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David Berger Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

David Berger 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.

$60k
Granted FY2021
2
Grants FY2021
2
States reached
$50k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0197% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2021.

Social Science$2.3MArts & Culture$453kEducation$300kPublic Benefit$292kHealth$105kPhilanthropy$50kRecreation & Sports$25kInternational$10kOther$0
02FY2021 · 2 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2021

  • $10k–50k1 grant · $10k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $50k
$50,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$4k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION$50,000
Individual grant recipient$10,000
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–21) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 97% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%MAUCH CHUNK HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $3k → 10%USA 250 INCORPORATED: $25k → 22%SOCIAL GOOD FUND INC: $50k → 9%PLOUGHSHARES FUND INC: $10k → 10%USAT FOUNDATION INC: $25k → 9%ANNE FRANK CENTER USA INC: $25k → 17%OPEN MARKETS INSTITUTE: $100k → 14%CHARTER SYSTEM: $10k → 6%VERIFIED VOTING FOUNDATION: $20k → 22%PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC: $5k → 17%JEWISH ELECTORATE INSTITUTE: $62k → 14%UNIVERSITY OF PA - ABRAMSON CANCER CENTER: $100k → 22%AMERICAN FRIENDS OF FORUM 2000 INC: $10k → 17%JEWISH ELECTORATE INSTITUTE: $10k → 14%PA ALLIANCE FOUNDATION: $50k → 22%INSTITUTE FOR NEW ECONOMIC THINKING: $25k → 17%MEDIA MATTERS FOR AMERICA: $150k → 14%THE WILMA THEATER: $30k → 22%MEDIA MATTERS FOR AMERICA: $50k → 14%THE WILMA THEATER: $30k → 22%THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: $950k → 14%THE WILMA THEATER: $30k → 22%THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: $485k → 14%NATIONAL CONSTITUTION CENTER: $200k → 22%THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: $410k → 14%NATIONAL CONSTITUTION CENTER: $100k → 22%THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: $335k → 14%PATRIOTIC MILLIONAIRES RESEARCH CENTER: $25k → 14%THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: $50k → 14%PATRIOTIC MILLIONAIRES RESEARCH CENTER: $25k → 14%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.

85%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$2.9M · 6 repeat orgs$508k to everyone else

6 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2021, 5 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2021 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

6
13

Total granted

$2.9M
$498k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+2%
+31%

Still filing today

83%
85%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2021, 83% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $10k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21
Arts & CultureSocial ScienceEducationCivil RightsPublic BenefitInternationalOther
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

  • TB
    THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION
    5× · 2017–2021 · $2.2M · revenue +2%
  • NC
    NATIONAL CONSTITUTION CENTER
    2× · 2017–2019 · $300k · revenue +173%
  • MM
    MEDIA MATTERS FOR AMERICA
    2× · 2017–2018 · $200k · revenue +90%

Funded once

  • SL
    STATE LEADERSHIP PROJECTgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $100k · revenue +86%
  • UO
    UNIVERSITY OF PA - ABRAMSON CANCER CENTER
    one grant, 2017 · $100k
  • OM
    OPEN MARKETS INSTITUTEgraduated
    one grant, 2018 · $100k · revenue +78%
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
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research

The american enterprise institute is a community of scholars and supporters committed to expanding liberty, increasing individual opportunity, and strengthening free enterprise. aei pursues these ideals through independent thinking and the…

Social Science
2
America's Newspapers

Providing research, education and practical information all aimed at optimizing newspapers' business operations, deepening their community engagement and enhancing the quality of their journalism.

Employment
3
Foreign Policy Research Institute

The foreign policy research institute (frpi) is dedicated to producing the highest quality scholarship and nonpartisan policy analysis focused on crucial foreign policy and national security challenges facing the united states. we educate…

International
4
Pro Publica Inc

Pro publica is an independent, non-profit, pulitzer prize-winning newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest. our work focuses exclusively on truly important stories. [see continuation on schedule o] we produce…

Arts & Culture
5
The International Institute for Strategic Studies - Us

To provide accurate, objective information and analysis on international strategic issues for legislators, diplomats, foreign affairs analysts, international business leaders, economists, the military, defense commentators, journalists,…

International
6
Npr Foundation

The npr foundation ("foundation") is organized and operated exclusively for the benefit of its sole supported organization, national public radio, inc. ("npr inc."). the foundation supports npr inc. through various activities such as…

—
7
Environmental Investigation Agency

To establish and promote programs to protect the global climate, forests, wildlife and the natural environment, through research, advocacy, and investigation.

