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· Private foundation

The Agnes Varis Trust

Its FY2017 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$3.1M
Granted FY2017
30
Grants FY2017
8
States reached
$468k
Largest
01What you fund
01FY2017 · 30 grants

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

By grant size · FY2017

  • Under $10k3 grants · $14k
  • $10k–50k9 grants · $135k
  • $50k–250k14 grants · $1.7M
  • $250k+4 grants · $1.3M
$50,000
Median grant
8
States reached
$4.5M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Act for Lebanon$467,500
Opening Act Inc$300,000
Community Foundation of the Hudson Valley$250,000
WNETOrg$250,000
Richard Tucker Music Foundation$225,000
American University of Beirut$200,000
Arcenciel USA$180,625
Actors Company Theatre Inc$175,000
Research Foundation of CU$150,000
Trilogy an Opera Company$125,000
Hellenic Initiative Inc$100,000
Angel of Light Inc$100,000
Doorways for Women and Families$100,000
Shining Home for Communities Inc$100,000
The Aspen Institute Inc$50,000
02The need
02

Do your dollars go where the need is?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, then read against the area’s typical level.

show:

Your human-services grants (FY17–17, $150k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of your grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%Paradise 4Kids: $50k → 16%Angel of Light Inc: $100k → 9%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount

Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty linein the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP; grantee ZIP can differ from where services are delivered.

Which US states your grants reach

NY
MA
NJ
CA
MO
VA
MD
DC

US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are actually delivered. Need from public data — U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA — shown as context about the area, never attributed to your giving.

03Your field

The map has a center of gravity: the average direction from the rest of the sector toward the organizations the foundation funds — the shape of its giving. Scoring every nonprofit along that direction surfaces the ones that look most like the portfolio. These are the closest matchesthat aren’t grantees — a resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
New York City Center Inc

The mission of new york city center is to be new york city's leading center for dance and musical theater. dedicated to making the arts accessible to the broadest possible audience, city center seeks to create a welcoming environment and…

Arts & Culture
2
United States Artists Inc

To invest in america's finest artists and illuminate the value of artists to society.

Arts & Culture
3
Performance Space 122 Inc

See schedule operformance space new york is committed to promoting the arts (including performance, visual and all other contemporary arts), fostering artistic development (including through direct grants), advancing diversity in the field…

Arts & Culture
4
Metropolitan Jewish Health System Inc

Mjhs health system is a charitable not-for-profit established to support the activities of affiliated organizations. mjhs is built on the core values of compassion, dignity and respect, first established by the four brooklyn ladies in…

Health
5
Academy of Television Arts and Sciences

The Television Academy is dedicated to celebrating excellence, innovation and the advancement of the telecommunications arts and sciences through recognition, education and leadership, while fostering a diverse, inclusive and accessible…

6
Los Angeles Opera Company

To serve the public by producing world-class opera that preserves, promotes and advances the art form while embodying the diversity, spirit and artistic sensibility unique to los angeles. we envision an engaged and enlightened community in…

Arts & Culture
7
The American Theatre Guild

The american theatre guild is dedicated to providing the experience of live theatre to foster passion, inspire creativity and empower youth within our communities.

Arts & Culture
8
Stages

Stages makes plays and tells stories that invite everyone to live more deeply and love more boldly.

Arts & Culture
9
The 24 Hour Company

The organization's mission is to bring together creative communities to produce plays and musicals that are written, rehearsed and performed in 24 hours.

Arts & Culture
10
The Israel Innovation Fund Inc

Our vision is to reignite the zionist spirit and meet the needs of jewish civilization in the twenty-first century by connecting people around the world through the vibrancy and creativity of contemporary israeli culture.

Arts & Culture
11
Theaterworks Inc

Theaterworks' mission is to share intimate stories that engage all audiences. it creates exceptional contemporary theater that entertains, celebrates new voices, and invites meaningful conversations. its vision is to inspire a more…

Arts & Culture
12
University of New Haven

The University of New Haven is a student-centered comprehensive university with an emphasis on excellence in liberal arts and professional education. Our mission is to prepare our students to lead purposeful and fulfilling lives in a…

Education

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley Inc and the most unlike its peers is New York University. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.

Your grantees are a median of 34 years old; the field is 18. You back the established end — and your money leans older still.

THE FIELDby orgYOUR GRANTEESby number19%5%<5yr14%0%5–10yr20%29%10–20yr19%24%20–35yr13%24%35–55yr16%19%55yr+
THE FIELDby orgYOUR MONEYby value19%12%<5yr14%0%5–10yr20%42%10–20yr19%10%20–35yr13%10%35–55yr16%26%55yr+

The field is 19% startups (under 5 years old) — 5% of your grantees by number, and just 12% of your money.

Closures · last 5 years

The orgs you fund almost never close 8% lost their exemption, against 10% of the field you don’t fund.

orgs you fund
8%
2/24
the rest of the field
10%
11,857/120,736

Age = years since IRS exemption (a founding proxy). “Closed” = auto-revocation for 3 years of non-filing — a floor on closure, not proof, and bigger established orgs lapse least. Association, not causation.

03the grantee network

22 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each one resolved to its own IRS returns and tracked year by year — your grant beside their revenue from every source. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

Counted here: distinct organizations you funded across 20172025, not grant rows in a single year — so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 22 of the 30 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile; the rest are funded organizations whose filings we could not track year by year.

