Skip to content
The Brunckhorst Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Brunckhorst 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.

$7.4M
Granted FY2024still arriving
30
Grants FY2024still arriving
8
States reached
$1.2M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0199% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Environment$36MAnimals$12MHealth$5.2MCivil Rights$4.1MArts & Culture$100kOther$0
02FY2024 · 30 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $50k–250k18 grants · $2.5M
  • $250k+12 grants · $5.0M
$200,000
Median grant
8
States reached
$142M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Sierra Club Foundation$1,160,000
Southern Environmental Law Center$480,000
Chesapeake Bay Foundation Inc$425,000
Earth Justice$405,000
Conservation Fund$400,000
Nature Conservancy$400,000
Environmental Defense Fund Inc$350,000
Tri County Humane Society$300,000
Center for Reproductive Rights Inc$300,000
Planned Parenthood-SouthEast North$250,000
Planned Parenthood SW Central Flori$250,000
Ocean Conservancy$250,000
Natural Resources Defense Fund Inc$225,000
American Rivers Inc$200,000
Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee$200,000
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 (FY17–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 82% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%Sierra Club Foundation: $1.3M → 10%Planned Parenthood SW Central Flori: $400k → 9%Planned Parenthood-So FlTreasure Co: $400k → 11%Conservation Fund: $400k → 7%Southern Environmental Law Center: $500k → 8%Chesapeake Bay Foundation Inc: $450k → 6%Sierra Club Foundation: $1.2M → 10%Conservation Fund: $400k → 7%So Environmental Law Center: $500k → 8%Chesapeake Bay Foundation Inc: $425k → 6%Sierra Club Foundation: $1.2M → 10%Conservation Fund: $400k → 7%Southern Environmental Law Center: $500k → 8%Chesapeake Bay Foundation Inc: $425k → 6%Sierra Club Foundation: $1.2M → 10%Conservation Fund: $400k → 7%Southern Environmental Law Center: $480k → 8%Chesapeake Bay Foundation Inc: $350k → 6%Conservation Fund: $400k → 7%Southern Environmental Law Center: $480k → 8%Conservation Fund: $400k → 7%So Environmental Law Center: $475k → 8%Conservation Fund: $400k → 7%So Environmental Law Center: $475k → 8%Earth Justice: $425k → 10%Earth Justice: $425k → 10%Nature Conservancy: $800k → 7%Richmond SPCA: $500k → 22%Earth Justice: $405k → 10%African Wildlife Foundation: $325k → 14%Nature Conservancy: $400k → 7%Earth Justice: $325k → 10%Nature Conservancy: $400k → 7%Nature Conservancy: $400k → 7%Nature Conservancy: $400k → 7%Center for Reproductive Rights Inc: $400k → 17%Nature Conservancy: $400k → 7%Sierra Club Foundation: $1.4M → 10%Nature Conservancy: $400k → 7%Sierra Club Foundation: $1.2M → 10%Nature Conservancy: $400k → 7%Sierra Club Foundation: $1.2M → 10%Earth Justice: $405k → 10%Environmental Defense Fund Inc: $350k → 17%Environmental Defense Fund Inc: $350k → 17%Environmental Defense Fund Inc: $350k → 17%Environmental Defense Fund Inc: $350k → 17%Environmental Defense Fund: $350k → 17%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

NY
CA
VA
MD
AZ
TN
DC
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.

98%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$53M · 36 repeat orgs$950k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +62% since the first grant, against +58% for those funded once.

36 repeat relationships: 27 still active in FY2024, 9 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

36
3

Total granted

$53M
$600k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+62%
+58%

Still filing today

69%
33%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 95% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $350k 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
EnvironmentAnimalsHealthCivil RightsOther
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

  • THE CONSERVATION FUND A NONPROFIT CORPORATION
    8× · 2017–2024 · $3.1M · revenue +40%
  • CHESAPEAKE BAY FOUNDATION INC
    8× · 2017–2024 · $2.6M · revenue +53%
  • ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND INCORPORATED
    8× · 2017–2024 · $2.6M · revenue +202%

Funded once

  • PP
    Planned Parenthood-South Florida
    one grant, 2020 · $250k
  • VL
    VIRGINIA LEAGUE FOR PLANNED PARENTHOOD INCORPORATEDgraduated
    one grant, 2019 · $250k · revenue +58%
  • NT
    National Tr for Historical Preserva
    one grant, 2019 · $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
World Wildlife Fund Inc

Wwf's mission is to conserve nature and reduce the most pressing threats to the diversity of life on earth. (continued on schedule o)

Environment
2
Conservation International Foundation

Ci works to spotlight and secure the critical benefits that nature provides to humanity.

Environment
3
Resource Renewal Institute

The resource renewal institute facilitates the creation, development and implementation of practical strategies to solve the entire complex environmental problem by addressing it comprehensively.

Environment
4
Conservation Law Foundation Inc

Conservation law foundation, inc. (clf) protects new england's environment for the benefit of all people and future generations. we use the law, science, and markets to create solutions that preserve and restore our natural resources,…

Environment
5
Washington Forest Law Center

Dedicated to protecting the world's natural environment on behalf of the public by serving as a public interest law firm. refer to schedule o, part iii, line 4a, for list of litigated cases or advocacy work.

—
6
National Audubon Society Inc

We work towards a future where birds thrive across the americas because audubon is a powerful, diverse, and ever-growing force for conservation. (continued on schedule o).

