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Brownstone Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Brownstone Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$40k
Granted FY2024still arriving
4
Grants FY2024still arriving
3
States reached
$25k
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.

Health$180kPublic Safety & Disaster$75kCrime & Legal$25kArts & Culture$20kPhilanthropy$20kInternational$20kHousing & Shelter$19kHuman Services$11kOther$0
02FY2024 · 4 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k2 grants · $5k
  • $10k–50k2 grants · $35k
$10,000
Median grant
3
States reached
$900k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CANCER COMMONS$25,000
WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INCORPORATED$10,000
ADAPTIVE ADVENTURES$5,000
FOOD BANK FOR LARIMER COUNTY$250
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 (FY17–19, $30k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 63% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%BILL WILSON CENTER: $5k → 8%BILL WILSON CENTER: $5k → 8%HOMELESS GARDEN PROJECT: $8k → 13%BILL WILSON CENTER: $1k → 8%HOMELESS GARDEN PROJECT: $6k → 13%HOMELESS GARDEN PROJECT: $5k → 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

NY
IA
CT
CA
CO
SC
DC
AL
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.

74%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$280k · 6 repeat orgs$97k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +57% since the first grant, against +13% for those funded once.

6 repeat relationships: 3 still active in FY2024, 3 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

6
10

Total granted

$280k
$97k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+57%
+13%

Still filing today

100%
80%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 99% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $250 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
HealthHuman ServicesInternationalCrime & LegalFood & NutritionArts & CultureOther
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

  • CC
    CANCER COMMONS
    7× · 2018–2024 · $165k · revenue +29%
  • WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC
    4× · 2021–2024 · $55k · revenue +167%
  • KJ
    Kuumbwa Jazz Society
    4× · 2017–2020 · $20k · revenue +14%

Funded once

  • EVERYTOWN FOR GUN SAFETY SUPPORT FUND INC
    one grant, 2022 · $25k · revenue -36%
  • AMERICARES FOUNDATION INCgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $20k · revenue +35%
  • AN
    American National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branchesgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $15k · revenue +46%
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
Food Forward Inc

Food forward fights hunger and prevents food waste by rescuing fresh surplus produce, connecting this abundance with people experiencing food insecurity, and inspiring others to do the same.

Food & Nutrition
2
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
3
Foodbank of Santa Barbara County Inc

To end hunger and transform the health of our community by providing nourishment to those in need by acquiring and distributing safe nutritious food via local agencies and by providing education to solve hunger and nutritional problems in…

Food & Nutrition
4
Central California Food Bank

Ccfb is dedicated to ending hunger, working with over 200 partner agencies to provide food to those experiencing hunger. our mission: transforming lives together, in the passionate pursuit to end hunger in central ca - one meal, one…

Food & Nutrition
5
Sacramento Region Community Foundation

The Sacramento Region Community Foundation leads, serves, and inspires enduring philanthropy for a just and vibrant Sacramento region.

Philanthropy
6
Central Pennsylvania Food Bank

Our mission is to solve hunger in central pennsylvania by ensuring that everyone struggling with hunger has access to enough wholesome food every day. we will achieve this bold goal with the help of our generous donors, volunteers and…

Food & Nutrition
7
California Healthcare Foundation

Chcf is dedicated to advancing meaningful, measurable improvements in the way the health care delivery system provides care to the people of california, particularly those with low incomes and those whose needs are not well served by the…

—
8
United Food Bank

United Food Bank unites communities to alleviate hunger.

Food & Nutrition
9
Second Harvest of Silicon Valley

To realize our vision of a hunger free community we will provide more food, healthy food and better access to food. we will leverage our own resources and also work with partners in the community.

Food & Nutrition
10
California Donor Table

California Donor Table anchors a hub of donors, foundations, and community leaders. We pool together our resources to shape California into a truly democratic state that works for the people, not the powerful. Rooted in our commitment to…

Civil Rights
11
The San Diego Foundation

The san diego foundation inspires enduring philanthropy and enables community solutions to improve the quality of life in our region.

Philanthropy
12
Santa Cruz Local Inc

Independent nonpartisan newsroom serving Santa Cruz County, California we are all watching and engaged in our local government, our needs are addressed, democracy works better and our community is stronger.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is North Valley Community Foundation; the most unlike its peers is No More Broken Hearts. 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

19 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. 19 of the 20 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)
1
Early backer (in before they grew)
18/19
Grantees still filing
13/19
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

CANCER COMMONS: $165,000 · HealthCANCER COMMONSAdaptive Adventures: $10,000 · HealthAdaptive Adventures+1 more: $5,000 · HealthWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $55,000 · InternationalWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN…AMERICARES FOUNDATION INC: $20,000 · InternationalAMERICARES FOUNDATION…HOMELESS GARDEN PROJECT: $18,540 · Human ServicesHOMELESS GAR…American National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $15,000 · Human ServicesAmerican Nat…BILL WILSON CENTER: $11,000 · Human ServicesBILL WILSON …EVERYTOWN FOR GUN SAFETY SUPPORT FUND INC: $25,000 · Crime & LegalEVERYTOWN …SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER INC: $10,000 · Crime & LegalSOUTHERN P…Kuumbwa Jazz Society: $20,000 · Arts & CultureSilicon Valley Community Foundation: $10,000 · PhilanthropyNORTH VALLEY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $5,000 · PhilanthropyCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION SANTA CRUZ COUNTY: $5,000 · PhilanthropySECOND HARVEST FOOD BANK SANTA CRUZ COUNTY: $10,000 · Food & Nutrition+1 more: $250 · Food & NutritionFIRST NATIONS DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE: $5,000 · OtherST JOSEPH'S INDIAN SCHOOL: $500 · OtherCENTER FOR DISASTER PHILANTHROPY INC: $5,000 · OtherThe Peninsula College Fund: $1,000 · Other
Health$180,000International$75,000Human Services$44,540Crime & Legal$35,000Arts & Culture$20,000Philanthropy$20,000Food & Nutrition$10,250Other$11,500

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 budgetCANCER COMMONS: $165,000 over 7y, 2.1% of budgetWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $55,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetEVERYTOWN FOR GUN SAFETY SUPPORT FUND INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICARES FOUNDATION INC: $20,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetKuumbwa Jazz Society: $20,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetHOMELESS GARDEN PROJECT: $18,540 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $15,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBILL WILSON CENTER: $11,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSilicon Valley Community Foundation: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAdaptive Adventures: $10,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetSECOND HARVEST FOOD BANK SANTA CRUZ COUNTY: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFIRST NATIONS DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNo More Broken Hearts: $5,000 over 1y, 2.9% of budgetCENTER FOR DISASTER PHILANTHROPY INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION SANTA CRUZ COUNTY: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Peninsula College Fund: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetThe Food Bank for Larimer County: $250 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.

Silicon Valley Commun…Monterey Peninsula Fo…Gordon E and Betty I …The San Francisco Fou…National Philanthropi…Morgan Stanley Global…American Endowment Fo…American Online Givin…Vanguard Charitable E…Network for GoodThe Bank of America C…Donor Advised Charita…
Silicon Valley Community FoundationCA15.4× affinity6 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Silicon Valley Community Foundation · Monterey Peninsula Foundation · Gordon E and Betty I Moore Foundation · The San Francisco Foundation · National Philanthropic Trust · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · American Endowment Foundation · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Network for Good · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving 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 Brownstone Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Brownstone Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%19%38%56%75%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • Americares Foundation Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
5report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–75%
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 Brownstone Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Brownstone 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 20 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 Brownstone’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