· Private foundation
The Bergman 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.
What it funded, over time
Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2021 to 2024.
Where the money goes
Grants by size, and the largest recipients.
By grant size · FY2024
- Under $10k11 grants · $22k
- $10k–50k4 grants · $40k
- $50k–250k1 grant · $50k
| Recipient | Amount |
|---|---|
| GRACE CHICAGO CHURCH | $50,000 |
| A ESCOBAR | $10,000 |
| MARWEN FOUNDATION | $10,000 |
| ARTS OF LIFE | $10,000 |
| UNITING VOICES | $10,000 |
| NOVO MISSION INC | $5,000 |
| SHED NYC INC | $5,000 |
| A DEFEO | $2,578 |
| ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO | $2,500 |
| INTONATION MUSIC WORKSHOP | $2,500 |
| PILOT LIGHT | $2,500 |
| ASSOCIATION OF WRITERS & WRITING | $870 |
| POETS HOUSE INC | $600 |
| NATIONAL BOOK FOUNDATION INC | $405 |
| TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW | $225 |
Does the money reach high-need areas?
Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.
Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY21–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 75% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.
How this is measured
How this is measured
Who it funds again
Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.
8 repeat relationships: 7 still active in FY2024, 1 since wound down; 9 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).
How the two cohorts compare
Organizations
Total granted
Median revenue growth · since first grant
Still filing today
New vs renewed · share of each year
In FY2024, 38% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $70k went to new ones.
Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant
How this is measured
Backed again, and grew
- UVUNITING VOICES4× · 2021–2024 · $60k · revenue +43%
- TATHE ARTS OF LIFE INC4× · 2021–2024 · $55k · revenue +87%
- MFMarwen Foundation Inc3× · 2022–2024 · $30k · revenue +61%
Funded once
- TPTHE POETRY PROJECT LTDgraduatedone grant, 2022 · $25k · revenue ×28
- RIROULETTE INTERMEDIUM INCone grant, 2022 · $10k · revenue +4%
- LNL Newbernone grant, 2023 · $10k
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.
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.
Wp theater is the nation's oldest and largest theater company dedicated to developing, producing, and promoting the work of women+ at every stage of their careers. for over four decades we have served as leaders of a global movement…
To foster the professional development of poets and writers, to promote communication throughout the literary community, and to help create an environment in which literature can be appreciated by the widest possible public.
The Literary Freedom Project creates free, open spaces for communities to engage with books through weekly discussions and presentations. Our programs promote literacy, celebrate the diverse cultures of the Bronx and NYC, and foster…
Artpace san antonio is a nonprofit residency program which supports texas, national, and international artists in the creation of new art. see schedule o for continuation.
Founded by former faculty, staff, and alumni of the columbia college chicago center for book and paper arts, the organizations purpose is to create a new home in chicagoland where artists, writers, readers, and other thoughtful people can…
The mission of the organization is to foster the development of creative individuals as writers and artists and to promote public appreciation of excellence in the literary and graphic arts by publishing a magazine containing fiction,…
Lookingglass theatre company is a national leader in the creation and presentation of innovative, cutting-edge theatrical work. lookingglass interweaves movement, circus arts and narrative in original and captivating ways. guided by an…
How this is measured
13 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. 13 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.
Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee
Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing
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 UNITING VOICES ↗
- Who funds THE ARTS OF LIFE INC ↗
- Who funds Marwen Foundation Inc ↗
- Who funds THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO ↗
- Who funds THE POETRY PROJECT LTD ↗
- Who funds INTONATION MUSIC WORKSHOP ↗
- Who funds ROULETTE INTERMEDIUM INC ↗
- Who funds PILOT LIGHT ↗
- Who funds SHED NYC INC ↗
- Who funds ASSOCIATION OF WRITERS & WRITING PROGRAMS ↗
- Who funds POETS HOUSE INC ↗
- Who funds NATIONAL BOOK FOUNDATION INC ↗
- Who funds POETRY SOCIETY OF AMERICA ↗
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.
Open a dossier: The Poetry Foundation · The Academy of American Poets Inc · The Hyde and Watson Foundation · National Philanthropic Trust · The Chicago Community Trust · Paypal Charitable Giving Fund · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Amazonsmile Foundation
How this is measured
How much its grantees rely on government
Each dot is one organization The Bergman Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Bergman Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.
How this is measured
Play a game based on Bergman’s filings →