Skip to content
Bdf Rough Diamond Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Bdf Rough Diamond Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$9k
Granted FY2023
8
Grants FY2023
4
States reached
$4k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead

Read this first · the figures below need context

71% of Bdf Rough Diamond Foundation’s FY2025 grant dollars went to The Trustees Of Columbia University In The City Of New York, not to grantees.

Its money now reaches organizations through that sponsor, which does not report who recommended each grant. FY2025 names 3 organizations directly, so a portfolio cannot be read from it. Everything below is therefore FY2023, the last year Bdf Rough Diamond Foundation named its own grantees at scale: 6 organizations, $9k. It is dated, not current.

Organizations named directly on the return

2
’17
3
’18
3
’19
2
’20
4
’21
5
’22
6
’23
3
’24
3
’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.

International$20kEducation$18kArts & Culture$18kReligion$10kPublic Benefit$6kScience & Tech$2kHealth$250Recreation & Sports$150
02FY2023 · 8 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$500
Median grant
4
States reached
$208k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
COLUMBIA COLLEGE$3,500
CENTER OF THEOLOGICAL INQUIRY$3,000
DEVELOPING RADIO PARTNERS INC$1,000
CORPS AFRICA$500
FRIENDS OF CARITAS CUBA$500
SLOAN KETTERING HOSPITAL$250
CENTRAL PARK CONSERVANCY$150
RIDER UNIVERSITY$140
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 (FY23–23, $500) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%CORPS AFRICA: $500 → 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.

69%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$54k · 9 repeat orgs$24k to everyone else

9 repeat relationships: 4 still active in FY2023, 5 since wound down; 6 grantees were first funded in FY2023 (too recent to call). Read against FY2023, 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

9
6

Total granted

$54k
$10k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+30%
+36%

Still filing today

67%
83%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 66% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $3k 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
EducationInternationalPublic BenefitPhilanthropyReligionArts & 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

  • PI
    PRINCETON IN AFRICA INC
    6× · 2017–2025 · $18k · revenue +29%
  • DR
    DEVELOPING RADIO PARTNERS INC
    5× · 2018–2024 · $6k · revenue +30%
  • TN
    THE NEWS LITERACY PROJECT INC
    2× · 2017–2019 · $5k · revenue +230%

Funded once

  • CM
    COMBONI MISSIONARIES OF THE HEART OF JESUS INC
    one grant, 2018 · $4k
  • HK
    HELEN KELLER INTERNATIONALgraduated
    one grant, 2019 · $2k · revenue +36%
  • INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED STUDY - LOUIS BAMBERGER & MRS FELIX FULD FOUNDATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2018 · $2k · revenue +45%
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
Center for Strategic and International Studies

The center for strategic and international studies (csis) is a bipartisan, nonprofit policy research organization dedicated to advancing practical ideas to address the world's greatest challenges.

International
2
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
3
Council On Foreign Relations Inc

The council on foreign relations (cfr) is an independent, nonpartisan membership organization, think tank, and publisher dedicated to being a resource for its members, government officials, business executives, journalists, educators and…

International
4
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
5
Columbia University Press

Enhance Columbia University's education mission by acquiring and publishing outstanding original works by scholars and others that contribute to an understanding of global human concerns. Columbia University Press became part of the…

Arts & Culture
6
Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University Inc

The Knight First Amendment Institute defends the freedoms of speech and the press in the digital age through strategic litigation, research, public advocacy and public education. Our aim is to promote a system of free expression that is…

Education
7
Manhattan Institute for Policy Research Inc

The manhattan institute is a community of scholars, journalists, activists, and civic leaders dedicated to advancing opportunity, individual liberty, and the rule of law in america and its great cities.

Public Benefit
8
International Crisis Group

Crisis group works to prevent and resolve deadly conflict around the world by informing and influencing the perceptions and actions of policymakers and other key conflict actors. to this end, we endeavour to talk to all sides and provide…

International
9
Npr International Operations Inc

Npr international operations, inc. supports national public radio, inc.'s international news-gathering activities through bureaus and offices established locally in foreign countries.

