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John M Bissell Foundation Inc at a glance

· Private foundation

John M Bissell Foundation Inc

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.

$26k
Granted FY2024still arriving
8
Grants FY2024still arriving
1
States reached
$4k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0198% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Arts & Culture$134kEnvironment$7kRecreation & Sports$7kEducation$7kPublic Benefit$5kHuman Services$5kYouth Development$3kOther$0
02FY2024 · 8 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$3,333
Median grant
1
States reached
$244k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
VERMONT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA$4,000
THE CURRENT$3,500
VERMONT INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL$3,500
VERMONT HISTORICAL SOCIETY$3,333
MISSISQUOI RIVER BASON ASSOC$3,000
VERMONT STUDIO CENTER$3,000
BRADFORD TEEN CENTER$3,000
VERMONT HISTORICAL SOCIETY$2,669
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 (FY18–19, $5k) 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%WONDER & WISDOM INC: $3k → 14%WONDER & WISDOM INC: $2k → 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.

69%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$119k · 12 repeat orgs$52k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +73% since the first grant, against +33% for those funded once.

12 repeat relationships: 4 still active in FY2024, 8 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

12
14

Total granted

$119k
$42k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+73%
+33%

Still filing today

83%
43%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 62% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $10k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
Arts & CultureRecreation & SportsHuman ServicesEducationEnvironmentYouth DevelopmentOther
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

  • TC
    THE CURRENT INC
    8× · 2017–2024 · $32k · revenue +73%
  • VH
    VERMONT HISTORICAL SOCIETY
    8× · 2017–2024 · $21k · revenue +18%
  • VS
    VERMONT STUDIO CENTER INC
    4× · 2020–2024 · $15k · revenue +158%

Funded once

  • VH
    VERMONT HUTS ASSOCIATION LTDgraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $7k · revenue +33%
  • VE
    VERMONT ETV INC
    one grant, 2019 · $5k · revenue +16%
  • VG
    VERMONT GRANITE MUSEUM
    one grant, 2022 · $5k
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
Southern Vermont Arts Center Inc Po Box 617

As one of New Englands leading visual and performing arts institutions, SVAC's mission is to promote and nurture the arts.

Arts & Culture
2
Vermont Museum of Natural History Inc

Environmental education through museum exhibits and school, library, and other public programs.

Arts & Culture
3
Wind River Valley Artist Guild
—
4
Vermont Independent Media Inc

Promotion of public media literacy and local, citizen-driven media.

Arts & Culture
5
Mount Vernon Preservation Society
Arts & Culture
6
Vermont Public Radio

Listener-supported Vermont Public Radio has been serving the people of Vermont and the surrounding region since 1977. As Vermonts only statewide public radio network, VPR provides an essential and trusted independent voice for news,…

—
7
The Vermont Opera Project Co

The mission of the vermont opera project is to create site specific productions of new or lesser known operas in various locations around vermont.

Arts & Culture
8
Cooperation Vermont

The mission of cooperation vermont is to build thriving community economic and enviromental democracy.

Community Improvement
9
Vermont Quilt Festival Inc

Promote the making of quilts and displays to encourage quilting, quilt ideas and exhibits through quilting shows and lectures, classes, etc.

—
10
Central Vermont Community Televisio

The primary mission is to produce and cablecast coverage of municipal and government proceedings and support and promote programs of local interest which have been produced by members of the community.

Arts & Culture
11
Alnobaiwi
Arts & Culture
12
Vermont Realtors Charitable Foundation Inc
Public Benefit
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Vermont Folklife Center; the most unlike its peers is The Argentine Tango 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

