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The Brown Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Brown Foundation

Its FY2026 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$1.2M
Granted FY2026still arriving
2
Grants FY2026still arriving
2
States reached
$1.1M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
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.

Health$2.5MEducation$2.0MPhilanthropy$391kReligion$148kArts & Culture$129kAnimals$4kMembership Benefit$3kHuman Services$310Other$0
02FY2026 · 2 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2026

  • $50k–250k1 grant · $100k
  • $250k+1 grant · $1.1M
$1,100,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$27M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
FRIENDS OF THE IDF$1,100,000
COOPER FOUNDATION$100,000
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 (FY17–26) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 67% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%THE BARNES FOUNDATION: $3k → 22%JEWISH THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY: $100k → 17%AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION: $25k → 14%FRIENDS OF THE IDF: $1.1M → 10%PALM BEACH JEWISH FEDERATION: $25k → 11%ROWAN UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $102k → 8%ALLIANCE HERITAGE CENTER - STOCKTON UNIVERSITY: $99k → 11%CATHOLIC PARTNERSHIP SCHOOLS: $8k → 12%JEWISH FEDERATION OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY: $60k → 16%THE BARNES FOUNDATION: $3k → 22%JEWISH FEDERATION OF PALM BEACH COUNTY: $25k → 11%ROWAN FOUNDATION: $101k → 8%CONGREGATION BETH EL: $6k → 12%JEWISH FEDERATION OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY: $30k → 16%NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN JEWISH HISTORY: $15k → 22%COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: $401k → 17%JEWISH FEDERATION OF PALM BEACH COUNTY: $25k → 11%ROWAN UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $100k → 8%CONGREGATION BETH EL: $3k → 12%BETH ISRAEL CONGREGATION: $13k → 16%NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN JEWISH HISTORY: $5k → 22%COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: $400k → 17%JEWISH FEDERATION OF PALM BEACH COUNTY: $25k → 11%ROWAN UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $100k → 8%BETH ISRAEL CONGREGATION: $6k → 16%NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN JEWISH HISTORY: $5k → 22%COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: $400k → 17%JUPITER MEDICAL CENTER: $175k → 11%ROWAN FOUNDATION: $50k → 8%BETH ISRAEL CONGREGATION: $6k → 16%COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF OPHTHALMOLOGY: $400k → 17%JUPITER MEDICAL CENTER FOUNDATION: $103k → 11%BETH ISRAEL CONGREGATION: $6k → 16%COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: $400k → 17%JUPITER MEDICAL CENTER FOUNDATION: $50k → 11%CHEVRA KADISHA OF ALLIANCEALLIANCE CEMETERY: $3k → 16%JEWISH FEDERATION OF PALM BEACH COUNTY: $25k → 11%COOPER FOUNDATION: $652k → 12%JEWISH FEDERATION OF PALM BEACH COUNTY: $25k → 11%COOPER FOUNDATION: $500k → 12%COOPER FOUNDATION: $408k → 12%COOPER FOUNDATION: $100k → 12%THE COOPER FOUNDATION: $93k → 12%THE COOPER FOUNDATION: $20k → 12%THE COOPER FOUNDATION: $10k → 12%THE COOPER FOUNDATION: $10k → 12%THE COOPER FOUNDATION: $10k → 12%THE COOPER FOUNDATION: $5k → 12%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.

56%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$2.5M · 15 repeat orgs$2.0M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +25% since the first grant, against +20% for those funded once.

15 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2026, 14 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2026 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

15
11

Total granted

$2.5M
$886k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+25%
+20%

Still filing today

60%
36%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2026, 8% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $1.1M went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25’26
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25’26
EducationArts & CultureHealthMembership BenefitCommunity ImprovementInternationalOther
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

  • TC
    THE COOPER FOUNDATION INC
    10× · 2017–2026 · $1.8M · revenue +8%
  • RU
    ROWAN UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC
    3× · 2017–2019 · $302k · revenue +37%
  • JM
    Jupiter Medical Center Foundation Inc
    2× · 2021–2022 · $153k · revenue +13%

Funded once

  • CU
    COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF OPHTHALMOLOGY
    one grant, 2018 · $400k
  • JM
    Jupiter Medical Center Inc
    one grant, 2023 · $175k · revenue +20%
  • JT
    JEWISH THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY OF AMERICA
    one grant, 2017 · $100k
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
University of Judaism Foundation
—
2
Greater Miami Hillel Foundation Inc

The mission of the organization is to enrich the lives of jewish undergraduate and graduate students so that they may enrich the jewish people and the world.

—
3
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
4
Yeshiva University

The university is composed of several colleges and schools providing undergraduate, graduate, professional and post-doctoral education and training and research and clinical programs.

