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· Private foundation

Cullen Foundation of Western New York Inc

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$5.2M
Granted FY2024still arriving
121
Grants FY2024still arriving
8
States reached
$400k
Largest
01What you fund
0166% classified

What you funded, over time

Every grant clustered by its grantee’s IRS cause code (NTEE), by year — across FY20232024.

Education$3.7MArts & Culture$1.3MPhilanthropy$465kHuman Services$429kYouth Development$225kCommunity Improvement$216kRecreation & Sports$128kHealth$126kPublic Benefit$50kOther$3.6M
02FY2024 · 121 grants

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k14 grants · $88k
  • $10k–50k76 grants · $1.9M
  • $50k–250k29 grants · $2.5M
  • $250k+2 grants · $725k
$28,700
Median grant
8
States reached
$137M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
TNTP$400,000
SAY YES BUFFALO SCHOLARSHIP INC$325,000
EDUCATION COLLABORATIVE OF WNY$213,050
BRICK EDUCATION NETWORK$200,000
CHAPIN HALL CENTER FOR CHILDREN$149,533
BUFFALO COMMONS CHARTER SCHOOL$115,884
BRICK EDUCATION NETWORK$111,790
PERSISTENCE PREPARATORY ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL$101,900
PERSISTENCE PREPARATORY ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL$100,000
CITY YEAR INC$100,000
BUFFALO PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA$100,000
BUFFALO ACADEMY OF SCIENCE$90,000
ACHIEVING THE DREAM INC$83,850
THE BISON CHILDREN'S SCHOLARSHIP FUND INC$83,210
TNTP$82,500
02The need
03

Do your dollars go where the need is?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, then read against the area’s typical level.

show:

Your human-services grants (FY23–24, $280k) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of your grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%NEW YORK COUNCIL OF NONPROFITS INC: $22k → 14%NEW YORK COUNCIL OF NONPROFITS INC: $19k → 14%NEW YORK COUNCIL OF NONPROFITS INC: $1k → 14%CHILDCARE NETWORK OF THE NIAGARA FRONTIER INC: $20k → 13%CHILDCARE NETWORK OF THE NIAGARA FRONTIER INC: $4k → 13%YMCA BUFFALO NIAGARA: $16k → 13%YMCA BUFFALO NIAGARA: $3k → 13%JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER OF GREATER BUFFALO: $10k → 13%JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER OF GREATER BUFFALO: $10k → 13%THE TEACHER'S DESK: $15k → 13%THE TEACHER'S DESK: $15k → 13%VALLEY COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION INC: $30k → 13%VALLEY COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION INC: $30k → 13%YWCA OF WNY INC: $15k → 13%RURAL OUTREACH CENTER: $30k → 13%RURAL OUTREACH CENTER: $30k → 13%PROJECT MONA'S HOUSE: $10k → 13%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount

Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty linein the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP; grantee ZIP can differ from where services are delivered.

Which US states your grants reach

IL
NY
MA
OH
NJ
CT
CA
MD

US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are actually delivered. Need from public data — U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA — shown as context about the area, never attributed to your giving.

04

Where the work is directed

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

About 13% of Cullen Foundation of Western New York Inc’s grant dollars are earmarked, by their stated purpose, for a different county than the recipient’s own address — money that lands at a nonprofit in one place but is meant to do its work in another. Read by recipient address, 82% of the giving stays in NY; read by stated purpose it is 89% — more of the work is directed home than the recipients' locations suggest.

Cullen Foundation of Western New York Inclessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address

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 foundation’s own 990 grant descriptions.

03Your edge
repeat funding

Who you back again

Which organizations you funded more than once, and which you funded a single time. Each grantee is matched to its own filings.

78%of every dollar goes to organizations you’ve funded before.
$7.9M · 63 repeat orgs$2.2M to everyone else

And the relationships you keep tend to grow: grantees you re-up on have seen median revenue of +14% since the first grant, against 0% for the ones you funded once.

