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Bell Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Bell Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$530k
Granted FY2024still arriving
8
Grants FY2024still arriving
1
States reached
$185k
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 2024.

Education$1.2MPhilanthropy$935kCommunity Improvement$541kArts & Culture$156kRecreation & Sports$50kScience & Tech$40kHealth$25kPublic Safety & Disaster$8kOther$0
02FY2024 · 8 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $10k–50k5 grants · $95k
  • $50k–250k3 grants · $435k
$40,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$11M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
HIGH POINT UNIVERSITY$185,000
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA GREENSBORO$150,000
GREENSBORO DAY SCHOOL$100,000
GREENSBORO CHILDREN'S MUSEUM$40,000
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP OF NC$15,000
PIEDMONT TRIAD CHARITABLE FOUNDATION$15,000
COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF GREATER GREENSBORO$15,000
NORTH CAROLINA FOLK FESTIVAL$10,000
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 (FY17–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 16%, against an area that typically sits at 13%. 96% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 13%ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP OF NC: $15k → 8%THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $225k → 16%ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP OF NC: $15k → 8%THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $198k → 16%ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP OF NC: $15k → 8%THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $160k → 16%ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP OF NC: $15k → 8%UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA GREENSBORO: $150k → 16%ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP OF NC: $15k → 8%COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF GREATER GREENSBORO: $121k → 16%ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP OF NC: $15k → 8%UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA GREENSBORO: $105k → 16%ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP OF NC: $15k → 8%GREENSBORO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: $100k → 16%ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP OF NC: $15k → 8%THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF GREATER GREENSBORO: $91k → 16%GREENSBORO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: $65k → 16%GREENSBORO CHILDREN'S MUSEUM: $50k → 16%UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA GREENSBORO: $50k → 16%GREENSBORO CHILDREN'S MUSEUM: $40k → 16%DOWNTOWN GREENSBORO FOUNDATION: $31k → 16%GREENSBORO CHILDREN'S MUSEUM: $30k → 16%GREENSBORO COLLEGE: $25k → 16%PIEDMONT TRIAD CHARITABLE FOUNDATION: $25k → 16%CONE HEALTH DEVELOPMENT: $25k → 16%GREENSBORO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: $21k → 16%GREENSBORO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: $20k → 16%PIEDMONT TRIAD CHARITABLE FOUNDATION: $15k → 16%PIEDMONT TRIAD CHARITABLE FOUNDATION: $15k → 16%GREENSBORO PARTNERSHIP: $15k → 16%PIEDMONT TRIAD CHARITABLE FOUNDATION: $15k → 16%GREENSBORO DAY SCHOOL: $100k → 16%GREENSBORO DAY SCHOOL: $100k → 16%GREENSBORO DAY SCHOOL: $80k → 16%GREENSBORO SCIENCE CENTER: $40k → 16%GREENSBORO DAY SCHOOL: $32k → 16%GREENSBORO DAY SCHOOL: $17k → 16%GREENSBORO DAY SCHOOL: $17k → 16%YMCA CAMP WEAVER GROW CAMPAIGN: $30k → 16%PIEDMONT TRIAD PARTNERSHIP: $50k → 16%PIEDMONT TRIAD PARTNERSHIP: $25k → 16%PIEDMONT TRIAD PARTNERSHIP: $25k → 16%PIEDMONT TRIAD PARTNERSHIP: $25k → 16%HIGH POINT UNIVERSITY: $185k → 16%PIEDMONT TRIAD PARTNERSHIP: $25k → 16%HIGH POINT UNIVERSITY: $170k → 16%PIEDMONT TRIAD PARTNERSHIP: $25k → 16%HIGH POINT UNIVERSITY: $130k → 16%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.

93%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$2.6M · 14 repeat orgs$183k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +74% since the first grant, against +7% for those funded once.

14 repeat relationships: 7 still active in FY2024, 7 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

14
12

Total granted

$2.6M
$183k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+74%
+7%

Still filing today

57%
67%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
EducationArts & CultureCommunity ImprovementPublic Safety & DisasterOther
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

  • HP
    HIGH POINT UNIVERSITY
    3× · 2022–2024 · $485k · revenue +14%
  • GI
    Greensboro Independent School Corp
    7× · 2017–2024 · $360k · revenue +71%
  • PT
    PIEDMONT TRIAD PARTNERSHIP
    6× · 2017–2023 · $175k · revenue +96%

Funded once

  • UE
    UNCG EXCELLENCE FOUNDATION INCgraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $45k · revenue +368%
  • TN
    THE NATURAL SCIENCE CENTER OF GREENSBORO INC DBA GREENSBORO SCIENCE CENTERgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $40k · revenue +150%
  • CH
    CONE HEALTH DEVELOPMENT
    one grant, 2023 · $25k
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
Greensboro Area Chamber of Commerce Inc

To serve as greensboro, north carolina's principal economic and community development organization. our goal is to strategically develop a vibrant community that creates, expands, and attracts business while advancing the quality of life…

—
2
Greensboro Historical Museum Inc

Together with its diverse communities, the organization collects objects and stories, connects generations, and challenges people to explore our city's past, present and future. the museum sparks wonder through bold exhibitions and…

Arts & Culture
3
Greensboro Opera Company

Greensboro opera is a community-based company dedicated to fostering the growth of opera and to presenting professional productions of the highest artistic caliber for the enjoyment, education, and enrichment of the triad region of north…

Arts & Culture
4
Greensboro College Foundation

To support the exempt purposes of greensboro college.

