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Illinois · Private foundation

Howard G Buffett 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.

$699M
Granted FY2025(still arriving)
1
Grants FY2025
1
Organizations funded FY2024
0%
First-time grantees FY2024
Read the full brief
Median grant, FY2025
$698,710,460
Largest grant, FY2025
$698,710,460
Organizations funded a year
1 to 65
FY2018 to FY2024
States reached, FY2025
1
Total assets, FY2025
$718M
Applications
Preselected organizations only
Per its most recent filing; check its own site

How open it is to new grantees

In FY2024, 0% of the organizations Howard G Buffett Foundation funded were first-time grantees, receiving 0% of its grant dollars.

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 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
HealthFood & NutritionCrime & LegalHuman ServicesArts & CultureEducationOther
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.
The numbers by year
Fiscal yearOrganizations fundedTo those organizationsFirst-time grantees
FY2025still arriving1$699M0%
FY20241$473M0%
FY20231$458M0%
FY20221$297M0%
FY20211$227M0%
FY20201$128M0%
FY20191$212M100%
FY201865$140M51%
93% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Food & Nutrition$107MInternational$94MHealth$26MPublic Safety & Disaster$23MCivil Rights$20MCrime & Legal$14MEnvironment$5.1MHousing & Shelter$4.2MOther$0

Where its grants go

Grant dollars by states, across the years we hold.

Which US states its grants reach

WA
IL
NY
MA
OR
WY
IA
CA
CO
NE
MO
KY
VA
MD
AZ
DC
LA
GA
TX

Top grantees

Largest recipients by total granted, FY2017 to FY2025, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.

GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
Community Health Improvement Center$25,850,3641n/a
Mass Design Group Ltd$22,295,5982n/a
Sequoia Farm Foundation$14,827,673276%
Catholic Relief Services$8,985,2661n/a
Rwanda Girls Initiative$5,779,385182%
Arizona Law Enforcement Air Support$3,239,6102100%
Children's Museum of Illinois$2,989,850186%
International Justice Mission$2,753,15922%
Decatur Public Schools Foundation$1,697,085263%
Cierto$1,001,562191%
Show all 56 grantees
All grantees of Howard G Buffett Foundation by total granted
GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
Community Health Improvement Center$25,850,3641n/a
Mass Design Group Ltd$22,295,5982n/a
Sequoia Farm Foundation$14,827,673276%
Catholic Relief Services$8,985,2661n/a
Rwanda Girls Initiative$5,779,385182%
Arizona Law Enforcement Air Support$3,239,6102100%
Children's Museum of Illinois$2,989,850186%
International Justice Mission$2,753,15922%
Decatur Public Schools Foundation$1,697,085263%
Cierto$1,001,562191%
Dove Inc$1,000,0001n/a
City of Decatur$1,000,0001n/a
Boys and Girls Club of Decatur Inc$710,0001n/a
Richland Community College$654,4861n/a
National Democratic Institute for International Affairs$471,00010%
The Futuro Media Group$368,764218%
The Oakland Institute$337,294142%
Three Generations Inc$275,615153%
United States Association for UNHCR$250,00010%
Catholic Charities Inc$250,0001n/a
Northeast Community Fund$250,0001n/a
Police Executive Research Forum$140,90912%
National Criminal Enforcement Assoc Corp$121,728226%
Western University of Health Sciences$111,86920%
Illinois Sheriffs' Association$101,000110%
Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project Inc$90,00011%
The Sherwood Foundation$83,03210%
Malpai Borderlands Group Inc$66,000213%
Decatur Community Partnership$62,367142%
Cowpunchers Crisis Fund Inc$60,000163%
Project Harmony$40,00020%
Central Park Conservancy Inc$40,00020%
Boys and Girls Club of Sierra Vista Inc$26,5001n/a
Heartland Workers Center$20,00012%
Lila Mae's House$20,0001n/a
Western States Sheriffs Association$20,0002n/a
Food Bank of Siouxland Inc$20,00010%
Texas Border Sheriffs Coalition$15,000226%
Douglas Run Walk for the Cure$10,4611n/a
Washington DC Police Foundation$2,50010%
Willcox Against Substance Abuse$2,0002n/a
Velovets Sierra Vista$2,0002n/a
Peachs Pantry$1,0001n/a
Friends of the S V Animal Shelter Inc$1,0001n/a
City of Bisbee$1,0001n/a
Bisbee Rotary Charities Inc$1,0001n/a
Sierra Vista Symphony Association$1,00011%
NAMI Southeastern Arizona$1,0001n/a
University South Foundation Inc$1,00010%
Just Kids Inc$1,0001n/a
Sunrise Rotary$1,0001n/a
Echoing Hope Ranch$1,00010%
The Real Wishes Foundation$1,0001n/a
Premier Alliances Inc$1,00010%
Sierra Vista Rotary Club Charities$1,0001n/a
Community Montessori School of Bisbee Inc$60011%

Plus 71 recipients with no EIN on record ($2.7B), not named here.

