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Berges Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Berges Family Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$16M
Granted FY2024still arriving
57
Grants FY2024still arriving
5
States reached
$4.0M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0192% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Arts & Culture$11MHealth$9.1MEducation$7.1MHuman Services$5.6MYouth Development$5.4MPublic Safety & Disaster$4.0MCommunity Improvement$2.0MAnimals$1.2MOther$0
02FY2024 · 57 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k2 grants · $10k
  • $10k–50k10 grants · $260k
  • $50k–250k30 grants · $2.9M
  • $250k+15 grants · $13M
$100,000
Median grant
5
States reached
$101M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
ST LOUIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA$4,000,000
ST LOUIS CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL FOUNDATION$2,000,000
Individual grant recipient$1,000,000
SAINT LOUIS ZOO$1,000,000
URBAN SPROUTS$1,000,000
FOSTER & ADOPTIVE CARE COALITION$750,000
MERCY HEALTH FDN ST LOUIS$500,000
Individual grant recipient$500,000
VETS COMMUNITY PROJECT$500,000
FOREST PARK FOREVER$500,000
SSM HEALTH FOUNDATION$300,000
TOWER GROVE PARK$250,000
ST LOUIS POLICE FOUNDATION$250,000
THE COVERING HOUSE$250,000
THE OPPORTUNITY TRUST$250,000
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 (FY17–24, $3.5M) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 96% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%YOUTH IN NEED: $50k → 5%FAMILYFORWARD: $50k → 11%YOUTH IN NEED: $50k → 5%FAMILY FORWARD: $50k → 21%YOUTH IN NEED: $50k → 5%FAMILY FORWARD: $50k → 11%GATEWAY HUMAN TRAFFICKING: $60k → 11%NURSES FOR NEWBORNS: $125k → 11%NURSES FOR NEWBORNS: $125k → 11%COVENANT HOUSE MISSOURI: $125k → 21%COVENANT HOUSE MISSOURI: $125k → 21%ST JOSEPH'S INSTITUTE FOR THE DEAF: $75k → 11%FLANCE EARLY LEARNING CENTER: $25k → 21%FLANCE EARLY LEARNING CENTER: $25k → 21%INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE: $350k → 21%EYE CARE CHARITY OF MID-AMERICA: $250k → 11%EYE CARE CHARITY OF MID-AMERICA: $150k → 11%EYE THRIVE: $75k → 21%ASSISTANCE LEAGUE OF ST LOUIS: $10k → 11%COLLEGE HILL FOUNDATION: $10k → 11%URBAN SPROUTS: $1.0M → 11%URBAN SPROUTS: $150k → 11%EVERY CHILD'S HOPE: $200k → 11%THE COVERING HOUSE: $250k → 11%EYETHRIVE: $75k → 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.
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.

68%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$40M · 68 repeat orgs$19M to everyone else

68 repeat relationships: 32 still active in FY2024, 36 since wound down; 25 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

68
85

Total granted

$40M
$12M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+19%
+26%

Still filing today

74%
39%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 56% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $7.1M 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
EducationHuman ServicesArts & CultureHealthYouth DevelopmentRecreation & SportsOther
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

  • SL
    SAINT LOUIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
    4× · 2019–2024 · $5.6M · revenue +40%
  • GS
    GIRL SCOUTS OF EASTERN MISSOURI INC
    3× · 2017–2023 · $3.4M · revenue +19%
  • SL
    St Louis Police Foundation
    7× · 2017–2024 · $3.0M · revenue +61%

Funded once

  • MH
    MISSOURI HISTORICAL SOCIETY
    one grant, 2021 · $1.0M · revenue -3%
  • UL
    URBAN LEAGUE OF METROPOLITAN ST LOUIS
    one grant, 2021 · $1.0M · revenue +24%
  • JF
    JEWISH FEDERATION
    one grant, 2020 · $500k
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
Mission St Louis

Mission: st. louis empowers individuals for social and economic growth through relationships and opportunity.

