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McBurney Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

McBurney 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.

$255k
Granted FY2025still arriving
27
Grants FY2025still arriving
5
States reached
$30k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2025.

Education$489kArts & Culture$306kHuman Services$82kCommunity Improvement$56kRecreation & Sports$45kFood & Nutrition$39kHealth$32kCrime & Legal$31kOther$0
02FY2025 · 27 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k16 grants · $80k
  • $10k–50k11 grants · $175k
$5,000
Median grant
5
States reached
$2.9M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
REDWOOD HIGH SCHOOL FOUNDATION$30,000
THE BRANSON SCHOOL$25,000
HEADLANDS CENTER FOR THE ARTS$25,000
SF-MARIN FOOD BANK$20,000
LA BIBLIOTECA PUBLICA DE SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE$15,000
CHARITIES AID FOUNDATION AMERICA$10,000
HOPE AND HEALING FOUNDATION$10,000
BOLINAS MUSEUM$10,000
PLAY MARIN$10,000
BOLINAS FIRE HOUSE PARK$10,000
ATLANA VOLUNTEER LAWYERS FOUNDATION$10,000
SALESIAN COLLEGE PREPARATORY$8,000
Individual grant recipient$5,000
BELVEDERE COVE FOUNDATION$5,000
CALL OF THE SEA MATTHEW TURNER PROJECT$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 (FY20–25, $38k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%SAN MIGUEL COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $5k → 21%SAN MIGUEL COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $4k → 21%VIVALON: $10k → 8%VIVALON: $10k → 8%VIVALON: $5k → 8%VIVALON: $4k → 8%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

ME
WA
IL
NY
CA
VA
DC
GA
TX
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.

88%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$994k · 27 repeat orgs$137k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +20% since the first grant, against 0% for those funded once.

27 repeat relationships: 18 still active in FY2025, 9 since wound down; 8 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

27
8

Total granted

$994k
$22k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+20%
0%

Still filing today

56%
75%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 53% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $115k went to new ones.

50%100%’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’20’21’22’23’24’25
EducationHuman ServicesArts & CultureHealthCommunity ImprovementCrime & LegalOther
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

  • FI
    ForWords Inc
    3× · 2020–2022 · $160k · revenue +32% · 25% of their budget
  • BM
    BOLINAS MUSEUM
    5× · 2021–2025 · $90k · revenue +20%
  • MP
    MARIN PRIMARY & MIDDLE SCHOOL
    4× · 2020–2023 · $49k · revenue +13%

Funded once

  • CO
    CITY OF SAN RAFAEL
    one grant, 2021 · $5k
  • FO
    FRIENDS OF HILLSBORO CITY LIBRARY
    one grant, 2023 · $5k · revenue -31%
  • HA
    HOME AUSTIN
    one grant, 2024 · $3k
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
Marin Academy

Marin academy asks every individual to think, question, and create in an environment of encouragement and compassion, and challenges each person to accept the responsibilities posed by education in a democratic society.

Education
2
Transportation Alternatives for Marin
Public Benefit
3
The Bar Association of San Francisco

The bar association of san francisco champions equal access to justice and promotes humanity, excellence, and diversity in the legal profession. we provide legal services to disadvantaged and underserved individuals in san francisco. we…

—
4
Marin Open Studios

Marin open studios is a non-profit visual arts organization dedicated to engaging and supporting marin county artists and their audiences through events, programs and services. marin open studios champions a diverse and inclusive community…

Arts & Culture
5
The International School of San Francisco

Guided by the principles of academic rigor and diversity, the international school of san francisco offers programs of study in french and english to prepare its graduates for a world in which the ability to think critically and to…

Education
6
Marin Humane Society

Marin humane transforms lives through exceptional animal care, humane education, and advocacy. every day, marin humane inspires compassion and positive relationships between people and animals.

Animals
7
Marin Community Foundation

Mobilizing the power of community and the resources of philanthropy to advance equity for people, places and the planet.

Philanthropy
8
San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory

The San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory is dedicated to the conservation of birds and their habitats through science and outreach.

Environment
9
Marin School of the Arts Foundation

Our mission is to create opportunities for Marin School of the Arts to innovate and support a quality arts education experience for all of its students.

Education
10
Uc Santa Barbara Foundation

The uc santa barbara foundation actively works to further the goals of the university of california, santa barbara. the foundation seeks to maintain and nurture the university's quality and distinction. on behalf of the campus, the…

Education
11
Santa Barbara Education Foundation

Santa Barbara Education Foundation (SBEF) provides and supports programs that enrich the academic, artistic, and personal development of all students in the Santa Barbara Unified School District.

Education
12
Marin County Bicycle Coalition

To promote safe bicyling for everyday transportation and recreation. this is accomplished by working with local jurisdictions to design improved bicycle facilities, identifying project funding, and providing countywide bicycling education.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is San Francisco University High School; the most unlike its peers is Maine Fiberarts. 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

28 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. 28 of the 44 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.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
3
Early backer (in before they grew)
27/28
Grantees still filing
14/28
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