Where it is load-bearing

Howard G Buffett Foundation supplied at least a quarter of the budget for 12 of its grantees at some point. The chart plots its 32 largest grantees; load-bearing ones sit top left.

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetSequoia Farm Foundation: $14,827,673 over 2y, 76% of budgetRwanda Girls Initiative: $5,779,385 over 1y, 82% of budgetArizona Law Enforcement Air Support: $3,239,610 over 2y, 100% of budgetChildren's Museum of Illinois: $2,989,850 over 1y, 86% of budgetInternational Justice Mission: $2,753,159 over 2y, 2.2% of budgetDecatur Public Schools Foundation: $1,697,085 over 2y, 63% of budgetCierto: $1,001,562 over 1y, 91% of budgetNational Democratic Institute for International Affairs: $471,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetThe Futuro Media Group: $368,764 over 2y, 18% of budgetThe Oakland Institute: $337,294 over 1y, 42% of budgetThree Generations Inc: $275,615 over 1y, 53% of budgetUnited States Association for UNHCR: $250,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetPolice Executive Research Forum: $140,909 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetNational Criminal Enforcement Assoc Corp: $121,728 over 2y, 26% of budgetWestern University of Health Sciences: $111,869 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetIllinois Sheriffs' Association: $101,000 over 1y, 10% of budgetFlorence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project Inc: $90,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetThe Sherwood Foundation: $83,032 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMalpai Borderlands Group Inc: $66,000 over 2y, 13% of budgetDecatur Community Partnership: $62,367 over 1y, 42% of budgetCowpunchers Crisis Fund Inc: $60,000 over 1y, 63% of budgetProject Harmony: $40,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetCentral Park Conservancy Inc: $40,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetHeartland Workers Center: $20,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetFood Bank of Siouxland Inc: $20,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetTexas Border Sheriffs Coalition: $15,000 over 2y, 26% of budgetWashington DC Police Foundation: $2,500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetSierra Vista Symphony Association: $1,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetUniversity South Foundation Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetEchoing Hope Ranch: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetPremier Alliances Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCommunity Montessori School of Bisbee Inc: $600 over 1y, 1.3% of budget

Tap a dot to name the grantee.

How this is measured
Share of budget is the funder’s grant in a year over the grantee’s total revenue that year, at its highest across the years we hold; revenue is from all sources. Only grantees confirmed against their own filings, whose grants do not exceed their revenue, are plotted: the largest 32.

Nonprofits that may fit its grantmaking

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.

The Legacy Foundation of Southeast ArizonaAZ32.3× affinity13 shared granteesties to 3 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Legacy Foundation of Southeast Arizona · Andreas Foundation · The Community Foundation of Macon County · James Millikin Trust A · John Ullrich Foundation Trust Busey Trust Co - Trustee · United Way of Decatur and Mid Il · The Erwin and Linda Arends Foundation · Ts & Juanita Ballance Foundation · Amherst F Hardy Foundation · Arizona Community Foundation · Tides Foundation · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management 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.

Compare Howard G Buffett Foundation with peer funders

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Howard G Buffett Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Howard G Buffett 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.

About Howard G Buffett Foundation

How much does Howard G Buffett Foundation give?
Howard G Buffett Foundation reported 1 grants totaling $698,710,460 in its FY2025 IRS filing. It funded between 1 and 65 organizations a year over FY2018 to FY2024.
What does Howard G Buffett Foundation fund?
By grant dollars over FY2017 to FY2025, its largest causes are Food & Nutrition (4%), International (3%), Health (1%).
Who are Howard G Buffett Foundation's largest grantees?
By total granted over FY2017 to FY2025: Community Health Improvement Center ($26M), Mass Design Group Ltd ($22M), Sequoia Farm Foundation ($15M).
Does Howard G Buffett Foundation fund new organizations?
In FY2024, 0% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
Does Howard G Buffett Foundation accept unsolicited applications?
Its most recent filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and does not take unsolicited requests. Check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.
Which funders back the same organizations as Howard G Buffett Foundation?
Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include The Legacy Foundation of Southeast Arizona, Andreas Foundation, The Community Foundation of Macon County.
Where is Howard G Buffett Foundation based?
Howard G Buffett Foundation is based in IL.

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 130 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

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