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Berkshire Hathaway Energy Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Berkshire Hathaway Energy Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$3.6M
Granted FY2024still arriving
61
Grants FY2024still arriving
15
States reached
$1.0M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0196% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2024.

Animals$4.1MPhilanthropy$2.2MEmployment$2.0MEducation$1.9MArts & Culture$1.8MCommunity Improvement$1.1MYouth Development$1.0MHealth$708kOther$0
02FY2024 · 61 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k29 grants · $82k
  • $10k–50k19 grants · $307k
  • $50k–250k10 grants · $921k
  • $250k+3 grants · $2.2M
$10,000
Median grant
15
States reached
$79M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Omaha Zoo Foundation$1,000,000
Center for Energy Workforce Development$746,431
Montana Historical Society$500,000
National Society Of Collegiate Scholars$218,000
West Virginia University Foundation Inc.$167,500
National Park Foundation$100,000
Community Foundation of Jackson County$100,000
Phoenix Childrens Hospital Foundation$85,000
American National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters & Branches$50,000
Teammates Mentoring Program$50,000
National Independent Venue Foundation$50,000
GenYouth$50,000
Freshwater Trust$50,000
Omaha Police Foundation$36,000
Inclusive Communities$25,000
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 (FY20–22, $339k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 45% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants spread fairly evenly across need levels.

area typical 10%Soldiers to Sidelines: $8k → 10%Zacharys Mission: $5k → 10%El Camino Homeless Organization: $20k → 12%Soldiers to Sidelines: $58k → 11%Minneapolis Urban League: $25k → 11%Soldiers to Sidelines: $25k → 11%North End Alliance III: $5k → 21%Fair Chance: $2k → 14%National Indian Child Welfare Association: $10k → 12%National Indian Child Welfare Association: $10k → 12%Joppa: $13k → 10%Project Iowa: $10k → 10%JOPPA: $150k → 10%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

WA
MT
MN
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
OR
NV
IA
OH
PA
CA
CO
NE
WV
VA
MD
DE
AZ
NM
SC
DC
GA
TX
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.

65%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$11M · 50 repeat orgs$6.0M to everyone else

50 repeat relationships: 24 still active in FY2024, 26 since wound down; 36 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

50
98

Total granted

$11M
$5.5M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+16%
+17%

Still filing today

72%
46%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 86% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $489k went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24
Human ServicesEducationHealthArts & CulturePhilanthropyAnimalsOther
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

  • OZ
    OMAHA ZOO FOUNDATION
    4× · 2021–2024 · $4.0M · revenue +5%
  • CF
    CENTER FOR ENERGY WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
    4× · 2020–2024 · $2.0M · revenue +80% · 39% of their budget
  • SF
    SPOOKSTOCK FOUNDATION
    3× · 2020–2023 · $540k · revenue +225%

Funded once

  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2020 · $1.0M
  • UW
    United Way Alliance of MOV
    one grant, 2022 · $510k
  • MH
    Montana Historial Society
    one grant, 2023 · $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
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
Central Indiana Corporate Partnership Inc

Central indiana corporate partnership (cicp) is an alliance of indiana's business and research university leaders coming together to foster long-term prosperity for the region. cicp's mission is to transform the economy of indiana in order…

Community Improvement
3
State University of Iowa Foundation

The university of iowa center for advancement's mission is to advance the university of iowa through engagement and philanthropy. we serve our alumni and friends in the state and the region, throughout the country, and around the world. we…

Education
4
American Gas Association

American gas association's (the association) mission is to develop and advocate for informed, innovative, and durable policy that fulfills our nation's energy needs, environmental aspirations and economic potential. we are committed to…

—
5
State University of Iowa Alumni Association

Our mission is to strengthen the university of iowa through alumni engagement. we do this through our communications, alumni programs, and events.

—
6
Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce

Our mission is to inspire the iowa city area to be greater by: 1) elevating business, 2) investing in strategic initiatives, and 3) advocating for the economic resiliency of the greater community.

—
7
Internet Society Foundation

At the internet society foundation, we focus on funding initiatives that strengthen the internet in function and reach so that it can effectively serve all people. our work advances the vision of the internet society (isoc): the internet…

International
8
National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors

Empowering financial professionals and consumers through world-class advocacy and education.

—
9
Environmental Investigation Agency

To establish and promote programs to protect the global climate, forests, wildlife and the natural environment, through research, advocacy, and investigation.

