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Blue Sky Educational Foundation at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Public charity

Blue Sky Educational Foundation

The organization was created to: (I) foster, promote and advance aviation, the physical or biological sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics (stem) education by young people of all backgrounds; (ii) encourage interest and personal participation in aviation and related fields; and (iii) provide scholarships to middle school,…

$66k
Granted FY2024still arriving
4
Grants FY2024still arriving
1
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 2024.

Science & Tech$190kPublic Safety & Disaster$175kEducation$132kArts & Culture$68kCommunity Improvement$30kPhilanthropy$18kRecreation & Sports$5kHousing & Shelter$5k
02FY2024 · 4 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k1 grant · $5k
  • $10k–50k3 grants · $61k
$17,882
Median grant
1
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
BROOKS GIVE BACK$30,000
JIM THOMPSON FOUNDATION$17,882
EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION$13,200
WOODALL RODGERS PARK FOUNDATION$5,150
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 (FY18–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 55% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants spread fairly evenly across need levels.

area typical 12%FRONTIERS OF FLIGHT MUSEUM: $30k → 14%BROOKS GIVE BACK: $30k → 16%EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION: $13k → 16%NAVAL AVIATION MUSEUM FOUNDATION: $11k → 16%THE JULIA FOUNDATION: $25k → 8%RADFORD FOUNDATION: $8k → 25%AIRCRAFT OWNERS & PILOTS ASSOCIATION FOUNDATION: $125k → 6%FRONTIERS OF FLIGHT MUSUEM: $14k → 14%AOPA FOUNDATION: $50k → 6%FROTNIERS OF FLIGHT MUSEUM INC: $8k → 14%DALLAS EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $100k → 14%FRONTIERS OF FLIGHT MUSEUM: $5k → 14%JIM THOMPSON FOUNDATION: $18k → 14%WOODALL RODGERS PARK FOUNDATION: $5k → 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.
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.

66%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$408k · 3 repeat orgs$214k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +58% since the first grant, against -58% for those funded once.

3 repeat relationships: 0 still active in FY2024, 3 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

3
5

Total granted

$408k
$148k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+58%
-58%

Still filing today

100%
100%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 0% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $66k 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
Arts & CultureEducationScience & TechPublic Safety & DisasterCommunity ImprovementPhilanthropyOther
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

  • EA
    EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION INC
    6× · 2017–2023 · $176k · revenue +35%
  • TA
    THE AOPA FOUNDATION INC
    2× · 2018–2023 · $175k · revenue +103%
  • FO
    FRONTIERS OF FLIGHT MUSEUM INC
    4× · 2018–2023 · $57k · revenue +58%

Funded once

  • DE
    DALLAS EDUCATION FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2020 · $100k · revenue -58%
  • TJ
    THE JULIA FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2020 · $25k · revenue -99%
  • NA
    NAVAL AVIATION MUSEUM FOUNDATION INCgraduated
    one grant, 2018 · $11k · revenue +60%
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
Lone Star Flight Museum

Lone Star Flight Museum (LSFM) celebrates flight and achievements in Texas aviation, engages youth through STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), and believes aviation inspires achievement and endless possibilities.

Arts & Culture
2
Forty First Foundation

The forty first foundation supports and advances the university of texas at austin in its pursuit of excellence. we work closely with the office of the president to identify, fund, and implement strategic initiatives that enhance the…

Education
3
Military Aviation Museum Foundation

The foundation supports the military aviation museum.

Arts & Culture
4
Aviation Foundation of America

Promote and preserve general aviation and aviation history.

Arts & Culture
5
Museum of Flight Foundation

The primary exempt purposes of the museum of flight are to preserve aviation and space history, and to provide education to the public about subjects related to flight.

Arts & Culture
6
Downtown Dallas Inc Foundation

Downtown Dallas, Inc. Foundation is the charitable arm of Downtown Dallas, Inc. whose purpose is to help make the area in and around Downtown Dallas a more vibrant and livable place for both daytime and permanent residents by promoting the…

Community Improvement
7
Texas a&M Research Foundation

To facilitate research and development within the texas a&m university system and selected other entities.

Education
8
Air University Foundation

Air university foundation seeks to raise funds to provide financial assistance to air university schools and agencies for the advancement of the study of air and space power.

International
9
Dallas Police Helicopter Foundation
Public Safety & Disaster
10
Austin Area Foundation

Support nonprofit organizations by managing & distributing charitable gifts

Philanthropy
11
Washburn University Foundation

The Foundation was created to assist in the promotion, development and enhancement of the financial resources for Washburn University of Topeka, as well as to receive and hold in trust any assets given in benefit of the University.

Education
12
Us Naval Academy Foundation Inc

To support, promote, and advance the mission of the naval academy.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Naval Aviation Museum Foundation Inc; the most unlike its peers is Jim Thompson 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

11 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. 11 of the 12 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)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
11/11
Grantees still filing
5/11
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION INC: $176,491 · Science & TechEXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATIO…THE AOPA FOUNDATION INC: $175,000 · Public Safety & DisasterTHE AOPA FOUNDATION INCDALLAS EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $100,000 · EducationDALLAS EDUCATION FO…RADFORD UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $7,500 · EducationRADFORD UNIVERSITY …FRONTIERS OF FLIGHT MUSEUM INC: $56,800 · Arts & CultureFRONTIERS OF…NAVAL AVIATION MUSEUM FOUNDATION INC: $10,760 · Arts & CultureNAVAL AVIATI…THE JULIA FOUNDATION: $25,000 · OtherEXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION: $13,200 · OtherAUSTIN STREET CENTER: $5,000 · OtherBrooks Gives Back Inc: $30,000 · Community ImprovementJIM THOMPSON FOUNDATION: $17,882 · PhilanthropyWoodall Rodgers Park Foundation: $5,150 · Recreation & Sports
Science & Tech$176,491Public Safety & Disaster$175,000Education$107,500Arts & Culture$67,560Other$43,200Community Improvement$30,000Philanthropy$17,882Recreation & Sports$5,150

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetEXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION INC: $176,491 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetTHE AOPA FOUNDATION INC: $175,000 over 2y, 1.5% of budgetDALLAS EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $100,000 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetFRONTIERS OF FLIGHT MUSEUM INC: $56,800 over 4y, 2.4% of budgetBrooks Gives Back Inc: $30,000 over 1y, 11% of budgetTHE JULIA FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 1y, 14% of budgetJIM THOMPSON FOUNDATION: $17,882 over 1y, 8.2% of budgetNAVAL AVIATION MUSEUM FOUNDATION INC: $10,760 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetRADFORD UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $7,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetWoodall Rodgers Park Foundation: $5,150 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetAUSTIN STREET CENTER: $5,000 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.

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.

Jim Thompson Foundati…The Bank of America C…Vanguard Charitable E…National Philanthropi…American Online Givin…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Jim Thompson FoundationTX13.6× affinity4 shared granteesties to 7 of 7Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Jim Thompson Foundation · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · National Philanthropic Trust · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile 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 Blue Sky Educational Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Blue Sky Educational Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%1%4%8%15%funder's share of their income ↑0%5%10%15%20%share of the org’s income from government →median 13%
  • Naval Aviation Museum Foundation Inc: 13% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
2report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–20%
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 Blue Sky Educational Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Blue Sky Educational 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 12 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 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 Blue Sky Educational’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