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Barnardfain Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Barnardfain Foundation

Its FY2019 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$184k
Granted FY2019
22
Grants FY2019
4
States reached
$40k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0195% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2019.

Arts & Culture$273kScience & Tech$65kEducation$46kSocial Science$26kCivil Rights$6kEnvironment$3kHealth$3kCrime & Legal$2kOther$0
02FY2019 · 22 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2019

  • Under $10k14 grants · $27k
  • $10k–50k8 grants · $157k
$3,500
Median grant
4
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Aspen Science Center$40,000
Timeline Theatre Company$25,000
Chicago Shakespere Theater$25,000
Court Theatre$17,000
Lyric Opera of Chicago$15,000
KAJX$15,000
University of Chicago$10,000
Individual grant recipient$10,000
National Public Radio$5,000
Aspen Institute$5,000
Aspen Institute$3,500
Anderson Ranch Arts Center$2,500
Chicago Symphony Orchestra$2,000
Oak Park Festival Theater$1,000
Center for Reproductive Rights$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 (FY17–19) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 66% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%Natural Resources Defense Council: $1k → 17%NPR Foundation: $3k → 14%Anderson Ranch Arts Center: $5k → 6%Chicago Public Library Foundation: $5k → 14%Natural Resources Defense Council: $1k → 17%Aspen Institute: $8k → 14%Anderson Ranch Arts Center: $3k → 6%Chicago Public Library Foundation: $3k → 14%Natural Resources Defense Council: $1k → 17%Aspen Institute: $5k → 14%Anderson Ranch Arts Center: $3k → 6%Music of the Baroque: $1k → 14%Center for Reproductive Rights: $1k → 17%Aspen Institute: $5k → 14%KAJX: $18k → 6%Open Books: $1k → 14%Center for Reproductive Rights: $1k → 17%Aspen Institute: $4k → 14%KAJX: $18k → 6%Open Books: $1k → 14%Planned Parenthood Federation of America: $1k → 17%Aspen Institute: $4k → 14%KAJX: $15k → 6%Open Books: $1k → 14%Aspen Music Festival: $10k → 6%Chicago Shakespere Theater: $25k → 14%National Public Radio: $5k → 14%Aspen Music Festival: $10k → 6%Chicago Shakespere Theater: $25k → 14%Aspen Music Festival: $9k → 6%Chicago Shakespere Theater: $20k → 14%Aspen Science Center: $40k → 6%Aspen Science Center: $15k → 6%Court Theatre: $20k → 14%Aspen Science Center: $10k → 6%Court Theatre: $17k → 14%Court Theatre: $3k → 14%University of Chicago: $15k → 14%Timeline Theatre Company: $25k → 14%University of Chicago: $10k → 14%Timeline Theatre Company: $10k → 14%University of Chicago: $10k → 14%Timeline Theatre Company: $5k → 14%Lyric Opera of Chicago: $20k → 14%Lyric Opera of Chicago: $15k → 14%Lyric Opera of Chicago: $10k → 14%Chicago Symphony Orchestra: $2k → 14%Chicago Symphony Orchestra: $2k → 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 grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

97%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$440k · 20 repeat orgs$12k to everyone else

20 repeat relationships: 19 still active in FY2019, 1 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2019 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

20
4

Total granted

$440k
$6k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+41%
+49%

Still filing today

80%
75%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2019, 97% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $6k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19
Arts & CultureEducationSocial ScienceCivil RightsEnvironmentHealthOther
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

  • AS
    ASPEN SCIENCE CENTER
    3× · 2017–2019 · $65k · revenue +112%
  • LO
    Lyric Opera of Chicago
    3× · 2017–2019 · $45k · revenue +33%
  • TT
    TIMELINE THEATRE COMPANY
    3× · 2017–2019 · $40k · revenue +149%

Funded once

  • NF
    NPR FOUNDATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $3k · revenue +49%
  • CO
    CHICAGO OPERA THEATER
    one grant, 2018 · $1k · revenue -18%
  • TM
    Theater Masters
    one grant, 2017 · $1k
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
Chamber Opera of Chicago
—
2
Chicago Theatre Group Inc

The chicago theatre group is committed to producing both classic and contemporary works giving full voice to a wide range of artists and visions. by dedicating itself to three guiding principles - quality, equity, and community - the…

Arts & Culture
3
Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University Inc

The Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University ("The Auditorium"), an Illinois not-for-profit corporation, is committed to presenting the finest in international, cultural, community and educational programming to Chicago and to the…

Arts & Culture
4
Columbia College Chicago

The organization's mission is to educate students for creative occupations in diverse fields of arts and media.

