Skip to content
Plinth

· Private foundation

Dorothy Richard Starling Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$2.2M
Granted FY2024still arriving
26
Grants FY2024still arriving
17
States reached
$250k
Largest
01What you fund
01100% classified

What you funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year — across FY20182024.

Arts & Culture$10MEducation$427kHealth$425kRecreation & Sports$65k
02FY2024 · 26 grants

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k1 grant · $4k
  • $10k–50k9 grants · $267k
  • $50k–250k15 grants · $1.7M
  • $250k+1 grant · $250k
$75,000
Median grant
17
States reached
$20M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
STARLING PROJECT FOUNDATION$250,000
THE SHEPHARD SCHOOL OF MUSIC - RICE UNIVERSITY$200,000
UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO AT BOULDER$166,000
THE COLBURN SCHOOL$160,750
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN$151,625
ASPEN MUSIC FESTIVAL SCHOOL$150,000
NEW ENGLAND CONSERVATORY$141,000
CURTIS INSTITUTE OF MUSIC$105,000
COLLEGE CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC$100,000
SALT LAKE MUSIC SCHOOL FOUNDATION DBA GIFTED MUSIC SCHOOL$100,000
BOWDIN COLLEGE$90,000
SOUNDING POINT FOUNDATION$85,000
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN$75,000
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY$65,000
MEADOWMOUNT SCHOOL OF MUSIC$64,400
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 (FY22–22, $4k) land where the poverty rate runs at 5%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Your grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%STRING INSIDERS: $4k → 5%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

ME
VT
WA
MN
IL
MI
NY
MA
OH
PA
CA
UT
CO
VA
KS
TN
NC
SC
TX
FL

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.

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.

99%of every dollar goes to organizations you’ve funded before.
$11M · 30 repeat orgs$155k to everyone else

30 repeat relationships — 23 still active in FY2024, 7 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

30
3

Total granted

$11M
$66k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+40%
+63%

Still filing today

47%
67%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 96% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $89k went to new ones.

50%100%’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
Arts & CultureEducationRecreation & SportsHuman ServicesOther

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

  • TC
    THE COLBURN SCHOOL
    7× · 2018–2024 · $878k · revenue +40%
  • NE
    NEW ENGLAND CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC
    7× · 2018–2024 · $694k · revenue +41%
  • CI
    CURTIS INSTITUTE OF MUSIC
    7× · 2018–2024 · $590k · revenue +58%

Funded once

  • TF
    THE FESTIVAL INSTITUTE AT ROUND TOP
    one grant, 2022 · $50k
  • FRACTURED ATLAS INCgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $12k · revenue +63%
  • SI
    STRING INSIDERS
    one grant, 2022 · $4k · revenue -77%

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
Manhattan School of Music

Manhattan school of music is deeply committed to excellence in education, performance, and creative activity; to the humanity of the school's environment; and to the cultural enrichment of the larger community. a premiere international…

Arts & Culture
2
Musicmi

At MusicMi we set a mission for ourselves to provide aspiring young musicians from across the country with an opportunity to study with world-class artists and to provide our students with a music education of the highest artistic…

Arts & Culture
3
Music Institute of Chicago

The music institute of chicago ("music institute") leads people toward a lifelong engagement with music, by providing widely accessible resources for high quality music teaching, performing, and service activities.

Arts & Culture
4
California Music Center

To seek and nurture exceptional young string musicians, foster and further their performance and professional skills development, and provide them with performance opportunities and monetary support.

Arts & Culture
5
Omaha Conservatory of Music

The omaha conservatory of music is a non-profit school that builds a diverse musical community to enrich lives through education and performance.

Arts & Culture
6
Menlo School

Menlo school's mission is to empower students to explore and expand their interests, reach their fullest potential, develop the skills necessary for success in college, and become ethical, responsible, and engaged members of ever wider…

7
Vanguard Concerts
8
Mi Music Scholarship Fund
Arts & Culture
9
Foundation for Modern Opera
10
Chamber Music Conference &

The Conference is devoted to the development of amateur and professional musicians as chamber players. The Conference is also committed to the development of new music by commissions and performances of new works by composers in residence.…

Arts & Culture
11
Bowdoin International Music Festival

The mission of the Bowdoin International Music Festival is to provide gifted young musicians from around the world with an opportunity to study with world-class artists, and to provide audiences with classical music performed to the…

Arts & Culture
12
Charleston Academy of Music

The Charleston Academy of Music is committed to providing access to exceptional music education, performance and community outreach to all, regardless of age, skill, gender, ethnicity or income.

Arts & Culture

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the most unlike its peers is University of Michigan. 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

23 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. 23 of the 36 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.