63 repeat relationships — 63 still active in FY2024, 0 since wound down; 27 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

63
21

Total granted

$7.9M
$1.2M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+14%
0%

Still filing today

87%
71%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 80% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $1.0M went to new ones.

50%100%’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’23’24
Arts & CultureEducationHuman ServicesPhilanthropyYouth DevelopmentCommunity ImprovementOther

First-time = a grantee’s first year in your filing window; renewed = funded in an earlier year too. As a portfolio matures the renewed share naturally climbs — once funded, an org stays “renewable” — so the signal is the years that buck it (a new-grantee intake wave). 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

  • SAY YES BUFFALO SCHOLARSHIP INC
    2× · 2023–2024 · $625k · revenue +33%
  • PP
    PERSISTENCE PREPARATORY ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL
    2× · 2023–2024 · $579k · revenue +36%
  • CITY YEAR INC
    2× · 2023–2024 · $445k · revenue +3%

Funded once

  • KM
    KLEINHANS MUSIC HALL MANAGEMENT INC
    one grant, 2023 · $400k · revenue -21%
  • CH
    CHAPIN HALL AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
    one grant, 2023 · $166k
  • SP
    SHEA'S PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
    one grant, 2023 · $100k

Repeat = funded in two or more distinct years; growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Your field

The map has a center of gravity: the average direction from the rest of the sector toward the organizations the foundation funds — the shape of its giving. Scoring every nonprofit along that direction surfaces the ones that look most like the portfolio. These are the closest matchesthat aren’t grantees — a resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Buffalo Academy of Science Charter School

Buffalo academy of science is a tuition-free, college-preparatory charter school teaching students in a diverse community to be successful in a globally-oriented environment, using innovative and dynamic teaching methods with a small…

Education
2
State University College At Buffalo Child Day Care Development Facility Inc

To provide quality, affordable child care for the families of students, faculty and staff of the college, as well as families of other new york state employees and community members.

3
Buffalo Collegiate Charter School

With unrelenting determination and a commitment to excellence, buffalo collegiate charter school educated students in grades 4 through 12 to graduate from the college of their choice and serve as our next generation of leaders. the…

4
Buffalo Theatre Ensemble Corp
Arts & Culture
5
New York City Center Inc

The mission of new york city center is to be new york city's leading center for dance and musical theater. dedicated to making the arts accessible to the broadest possible audience, city center seeks to create a welcoming environment and…

Arts & Culture
6
Buffalo Institute for Contemporary Art

The Buffalo Institiute for Contemporary Art (Bica) is a art and educational project for Buffalo, NY. Through Innovative exhibitions, cross-discipplinary skills-based programming, and arts ecology development, bica mission is to break down…

Arts & Culture
7
Charter School of Inquiry

Charter school of inquiry (csi) will achieve breakthrough outcomes for city of buffalo children in kindergarten through grade 6 by creating an inquiry-based learning environment with an intense focus on learning to read and write well in…

Education
8
Binghamton Philharmonic Inc

The mission of the Binghamton Philharmonic is building community through the power of live music.

Arts & Culture
9
Bct Brooklyn Children's Theatre Inc

Brooklyn children's theatre empowers youth through musical theatre, reimagining arts education by centering the whole child and prioritizing belonging and equity.

Arts & Culture
10
Su Theatre Corporation D/B/a Syracuse Stage

Syracuse stage tells stories that engage, entertain, and inspire us to see life beyond our own experiences.

Arts & Culture
11
Cny Arts Inc

CNY Arts' mission is to promote, support, and celebrate arts and culture in Central New York.

Arts & Culture
12
University At Buffalo Student Association Inc

The organization's exempt purpose is to promote and cultivate the quality of education and activities for students of the state university of new york at buffalo. the organization carries out those charitable and educational purposes by…

Education

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Buffalo String Works Inc and the most unlike its peers is Vocalis Chamber Choir. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.

