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Bfk Foundation Inc at a glance

· Private foundation

Bfk Foundation Inc

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.

$45k
Granted FY2025still arriving
40
Grants FY2025still arriving
16
States reached
$2k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
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 2025.

Environment$131kCivil Rights$57kHuman Services$40kInternational$40kCrime & Legal$26kFood & Nutrition$25kHealth$22kHousing & Shelter$16kOther$0
02FY2025 · 40 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$1,000
Median grant
16
States reached
$318k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
ANERA$2,000
IF NOT NOW EDUCATION FUND$2,000
CENTER FOR JEWISH NONVIOLENCE$2,000
COMMUNITY REFUGEE & IMMIGRATION SE$2,000
LICKING LAND TRUST$2,000
PHYSICIANS FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILIT$1,000
GRINNELL AREA ARTS COUNCIL$1,000
CARPLS$1,000
VOTE SOLAR$1,000
COOL EARTH ACTION USA$1,000
FREEDOM FOR IMMIGRANTS$1,000
FOOD GATHERERS$1,000
SEEDS OF PEACE$1,000
NEW ISREAL FUND$1,000
FUND TEXAS CHOICE$1,000
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 (FY17–25, $23k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 39% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%COMMUNITY REFUGEE & IMMIGRATION SE: $2k → 15%CARPLS: $1k → 14%JEWISH SOCIAL SERVICE AGENCY: $2k → 8%CARPLS: $1k → 14%JEWISH SOCIAL SERVICE AGENCY: $2k → 8%CARPLS: $1k → 14%JEWISH SOCIAL SERVICE AGENCY: $2k → 8%CARPLS: $1k → 14%JEWISH SOCIAL SERVICE AGENCY: $2k → 8%CARPLS: $1k → 14%JEWISH SOCIAL SERVICE AGENCY: $2k → 8%CARPLS: $1k → 14%JEWISH SOCIAL SERVICE AGENCY: $1k → 8%JEWISH SOCIAL SERVICE AGENCY: $1k → 8%JEWISH SOCIAL SERVICE AGENCY: $1k → 8%JEWISH SOCIAL SERVICE AGENCY: $1k → 8%CARPLS: $1k → 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.

Which US states its grants reach

WA
MN
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
OR
SD
IA
OH
PA
NJ
CA
CO
VA
MD
NC
DC
MS
AL
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.

94%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$356k · 58 repeat orgs$22k to everyone else

58 repeat relationships: 36 still active in FY2025, 22 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

58
13

Total granted

$356k
$19k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+16%
+29%

Still filing today

79%
62%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 93% 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
EnvironmentInternationalCivil RightsHuman ServicesCrime & LegalFood & NutritionOther
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

  • LL
    LICKING LAND TRUST
    9× · 2017–2025 · $16k · revenue +94%
  • ME
    MICHIGAN ENVIROMENTAL COUNCIL
    9× · 2017–2025 · $14k · revenue +145%
  • CC
    CHICAGO COALITION TO END HOMELESSNESS
    6× · 2018–2023 · $14k · revenue +62%

Funded once

  • NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INCgraduated
    one grant, 2018 · $5k · revenue +37%
  • AI
    AMERICAN IMMIGRATION COUNCILgraduated
    one grant, 2019 · $2k · revenue +29%
  • IN
    IF NOT NOW MOVEMENTgraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $2k · revenue +99%
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
Fresh Energy

Shape and drive bold policy solutions to achieve equitable carbon-neutral economies.

Environment
2
Friends of the Earth

Friends of the earth strives for a more healthy and just world by defendng the environment and human health while advancing social and economic justice by conducting research and education, transforming the economy so it protects the…

Environment
3
The Alliance for Just Deliberation On Solar Geoengineering Inc

The alliance for just deliberation on solar geoengineering (dsg) is a charitable, scientific and educational organization dedicated to building just and inclusive deliberation about research and potential use of solar geoengineering. solar…

Environment
4
Asociacion Interamericana Para La Defensa Del Ambiente

To strenghten people's ability to guarantee their individual and collective right to a healthy environment, via the development, implementation, and effective enforcement of national and international law.

