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James R Gardner Foundation Inc at a glance

· Private foundation

James R Gardner Foundation Inc

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.

$3k
Granted FY2025still arriving
3
Grants FY2025still arriving
2
States reached
$2k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
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 2025.

Arts & Culture$19kPhilanthropy$9kReligion$4kHuman Services$2kPublic Safety & Disaster$2kRecreation & Sports$2kEnvironment$1kYouth Development$1kOther$0
02FY2025 · 3 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$600
Median grant
2
States reached
$62k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
MISC CONTRIBUTIONS UNDER 200$1,500
METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART$600
VGC FDN$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 (FY18–22, $2k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%SOLDIERS BEST FRIEND: $400 → 11%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $2k → 14%COMPANION FOR HEROES: $100 → 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.

Which US states its grants reach

NY
MA
CA
VA
AZ
DC
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.

65%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$26k · 16 repeat orgs$14k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +89% since the first grant, against +19% for those funded once.

16 repeat relationships: 2 still active in FY2025, 14 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

16
20

Total granted

$26k
$14k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+89%
+19%

Still filing today

56%
50%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 77% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $600 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
Arts & CultureHuman ServicesEnvironmentPhilanthropyOther
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

  • MV
    MARTHA'S VINEYARD ART ASSOCIATION
    4× · 2017–2020 · $4k · revenue +76%
  • VG
    V G C FOUNDATION INC
    4× · 2022–2025 · $2k · revenue +17%
  • MA
    MUSEUM ASSOCIATES
    2× · 2017–2018 · $1k · revenue +89%

Funded once

  • LA
    Los Angeles Art Association
    one grant, 2017 · $2k · revenue -2%
  • AN
    American National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches
    one grant, 2022 · $2k · revenue +23%
  • FA
    FUNDING ARTS NETWORK
    one grant, 2022 · $1k
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
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

See schedule osfmoma believes the art of our time is vital and shares it with passion and purpose, and that art and the creative process can open minds and help build a better world. for that reason, we assemble unparalleled collections,…

Arts & Culture
2
Museum of Modern Art

The Museum of Modern Art is a private, non-profit institution chartered by the State of New York Department of Education in 1929 to foster public awareness of modern and contemporary art. (Continued in Schedule O)

Arts & Culture
3
The Pierpont Morgan Library

The Morgan Library & Museum celebrates and shares the history and process of human creativity from antiquity to the present day through the preservation, study, and interpretation of a dynamic and growing collection.

Education
4
The Museum of Fine Arts Houston

The museum of fine arts, houston serves as a welcoming and inclusive place for all people, connecting the communities of houston with diverse histories of art spanning 6,000 years and six continents. through our permanent collections,…

Arts & Culture
5
Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute

See schedule o for the organization's mission statement.please see description for part i, line 1, above.

Arts & Culture
6
American Museum of Natural History

The museum's mission statement is: "to discover, interpret, and disseminate - through scientific research and education - knowledge about human cultures, the natural world, and the universe."

Arts & Culture
7
Phoenix Art Museum

Phoenix art museum creates spaces of exchange and belonging for all audiences through dynamic exhibitions, collections, and experiences with art. this mission is supported by seven strategic pillars:(continued on schedule o)1. be a space…

Arts & Culture
8
Monterey Museum of Art

The monterey museum of art cultivates curiosity in the visual arts and engages community with the diversity of california art - past, present, and future.

Arts & Culture
9
The William a Farnsworth Library and Art Museum Inc

The museum's mission is to celebrate maine's role in american art. to accomplish that mission the museum provides an extensive offering of collections, exhibitions, education and retail services to the general public.

Arts & Culture
10
The American Federation of Arts Inc

The american federation of arts initiates and organizes a national and international program of art exhibitions, publications, and educational activities to benefit the museum community and enrich the public's experience and understanding…

Arts & Culture
11
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Inc

Organization's mission statement true to the ambitious vision of its founder and her spirit of creative risk-taking, the mission of the isabella stewart gardner museum is: - to bring to life and preserve the rich historic collection; - to…

Arts & Culture
12
Clyfford Still Museum

Home to the art and legacy of the american painter clyfford still, we invite all to explore the potential of individual creative endeavor.

