Skip to content
The Barnes Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Barnes Family 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.

$172k
Granted FY2024still arriving
7
Grants FY2024still arriving
2
States reached
$73k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead

Read this first · the figures below need context

84% of The Barnes Family Foundation’s FY2025 grant dollars went to Arkansas Community Foundation Inc, not to grantees.

Its money now reaches organizations through that sponsor, which does not report who recommended each grant. FY2025 names 2 organizations directly, so a portfolio cannot be read from it. Everything below is therefore FY2024, the last year The Barnes Family Foundation named its own grantees at scale: 5 organizations, $172k. It is dated, not current.

Organizations named directly on the return

5
’17
1
’18
3
’19
4
’20
5
’21
1
’22
3
’23
5
’24
2
’25

Amber years are those where most dollars went to a sponsor.

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 2025.

Religion$365kEducation$275kInternational$155kPhilanthropy$130kRecreation & Sports$88kYouth Development$62kCrime & Legal$10kHousing & Shelter$5kOther$0
02FY2024 · 7 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k2 grants · $7k
  • $10k–50k3 grants · $30k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $135k
$10,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$4.0M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
ARKANSAS STATE GOLF ASSOCIATION$73,421
IMMERSE ARKANSAS$62,000
ARKANSAS BAPTIST COLLEGE FOUNDATION$10,000
WOMENS INITIATIVE INTERNATIONAL INC$10,000
FIRST FREEWILL BAPTIST CHURCH$10,000
FIRST TEE OF CENTRAL ARKANSAS$5,000
FOLDS OF HONOR$2,000
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 (FY20–24, $72k) land where the poverty rate runs at 17%, against an area that typically sits at 14%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 14%COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS: $10k → 15%IMMERSE ARKANSAS: $62k → 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.
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.

69%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$668k · 10 repeat orgs$300k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +15% since the first grant, against -12% for those funded once.

10 repeat relationships: 4 still active in FY2024, 6 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call). Read against FY2024, the last year this funder named its own grantees directly; its giving has since run through a sponsor, which reports no donor behind each grant.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

10
9

Total granted

$668k
$226k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+15%
-12%

Still filing today

50%
67%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
EducationHuman ServicesInternationalFood & NutritionPhilanthropyOther
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

  • TA
    THE ANTHONY SCHOOL
    2× · 2017–2020 · $125k · revenue +38%
  • HS
    HENDERSON STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION
    2× · 2017–2020 · $44k · revenue +15%
  • LR
    LITTLE ROCK CHRISTIAN ACADEMY INC
    2× · 2017–2019 · $40k · revenue +52%

Funded once

  • NL
    NEW LIFE CHURCH
    one grant, 2023 · $100k
  • AB
    ARKANSAS BAPTIST FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2021 · $50k
  • A4
    Acts 4 Rwanda Inc
    one grant, 2017 · $45k · revenue -12%
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
Arborbrook Christian Academy

Arborbrook Christian Academy partners with parents to equip, empower, and encourage students to cultivate godly character, pursue life-long learning, and love the Lord Jesus Christ.

Education
2
Opportunity Arkansas Foundation

Renewing the land of opportunity by simplifying government and solving generational problems for the next generation.

Philanthropy
3
Abilene Christian School Inc

The mission of Abilene Christian School, Inc. is to equip students to excel academically, serve meaningfully, and walk faithfully with God.

Education
4
Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families

Advocating for the development and implementation of data-driven public policy that improves child well-being in arkansas, with a focus on economic security, education, health, early childhood, child welfare, juvenile justice, and racial…

Human Services
5
Arkansas Humanities Council

The purpose of the arkansas humanities council is to promote understanding, appreciation, and use of the humanities in arkansas. to achieve its purpose, the council awards grants through a competitive application process to nonprofit…

—
6
Arkansas Education Association

Advocate for educational professionals and unite our members and the state to fulfill the promise of public education to prepare every student to succeed in a diverse and interdependent world.

Education
7
Arkansas Construction Education Foundation

Provide educational programs for construction industries.

