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Black Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Black Family Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$60k
Granted FY2023
3
Grants FY2023
3
States reached
$30k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
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 2023.

Environment$490kPhilanthropy$316kEducation$301kInternational$75kArts & Culture$14kYouth Development$13kHousing & Shelter$5kHuman Services$5kOther$0
02FY2023 · 3 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$20,000
Median grant
3
States reached
$580k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
ASSOCIATION OF SMALL FOUNDATIONS DBA EXPONENT PHILANTHROPY$30,000
UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA FOUNDATION-AWCIM$20,000
ARCHITECTURE 2030$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:

Its human-services grants (FY22–22, $25k) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%IDEA'S FOR US: $25k → 13%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

VT
WA
WI
PA
CA
CO
VA
AZ
NM
NC
DC
LA
GA
FL
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.
04

Where the work is directed

The same grants placed two ways: where each recipient sits, and where its stated purpose sends the money.

About 15% of Black Family Foundation’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address. By recipient address, 50% of the giving stays in PA; by stated purpose, 39%.

Black Family Foundationlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address · 2.0% directed abroad (not shown)
How this is measured
Recipient view: each grant at its grantee’s ZIP, mapped to a county. Directed view: each grant at the county its stated purpose names, falling back to the recipient’s county when the purpose names no place; US grants only. A county shows only if it carries the top 95% of that view’s dollars. Purposes are read from the funder’s own 990 grant descriptions.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

35%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$385k · 6 repeat orgs$699k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +39% since the first grant, against +2% for those funded once.

6 repeat relationships: 2 still active in FY2023, 4 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2023 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

6
29

Total granted

$385k
$689k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+39%
+2%

Still filing today

50%
72%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2023, 83% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $10k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23
EnvironmentEducationPhilanthropyArts & CulturePublic BenefitScience & TechOther
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

  • AO
    ASSOCIATION OF SMALL FOUNDATIONS
    3× · 2019–2023 · $64k · revenue +4%
  • UW
    United Way of Erie County
    2× · 2017–2018 · $47k · revenue +39%
  • EP
    Erie Philharmonic Inc
    2× · 2018–2019 · $9k · revenue +48%

Funded once

  • PS
    PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY
    one grant, 2022 · $100k
  • S
    Stand
    one grant, 2017 · $60k
  • CF
    CENTER FOR EMERGENT DIPLOMACY
    one grant, 2017 · $50k · revenue -89% · 45% of their budget
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
NatureServe

NatureServe's mission is to leverage the power of science, data, and technology to guide biodiversity conservation and stewardship. We activate our mission by working with a network of 60+ partners located in states and provinces across…

Environment
2
Partnership for Policy Integrity

Partnership for Policy Integrity (PFPI) uses data-driven advocacy and litigation to fight for forests, communities and the climate.

Environment
3
Environmental Council of States Inc

Improve the environment of the United States by providing for the exchange of ideas, views & experiences among the states, fostering cooperation & coordination in environmental management & articulating state positions to Congress & the…

—
4
Environment Next Inc

Environment next supports individuals, nonprofits and businesses around the world on solutions to complex climate issues. we provide leadership, outreach and communication support, grants, and investments to empower leaders and their ideas…

Environment
5
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
6
E3G Third Generation Environmentalism

E3g is a leading international not-for-profit think tank specialising in climate diplomacy harnessing expertise in the politics and economics of climate change.

Environment
7
Institute for State Effectiveness

The institute for state effectiveness seeks to close the governance gap and advance inclusive growth so that states and markets deliver to citizens. ise advances practical approaches to strengthen capacity for transformation, through…

International
8
One Earth Philanthropy

One Earth's mission is to empower everyone, everywhere, with the knowledge, inspiration, and opportunity to heal the Earth and reclaim our future.

Environment
9
Sustainable Pittsburgh

Provide information to decision maker in the pittsburgh region to promote economic prosperity, social equity, and environmental quality for sustainable solutions for communities and businesses.

Environment
10
Earth Innovation Institute

Earth innovation institute works to advance climate-friendly rural devlopement through innovative approaches to sustainable farming, forestry and fisheries in tropical regions around the world.

Philanthropy
11
Ie New York College

(see schedule o)

Education
12
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
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Institute for Sustainable Communities; the most unlike its peers is Jessica's Love Foundation. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
05the grantee network

29 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. 29 of the 38 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.