Your grantees are a median of 31 years old; the field is 20. You back the established end — and your money leans older still.

THE FIELDby orgYOUR GRANTEESby number18%3%<5yr13%9%5–10yr17%20%10–20yr20%28%20–35yr13%16%35–55yr20%24%55yr+
THE FIELDby orgYOUR MONEYby value18%1%<5yr13%11%5–10yr17%18%10–20yr20%36%20–35yr13%14%35–55yr20%21%55yr+

The field is 18% startups (under 5 years old) — 3% of your grantees by number, and just 1% of your money.

Closures · last 5 years

The orgs you fund almost never close 0.0% lost their exemption, against 9% of the field you don’t fund.

orgs you fund
0.0%0/91
the rest of the field
9%
455/5,151

Age = years since IRS exemption (a founding proxy). “Closed” = auto-revocation for 3 years of non-filing — a floor on closure, not proof, and bigger established orgs lapse least. Association, not causation.

05the grantee network

90 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each one resolved to its own IRS returns and tracked year by year — your grant beside their revenue from every source. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

Counted here: distinct organizations you funded across 20172025, not grant rows in a single year — so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 90 of the 112 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile; the rest are funded organizations whose filings we could not track year by year.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
6
Early backer (in before they grew)
89/90
Grantees still filing
59/90
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

TNTP INC — $1,131,500 · EducationTNTP INCSAY YES BUFFALO SCHOLARSHIP INC — $625,000 · EducationSAY YES BUFFALO SCHOLARSHIP INCEDUCATION COLLABORATIVE OF WNY INC — $443,475 · EducationEDUCATION COLLABORATIVE OF WNY INCCANISIUS UNIVERSITY — $216,619 · EducationCANISIUS UNIVERSITYREAD TO SUCCEED BUFFALO INC — $189,956 · EducationACHIEVING THE DREAM INC — $167,700 · EducationBUFFALO STATE COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC — $133,727 · Education+14 more — $768,400 · Education+14 morePERSISTENCE PREPARATORY ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL — $579,040 · OtherPERSISTENCE PREPARATORY ACADEMY CHARTER SCH…BRICK EDUCATION NETWORK — $511,790 · OtherBRICK EDUCATION NETWORKCITY YEAR INC — $445,432 · OtherCITY YEAR INCBUFFALO PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA — $200,000 · OtherBUFFALO PREP INC — $191,000 · OtherCHAPIN HALL AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO — $166,174 · Other+38 more — $1,807,458 · Other+38 moreKLEINHANS MUSIC HALL MANAGEMENT INC — $400,000 · Arts & CultureKLEINHANS MUSI…BURCHFIELD PENNEY ART CENTER — $110,000 · Arts & CultureBURCHFIELD PEN…SHAKESPEARE IN DELAWARE PARK INC — $110,000 · Arts & CultureSHAKESPEARE IN…SPRINGVILLE CENTER FOR THE ARTS INC — $100,000 · Arts & CultureSPRINGVILLE CE…IRISH CLASSICAL THEATER CO — $80,000 · Arts & CultureIRISH CLASSICA…Torn Space Theater Inc — $50,000 · Arts & CultureROAD LESS TRAVELED PRODUCTIONS LTD — $50,000 · Arts & CultureKaren Society of Buffalo Inc — $50,000 · Arts & CultureBUFFALO SOCIETY OF NATURAL SCIENCES — $50,000 · Arts & CultureUJIMA COMPANY INCORPORATED — $48,139 · Arts & Culture+14 more — $262,500 · Arts & Culture+14 moreTHE BISON CHILDREN'S SCHOLARSHIP FUND INC — $152,810 · PhilanthropyTHE SERVICE COLLABORATIVE OF WNY — $143,000 · PhilanthropySHAW FESTIVAL FOUNDATION — $75,000 · PhilanthropyROSWELL PARK ALLIANCE FOUNDATION — $54,200 · PhilanthropyUNITED WAY OF BUFFALO AND ERIE COUNTY — $39,500 · PhilanthropyCHAPIN HALL CENTER FOR CHILDREN — $149,533 · Human ServicesThe Rural Outreach Center Inc — $60,000 · Human ServicesTHE VALLEY COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION INC — $60,000 · Human ServicesNEW YORK COUNCIL OF NONPROFITS INC — $42,083 · Human ServicesTHE TEACHERS DESK INC — $30,000 · Human ServicesCHILDCARE NETWORK OF THE NIAGARA FRONTIE — $24,000 · Human ServicesJEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER OF GREATER BUFFALO INC — $20,000 · Human ServicesYOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION BUFFALO NIAGARA — $18,550 · Human ServicesTHE YWCA OF WESTERN NEW YORK INC — $15,000 · Human Services+1 more — $10,000 · Human ServicesPEACE OF THE CITY MINISTRIES INC — $80,000 · Youth DevelopmentBE-A-FRIEND PROGRAM INC — $45,000 · Youth DevelopmentThe Boys & Girls Club Of The Northtowns Inc — $40,000 · Youth DevelopmentPOLICE ATHLETIC LEAGUE OF BUFFALO — $35,000 · Youth DevelopmentTHE COLLABORATIVE CENTER FOR SOCIAL INNOVATION INC — $25,000 · Youth DevelopmentKING URBAN LIFE CENTER INC — $100,000 · Community ImprovementUniversity District Community Developmen — $66,000 · Community ImprovementWEST SIDE COMMUNITY SERVICES INC — $50,000 · Community Improvement
Education$3,676,377Other$3,900,894Arts & Culture$1,310,639Philanthropy$464,510Human Services$429,166Youth Development$225,000Community Improvement$216,000

