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Balakian Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Balakian Family Foundation

Its FY2020 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$46k
Granted FY2019
8
Grants FY2019
4
States reached
$10k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead

Read this first · the figures below need context

92% of Balakian Family Foundation’s FY2020 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. FY2020 names 3 organizations directly, so a portfolio cannot be read from it. Everything below is therefore FY2019, the last year Balakian Family Foundation named its own grantees at scale: 5 organizations, $46k. It is dated, not current.

Organizations named directly on the return

3
’17
5
’18
5
’19
3
’20

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

01What it funds
0182% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2020.

Philanthropy$538kEducation$48kHealth$37kRecreation & Sports$20kReligion$12kEnvironment$8kInternational$6kOther$0
02FY2019 · 8 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2019

  • Under $10k4 grants · $6k
  • $10k–50k4 grants · $40k
$10,000
Median grant
4
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
DWIGHT ENGLEWOOD SCHOOL ANNUAL$10,000
ST THOMAS ARMENIAN CHURCH$10,000
GEORGE & RAYMOND FRANK FOUNDATION$10,000
ENGLEWOOD HEALTH FOUNDATION$10,000
Individual grant recipient$3,492
BUCKNELL UNIVERSITY$1,000
ST NERSESS ARMENIAN SEMINARY$1,000
MARCH OF DIMES$1,000
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–20) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 7%. 86% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 7%FIDELITY CHARITABLE: $538k → 16%BUCKNELL UNIVERSITY: $10k → 11%AEBU: $16k → 14%SOUTHAMPTON FRESH AIR HOME: $1k → 7%ST NERSESS ARMENIAN SEMINARY: $1k → 9%AGBU YPGNY: $1k → 17%UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME: $10k → 13%ST THOMAS ARMENIAN CHURCH: $10k → 7%GEORGE & RAYMOND FRANK FOUNDATION: $10k → 7%BUCKNELL UNIVERSITY: $5k → 11%ST NERSESS ARMENIAN SEMINARY: $500 → 9%AGBU YPGNY: $400 → 17%TENAFLY HIGH SCHOOL: $5k → 7%BUCKNELL UNIVERSITY: $1k → 11%MARCH OF DIMES: $1k → 9%NYU STERN: $1k → 17%TENAFLY NATURE CENTER: $3k → 7%CHILDREN OF ARMENIA: $25k → 17%TENAFLY NATURE CENTER: $3k → 7%CHILDREN OF ARMENIAN FUND: $4k → 17%TENAFLY NATURE CENTER: $3k → 7%CHILDREN OF ARMENIAN FUND: $2k → 17%SPORTS TIME: $3k → 7%ENGLEWOOD HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $25k → 7%DWIGHT ENGLEWOOD SCHOOL ANNUAL: $10k → 7%DWIGHT ENGLEWOOD SCHOOL ANNUAL: $10k → 7%ENGLEWOOD HEALTH FOUNDATION: $10k → 7%DWIGHT ENGLEWOOD SCHOOL: $5k → 7%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 grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

32%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$52k · 6 repeat orgs$113k to everyone else

6 repeat relationships: 3 still active in FY2019, 3 since wound down; 8 grantees were first funded in FY2019 (too recent to call). Read against FY2019, the last year this funder named its own grantees directly; its giving has since run through a sponsor, which reports no donor behind each grant.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

6
4

Total granted

$52k
$32k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+89%
+123%

Still filing today

67%
50%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2020, 6% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $46k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20
EducationHealthEnvironmentInternationalRecreation & SportsOther
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

  • Bucknell University
    3× · 2017–2019 · $16k · revenue +45%
  • TN
    TENAFLY NATURE CENTER ASSOCIATION
    3× · 2017–2020 · $8k · revenue +89%
  • CO
    CHILDREN OF ARMENIA FUND INC DBA CHILDREN OF ARMENIA FUND COAF
    2× · 2017–2018 · $6k · revenue +248%

Funded once

  • EH
    ENGLEWOOD HOSPITAL FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2017 · $25k
  • TH
    TENAFLY HIGH SCHOOL
    one grant, 2018 · $5k
  • NY
    New York Universitygraduated
    one grant, 2018 · $1k · revenue +59%
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
Western New England University

Western new england university, a comprehensive private institution with a tradition of excellence in teaching and scholarship and a commitment to service, awards undergraduate, master's, and doctoral degrees in various departments from…

Education
2
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
3
Fordham University

Fordham university, the jesuit university of new york, is committed to the discovery of wisdom and the transmission of learning, through research and through education of the highest quality. for more information, see schedule o.