International
10
Midwest Dairy Association

Midwest dairy works with others to give consumers an excellent dairy experience increasing sales, fostering innovation, and inspiring consumer confidence of dairy products and practices.

—
11
Council of Independent Nebraska Colleges Foundation

The council of indepependent nebraska colleges foundation exists to provide operating funds and scholarship support for students attending nebraska's independent institutions of excellence.

—
12
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
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Junior Achievement of Eastern Iowa Inc; the most unlike its peers is The Kurt B Seydow Dystonia Foundation. 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

110 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. 110 of the 189 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.

2
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
21
Early backer (in before they grew)
109/110
Grantees still filing
65/110
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES: $1,000,000 · OtherDEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICESIndividual grant recipient: $1,000,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientUnited Way Alliance of MOV: $510,000 · OtherUnited Way Alliance of MOVMontana Historial Society: $500,000 · OtherMontana Historial SocietyUnited Way of Calgary: $483,416 · OtherUnited Way of CalgaryNATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION: $250,000 · Other+124 more: $3,734,473 · Other+124 moreOMAHA ZOO FOUNDATION: $4,050,000 · AnimalsOMAHA ZOO FOUNDATIONTHE FRESHWATER TRUST: $205,000 · Animals+2 more: $8,759 · AnimalsCENTER FOR ENERGY WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT: $2,006,431 · PhilanthropyCENTER FOR ENERGY WO…SPOOKSTOCK FOUNDATION: $540,000 · PhilanthropySPOOKSTOCK FOUNDATIO…COMMUNITY FDN OF GREATER DES MOINES F/K/A GREATER DES MOINES COMMUNITY FDN: $250,000 · PhilanthropyCOMMUNITY FDN OF GRE…GenYOUTH Incorporated: $150,000 · Philanthropy+4 more: $315,000 · Philanthropy+4 moreTHE UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA FOUNDATION USA INC: $441,332 · EducationTHE UNIVE…HORATIO ALGER ASSN OF DISTINGUISHED AMERICANS INC: $263,900 · EducationHORATIO A…NATIONAL SOCIETY OF COLLEGIATE SCHOLARS: $246,750 · EducationNATIONAL …SOCIETY OF HISPANIC PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS: $220,000 · EducationSOCIETY O…WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $167,500 · EducationWEST VIRG…+9 more: $110,750 · Education+9 morePhoenix Children's Hospital Foundation: $360,000 · HealthPhoenix Children's Hospital: $100,000 · HealthImperial Valley Wellness Foundation: $20,000 · HealthPROJECT HEALING WATERS FLY FISHING INC: $20,000 · Health+6 more: $33,325 · HealthJOPPA: $162,500 · Human ServicesYWCA OF CHARLESTON WEST VIRGINIA INC: $100,000 · Human ServicesSoldiers to Sidelines: $90,000 · Human ServicesAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $50,000 · Human ServicesPROJECT IOWA: $30,000 · Human ServicesURBAN LEAGUE TWIN CITIES: $25,000 · Human ServicesEL CAMINO HOMELESS ORGANIZATION: $20,000 · Human ServicesNATIONAL INDIAN CHILD WELFARE ASSOCIATION: $20,000 · Human Services+6 more: $16,720 · Human ServicesOMAHA SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION: $98,025 · Arts & CultureNATIONAL INDEPENDENT VENUE FOUNDATION: $75,000 · Arts & CultureDUMBARTON ARTS AND EDUCATION INC: $30,000 · Arts & CultureJOSLYN ART MUSEUM: $15,000 · Arts & CultureMINDSPRING MENTAL HEALTH ALLIANCE: $15,000 · Arts & CultureSTRATEGIC AIR COMMAND & AEROSPACE MUSEUM: $10,000 · Arts & CultureAMERICA SUCCEEDS: $10,000 · Arts & Culture+2 more: $6,000 · Arts & Culture
Other$7,477,889Animals$4,263,759Philanthropy$3,261,431Education$1,450,232Health$533,325Human Services$514,220Arts & Culture$259,025

