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Strachan & Vivian H Donnelley Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Strachan & Vivian H Donnelley 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.

$184k
Granted FY2025still arriving
16
Grants FY2025still arriving
5
States reached
$25k
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, FY2021 to 2025.

Environment$258kPhilanthropy$189kArts & Culture$151kEducation$111kFood & Nutrition$30kHealth$15kYouth Development$10kRecreation & Sports$6k
02FY2025 · 16 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k8 grants · $42k
  • $10k–50k8 grants · $142k
$10,000
Median grant
5
States reached
$2.8M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
EASTMAN SCHOOL OF MUSIC$25,000
YALE UNIVERSITY$25,000
DALTON SCHOOL$20,000
THE CHICAGO COMMUNITY FOUNDATION$17,000
OPEN SPACE INSTITUTE$15,000
THE JULLIARD SCHOOL OF MUSIC$15,000
AMERICAN MUSEUM OF$15,000
PREP FOR PREP$10,000
BOWDOIN INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL$8,000
GOD'S LOVE WE DELIVER$7,500
CITY HARVEST INC$7,500
NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC$5,000
MEMORIAL SLOAN KETTERING CANCER CENTER$5,000
THE NATURE CONSERVANCY$3,000
LATIN SCHOOL OF CHICAGO$3,000
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 (FY23–23, $5k) land where the poverty rate runs at 17%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%MOUNT SANAI HEALTH SYSTEM: $5k → 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

ME
IL
NY
CT
CA
CO
VA
MD
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.

89%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$681k · 14 repeat orgs$86k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +17% since the first grant, against +10% for those funded once.

14 repeat relationships: 13 still active in FY2025, 1 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

14
6

Total granted

$681k
$58k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+17%
+10%

Still filing today

64%
83%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 85% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $28k 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
EducationArts & CultureEnvironmentFood & NutritionScience & TechRecreation & SportsOther
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

  • TC
    THE CENTER FOR HUMANS AND NATURE
    2× · 2021–2022 · $220k · revenue +21%
  • DS
    DALTON SCHOOLS INC
    2× · 2024–2025 · $40k · revenue +5%
  • OS
    OPEN SPACE INSTITUTE INC
    2× · 2023–2025 · $30k · revenue +17%

Funded once

  • TL
    THE LANG SCHOOLgraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $15k · revenue +26%
  • MA
    MUSIC ASSOCIATES OF ASPEN INCgraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $15k · revenue +58%
  • PH
    POMONA HOPE
    one grant, 2023 · $10k · revenue -20%
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
The Peak School

The peak school seeks to ignite a passion for learning, to develop students of diverse talents and backgrounds who think critically and act with integrity, and to graduate compassionate, confident, capable students who will embrace their…

Education
2
Fordham University

Fordham university, the jesuit university of new york, is committed to the discovery of wisdom and the transmission of learning, through research and through education of the highest quality. for more information, see schedule o.

Education
3
Manhattanville University

To educate students to be ethical and socially responsible leaders in a global community.

Education
4
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The mission of mit is to advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century.

Education
5
The Trustees of Princeton University

Research, education and general - princeton university is a private not-for-profit, non-sectarian institution of higher learning with approximately 5,700 undergraduate and 3,300 graduate students. 2,500 students graduated in the 2024-2025…

Education
6
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
7
Rainforest Trust

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

International
8
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
9
The Philadelphia School

The philadelphia school educates children for a future that is impossible to know but not impossible to shape. learn here. go anywhere.

—
10
Boston Architectural College

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

—
11
Lehigh University

The university's goal in the coming decade is to advance learning through the integration of teaching, research and service to others. the core of this goal is to prepare graduates to engage with the world and lead lives of meaning. to do…

Education
12
Pembroke Hill School

A preschool through 12th grade, private, college preparatory school. the school's mission statement is "together, cultivating the best in each for the benefit of all."

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Philharmonic Symphony Society of Ny Inc; the most unlike its peers is Pomona Hope. 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

16 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. 16 of the 23 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)
0
Early backer (in before they grew)
16/16
Grantees still filing
11/16
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

CHICAGO COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $189,410 · OtherCHICAGO COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONEASTMAN SCHOOL OF MUSIC: $50,000 · OtherEASTMAN SCHOOL OF MUSICAMERICAN MUSEUM OF: $30,000 · OtherAMERICAN MUSEUM OFTHE JULLIARD SCHOOL OF MUSIC: $30,000 · OtherTHE JULLIARD SCHOOL OF MUSICYALE UNIVERSITY: $25,000 · OtherYALE UNIVERSITY+3 more: $21,126 · Other+3 moreTHE CENTER FOR HUMANS AND NATURE: $220,000 · Science & TechTHE CENTER FOR HUMANS AND NATUREDALTON SCHOOLS INC: $40,000 · EducationDALTON SCHOO…PREP FOR PREP: $20,000 · EducationPREP FOR PRE…THE LANG SCHOOL: $15,000 · EducationTHE LANG SCH…POMONA HOPE: $10,000 · EducationPOMONA HOPETHE LATIN SCHOOL OF CHICAGO: $3,000 · EducationBowdoin International Music Festival: $16,000 · Arts & CultureMUSIC ASSOCIATES OF ASPEN INC: $15,000 · Arts & CultureTHE PHILHARMONIC SYMPHONY SOCIETY OF NY INC: $10,000 · Arts & CultureOPEN SPACE INSTITUTE INC: $30,000 · EnvironmentRAINFOREST FOUNDATION INC: $5,000 · EnvironmentCITY HARVEST INC: $15,000 · Food & NutritionGOD'S LOVE WE DELIVER INC: $15,000 · Food & NutritionCENTRAL PARK CONSERVANCY INC: $6,000 · Recreation & SportsMOUNT SINAI HEALTH SYSTEM INC: $5,000 · Human Services
Other$345,536Science & Tech$220,000Education$88,000Arts & Culture$41,000Environment$35,000Food & Nutrition$30,000Recreation & Sports$6,000Human Services$5,000

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 budgetTHE CENTER FOR HUMANS AND NATURE: $220,000 over 2y, 14% of budgetDALTON SCHOOLS INC: $40,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetOPEN SPACE INSTITUTE INC: $30,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetPREP FOR PREP: $20,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetBowdoin International Music Festival: $16,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetCITY HARVEST INC: $15,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE LANG SCHOOL: $15,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetMUSIC ASSOCIATES OF ASPEN INC: $15,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetGOD'S LOVE WE DELIVER INC: $15,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPOMONA HOPE: $10,000 over 1y, 3.9% of budgetTHE PHILHARMONIC SYMPHONY SOCIETY OF NY INC: $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCENTRAL PARK CONSERVANCY INC: $6,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMOUNT SINAI HEALTH SYSTEM INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetRAINFOREST FOUNDATION INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE LATIN SCHOOL OF CHICAGO: $3,000 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.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Strachan & Vivian H Donnelley Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Strachan & Vivian H Donnelley Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%4%8%15%funder's share of their income ↑0%6%13%19%25%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    4report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–25%
    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 23 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

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    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