Education
4
Fairleigh Dickinson University

Fairleigh dickinson university is a center of academic excellence dedicated to the preparation of world citizens through global education. the university strives to provide students with the multi-disciplinary, intercultural, and ethical…

Education
5
Seton Hall University

Seton hall university is a catholic institution of higher education

—
6
Manhattanville University

To educate students to be ethical and socially responsible leaders in a global community.

Education
7
Institute for Advanced Study - Louis Bamberger & Mrs Felix Fuld Foundation

The institute for advanced study (the institute) is one of the world's leading centers for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. see schedule o.

Science & Tech
8
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
9
The Corporation of Saint Mary's College Notre Dame

The corporation of saint mary's college, notre dame (saint mary's) is a catholic, residential, women's, liberal arts college offering undergraduate degrees and co-educational graduate programs. (continued in schedule o)

Education
10
St Francis College

St. francis college is an independent, coeducational institution of higher education chartered by an act of the regents of the university of the state of new york on april 10, 1957.

Education
11
Trustees of Boston College

Mission strengthened by more than a century and a half of dedication to academic excellence, boston college commits itself to the highest standards of teaching and research in undergraduate, graduate and professional programs and to the…

Education
12
Dickinson College

Dickinson college provides a useful, innovative and interdisciplinary education in the liberal arts and sciences to prepare students to lead rich and fulfilling lives of engaged global citizenship

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Dwight-Englewood School; the most unlike its peers is New York University. 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

11 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. 11 of the 20 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)
3
Early backer (in before they grew)
11/11
Grantees still filing
10/11
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND: $538,118 · Community ImprovementFIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUNDIndividual grant recipient: $25,000 · OtherIndividual grant r…ENGLEWOOD HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $25,000 · OtherENGLEWOOD HOSPITAL…DWIGHT ENGLEWOOD SCHOOL ANNUAL: $20,000 · OtherDWIGHT ENGLEWOOD S…AEBU: $16,031 · OtherAEBUST THOMAS ARMENIAN CHURCH: $10,000 · OtherST THOMAS ARMENIAN…ENGLEWOOD HEALTH FOUNDATION: $10,000 · OtherENGLEWOOD HEALTH F…TENAFLY HIGH SCHOOL: $5,483 · Other+3 more: $6,392 · Other+3 moreBucknell University: $16,000 · EducationUniversity of Notre Dame du Lac: $10,000 · EducationDWIGHT-ENGLEWOOD SCHOOL: $5,151 · Education+1 more: $1,000 · EducationGeorge & Raymond Frank Foundation: $10,000 · Recreation & SportsTENAFLY NATURE CENTER ASSOCIATION: $7,500 · EnvironmentCHILDREN OF ARMENIA FUND INC DBA CHILDREN OF ARMENIA FUND COAF: $6,000 · InternationalMARCH OF DIMES INC: $1,000 · HealthTHE SOUTHAMPTON FRESH AIR HOME: $1,000 · Health
Community Improvement$538,118Other$117,906Education$32,151Recreation & Sports$10,000Environment$7,500International$6,000Health$2,000

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 budgetFIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND: $538,118 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBucknell University: $16,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetGeorge & Raymond Frank Foundation: $10,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetUniversity of Notre Dame du Lac: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTENAFLY NATURE CENTER ASSOCIATION: $7,500 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetCHILDREN OF ARMENIA FUND INC DBA CHILDREN OF ARMENIA FUND COAF: $6,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetDWIGHT-ENGLEWOOD SCHOOL: $5,151 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetST NERSESS ARMENIAN SEMINARY INC: $1,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetMARCH OF DIMES INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNew York University: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE SOUTHAMPTON FRESH AIR HOME: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% 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.

Nazareth & Nila Feste…National Philanthropi…American Online Givin…Fidelity Investments …Donor Advised Charita…Amazonsmile Foundation
Nazareth & Nila Festekjian Family FoundationDE13.6× affinity4 shared granteesties to 5 of 5Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Nazareth & Nila Festekjian Family Foundation · National Philanthropic Trust · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Donor Advised Charitable Giving 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 Balakian Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Balakian 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%3%5%8%10%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    1get no government money at all
    2report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–10%
    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 Balakian Family Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Balakian 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 20 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 2019, released 2019. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Balakian 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