Education
5
Foundation for a Greater Greenwood County Inc

Providing leadership to enhance the quality of life in greenwood through strategic long-term vision and collaborative community development initiatives.

Philanthropy
6
Action Greensboro

To improve urban livability, civic engagement, k-12 educational advancement, and initiatives to attract and retain college and young professional talent, in order to enhance the city's economy and quality of life.

Community Improvement
7
Greenville Theatre Arts Center
—
8
Greenville College

Greenville college d/b/a greenville university empowers students for lives of character and service through a transforming christ-centered education in the liberal arts, sciences, and professional studies.

Education
9
Greensboro Sports Foundation

Further enhance tournament town reputation and build an organization with the ability to develop strategic partners to better position greensboro for the execution of major sports events.

Recreation & Sports
10
Greenville Area Development Corporation

Promoting and enhancing the economic growth and development of greenville county south carolina; gadc was formed by greenville county council.

Community Improvement
11
Greater Winston-Salem Development Corp

To recruit new businesses to winston-salem and forsyth county in order to facilitate growth and economic diversification in the area.

Community Improvement
12
The University of North Carolina At Greensboro Investment Fund Inc

To accept the transfer of assets from the uncg endowment fund and the affiliated foundations, which benefit the university, and to manage the investment of those assets.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Green Hill Center for North Carolina Art; the most unlike its peers is Piedmont Triad Charitable Foundation D/B/a Wyndham Championship. 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

17 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. 17 of the 27 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)
17/17
Grantees still filing
13/17
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $583,000 · OtherCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION INCUNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA GREENSBORO: $305,000 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA GREENSBOROGREENSBORO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: $206,000 · OtherGREENSBORO CHAMBER OF COMMERCEGREENSBORO CHILDREN'S MUSEUM INC: $135,000 · OtherGREENSBORO CHILDREN'S MUSEUM INCPIEDMONT TRIAD CHARITABLE FOUNDATION D/B/A WYNDHAM CHAMPIONSHIP: $125,000 · OtherPIEDMONT TRIAD CHARITABLE FOUNDATION D/B/A WYNDHAM CHAMPION…ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP OF NC: $120,000 · OtherECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP OF NC+7 more: $98,000 · Other+7 moreHIGH POINT UNIVERSITY: $485,000 · EducationHIGH POINT UNIVERSITYGreensboro Independent School Corp: $360,001 · EducationGreensboro Independent School CorpUNCG EXCELLENCE FOUNDATION INC: $45,000 · Education+2 more: $40,000 · EducationCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF GREATER GREENSBORO INC: $226,720 · PhilanthropyPIEDMONT TRIAD PARTNERSHIP: $175,000 · Community Improvement+2 more: $6,000 · Community ImprovementTHE NATURAL SCIENCE CENTER OF GREENSBORO INC DBA GREENSBORO SCIENCE CENTER: $40,000 · Arts & CultureDOWNTOWN GREENSBORO FOUNDATION: $32,000 · Arts & CultureNORTH CAROLINA FOLK FESTIVAL: $20,000 · Arts & Culture+1 more: $500 · Arts & CultureGREENSBORO POLICE FOUNDATION: $7,500 · Public Safety & Disaster
Other$1,572,000Education$930,001Philanthropy$226,720Community Improvement$181,000Arts & Culture$92,500Public Safety & Disaster$7,500

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 budgetHIGH POINT UNIVERSITY: $485,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetGreensboro Independent School Corp: $360,001 over 7y, 0.4% of budgetCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF GREATER GREENSBORO INC: $226,720 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetPIEDMONT TRIAD PARTNERSHIP: $175,000 over 6y, 3.0% of budgetGREENSBORO CHILDREN'S MUSEUM INC: $135,000 over 5y, 3.0% of budgetPIEDMONT TRIAD CHARITABLE FOUNDATION D/B/A WYNDHAM CHAMPIONSHIP: $125,000 over 8y, 0.2% of budgetUNCG EXCELLENCE FOUNDATION INC: $45,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetTHE NATURAL SCIENCE CENTER OF GREENSBORO INC DBA GREENSBORO SCIENCE CENTER: $40,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetDOWNTOWN GREENSBORO FOUNDATION: $32,000 over 2y, 6.0% of budgetGreensboro College: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetNORTH CAROLINA FOLK FESTIVAL: $20,000 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetUNION SQUARE CAMPUS INC: $15,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetGREENSBORO POLICE FOUNDATION: $7,500 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetGREENSBORO CHAMBER FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 8.1% of budgetDOWNTOWN GREENSBORO INC: $2,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTHE NUSSBAUM CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGREEN HILL CENTER FOR NORTH CAROLINA ART: $500 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.

The Joseph M Bryan Fo…The Cemala Foundation…Amg Charitable Gift F…Lincoln Financial Fou…Moses H Cone Memorial…Tannenbaum-Sternberge…Egerton Family Founda…The Edward M Armfield…Louis DeJoy & Aldona …Foundation for the Ca…Duke Energy FoundationThe Griffin Endowment
The Joseph M Bryan FoundationNC22.1× affinity8 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Joseph M Bryan Foundation · The Cemala Foundation Inc · Amg Charitable Gift Foundation · Lincoln Financial Foundation Inc · Moses H Cone Memorial Hospital Operating Corporation · Tannenbaum-Sternberger Foundation Inc · Egerton Family Foundation Inc · The Edward M Armfield Sr Foundation I · Louis DeJoy & Aldona Z Wos Family Foundation Inc · Foundation for the Carolinas · Duke Energy Foundation · The Griffin Endowment

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    6report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    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 Bell Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Bell 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 27 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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Bell’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