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Nicolas Berggruen Charitable Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Nicolas Berggruen Charitable Foundation

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.

$1.9M
Granted FY2021
4
Grants FY2021
2
States reached
$1.8M
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, FY2017 to 2021.

Social Science$16MArts & Culture$825kEducation$597kInternational$250kScience & Tech$100kReligion$25kPhilanthropy$20kFood & Nutrition$250
02FY2021 · 4 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2021

  • Under $10k2 grants · $500
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $41k
  • $250k+1 grant · $1.8M
$41,427
Median grant
2
States reached
$11M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
BERGGRUEN INSTITUTE$1,830,350
FORDERKREIS MUSEUM BERGGRUEN$41,427
PLAYERS PHILANTHROPY FUND$250
FOOD BANK FOR NEW YORK CITY$250
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.

US giving: 88% of grant dollars ($16M). The need read here covers only this US portion; the 12% that went abroad ($2.1M) is mapped below.

show:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–21) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 99% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE: $100k → 8%BERGGRUEN INSTITUTE: $12.8M → 14%FORDERKREIS MUSEUM BERGGRUEN: $56k → 13%AMERICAN FRIENDS OF FOUNDATION BEYELER: $20k → 17%HILLEL INTERNATIONAL: $25k → 14%PORTLAND ART MUSEUM: $25k → 12%ARIEL EDUCATION INITIATIVE: $20k → 14%PLAYERS PHILANTHROPY FUND: $250 → 11%PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE: $50k → 8%BERGRUEN INSTITUTE: $1.5M → 14%FORDERKREIS MUSEUM BERGGRUEN: $41k → 13%FOOD BANK FOR NEW YORK CITY: $250 → 17%PORTLAND ART MUSEUM: $25k → 12%PRESIDENT & FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE: $50k → 8%CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY: $100k → 14%AMERICAN FRIENDS OF FOUNDATION BEYELER: $10k → 17%PORTLAND ART MUSEUM: $25k → 12%THE MILKEN INSTITUTE: $25k → 14%ASIA SOCIETY: $250k → 17%PORTLAND ART MUSEUM: $25k → 12%ARMAND HAMMER MUSEUM OF ART AND CULTURAL CENTER INC: $25k → 14%NEW YORK SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL: $25k → 17%VALUE SCHOOLS: $15k → 14%INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF MOMA: $18k → 17%UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: $337k → 14%INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF MOMA: $10k → 17%LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART: $100k → 14%INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF MOMA: $10k → 17%LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART: $100k → 14%NEW YORK UNIVERSITY: $25k → 17%LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART: $100k → 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

IL
NY
MA
OR
OH
CA
MD
DC

Beyond the US: 12% of all-years giving ($2.1M)

3 countries, by the recipient’s country on the filing.

grant dollars sentlessmore
Bermuda$1.8M · 1 grant
Germany$203k · 3 grants
United Kingdom$104k · 7 grants
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. International giving is mapped by the recipient’s country from the same 990 filings; comparable need data isn’t available at that grain.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

86%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$15M · 8 repeat orgs$2.4M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +89% since the first grant, against +29% for those funded once.

8 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2021, 7 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2021 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

8
10

Total granted

$15M
$616k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+89%
+29%

Still filing today

50%
90%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2021, 2% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $1.8M went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21
EducationArts & CultureInternationalCommunity ImprovementReligionOther
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

  • MA
    MUSEUM ASSOCIATES
    3× · 2018–2020 · $300k · revenue +89%
  • PORTLAND ART MUSEUM
    4× · 2017–2020 · $100k · revenue +3%
  • AF
    AMERICAN FRIENDS OF FONDATION BEYELER
    2× · 2019–2020 · $30k · revenue +502%

Funded once

  • TA
    THE ASIA SOCIETY
    one grant, 2019 · $250k · revenue -16%
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2017 · $106k
  • CI
    CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
    one grant, 2018 · $100k · revenue +0%
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
Institute for Advanced Study - Louis Bamberger & Mrs Felix Fuld Foundation

The institute for advanced study (the institute) is one of the world's leading centers for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. see schedule o.

