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Barney Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Barney 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.

$2.0M
Granted FY2025still arriving
40
Grants FY2025still arriving
18
States reached
$613k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead

Read this first · the figures below need context

53% of Barney Family Foundation’s FY2025 grant dollars went to Donors Trust Inc, not to grantees.

Its money now reaches organizations through that sponsor, which does not report who recommended each grant. FY2025 names 30 organizations directly, so a portfolio cannot be read from it.

Organizations named directly on the return

23
’17
27
’18
22
’19
19
’20
19
’21
20
’22
24
’23
24
’24
30
’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 2024.

Education$4.8MPhilanthropy$3.7MHealth$2.4MPublic Benefit$555kHuman Services$468kAnimals$258kReligion$250kCivil Rights$205kOther$0
02FY2025 · 40 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k4 grants · $23k
  • $10k–50k21 grants · $335k
  • $50k–250k13 grants · $650k
  • $250k+2 grants · $1.0M
$20,000
Median grant
18
States reached
$29M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
DONORS TRUST$612,500
HILLSDALE COLLEGE$400,000
ST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL$50,000
MD ANDERSON CANCER CENTER$50,000
MISERICORDIA - HEART OF MERCY$50,000
THE JOHN HOPKINS UNIVERSITY$50,000
CLEVELAND CLINIC FOUNDATION$50,000
NU FEINBERG SCHOOL OF MEDICINE$50,000
SPECIAL OLYMPICS$50,000
ALZHEIMER'S ASSOCIATION$50,000
GARY SINISE FOUNDATION$50,000
JUPITER MEDICAL CENTER FOUNDATION$50,000
MAYO CLINIC$50,000
SAMARITAN'S PURSE$50,000
SHRINERS HOSPITALS FOR CHILDREN$50,000
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:

Its human-services grants (FY18–25, $158k) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%NEADS WORLD CLASS SERVICE DOGS: $10k → 11%REAL LIFE CHILDREN'S RANCH: $15k → 20%NEADS WORLD CLASS SERVICE DOGS: $10k → 11%REAL LIFE CHILDREN'S RANCH: $15k → 20%NEADS WORLD CLASS SERVICE DOGS: $10k → 11%REAL LIFE CHILDREN'S RANCH: $15k → 20%NEADS WORLD CLASS SERVICE DOGS: $10k → 11%REAL LIFE CHILDREN'S RANCH: $10k → 20%NEADS WORLD CLASS SERVICE DOGS: $10k → 11%REAL LIFE CHILDREN'S RANCH: $10k → 20%NEADS WORLD CLASS SERVICE DOGS: $10k → 11%REAL LIFE CHILDREN'S RANCH: $8k → 20%NEADS WORLD CLASS SERVICE DOGS: $10k → 11%REAL LIFE CHILDREN'S RANCH: $5k → 20%NEADS WORLD CLASS SERVICE DOGS: $10k → 11%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

MN
IL
MI
NY
MA
SD
OH
PA
CT
RI
CA
CO
MO
VA
MD
TN
NC
DC
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.

92%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$6.3M · 49 repeat orgs$540k to everyone else

49 repeat relationships: 32 still active in FY2025, 17 since wound down; 5 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

49
18

Total granted

$6.3M
$445k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+52%
+63%

Still filing today

78%
56%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 90% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $95k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
EducationPhilanthropyAnimalsHealthPublic BenefitArts & CultureOther
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

  • ST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC
    9× · 2017–2025 · $425k · revenue +145%
  • SP
    SAMARITAN'S PURSE
    5× · 2017–2025 · $250k · revenue +106%
  • AD
    ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE & RELATED DISORDERS ASSOCIATION INC
    5× · 2018–2025 · $250k · revenue +32%

Funded once

  • TC
    Treasure Coast Classical Academy
    one grant, 2022 · $100k · revenue +2%
  • KA
    KNIGHT ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH CENTER - WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
    one grant, 2019 · $50k
  • WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
    one grant, 2020 · $50k · 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
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.

—
2
Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States Inc

The fsmb serves as the voice for state medical boards, supporting them through education, assessment, research and advocacy while providing services and initiatives that promote patient safety, quality health care and regulatory best…

Health
3
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
4
The Rand Corporation

Help improve policy and decision making through research and analysis.

Public Benefit
5
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Inc

Embry-riddle is the world leader in aviation and aerospace higher education. its mission is to teach the science, practice and business of aviation and aerospace, preparing students for productive careers and leadership roles in business,…

Education
6
Us Naval Academy Foundation Inc

To support, promote, and advance the mission of the naval academy.