Crime & Legal
5
Climate Catalyst Inc

Climate catalyst sparks collective action to tackle the biggest climate challenges we face today: cutting emissions in heavy industries.

Environment
6
The Union of Concerned Scientists Inc

The union of concerned scientists puts rigorous, independent science into action, developing solutions and advocating for a healthy, safe, and just future.

International
7
Namati Inc

Namati, inc. (namati) is dedicated to putting the law in people's hands. we strive to build a just world, in which every one of us can take part in the decisions and demand accountability from the institutions that affect our lives.…

Crime & Legal
8
Actionaid Usa

Actionaid is an international network building a just, equitable, and sustainable world in solidarity with communities on the frontlines of poverty and injustice. actionaid usa is the u.s. branch of actionaid international, which works in…

Social Science
9
Center for International Environmental Law Inc

To investigate, research, write, publish, present conferences and teach with respect to global, regional, transboundary, and comparative environmental issues and to make the findings from such activities available to the general public; to…

International
10
The Climate Group Inc

Climate group advances climate action by mobilizing business and government leadership to drive systemic decarbonization across energy, transport, and industry, while engaging the public through large-scale convenings and global platforms.…

Environment
11
Watttime Corporation

To raise awareness about the potential to reduce environmental harm by shifting electricity use to particular times; to encourage the development and spread of common protocols for this practice.

Science & Tech
12
Indigenous Peoples Rights Inc

To lead and coordinate the global initiative to address and prevent criminalization, violence, and impunity against indigenous peoples towards strengthening their collectives, solidarity, and actions.

Human Services
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Industrious Education Fund; the most unlike its peers is Cool Earth Action Usa Inc. 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

61 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. 61 of the 76 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)
12
Early backer (in before they grew)
59/61
Grantees still filing
35/61
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

