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Bell Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Bell 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.

$651k
Granted FY2025still arriving
19
Grants FY2025still arriving
9
States reached
$100k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0197% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2025.

Science & Tech$858kEducation$787kEnvironment$439kHealth$270kArts & Culture$202kEmployment$40kAnimals$7kSocial Science$2kOther$0
02FY2025 · 19 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k8 grants · $32k
  • $10k–50k4 grants · $79k
  • $50k–250k7 grants · $540k
$12,000
Median grant
9
States reached
$7.1M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
COMPUTER HISTORY MUSEUM$100,000
CARNEGE MELLON UNIVERSITY$100,000
EARTHWATCH INSTITUTE$80,000
WOODWELL CLIMATE RESEARCH CENTER$80,000
THE NATURE CONSERVANCY$80,000
CLARK UNIVERSITY$50,000
THE OCEAN CLEANUP NORTH PACIFIC FOUNDATION$50,000
ASSOCIATION FOR COMPUTER MACHINERY$40,000
CALGARY ARTS SUMMER SCHOOL CASSA$17,000
UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO FOUNDATION FOR CS DEPT$12,000
NATIONAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING FUND$10,000
NEW ENGLAND CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC ANNUAL FUND$6,000
MASON GROSS SCHOOL OF ARTS$5,000
CAPE MAY JAZZ FESTIVAL$5,000
UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO FOUNDATION FOR ATLAS SCHOLARSHIP FUND$5,000
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 (FY20–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 49% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants spread fairly evenly across need levels.

area typical 9%WOODWELL CLIMATE RESEARCH CENTER: $80k → 8%MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY: $10k → 8%CLARK UNIVERSITY: $50k → 11%CARNEGE MELLON UNIVERSITY: $100k → 11%COMPUTER HISTORY MUSEUM: $100k → 8%LEVEL PLAYING FIELD INSTITUTE SMASH SCHOLARSHIP: $23k → 10%INTERNET ARCHIVE CO ROBERT MILLER: $17k → 10%USC VITERBI SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING: $15k → 14%GEEKS RULE: $10k → 17%NATIONAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING FUND: $10k → 14%FOUNDATION FIGHTING BLINDNESS: $15k → 12%UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON FOUNDATION: $13k → 9%THE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $80k → 7%WOODWELL CLIMATE RESEARCH CENTER: $40k → 8%MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY: $10k → 8%CARNEGE MELLON UNIVERSITY: $53k → 11%COMPUTER HISTORY MUSEUM: $100k → 8%LEVEL PLAYING FIELD INSTITUTE SMASH SCHOLARSHIP: $23k → 10%INTERNET ARCHIVE CO ROBERT MILLER: $17k → 10%USC VITERBI SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING: $15k → 14%ASSOCIATION FOR COMPUTER MACHINERY: $60k → 17%NATIONAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING FUND: $10k → 14%FOUNDATION FIGHTING BLINDNESS: $10k → 12%THE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $40k → 7%MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY: $10k → 8%CARNEGE MELLON UNIVERSITY: $50k → 11%COMPUTER HISTORY MUSEUM: $75k → 8%LEVEL PLAYING FIELD INSTITUTE SMASH SCHOLARSHIP: $23k → 10%INTERNET ARCHIVE CO ROBERT MILLER: $17k → 10%USC COMPUTER SCIENCE DEAN'S FUND: $15k → 14%ASSOCIATION FOR COMPUTER MACHINERY: $40k → 17%CARNEGE MELLON UNIVERSITY: $50k → 11%COMPUTER HISTORY MUSEUM: $50k → 8%SMASH: $23k → 10%ASSOCIATION FOR COMPUTER MACHINERY: $15k → 17%EARTHWATCH INSTITUTE: $80k → 8%CARNEGE MELLON UNIVERSITY: $50k → 11%COMPUTER HISTORY MUSEUM: $50k → 8%ASSOCIATION FOR COMPUTER MACHINERY: $15k → 17%EARTHWATCH INSTITUTE: $40k → 8%CARNEGE MELLON UNIVERSITY: $40k → 11%COMPUTER HISTORY MUSEUM: $50k → 8%THE OCEAN CLEANUP NORTH PACIFIC FOUNDATION: $50k → 17%THE OCEAN CLEANUP NORTH PACIFIC FOUNDATION: $24k → 17%STANFORD MEDICAL CENTER: $55k → 8%STANFORD MEDICAL CENTER: $50k → 8%STANFORD MEDICAL CENTER: $45k → 8%STANFORD MEDICAL CENTER: $35k → 8%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

NH
WA
MN
NY
MA
PA
NJ
CA
CO
VA
DC
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.