Community Improvement
2
St Louis Community Foundation

To promote the possibilities of charitable giving, helping charitable citizens understand how they can effectively provide for the community they love and the causes they care deeply about.

Philanthropy
3
St Louis Economic Development Partnership

Economic development.

—
4
The St Louis Children's Choirs

Transforming lives through musical excellence. the goal of the st. louis children's choirs is to empower the youth of st. louis through a rich choral program that helps each young singer realize their full potential - as a musician and as…

—
5
Thomas Jefferson School

Thomas jefferson school engages its students in the education necessary to live as responsible citizens of the world. through the strongest possible college-prepatory program and within a nurturing community, students develop a…

—
6
The Louisville Urban League Inc

As an active partner, leader and catalyst, we will assist african americans, other minority groups and the disadvantaged attain social and economic equality and stability through direct services and advocacy.

Human Services
7
Teach St Louis

Founded In 2018, Teach St. Louis (formerly St. Louis Teacher Residency) launched to improve teacher quality and retention in St. Louis, a city where 40% of new teachers exit the classroom in their first three years. Teach St. Louis…

Education
8
St Louis Regional Chamber & Growth Association

Greater st. louis, inc. brings together business and civic leaders to create jobs, drive inclusive economic growth, and increase the st. louis metro area's global competitiveness. we speak with a unified voice, lead with a bold agenda, and…

—
9
The Saint Louis Zoo Association

The saint louis zoo association was established to support and enhance the saint louis zoo by providing facilities, funds, and advice. the association provides direct financial support to the zoo for renovations, new facilities, programs,…

Animals
10
St Louis Voices Academy of Media Arts

The mission of st. louis voices academy of media arts is to leverage media arts and storytelling to equip students with the agency to excel academically, author their own futures, and make meaningful contributions in their communities.

Education
11
St Louis Learning Disabilities Association

To provide children with hope, understanding, and compassion so they can reach their full potential.

Human Services
12
St Louis Sports Commission Inc

Foster economic growth and improved quality of life in the st. louis area by producing events, enhancing its national and international image as a premier sports region, and increasing community awareness of the value of sports.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is St Louis Crisis Nursery; the most unlike its peers is Dream Builders 4 Equity. 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

93 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. 93 of the 178 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.

4
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
18
Early backer (in before they grew)
92/93
Grantees still filing
57/93
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

GIRL SCOUTS OF EASTERN MISSOURI INC: $3,373,456 · OtherGIRL SCOUTS OF EASTERN MISSOURI INCIndividual grant recipient: $3,000,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientCOCA: $2,433,993 · OtherCOCA+123 more: $24,378,459 · Other+123 moreSAINT LOUIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: $5,605,000 · Arts & CultureSAINT LOUIS SYMPH…MUNICIPAL THEATRE ASSOCIATION OF ST LOUIS: $1,000,000 · Arts & CultureMUNICIPAL THEATRE…MISSOURI HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $1,000,000 · Arts & CultureMISSOURI HISTORIC…THE REPERTORY THEATRE OF ST LOUIS: $822,169 · Arts & CultureTHE REPERTORY THE…Opera Theatre of Saint Louis: $335,000 · Arts & Culture+6 more: $420,000 · Arts & CultureTHE LAUNCHCODE FOUNDATION: $978,868 · EducationMARIAN MIDDLE SCHOOL: $775,000 · EducationWASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: $695,000 · EducationCITY ACADEMY INC: $575,000 · EducationRanken Technical College: $384,761 · EducationTHE OPPORTUNITY TRUST D/B/A ZEST EDUCATION: $250,000 · EducationMIRIAM FOUNDATION: $250,000 · EducationST LOUIS COUNTY LIBRARY FOUNDATION: $200,000 · Education+7 more: $401,780 · EducationST LOUIS CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $2,000,000 · HealthMERCY HEALTH FOUNDATION ST LOUIS: $500,000 · HealthCHRISTIAN HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $300,000 · HealthCHILD CENTER-MARYGROVE: $262,500 · HealthCHADS COALITION FOR MENTAL HEALTH: $255,000 · HealthThe Ranken-Jordan Home For Convalescent Crippled Children: $240,000 · HealthPREVENTED: $130,000 · Health+1 more: $50,000 · HealthURBAN SPROUTS CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTER: $1,150,000 · Human ServicesEYE THRIVE: $550,000 · Human ServicesINTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF METROPOLITAN ST LOUIS: $350,000 · Human ServicesNURSES FOR NEWBORNS: $250,000 · Human ServicesCOVENANT HOUSE MISSOURI: $250,000 · Human ServicesTHE COVERING HOUSE: $250,000 · Human ServicesEvangelical Children's Home: $200,000 · Human ServicesYOUTH IN NEED: $150,000 · Human ServicesCHILDREN'S HOME SOCIETY OF MISSOURI: $150,000 · Human Services+6 more: $230,000 · Human ServicesSt Louis Police Foundation: $2,962,500 · Public Safety & DisasterMISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BOARD OF TRUSTEES: $1,200,000 · EnvironmentForest Park Forever Inc: $500,000 · Environment
Other$33,185,908Arts & Culture$9,182,169Education$4,510,409Health$3,737,500Human Services$3,530,000Public Safety & Disaster$2,962,500Environment$1,700,000