Each org by its size and your share of it — top-left is where you’re load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ your share of their budgetTNTP INC — $1,131,500 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetSAY YES BUFFALO SCHOLARSHIP INC — $625,000 over 2y, 2.2% of budgetPERSISTENCE PREPARATORY ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL — $579,040 over 2y, 5.1% of budgetCITY YEAR INC — $445,432 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetEDUCATION COLLABORATIVE OF WNY INC — $443,475 over 2y, 13% of budgetKLEINHANS MUSIC HALL MANAGEMENT INC — $400,000 over 1y, 6.2% of budgetCANISIUS UNIVERSITY — $216,619 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetBUFFALO PREP INC — $191,000 over 2y, 4.6% of budgetREAD TO SUCCEED BUFFALO INC — $189,956 over 2y, 11% of budgetACHIEVING THE DREAM INC — $167,700 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetTHE BISON CHILDREN'S SCHOLARSHIP FUND INC — $152,810 over 2y, 1.6% of budgetCHAPIN HALL CENTER FOR CHILDREN — $149,533 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetTHE SERVICE COLLABORATIVE OF WNY — $143,000 over 2y, 1.7% of budgetBUFFALO STATE COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC — $133,727 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA — $119,828 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBUFFALO COMMONS CHARTER SCHOOL — $115,884 over 1y, 7.5% of budgetBURCHFIELD PENNEY ART CENTER — $110,000 over 2y, 2.8% of budgetSHAKESPEARE IN DELAWARE PARK INC — $110,000 over 2y, 7.2% of budgetKING URBAN LIFE CENTER INC — $100,000 over 2y, 6.8% of budgetSPRINGVILLE CENTER FOR THE ARTS INC — $100,000 over 2y, 4.3% of budgetARTPARK & COMPANY INC — $90,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetBUFFALO ARTS AND TECHNOLOGY CENTER INC — $85,382 over 2y, 7.3% of budgetLEARNING DISABILITIES ASSOCIATION OF WESTERN NEW YORK INC — $80,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetBUFFALO HEARING & SPEECH CENTER INC — $80,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetPEACE OF THE CITY MINISTRIES INC — $80,000 over 2y, 7.4% of budgetIRISH CLASSICAL THEATER CO — $80,000 over 2y, 5.6% of budgetENTERPRISE CHARTER SCHOOL — $76,002 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetD'YOUVILLE UNIVERSITY — $75,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCHARTER SCHOOL FOR APPLIED TECHNOLOGIES — $75,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetSHAW FESTIVAL FOUNDATION — $75,000 over 1y, 2.0% of budgetALLEYWAY THEATRE INC — $70,000 over 2y, 8.0% of budgetCITY SWIM PROJECT INC — $68,800 over 2y, 21% of budgetUniversity District Community Developmen — $66,000 over 2y, 3.9% of budgetREACH ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL — $64,249 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetBESTSELF BEHAVIORAL HEALTH INC — $63,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetThe Rural Outreach Center Inc — $60,000 over 2y, 1.8% of budgetTHE VALLEY COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION INC — $60,000 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetROSWELL PARK ALLIANCE FOUNDATION — $54,200 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetRELAY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION — $51,976 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetWEST SIDE COMMUNITY SERVICES INC — $50,000 over 2y, 3.0% of budgetTorn Space Theater Inc — $50,000 over 1y, 5.2% of budget716 Squash Inc — $50,000 over 2y, 6.2% of budgetROAD LESS TRAVELED PRODUCTIONS LTD — $50,000 over 1y, 8.5% of budgetKaren Society of Buffalo Inc — $50,000 over 2y, 5.2% of budgetBUFFALO SOCIETY OF NATURAL SCIENCES — $50,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetNIAGARA UNIVERSITY — $48,609 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetUJIMA COMPANY INCORPORATED — $48,139 over 2y, 4.1% of budgetSOUTH BUFFALO CHARTER SCHOOL — $45,504 over 1y, 0.3% of budget
Go grantee by grantee — a decade per org, and how each moved after you funded them

