Skip to content
Paul Bechtner Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Paul Bechtner 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.

$1.1M
Granted FY2024still arriving
68
Grants FY2024still arriving
17
States reached
$150k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
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 2024.

Philanthropy$3.2MInternational$1.4MArts & Culture$1.4MHuman Services$1.3MEnvironment$1.3MEducation$985kHealth$644kFood & Nutrition$280kOther$0
02FY2024 · 68 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k25 grants · $128k
  • $10k–50k38 grants · $600k
  • $50k–250k5 grants · $630k
$10,000
Median grant
17
States reached
$17M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
FAMILY AID BOSTON$150,000
Individual grant recipient$150,000
CHESAPEAKE CLIMATE ACTION NETWORK$150,000
OPERATION SMILE$90,000
SAN DIEGO FOOD BANK$90,000
SAN DIEGO MUSEUM OF ART$35,000
DENVER ART MUSEUM$35,000
NAT'L ALLIANCE ON MENTAL ILLNESS$30,000
COLORADO PUBLIC RADIO$25,000
UBUNTU GLOBAL CONNECTIONS$25,000
Individual grant recipient$25,000
THE INVISIBLE INSTITUTE$25,000
SAN DIEGO HISTORY CENTER$20,000
GEOVERSITY FOUNDATION$20,000
RYAN FAMILY YMCA$20,000
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 (FY18–24, $214k) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%EMERGENCY FAMILY ASSISTANCE ASSOC: $50k → 12%YMCA OF GREATER BOSTON: $1k → 16%EMERGENCY FAMILY ASSISTANCE: $5k → 12%YMCA OF GREATER BOSTON: $500 → 16%POLESTAR GARDENS: $5k → 15%EMERGENCY FAMILY ASSISTANCE ASSOC: $5k → 12%POLESTAR GARDENS: $5k → 15%BOULDER JCC: $5k → 12%BOULDER JCC: $5k → 12%BOULDER JCC: $2k → 12%C24FATHER'S ARMS MINISTRIES: $125k → 14%C24FATHER'S ARMS MINISTRIES: $5k → 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

ME
VT
WA
IL
WI
NY
MA
OR
IA
OH
PA
RI
CA
UT
CO
KY
VA
MD
TN
NC
SC
DC
HI
LA
AL
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.

73%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$6.3M · 102 repeat orgs$2.3M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +59% since the first grant, against +13% for those funded once.

102 repeat relationships: 34 still active in FY2024, 68 since wound down; 29 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

102
68

Total granted

$6.3M
$1.8M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+59%
+13%

Still filing today

64%
65%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 60% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $535k 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
EnvironmentArts & CultureEducationHealthInternationalHuman ServicesOther
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

  • WC
    Water Charity
    7× · 2017–2023 · $432k · revenue +7% · 26% of their budget
  • TA
    THE ADMINISTRATORS OF THE TULANE EDUCATIONAL FUND
    6× · 2017–2022 · $359k · revenue +72%
  • UG
    UBUNTU GLOBAL CONNECTIONS
    8× · 2017–2024 · $283k · revenue +146% · 27% of their budget

Funded once

  • RF
    RAINFOREST FOUNDATION INC
    one grant, 2022 · $177k · revenue -30%
  • DIRECT RELIEFgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $168k · revenue +94%
  • BC
    BUILD CHANGEgraduated
    one grant, 2019 · $133k · revenue +37%
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
Boston Architectural College

The bac is committed to provide excellence in design education grounded in practice and accessible to diverse communities.

—
2
The Union of Concerned Scientists Inc

The union of concerned scientists puts rigorous, independent science into action, developing solutions and advocating for a healthy, safe, and just future.

International
3
World Resources Institute

Wri is committed to creating change that improves people's lives and ensures the natural world can thrive. (see schedule o)wri's bold vision requires a formula for success we call "count it. change it. scale it.":- count it: our work is…

International
4
Friends of the Earth

Friends of the earth strives for a more healthy and just world by defendng the environment and human health while advancing social and economic justice by conducting research and education, transforming the economy so it protects the…

Environment
5
Cdp North America Inc

Cdp north america, inc. 's ("cdp-na") vision for the future is a thriving economy that works for people and planet in the long term. we focus investors and companies on taking urgent action to build a truly sustainable economy by measuring…

Environment
6
Grist Magazine Inc

Grist is an independent, non profit media organization dedicated to reporting on climate change.

Environment
7
United States Naval Institute

Provide an independent forum for those who dare to read, think, speak, and write to advance the professional, literary, and scientific understanding of sea power and other issues critical to global security.

—
8
Central Indiana Corporate Partnership Inc

Central indiana corporate partnership (cicp) is an alliance of indiana's business and research university leaders coming together to foster long-term prosperity for the region. cicp's mission is to transform the economy of indiana in order…

Community Improvement
9
Environmental Investigation Agency

To establish and promote programs to protect the global climate, forests, wildlife and the natural environment, through research, advocacy, and investigation.

International
10
CarbonPlan

Improving the transparency and scientific integrity of climate solutions through open data and tools.