International
8
Manhattan Institute for Policy Research Inc

The manhattan institute is a community of scholars, journalists, activists, and civic leaders dedicated to advancing opportunity, individual liberty, and the rule of law in america and its great cities.

Public Benefit
9
Peter G Peterson Institute for International Economics

The peterson institute for international economics (piie) is an independent nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization dedicated to strengthening prosperity and human welfare in the global economy through expert analysis and practical…

Social Science
10
United States Naval Institute

Provide an independent forum for those who dare to read, think, speak, and write to advance the professional, literary, and scientific understanding of sea power and other issues critical to global security.

—
11
Partnership for Public Service Inc

Making our government work better is a daunting task, and we are a small organization seeking to transform a government that employs millions of civilians and manages trillions of dollars in taxpayer revenue needed to protect public…

Employment
12
News Media Alliance

The news media alliance (nma) is a nonprofit organization representing nearly 2,000 news media organizations and their multi-media platform businesses in the us, canada and europe.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Institute for New Economic Thinking Inc; the most unlike its peers is Mauch Chunk Historical Society. 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

17 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. 17 of the 21 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)
3
Early backer (in before they grew)
17/17
Grantees still filing
11/17
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: $2,230,000 · Social ScienceTHE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION+1 more: $25,000 · Social ScienceNATIONAL CONSTITUTION CENTER: $300,000 · Arts & CultureNATIONAL CONST…THE WILMA THEATER: $90,000 · Arts & CultureTHE WILMA THEA…ANNE FRANK CENTER USA INC: $25,000 · Arts & CultureANNE FRANK CEN…USA 250 Incorporated: $25,000 · Arts & CultureUSA 250 Incorp…MEDIA MATTERS FOR AMERICA: $200,000 · EducationMEDIA MATTE…OPEN MARKETS INSTITUTE: $100,000 · EducationOPEN MARKET…SOCIAL GOOD FUND INC: $50,000 · EducationSOCIAL GOOD…UNIVERSITY OF PA - ABRAMSON CANCER CENTER: $100,000 · OtherPATRIOTIC MILLIONAIRES RESEARCH CENTER: $50,000 · OtherVerified Voting Foundation: $20,000 · OtherAMERICAN FRIENDS OF FORUM 2000 INC: $10,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $10,000 · OtherPLOUGHSHARES FUND INC: $10,000 · Other+2 more: $7,500 · OtherJEWISH ELECTORATE INSTITUTE: $72,000 · Civil RightsPA Alliance Foundation: $50,000 · Civil RightsSTATE LEADERSHIP PROJECT: $100,000 · Public BenefitUSTA FOUNDATION INCORPORATED: $25,000 · Recreation & Sports
Social Science$2,255,000Arts & Culture$440,000Education$350,000Other$207,500Civil Rights$122,000Public Benefit$100,000Recreation & Sports$25,000

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 budgetTHE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: $2,230,000 over 5y, 1.0% of budgetNATIONAL CONSTITUTION CENTER: $300,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetMEDIA MATTERS FOR AMERICA: $200,000 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetSTATE LEADERSHIP PROJECT: $100,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetOPEN MARKETS INSTITUTE: $100,000 over 1y, 6.2% of budgetTHE WILMA THEATER: $90,000 over 3y, 1.1% of budgetJEWISH ELECTORATE INSTITUTE: $72,000 over 2y, 26% of budgetSOCIAL GOOD FUND INC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetPA Alliance Foundation: $50,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetANNE FRANK CENTER USA INC: $25,000 over 1y, 3.4% of budgetUSA 250 Incorporated: $25,000 over 1y, 18% of budgetUSTA FOUNDATION INCORPORATED: $25,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetVerified Voting Foundation: $20,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMAUCH CHUNK HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $2,500 over 1y, 3.6% 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.

Amalgamated Charitabl…Tides FoundationJewish Communal FundVanguard Charitable E…Fidelity Investments …Donor Advised Charita…
Amalgamated Charitable Foundation IncDC14.8× affinity5 shared granteesties to 5 of 5Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Amalgamated Charitable Foundation Inc · Tides Foundation · Jewish Communal Fund · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · 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 David Berger Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from David Berger 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%1%3%4%5%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    4report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–5%
    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 21 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 2021, released 2021. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2024) is on record but names no grant recipient in the published copy, so the figures above are from FY2021, the most recent year this funder’s grantee list reached the public record.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on David Berger’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