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The Bellwether Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Bellwether 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.

$6.7M
Granted FY2025still arriving
39
Grants FY2025still arriving
6
States reached
$2.0M
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, FY2018 to 2025.

Arts & Culture$8.8MAnimals$5.8MEnvironment$5.3MFood & Nutrition$5.1MEducation$4.5MHealth$3.5MRecreation & Sports$2.8MCommunity Improvement$814kOther$0
02FY2025 · 39 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k24 grants · $80k
  • $10k–50k4 grants · $117k
  • $50k–250k6 grants · $555k
  • $250k+5 grants · $5.9M
$5,000
Median grant
6
States reached
$79M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN$2,000,000
DONALD DANFORTH PLANT SCIENCE CENTER$1,400,000
CARDINAL GLENNON CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION$1,000,000
FOREST PARK FOREVER$1,000,000
SHELDON ARTS FOUNDATION$500,000
URBAN SPROUTS$130,000
CENTER FOR CREATIVE ARTS (COCA)$100,000
UNITED WAY OF GREATER ST LOUIS INC$100,000
URBAN LEAGUE OF METROPOLITAN ST LOUIS$100,000
GREEN HOUSE VENTURE$70,000
CITY ACADEMY$55,000
ST LOUIS MERCANTILE LIBRARY AT UMSL$46,500
DREAM BUILDERS 4 EQUITY$30,000
FOREST RELEAF OF MISSOURI$30,000
FRIENDS OF OKEEHEELEE NATURE CENTER INC$10,000
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 (FY18–25, $828k) land where the poverty rate runs at 16%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 54% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants spread fairly evenly across need levels.

area typical 11%EVANGELICAL CHILDREN'S HOME: $50k → 11%IMMIGRANT & REFUGEE WOMEN'S PROGRAM: $7k → 21%MISSOURI VETERANS ENDEAVOR: $30k → 11%MISSOURI VETERANS ENDEAVOR: $1k → 11%THE COVERING HOUSE: $10k → 11%INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE: $4k → 21%UNLEASHING POTENTIAL: $20k → 21%THE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF METROPOLITAN ST LOUIS: $4k → 21%UNLEASHING POTENTIAL: $20k → 21%THE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF METROPOLITAN ST LOUIS: $3k → 21%UNLEASHING POTENTIAL: $10k → 21%INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE: $2k → 21%GUARDIAN ANGEL SETTLEMENT ASSOCIATION: $10k → 21%THE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF METROPOLITAN ST LOUIS: $2k → 21%GUARDIAN ANGEL SETTLEMENT ASSOCIATION: $10k → 21%FLANCE EARLY LEARNING CENTER: $10k → 21%THE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF METROPOLITAN ST LOUIS: $1k → 21%GUARDIAN ANGEL SETTLEMENT ASSOCIATION: $5k → 21%FLANCE EARLY LEARNING CENTER: $5k → 21%COVENANT HOUSE MISSOURI: $1k → 21%SOUTHSIDE EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER: $125k → 21%SOUTHSIDE EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER: $100k → 21%SOUTHSIDE EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER: $30k → 21%THE OASIS INSTITUTE: $25k → 11%EYE THRIVE: $10k → 21%THE OASIS INSTITUTE: $25k → 11%EYE THRIVE: $5k → 21%THE OASIS INSTITUTE: $25k → 11%EYE THRIVE: $4k → 21%PROMISE COMMUNITY HOMES: $8k → 11%KIDS VISION FOR LIFE ST LOUIS: $25k → 21%URBAN SPROUTS: $130k → 11%URBAN SPROUTS: $25k → 11%URBAN SPROUTS: $4k → 11%IMMIGRANT & REFUGEE WOMEN'S PROGRAM: $10k → 21%KIDS VISION FOR LIFE ST LOUIS: $25k → 11%KIDS VISION FOR LIFE ST LOUIS: $25k → 11%BILINGUAL INTERNATIONAL ASSISTANT SERVICES: $10k → 21%BILINGUAL INTERNATIONAL ASSISTANT SERVICES: $10k → 21%BILINGUAL INTERNATIONAL ASSISTANT SERVICES: $5k → 21%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
CT
CO
MO
VA
DC
GA
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.

93%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$36M · 72 repeat orgs$2.6M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +39% since the first grant, against +19% for those funded once.

72 repeat relationships: 30 still active in FY2025, 42 since wound down; 9 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

72
58

Total granted

$36M
$2.3M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+39%
+19%

Still filing today

81%
72%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 95% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $321k went to new ones.

