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Texas · Private foundation

Buena Vista Foundation

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.

$1.9M
Granted FY2025(still arriving)
51
Grants FY2025
50
Organizations funded FY2024
18%
First-time grantees FY2024
Read the full brief
Median grant, FY2025
$10,000
Largest grant, FY2025
$368,111
Organizations funded a year
39 to 50
FY2020 to FY2024
States reached, FY2025
2
Total assets, FY2025
$39M
Applications
Preselected organizations only
Per its most recent filing; check its own site

How open it is to new grantees

In FY2024, 18% of the organizations Buena Vista Foundation funded were first-time grantees, receiving 14% of its grant dollars.

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 86% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $229k went to new ones.

50%100%’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’21’22’23’24
EducationEnvironmentRecreation & SportsCrime & LegalHealthArts & 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.
The numbers by year
Fiscal yearOrganizations fundedTo those organizationsFirst-time grantees
FY2025still arriving49$1.9M27%
FY202450$1.7M18%
FY202343$1.1M9%
FY202242$1.2M21%
FY202143$1.5M28%
FY202039$1.0Mn/a
97% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2025.

Education$3.9MHealth$1.1MPhilanthropy$1.0MArts & Culture$657kYouth Development$460kReligion$294kRecreation & Sports$103kCommunity Improvement$100kOther$0

Top grantees

Largest recipients by total granted, FY2020 to FY2025, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.

GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
St Edwards University$815,00050%
United Way for Greater Austin$600,29861%
Todos Juntos Learning Center$423,500612%
Humanities Texas$330,00063%
St Davids Episcopal Church$252,6756n/a
Austin Explore Inc$245,00063%
Creative Action$190,00031%
Texas Book Festival$189,37562%
St David's Foundation Community Fund$158,35062%
Teach for America Inc$125,00020%
Show all 46 grantees
All grantees of Buena Vista Foundation by total granted
GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
St Edwards University$815,00050%
United Way for Greater Austin$600,29861%
Todos Juntos Learning Center$423,500612%
Humanities Texas$330,00063%
St Davids Episcopal Church$252,6756n/a
Austin Explore Inc$245,00063%
Creative Action$190,00031%
Texas Book Festival$189,37562%
St David's Foundation Community Fund$158,35062%
Teach for America Inc$125,00020%
Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas Inc$100,0001n/a
Waterloo Greenway Conservancy$100,00010%
Mainspring Schools Inc$95,00061%
Texas State History Museum Foundation$87,06261%
Texas Tribune Inc$84,60060%
Power for Parkinsons$80,00023%
Austin Ymbl Sunshine Camp$72,90022%
The Contemporary Austin Museum Inc$57,50031%
I Live Here I Give Here$50,00013%
Pease Park Conservancy$45,00061%
Central Texas Food Bank Inc$40,00040%
The 19th News$32,00060%
Barton Springs Conservancy$25,00019%
Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers' Foundation$25,00013%
Amala Foundation$24,00014%
Friends of the Children - Austin$19,04130%
Texans Care For Children Inc$18,18340%
Heartgift Foundation$18,00050%
Open Door Preschool$15,4351n/a
Vanderbilt University$15,00030%
Austin Child Guidance Center$14,50050%
Shoal Creek Conservancy$13,00050%
The Trail Conservancy$13,00040%
Vincare Services of Austin Foundation$12,00020%
Center for Child Protection$10,50050%
Trinity Center at St Davids Episcopal Church$10,0002n/a
Rodeo Austin$6,79920%
Parkinson Voice Project Inc$5,20010%
Exchange for Change Inc$5,00021%
Colfax County Fair Association$4,50030%
St John's School$3,00060%
Friends of the Colorado River Foundation$3,00030%
Florida Cattlemen's Foundation Inc$2,00011%
Inprint Inc$1,97910%
Honor Flight Austin$1,00011%
Llano Crawfish Open Inc$1,00013%

What it could do for these grantees

Plus 40 recipients with no EIN on record ($4.0M), not named here.

Where it is load-bearing

Each grantee by its size and the share of its budget Buena Vista Foundation supplied at peak.

