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· Private foundation

Circle Bar 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.

$1.6M
Granted FY2024still arriving
49
Grants FY2024still arriving
3
States reached
$200k
Largest
01What it funds
0199% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Recreation & Sports$1.4MAnimals$1.4MReligion$1.4MHuman Services$1.3MArts & Culture$815kEducation$796kEnvironment$712kFood & Nutrition$660kOther$0
02FY2024 · 49 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k5 grants · $21k
  • $10k–50k31 grants · $562k
  • $50k–250k13 grants · $1.1M
$20,000
Median grant
3
States reached
$29M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
SAN ANTONIO ZOO$200,000
SUNSHINE COTTAGE SCHOOL FOR DEAF CHILDREN$133,717
TEXAS CAVALIERS CHARITABLE FOUNDATION$106,250
CHRIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH$100,000
REMEMBER THE ALAMO FOUNDATION$100,000
SAN ANTONIO CHRISTIAN SCHOOL$60,000
THE CHARITY BALL ASSOCIATION$53,400
THE CHILDREN'S SHELTER OF SAN ANTONIO$50,000
SAN ANTONIO ACADEMY$50,000
PATHWAYS YOUTH & FAMILY SERVICES$50,000
TOBIN CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS$50,000
AUTISM COMMUNITY NETWORK$50,000
AID THE SILENT$50,000
CANDLELIGHT RANCH FOUNDATION$40,000
ANIMAL DEFENSE LEAGUE OF TEXAS$30,000
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 (FY17–24, $1.2M) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%PATHWAYS YOUTH & FAMILY SERVICES: $50k → 13%PATHWAYS YOUTH & FAMILY SERVICES: $20k → 13%PATHWAYS YOUTH & FAMILY SERVICES: $20k → 13%PATHWAYS YOUTH & FAMILY SERVICES: $20k → 13%DISABILITYSA: $8k → 16%TEXAS BURN SURVIVOR SOCIETY INC: $40k → 16%TEXAS BURN SURVIVOR SOCIETY: $30k → 16%GOOD SAMARITAN COMMUNITY SERVICES: $25k → 16%TEXAS BURN SURVIVOR SOCIETY INC: $30k → 16%GOOD SAMARITAN COMMUNITY SERVICES: $25k → 16%GOOD SAMARITAN COMMUNITY SERVICES: $25k → 16%TEXAS BURN SURVIVOR SOCIETY: $25k → 16%GOOD SAMARITAN COMMUNITY SERVICES: $15k → 16%TEXAS BURN SURVIVOR SOCIETY: $20k → 16%TEXAS BURN SURVIVOR SOCIETY INC: $18k → 16%GOOD SAMARITAN COMMUNITY SERVICES: $10k → 16%GOOD SAMARITAN COMMUNITY SERVICES: $10k → 16%TEXAS BURN SURVIVOR SOCIETY: $6k → 16%GOOD SAMARITAN COMMUNITY SERVICES: $10k → 16%GIRLS INCORPORATED OF SAN ANTONIO: $15k → 16%CHILDREN'S BEREAVEMENT CENTER OF SOUTH TEXAS: $330k → 16%CHILDREN'S BEREAVEMENT CENTER OF SOUTH TEXAS: $100k → 16%RESPITE CARE OF SAN ANTONIO INC: $40k → 16%RESPITE CARE OF SAN ANTONIO: $40k → 16%CHILDREN'S BEREAVEMENT CENTER OF SOUTH TEXAS: $30k → 16%CHILDREN'S BEREAVEMENT CENTER OF SOUTH TEXAS: $30k → 16%RESPITE CARE OF SAN ANTONIO INC: $30k → 16%RESPITE CARE OF SAN ANTONIO: $25k → 16%GUARDIAN HOUSE: $25k → 16%RESPITE CARE OF SAN ANTONIO INC: $25k → 16%RESPITE CARE OF SAN ANTONIO: $20k → 16%GUARDIAN HOUSE: $10k → 16%GUARDIAN HOUSE: $10k → 16%GUARDIAN HOUSE: $10k → 16%RESPITE CARE OF SAN ANTONIO: $10k → 16%CHILDREN'S BEREAVEMENT CENTER OF SOUTH TEXAS: $10k → 16%CHILDREN'S BEREAVEMENT CENTER OF SOUTH TEXAS: $10k → 16%GUARDIAN HOUSE: $10k → 16%WONDERS & WORRIES: $15k → 16%MEALS ON WHEELS: $13k → 16%MEALS ON WHEELS: $13k → 16%WONDERS & WORRIES: $10k → 16%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.