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

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

’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
EducationHuman ServicesArts & CultureHealthEnvironmentYouth DevelopmentOther
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

  • TS
    THE SAINT LOUIS ZOO ASSOCIATION
    8× · 2018–2025 · $5.7M · revenue +146%
  • DD
    DONALD DANFORTH PLANT SCIENCE CENTER
    4× · 2018–2025 · $5.1M · revenue +120%
  • MB
    MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BOARD OF TRUSTEES
    4× · 2019–2025 · $3.7M · revenue +11%

Funded once

  • GR
    GREAT RIVERS GREENWAY FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2023 · $603k · revenue -56%
  • C
    CORTEX
    one grant, 2022 · $500k · revenue -65%
  • SL
    ST LOUIS CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL FOUNDATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2019 · $300k · revenue +225%
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
Thomas Jefferson School

Thomas jefferson school engages its students in the education necessary to live as responsible citizens of the world. through the strongest possible college-prepatory program and within a nurturing community, students develop a…

—
2
Mission St Louis

Mission: st. louis empowers individuals for social and economic growth through relationships and opportunity.

Community Improvement
3
Greater St Louis Inc

Greater st. louis, inc. brings together business and civic leaders to create jobs, drive inclusive economic growth, and increase the st. louis metro area's global competitiveness. we speak with a unified voice, lead with a bold agenda, and…

Community Improvement
4
St Louis Community Foundation

To promote the possibilities of charitable giving, helping charitable citizens understand how they can effectively provide for the community they love and the causes they care deeply about.

Philanthropy
5
St Louis Economic Development Partnership

Economic development.

—
6
La Salle Charter Schools Inc

La salle middle school is a public charter school located in st. louis. la salle is committed to transforming children and our community through innovative education. students at la salle are pushed to achieve excellence academically,…

Education
7
St Louis Voices Academy of Media Arts

The mission of st. louis voices academy of media arts is to leverage media arts and storytelling to equip students with the agency to excel academically, author their own futures, and make meaningful contributions in their communities.

Education
8
Columbia College

Columbia college improves lives by providing quality education to both traditional and nontraditional students, helping them achieve their true potential.

Education
9
Louisville Collegiate School

Louisville collegiate school inspires academic excellence, extraordinary character and global citizenship.

Education
10
Siue Charter School

The mission of the siue east st. louis charter high school is to prepare sudents, who are career - and college - ready, upon graduation.

Education
11
St Louis Learning Disabilities Association

To provide children with hope, understanding, and compassion so they can reach their full potential.

Human Services
12
St Louis Sports Commission Inc

Foster economic growth and improved quality of life in the st. louis area by producing events, enhancing its national and international image as a premier sports region, and increasing community awareness of the value of sports.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is St Louis Public Schools Foundation; the most unlike its peers is LitShop. 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

111 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. 111 of the 141 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)
30
Early backer (in before they grew)
109/111
Grantees still filing
72/111
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

SAINT LOUIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: $2,030,043 · Arts & CultureSAINT LOUIS SYMPHONY O…MUNICIPAL THEATRE ASSOCIATION OF ST LOUIS: $2,000,000 · Arts & CultureMUNICIPAL THEATRE ASSO…CENTER OF CREATIVE ARTS: $1,125,000 · Arts & CultureCENTER OF CREATIVE ART…THE SHELDON ARTS FOUNDATION: $1,110,000 · Arts & CultureTHE SHELDON ARTS FOUND…MISSOURI HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $1,016,013 · Arts & CultureMISSOURI HISTORICAL SO…+9 more: $374,100 · Arts & CultureCARDINAL GLENNON CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION: $3,000,000 · OtherCARDINAL GLENNON CHILDREN'S F…Individual grant recipient: $1,396,744 · OtherIndividual grant recipientST LOUIS MERCANTILE LIBRARY AT UMSL: $1,046,700 · OtherST LOUIS MERCANTILE LIBRARY A…The Tower Grove Park Foundation: $609,500 · OtherThe Tower Grove Park Foundati…A MILLION STARS INC DBA COLLEGE BOUND: $600,000 · OtherA MILLION STARS INC DBA COLLE…+84 more: $3,208,903 · Other+84 moreMISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BOARD OF TRUSTEES: $3,701,000 · EnvironmentMISSOURI BOTANICA…Forest Park Forever Inc: $2,125,000 · EnvironmentForest Park Forev…+5 more: $111,000 · EnvironmentTHE SAINT LOUIS ZOO ASSOCIATION: $5,685,998 · AnimalsTHE SAINT LOUIS …+3 more: $36,250 · AnimalsDONALD DANFORTH PLANT SCIENCE CENTER: $5,095,000 · Science & TechDONALD DANFORTH…+1 more: $37,000 · Science & TechCITY ACADEMY INC: $1,094,500 · EducationWASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: $816,500 · EducationLOYOLA ACADEMY OF ST LOUIS: $210,000 · EducationMIRIAM FOUNDATION: $205,000 · EducationREADY READERS: $125,000 · EducationJOHN BURROUGHS SCHOOL: $111,000 · EducationMARIAN MIDDLE SCHOOL: $107,700 · EducationTHE GREEN HOUSE VENTURE: $100,000 · Education+12 more: $228,000 · EducationGREAT RIVERS GREENWAY FOUNDATION: $603,256 · Community ImprovementCORTEX: $500,000 · Community Improvement+3 more: $56,000 · Community Improvement
Arts & Culture$7,655,156Other$9,861,847Environment$5,937,000Animals$5,722,248Science & Tech$5,132,000Education$2,997,700Community Improvement$1,159,256