96%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$2.3M · 38 repeat orgs$108k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +22% since the first grant, against +11% for those funded once.

38 repeat relationships: 15 still active in FY2025, 23 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

38
6

Total granted

$2.3M
$53k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+22%
+11%

Still filing today

45%
83%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 90% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $55k went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24’25
Arts & CultureScience & TechEducationSocial ScienceHealthYouth DevelopmentOther
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

  • CH
    COMPUTER HISTORY MUSEUM
    6× · 2020–2025 · $425k · revenue +69%
  • AF
    AMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE OCEAN CLEANUP FOUNDATION
    5× · 2021–2025 · $79k · revenue +47%
  • CC
    California Council on Science and Techno logy
    4× · 2020–2023 · $26k · revenue +95%

Funded once

  • ML
    MK LEVEL PLAYING FIELD INSTITUTE
    one grant, 2023 · $23k · revenue -31%
  • UO
    UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2021 · $13k · revenue +11%
  • GR
    GEEKS RULE INC
    one grant, 2020 · $10k · revenue -39%
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
Association for Computing Machinery Inc

We are an intl. scientific & educational org. dedicated to advancing art, science & technology.

Science & Tech
3
American Museum of Natural History

The museum's mission statement is: "to discover, interpret, and disseminate - through scientific research and education - knowledge about human cultures, the natural world, and the universe."

Arts & Culture
4
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
5
National Science and Technology Medals Foundation Inc

The nstmf's mission is to build inclusive stem communities across the united states. fundamental to these communities are the significant, inspirational connections we foster between the individuals who have received national recognition…

—
6
Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Wpi transforms lives, turns knowledge into action to confront global challenges, and revolutionizes stem through distinctive and inclusive education, projects and research. (http://www.wpi.edu/about/mission.html)

—
7
California Academy of Sciences

The academy is a renowned scientific and educational institution with a mission to regenerate the natural world through science, learning, and collaboration. based in san francisco's golden gate park, it is home to a world-class aquarium,…

Arts & Culture
8
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.

—
9
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
10
Lowell Observatory

The mission of lowell observatory is to pursue the study of astronomy, especially the study of our solar system and its evolution; to conduct pure research in astronomical phenomena; and to maintain quality public education and outreach…

Science & Tech
11
President and Fellows of Harvard College

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

Education
12
American Astronomical Society

The american astronomical society (aas), established in 1899, is the major organization of professional astronomers in north america. the basic objective of the aas is to promote the advancement of astronomy and closely related branches of…

Science & Tech
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Exploratorium; the most unlike its peers is Pacific Animal Welfare Society. 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

26 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. 26 of the 49 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)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
26/26
Grantees still filing
16/26
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

CARNEGE MELLON UNIVERSITY: $342,500 · OtherCARNEGE MELLON UNIVERSITYSTANFORD MEDICAL CENTER: $185,000 · OtherSTANFORD MEDICAL CENTERUNIVERSITY OF COLORADO FOUNDATION FOR CS DEPT: $142,000 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF COLORADO FOUNDATION FOR CS DEPTASSOCIATION FOR COMPUTER MACHINERY: $130,000 · OtherASSOCIATION FOR COMPUTER MACHINERYTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $120,000 · OtherTHE NATURE CONSERVANCYUNIVERSITY OF COLORADO: $115,000 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF COLORADOAMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE OCEAN CLEANUP FOUNDATION: $78,500 · OtherLEVEL PLAYING FIELD INSTITUTE SMASH SCHOLARSHIP: $67,500 · OtherINTERNET ARCHIVE CO ROBERT MILLER: $61,000 · OtherCALGARY ARTS SUMMER SCHOOL CASSA: $50,500 · Other+16 more: $217,000 · Other+16 moreCOMPUTER HISTORY MUSEUM: $425,000 · Arts & CultureCOMPUTER HISTORY MUSE…THE EXPLORATORIUM: $20,000 · Arts & CultureTHE TECH INTERACTIVE: $20,000 · Arts & Culture+3 more: $26,750 · Arts & Culture+3 moreEARTHWATCH INSTITUTE INC: $120,000 · Science & TechEARTHWATCH INS…Woodwell Climate Research Center Inc: $120,000 · Science & TechWoodwell Clima…NATIONAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING FUND: $50,000 · Science & TechNATIONAL ACADE…California Council on Science and Techno logy: $26,000 · Science & TechCalifornia Cou…NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES: $20,000 · Science & TechNATIONAL ACADE…TRUSTEES OF CLARK UNIVERSITY: $50,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: $43,000 · EducationMassachusetts Institute of Technology: $40,000 · EducationYEAR UP INC: $40,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON FOUNDATION: $12,500 · EducationIEEE FOUNDATION INC: $8,500 · Education+1 more: $4,000 · EducationCANCER COMMONS: $40,000 · HealthMK LEVEL PLAYING FIELD INSTITUTE: $22,500 · Social ScienceAMERICAN ACADEMY OF ARTS & SCIENCES: $2,000 · Social ScienceGEEKS RULE INC: $10,000 · Youth DevelopmentPACIFIC ANIMAL WELFARE SOCIETY: $2,100 · Animals
Other$1,509,000Arts & Culture$491,750Science & Tech$336,000Education$198,000Health$40,000Social Science$24,500Youth Development$10,000Animals$2,100