—
10
The International Institute for Strategic Studies - Us

To provide accurate, objective information and analysis on international strategic issues for legislators, diplomats, foreign affairs analysts, international business leaders, economists, the military, defense commentators, journalists,…

International
11
Natural Resource Governance Institute

Nrgi envisions a world where natural resources enable fair, prosperous and sustainable societies, instead of undermining them. nrgi exists because decisions about how natural resources are governed determine the well-being of people in…

International
12
Webster University

Founded in 1915, webster is a private non-profit and global university that is committed to delivering high-quality learning experiences that transform students for global citizenship and individual excellence.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York; the most unlike its peers is Helen Keller International. 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

16 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. 16 of the 22 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)
1
Early backer (in before they grew)
16/16
Grantees still filing
14/16
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK: $24,000 · EducationTHE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN …DEVELOPING RADIO PARTNERS INC: $6,200 · EducationDEVELOPING RADIO PARTNERS INCTHE NEWS LITERACY PROJECT INC: $5,000 · EducationTHE NEWS LITERACY PROJECT INC+1 more: $140 · EducationNPR FOUNDATION: $10,000 · OtherNPR FOUNDATIONwestminster Choir College: $7,200 · Otherwestminster Choir CollegeCOLUMBIA COLLEGE: $6,000 · OtherCOLUMBIA COLLEGECOMBONI MISSIONARIES OF THE HEART OF JESUS INC: $3,500 · OtherCOMBONI MISSIONARIES OF THE HEART OF…Individual grant recipient: $2,800 · OtherIndividual grant recipientColumbia Law School: $1,500 · Other+4 more: $1,400 · OtherPRINCETON IN AFRICA INC: $18,000 · PhilanthropyPRINCETON IN AFRICA …Center of Theological Inquiry: $7,000 · ReligionHELEN KELLER INTERNATIONAL: $2,400 · InternationalFRIENDS OF CARITAS CUBANA CORP: $2,000 · InternationalINTERNATIONAL SENIOR LAWYERS'CORPORATION: $1,000 · InternationalINSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED STUDY - LOUIS BAMBERGER & MRS FELIX FULD FOUNDATION: $1,750 · Science & TechCITY LIMITS NEWS INC: $850 · Public BenefitCENTER FOR SUPPORTIVE SCHOOLS INC: $700 · Public Benefit
Education$35,340Other$32,400Philanthropy$18,000Religion$7,000International$5,400Science & Tech$1,750Public Benefit$1,550

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 budgetTHE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK: $24,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetPRINCETON IN AFRICA INC: $18,000 over 6y, 0.7% of budgetNPR FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCenter of Theological Inquiry: $7,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetDEVELOPING RADIO PARTNERS INC: $6,200 over 5y, 1.1% of budgetTHE NEWS LITERACY PROJECT INC: $5,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetHELEN KELLER INTERNATIONAL: $2,400 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFRIENDS OF CARITAS CUBANA CORP: $2,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetINSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED STUDY - LOUIS BAMBERGER & MRS FELIX FULD FOUNDATION: $1,750 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetINTERNATIONAL SENIOR LAWYERS'CORPORATION: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCITY LIMITS NEWS INC: $850 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCENTER FOR SUPPORTIVE SCHOOLS INC: $700 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCORPSAFRICA: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHISTORICAL SOCIETY OF PRINCETON: $500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCENTRAL PARK CONSERVANCY INC: $150 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetRIDER UNIVERSITY: $140 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.

National Philanthropi…Vanguard Charitable E…American Endowment Fo…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …American Online Givin…Amazonsmile Foundation
National Philanthropic TrustPA11.3× affinity8 shared granteesties to 6 of 6Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: National Philanthropic Trust · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · American Endowment Foundation · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · 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 Bdf Rough Diamond Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Bdf Rough Diamond Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 30%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%10%20%30%40%share of the org’s income from government →median 7%
  • Center for Supportive Schools Inc: 9% of income from government
  • Institute for Advanced Study - Louis Bamberger & Mrs Felix Fuld Foundation: 7% of income from government
  • Rider University: 1% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
3get 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 · 0–40%
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 22 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 2023, released 2023. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Bdf Rough Diamond’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