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Lappe-Bowman J B for B-L Fdn-Char Tr at a glance

· Private foundation

Lappe-Bowman J B for B-L Fdn-Char Tr

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.

$260k
Granted FY2025still arriving
10
Grants FY2025still arriving
4
States reached
$75k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0192% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2021 to 2025.

Health$828kEducation$440kHuman Services$61kAnimals$35kArts & Culture$30kRecreation & Sports$8kOther$0
02FY2025 · 10 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k4 grants · $28k
  • $10k–50k3 grants · $43k
  • $50k–250k3 grants · $190k
$16,000
Median grant
4
States reached
$5.7M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
GUIDING EYES FOR THE BLIND$75,000
WESTERN PA SCHOOL FOR BLIND CHILDREN$65,000
THE SEEING EYE$50,000
GUIDE DOG FOUNDATION$16,500
Individual grant recipient$16,000
CARNEGIE LIBRARY OF PITTSBURGH$10,000
HELEN KELLER SERVICES FOR THE BLIND$7,500
PERKINS SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND$7,500
NATIONAL BRAILLE PRESS$7,500
PILOTS TO THE RESCUE$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 (FY21–25, $790k) land where the poverty rate runs at 8%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 13% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%GUIDING EYES FOR THE BLIND: $100k → 9%VISUALLY IMPAIRED ADVANCEMENT: $20k → 13%FIDELCO GUIDE DOG FOUNDATION: $20k → 11%THE SEEING EYE: $50k → 4%GUIDING EYES FOR THE BLIND: $100k → 9%VISUALLY IMPAIRED ADVANCEMENT: $11k → 13%FIDELCO GUIDE DOG FOUNDATION: $20k → 11%THE SEEING EYE: $50k → 4%GUIDING EYES FOR THE BLIND: $90k → 9%FIDELCO GUIDE DOG FOUNDATION: $11k → 11%THE SEEING EYE: $50k → 4%GUIDING EYES FOR THE BLIND: $75k → 9%FIDELCO GUIDE DOG FOUNDATION: $10k → 11%THE SEEING EYE: $50k → 4%GUIDING EYES FOR THE BLIND: $75k → 9%HELEN KELLER SERVICES FOR THE BLIND: $8k → 20%THE SEEING EYE: $50k → 4%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.

98%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.4M · 12 repeat orgs$28k to everyone else

12 repeat relationships: 8 still active in FY2025, 4 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

12
2

Total granted

$1.4M
$15k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+11%
+48%

Still filing today

75%
100%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 95% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $13k went to new ones.

50%100%’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’21’22’23’24’25
Human ServicesEducationAnimalsArts & 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

  • GE
    GUIDING EYES FOR THE BLIND INC
    5× · 2021–2025 · $440k · revenue +34%
  • TS
    THE SEEING EYE INC
    5× · 2021–2025 · $250k · revenue +12%
  • GD
    GUIDE DOG FOUNDATION FOR THE BLIND INC
    5× · 2021–2025 · $77k · revenue +40%

Funded once

  • US
    UNITED STATES ASSOCIATION OF BLIND ATHLETES INCgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $8k · revenue +48%
  • NY
    NEW YORK INSTITUTE FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION
    one grant, 2021 · $8k · revenue +22%
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
America's Vetdogs the Veterans K-9 Corps Inc

To assist disabled veterans, active military personnel, first responders with disabilities, and those who have served our country honorably to live with dignity and independence. america's vetdogs trains and places guide dogs for…

Public Benefit
2
Visionsservices for the Blind and Visually Impaired

Visions is a 98-year-old nonprofit vision rehabilitation and social service organization that trains low income people of all ages experiencing blindness and severe vision loss to lead independent and active lives at work, in their homes…

Human Services
3
Miami Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired Inc

Miami lighthouse through education, training, research, vision enhancement and as a center for learning provides hope, confidence, and independence for people of all ages. for nearly a century, miami lighthouse for the blind has been…

Human Services
4
Golden Opportunities for Independence Inc

To empower our clients to live independently, unencumbered by the challanges of daily living associated with medical disabilities. we match each client with a service dog that meets their individual needs. it is our goal to be flexible…

Animals
5
Can Do Canines

Can do canines transforms people's lives by creating mutually beneficial partnerships with specially trained dogs.