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetCOMPUTER HISTORY MUSEUM: $425,000 over 6y, 0.6% of budgetEARTHWATCH INSTITUTE INC: $120,000 over 2y, 2.4% of budgetWoodwell Climate Research Center Inc: $120,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $120,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE OCEAN CLEANUP FOUNDATION: $78,500 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetTRUSTEES OF CLARK UNIVERSITY: $50,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING FUND: $50,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: $43,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCANCER COMMONS: $40,000 over 4y, 0.9% of budgetMassachusetts Institute of Technology: $40,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetYEAR UP INC: $40,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCalifornia Council on Science and Techno logy: $26,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetMK LEVEL PLAYING FIELD INSTITUTE: $22,500 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetTHE EXPLORATORIUM: $20,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES: $20,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetTHE TECH INTERACTIVE: $20,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetAPPLE HILL CENTER FOR CHAMBER MUSIC INC: $13,750 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON FOUNDATION: $12,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGEEKS RULE INC: $10,000 over 1y, 9.2% of budgetIEEE FOUNDATION INC: $8,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetWESTRICK MUSIC ACADEMY INC: $7,500 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetPrinceton Symphony Orchestra Inc: $5,500 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA FOUNDATION: $4,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPACIFIC ANIMAL WELFARE SOCIETY: $2,100 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetAMERICAN ACADEMY OF ARTS & SCIENCES: $2,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetMONTGOMERY ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS PTA INC: $1,000 over 1y, 2.7% 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 COMPUTER HISTORY MUSEUM ↗
  • Who funds EARTHWATCH INSTITUTE INC ↗
  • Who funds Woodwell Climate Research Center Inc ↗
  • Who funds THE NATURE CONSERVANCY ↗
  • Who funds AMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE OCEAN CLEANUP FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds TRUSTEES OF CLARK UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING FUND ↗
  • Who funds UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ↗
  • Who funds CANCER COMMONS ↗
  • Who funds Massachusetts Institute of Technology ↗
  • Who funds YEAR UP INC ↗
  • Who funds California Council on Science and Techno logy ↗
  • Who funds MK LEVEL PLAYING FIELD INSTITUTE ↗
  • Who funds THE EXPLORATORIUM ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES ↗
  • Who funds THE TECH INTERACTIVE ↗
  • Who funds APPLE HILL CENTER FOR CHAMBER MUSIC INC ↗
  • Who funds UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds GEEKS RULE INC ↗
  • Who funds IEEE FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds WESTRICK MUSIC ACADEMY INC ↗
  • Who funds Princeton Symphony Orchestra 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.

Silicon Valley Commun…Vanguard Charitable E…Morgan Stanley Global…National Philanthropi…Charities Aid Foundat…The Bank of America C…American Online Givin…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Silicon Valley Community FoundationCA14.5× affinity6 shared granteesties to 9 of 9Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Silicon Valley Community Foundation · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · Charities Aid Foundation America · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · 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 Bell Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Bell Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 30%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%19%38%56%75%share of the org’s income from government →median 4%
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology: 35% of income from government
  • Woodwell Climate Research Center Inc: 11% of income from government
  • Princeton Symphony Orchestra Inc: 4% of income from government
  • American Academy of Arts & Sciences: 3% of income from government
  • Trustees of Clark University: 2% of income from government
  • Year Up Inc: 0% 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 · 0–75%
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 49 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 Bell 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