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Cullen Foundation of Western New York Inc at a glance

· 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 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, FY2023 to 2024.

Education$6.1MArts & Culture$2.2MHuman Services$599kHealth$327kYouth Development$297kPhilanthropy$187kRecreation & Sports$139kEnvironment$110kOther$0
02FY2024 · 121 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

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
BUFFALO PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA$100,000
CITY YEAR INC$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

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 (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 its 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
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

IL
NY
MA
OH
NJ
CT
CA
MD
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.
04

Where the work is directed

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

About 13% of Cullen Foundation of Western New York Inc’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address. By recipient address, 82% of the giving stays in NY; by stated purpose, 89%.

Cullen Foundation of Western New York Inclessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address
How this is measured
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 funder’s own 990 grant descriptions.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

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

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +14% since the first grant, against +3% for those 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%
+3%

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
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

  • 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
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
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
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Buffalo String Works Inc; 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.
05the grantee network

90 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. 90 of the 112 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)
6
Early backer (in before they grew)
89/90
Grantees still filing
60/90
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and 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 & CultureBUFFALO SOCIETY OF NATURAL SCIENCES: $50,000 · Arts & CultureROAD LESS TRAVELED PRODUCTIONS LTD: $50,000 · Arts & CultureKaren Society of Buffalo Inc: $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 VALLEY COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION INC: $60,000 · Human ServicesThe Rural Outreach Center 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 grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's 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 budgetSPRINGVILLE CENTER FOR THE ARTS INC: $100,000 over 2y, 4.3% of budgetKING URBAN LIFE CENTER INC: $100,000 over 2y, 6.8% of budgetARTPARK & COMPANY INC: $90,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetBUFFALO ARTS AND TECHNOLOGY CENTER INC: $85,382 over 2y, 7.3% of budgetIRISH CLASSICAL THEATER CO: $80,000 over 2y, 5.6% of budgetLEARNING DISABILITIES ASSOCIATION OF WESTERN NEW YORK INC: $80,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetPEACE OF THE CITY MINISTRIES INC: $80,000 over 2y, 7.4% of budgetBUFFALO HEARING & SPEECH CENTER INC: $80,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetENTERPRISE CHARTER SCHOOL: $76,002 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetCHARTER SCHOOL FOR APPLIED TECHNOLOGIES: $75,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetD'YOUVILLE UNIVERSITY: $75,000 over 2y, 0.0% 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 VALLEY COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION INC: $60,000 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetThe Rural Outreach Center Inc: $60,000 over 2y, 1.8% of budgetROSWELL PARK ALLIANCE FOUNDATION: $54,200 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetRELAY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION: $51,976 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTorn Space Theater Inc: $50,000 over 1y, 5.2% of budgetBUFFALO SOCIETY OF NATURAL SCIENCES: $50,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetROAD LESS TRAVELED PRODUCTIONS LTD: $50,000 over 1y, 8.5% of budgetWEST SIDE COMMUNITY SERVICES INC: $50,000 over 2y, 3.0% of budgetKaren Society of Buffalo Inc: $50,000 over 2y, 5.2% of budget716 Squash Inc: $50,000 over 2y, 6.2% 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
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.

Cullen FoundationCommunity Foundation …The John R Oishei Fou…First Niagara Foundat…United Way of Buffalo…The Western New York …The Margaret L Wendt …Children's Foundation…James H Cummings Foun…The Peter and Elizabe…Rich Family FoundationThe Baird Foundation
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

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 Cullen Foundation of Western New York Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Cullen Foundation of Western New York Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%3%13%28%50%funder's share of their income ↑0%15%30%45%60%share of the org’s income from government →median 11%
  • City Year Inc: 11% of income from government
  • Achieving the Dream Inc: 0% 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, 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 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 from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 112 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 Cullen Foundation of Western New York’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