21 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. 21 of the 29 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)
9
Early backer (in before they grew)
19/21
Grantees still filing
13/21
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE CURRENT INC: $32,200 · Arts & CultureTHE CURRENT INCVERMONT HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $20,705 · Arts & CultureVERMONT HISTORICAL SOCIETYTHE ARGENTINE TANGO SOCIETY: $5,500 · Arts & CultureTHE ARGENTINE TANGO SOCIETYMad River Valley Television Inc: $5,000 · Arts & CultureMad River Valley Television IncVERMONT FOLKLIFE CENTER: $4,700 · Arts & CultureVERMONT FOLKLIFE CENTERVERMONT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATION INC: $4,000 · Arts & CultureUpper Valley Arts: $3,970 · Arts & Culture+3 more: $5,000 · Arts & Culture+3 moreVERMONT STUDIO CENTER INC: $15,250 · OtherVERMONT STUDIO CENTER INCVermont International Film Foundation: $11,000 · OtherVermont International Film FoundationWhite River Indie Films: $5,828 · OtherWhite River Indie FilmsVERMONT ETV INC: $5,000 · OtherVERMONT ETV INCVERMONT GRANITE MUSEUM: $5,000 · OtherVERMONT GRANITE MUSEUMSCOUT FILM FESTIVAL: $5,000 · OtherSCOUT FILM FESTIVALWONDER ARTS VERMONT: $5,000 · OtherWONDER ARTS VERMONTLEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF VT ED FD: $4,970 · OtherLEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF VT ED FDVERMONT ASSOCIATION OF CONSERVATION DISTRICTS INC: $4,200 · OtherVERMONT ASSOCIATION OF CONSERVATION DISTRICTS I…Individual grant recipient: $4,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientJOHN WOODRUFF SIMPSON MEMORIAL LIBRARY INC: $3,500 · Other+3 more: $2,941 · OtherVERMONT HUTS ASSOCIATION LTD: $6,958 · Recreation & SportsRURAL ARTS COLLABORATIVE INC: $4,500 · Human ServicesMISSISQUOI RIVER BASIN ASSN: $3,000 · EnvironmentBradford Teen Center Inc: $3,000 · Youth DevelopmentMARLBORO COLLEGE: $750 · Education
Arts & Culture$81,075Other$71,689Recreation & Sports$6,958Human Services$4,500Environment$3,000Youth Development$3,000Education$750

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetTHE CURRENT INC: $32,200 over 8y, 1.7% of budgetVERMONT HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $20,705 over 8y, 0.2% of budgetVERMONT STUDIO CENTER INC: $15,250 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetVermont International Film Foundation: $11,000 over 5y, 1.1% of budgetVERMONT HUTS ASSOCIATION LTD: $6,958 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetTHE ARGENTINE TANGO SOCIETY: $5,500 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetVERMONT ETV INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMad River Valley Television Inc: $5,000 over 3y, 1.7% of budgetVERMONT FOLKLIFE CENTER: $4,700 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetRURAL ARTS COLLABORATIVE INC: $4,500 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetVERMONT ASSOCIATION OF CONSERVATION DISTRICTS INC: $4,200 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetVERMONT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATION INC: $4,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetUpper Valley Arts: $3,970 over 2y, 5.7% of budgetJOHN WOODRUFF SIMPSON MEMORIAL LIBRARY INC: $3,500 over 1y, 3.5% of budgetMISSISQUOI RIVER BASIN ASSN: $3,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetBradford Teen Center Inc: $3,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetThe Ethan Allen Homestead Museum: $2,000 over 1y, 2.6% of budgetKINGDOM COUNTY PRODUCTIONS INC: $2,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetVERMONT MARBLE MUSEUM INC: $1,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetMARLBORO COLLEGE: $750 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.

The Vermont Community…Vermont Council on th…The Windham Foundatio…Ben & Jerry's Foundat…Vermont Humanities Co…James E Robison Found…Oakland Foundation IncGeorge W Mergens Foun…Lintilhac Foundation …Vermont Afterschool I…National Life Group C…Ibm International Fou…
The Vermont Community FoundationVT36.5× affinity16 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Vermont Community Foundation · Vermont Council on the Arts Inc · The Windham Foundation Inc · Ben & Jerry's Foundation Inc · Vermont Humanities Council · James E Robison Foundation · Oakland Foundation Inc · George W Mergens Foundation · Lintilhac Foundation Inc · Vermont Afterschool Inc · National Life Group Charitable Foundation Inc · Ibm International 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 John M Bissell Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from John M Bissell Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 60%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 35%
  • Vermont Folklife Center: 90% of income from government
  • Vermont Historical Society: 51% of income from government
  • Missisquoi River Basin Assn: 42% of income from government
  • Vermont Association of Conservation Districts Inc: 35% of income from government
  • Vermont Symphony Orchestra Association Inc: 11% of income from government
  • Vermont Studio Center Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Kingdom County Productions Inc: 1% of income from government
  • John Woodruff Simpson Memorial Library Inc: 1% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
6get no government money at all
4report 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.
05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to John M Bissell Foundation Inc?

Find your warmest path to John M Bissell 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 29 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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on John M Bissell’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