Skip to content
Joseph and Barbara Ellis Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Joseph and Barbara Ellis 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.

$475k
Granted FY2025still arriving
34
Grants FY2025still arriving
6
States reached
$150k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0195% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Animals$3.8MEnvironment$1.5MPhilanthropy$1.4MEducation$1.3MInternational$1.0MHuman Services$449kArts & Culture$265kHealth$170kOther$0
02FY2025 · 34 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k21 grants · $37k
  • $10k–50k11 grants · $238k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $200k
$3,150
Median grant
6
States reached
$582k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY INC$150,000
FRIENDS OF BIRDLIFE INTERNATIONAL INC$50,000
THE BROOKLYN QUEENS CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC$40,000
UNITED JEWISH APPEAL - FEDERATION OF JEWISH PHILANTHROPIES OF NEW YORK INC$35,000
AMERICAN JEWISH WORLD SERVICE INC$35,000
INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE INC$20,000
EARTHJUSTICE$20,000
BARNARD COLLEGE$20,000
CORNWALL CONSERVATION TRUST INC$18,000
DOROT INC$15,000
HOUSATONIC VALLEY ASSOCIATION INC$15,000
WORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC$10,000
MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERS USA INC (DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS)$10,000
SHARON AUDUBON CENTER$5,550
METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART$5,000
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, $417k) land where the poverty rate runs at 17%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 99% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%THE AMERICAN BREAST CANCER FOUNDATION INC: $100 → 6%THE AMERICAN BREAST CANCER FOUNDATION INC: $50 → 6%ROOM TO GROW: $20k → 20%ROOM TO GROW: $10k → 20%THE CHORE SERVICE: $500 → 9%THE CHORE SERVICE: $500 → 9%BORDER CROSSERS: $200 → 17%THE CHORE SERVICE: $500 → 9%CHORE SERVICE INC: $500 → 9%CHORE SERVICE INC: $500 → 9%CHORE SERVICE INC: $500 → 9%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $1k → 14%EXPANDED SCHOOLS: $1k → 17%ROOM TO GROW: $10k → 17%COMPREHENSIVE DEVELOPMENT INC: $5k → 17%ROOM TO GROW: $5k → 17%COMPREHENSIVE DEVELOPMENT INC: $5k → 17%ROOM TO GROW NATIONAL INC: $5k → 17%COMPREHENSIVE DEVELOPMENT INC: $3k → 17%ROOM TO GROW: $5k → 17%SUSAN B ANTHONY: $100 → 9%PROJECT EZRA: $100 → 17%MOUNT SINAI HEALTH SYSTEM: $15k → 17%DOROT: $75k → 17%DOROT: $50k → 17%DOROT: $50k → 17%DOROT INC: $45k → 17%DOROT INC: $30k → 17%DOROT INC: $26k → 17%DOROT: $25k → 17%DOROT INC: $15k → 17%MOUNT SINAI HEALTH SYSTEM: $7k → 17%MOUNT SINAI HEALTH SYSTEM: $3k → 17%MOUNT SINAI HEALTH SYSTEM: $3k → 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

WA
IL
NY
MA
OR
SD
OH
PA
NJ
CT
CA
CO
KY
VA
MD
DC
LA
MS
GA
TX
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.

78%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$7.8M · 99 repeat orgs$2.2M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +37% since the first grant, against +32% for those funded once.

99 repeat relationships: 33 still active in FY2025, 66 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

99
88

Total granted

$7.8M
$2.2M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+37%
+32%

Still filing today

67%
36%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $1k 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
EnvironmentArts & CultureHuman ServicesAnimalsEducationInternationalOther
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

  • EARTHJUSTICE
    7× · 2018–2025 · $490k · revenue +114%
  • R
    RARE
    6× · 2017–2023 · $460k · revenue +30%
  • BARNARD COLLEGE
    7× · 2017–2025 · $405k · revenue +60%

Funded once

  • FD
    FIDELITY DONOR ADVISED FUND
    one grant, 2017 · $1.0M
  • CS
    COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2022 · $400k · revenue -28%
  • AF
    AMERICAN FRIENDS OF BIRD LIF
    one grant, 2019 · $125k
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
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
2
New York Botanical Garden

The new york botanical garden is a museum of plants and a scientific research center devoted to the study of plants and their uses. it is the garden's mission to improve public understanding of the natural world, horticulture, and the…

Environment
3
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
4
Rainforest Trust

Rainforest trust saves endangered wildlife and protects our planet by creating rainforest reserves through partnerships, community engagement, and donor support.