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 budgetOMAHA ZOO FOUNDATION: $4,050,000 over 4y, 4.2% of budgetCENTER FOR ENERGY WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT: $2,006,431 over 4y, 39% of budgetSPOOKSTOCK FOUNDATION: $540,000 over 3y, 5.3% of budgetTHE UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA FOUNDATION USA INC: $441,332 over 1y, 3.8% of budgetPhoenix Children's Hospital Foundation: $360,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetHORATIO ALGER ASSN OF DISTINGUISHED AMERICANS INC: $263,900 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetNATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION: $250,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetCOMMUNITY FDN OF GREATER DES MOINES F/K/A GREATER DES MOINES COMMUNITY FDN: $250,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetNATIONAL SOCIETY OF COLLEGIATE SCHOLARS: $246,750 over 2y, 6.6% of budgetSOCIETY OF HISPANIC PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS: $220,000 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetTHE SOCIETY OF ASIAN SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS: $217,500 over 3y, 4.7% of budgetTHE FRESHWATER TRUST: $205,000 over 4y, 0.7% of budgetWEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $167,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetJOPPA: $162,500 over 2y, 6.4% of budgetMID-IOWA COUNCIL OF BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA INC: $150,000 over 2y, 5.2% of budgetGenYOUTH Incorporated: $150,000 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetIMPERIAL VALLEY FOOD BANK: $115,000 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetYWCA OF CHARLESTON WEST VIRGINIA INC: $100,000 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF JACKSON COUNTY: $100,000 over 1y, 56% of budgetPhoenix Children's Hospital: $100,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetImperial Valley Community Foundation: $100,000 over 1y, 12% of budgetBraking Cycles: $100,000 over 2y, 5.1% of budgetNEBRASKA PHILANTHROPIC TRUST: $100,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetOMAHA SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION: $98,025 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetSoldiers to Sidelines: $90,000 over 3y, 12% of budgetJUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF CENTRAL IOWA INC: $90,000 over 4y, 2.5% of budgetINCLUSIVE COMMUNITIES: $85,000 over 3y, 3.1% of budgetAMERICAN INDIAN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING SOCIETY: $85,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetNATIONAL INDEPENDENT VENUE FOUNDATION: $75,000 over 2y, 18% of budgetBOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF IMPERIAL VALLEY: $75,000 over 1y, 21% of budgetIowa Center for Children's Justice: $60,000 over 2y, 16% of budgetKIDS FIRST LAW CENTER: $60,000 over 2y, 4.1% of budgetHORTON'S KIDS INC: $57,600 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetLAKE CUNNINGHAM DEVELOPMENT TRUST: $50,000 over 1y, 2.2% of budgetFEEDING TEXAS: $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetHABITAT FOR HUMANITY PHILADELPHIA INC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $50,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCity of Omaha Police Foundation Inc: $41,000 over 2y, 5.9% of budgetDUMBARTON ARTS AND EDUCATION INC: $30,000 over 3y, 0.9% of budgetPROJECT IOWA: $30,000 over 3y, 2.0% of budgetAmerican Council On Renewable Energy: $25,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetTHE CAMPANILE FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCourt Appointed Special Advocates of Imperial County: $25,000 over 1y, 5.2% of budgetTHE ROOSEVELT INSTITUTE: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetWESTERN PENNSYLVANIA CONSERVANCY: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetURBAN LEAGUE TWIN CITIES: $25,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetMINNESOTA HOME OWNERSHIP CENTER: $25,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA HUNTSVILLE FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 2y, 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.

Peter Kiewit Foundati…Robert B Daugherty Fo…The Lozier FoundationThe Sherwood Foundati…Suzanne & Walter Scot…Weitz Family Foundati…The West Bancorporati…The Hawks FoundationCommunity Fdn of Grea…Prairie Meadows Race …Alliance Healthcare F…The Charles and Mary …
Peter Kiewit FoundationNE27.3× affinity11 shared granteesties to 8 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Peter Kiewit Foundation · Robert B Daugherty Foundation · The Lozier Foundation · The Sherwood Foundation · Suzanne & Walter Scott Foundation · Weitz Family Foundation · The West Bancorporation Foundation Inc · The Hawks Foundation · Community Fdn of Greater Des Moines F/K/A Greater Des Moines Community Fdn · Prairie Meadows Race Track and Casino Inc · Alliance Healthcare Foundation · The Charles and Mary Heider Family 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 Berkshire Hathaway Energy Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Berkshire Hathaway Energy Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 30%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 17%
  • The Freshwater Trust: 17% of income from government
  • National Indian Child Welfare Association: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
3get no government money at all
19report 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 Berkshire Hathaway Energy Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Berkshire Hathaway Energy 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 189 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 Berkshire Hathaway Energy’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