Skip to content
The Bethesda Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Bethesda 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.

$191k
Granted FY2024still arriving
17
Grants FY2024still arriving
4
States reached
$40k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0186% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Philanthropy$356kInternational$220kCivil Rights$204kEducation$175kArts & Culture$54kHealth$39kYouth Development$13kReligion$10kOther$0
02FY2024 · 17 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k10 grants · $35k
  • $10k–50k7 grants · $155k
$5,000
Median grant
4
States reached
$3.2M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
NATIONAL COALITION SUPPORTING EURASIAN JEWRY$40,142
ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE$25,000
JEWISH FEDERATION OF GREATER WASHINGTON$25,000
WASHINGTON INSTITUTE OF NEAR EAST POLICY$25,000
JEWISH COMMUNITY RELATIONS COUNCIL$20,000
AMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE$10,000
Individual grant recipient$10,000
CONGREGATION B'NAI TZEDEK$5,850
NATIONAL JEWISH HEALTH$5,000
ISRAEL POLICY FORUM$5,000
DC JAZZ FESTIVAL$5,000
KIDS ENJOY EXERCISE NOW$5,000
SO WHAT ELSE INC$2,500
CAPITAL JEWISH MUSEUM$2,500
SUNFLOWER BAKERY INC$1,800
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 (FY19–19, $180) land where the poverty rate runs at 8%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%JEWISH SOCIAL SERVICES AGENCY: $180 → 8%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.

92%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$842k · 15 repeat orgs$69k to everyone else

15 repeat relationships: 10 still active in FY2024, 5 since wound down; 6 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

15
13

Total granted

$842k
$30k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+51%
+57%

Still filing today

80%
62%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 77% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $39k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
EducationReligionArts & CultureInternationalCivil RightsHealthOther
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

  • WI
    WASHINGTON INSTITUTE FOR NEAR EAST POLICY
    8× · 2017–2024 · $190k · revenue +51%
  • TA
    Texas A&M Foundation
    2× · 2017–2018 · $150k · revenue +90%
  • AMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE
    6× · 2019–2024 · $63k · revenue +39%

Funded once

  • AG
    AJC GLOBAL JEWISH ADVOCACY
    one grant, 2017 · $10k
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2023 · $5k
  • AF
    ASSOCIATION FOR ADULTS WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES INC
    one grant, 2017 · $4k · revenue -46%
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 Jewish Agency for Israel

The jewish agency binds jews across ideologies and civilizations together in a worldwide jewish family with israel at its center. it provides the global framework for aliyah, ensures global jewish safety, strengthens jewish identity and…

—
2
Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington

As the central community relations agency of the organized jewish community in our nation's capital, the jcrc of greater washington endeavors to foster a society based on freedom, justice and democratic pluralism for it is such a society…

Community Improvement
3
Hillel At the George Washington University Inc

The mission of gw hillel is to provide an open, warm, and pluralistic environment in which students can shape their college experience by connecting socially, culturally, and spiritually to their judaism. hillel aims to foster students'…

—
4
The Jewish Museum

The mission of the jewish museum is to collect, preserve, exhibit and interpret art and jewish culture. see schedule o for more information.

Arts & Culture
5
Hillel At Washington University in St Louis

The mission of hillel at washington university in st louis is to be a catalyst for jewish life among college students in st louis. we connect students with one another and with jewish culture and traditions through service and social…

—
6
San Diego Jewish Academy

San Diego Jewish Academy empowers each student to learn for life, guided by Jewish values and rooted in strength of community.

Education
7
Jewish Institute for National Security of America

The jewish institute for national security of america (jinsa) was founded in 1976 as a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to advancing u.s. national security interests in the middle east, of which a critical pillar is a robust…

International
8
Hebrew College

Promotes excellence in jewish learning & leadership within a pluralistic environment. see sch ohebrew college promotes excellence in jewish learning and leadership within a pluralistic environment of open inquiry, intellectual rigor,…

Education
9
Atlanta Jewish Academy Inc

Atlanta jewish academy is a college preparatory, co-educational, preschool-12th grade, independent jewish day school, guided by modern orthodox values and principles. we embody the ideals of community, tradition, individual development and…

Education
10
Jewish Electorate Institute

The jewish electorate institute (jei) is an independent, non-partisan 501(c)(3) organization that surveys, interprets, reports, and educates the public about the perspectives, voting behaviors, and motivations of the american jewish…

Civil Rights
11
The Israel Institute Inc

The israel institute, inc. (the institute) enhances knowledge about modern israel by ensuring that more students have access to courses about israel during their time on campus.