International
5
American Humane Association

Founded in 1877, american humane association, dba american humane society (american humane) is committed to ensuring the safety, welfare and well-being of animals. our leadership programs are first to serve in promoting and nurturing the…

Animals
6
The Adirondack Council Inc

The adirondack council ensures the ecological integrity (clean water and air, wildlife habitat, etc.), wild character (solitude, scenic beauty, etc.), and vibrant communities of new york's six-million-acre adirondack park. the adirondack…

Environment
7
Dutchess Land Conservancy Inc

Dutchess land conservancy (dlc) is dedicated to preserving the scenic, agricultural and environmental resources of dutchess county, new york, and the surrounding area. dlc, as a private non-profit land conservation organization, carries…

Environment
8
Conservation International Foundation

Ci works to spotlight and secure the critical benefits that nature provides to humanity.

Environment
9
New York League of Conservation Voters

See schedule onylcv is a non-partisan policy making and political action organization that works to make environmental protection a top priority with elected officials, decision-makers and the voters by evaluating incumbent performance and…

—
10
New York League of Conservation Voters Education Fund

See schedule onylcvef's mission is to educate, engage and empower new yorkers to be effective advocates on behalf of the environment from clean energy and funding for parks, to solid waste and green buildings. first, we educate new yorkers…

Environment
11
Harvard Conservation Trust

To preserve the unique character and natural resources of harvard.

Environment
12
The Architectural League of New York

The architectural league of new york supports critically transformative work in the allied fields that shape the built environment. as a vital, independent forum, the league stimulates thinking, debate, and action on today's (continued on…

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Expanded Schools Inc; the most unlike its peers is Upper East Side Hatzolah Inc. 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

105 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. 105 of the 194 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)
21
Early backer (in before they grew)
105/105
Grantees still filing
82/105
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY INC: $2,551,000 · OtherNATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY INCFIDELITY DONOR ADVISED FUND: $1,000,000 · OtherFIDELITY DONOR ADVISED FUND+128 more: $2,223,984 · Other+128 moreEARTHJUSTICE: $490,000 · EnvironmentEARTHJUSTICERARE: $460,000 · EnvironmentRARENATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY INC: $355,500 · EnvironmentNATIONAL AUDUBON SO…HOUSATONIC VALLEY ASSOCIATION INC: $197,600 · EnvironmentHOUSATONIC VALLEY A…MASSACHUSETTS AUDUBON SOCIETY INC: $150,500 · EnvironmentMASSACHUSETTS AUDUB…WORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $120,000 · EnvironmentWORLD WILDLIFE FUND…+8 more: $63,000 · EnvironmentBARNARD COLLEGE: $405,000 · EducationBARNARD COLL…COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $400,000 · EducationCOLORADO STA…THE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK: $262,500 · EducationTHE TRUSTEES…MEDIA MATTERS FOR AMERICA: $70,000 · EducationMEDIA MATTER…The New York Public Library Astor Lenox and Tilden Foundations: $45,000 · Education+5 more: $12,200 · EducationCOOPERATIVE FOR ASSISTANCE AND RELIEF EVERYWHERE INC: $290,000 · InternationalInternational Rescue Committee INC: $170,000 · InternationalMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $160,000 · InternationalAMERICAN JEWISH WORLD SERVICE INC: $145,000 · International+4 more: $34,300 · InternationalDOROT INC: $316,000 · Human ServicesROOM TO GROW NATIONAL INC: $55,000 · Human ServicesMOUNT SINAI HEALTH SYSTEM INC: $28,000 · Human Services+8 more: $18,050 · Human ServicesFRIENDS OF BIRDLIFE INTERNATIONAL INC: $263,500 · AnimalsTune In To Nature org: $36,500 · AnimalsNATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION: $13,500 · AnimalsPANTHERA CORPORATION: $12,000 · Animals+5 more: $10,010 · AnimalsTHE BROOKLYN QUEENS CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC: $161,000 · Arts & CultureMETROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART: $55,000 · Arts & Culture+10 more: $11,360 · Arts & Culture
Other$5,774,984Environment$1,836,600Education$1,194,700International$799,300Human Services$417,050Animals$335,510Arts & Culture$227,360