Environment
11
The Water Research Foundation

The purpose of the water research foundation (wrf) is a definitive research organization to advance the science of all things water to better meet the evolving needs of its subscribers and the water sector. to engage exclusively in…

Environment
12
Center for International Environmental Law Inc

To investigate, research, write, publish, present conferences and teach with respect to global, regional, transboundary, and comparative environmental issues and to make the findings from such activities available to the general public; to…

International
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Water Missions International; the most unlike its peers is San Diego Museum of Art. 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

129 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. 129 of the 204 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.

3
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
28
Early backer (in before they grew)
128/129
Grantees still filing
93/129
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

VANGUARD CHARITABLE ENDOWMENT PROGRAM: $2,986,890 · PhilanthropyVANGUARD CHARITABLE ENDOWMENT P…+3 more: $260,500 · Philanthropy+3 moreFATHER'S ARMS MINISTRIESC24: $272,500 · OtherFATHER'S ARMS MINISTRIESC24FAMILYAID BOSTON INC: $165,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $150,000 · OtherJACOBS & CUSHMAN SAN DIEGO FOOD BANK: $255,000 · OtherJACOBS & CUSHMAN SAN DIEGO FOOD BANK+130 more: $3,591,834 · Other+130 moreWater Charity: $432,000 · InternationalWater Charit…UBUNTU GLOBAL CONNECTIONS: $282,667 · InternationalUBUNTU GLOBA…MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $235,000 · InternationalMEDECINS SAN…DIRECT RELIEF: $168,000 · InternationalDIRECT RELIE…OPERATION SMILE INC: $90,000 · InternationalOPERATION SM…REFUGEPOINT INC: $70,000 · InternationalREFUGEPOINT …+2 more: $27,000 · InternationalCHESAPEAKE CLIMATE ACTION NETWORK INC: $180,000 · EnvironmentRAINFOREST FOUNDATION INC: $176,600 · EnvironmentCITIZENS CLIMATE EDUCATION CORP: $100,000 · EnvironmentAMERICAN RIVERS INC: $80,000 · EnvironmentSolar Cookers International: $70,000 · EnvironmentNATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC: $60,000 · EnvironmentSIERRA CLUB FOUNDATION: $50,000 · EnvironmentFriends of Acadia: $39,000 · EnvironmentBEAR RIVER LAND CONSERVANCY: $30,000 · Environment+7 more: $92,500 · EnvironmentSAN DIEGO MUSEUM OF ART: $255,000 · Arts & CultureDENVER ART MUSEUM: $133,000 · Arts & CulturePUBLIC BROADCASTING OF COLORADO INC: $120,000 · Arts & CultureChicago Humanities Festival: $112,500 · Arts & CultureWINNETKA COMMUNITY HOUSE INC: $110,000 · Arts & CultureTHE PUTNAM FOUNDATION DBA TIMKEN MUSEUM OF ART: $35,000 · Arts & Culture+9 more: $59,000 · Arts & CultureTHE ADMINISTRATORS OF THE TULANE EDUCATIONAL FUND: $359,200 · EducationBENNINGTON COLLEGE CORPORATION: $125,000 · EducationBEREA COLLEGE: $100,000 · EducationWOLCOTT SCHOOL: $55,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF COLORADO FOUNDATION: $35,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN FOUNDATION: $31,000 · Education+9 more: $60,500 · EducationPARTNERS IN HEALTH A NONPROFIT CORPORATION: $100,000 · HealthLAST MILE HEALTH: $70,000 · HealthNAMI National: $60,000 · HealthNYAYA HEALTH: $50,000 · HealthTHE JACKSON LABORATORY: $30,000 · HealthMAD IN AMERICA FOUNDATION: $19,000 · HealthKATIES SAVE: $15,000 · HealthCHARLOTTESVILLE FREE CLINIC: $15,000 · Health
Philanthropy$3,247,390Other$4,434,334International$1,304,667Environment$878,100Arts & Culture$824,500Education$765,700Health$359,000

Showing the 200 largest grantees by grant value.