Education
7
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
8
Shield of Faith Missions

Sof is called to empower warriors to find purpose, be resilient, and live well. we develop and provide customized treatment plans for veterans through our national network of partners.

Religion
9
Foreign Policy Research Institute

The foreign policy research institute (frpi) is dedicated to producing the highest quality scholarship and nonpartisan policy analysis focused on crucial foreign policy and national security challenges facing the united states. we educate…

International
10
Vanderbilt University

See Disclosure Above.

Education
11
Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation

The samuel waxman cancer research foundation (the "foundation") funds innovative research to bring faster cures to patients. in addition to supporting ongoing collaborative research in specific cancers, our scientists are investigating the…

—
12
University Family Physicians Inc

Engage actively and continuously in medical research, education and training in the practice of medicine in conjunction with the department of family medicine of the indiana university school of medicine and indiana university…

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Heritage Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Music City Marauders Hockey Assoc. 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

56 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

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 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 56 of the 75 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)
12
Early backer (in before they grew)
56/56
Grantees still filing
44/56
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

HILLSDALE COLLEGE: $4,100,500 · EducationHILLSDALE COLLEGE+9 more: $609,000 · Education+9 moreDonors Trust Inc: $4,035,000 · PhilanthropyDonors Trust Inc+7 more: $387,500 · Philanthropy+7 moreTHE JOHN HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: $450,000 · OtherTHE JOHN HOPKINS UNIVERSITYMD ANDERSON CANCER CENTER: $450,000 · OtherMD ANDERSON CANCER CENTERNU FEINBERG SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: $450,000 · OtherNU FEINBERG SCHOOL OF MEDICINECLEVELAND CLINIC FOUNDATION: $450,000 · OtherCLEVELAND CLINIC FOUNDATIONMISERICORDIA - HEART OF MERCY: $300,000 · OtherMISERICORDIA - HEART OF MERCYLost Tree Village Charitable Foundation: $225,000 · OtherLost Tree Village Charitable F…STATE POLICY NETWORK: $200,000 · OtherAmericans for Prosperity Foundation: $200,000 · OtherSPECIAL OLYMPICS INC: $150,000 · Other+27 more: $1,197,000 · Other+27 moreST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $425,000 · HealthST JUDE C…MAYO CLINIC: $400,000 · HealthMAYO CLIN…ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE & RELATED DISORDERS ASSOCIATION INC: $250,000 · HealthALZHEIMER…SHRINERS HOSPITALS FOR CHILDREN: $200,000 · HealthSHRINERS …+3 more: $65,000 · HealthILLINOIS POLICY INSTITUTE: $90,000 · Public BenefitTHE HEARTLAND INSTITUTE: $80,000 · Public BenefitJUDICIAL WATCH INC: $75,000 · Public BenefitTHE HERITAGE FOUNDATION: $40,000 · Public BenefitCATO INSTITUTE: $10,000 · Public BenefitSAMARITAN'S PURSE: $250,000 · ReligionUrban Youth Impact Inc: $35,000 · ReligionBIG DOG RANCH RESCUE INC: $70,000 · AnimalsK9S FOR WARRIORS INC: $65,000 · AnimalsTHE BUSCH WILDLIFE SANCTUARY INC: $53,000 · AnimalsMission K9 Rescue Inc: $40,000 · AnimalsPROJECT K9 HERO: $10,000 · Animals+2 more: $7,500 · Animals
Education$4,709,500Philanthropy$4,422,500Other$4,072,000Health$1,340,000Public Benefit$295,000Religion$285,000Animals$245,500

