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The Breen Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Breen 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.

$15k
Granted FY2025still arriving
7
Grants FY2025still arriving
3
States reached
$8k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0184% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Education$83kAnimals$73kEnvironment$18kArts & Culture$15kHousing & Shelter$7kPhilanthropy$6kHuman Services$1kReligion$1kOther$0
02FY2025 · 7 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$1,039
Median grant
3
States reached
$151k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
PRINCETON SMALL ANIMAL RESCUE$7,839
LEHIGH UNIVERSITY$1,500
SAVE BARNEGAT BAY$1,287
Individual grant recipient$1,039
PHI GAMMA DELTA FOUNDATION$1,037
THE WATERSHED$1,000
MARQUAND PARK FOUNDATION$1,000
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 7%. 100% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 7%LEHIGH UNIVERSITY: $26k → 11%FRANCISCAN UNIVERSITY: $26k → 19%LEHIGH UNIVERSITY: $17k → 11%LEHIGH UNIVERSITY: $2k → 11%PRINCETON SMALL ANIMAL RESCUE: $13k → 11%LEHIGH UNIVERSITY: $1k → 11%PRINCETON SMALL ANIMAL RESCUE: $8k → 11%BHYC FOUNDATION: $1k → 11%LEHIGH UNIVERSITY: $1k → 11%PRINCETON SMALL ANIMAL RESCUE: $8k → 11%NJ MUSEUM OF BOATING: $1k → 11%LEHIGH UNIVERSITY: $1k → 11%PRINCETON SMALL ANIMAL RESCUE: $8k → 11%SAVE BARNEGAT BAY: $2k → 11%PRINCETON SMALL ANIMAL RESCUE: $8k → 11%SAVE BARNEGAT BAY: $1k → 11%PRINCETON SMALL ANIMAL RESCUE: $8k → 11%SAVE BARNEGAT BAY: $1k → 11%PRINCETON SMALL ANIMAL RESCUE: $7k → 11%SAVE BARNEGAT BAY: $1k → 11%PRINCETON SMALL ANIMAL RESCUE: $7k → 11%SAVE BARNEGAT BAY: $1k → 11%PRINCETON SMALL ANIMAL RESCUE: $7k → 11%SAVE BARNEGAT BAY: $1k → 11%MCCARTER THEATRE: $2k → 11%DELAWARE & RARITAN GREENWAY: $1k → 11%DELAWARE & RARITAN GREENWAY: $1k → 11%MARQUAND PARK FOUNDATION: $1k → 11%DELAWARE & RARITAN GREENWAY: $1k → 11%MARQUAND PARK FOUNDATION: $1k → 11%MARQUAND PARK FOUNDATION: $1k → 11%PRINCETON FRIENDS SCHOOL: $1k → 11%PRINCETON ART MUSEUM: $1k → 11%PRINCETON ART MUSEUM: $1k → 11%DELAWARE & RARITAN GREENWAY: $1k → 11%MARQUAND PARK FOUNDATION: $1k → 11%PRINCETON ART MUSEUM: $1k → 11%DELAWARE & RARITAN GREENWAY: $1k → 11%PRINCETON ART MUSEUM: $1k → 11%MARQUAND PARK FOUNDATION: $1k → 11%DELAWARE & RARITAN GREENWAY: $1k → 11%PRINCETON ART MUSEUM: $1k → 11%MCCARTER THEATRE: $1k → 11%DELAWARE & RARITAN GREENWAY: $1k → 11%MCCARTER THEATRE: $1k → 11%THE WATERSHED: $2k → 11%THE WATERSHED: $1k → 11%HOMEFRONT INC: $1k → 11%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.

85%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$182k · 15 repeat orgs$33k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +242% since the first grant, against +17% for those funded once.

15 repeat relationships: 7 still active in FY2025, 8 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

15
18

Total granted

$182k
$33k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+242%
+17%

Still filing today

27%
33%

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
EducationArts & CultureEnvironmentAnimalsOther
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

  • LU
    LEHIGH UNIVERSITY
    7× · 2018–2025 · $48k · revenue +53%
  • SAVE BARNEGAT BAY INC
    9× · 2017–2025 · $9k · revenue +242%
  • HOMEFRONT INC
    8× · 2017–2024 · $7k · revenue +62%

Funded once

  • FU
    FRANCISCAN UNIVERSITY OF STEUBENVILLE
    one grant, 2022 · $26k · revenue +5%
  • C
    CFNJORG
    one grant, 2023 · $1k
  • NM
    NJ MUSEUM OF BOATING
    one grant, 2020 · $1k
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
Institute for Advanced Study - Louis Bamberger & Mrs Felix Fuld Foundation

The institute for advanced study (the institute) is one of the world's leading centers for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. see schedule o.