89%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$8.7M · 52 repeat orgs$1.1M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +38% since the first grant, against +9% for those funded once.

52 repeat relationships: 41 still active in FY2024, 11 since wound down; 8 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

52
21

Total granted

$8.7M
$1.0M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+38%
+9%

Still filing today

67%
57%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 95% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $78k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’19’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’19’20’21’22’23’24
Human ServicesHealthEducationAnimalsRecreation & SportsPhilanthropyOther
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

  • SA
    SAN ANTONIO ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY
    7× · 2017–2024 · $1.2M · revenue +84%
  • SC
    SUNSHINE COTTAGE SCHOOL FOR DEAF CHILDREN
    7× · 2017–2024 · $548k · revenue +48%
  • TT
    THE TEXAS CAVALIERS CHARITABLE FOUNDATION
    6× · 2017–2024 · $534k · revenue +66%

Funded once

  • FL
    FAITH LUTHERAN CHURCH
    one grant, 2019 · $300k
  • WM
    WITTE MUSEUM CAPITAL CAMPAIGN
    one grant, 2017 · $200k
  • BP
    Brackenridge Park Conservancy
    one grant, 2022 · $100k · revenue -54%
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
San Antonio Foster Care and Adoption and Services

San antonio foster care and adoption services inc. is a licensed child placement agency in the state of texas. the organization cares for children placed in foster care by the state of texas.

Human Services
2
Discovery School of San Antonio

At Discovery School, our mission is to inspire and nurture the love of learning in young children and their families. The School offers an enhanced early childhood education for children 2 through 7 years to provide them with the skills…

Education
3
Tennis Officials of San Antonio Association
Recreation & Sports
4
San Antonio Tennis Association

Develop and promote the lifetime sport

—
5
Sa Talent Inc Sa Works

The mission of sa talent, inc. is to educate and develop youth and adults into the talent needs of san antonio's current and future employers and provide services for the regional employers for the retention and growth of their local…

Education
6
San Antonio Medical Foundation

The mission of the san antonio medical foundation is to improvehealth care, advance biomedical science, and enhance communitywell-being by providing leadership & active stewardship of our landand other assets.

Health
7
Greater Satx

The mission of greater:satx is to lead the developemnt and diversification of san antonio regional economy through the recruitment and expansion of qualify employers and job producing investments.

—
8
San Antonio Pets Alive Inc

The mission of San Antonio Pets Alive! is to save every adoptable dog and cat in danger of being killed at the City of San Antonio Shelter.

Animals
9
San Antonio Report

Publishing a local online news source. We believe a well informed and connected community is essential to making San Antonio a better place to live, work and play.

Arts & Culture
10
Casa of South Texas Inc

Child Advocacy

Human Services
11
San Antonio Automobile Dealers Association Foundation Inc
—
12
Sa Youth

The mission of sa youth is to develop the character, strengths, talents, and skills of san antonio's high-risk urban youth through fun, safe experiences, positive learning environments, and holistic programs that inspire each individual to…

Youth Development
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Childrens Bereavement Center of South Texas; the most unlike its peers is Meals On Wheels. 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

53 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. 53 of the 81 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.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
14
Early backer (in before they grew)
51/53
Grantees still filing
38/53
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

CHRIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH: $851,777 · OtherCHRIST EPISCOPAL CHURCHSAN ANTONIO BOTANICAL GARDEN: $611,940 · OtherSAN ANTONIO BOTANICAL GARDENTHE TEXAS CAVALIERS CHARITABLE FOUNDATION: $534,173 · OtherTHE TEXAS CAVALIERS CHARITABLE FOUNDATIONSAN ANTONIO FOOD BANK: $392,500 · OtherSAN ANTONIO FOOD BANKFAITH LUTHERAN CHURCH: $300,000 · OtherFAITH LUTHERAN CHURCHTHE CHILDREN'S SHELTER OF SAN ANTONIO: $210,550 · OtherWITTE MUSEUM CAPITAL CAMPAIGN: $200,000 · OtherSNACK PAK 4KIDS: $182,000 · Other+45 more: $1,740,520 · Other+45 moreSAN ANTONIO ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $1,197,500 · AnimalsSAN ANTONIO ZOO…ANIMAL DEFENSE LEAGUE OF TEXAS: $77,750 · AnimalsANIMAL DEFENSE …+2 more: $85,000 · Animals+2 moreCHILDRENS BEREAVEMENT CENTER OF SOUTH TEXAS: $510,000 · Human ServicesCHILDRENS BERE…Respite Care of San Antonio Inc: $189,700 · Human ServicesRespite Care o…TEXAS BURN SURVIVOR SOCIETY INC: $168,550 · Human ServicesTEXAS BURN SUR…GOOD SAMARITAN CENTER OF SAN ANTONIO: $120,000 · Human ServicesGOOD SAMARITAN…PATHWAYS YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES INC: $110,000 · Human ServicesPATHWAYS YOUTH…GUARDIAN HOUSE: $65,000 · Human Services+4 more: $72,500 · Human Services+4 moreSUNSHINE COTTAGE SCHOOL FOR DEAF CHILDREN: $548,267 · EducationSUNSHINE C…BEXAR COUNTY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER FDN TOBIN CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ART: $320,000 · EducationBEXAR COUN…+3 more: $30,000 · EducationTHE CHARITY BALL ASSOCIATION OF SAN ANTONIO INC: $358,400 · PhilanthropyCHARITY BALL LEGACY FOUNDATION INC: $100,000 · PhilanthropyIMPACT SAN ANTONIO FOUNDATION INC: $25,000 · PhilanthropyCANDLELIGHT RANCH FOUNDATION: $220,000 · Recreation & SportsKinetic Kids Inc: $150,000 · Recreation & SportsBrackenridge Park Conservancy: $100,000 · Recreation & Sports+1 more: $10,000 · Recreation & SportsRemember the Alamo Foundation: $208,250 · Arts & CultureBATTLE OF FLOWERS ASSOCIATION: $72,159 · Arts & Culture
Other$5,023,460Animals$1,360,250Human Services$1,235,750Education$898,267Philanthropy$483,400Recreation & Sports$480,000Arts & Culture$280,409