International
12
Bar Ilan University in Israel Inc

Biu produces students who excel in the sciences, humanities, law, engineering, business & the arts.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is American Jewish Committee; the most unlike its peers is National Jewish Health. 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

26 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. 26 of the 35 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)
6
Early backer (in before they grew)
26/26
Grantees still filing
19/26
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE JEWISH FEDERATION OF GREATER WASHINGTON INC: $260,000 · PhilanthropyTHE JEWISH FEDERATION OF …+1 more: $2,500 · PhilanthropyWASHINGTON INSTITUTE FOR NEAR EAST POLICY: $190,100 · InternationalWASHINGTON INSTITUTE …ISRAEL POLICY FORUM INC: $30,000 · InternationalISRAEL POLICY FORUM I…JEWISH COMMUNITY RELATIONS COUNCIL: $93,000 · OtherJEWISH COMMUNITY RELATION…Individual grant recipient: $70,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipien…Individual grant recipient: $15,200 · OtherIndividual grant recipien…AJC GLOBAL JEWISH ADVOCACY: $10,000 · OtherNATIONAL JEWISH HEALTH: $35,000 · OtherNATIONAL JEWISH HEALTHKEEN GREATER DC LLC: $12,750 · Other+11 more: $27,811 · Other+11 moreTexas A&M Foundation: $150,000 · EducationTexas A&M Founda…ALEF BET MONTESSORI SCHOOL: $12,000 · EducationALEF BET MONTESS…CHARLES E SMITH JEWISH DAY SCHOOL OF GREATER WASHINGTON INC: $10,000 · EducationCHARLES E SMITH …+2 more: $2,000 · EducationNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SOVIET JEWRY: $106,417 · ReligionNATIONAL C…+3 more: $2,700 · ReligionAMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE: $62,500 · Civil RightsANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE: $25,000 · Civil RightsJOHN F KENNEDY CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS: $36,000 · Arts & CultureDC JAZZ FESTIVAL: $15,000 · Arts & CultureLillian and Albert Small Capital Jewish Museum: $2,500 · Arts & Culture
Philanthropy$262,500International$220,100Other$263,761Education$174,000Religion$109,117Civil Rights$87,500Arts & Culture$53,500

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 JEWISH FEDERATION OF GREATER WASHINGTON INC: $260,000 over 8y, 0.2% of budgetWASHINGTON INSTITUTE FOR NEAR EAST POLICY: $190,100 over 8y, 0.2% of budgetTexas A&M Foundation: $150,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SOVIET JEWRY: $106,417 over 5y, 5.9% of budgetAMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE: $62,500 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetJOHN F KENNEDY CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS: $36,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL JEWISH HEALTH: $35,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetISRAEL POLICY FORUM INC: $30,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetDC JAZZ FESTIVAL: $15,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetKEEN GREATER DC LLC: $12,750 over 3y, 1.2% of budgetALEF BET MONTESSORI SCHOOL: $12,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetCHARLES E SMITH JEWISH DAY SCHOOL OF GREATER WASHINGTON INC: $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE WASHINGTON LEGAL CLINIC FOR THE HOMELESS INC: $3,600 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetLillian and Albert Small Capital Jewish Museum: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSO WHAT ELSE INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSUNFLOWER BAKERY INC: $1,800 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetB'NAI B'RITH HILLEL FOUNDATION AT QUEENS COLLEGE INC: $1,236 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetLearnserve International: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetZionist Rabbinic Coalition Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetAMERICAN UNIVERSITY: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE JOSHUA FUND: $900 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUrban Arts Partnership: $900 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetJEWISH SOCIAL SERVICE AGENCY: $180 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.

The Gary and Pennie A…The Jewish Federation…The Morris and Gwendo…T Rowe Price Program …David S Stone Foundat…The MB Lewis Charitab…Bender Foundation IncThe Gary & Carol Berm…Sami & Annie Totah Fa…Mayberg Foundation IncGreater Washington Co…National Philanthropi…
The Gary and Pennie Abramson Charitable FoundationMD19.9× affinity7 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Gary and Pennie Abramson Charitable Foundation · The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington Inc · The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation · T Rowe Price Program for Charitable Giving Inc · David S Stone Foundation Inc · The MB Lewis Charitable Foundation · Bender Foundation Inc · The Gary & Carol Berman Family Foundation Inc · Sami & Annie Totah Family Foundation · Mayberg Foundation Inc · Greater Washington Community Foundation · National Philanthropic Trust

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 Bethesda Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Bethesda Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 40%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%23%45%68%90%share of the org’s income from government →median 1%
  • Jewish Social Service Agency: 1% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
4get no government money at all
6report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–90%
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 35 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 Bethesda’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