COMMUNITY REFUGEE & IMMIGRATION SE: $18,000 · OtherCOMMUNITY REFUGEE & IMMIGRATION SELICKING LAND TRUST: $16,000 · OtherLICKING LAND TRUSTFOOD GATHERERS: $14,000 · OtherFOOD GATHERERSNEW ISREAL FUND: $14,000 · OtherNEW ISREAL FUNDGrinnell Area Arts Council DBA Grinnell Community TheatreTurlachUr: $13,000 · OtherGrinnell Area Arts Council DBA Grinnell Community T…NATIONAL IMMIGRATION LAW CENTER: $8,000 · OtherAMAZON CONSERVATION FUND: $7,000 · OtherPUBLIC JUSTICE CENTER INC: $8,000 · OtherCHICAGO COALITION TO END HOMELESSNESS: $14,000 · OtherCHICAGO COALITION TO END HOMELESSNESS+29 more: $70,600 · Other+29 moreGREEN ENERGY OHIO: $18,000 · EnvironmentGREEN ENERGY OHIOMICHIGAN ENVIROMENTAL COUNCIL: $14,000 · EnvironmentMICHIGAN ENVIROMENTAL…COOL EARTH ACTION USA INC: $7,000 · EnvironmentCOOL EARTH ACTION USA…THE CARBON UNDERGROUND: $7,000 · EnvironmentTHE CARBON UNDERGROUN…CLIMATE JUSTICE ALLIANCE: $5,000 · EnvironmentCLIMATE JUSTICE ALLIA…NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC: $5,000 · EnvironmentNATURAL RESOURCES DEF…LAND STEWARDSHIP PROJECT: $4,000 · EnvironmentVote Solar: $3,000 · EnvironmentFUND TEXAS CHOICE: $3,000 · EnvironmentTHE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND: $3,000 · EnvironmentEarth Guardians: $3,000 · Environment+2 more: $3,000 · EnvironmentAMERICAN JEWISH WORLD SERVICE INC: $14,000 · InternationalAMERICAN JEWIS…NEW ISRAEL FUND: $10,000 · InternationalNEW ISRAEL FUN…PHYSICIANS FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: $7,000 · InternationalPHYSICIANS FOR…ASHOKA: $7,000 · InternationalASHOKAAMERICAN NEAR EAST REFUGEE AID: $4,000 · InternationalAMERICAN NEAR …IF NOT NOW EDUCATION FUND: $4,000 · InternationalIF NOT NOW EDU…SEEDS OF PEACE INC: $4,000 · InternationalSEEDS OF PEACE…WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $2,000 · International+1 more: $1,000 · InternationalJEWISH SOCIAL SERVICE AGENCY: $14,000 · Human ServicesCOORDINATED ADVICE & REFERRAL PROGRAM FOR LEGAL SERVICES: $7,000 · Human ServicesWELCOMING AMERICA INC: $5,000 · Human ServicesCOMMUNITY REFUGEE & IMMIGRATION SERVICES INC: $2,000 · Human ServicesCOOPERATION JACKSON OF MISSISSIPPI: $1,000 · Human ServicesFreedom for Immigrants: $12,000 · Civil RightsElevated Access Inc: $3,000 · Civil RightsMIDWEST ACCESS COALITION: $3,000 · Civil RightsInvisible Institute: $3,000 · Civil RightsCampaign For Southern Equality: $2,000 · Civil RightsTHE CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS INC: $1,000 · Civil RightsOhio Ecological Food and Farm Assoc: $11,000 · Food & NutritionAMERICAN FARMLAND TRUST: $9,000 · Food & NutritionKISS THE GROUND: $1,000 · Food & NutritionINDIGENOUS ENVIRONMENTAL NETWORK: $10,000 · EducationBETA BY DESIGN: $9,000 · Education
Other$182,600Environment$75,000International$53,000Human Services$29,000Civil Rights$24,000Food & Nutrition$21,000Education$19,000

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 budgetGREEN ENERGY OHIO: $18,000 over 8y, 3.0% of budgetLICKING LAND TRUST: $16,000 over 9y, 3.6% of budgetAMERICAN JEWISH WORLD SERVICE INC: $14,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetMICHIGAN ENVIROMENTAL COUNCIL: $14,000 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetCHICAGO COALITION TO END HOMELESSNESS: $14,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetFOOD GATHERERS: $14,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetJEWISH SOCIAL SERVICE AGENCY: $14,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetGrinnell Area Arts Council DBA Grinnell Community TheatreTurlachUr: $13,000 over 8y, 1.4% of budgetFreedom for Immigrants: $12,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetOhio Ecological Food and Farm Assoc: $11,000 over 6y, 0.8% of budgetNEW ISRAEL FUND: $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetINDIGENOUS ENVIRONMENTAL NETWORK: $10,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetBETA BY DESIGN: $9,000 over 6y, 4.2% of budgetAMERICAN FARMLAND TRUST: $9,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetPUBLIC JUSTICE CENTER INC: $8,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetPHYSICIANS FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: $7,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetASHOKA: $7,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetCOORDINATED ADVICE & REFERRAL PROGRAM FOR LEGAL SERVICES: $7,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetCOOL EARTH ACTION USA INC: $7,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetTHE CARBON UNDERGROUND: $7,000 over 5y, 1.3% of budgetINSTITUTE FOR LOCAL SELF RELIANCE: $6,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetWOMENS HEALTH PROJECT INC: $6,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetCLIMATE JUSTICE ALLIANCE: $5,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetABOLITIONIST LAW CENTER: $5,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetNATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWELCOMING AMERICA INC: $5,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetLAND STEWARDSHIP PROJECT: $4,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN NEAR EAST REFUGEE AID: $4,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetNDN COLLECTIVE INC: $4,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetIF NOT NOW EDUCATION FUND: $4,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetSEEDS OF PEACE INC: $4,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetVote Solar: $3,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetFUND TEXAS CHOICE: $3,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetElevated Access Inc: $3,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetTHE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND: $3,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetEarth Guardians: $3,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetCHICAGO COMMUNITY BOND FUND: $3,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetBET TZEDEK: $3,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMIDWEST ACCESS COALITION: $3,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetInvisible Institute: $3,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetCampaign For Southern Equality: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE OHIO ENVIRONMENTAL COUNCIL: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPOWER SHIFT NETWORK: $2,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTHE ASTRAEA FOUNDATION INC: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCOMMUNITY REFUGEE & IMMIGRATION SERVICES INC: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE SOLAR FOUNDATION: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN IMMIGRATION COUNCIL: $2,000 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.