Science & Tech
2
California Institute of Contemporary Art
—
3
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
4
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
5
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Chartered by a unanimous act of congress, the museum is america's national institution for the documentation, study, interpretation, and education of holocaust history and serves as our country's memorial to the victims of the holocaust.…

Arts & Culture
6
The Paley Center for Media

Description of organization mission: the paley center for media is the premier institution dedicated to advancing the understanding of media-it's artistic value, social impact and historical importance-for the public and media…

Arts & Culture
7
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
8
Metropolitan Museum of Art

The metropolitan museum of art collects, studies, conserves, and presents significant works of art across all times and cultures in order to connect people to creativity, knowledge, and ideas.

Arts & Culture
9
Smithsonian Institution

*increase and diffusion of knowledge* is the mission set forth by james smithson. the smithsonian endeavors to shape the future by preserving our heritage, discovering new knowledge, and sharing our resources with the world.

Arts & Culture
10
University of Miami

See Form 990, Part I, Line 1, Description of Organization Mission.

Education
11
Museum of the City of New York

The museum of the city of new york fosters understanding of the distinctive nature of urban life in the world's most influential metropolis. it engages visitors by celebrating, documenting, and interpreting the city's past, present, and…

Arts & Culture
12
Philadelphia Museum of Art

The philadelphia museum of art - in partnership with the city, the region, and art museums around the globe - seeks to preserve, enhance, interpret, and extend the reach of its great collection in particular, and the visual arts in…

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is California Institute of Technology; the most unlike its peers is Berggruen Institute. 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

18 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. 18 of the 24 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)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
18/18
Grantees still filing
13/18
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Berggruen Institute: $14,315,212 · EducationBerggruen Institute+6 more: $696,758 · EducationBERGGRUEN INSTITUTE: $1,830,350 · OtherBERGGRUEN INS…Individual grant recipient: $105,798 · OtherFORDERKREIS MUSEUM BERGGRUEN: $97,510 · Other+4 more: $166,517 · Other+4 moreMUSEUM ASSOCIATES: $300,000 · Arts & CulturePORTLAND ART MUSEUM: $100,000 · Arts & CultureAMERICAN FRIENDS OF FONDATION BEYELER: $30,000 · Arts & CultureNEW YORK SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL: $25,000 · Arts & CultureARMAND HAMMER MUSEUM OF ART AND CULTURAL CENTER INC: $25,000 · Arts & CultureTHE ASIA SOCIETY: $250,000 · InternationalHILLEL THE FOUNDATION FOR JEWISH CAMPUS LIFE: $25,000 · ReligionFIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND: $20,000 · Community Improvement+1 more: $250 · Community ImprovementPLAYERS PHILANTHROPY FUND INC: $250 · Philanthropy
Education$15,011,970Other$2,200,175Arts & Culture$480,000International$250,000Religion$25,000Community Improvement$20,250Philanthropy$250

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 budgetBerggruen Institute: $14,315,212 over 2y, 97% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: $336,758 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE ASIA SOCIETY: $250,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetPresident and Fellows of Harvard College: $200,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetPORTLAND ART MUSEUM: $100,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetCALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY: $100,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN FRIENDS OF FONDATION BEYELER: $30,000 over 2y, 15% of budgetNew York University: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNEW YORK SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE MILKEN INSTITUTE: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHILLEL THE FOUNDATION FOR JEWISH CAMPUS LIFE: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetARMAND HAMMER MUSEUM OF ART AND CULTURAL CENTER INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetFIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetAriel Education Initiative: $20,000 over 1y, 2.3% of budgetVALUE SCHOOLS: $15,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetFOOD BANK FOR NEW YORK CITY: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPLAYERS PHILANTHROPY FUND INC: $250 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 set of overlaps that mostly run through this funder rather than between each other.

Fidelity Investments …
Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift FundMA6× affinity4 shared granteesties to 0 of 0Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund

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 Nicolas Berggruen Charitable Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Nicolas Berggruen Charitable Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%23%45%68%90%share of the org’s income from government →median 7%
  • President and Fellows of Harvard College: 7% of income from government
  • Portland Art Museum: 1% 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 · 0–90%
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 Nicolas Berggruen Charitable Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Nicolas Berggruen Charitable 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 24 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 2021, released 2021. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2024) is on record and reports no grant expense, so the figures above are from FY2021, the most recent year this funder made grants.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Nicolas Berggruen’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