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Ethel Kennedy Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Ethel Kennedy Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$708k
Granted FY2025still arriving
65
Grants FY2025still arriving
9
States reached
$75k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0196% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Education$2.4MInternational$442kHealth$415kPhilanthropy$300kHuman Services$208kArts & Culture$158kRecreation & Sports$152kHousing & Shelter$145kOther$0
02FY2025 · 65 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k35 grants · $153k
  • $10k–50k28 grants · $430k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $125k
$7,000
Median grant
9
States reached
$9.0M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY LAW CENTER$75,000
THE LEARNING ALLIANCE$50,000
SALISBURY SCHOOL - JOHN MORRIS SCHOLARSHIP$30,000
ORANGE COUNTY HIGHSCHOOL OF THE ARTS$30,000
UMASS FOUNDATION INC$25,000
UMASS FOUNDATION INC$25,000
UMASS FOUNDATION INC$25,000
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY INDIAN RIVER$21,000
UMASS FOUNDATION INC$20,000
PLANNED PARENTHOOD$20,000
COLUMBIA BUSINESS SCHOOL$20,000
CAMFED$20,000
UNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO$16,600
THE AMERICAN SUPPORTERS OF HIGHGATE SCHOOL$15,000
JOHN'S ISLAND COMMUNITY SERVICE$12,600
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 (FY17–25, $121k) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 90% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%COMPASSIONATE CARE ALS: $1k → 8%WOUNDED WARRIORS FAMILY SUPPORT: $5k → 12%ORPHANOS: $20k → 17%CHARITY NAVIGATOR: $1k → 7%WOUNDED WARRIORS FAMILY SUPPORT: $1k → 12%SAFE SPACE INC: $10k → 10%ORPHANOS: $10k → 17%CHARITY NAVIGATOR: $1k → 7%CHARITY NAVIGATOR: $1k → 7%HOLY FAMILY SVCES ADOPTION & FOSTER CARE: $10k → 14%CHARITY NAVIGATOR: $1k → 7%CHARITY NAVIGATOR: $500 → 7%CHARITY NAVIGATOR: $600 → 7%ON THE RISE: $3k → 8%HOPE FOR FAMILIES CENTER: $10k → 12%A BRIDGE FOR KIDS: $3k → 11%Youth Guidance Mentoring Academy: $10k → 12%APOPO: $4k → 14%TREASURE COAST HOMELESS SERVICES COUNCIL: $5k → 12%BROADWAY HOUSING COMMUNITIES: $5k → 17%BROADWAY HOUSING COMMUNITIES: $3k → 17%BROADWAY HOUSING COMMUNITIES: $3k → 17%SNINING LIGHT GARDEN FOUNDATION INC: $2k → 12%Long Island CaresInc: $3k → 7%CHARITY WATER: $5k → 17%CHARITY WATER: $2k → 17%CHARITY WATER: $2k → 17%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

VT
NH
WA
ID
IL
WI
NY
MA
SD
IA
OH
NJ
CT
CA
CO
NE
VA
MD
NM
TN
NC
SC
DC
AL
GA
FL
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.

83%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$3.6M · 95 repeat orgs$715k to everyone else

95 repeat relationships: 34 still active in FY2025, 61 since wound down; 20 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

95
78

Total granted

$3.6M
$434k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+43%
+49%

Still filing today

56%
59%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 58% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $280k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
EducationHuman ServicesInternationalHealthEnvironmentArts & CultureOther
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

  • GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY
    9× · 2017–2025 · $507k · revenue +47%
  • SS
    SALISBURY SCHOOL INC
    6× · 2017–2022 · $151k · revenue +95%
  • TS
    THE SOUTHAMPTON HOSPITAL FOUNDATION INC
    5× · 2021–2025 · $123k · revenue +215%

Funded once

  • UM
    UNIVERSITY MASSACHUSETTS BOSTON SCHOLARSHIP FUND
    one grant, 2021 · $50k
  • UO
    Univeristy of San Diego Alivio Program Oaxaca
    one grant, 2022 · $25k
  • PHILLIPS EXETER ACADEMYgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $20k · revenue +65%
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
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The mission of mit is to advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century.