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 budgetSAINT LOUIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: $5,605,000 over 4y, 8.8% of budgetGIRL SCOUTS OF EASTERN MISSOURI INC: $3,373,456 over 3y, 12% of budgetSt Louis Police Foundation: $2,962,500 over 7y, 14% of budgetST LOUIS CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $2,000,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetMISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BOARD OF TRUSTEES: $1,200,000 over 4y, 0.6% of budgetURBAN SPROUTS CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTER: $1,150,000 over 2y, 19% of budgetMUNICIPAL THEATRE ASSOCIATION OF ST LOUIS: $1,000,000 over 3y, 2.1% of budgetMISSOURI HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $1,000,000 over 1y, 2.8% of budgetURBAN LEAGUE OF METROPOLITAN ST LOUIS: $1,000,000 over 1y, 2.2% of budgetTHE LAUNCHCODE FOUNDATION: $978,868 over 5y, 3.4% of budgetFOSTER CARE COALITION OF GREATER ST LOUIS: $950,000 over 3y, 4.9% of budgetCASA OF ST LOUIS: $902,830 over 5y, 12% of budgetGREAT CIRCLE: $858,247 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetTHE REPERTORY THEATRE OF ST LOUIS: $822,169 over 5y, 5.2% of budgetMARIAN MIDDLE SCHOOL: $775,000 over 6y, 6.1% of budgetWASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: $695,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCITY ACADEMY INC: $575,000 over 4y, 1.5% of budgetEYE THRIVE: $550,000 over 4y, 32% of budgetMERCY HEALTH FOUNDATION ST LOUIS: $500,000 over 1y, 4.7% of budgetForest Park Forever Inc: $500,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetVETERANS COMMUNITY PROJECT: $500,000 over 1y, 3.1% of budgetHAWTHORN LEADERSHIP SCHOOL FOR GIRLS: $495,000 over 4y, 7.5% of budgetHOPE IGNITES ST LOUIS: $475,000 over 3y, 8.8% of budgetRanken Technical College: $384,761 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetINTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF METROPOLITAN ST LOUIS: $350,000 over 1y, 2.8% of budgetOpera Theatre of Saint Louis: $335,000 over 3y, 0.9% of budgetENTREPRENEUR STARTUP BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $330,000 over 3y, 4.7% of budgetST LOUIS CRISIS NURSERY: $325,000 over 2y, 3.0% of budgetA MILLION STARS INC DBA COLLEGE BOUND: $300,000 over 4y, 2.7% of budgetCHRISTIAN HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $300,000 over 1y, 40% of budgetCHILD CENTER-MARYGROVE: $262,500 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetCHADS COALITION FOR MENTAL HEALTH: $255,000 over 3y, 4.7% of budgetTHE OPPORTUNITY TRUST D/B/A ZEST EDUCATION: $250,000 over 1y, 2.0% of budgetSTAGES ST LOUIS: $250,000 over 1y, 3.7% of budgetSt Louis County Fire Academy Inc: $250,000 over 1y, 36% of budgetNURSES FOR NEWBORNS: $250,000 over 2y, 3.2% of budgetCOVENANT HOUSE MISSOURI: $250,000 over 2y, 2.9% of budgetTHE COVERING HOUSE: $250,000 over 1y, 4.8% of budgetMIRIAM FOUNDATION: $250,000 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetThe Ranken-Jordan Home For Convalescent Crippled Children: $240,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetDISABLED ATHLETE SPORTS ASSOCIATION: $225,000 over 3y, 9.6% of budgetGOOD SHEPHERD CHILDREN & FAMILY SERVICES: $225,000 over 3y, 1.7% of budgetTHE WYMAN CENTER: $220,000 over 4y, 1.1% of budgetTHE MISSION CONTINUES: $200,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetSAINT LOUIS COUNSELING INC: $200,000 over 2y, 1.8% of budgetDUO DOGS INC: $200,000 over 1y, 16% of budgetGREATER ST LOUIS INC: $200,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetDREAM BUILDERS 4 EQUITY: $200,000 over 4y, 4.4% 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 SAINT LOUIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ↗
  • Who funds GIRL SCOUTS OF EASTERN MISSOURI INC ↗
  • Who funds St Louis Police Foundation ↗
  • Who funds ST LOUIS CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BOARD OF TRUSTEES ↗
  • Who funds URBAN SPROUTS CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTER ↗
  • Who funds MUNICIPAL THEATRE ASSOCIATION OF ST LOUIS ↗
  • Who funds MISSOURI HISTORICAL SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds URBAN LEAGUE OF METROPOLITAN ST LOUIS ↗
  • Who funds THE LAUNCHCODE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds FOSTER CARE COALITION OF GREATER ST LOUIS ↗
  • Who funds CASA OF ST LOUIS ↗
  • Who funds GREAT CIRCLE ↗
  • Who funds THE REPERTORY THEATRE OF ST LOUIS ↗
  • Who funds MARIAN MIDDLE SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds CITY ACADEMY INC ↗
  • Who funds EYE THRIVE ↗
  • Who funds MERCY HEALTH FOUNDATION ST LOUIS ↗
  • Who funds Forest Park Forever Inc ↗
  • Who funds VETERANS COMMUNITY PROJECT ↗
  • Who funds HAWTHORN LEADERSHIP SCHOOL FOR GIRLS ↗
  • Who funds HOPE IGNITES ST LOUIS ↗
  • Who funds Ranken Technical College ↗
  • Who funds INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF METROPOLITAN ST LOUIS ↗

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.

St Louis Community Fo…United Way of Greater…World Wide Technology…Employees Community F…Commerce Bancshares F…St Louis Community Fo…Edward Jones Foundati…Brown Dana Charitable…The Bellwether Founda…Youthbridge Community…Moneta Group Charitab…Trio Foundation of St…
St Louis Community Foundation IncMO100.5× affinity56 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: St Louis Community Foundation Inc · United Way of Greater St Louis Inc · World Wide Technology Foundation · Employees Community Fund of the Boeing Company · Commerce Bancshares Foundation · St Louis Community Foundation · Edward Jones Foundation · Brown Dana Charitable Trust · The Bellwether Foundation · Youthbridge Community Foundation · Moneta Group Charitable Foundation · Trio Foundation of St Louis

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%6%25%56%100%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
    29report 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 Berges Family Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Berges Family 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 178 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 Berges 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