6
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
19/23
Grantees still filing
14/23
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

THE SHEPHARD SCHOOL OF MUSIC - RICE UNIVERSITY — $1,360,000 · OtherTHE SHEPHARD SCHOOL OF MUSIC - RICE UNIVERSITYUNIVERSITY OF COLORADO AT BOULDER — $976,000 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF COLORADO AT BOULDERCOLLEGE CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC — $618,000 · OtherCOLLEGE CONSERVATORY OF MUSICUNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN — $580,000 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTINSALT LAKE MUSIC SCHOOL FOUNDATION DBA GIFTED MUSIC SCHOOL — $544,000 · OtherSALT LAKE MUSIC SCHOOL FOUNDATION DBA GIFTED MUSIC SCHOOLASPEN MUSIC FESTIVAL SCHOOL — $510,000 · OtherASPEN MUSIC FESTIVAL SCHOOLUniversity of Michigan — $425,025 · OtherUniversity of MichiganSTEANS MUSIC INSTITUTE — $220,000 · Other+7 more — $667,800 · Other+7 moreTHE COLBURN SCHOOL — $877,750 · Arts & CultureTHE COLBURN SCHOOLCURTIS INSTITUTE OF MUSIC — $590,000 · Arts & CultureCURTIS INSTITUTE OF MUSICMUSIC ACADEMY OF THE WEST — $547,500 · Arts & CultureMUSIC ACADEMY OF THE WESTStarling Project Foundation Inc — $437,500 · Arts & CultureStarling Project Foundation IncMUSIC ASSOCIATES OF ASPEN INC — $240,000 · Arts & CultureMUSIC ASSOCIATES OF ASPEN INCKNEISEL HALL — $215,000 · Arts & CultureKNEISEL HALLCOLEMAN VIOLIN STUDIO — $176,000 · Arts & CultureOTTAWA SUZUKI STRINGS INC — $150,000 · Arts & CultureSOUNDING POINT FOUNDATION CORP — $145,000 · Arts & Culture+4 more — $108,950 · Arts & CultureNEW ENGLAND CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC — $693,600 · EducationNEW ENGLAND CONSE…CLEVELAND INSTITUTE OF MUSIC — $387,400 · EducationCLEVELAND INSTITU…Bowdoin College — $344,000 · EducationBowdoin CollegeSAN FRANCISCO CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC — $183,400 · EducationSAN FRANCISCO CON…Vanderbilt University — $62,500 · Education+1 more — $20,000 · EducationNorthwestern University — $65,000 · Recreation & SportsSTRING INSIDERS — $3,500 · Human Services
Other$5,900,825Arts & Culture$3,487,700Education$1,690,900Recreation & Sports$65,000Human Services$3,500

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 budgetTHE COLBURN SCHOOL — $877,750 over 7y, 0.3% of budgetNEW ENGLAND CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC — $693,600 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetCURTIS INSTITUTE OF MUSIC — $590,000 over 7y, 0.4% of budgetMUSIC ACADEMY OF THE WEST — $547,500 over 7y, 1.0% of budgetStarling Project Foundation Inc — $437,500 over 7y, 80% of budgetUniversity of Michigan — $425,025 over 7y, 40% of budgetCLEVELAND INSTITUTE OF MUSIC — $387,400 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetBowdoin College — $344,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetMUSIC ASSOCIATES OF ASPEN INC — $240,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetKNEISEL HALL — $215,000 over 6y, 4.0% of budgetSAN FRANCISCO CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC — $183,400 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetCOLEMAN VIOLIN STUDIO — $176,000 over 7y, 100% of budgetOTTAWA SUZUKI STRINGS INC — $150,000 over 2y, 42% of budgetSOUNDING POINT FOUNDATION CORP — $145,000 over 2y, 100% of budgetENCORE CHAMBER MUSIC INSTITUTE — $72,950 over 6y, 4.6% of budgetNorthwestern University — $65,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetVanderbilt University — $62,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMadeline Island Chamber Music co Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP — $60,000 over 2y, 4.0% of budgetCENTER STAGE STRINGS — $20,000 over 3y, 46% of budgetThe Florida State University Foundation Inc — $20,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFRACTURED ATLAS INC — $12,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetHILTON HEAD SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC — $4,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetSTRING INSIDERS — $3,500 over 1y, 3.5% 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.

  • Who funds THE COLBURN SCHOOL
  • Who funds NEW ENGLAND CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC
  • Who funds CURTIS INSTITUTE OF MUSIC
  • Who funds MUSIC ACADEMY OF THE WEST
  • Who funds Starling Project Foundation Inc
  • Who funds University of Michigan
  • Who funds CLEVELAND INSTITUTE OF MUSIC
  • Who funds Bowdoin College
  • Who funds MUSIC ASSOCIATES OF ASPEN INC
  • Who funds KNEISEL HALL
  • Who funds SAN FRANCISCO CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC
  • Who funds COLEMAN VIOLIN STUDIO
  • Who funds OTTAWA SUZUKI STRINGS INC
  • Who funds SOUNDING POINT FOUNDATION CORP
  • Who funds ENCORE CHAMBER MUSIC INSTITUTE
  • Who funds Northwestern University
  • Who funds Vanderbilt University
  • Who funds Madeline Island Chamber Music co Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP
  • Who funds CENTER STAGE STRINGS
  • Who funds The Florida State University Foundation Inc
  • Who funds FRACTURED ATLAS INC
  • Who funds HILTON HEAD SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC
  • Who funds STRING INSIDERS

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.

National Philanthropic TrustPA7.7× affinity5 shared granteesties to 4 of 4Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: National Philanthropic Trust · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile 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 Dorothy Richard Starling Foundation 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%6%25%56%100%your share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from governmentmedian 1%
  • New England Conservatory of Music1% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
7report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
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 Dorothy Richard Starling Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Dorothy Richard Starling 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.

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 36 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