Education
2
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.

—
3
Manhattanville University

To educate students to be ethical and socially responsible leaders in a global community.

Education
4
Long Island University

To provide excellence and access in private higher education to those who seek to expand their knowledge and prepare themselves for meaningful, educated lives and for service to their communities and the world.

—
5
University of New Haven

The University of New Haven is a student-centered comprehensive university with an emphasis on excellence in liberal arts and professional education. Our mission is to prepare our students to lead purposeful and fulfilling lives in a…

Education
6
Boston Architectural College

The bac is committed to provide excellence in design education grounded in practice and accessible to diverse communities.

—
7
International Life Sciences Institute

Ilsi is a global, nonprofit federation dedicated to generating and advancing emerging science and groundbreaking research to ensure foods are safe, nutritious and sustainable, and that they improve planetary and human health and well-being…

Science & Tech
8
Fordham University

Fordham university, the jesuit university of new york, is committed to the discovery of wisdom and the transmission of learning, through research and through education of the highest quality. for more information, see schedule o.

Education
9
Trustees of Tufts College

Education and Research

Education
10
President and Fellows of Harvard College

Undergraduate, graduate, and professional education and research across a broad array of academic domains.

Education
11
The Trustees of Princeton University

Research, education and general - princeton university is a private not-for-profit, non-sectarian institution of higher learning with approximately 5,700 undergraduate and 3,300 graduate students. 2,500 students graduated in the 2024-2025…

Education
12
Furman University

The primary mission of furman as a liberal arts institution is to provide a distinctive education in fine arts, humanities, social sciences, mathematics and the sciences, as well as selected professional disciplines.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is One Can Help Inc; the most unlike its peers is We Are All Human Foundation. 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