Education
8
Foundation of the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame

To honor the legacy of Arkansas sports history

Arts & Culture
9
Arkansans for Education Reform Foundation
Education
10
Ouachita Baptist University

Ouachita baptist university is a christ-centered learning community. embracing the liberal arts tradition, the university prepares individuals for ongoing intellectual and spiritual growth, lives of meaningful work, and reasoned engagement…

Education
11
Aurora Christian Schools

Aurora Christian Schools exists to operate a Christian School to work with families in bringing their children to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, educating them from a Christian worldview and preparing them for a life of service…

Education
12
New Generation Inc

Usher in leadership & policies that make arkansas the best place to live, work, and raise a family.

Community Improvement
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Arkansas Community Foundation Inc; the most unlike its peers is Arkansas Baptist College Foundation. 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

14 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. 14 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.

2
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
0
Early backer (in before they grew)
14/14
Grantees still filing
5/14
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

FELLOWSHIP BIBLE CHURCH: $150,000 · OtherFELLOWSHIP BIBLE CHURCHTHE ANTHONY SCHOOL: $125,000 · OtherTHE ANTHONY SCHOOLWOMENS INITIATIVE INTERNATIONAL INC: $110,000 · OtherWOMENS INITIATIVE INTERNATIONAL INCNEW LIFE CHURCH: $100,000 · OtherNEW LIFE CHURCHARKANSAS STATE GOLF ASSOCIATION: $78,421 · OtherARKANSAS STATE GOLF ASSOCIATIONARKANSAS BAPTIST FOUNDATION: $50,000 · OtherARKANSAS BAPTIST FOUNDATIONSEARCH MINISTRIES INC: $31,000 · Other+5 more: $47,500 · Other+5 moreArkansas Baptist College Foundation: $60,000 · EducationArkansas Baptis…HENDERSON STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $44,000 · EducationHENDERSON STATE…LITTLE ROCK CHRISTIAN ACADEMY INC: $40,000 · EducationLITTLE ROCK CHR…+2 more: $6,000 · EducationARKANSAS COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $130,000 · PhilanthropyARKANSAS COMM…+1 more: $4,000 · PhilanthropyIMMERSE ARKANSAS: $62,000 · Human ServicesCOMMUNITY CONNECTIONS FOR YOUTH AND FAMILIES INC: $10,000 · Human ServicesActs 4 Rwanda Inc: $45,000 · InternationalARKANSAS HUNGER RELIEF ALLIANCE INC: $5,000 · Food & Nutrition
Other$691,921Education$150,000Philanthropy$134,000Human Services$72,000International$45,000Food & Nutrition$5,000

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 budgetARKANSAS COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $130,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE ANTHONY SCHOOL: $125,000 over 2y, 2.9% of budgetARKANSAS STATE GOLF ASSOCIATION: $78,421 over 2y, 3.6% of budgetIMMERSE ARKANSAS: $62,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetArkansas Baptist College Foundation: $60,000 over 2y, 42% of budgetHENDERSON STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $44,000 over 2y, 1.6% of budgetLITTLE ROCK CHRISTIAN ACADEMY INC: $40,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCOMMUNITY CONNECTIONS FOR YOUTH AND FAMILIES INC: $10,000 over 1y, 56% of budgetOUR HOUSE INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetARKANSAS HUNGER RELIEF ALLIANCE INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetPULASKI ACADEMY: $4,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetExplore Ministries Inc: $4,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetFOLDS OF HONOR FOUNDATION: $2,000 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.

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.

Arkansas Community Fo…Riggs Benevolent FundNatl Christian Charit…The Bank of America C…Network for GoodFidelity Investments …Donor Advised Charita…Amazonsmile Foundation
Arkansas Community Foundation IncAR19.1× affinity7 shared granteesties to 7 of 7Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Arkansas Community Foundation Inc · Riggs Benevolent Fund · Natl Christian Charitable Fdn Inc · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Network for Good · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Amazonsmile 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 The Barnes Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Barnes Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%4%15%34%60%funder's share of their income ↑0%8%15%22%30%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    1get 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 · 0–30%
    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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Barnes Family’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