEORGIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY$1,000
DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS$500
ST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL$500
YOUNG AMERICA'S FOUNDATION$250
BULLDOG ALUMNI ASSOCIATION$250
SAMARITAN'S PURSE INTERNATIONAL$250
UNITED SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS$100
PARKINSONS FOUNDATION$100
PROSTATE CANCER FOUNDATION$100
SHRINERS HOSPITAL$100
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 16%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 99% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%STANFORD UNIVERSITY: $500 → 8%ST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL: $500 → 8%HILLSDALE COLLEGE: $650 → 14%LIVING ARTS: $1k → 21%SAMRITAN'S PURSE INTERNATIONAL: $750 → 21%FORD PLANTATION SCHOLARSHIPS FUND: $500 → 8%ELEVATE: $1k → 13%SAVANNAH BOOK FESTIVAL: $10k → 16%ROUTT COUNTY UNITED WAY: $500 → 6%INDIANA UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $51k → 16%INDIANA UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $30k → 18%SIGMA CHI FOUNDATION: $3k → 14%YOUNG AMERICA'S FOUNDATION: $500 → 6%ST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL: $500 → 8%HILLSDALE COLLEGE: $650 → 14%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $1k → 21%SAVANNAH BOOK FESTIVAL: $5k → 16%INDIANA UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $50k → 16%INDIANA UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $30k → 18%SIGMA CHI FOUNDATION: $1k → 14%YOUNG AMERICA'S FOUNDATION: $500 → 6%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $500 → 21%SAVANNAH BOOK FESTIVAL: $5k → 16%INDIANA UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $50k → 16%SIGMA CHI FOUNDATION: $1k → 14%SAVANNAH BOOK FESTIVAL: $5k → 16%INDIANA UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $35k → 16%SIGMA CHI FOUNDATION: $1k → 14%SAVANNAH BOOK FESTIVAL: $5k → 16%INDIANA UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $25k → 16%SIGMA CHI FOUNDATION: $1k → 14%SAVANNAH BOOK FESTIVAL: $3k → 16%INDIANA UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $25k → 16%SAVANNAH BOOK FESTIVAL: $2k → 16%ESKENAZI HEALTH FOUNDATION: $1k → 16%SAVANNAH BOOK FESTIVAL: $2k → 16%ESKENAZI HEALTH FOUNDATION: $1k → 16%DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS: $500 → 17%BETHESDA ACADEMY: $500 → 16%UNITED WAY OF THE COASTAL EMPIRE: $20k → 16%HERITAGE FOUNDATION: $2k → 14%UNITED WAY OF THE COASTAL EMPIRE: $10k → 16%UNITED WAY OF THE COASTAL EMPIRE: $10k → 16%UNITED WAY OF THE COASTAL EMPIRE: $10k → 16%UNITED WAY OF THE COASTAL EMPIRE: $5k → 16%UNITED WAY OF THE COASTAL EMPIRE: $2k → 16%GEORGIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $1k → 16%SAVANNAH MUSIC FESTIVAL: $500 → 16%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

IL
MI
NY
MA
IN
CA
CO
VA
NC
SC
DC
GA
TX
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.

98%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$434k · 28 repeat orgs$8k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +43% since the first grant, against +37% for those funded once.

28 repeat relationships: 18 still active in FY2024, 10 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

28
16

Total granted

$434k
$7k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+43%
+37%

Still filing today

71%
44%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 98% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $1k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
EducationHealthPublic BenefitArts & CulturePhilanthropyEnvironmentOther
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

  • Indiana University Foundation
    8× · 2017–2024 · $296k · revenue +97%
  • UW
    UNITED WAY OF THE COASTAL EMPIRE
    6× · 2017–2024 · $57k · revenue +10%
  • TS
    THE SAVANNAH BOOK FESTIVAL INC
    8× · 2017–2024 · $36k · revenue +57%

Funded once

  • THE HERITAGE FOUNDATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $2k · revenue +32%
  • E
    ELEVATE
    one grant, 2023 · $1k
  • Living Arts
    one grant, 2021 · $1k · revenue -16%
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
American Association for the Advancement of Science

Advance science, engineering, and innovation throughout the world for the benefit of all. the world's largest multidisciplinary scientific society and a leading publisher of cutting-edge research through its science family of journals,…

Science & Tech
2
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.

—
3
Trustees of Dartmouth College

Dartmouth College educates the most promising students and prepares them for a lifetime of learning and of responsible leadership, through a faculty dedicated to teaching and the creation of knowledge.

Education
4
Furman University

The primary mission of furman as a liberal arts institution is to provide a distinctive education in fine arts, humanities, social sciences, mathematics and the sciences, as well as selected professional disciplines.

Education
5
President and Fellows of Harvard College

Undergraduate, graduate, and professional education and research across a broad array of academic domains.