A decade per grantee — revenue shaded, your grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

The grantmakers whose grantees overlap with yours far more than size alone predicts. Each orbits closer the stronger the alignment; the arcs between them show where they also fund each other. Here it reads as a tightly interlocked camp — most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Cullen FoundationNY149.4× affinity70 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Cullen Foundation · Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo Inc · The John R Oishei Foundation · First Niagara Foundation · United Way of Buffalo and Erie County · The Western New York Foundation · The Margaret L Wendt Foundation · Children's Foundation of Erie County Inc · James H Cummings Foundation Inc · The Peter and Elizabeth C Tower Foundation · Rich Family Foundation · The Baird Foundation

Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. A research starting point: overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

Government reliance of your grantees

Every dot is one organization Cullen Foundation of Western New York Inc funds. Left–right is the share of its income from government; up–down is the share from you. Bigger dots raise more. Filter to federal or a single department — and drag the year to watch it move.

2024
202122232425
no gov · 00%3%13%28%50%your share of their income ↑0%15%30%45%60%share of the org’s income from governmentmedian 11%
  • City Year Inc11% of income from government
  • Achieving the Dream Inc0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
44report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–60%
typical government reliance, FY2025

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 your grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first — a floor, not 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 12–24 months.

05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Cullen Foundation of Western New York Inc?

Find your warmest path to Cullen Foundation of Western New York Inc 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 directly from IRS e-file XML — your own 990/990-PF and the multi-year returns of the 112 grantees we resolved across every year we hold, several hundred filings in all (a different count from the grant rows on the cover, which are one fiscal year)— each linked to its source. Grantee achievements and outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III); we read these as association with sustained funding — the foundation is one of several forces — suppress low-confidence name matches rather than guess, and say so where a figure rests on a single grant or filing. Not everything on this page is a filed figure, and the difference matters. Filed is what you reported on your 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. How we build these →

Generated from your IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

More from the funding graph