Science & Tech
2
The Trustees of Princeton University

Research, education and general - princeton university is a private not-for-profit, non-sectarian institution of higher learning with approximately 5,700 undergraduate and 3,300 graduate students. 2,500 students graduated in the 2024-2025…

Education
3
Fairleigh Dickinson University

Fairleigh dickinson university is a center of academic excellence dedicated to the preparation of world citizens through global education. the university strives to provide students with the multi-disciplinary, intercultural, and ethical…

Education
4
Manhattanville University

To educate students to be ethical and socially responsible leaders in a global community.

Education
5
Seton Hall University

Seton hall university is a catholic institution of higher education

—
6
Monmouth University Inc

See schedule omonmouth university is a comprehensive institution of higher education committed to excellence and integrity in teaching, scholarship and service. through its offerings in liberal arts, sciences, and professional programs,…

Education
7
Dickinson College

Dickinson college provides a useful, innovative and interdisciplinary education in the liberal arts and sciences to prepare students to lead rich and fulfilling lives of engaged global citizenship

Education
8
Phillips Exeter Academy

Unite goodness and knowledge and inspire youth from every quarter to lead purposeful lives. [text in quotations is taken from the academy's deed of gift, drafted in 1781] knowledge and goodness "above all, it is expected that the attention…

Education
9
Boston Architectural College

The bac is committed to provide excellence in design education grounded in practice and accessible to diverse communities.

—
10
The Newark Museum Association

Nmoa mission statement is: we welcome everyone with inclusive experiences that spark curiosity and foster community.

Arts & Culture
11
Princeton Ballet Society

Princeton ballet society's mission is to nurture a lifelong love of dance and lift the collective spirit through excellent, relevant, and accessible artistic and educational programs, with a focus on classical ballet.

Arts & Culture
12
Masters School

The masters school celebrates active participation, deep understanding, and meaningful connection. a community of diverse individuals, we gather to learn, to strive, to dare, to do - to be a power for good in the world.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Princeton Friends School; the most unlike its peers is Philadelphia Museum of Art. 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

10 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. 10 of the 33 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)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
10/10
Grantees still filing
9/10
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

PRINCETON SMALL ANIMAL RESCUE: $72,691 · OtherPRINCETON SMALL ANIMAL RESCUEIndividual grant recipient: $9,074 · OtherIndividual grant recipientPRINCETON ART MUSEUM: $7,000 · OtherPRINCETON ART MUSEUMMCCARTER THEATRE: $6,500 · OtherMARQUAND PARK FOUNDATION: $6,300 · OtherSTONY BROOKMILLSTONE WATERSHED: $5,000 · Other+19 more: $16,939 · Other+19 moreLEHIGH UNIVERSITY: $47,500 · EducationLEHIGH UNIVERSITYFRANCISCAN UNIVERSITY OF STEUBENVILLE: $26,000 · EducationFRANCISCAN UNIVERSITY OF STEUBENVILLEHOMEFRONT INC: $7,080 · EducationHOMEFRONT INC+1 more: $1,000 · EducationSAVE BARNEGAT BAY INC: $8,957 · EnvironmentPHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART: $225 · Arts & CultureHISTORICAL SOCIETY OF PRINCETON: $100 · Arts & CultureGEORGIA AQUARIUM INC & SUBSIDIARY: $285 · Animals
Other$123,504Education$81,580Environment$8,957Arts & Culture$325Animals$285

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 budgetLEHIGH UNIVERSITY: $47,500 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetFRANCISCAN UNIVERSITY OF STEUBENVILLE: $26,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSAVE BARNEGAT BAY INC: $8,957 over 9y, 0.4% of budgetHOMEFRONT INC: $7,080 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetMARQUAND PARK FOUNDATION: $6,300 over 9y, 1.7% of budgetPRINCETON FRIENDS SCHOOL: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGEORGIA AQUARIUM INC & SUBSIDIARY: $285 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART: $225 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWOMANSPACE INC: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHISTORICAL SOCIETY OF PRINCETON: $100 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.

  • Who funds LEHIGH UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds FRANCISCAN UNIVERSITY OF STEUBENVILLE ↗
  • Who funds SAVE BARNEGAT BAY INC ↗
  • Who funds HOMEFRONT INC ↗
  • Who funds MARQUAND PARK FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds PRINCETON FRIENDS SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds GEORGIA AQUARIUM INC & SUBSIDIARY ↗
  • Who funds PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART ↗
  • Who funds WOMANSPACE INC ↗
  • Who funds HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF PRINCETON ↗

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.

Princeton Area Commun…The Bank of America C…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Princeton Area Community Foundation IncNJ13.4× affinity4 shared granteesties to 4 of 4Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Princeton Area Community Foundation Inc · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · 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 Breen Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Breen Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%23%45%68%90%share of the org’s income from government →median 47%
  • Womanspace Inc: 47% of income from government
  • Homefront Inc: 9% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
2get no government money at all
2report 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 33 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 Breen’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