118 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. 118 of the 199 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)
29
Early backer (in before they grew)
115/118
Grantees still filing
91/118
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE LEARNING ALLIANCE: $253,200 · OtherTHE LEARNING ALLIANCEPLANNED PARENTHOOD: $150,200 · OtherPLANNED PARENTHOODUMass Boston EKM Scholarship Fund: $125,000 · OtherUMass Boston EKM Scholarship FundIndividual grant recipient: $103,000 · OtherUMASS FOUNDATION INC: $100,000 · OtherART DEPARTMENT FACULTY DEVELOPMENT FUND: $95,000 · Other+120 more: $1,426,862 · Other+120 moreGEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: $507,000 · EducationGEORGETOWN UNIVERSITYTrustees of Hamilton College: $489,900 · EducationTrustees of Hamilton CollegeSALISBURY SCHOOL INC: $150,926 · EducationSALISBURY SCHOOL INCTHE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK: $117,000 · EducationTHE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE …ORANGE COUNTY SCHOOL OF THE ARTS: $115,000 · EducationORANGE COUNTY SCHOOL OF THE ARTSTHE HOTCHKISS SCHOOL: $98,000 · EducationHAMPSHIRE COLLEGE TRUSTEES: $85,000 · EducationROOM TO READ: $72,540 · Education+15 more: $275,600 · Education+15 moreSPEAK UP AFRICA INC: $128,100 · InternationalFOUNDATION FOR THE CHILDREN OF THE CALIFORNIAS: $65,300 · InternationalNEVERTHIRST INC: $50,000 · InternationalInternational Rescue Committee INC: $41,700 · InternationalMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $22,500 · InternationalCAMFED USA FOUNDATION: $20,000 · InternationalWATER MISSIONS INTERNATIONAL: $20,000 · InternationalHIMALAYAN CATARACT PROJECT INC: $12,900 · International+5 more: $22,200 · InternationalTHE SOUTHAMPTON HOSPITAL FOUNDATION INC: $123,000 · HealthPLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC: $15,000 · HealthEAST HAMPTON HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION: $12,500 · HealthPATHWAYS INC: $12,500 · Health+4 more: $8,000 · HealthOrphanos Foundation: $30,000 · Human ServicesBROADWAY HOUSING COMMUNITIES INC: $11,000 · Human ServicesAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $10,382 · Human ServicesYOUTH GUIDANCE OF INDIAN RIVER COUNTY INC: $10,000 · Human ServicesSAFESPACE INC: $10,000 · Human ServicesHOLY FAMILY SERVICES ADOPTION AND FOSTER CARE: $10,000 · Human ServicesTHE HOPE FOR FAMILIES CENTER INC: $10,000 · Human ServicesCHARITY GLOBAL INC: $8,500 · Human ServicesCharity Navigator: $8,100 · Human ServicesWOUNDED WARRIORS FAMILY SUPPORT INC: $6,000 · Human ServicesTREASURE COAST HOMELESS SERVICES COUNCIL INC: $5,000 · Human Services+7 more: $20,000 · Human ServicesCAMBRIDGE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $72,000 · PhilanthropyTHE JOHN'S ISLAND FOUNDATION INC: $15,000 · PhilanthropyUNITED WAY OF INDIAN RIVER COUNTY INC: $7,000 · PhilanthropyJazz Foundation of America Inc: $5,000 · Philanthropy+1 more: $3,000 · PhilanthropyINDIAN RIVER LAND TRUST INC: $20,000 · Environment1000 FRIENDS OF FLORIDA INC: $15,000 · EnvironmentBig Waters Land Trust Inc: $5,000 · EnvironmentCoastal Connections Inc: $5,000 · EnvironmentTHE SURFRIDER FOUNDATION: $3,000 · EnvironmentAMAGANSETT VILLAGE IMPROVEMENT SOCIETY INC: $3,000 · Environment
Other$2,253,262Education$1,910,966International$382,700Health$171,000Human Services$138,982Philanthropy$102,000Environment$51,000