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 budgetSAN ANTONIO ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $1,197,500 over 7y, 0.9% of budgetSUNSHINE COTTAGE SCHOOL FOR DEAF CHILDREN: $548,267 over 7y, 1.1% of budgetTHE TEXAS CAVALIERS CHARITABLE FOUNDATION: $534,173 over 6y, 5.8% of budgetCHILDRENS BEREAVEMENT CENTER OF SOUTH TEXAS: $510,000 over 6y, 5.3% of budgetSAN ANTONIO FOOD BANK: $392,500 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetTHE CHARITY BALL ASSOCIATION OF SAN ANTONIO INC: $358,400 over 7y, 3.6% of budgetBEXAR COUNTY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER FDN TOBIN CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ART: $320,000 over 6y, 0.9% of budgetCANDLELIGHT RANCH FOUNDATION: $220,000 over 7y, 5.1% of budgetRemember the Alamo Foundation: $208,250 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetRespite Care of San Antonio Inc: $189,700 over 7y, 1.4% of budgetTEXAS BURN SURVIVOR SOCIETY INC: $168,550 over 7y, 17% of budgetKinetic Kids Inc: $150,000 over 7y, 2.8% of budgetMISSION ROAD MINISTRIES: $131,700 over 7y, 3.1% of budgetGOOD SAMARITAN CENTER OF SAN ANTONIO: $120,000 over 7y, 0.6% of budgetASSISTANCE LEAGUE OF SAN ANTONIO: $110,000 over 6y, 2.7% of budgetPATHWAYS YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES INC: $110,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetUNICORN CENTERS INC: $105,950 over 4y, 0.7% of budgetCHILDREN'S ASSOC FOR MAXIMUM POTENTIAL (: $105,000 over 5y, 1.3% of budgetBrackenridge Park Conservancy: $100,000 over 1y, 4.4% of budgetCHARITY BALL LEGACY FOUNDATION INC: $100,000 over 1y, 37% of budgetANIMAL DEFENSE LEAGUE OF TEXAS: $77,750 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetBATTLE OF FLOWERS ASSOCIATION: $72,159 over 5y, 2.3% of budgetAUTISM SERVICE CENTER OF SAN ANTONIO DBA AUTISM COMMUNITY NETWORK: $70,000 over 3y, 2.3% of budgetSAN ANTONIO CHRISTIAN SCHOOL: $67,500 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetGUARDIAN HOUSE: $65,000 over 5y, 1.4% of budgetCHILD ADVOCATES SAN ANTONIO: $64,700 over 4y, 0.6% of budgetST VINNYS BISTRO: $60,000 over 4y, 1.2% of budgetAID THE SILENT: $60,000 over 2y, 2.4% of budgetAUDITORY LEARNING FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetROY MAAS' YOUTH ALTERNATIVES INC: $50,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetHUMANE SOCIETY OF SAN ANTONIO (AUDIT): $45,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetTEXAS DIAPER BANK: $40,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetWILDLIFE RESCUE AND REHABILITATION INC: $40,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetSAN ANTONIO SPORTS FOUNDATION: $30,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetBOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF SAN ANTONIO: $30,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetIMPACT SAN ANTONIO FOUNDATION INC: $25,000 over 1y, 3.8% of budgetWonders & Worries Inc: $25,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetMEALS ON WHEELS: $25,000 over 2y, 9.9% of budgetGIRLS INCORPORATED OF SAN ANTONIO: $15,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetSAN ANTONIO ACADEMY OF TEXAS: $15,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetAUGUSTHEART: $10,020 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetSAN ANTONIO LIVESTOCK EXPOSITION INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetALAMO HEIGHTS SCHOOL FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetSAINT MARYS HALL INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTRINITY CHRISTIAN ACADEMY: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBELIEVE IT FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetDISABILITYSA dba FIESTA ESPECIAL DISABILITYSA CREATIVE SERVICES: $7,500 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetOLD JAIL ART CENTER: $7,500 over 1y, 0.5% 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 SAN ANTONIO ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds SUNSHINE COTTAGE SCHOOL FOR DEAF CHILDREN ↗
  • Who funds THE TEXAS CAVALIERS CHARITABLE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds CHILDRENS BEREAVEMENT CENTER OF SOUTH TEXAS ↗
  • Who funds SAN ANTONIO FOOD BANK ↗
  • Who funds THE CHARITY BALL ASSOCIATION OF SAN ANTONIO INC ↗
  • Who funds BEXAR COUNTY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER FDN TOBIN CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ART ↗
  • Who funds CANDLELIGHT RANCH FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Remember the Alamo Foundation ↗
  • Who funds Respite Care of San Antonio Inc ↗
  • Who funds TEXAS BURN SURVIVOR SOCIETY INC ↗
  • Who funds Kinetic Kids Inc ↗
  • Who funds MISSION ROAD MINISTRIES ↗
  • Who funds GOOD SAMARITAN CENTER OF SAN ANTONIO ↗
  • Who funds ASSISTANCE LEAGUE OF SAN ANTONIO ↗
  • Who funds PATHWAYS YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES INC ↗
  • Who funds UNICORN CENTERS INC ↗
  • Who funds CHILDREN'S ASSOC FOR MAXIMUM POTENTIAL ( ↗
  • Who funds Brackenridge Park Conservancy ↗
  • Who funds CHARITY BALL LEGACY FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds ANIMAL DEFENSE LEAGUE OF TEXAS ↗
  • Who funds BATTLE OF FLOWERS ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds AUTISM SERVICE CENTER OF SAN ANTONIO DBA AUTISM COMMUNITY NETWORK ↗
  • Who funds SAN ANTONIO CHRISTIAN SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds GUARDIAN HOUSE ↗
  • Who funds CHILD ADVOCATES SAN ANTONIO ↗
  • Who funds ST VINNYS BISTRO ↗
  • Who funds AID THE SILENT ↗
  • Who funds AUDITORY LEARNING FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds ROY MAAS' YOUTH ALTERNATIVES INC ↗
  • Who funds HUMANE SOCIETY OF SAN ANTONIO (AUDIT) ↗

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.

San Antonio Area FoundationTX76.1× affinity37 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: San Antonio Area Foundation · Betty Stieren Kelso Foundation · Mays Family Foundation · Elizabeth Huth Coates Charitable Foundation of 1992 · Faye L & William L Cowden Charitable Foundation · Harvey E Najim Charitable Foundation · Nancy Smith Hurd Foundation · The Texas Cavaliers Charitable Foundation · Pryor Myra Stafford Char Tr F0030100 · Keith M Orme and Pat Vigeon Orme Charitable Foundation · The Charity Ball Association of San Antonio Inc · John L Santikos Charitable 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 Circle Bar Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Circle Bar Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%5%11%20%funder's share of their income ↑0%5%10%15%20%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    14report 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.

    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 81 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

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