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 budgetHILLSDALE COLLEGE: $4,100,500 over 9y, 0.3% of budgetDonors Trust Inc: $4,035,000 over 8y, 0.4% of budgetST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $425,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetMAYO CLINIC: $400,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetSAMARITAN'S PURSE: $250,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetALZHEIMER'S DISEASE & RELATED DISORDERS ASSOCIATION INC: $250,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetLost Tree Village Charitable Foundation: $225,000 over 9y, 0.7% of budgetSTATE POLICY NETWORK: $200,000 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetAmericans for Prosperity Foundation: $200,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetSHRINERS HOSPITALS FOR CHILDREN: $200,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetSPECIAL OLYMPICS INC: $150,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetBig Shoulders Fund: $135,000 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetCHICAGO POLICE MEMORIAL FOUNDATION: $125,000 over 8y, 0.6% of budgetHOPE RURAL SCHOOL INC: $119,000 over 9y, 0.9% of budgetJupiter Medical Center Foundation Inc: $100,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetTreasure Coast Classical Academy: $100,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetILLINOIS POLICY INSTITUTE: $90,000 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetGARY SINISE FOUNDATION: $80,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetOPERATION 300 INC: $80,000 over 7y, 1.5% of budgetNEADS INC: $80,000 over 8y, 0.3% of budgetReal Life Children's Ranch Inc: $77,500 over 7y, 1.9% of budgetJUDICIAL WATCH INC: $75,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTravis Manion Foundation: $75,000 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetBIG DOG RANCH RESCUE INC: $70,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetAIR FORCE ACADEMY FOUNDATION: $65,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetK9S FOR WARRIORS INC: $65,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetLAKE FOREST ACADEMY: $60,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetSTEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION: $60,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetWARRIORS RENEWAL COALITION INC: $60,000 over 4y, 5.5% of budgetRENEWAL COALITION INC: $55,000 over 5y, 6.8% of budgetTHE BUSCH WILDLIFE SANCTUARY INC: $53,000 over 8y, 0.4% of budgetWASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: $50,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF CHICAGO: $45,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetMission K9 Rescue Inc: $40,000 over 7y, 0.4% of budgetTHE JAMES MADISON INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY STUDIES INC: $40,000 over 2y, 1.3% of budgetMEDIA RESEARCH CENTER: $40,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCulver Educational Foundation: $40,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE HERITAGE FOUNDATION: $40,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetUrban Youth Impact Inc: $35,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetSPECIAL OPERATIONS WARRIOR FOUNDATION: $30,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetMARK GARWOOD FOUNDATION INC: $27,500 over 5y, 3.1% of budgetALEXS LEMONADE STAND FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetJOHN WAYNE CANCER FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetVanderbilt University Medical Center: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPacific Research Institute For Public Policy: $20,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetTHE PHILANTHROPY ROUNDTABLE: $20,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetMUSIC CITY MARAUDERS HOCKEY ASSOC: $15,000 over 3y, 1.0% of budgetCHILDREN AT THE CROSSROADS FOUNDATION: $15,000 over 1y, 1.3% 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.

  • Who funds HILLSDALE COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds Donors Trust Inc ↗
  • Who funds ST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC ↗
  • Who funds MAYO CLINIC ↗
  • Who funds SAMARITAN'S PURSE ↗
  • Who funds ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE & RELATED DISORDERS ASSOCIATION INC ↗
  • Who funds Lost Tree Village Charitable Foundation ↗
  • Who funds STATE POLICY NETWORK ↗
  • Who funds Americans for Prosperity Foundation ↗
  • Who funds SHRINERS HOSPITALS FOR CHILDREN ↗
  • Who funds SPECIAL OLYMPICS INC ↗
  • Who funds Big Shoulders Fund ↗
  • Who funds CHICAGO POLICE MEMORIAL FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds HOPE RURAL SCHOOL INC ↗
  • Who funds Jupiter Medical Center Foundation Inc ↗
  • Who funds Treasure Coast Classical Academy ↗
  • Who funds ILLINOIS POLICY INSTITUTE ↗
  • Who funds GARY SINISE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds OPERATION 300 INC ↗
  • Who funds NEADS INC ↗
  • Who funds THE HEARTLAND INSTITUTE ↗
  • Who funds Real Life Children's Ranch Inc ↗
  • Who funds JUDICIAL WATCH INC ↗
  • Who funds Travis Manion Foundation ↗
  • Who funds BIG DOG RANCH RESCUE INC ↗
  • Who funds AIR FORCE ACADEMY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds K9S FOR WARRIORS INC ↗
  • Who funds LAKE FOREST ACADEMY ↗
  • Who funds STEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds WARRIORS RENEWAL COALITION INC ↗
  • Who funds RENEWAL COALITION INC ↗

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.

Gs Donor Advised Phil…Bailey Family Foundat…Community Foundation …Baird Foundation IncAbbVie FoundationThe Chicago Community…National Philanthropi…American Endowment Fo…Morgan Stanley Global…Jpmorgan Chase Founda…The Bank of America C…The Blackbaud Giving …
Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management IncNY14.8× affinity8 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · Bailey Family Foundation Inc · Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties Inc · Baird Foundation Inc · AbbVie Foundation · The Chicago Community Trust · National Philanthropic Trust · American Endowment Foundation · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · Jpmorgan Chase Foundation · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · The Blackbaud Giving Fund

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 100%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%10%20%30%40%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • Hope Rural School Inc: 6% of income from government
  • Neads Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Big Dog Ranch Rescue Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Real Life Children's Ranch Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Shriners Hospitals for Children: 0% of income from government
  • K9S for Warriors Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
10get 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.

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 75 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 Barney 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