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 budgetVANGUARD CHARITABLE ENDOWMENT PROGRAM: $2,986,890 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetWater Charity: $432,000 over 7y, 26% of budgetTHE ADMINISTRATORS OF THE TULANE EDUCATIONAL FUND: $359,200 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetUBUNTU GLOBAL CONNECTIONS: $282,667 over 8y, 27% of budgetSAN DIEGO MUSEUM OF ART: $255,000 over 8y, 0.4% of budgetJACOBS & CUSHMAN SAN DIEGO FOOD BANK: $255,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $235,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCHESAPEAKE CLIMATE ACTION NETWORK INC: $180,000 over 2y, 5.5% of budgetRAINFOREST FOUNDATION INC: $176,600 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetFAMILYAID BOSTON INC: $165,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetThe Coalition of Immokalee Workers Inc: $145,000 over 3y, 4.1% of budgetGeoversity Foundation: $140,000 over 7y, 7.6% of budgetDENVER ART MUSEUM: $133,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetC24 7 FATHER'S ARMS MINISTRIES: $130,000 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetBENNINGTON COLLEGE CORPORATION: $125,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetPUBLIC BROADCASTING OF COLORADO INC: $120,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetChicago Humanities Festival: $112,500 over 4y, 1.8% of budgetWINNETKA COMMUNITY HOUSE INC: $110,000 over 7y, 0.6% of budgetSAN DIEGO HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $110,000 over 8y, 1.6% of budgetJEWISHColorado: $105,500 over 7y, 0.5% of budgetEQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE: $105,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetBEREA COLLEGE: $100,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCITIZENS CLIMATE EDUCATION CORP: $100,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetPARTNERS IN HEALTH A NONPROFIT CORPORATION: $100,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetWINNETKA HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $95,000 over 8y, 6.9% of budgetOPERATION SMILE INC: $90,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetEvanston Community Foundation: $80,000 over 8y, 0.4% of budgetAMERICAN RIVERS INC: $80,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetOne World Childrens Fund: $75,000 over 1y, 2.3% of budgetLAST MILE HEALTH: $70,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetSolar Cookers International: $70,000 over 7y, 1.6% of budgetREFUGEPOINT INC: $70,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetTreeSisters Women Seeding Change: $66,667 over 1y, 94% of budgetWOODSON CENTER: $66,667 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetGREEN AMERICA: $66,667 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetNATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC: $60,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetEMERGENCY FAMILY ASSISTANCE ASSOCIATION: $60,000 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetNAMI National: $60,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetWOLCOTT SCHOOL: $55,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetSOUTH YUBA RIVER CITIZENS LEAGUE: $55,000 over 8y, 0.3% of budgetSIERRA CLUB FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetNYAYA HEALTH: $50,000 over 1y, 2.0% of budgetFriends of Acadia: $39,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetClaremont McKenna College: $37,500 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetTHE PUTNAM FOUNDATION DBA TIMKEN MUSEUM OF ART: $35,000 over 7y, 0.3% of budgetLOWER EAST SIDE PRINTSHOP INC: $35,000 over 2y, 3.0% of budgetInvisible Institute: $35,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetSCHOOL JUSTICE PROJECT INC: $35,000 over 2y, 1.3% 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 VANGUARD CHARITABLE ENDOWMENT PROGRAM ↗
  • Who funds Water Charity ↗
  • Who funds THE ADMINISTRATORS OF THE TULANE EDUCATIONAL FUND ↗
  • Who funds UBUNTU GLOBAL CONNECTIONS ↗
  • Who funds SAN DIEGO MUSEUM OF ART ↗
  • Who funds JACOBS & CUSHMAN SAN DIEGO FOOD BANK ↗
  • Who funds MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC ↗
  • Who funds CHESAPEAKE CLIMATE ACTION NETWORK INC ↗
  • Who funds RAINFOREST FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds DIRECT RELIEF ↗
  • Who funds FAMILYAID BOSTON INC ↗
  • Who funds The Coalition of Immokalee Workers Inc ↗
  • Who funds Geoversity Foundation ↗
  • Who funds BUILD CHANGE ↗
  • Who funds DENVER ART MUSEUM ↗
  • Who funds C24 7 FATHER'S ARMS MINISTRIES ↗
  • Who funds BENNINGTON COLLEGE CORPORATION ↗
  • Who funds PUBLIC BROADCASTING OF COLORADO INC ↗
  • Who funds Chicago Humanities Festival ↗
  • Who funds WINNETKA COMMUNITY HOUSE INC ↗
  • Who funds SAN DIEGO HISTORICAL SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds JEWISHColorado ↗
  • Who funds EQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE ↗
  • Who funds BEREA COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds CITIZENS CLIMATE EDUCATION CORP ↗
  • Who funds PARTNERS IN HEALTH A NONPROFIT CORPORATION ↗
  • Who funds WINNETKA HISTORICAL SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds OPERATION SMILE INC ↗
  • Who funds Evanston Community Foundation ↗
  • Who funds AMERICAN RIVERS INC ↗
  • Who funds One World Childrens Fund ↗
  • Who funds LAST MILE HEALTH ↗

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 Elmo FoundationJohn D and Catherine …Price Philanthropies …The Chicago Community…The Conrad Prebys Fou…The Parker FoundationGs Donor Advised Phil…Samuel I & John Henry…The San Diego Foundat…Jewish Community Foun…Polk Bros Foundation …Patrons of the Prado
The Elmo FoundationVA24× affinity9 shared granteesties to 5 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Elmo Foundation · John D and Catherine T Macarthur Foundation · Price Philanthropies Foundation · The Chicago Community Trust · The Conrad Prebys Foundation · The Parker Foundation · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · Samuel I & John Henry Fox Foundation · The San Diego Foundation · Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego · Polk Bros Foundation Inc · Patrons of the Prado

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 60%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 12%
  • More Than Words Inc: 24% of income from government
  • Greater Boston Food Bank Inc: 22% of income from government
  • Trustees of Boston University: 12% of income from government
  • Familyaid Boston Inc: 4% of income from government
  • Partners in Health a Nonprofit Corporation: 0% of income from government
  • Bennington College Corporation: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
6get no government money at all
34report 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 204 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 Paul Bechtner’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