—
6
Central Association for the Blind Inc

To assist people who are blind or visually impaired to achieve their highest level of independence by providing vision rehabilitation services and offering integrated competitive jobs throughout all levels of the association including…

Health
7
American Foundation for the Blind Inc

The mission of the american foundation for the blind afb is to create equal opportunities and expand possibilities through advocacy thought leadership and strategic partnerships.

Human Services
8
The National Federation of the Blind

Integrating the blind into society

Health
9
Lighthouse of Collier Inc

The mission of lighthouse of collier, inc. is to foster independence and enhance the quality of life for the blind, visually impaired and their caregivers.

Human Services
10
Doheny Eye Institute

To further the conservation, improvement and restoration of human eyesight" (mrs. doheny - 1947).

—
11
American Council of the Blind Inc

To increase the independence, security, equality of opportunity, and quality of life for all blind and visually impaired people.

Health
12
St Louis Society for the Blind

The society enhances independence, empowers individuals and enriches the lives of people who are visually impaired or blind.

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Seeing Eye Inc; the most unlike its peers is The Animal Medical Center. 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

13 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. 13 of the 16 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)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
13/13
Grantees still filing
9/13
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

GUIDING EYES FOR THE BLIND INC: $440,000 · Human ServicesGUIDING EYES FOR THE BLIND INCTHE SEEING EYE INC: $250,000 · Human ServicesTHE SEEING EYE INCFIDELCO GUIDE DOG FOUNDATION INC: $61,000 · Human ServicesFIDELCO GUIDE DOG FOUNDATION INCVIA VISUALLY IMPAIRED ADVANCEMENT: $31,000 · Human Services+1 more: $7,500 · Human ServicesWESTERN PA SCHOOL FOR BLIND CHILDREN: $375,000 · OtherWESTERN PA SCHOOL FOR BLIND CHILDRENGUIDE DOG FOUNDATION FOR THE BLIND INC: $76,500 · OtherGUIDE DOG FOUNDATION FOR THE BLIND INCIndividual grant recipient: $67,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientHELLEN KELLER SERVICES FOR THE BLIND: $22,500 · Other+1 more: $7,500 · OtherCARNEGIE LIBRARY OF PITTSBURGH: $35,000 · EducationPERKINS SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND: $22,500 · EducationNEW YORK INSTITUTE FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION: $7,500 · EducationTHE ANIMAL MEDICAL CENTER: $30,000 · AnimalsPILOTS TO THE RESCUE INC: $5,000 · AnimalsNATIONAL BRAILLE PRESS INC: $30,000 · Arts & Culture
Human Services$789,500Other$548,500Education$65,000Animals$35,000Arts & Culture$30,000

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

25%50%75%100%$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetGUIDING EYES FOR THE BLIND INC: $440,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetTHE SEEING EYE INC: $250,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetGUIDE DOG FOUNDATION FOR THE BLIND INC: $76,500 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetFIDELCO GUIDE DOG FOUNDATION INC: $61,000 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetCARNEGIE LIBRARY OF PITTSBURGH: $35,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetVIA VISUALLY IMPAIRED ADVANCEMENT: $31,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTHE ANIMAL MEDICAL CENTER: $30,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL BRAILLE PRESS INC: $30,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetPERKINS SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND: $22,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetHelen Keller Services: $7,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUNITED STATES ASSOCIATION OF BLIND ATHLETES INC: $7,500 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetNEW YORK INSTITUTE FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION: $7,500 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.

Reader's Digest Partn…The Gibney Family Fou…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Reader's Digest Partners for Sight FoundationNY15.8× affinity5 shared granteesties to 3 of 3Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Reader's Digest Partners for Sight Foundation · The Gibney Family Foundation Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · 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 Lappe-Bowman J B for B-L Fdn-Char Tr funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Lappe-Bowman J B for B-L Fdn-Char Tr. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%4%8%11%15%share of the org’s income from government →median 7%
  • Perkins School for the Blind: 7% of income from government
  • National Braille Press Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
2get no government money at all
2report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–15%
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 16 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 Lappe-Bowman J B for B-L Fdn-Char Tr’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