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 budgetEARTHJUSTICE: $490,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetRARE: $460,000 over 6y, 0.7% of budgetBARNARD COLLEGE: $405,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetCOLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $400,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetNATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY INC: $355,500 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetDOROT INC: $316,000 over 8y, 0.8% of budgetCOOPERATIVE FOR ASSISTANCE AND RELIEF EVERYWHERE INC: $290,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetFRIENDS OF BIRDLIFE INTERNATIONAL INC: $263,500 over 3y, 3.2% of budgetTHE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK: $262,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetHOUSATONIC VALLEY ASSOCIATION INC: $197,600 over 8y, 2.7% of budgetUNITED JEWISH APPEAL-FEDERATION OF JEWISH PHILANTHROPIES OF NEW YORK INC: $188,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetInternational Rescue Committee INC: $170,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetTHE BROOKLYN QUEENS CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC: $161,000 over 6y, 0.7% of budgetFIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND: $160,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $160,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetMASSACHUSETTS AUDUBON SOCIETY INC: $150,500 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetAMERICAN JEWISH WORLD SERVICE INC: $145,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetWORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $120,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetMEDIA MATTERS FOR AMERICA: $70,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetROOM TO GROW NATIONAL INC: $55,000 over 6y, 0.4% of budgetMETROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART: $55,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetCITYMEALS-ON-WHEELS: $45,479 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetThe New York Public Library Astor Lenox and Tilden Foundations: $45,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetThe Charlotte Hungerford Hospital: $41,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetNEW ALTERNATIVES FOR CHILDREN INC: $40,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetTune In To Nature org: $36,500 over 4y, 1.8% of budgetMOUNT SINAI HEALTH SYSTEM INC: $28,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $25,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetNEW YORK CITY BIRD ALLIANCE INC: $25,000 over 4y, 0.6% of budgetALZHEIMER'S DISEASE & RELATED DISORDERS ASSOCIATION INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCornwall Conservation Trust Inc: $23,000 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetGREENPEACE INC: $20,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCITY HARVEST INC: $18,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetWEST SIDE CENTER FOR COMMUNITY LIFE: $18,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetTHE CORNWALL VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPT INC: $16,000 over 8y, 1.7% of budgetCOALITION FOR THE HOMELESS INC: $15,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetFOOD BANK FOR NEW YORK CITY: $14,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetSOUTHERN PLAINS LAND TRUST INC: $14,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetNATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION: $13,500 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetCOMPREHENSIVE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT INC: $12,500 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetUnited States Association for UNHCR: $12,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetPANTHERA CORPORATION: $12,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetBERKSHIRE TACONIC COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $10,300 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetGREENPEACE FUND INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCornell University: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCONNECTICUT AUDUBON SOCIETY INC: $10,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetTHE FRIENDS OF THE CORNELL LAB OF ORNITHOLOGY INC: $10,000 over 2y, 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.

  • Who funds EARTHJUSTICE ↗
  • Who funds RARE ↗
  • Who funds BARNARD COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY INC ↗
  • Who funds DOROT INC ↗
  • Who funds COOPERATIVE FOR ASSISTANCE AND RELIEF EVERYWHERE INC ↗
  • Who funds FRIENDS OF BIRDLIFE INTERNATIONAL INC ↗
  • Who funds THE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK ↗
  • Who funds HOUSATONIC VALLEY ASSOCIATION INC ↗
  • Who funds UNITED JEWISH APPEAL-FEDERATION OF JEWISH PHILANTHROPIES OF NEW YORK INC ↗
  • Who funds International Rescue Committee INC ↗
  • Who funds THE BROOKLYN QUEENS CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC ↗
  • Who funds FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ↗
  • Who funds MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC ↗
  • Who funds MASSACHUSETTS AUDUBON SOCIETY INC ↗
  • Who funds AMERICAN JEWISH WORLD SERVICE INC ↗
  • Who funds WORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC ↗
  • Who funds MEDIA MATTERS FOR AMERICA ↗
  • Who funds ROOM TO GROW NATIONAL INC ↗
  • Who funds METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART ↗
  • Who funds CITYMEALS-ON-WHEELS ↗
  • Who funds The New York Public Library Astor Lenox and Tilden Foundations ↗
  • Who funds The Charlotte Hungerford Hospital ↗
  • Who funds NEW ALTERNATIVES FOR CHILDREN INC ↗

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.

Northwest Connecticut…Berkshire Taconic Com…The Harriet F Dickens…Foundation for Commun…The Connecticut Commu…Mutual of America Fou…The Grace R and Alan …FjcJewish Communal FundCain Brothers Foundat…The Geisser Family Fo…The Hallingby Family …
Northwest Connecticut Community Foundation IncCT32× affinity13 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Northwest Connecticut Community Foundation Inc · Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation Inc · The Harriet F Dickenson Foundation Xxxxx4008 · Foundation for Community Health Inc · The Connecticut Community Foundation · Mutual of America Foundation · The Grace R and Alan D Marcus Foundation · Fjc · Jewish Communal Fund · Cain Brothers Foundation · The Geisser Family Foundation · The Hallingby Family Foundation 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.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Joseph and Barbara Ellis Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Joseph and Barbara Ellis Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 140%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 2%
  • Housatonic Valley Association Inc: 38% of income from government
  • Cornwall Conservation Trust Inc: 30% of income from government
  • Greenwoods Counseling & Referrals Inc: 7% of income from government
  • Connecticut Foodshare Inc: 5% of income from government
  • The Charlotte Hungerford Hospital: 3% of income from government
  • Connecticut Public Broadcasting Inc: 3% of income from government
  • Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Massachusetts Audubon Society Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Connecticut Audubon Society Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Golda Och Academy: 0% of income from government
  • Cornwall Library Association Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Music Mountain Incorporated: 0% of income from government
  • Susan B Anthony Project Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
14get no government money at all
29report 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, 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 194 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 Joseph and Barbara Ellis’ 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