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetSt Edwards University: $815,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetUnited Way for Greater Austin: $600,298 over 6y, 0.7% of budgetTodos Juntos Learning Center: $423,500 over 6y, 12% of budgetHumanities Texas: $330,000 over 6y, 2.5% of budgetAustin Explore Inc: $245,000 over 6y, 3.2% of budgetCreative Action: $190,000 over 3y, 1.4% of budgetTexas Book Festival: $189,375 over 6y, 2.0% of budgetSt David's Foundation Community Fund: $158,350 over 6y, 1.9% of budgetTeach for America Inc: $125,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWaterloo Greenway Conservancy: $100,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetMainspring Schools Inc: $95,000 over 6y, 1.0% of budgetTexas State History Museum Foundation: $87,062 over 6y, 1.4% of budgetTexas Tribune Inc: $84,600 over 6y, 0.4% of budgetPower for Parkinsons: $80,000 over 2y, 2.8% of budgetAustin Ymbl Sunshine Camp: $72,900 over 2y, 2.5% of budgetThe Contemporary Austin Museum Inc: $57,500 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetI Live Here I Give Here: $50,000 over 1y, 3.3% of budgetPease Park Conservancy: $45,000 over 6y, 0.8% of budgetCentral Texas Food Bank Inc: $40,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetThe 19th News: $32,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetBarton Springs Conservancy: $25,000 over 1y, 9.4% of budgetTexas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers' Foundation: $25,000 over 1y, 2.7% of budgetAmala Foundation: $24,000 over 1y, 3.9% of budgetFriends of the Children - Austin: $19,041 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetTexans Care For Children Inc: $18,183 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetHeartgift Foundation: $18,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetVanderbilt University: $15,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetAustin Child Guidance Center: $14,500 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetShoal Creek Conservancy: $13,000 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetThe Trail Conservancy: $13,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetVincare Services of Austin Foundation: $12,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetCenter for Child Protection: $10,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetRodeo Austin: $6,799 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetParkinson Voice Project Inc: $5,200 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetExchange for Change Inc: $5,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetColfax County Fair Association: $4,500 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetSt John's School: $3,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetFriends of the Colorado River Foundation: $3,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetFlorida Cattlemen's Foundation Inc: $2,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetInprint Inc: $1,979 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetHonor Flight Austin: $1,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetLlano Crawfish Open Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 2.8% of budget

Tap a dot to name the grantee.

How this is measured
Share of budget is the funder’s grant in a year over the grantee’s total revenue that year, at its highest across the years we hold; revenue is from all sources. Only grantees confirmed against their own filings, whose grants do not exceed their revenue, are plotted: the largest 42.

Nonprofits that may fit its grantmaking

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.

Austin Community Foundation IncTX53.8× affinity26 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Austin Community Foundation Inc · St David's Foundation · Better Business Bureau · Shield-Ayres Foundation · The Moody Foundation · The Powell Foundation · Topfer Family Foundation · Alice Kleberg Reynolds Meyer Foundat A0479800 · Still Water Foundation · The Applied Materials Foundation · Impact Austin Foundation · The Webber 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.

Compare Buena Vista Foundation with peer funders

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Buena Vista Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Buena Vista 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.

About Buena Vista Foundation

How much does Buena Vista Foundation give?
Buena Vista Foundation reported 51 grants totaling $1,942,603 in its FY2025 IRS filing. It funded between 39 and 50 organizations a year over FY2020 to FY2024.
What does Buena Vista Foundation fund?
By grant dollars over FY2020 to FY2025, its largest causes are Education (46%), Health (13%), Philanthropy (12%).
Who are Buena Vista Foundation's largest grantees?
By total granted over FY2020 to FY2025: St Edwards University ($815k), United Way for Greater Austin ($600k), Todos Juntos Learning Center ($424k).
Does Buena Vista Foundation fund new organizations?
In FY2024, 18% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
Does Buena Vista Foundation accept unsolicited applications?
Its most recent filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and does not take unsolicited requests. Check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.
Which funders back the same organizations as Buena Vista Foundation?
Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include Austin Community Foundation Inc, St David's Foundation, Better Business Bureau.
Where is Buena Vista Foundation based?
Buena Vista Foundation is based in TX.

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 89 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

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