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 budgetGEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: $507,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetTrustees of Hamilton College: $489,900 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetSALISBURY SCHOOL INC: $150,926 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetSPEAK UP AFRICA INC: $128,100 over 8y, 5.8% of budgetTHE SOUTHAMPTON HOSPITAL FOUNDATION INC: $123,000 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetTHE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK: $117,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetORANGE COUNTY SCHOOL OF THE ARTS: $115,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetTHE HOTCHKISS SCHOOL: $98,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetHAMPSHIRE COLLEGE TRUSTEES: $85,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetROOM TO READ: $72,540 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetCAMBRIDGE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $72,000 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetFOUNDATION FOR THE CHILDREN OF THE CALIFORNIAS: $65,300 over 6y, 2.8% of budgetTHE LEARNING ALLIANCE INC: $63,000 over 3y, 1.1% of budgetNEVERTHIRST INC: $50,000 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetSavannah College of Art and DesignInc: $47,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetInternational Rescue Committee INC: $41,700 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetKENYON COLLEGE: $38,900 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetEAST HAMPTON FOOD PANTRY INC: $37,500 over 6y, 4.6% of budgetTOGETHER WE RISE: $33,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetROSIE'S PLACE INC: $30,383 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetOrphanos Foundation: $30,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetST ANDREWS UNIVERSITY: $29,900 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetLOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY: $27,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN SUPPORTERS OF HIGHGATE SCHOOL INC: $25,000 over 3y, 90% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $22,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE LADIES VILLAGE IMPROVEMENT SOCIETY OF EAST HAMPTON: $21,382 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $21,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetPHILLIPS EXETER ACADEMY: $20,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetINDIAN RIVER LAND TRUST INC: $20,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetCAMFED USA FOUNDATION: $20,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetWATER MISSIONS INTERNATIONAL: $20,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetEAST HAMPTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC: $18,000 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetNATIVE AMERICAN RIGHTS FUND INC: $18,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO: $16,600 over 1y, 0.0% of budget1000 FRIENDS OF FLORIDA INC: $15,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetTHE JOHN'S ISLAND FOUNDATION INC: $15,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetWE ARE ALL HUMAN FOUNDATION: $15,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetBEAGLE FREEDOM PROJECT: $15,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC: $15,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetJOHN'S ISLAND COMMUNITY SERVICE LEAGUE INC: $13,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetHIMALAYAN CATARACT PROJECT INC: $12,900 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetEAST HAMPTON HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION: $12,500 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetPATHWAYS INC: $12,500 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetLA JOLLA COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL: $12,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetLUTHERAN IMMIGRATION & REFUGEE SERVICE INC DBA GLOBAL REFUGE: $12,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF SOUTH DAKOTA FOUNDATION: $12,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBROADWAY HOUSING COMMUNITIES INC: $11,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetUNCOMMONORG INC: $11,000 over 3y, 1.5% 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 GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds Trustees of Hamilton College ↗
  • Who funds SALISBURY SCHOOL INC ↗
  • Who funds SPEAK UP AFRICA INC ↗
  • Who funds THE SOUTHAMPTON HOSPITAL FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds THE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK ↗
  • Who funds ORANGE COUNTY SCHOOL OF THE ARTS ↗
  • Who funds THE HOTCHKISS SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds HAMPSHIRE COLLEGE TRUSTEES ↗
  • Who funds ROOM TO READ ↗
  • Who funds CAMBRIDGE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds FOUNDATION FOR THE CHILDREN OF THE CALIFORNIAS ↗
  • Who funds THE LEARNING ALLIANCE INC ↗
  • Who funds NEVERTHIRST INC ↗
  • Who funds Savannah College of Art and DesignInc ↗
  • Who funds International Rescue Committee INC ↗
  • Who funds KENYON COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds EAST HAMPTON FOOD PANTRY INC ↗
  • Who funds TOGETHER WE RISE ↗
  • Who funds ROSIE'S PLACE INC ↗
  • Who funds Orphanos Foundation ↗
  • Who funds ST ANDREWS UNIVERSITY ↗

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.

Indian River Communit…The John's Island Fou…Bernard a Egan Founda…The San Diego Foundat…Olivia Delacruz Found…James Ford Bell Found…John's Island Communi…United Way of Indian …Boston Foundation IncThe Leah and Alain Le…Grand Harbor Communit…Jewish Community Foun…
Indian River Community Foundation IncFL33.1× affinity14 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Indian River Community Foundation Inc · The John's Island Foundation Inc · Bernard a Egan Foundation Inc · The San Diego Foundation · Olivia Delacruz Foundation Inc · James Ford Bell Foundation · John's Island Community Service League Inc · United Way of Indian River County Inc · Boston Foundation Inc · The Leah and Alain Lebec Foundation Inc · Grand Harbor Community Outreach Program Inc · Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego

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 Ethel Kennedy Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Ethel Kennedy Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 200%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 12%
  • Lutheran Immigration & Refugee Service Inc Dba Global Refuge: 100% of income from government
  • The Hyde Square Task Force Inc: 52% of income from government
  • Victory Programs Inc: 49% of income from government
  • Pathways Inc: 45% of income from government
  • On the Rise Inc: 39% of income from government
  • Treasure Coast Homeless Services Council Inc: 38% of income from government
  • Safespace Inc: 25% of income from government
  • Trustees of Boston University: 12% of income from government
  • Als Therapy Development Foundation Inc: 8% of income from government
  • One Can Help Inc: 8% of income from government
  • Cradles to Crayons Inc: 2% of income from government
  • United Way of Indian River County Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Indian River Land Trust Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Lauren's Kids Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Rosie's Place Inc: 0% of income from government
  • The Learning Alliance Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
20get no government money at all
24report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
2rely on government for over half their income
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 199 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 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Ethel Kennedy’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