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Los Angeles Art Association; the most unlike its peers is Henry E Huntington Library and Art Gallery. 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

20 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. 20 of the 37 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.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
5
Early backer (in before they grew)
20/20
Grantees still filing
16/20
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

MISC CONTRIBUTIONS UNDER 200: $4,010 · OtherMISC CONTRIBUTIONS UNDER 200CONGREGATION EMANUEL: $3,725 · OtherCONGREGATION EMANUELSAG AFTRA FOUNDATION: $2,500 · OtherSAG AFTRA FOUNDATIONVINEYARD GOLF CLUB FOUNDATION: $1,500 · OtherVINEYARD GOLF CLUB FOUNDATIONMISC CONTRIBUTIONS UNDER 250: $1,460 · OtherMISC CONTRIBUTIONS UNDER 250FUNDING ARTS NETWORK: $1,336 · OtherFUNDING ARTS NETWORKVCG FOUNDATION: $1,000 · OtherREAGAN RANDIYOUNG AMERICA'S FOUNDAT: $1,000 · OtherMISC CONTRIBUTIONS UNDER 300: $970 · OtherYOUNG AMERICANS: $750 · Other+8 more: $2,695 · Other+8 moreMARTHA'S VINEYARD ART ASSOCIATION: $4,450 · Arts & CultureMARTHA'S VINEYARD ART ASSOCIATIONLos Angeles Art Association: $1,853 · Arts & CultureLos Angeles Art AssociationMUSEUM ASSOCIATES: $1,450 · Arts & CultureMUSEUM ASSOCIATESFEATHERSTONE CENTER FOR THE ARTS INC: $1,105 · Arts & CultureFEATHERSTONE CENTER FOR THE ARTS IN…MARTHA'S VINEYARD MUSEUM INC: $700 · Arts & CultureMARTHA'S VINEYARD MUSEUM INCHENRY E HUNTINGTON LIBRARY AND ART GALLERY: $700 · Arts & CultureHENRY E HUNTINGTON LIBRARY AND ART …METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART: $600 · Arts & CultureMARTHA'S VINEYARD PRESERVATION TRUST INC: $500 · Arts & CulturePBS FOUNDATION: $500 · Arts & Culture+3 more: $750 · Arts & Culture+3 moreV G C FOUNDATION INC: $2,000 · PhilanthropyV G C FOU…GARY SINISE FOUNDATION: $1,300 · PhilanthropyGARY SINI…American National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $1,750 · Human ServicesSOLDIERS BEST FRIEND: $700 · Human ServicesCompanions for Heroes: $100 · Human ServicesTHE CORAL REEF ALLIANCE: $1,000 · EnvironmentReef Relief Inc: $200 · Environment
Other$20,946Arts & Culture$12,608Philanthropy$3,300Human Services$2,550Environment$1,200

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 budgetMARTHA'S VINEYARD ART ASSOCIATION: $4,450 over 4y, 1.0% of budgetV G C FOUNDATION INC: $2,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetLos Angeles Art Association: $1,853 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $1,750 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGARY SINISE FOUNDATION: $1,300 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetFEATHERSTONE CENTER FOR THE ARTS INC: $1,105 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE CORAL REEF ALLIANCE: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSOLDIERS BEST FRIEND: $700 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMARTHA'S VINEYARD MUSEUM INC: $700 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetHENRY E HUNTINGTON LIBRARY AND ART GALLERY: $700 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMETROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART: $600 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMARTHA'S VINEYARD PRESERVATION TRUST INC: $500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetYoung America's Foundation: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPBS FOUNDATION: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCALIFORNIA ART CLUB: $400 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetReef Relief Inc: $200 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTHE AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCompanions for Heroes: $100 over 1y, 0.0% 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.

Hoerle Foundation IncMorgan Stanley Global…Fidelity Investments …Donor Advised Charita…American Online Givin…Amazonsmile Foundation
Hoerle Foundation IncNY13.6× affinity4 shared granteesties to 5 of 5Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Hoerle Foundation Inc · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Amazonsmile 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 James R Gardner Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from James R Gardner Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 40%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%23%45%68%90%share of the org’s income from government →median 4%
  • Martha's Vineyard Preservation Trust Inc: 4% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
4get no government money at all
5report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–90%
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 James R Gardner Foundation Inc?

Find your warmest path to James R Gardner Foundation 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 37 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 James R Gardner’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