ForWords Inc: $160,000 · OtherForWords IncLA BIBLIOTECA PUBLICA DE SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE: $155,000 · OtherLA BIBLIOTECA PUBLICA DE SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDESCHOOL OF THE SACRED HEART: $45,000 · OtherSCHOOL OF THE SACRED HEARTCALL OF THE SEA MATTHEW TURNER PROJECT: $35,000 · OtherSALESIAN COLLEGE PREPARATORY: $33,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $27,000 · OtherTHE BELVEDERE COVE FOUNDATION: $25,000 · Other+21 more: $183,000 · Other+21 moreMARIN PRIMARY & MIDDLE SCHOOL: $49,000 · EducationMARIN PRIMARY & M…REDWOOD HIGH SCHOOL FOUNDATION: $30,000 · EducationREDWOOD HIGH SCHO…10000 DEGREES: $30,000 · Education10000 DEGREESKENTFIELD SCHOOLS FOUNDATION: $25,000 · EducationKENTFIELD SCHOOLS…THE BRANSON SCHOOL: $25,000 · EducationTHE BRANSON SCHOO…SAN FRANCISCO UNIVERSITY HIGH SCHOOL: $15,000 · EducationSAN FRANCISCO UNI…+1 more: $5,000 · EducationBOLINAS MUSEUM: $90,000 · Arts & CultureBOLINAS MUSEUMHEADLANDS CENTER FOR THE ARTS: $59,000 · Arts & CultureHEADLANDS CENT…+1 more: $2,000 · Arts & CultureVivalon: $29,000 · Human ServicesGUIDE DOGS FOR THE BLIND INC: $20,000 · Human ServicesSAN MIGUEL COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $9,000 · Human ServicesBolinas Community Inc: $56,000 · Community ImprovementPROJECT AVARY INC ALTERNATIVE VENTURES FOR AT RISK YOUTH: $20,000 · Crime & LegalExtrafood: $19,000 · Food & Nutrition
Other$663,000Education$179,000Arts & Culture$151,000Human Services$58,000Community Improvement$56,000Crime & Legal$20,000Food & Nutrition$19,000

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 budgetForWords Inc: $160,000 over 3y, 25% of budgetBOLINAS MUSEUM: $90,000 over 5y, 4.2% of budgetHEADLANDS CENTER FOR THE ARTS: $59,000 over 5y, 0.7% of budgetBolinas Community Inc: $56,000 over 6y, 8.8% of budgetMARIN PRIMARY & MIDDLE SCHOOL: $49,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetREDWOOD HIGH SCHOOL FOUNDATION: $30,000 over 1y, 2.3% of budget10000 DEGREES: $30,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetVivalon: $29,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetKENTFIELD SCHOOLS FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetTHE BELVEDERE COVE FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 4y, 3.5% of budgetTHE BRANSON SCHOOL: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetGUIDE DOGS FOR THE BLIND INC: $20,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetSAN FRANCISCO FOOD BANK: $20,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPROJECT AVARY INC ALTERNATIVE VENTURES FOR AT RISK YOUTH: $20,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetExtrafood: $19,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetCHARITIES AID FOUNDATION AMERICA: $15,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSAN FRANCISCO UNIVERSITY HIGH SCHOOL: $15,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetPLAY MARIN: $10,000 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetBOLINAS COMMUNITY LAND TRUST: $10,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetSAN MIGUEL COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $9,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetEast Bay Agency for Children: $8,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWILDCARE: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFRIENDS OF HILLSBORO CITY LIBRARY: $5,000 over 1y, 2.0% of budgetALZHEIMER'S DISEASE & RELATED DISORDERS ASSOCIATION INC: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLATIN AMERICAN RELIEF FUND: $2,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetMAINE FIBERARTS: $2,000 over 1y, 2.4% of budgetTRIPS FOR KIDS NATIONAL: $2,000 over 1y, 6.7% of budgetMARIN COUNTY DEPUTY SHERIFFS ASSN: $1,000 over 1y, 0.2% 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 ForWords Inc ↗
  • Who funds BOLINAS MUSEUM ↗
  • Who funds HEADLANDS CENTER FOR THE ARTS ↗
  • Who funds Bolinas Community Inc ↗
  • Who funds MARIN PRIMARY & MIDDLE SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds REDWOOD HIGH SCHOOL FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds 10000 DEGREES ↗
  • Who funds Vivalon ↗
  • Who funds KENTFIELD SCHOOLS FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds THE BELVEDERE COVE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds THE BRANSON SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds GUIDE DOGS FOR THE BLIND INC ↗
  • Who funds SAN FRANCISCO FOOD BANK ↗
  • Who funds PROJECT AVARY INC ALTERNATIVE VENTURES FOR AT RISK YOUTH ↗
  • Who funds Extrafood ↗
  • Who funds CHARITIES AID FOUNDATION AMERICA ↗
  • Who funds SAN FRANCISCO UNIVERSITY HIGH SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds PLAY MARIN ↗
  • Who funds BOLINAS COMMUNITY LAND TRUST ↗
  • Who funds SAN MIGUEL COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds East Bay Agency for Children ↗
  • Who funds WILDCARE ↗
  • Who funds FRIENDS OF HILLSBORO CITY LIBRARY ↗
  • Who funds ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE & RELATED DISORDERS ASSOCIATION 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.

Marin Community Found…Jewish Community Fede…The San Francisco Fou…Leonard & Beryl Buck …Silicon Valley Commun…Gordon E and Betty I …Crankstart FoundationMcNabb FoundationAmerican Endowment Fo…Morgan Stanley Global…Hedberg Foundation IncThe Ayco Charitable F…
Marin Community FoundationCA31.1× affinity14 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Marin Community Foundation · Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco the Peninsula Marin & Sonoma · The San Francisco Foundation · Leonard & Beryl Buck Foundation · Silicon Valley Community Foundation · Gordon E and Betty I Moore Foundation · Crankstart Foundation · McNabb Foundation · American Endowment Foundation · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · Hedberg Foundation Inc · The Ayco Charitable 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 McBurney Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from McBurney Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%2%8%17%30%funder's share of their income ↑0%15%30%45%60%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    9report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–60%
    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 McBurney Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to McBurney 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.

    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 44 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 McBurney’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