3
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
8
Early backer (in before they grew)
26/29
Grantees still filing
17/29
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

INNOVATION COLLABORATIVE INC: $125,000 · OtherINNOVATION COLLABORATIVE INCPENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY: $100,000 · OtherPENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITYPenn State University: $90,000 · OtherPenn State UniversityStand: $60,000 · OtherStandUNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA FOUNDATION-AWCIM: $50,000 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA FOUNDATION-AWCIMIDEA FUND ERIE: $40,000 · OtherIDEA FUND ERIEEARTH COUNCIL FOUNDATION - US: $25,000 · OtherPerception International: $25,000 · OtherCommunity Environmental Legal Defense Fund: $25,000 · OtherIDEAS FOR US INC: $25,000 · Other+11 more: $103,000 · Other+11 moreERIE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $130,000 · PhilanthropyERIE COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONASSOCIATION OF SMALL FOUNDATIONS: $63,500 · PhilanthropyASSOCIATION OF SMALL FOUN…United Way of Erie County: $47,000 · PhilanthropyUnited Way of Erie CountyJessica's Love Foundation: $25,000 · PhilanthropyJessica's Love FoundationTHE GREATER NEW ORLEANS FOUNDATION: $10,000 · PhilanthropyURBAN SUSTAINABILITY DIRECTORS NETWORK: $30,000 · EnvironmentHOWELL CONSERVATION FUND INC: $20,000 · EnvironmentSTAND: $20,000 · EnvironmentGROUP AGAINST SMOG AND POLLUTION INC: $5,000 · EnvironmentWESTERN LANDOWNERS ALLIANCE: $5,000 · EnvironmentCENTER FOR EMERGENT DIPLOMACY: $50,000 · Public BenefitINSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES: $50,000 · InternationalRAINFOREST CONNECTION: $50,000 · Science & TechCOLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $20,000 · EducationBiomimicry for Social Innovation: $15,000 · EducationEAGLES NEST LEADERSHIP CORPORATION: $10,000 · EducationMERCYHURST UNIVERSITY: $5,000 · Education
Other$668,000Philanthropy$275,500Environment$80,000Public Benefit$50,000International$50,000Science & Tech$50,000Education$50,000

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 budgetERIE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $130,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetINNOVATION COLLABORATIVE INC: $125,000 over 2y, 55% of budgetASSOCIATION OF SMALL FOUNDATIONS: $63,500 over 3y, 1.0% of budgetCENTER FOR EMERGENT DIPLOMACY: $50,000 over 1y, 45% of budgetINSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES: $50,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetRAINFOREST CONNECTION: $50,000 over 1y, 7.0% of budgetUnited Way of Erie County: $47,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetURBAN SUSTAINABILITY DIRECTORS NETWORK: $30,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetIDEAS FOR US INC: $25,000 over 1y, 2.8% of budgetJessica's Love Foundation: $25,000 over 1y, 17% of budgetSAVING SPECIES INC: $20,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetHOWELL CONSERVATION FUND INC: $20,000 over 1y, 26% of budgetSUSTAINABILITY INSTITUTE INC: $20,000 over 1y, 4.4% of budgetSTAND: $20,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCOLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $20,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPRESIDIO GRADUATE SCHOOL: $20,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetBiomimicry for Social Innovation: $15,000 over 1y, 8.0% of budgetTHE GREATER NEW ORLEANS FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMERCYHURST UNIVERSITY: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSARAH A REED CHILDREN'S CENTER: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSERVERIE: $5,000 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetSt Patrick's Haven Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetWESTERN LANDOWNERS ALLIANCE: $5,000 over 1y, 0.4% 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.

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.

Erie Community Founda…M J Surgala TrGreater Erie Economic…Wabtec FoundationMerwin FoundationHamot Health Foundati…Rsf Social Finance IncGe Aerospace Foundati…ImpactassetsincTides FoundationSilicon Valley Commun…Charities Aid Foundat…
Erie Community FoundationPA21.5× affinity8 shared granteesties to 10 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Erie Community Foundation · M J Surgala Tr · Greater Erie Economic Development Corporation · Wabtec Foundation · Merwin Foundation · Hamot Health Foundation · Rsf Social Finance Inc · Ge Aerospace Foundation · Impactassetsinc · Tides Foundation · Silicon Valley Community Foundation · Charities Aid Foundation America

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%2%8%17%30%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 100%
  • Institute for Sustainable Communities: 100% of income from government
  • Ideas for Us Inc: 35% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
7report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
1rely 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 Black Family Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Black 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 38 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 2023, released 2023. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2025) is on record and reports no grant expense, so the figures above are from FY2023, the most recent year this funder made grants.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Black 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