Education
5
Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary

To prepare students for the rabbinate and to issue the traditional certificate of ordination in connection therewith. the seminary is authorized to confer the degree of master of hebrew literature (m.h.l.), doctor of hebrew literature…

Education
6
B'nai Brith Hillel Foundation At Princeton

Cjl partners with students and other members of the princeton community to sustain and grow a welcoming, multi-faceted and pluralistic jewish community that is fully-integrated into the fabric of campus life and which provides personally…

—
7
Mesorah Heritage Foundation

The foundation's mission is to research, locate, translate, and create jewish religious, literary, biblical, and talmudic works for religious, scholarly and cultural purposes for the general public.

Arts & Culture
8
Philadelphia Jewish Film and Media

Philadelphia jewish film and media (pjfm) creates connection and community through jewish cinema and digital storytelling. pjfm welcomes everyone to engage with jewish culture and values through its educational and entertaining year-round…

Human Services
9
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
10
Eastern European Jewish Heritage Foundation
Philanthropy
11
Hillel the Foundation for Jewish Campus Life At the Penn State University

To enrich the lives of jewish and undergraduate students so that they may enrich the jewish people and the world. penn state hillel's student leaders, professionals, and lay leaders are dedicated to creating a pluralistic, welcoming, and…

—
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 Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County Inc; the most unlike its peers is Hebrew Womens Benevolent Society. 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

17 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

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 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 17 of the 30 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)
1
Early backer (in before they grew)
17/17
Grantees still filing
12/17
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE COOPER FOUNDATION INC: $1,808,028 · OtherTHE COOPER FOUNDATION INCCOLUMBIA UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF OPHTHALMOLOGY: $400,000 · OtherCOLUMBIA UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF OPHTHALMOLOGYROWAN FOUNDATION: $151,414 · OtherROWAN FOUNDATIONJEWISH THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY OF AMERICA: $99,982 · OtherALLIANCE HERITAGE CENTER - STOCKTON UNIVERSITY: $99,105 · Other+13 more: $132,982 · OtherTHE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK: $1,602,330 · EducationTHE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSIT…ROWAN UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $301,575 · EducationROWAN UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC+1 more: $2,000 · EducationFRIENDS OF THE ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES: $1,100,000 · InternationalFRIENDS OF THE ISRA…Jupiter Medical Center Foundation Inc: $152,902 · PhilanthropyJEWISH FEDERATION OF PALM BEACH COUNTY INC: $124,814 · PhilanthropyJewish Federation of Cumberland Gloucester & Salem Counties: $90,000 · PhilanthropyJupiter Medical Center Inc: $175,068 · HealthAmerican Heart Association Inc: $25,000 · HealthWEITZMAN NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN JEWISH HISTORY: $25,000 · Arts & CultureTHE BARNES FOUNDATION: $5,000 · Arts & CultureCHEVRA KADISHA OF ALLIANCE: $6,000 · Membership Benefit
Other$2,691,511Education$1,905,905International$1,100,000Philanthropy$367,716Health$200,068Arts & Culture$30,000Membership Benefit$6,000

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 COOPER FOUNDATION INC: $1,808,028 over 10y, 7.8% of budgetTHE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK: $1,602,330 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetROWAN UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $301,575 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetJupiter Medical Center Inc: $175,068 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetJupiter Medical Center Foundation Inc: $152,902 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetJEWISH FEDERATION OF PALM BEACH COUNTY INC: $124,814 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetJewish Federation of Cumberland Gloucester & Salem Counties: $90,000 over 2y, 6.2% of budgetAmerican Heart Association Inc: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWEITZMAN NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN JEWISH HISTORY: $25,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetCATHOLIC PARTNERSHIP SCHOOLS CAMDEN: $7,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCHEVRA KADISHA OF ALLIANCE: $6,000 over 3y, 2.1% of budgetTHE BARNES FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetLARC SCHOOL INC D/B/A THE LARC NORCROSS SCHOOL: $2,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetHILLEL THE FOUNDATION FOR JEWISH CAMPUS LIFE: $750 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN FEDERATION OF POLICE AND CONCERNED CITIZENS INC: $300 over 3y, 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.

Donor Advised Charita…Amazonsmile Foundation
Donor Advised Charitable Giving IncCO4.6× affinity4 shared granteesties to 1 of 1Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 70%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%5%10%15%20%share of the org’s income from government →median 1%
  • Jupiter Medical Center Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Larc School Inc D/B/a the Larc Norcross School: 1% of income from government
  • Rowan University Foundation Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
7get 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 · 0–20%
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.
05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to The Brown Foundation?

Find your warmest path to The Brown Foundation through trustees and officers whose names appear on both boards. Search for your organization and Plinth traces the shortest route it can evidence.

Each link is a name appearing on two organizations’ public IRS 990 filings, matched on that name and, where the filings support it, on location. A same-state match has geographic support, which is a second matching feature rather than confirmation that the two are one person; a cross-state one is the likeliest to be two people who share a name. Every hop shows its tier, low-confidence and distant paths are held back rather than guessed, and it is worth confirming the person before you use the introduction.

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 30 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 2026, released 2026. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Brown’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