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 budgetTHE SAINT LOUIS ZOO ASSOCIATION: $5,685,998 over 8y, 9.4% of budgetDONALD DANFORTH PLANT SCIENCE CENTER: $5,095,000 over 4y, 4.1% of budgetMISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BOARD OF TRUSTEES: $3,701,000 over 4y, 3.3% of budgetCARDINAL GLENNON CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION: $3,000,000 over 2y, 3.0% of budgetForest Park Forever Inc: $2,125,000 over 4y, 4.2% of budgetSAINT LOUIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: $2,030,043 over 2y, 3.8% of budgetMUNICIPAL THEATRE ASSOCIATION OF ST LOUIS: $2,000,000 over 2y, 5.5% of budgetCENTER OF CREATIVE ARTS: $1,125,000 over 3y, 6.2% of budgetTHE SHELDON ARTS FOUNDATION: $1,110,000 over 7y, 9.9% of budgetCITY ACADEMY INC: $1,094,500 over 8y, 1.9% of budgetMISSOURI HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $1,016,013 over 7y, 2.1% of budgetWASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: $816,500 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetThe Tower Grove Park Foundation: $609,500 over 8y, 7.2% of budgetGREAT RIVERS GREENWAY FOUNDATION: $603,256 over 1y, 5.8% of budgetA MILLION STARS INC DBA COLLEGE BOUND: $600,000 over 3y, 8.4% of budgetCORTEX: $500,000 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetST LOUIS CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $300,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetSOUTHSIDE EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER: $255,000 over 3y, 4.1% of budgetLOYOLA ACADEMY OF ST LOUIS: $210,000 over 6y, 1.3% of budgetMIRIAM FOUNDATION: $205,000 over 5y, 1.3% of budgetST LOUIS PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOUNDATION: $202,603 over 4y, 2.2% of budgetURBAN SPROUTS CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTER: $159,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetREADY READERS: $125,000 over 4y, 3.4% of budgetBEYOND HOUSING INC: $115,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetJOHN BURROUGHS SCHOOL: $111,000 over 8y, 0.3% of budgetKINGDOM HOUSE D/B/A LIFEWISE STL: $108,750 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetMARIAN MIDDLE SCHOOL: $107,700 over 5y, 2.4% of budgetKIPP ST LOUIS: $102,500 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetThe Ranken-Jordan Home For Convalescent Crippled Children: $101,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetTHE GREEN HOUSE VENTURE: $100,000 over 2y, 5.3% of budgetUNITED WAY OF GREATER ST LOUIS INC: $100,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetST LOUIS SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL: $100,000 over 4y, 1.5% of budgetCONTEMPORARY ART MUSEUM ST LOUIS: $75,000 over 3y, 1.1% of budgetAREA RESOURCES FOR COMMUNITY & HUMAN SERVICES: $75,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetTHE OASIS INSTITUTE: $75,000 over 3y, 0.9% of budgetFOREST RELEAF OF MISSOURI: $75,000 over 5y, 1.9% of budgetTHE MAGIC HOUSE: $61,600 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetDREAM BUILDERS 4 EQUITY: $54,300 over 5y, 1.9% of budgetPIANOS FOR PEOPLE: $50,500 over 5y, 2.7% of budgetEvangelical Children's Home: $50,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetUNLEASHING POTENTIAL: $50,000 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetJewish Federation of St Louis: $50,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetPROGRESS IN EDUCATION INC: $45,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetTHE WYMAN CENTER: $40,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetST LOUIS SCIENCE CENTER FOUNDATION: $37,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetST LOUIS ART MUSEUM FOUNDATION: $36,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetCITY GARDEN MONTESSORI SCHOOL: $35,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND: $31,500 over 4y, 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.

St Louis Community Fo…St Louis Community Fo…United Way of Greater…Employees Community F…Brown Dana Charitable…Commerce Bancshares F…Trio Foundation of St…Berges Family Foundat…Moneta Group Charitab…Youthbridge Community…Jordan Mary R & Ettie…Norman J Stupp Founda…
St Louis Community FoundationMO106.2× affinity52 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: St Louis Community Foundation · St Louis Community Foundation Inc · United Way of Greater St Louis Inc · Employees Community Fund of the Boeing Company · Brown Dana Charitable Trust · Commerce Bancshares Foundation · Trio Foundation of St Louis · Berges Family Foundation · Moneta Group Charitable Foundation · Youthbridge Community Foundation · Jordan Mary R & Ettie a Charitable · Norman J Stupp 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 Bellwether Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Bellwether Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%4%15%34%60%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    2get 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 141 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

    Play a game based on Bellwether’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