4
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
21/22
Grantees still filing
15/22
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

WNETOrg — $250,000 · OtherWNETOrgCOMMUNITY FOUNDATIONS OF THE HUDSON VALLEY INC — $250,000 · OtherCOMMUNITY FOUNDATIONS OF THE HUDSON VALLEY I…Arcenciel USA — $180,625 · OtherArcenciel USATHE ACTORS COMPANY THEATRE INC — $175,000 · OtherTHE ACTORS COMPANY THEATRE INCResearch Foundation of CU — $150,000 · OtherResearch Foundation of CUDOORWAYS FOR WOMEN AND FAMILIES INC — $100,000 · OtherDOORWAYS FOR WOMEN AND FAMILIES INC+7 more — $95,000 · Other+7 moreOpening Act Inc — $300,000 · Arts & CultureOpening Act IncRICHARD TUCKER MUSIC FOUNDATION INC — $225,000 · Arts & CultureRICHARD TUCKER MUSIC FOUN…TRILOGY AN OPERA COMPANY — $125,000 · Arts & CultureTRILOGY AN OPERA COMPANYPRESSER ARTS CENTER — $25,000 · Arts & Culture+1 more — $10,000 · Arts & CultureACT FOR LEBANON CO FMFSB LLC — $467,500 · InternationalACT FOR LEBANON CO F…HELLENIC INITIATIVE INC — $100,000 · InternationalHELLENIC INITIATIVE …AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF BEIRUT — $200,000 · EducationAMERICAN UNIVE…SHINING HOPE FOR COMMUNITIES INC — $100,000 · EducationSHINING HOPE F…New York University — $50,000 · EducationNew York Unive…Israel Venture Network — $50,000 · EducationIsrael Venture…ANGELS OF LIGHT INC — $100,000 · Human ServicesPARADISE 4 KIDS INC — $50,000 · Human ServicesTHE ASPEN INSTITUTE INC — $50,000 · Social ScienceJazz Foundation of America Inc — $10,000 · PhilanthropyJEWISH FEDERATION OF DUTCHESS COUNT — $3,600 · PhilanthropyTHE LOWELL GENERAL HOSPITAL — $5,000 · Health
Other$1,200,625Arts & Culture$685,000International$567,500Education$400,000Human Services$150,000Social Science$50,000Philanthropy$13,600Health$5,000

Each org by its size and your share of it — top-left is where you’re load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ your share of their budgetACT FOR LEBANON CO FMFSB LLC — $467,500 over 1y, 90% of budgetOpening Act Inc — $300,000 over 1y, 32% of budgetCOMMUNITY FOUNDATIONS OF THE HUDSON VALLEY INC — $250,000 over 1y, 3.3% of budgetAMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF BEIRUT — $200,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE ACTORS COMPANY THEATRE INC — $175,000 over 1y, 26% of budgetANGELS OF LIGHT INC — $100,000 over 1y, 44% of budgetSHINING HOPE FOR COMMUNITIES INC — $100,000 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetDOORWAYS FOR WOMEN AND FAMILIES INC — $100,000 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetHELLENIC INITIATIVE INC — $100,000 over 1y, 5.3% of budgetPARADISE 4 KIDS INC — $50,000 over 1y, 17% of budgetNew York University — $50,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetIsrael Venture Network — $50,000 over 1y, 12% of budgetTHE ASPEN INSTITUTE INC — $50,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPRESSER ARTS CENTER — $25,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetTHE PERFORMANCE ZONE INC — $20,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetJazz Foundation of America Inc — $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetJACOB BURNS FILM CENTER INC — $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSPECIAL OLYMPICS NEW JERSEY INC — $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE LOWELL GENERAL HOSPITAL — $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetJEWISH FEDERATION OF DUTCHESS COUNT — $3,600 over 1y, 1.2% of budget
Go grantee by grantee — a decade per org, and how each moved after you funded them

A decade per grantee — revenue shaded, your grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

The grantmakers whose grantees overlap with yours far more than size alone predicts. Each orbits closer the stronger the alignment; the arcs between them show where they also fund each other. Here it reads as a tightly interlocked camp — most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Jewish Communal FundNY12.3× affinity5 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Jewish Communal Fund · Charities Aid Foundation America · National Philanthropic Trust · The Pfizer Foundation Inc · American Endowment Foundation · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · Paypal Charitable Giving Fund · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Amazonsmile Foundation

Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. A research starting point: overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

Government reliance of your grantees

Every dot is one organization The Agnes Varis Trust funds. Left–right is the share of its income from government; up–down is the share from you. Bigger dots raise more. Filter to federal, a single department, or state — and drag the year to watch it move.

2024
202122232425
no gov · 20%0%1%3%5%your share of their income ↑0%15%30%45%60%share of the org’s income from governmentmedian 34%
  • Trilogy an Opera Company34% of income from government
  • The Lowell General Hospital5% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
2get no government money at all
1report 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, FY2025

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 your grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first — a floor, not 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 12–24 months.

04Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to The Agnes Varis Trust?

Find your warmest path to The Agnes Varis Trust 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 directly from IRS e-file XML — your own 990/990-PF and the multi-year returns of the 30 grantees we resolved across every year we hold, several hundred filings in all (a different count from the grant rows on the cover, which are one fiscal year)— each linked to its source. Grantee achievements and outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III); we read these as association with sustained funding — the foundation is one of several forces — suppress low-confidence name matches rather than guess, and say so where a figure rests on a single grant or filing. Not everything on this page is a filed figure, and the difference matters. Filed is what you reported on your 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. How we build these →

Generated from your IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2017, released 2017. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

More from the funding graph