  • Who funds GREEN ENERGY OHIO ↗
  • Who funds LICKING LAND TRUST ↗
  • Who funds AMERICAN JEWISH WORLD SERVICE INC ↗
  • Who funds MICHIGAN ENVIROMENTAL COUNCIL ↗
  • Who funds CHICAGO COALITION TO END HOMELESSNESS ↗
  • Who funds FOOD GATHERERS ↗
  • Who funds JEWISH SOCIAL SERVICE AGENCY ↗
  • Who funds Grinnell Area Arts Council DBA Grinnell Community TheatreTurlachUr ↗
  • Who funds Freedom for Immigrants ↗
  • Who funds Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Assoc ↗
  • Who funds NEW ISRAEL FUND ↗
  • Who funds INDIGENOUS ENVIRONMENTAL NETWORK ↗
  • Who funds BETA BY DESIGN ↗
  • Who funds AMERICAN FARMLAND TRUST ↗
  • Who funds PUBLIC JUSTICE CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds PHYSICIANS FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ↗
  • Who funds ASHOKA ↗
  • Who funds COORDINATED ADVICE & REFERRAL PROGRAM FOR LEGAL SERVICES ↗
  • Who funds COOL EARTH ACTION USA INC ↗
  • Who funds THE CARBON UNDERGROUND ↗
  • Who funds INSTITUTE FOR LOCAL SELF RELIANCE ↗
  • Who funds WOMENS HEALTH PROJECT INC ↗
  • Who funds CLIMATE JUSTICE ALLIANCE ↗
  • Who funds ABOLITIONIST LAW CENTER ↗
  • Who funds NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC ↗
  • Who funds WELCOMING AMERICA INC ↗
  • Who funds LAND STEWARDSHIP PROJECT ↗
  • Who funds AMERICAN NEAR EAST REFUGEE AID ↗
  • Who funds NDN COLLECTIVE INC ↗
  • Who funds IF NOT NOW EDUCATION FUND ↗
  • Who funds SEEDS OF PEACE INC ↗
  • Who funds Vote Solar ↗
  • Who funds FUND TEXAS CHOICE ↗
  • Who funds Elevated Access 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.

ImpactassetsincTides FoundationAmalgamated Charitabl…PatagoniaorgUnited States Energy …John D and Catherine …The Energy FoundationFoundation to Promote…Clif Family FoundationRsf Social Finance IncWallace Global Fund IISocial and Environmen…
ImpactassetsincMD28.9× affinity16 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Impactassetsinc · Tides Foundation · Amalgamated Charitable Foundation Inc · Patagoniaorg · United States Energy Foundation · John D and Catherine T Macarthur Foundation · The Energy Foundation · Foundation to Promote Open Society · Clif Family Foundation · Rsf Social Finance Inc · Wallace Global Fund II · Social and Environmental Entrepreneurs (See) Inc

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 5%
  • Public Justice Center Inc: 5% of income from government
  • Jewish Social Service Agency: 1% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
2get no government money at all
9report 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.

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 76 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 Bfk’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