Education
5
Chicago Sun-Times Media Inc

Chicago sun-times serves the public interest by strengthening the well-being of our local communities and our democracy through independent local journalism.

—
6
Minnesota Orchestral Association

The minnesota orchestra mission is to enrich, inspire and serve our community as an enduring symphony orchestra internationally recognized for its artistic excellence.

Arts & Culture
7
National Opinion Research Center

See schedule onorc at the university of chicago conducts research and data science on critical societal issues to guide decision-making and the development of programs and public policy. our experts identify relationships and trends, and…

Social Science
8
Music and Dance Theater Chicago Inc
Arts & Culture
9
Los Angeles Opera Company

To serve the public by producing world-class opera that preserves, promotes and advances the art form while embodying the diversity, spirit and artistic sensibility unique to los angeles. we envision an engaged and enlightened community in…

Arts & Culture
10
Writers Theatre Inc

Writers Theatre (WT) is a literary organization that operates not-for-profit theatres in Glencoe, Illinois. The Writers Theatre mission is to create intimate connections through astonishing performances and innovative programs; activating…

Arts & Culture
11
Arizona Opera Company

Arizona opera elevates the transformative power of storytelling through music - cultivating community and strengthening a state and people as adventurous and diverse as the place they call home.

Arts & Culture
12
Npr International Operations Inc

Npr international operations, inc. ("nprio") supports the international newsgathering activities of national public radio, inc. through bureaus and offices established locally in foreign countries.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Chicago Shakespeare Theater; the most unlike its peers is Court Theatre Fund. 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

20 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. 20 of the 26 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)
20/20
Grantees still filing
16/20
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE THEATER: $69,000 · Arts & CultureCHICAGO SHAKESPEARE THEATERLyric Opera of Chicago: $45,000 · Arts & CultureLyric Opera of ChicagoTIMELINE THEATRE COMPANY: $40,000 · Arts & CultureTIMELINE THEATRE COMPANYCourt Theatre Fund: $39,000 · Arts & CultureCourt Theatre FundANDERSON RANCH ARTS CENTER: $10,000 · Arts & Culture+5 more: $13,000 · Arts & Culture+5 moreASPEN SCIENCE CENTER: $65,000 · EducationASPEN SCIENCE CENTERUniversity of Chicago: $35,000 · EducationUniversity of ChicagoCHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION: $7,500 · EducationCHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUN…+1 more: $3,000 · EducationKAJX: $50,000 · OtherKAJXIndividual grant recipient: $28,500 · OtherIndividual grant recip…American Civil Liberties Union: $3,000 · Other+4 more: $6,500 · Other+4 moreTHE ASPEN INSTITUTE INC: $25,500 · Social ScienceTHE CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS INC: $3,000 · Civil RightsNATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC: $3,000 · EnvironmentPLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC: $3,000 · HealthREADING BETWEEN THE LINES NFP: $2,000 · Crime & Legal
Arts & Culture$216,000Education$110,500Other$88,000Social Science$25,500Civil Rights$3,000Environment$3,000Health$3,000Crime & Legal$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 budgetCHICAGO SHAKESPEARE THEATER: $69,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetASPEN SCIENCE CENTER: $65,000 over 3y, 15% of budgetLyric Opera of Chicago: $45,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTIMELINE THEATRE COMPANY: $40,000 over 3y, 0.9% of budgetUniversity of Chicago: $35,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE ASPEN INSTITUTE INC: $25,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetANDERSON RANCH ARTS CENTER: $10,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetCHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION: $7,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetNATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetChicago Symphony Orchestra: $4,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS INC: $3,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetOPEN BOOKS LTD: $3,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetNATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC: $3,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC: $3,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetOak Park Festival Theatre: $2,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetREADING BETWEEN THE LINES NFP: $2,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetCHICAGO PUBLIC MEDIA INC: $2,000 over 2y, 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.

John D and Catherine …The Chicago Community…Polk Bros Foundation …Ncrc Community Develo…The Irving Harris Fou…Fulk Family Foundatio…Lloyd a Fry FoundationMorgan Stanley Global…National Philanthropi…The Bank of America C…Vanguard Charitable E…Donor Advised Charita…
John D and Catherine T Macarthur FoundationIL19.3× affinity7 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: John D and Catherine T Macarthur Foundation · The Chicago Community Trust · Polk Bros Foundation Inc · Ncrc Community Development Fund Inc · The Irving Harris Foundation · Fulk Family Foundation Inc · Lloyd a Fry Foundation · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc

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 Barnardfain Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Barnardfain Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%4%8%11%15%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get 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 · 0–15%
    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 Barnardfain Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Barnardfain 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 26 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 Barnardfain’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