Education
6
University of Virginia Investment Management Company

The university of virginia investment management company (uvimco) is organized to invest funds on behalf of the rector and visitors of the university of virginia (the university or uva) and university-associated organizations (uaos).

Education
7
The Trustees of Princeton University

Research, education and general - princeton university is a private not-for-profit, non-sectarian institution of higher learning with approximately 5,700 undergraduate and 3,300 graduate students. 2,500 students graduated in the 2024-2025…

Education
8
Society for Neuroscience

Sfn's mission is to: 1. advance the understanding of the brain and the nervous system by bringing together scientists of all segments of neuroscience, by facilitating the integration of research directed at all levels of biological…

Health
9
The Uc Davis Foundation

The mission of the uc davis foundation is to secure, steward and manage private gifts for uc davis.

Education
10
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The mission of mit is to advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century.

Education
11
American Academy of Neurology

The Academy's mission is to enhance member career fulfillment and promote brain health for all.

Community Improvement
12
Trustees of Tufts College

Education and Research

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Heritage Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Pockets Full of Sunshine. 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

34 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. 34 of the 52 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)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
34/34
Grantees still filing
29/34
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Indiana University Foundation: $296,000 · EducationIndiana University FoundationTHE SAVANNAH BOOK FESTIVAL INC: $35,900 · EducationTHE SAVANNAH BOOK FESTIVAL INC+6 more: $9,950 · EducationUNITED WAY OF THE COASTAL EMPIRE: $57,400 · PhilanthropyUNITED WAY OF …+2 more: $1,200 · PhilanthropyBETHESDA ACADEMY: $22,637 · OtherYoung America's Foundation: $1,500 · OtherAMERICAN RED CROSS: $1,500 · Other+25 more: $9,166 · OtherEskenazi Health Foundation Inc: $2,000 · HealthALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $700 · HealthPARKINSON'S FOUNDATION INC: $700 · HealthAmerican Heart Association Inc: $550 · HealthAmerican Diabetes Association: $350 · HealthSHRINERS HOSPITALS FOR CHILDREN: $200 · HealthSAVANNAH MUSIC FESTIVALINC: $1,250 · Arts & CultureLiving Arts: $1,000 · Arts & CultureCOLORADO PUBLIC TELEVISION: $100 · Arts & CultureTHE HERITAGE FOUNDATION: $1,500 · Public BenefitCATO INSTITUTE: $250 · Public BenefitUNITED SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS INC: $200 · Public BenefitMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $1,250 · International
Education$341,850Philanthropy$58,600Other$34,803Health$4,500Arts & Culture$2,350Public Benefit$1,950International$1,250

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 budgetIndiana University Foundation: $296,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetUNITED WAY OF THE COASTAL EMPIRE: $57,400 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetTHE SAVANNAH BOOK FESTIVAL INC: $35,900 over 8y, 2.1% of budgetSigma Chi Foundation: $6,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetEskenazi Health Foundation Inc: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE HERITAGE FOUNDATION: $1,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetYoung America's Foundation: $1,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetHILLSDALE COLLEGE: $1,350 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSAVANNAH MUSIC FESTIVALINC: $1,250 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $1,250 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetYAMPA VALLEY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $1,100 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetLiving Arts: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetGeorgia Historical Society: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE FORD FIELD & RIVER CLUB SCHOLARSHIP FUND INC: $750 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetANIMAL WELFARE INSTITUTE: $750 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetBULL DOG ALUMNI ASSOCIATION INC: $750 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $700 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetPARKINSON'S FOUNDATION INC: $700 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican Heart Association Inc: $550 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUNITED WAY OF THE YAMPA VALLEY: $500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetAmerican Diabetes Association: $350 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE SAVANNAH COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $350 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPOCKETS FULL OF SUNSHINE: $325 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCATO INSTITUTE: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBig Brothers Big Sisters Of America: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSHRINERS HOSPITALS FOR CHILDREN: $200 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetUNITED SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS INC: $200 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetDONORSCHOOSEORG: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCOLORADO PUBLIC TELEVISION: $100 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPROSTATE CANCER FOUNDATION: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHumane World for Animals Inc: $75 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $66 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL PARKS CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION: $40 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 Savannah Communit…Gs Donor Advised Phil…The Blackbaud Giving …National Philanthropi…Charities Aid Foundat…The Bank of America C…Morgan Stanley Global…Donor Advised Charita…Vanguard Charitable E…Fidelity Investments …American Online Givin…Amazonsmile Foundation
The Savannah Community Foundation IncGA15.7× affinity5 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Savannah Community Foundation Inc · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · National Philanthropic Trust · Charities Aid Foundation America · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · 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 Zerbe Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Zerbe 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%15%30%45%60%share of the org’s income from government →median 21%
  • Big Brothers Big Sisters of America: 21% of income from government
  • Shriners Hospitals for Children: 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 · 0–60%
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.
05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Zerbe Family Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Zerbe 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 52 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

Play a game based on Zerbe 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