Environment
7
For the Fishes

To address, educate, coordinate, and enhance enforcement capacity to end teh trade in coral reef wildlife for household and other small display aquariums. our supply and demand side strategies are directed locally and globally to…

Animals
8
Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Foundation

To engage and catalyze global seafood supply chains in rebuilding depleted fish stocks and reducing the environmental impacts of fishing and fish farming.

Animals
9
Wildlife Conservation Society

The wildlife conservation society (wcs) saves wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, conservation action, education, and inspiring people to value nature.

Animals
10
World Animal Protection

World animal protection is a global organization working to end factory farming and wildlife exploitation. we expose cruel systems, promote animal-friendly alternatives, and influence policy change. for over 75 years, we've been rewriting…

Animals
11
Property and Environment Research Center

Perc is dedicated to advancing conservation through markets, incentives, property rights, and partnerships.

Public Benefit
12
The Peregrine Fund Inc

To change the future for nature and humanity by conserving birds of prey worldwide.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Environmental Defense Fund Incorporated; the most unlike its peers is Humane World for Animals Inc. 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

28 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. 28 of the 42 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)
28/28
Grantees still filing
25/28
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

SIERRA CLUB FOUNDATION: $8,540,000 · EnvironmentSIERRA CLUB FOUNDATIONTHE CONSERVATION FUND A NONPROFIT CORPORATION: $3,100,000 · EnvironmentTHE CONSERVATION FUND A NONPROFIT CORPORATIONCHESAPEAKE BAY FOUNDATION INC: $2,650,000 · EnvironmentCHESAPEAKE BAY FOUNDATION INCENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND INCORPORATED: $2,625,000 · EnvironmentENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND INCORPORATEDEARTHJUSTICE: $2,410,000 · EnvironmentEARTHJUSTICEOCEAN CONSERVANCY: $2,050,000 · EnvironmentOCEAN CONSERVANCYAMERICAN RIVERS INC: $1,610,000 · EnvironmentAMERICAN RIVERS INCAmerican Forests: $1,050,000 · Environment+5 more: $2,875,000 · Environment+5 moreTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $3,600,000 · OtherTHE NATURE CONSERVANCYSOUTHERN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER: $1,960,000 · OtherSOUTHERN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTE…REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM FOR ALL FOUNDATION: $1,565,000 · OtherREPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM FOR ALL FOU…So Environmental Law Center: $1,450,000 · OtherSo Environmental Law CenterPlanned Parenthood SW Central Flori: $1,400,000 · OtherPlanned Parenthood SW Central Fl…Natural Resources Defense Fund Inc: $1,200,000 · OtherNatural Resources Defense Fund I…Planned Parenthood-So FlTreasure Co: $900,000 · OtherPlanned Parenthood-So FlTreasure…Humane Society of United States: $825,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $700,000 · OtherPlanned Parenthood-Sarasota: $650,000 · OtherVirginia League for Planned Parenth: $600,000 · OtherNational Audubon Society Inc: $600,000 · Other+5 more: $1,100,000 · Other+5 moreTRI COUNTY HUMANE SOCIETY: $2,100,000 · AnimalsTRI COUNTY HUMANE SOC…AMERICAN HUMANE ASSOCIATION: $1,750,000 · AnimalsAMERICAN HUMANE ASSOC…THE ELEPHANT SANCTUARY IN TENNESSEE: $1,600,000 · AnimalsTHE ELEPHANT SANCTUAR…AFRICAN WILDLIFE FOUNDATION INC: $1,405,000 · AnimalsAFRICAN WILDLIFE FOUN…RICHMOND SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS: $1,300,000 · AnimalsRICHMOND SOCIETY FOR …Defenders of Wildlife: $900,000 · AnimalsDefenders of WildlifeCENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY INC: $900,000 · AnimalsCENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL…NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION: $900,000 · AnimalsNATIONAL WILDLIFE FED…+1 more: $100,000 · AnimalsTHE CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS INC: $2,500,000 · Civil RightsPLANNED PARENTHOOD OF SOUTH FLORIDA AND THE TREASURE COAST INC: $700,000 · HealthVIRGINIA LEAGUE FOR PLANNED PARENTHOOD INCORPORATED: $250,000 · Health
Environment$26,910,000Other$16,550,000Animals$10,955,000Civil Rights$2,500,000Health$950,000

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetSIERRA CLUB FOUNDATION: $8,540,000 over 7y, 1.7% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $3,600,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetTHE CONSERVATION FUND A NONPROFIT CORPORATION: $3,100,000 over 8y, 0.2% of budgetCHESAPEAKE BAY FOUNDATION INC: $2,650,000 over 8y, 1.5% of budgetENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND INCORPORATED: $2,625,000 over 8y, 0.2% of budgetTHE CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS INC: $2,500,000 over 8y, 0.9% of budgetEARTHJUSTICE: $2,410,000 over 7y, 0.4% of budgetTRI COUNTY HUMANE SOCIETY: $2,100,000 over 7y, 11% of budgetOCEAN CONSERVANCY: $2,050,000 over 8y, 1.0% of budgetSOUTHERN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER: $1,960,000 over 4y, 1.3% of budgetAMERICAN HUMANE ASSOCIATION: $1,750,000 over 8y, 1.4% of budgetAMERICAN RIVERS INC: $1,610,000 over 8y, 1.6% of budgetTHE ELEPHANT SANCTUARY IN TENNESSEE: $1,600,000 over 8y, 5.4% of budgetREPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM FOR ALL FOUNDATION: $1,565,000 over 8y, 2.2% of budgetAFRICAN WILDLIFE FOUNDATION INC: $1,405,000 over 8y, 0.9% of budgetRICHMOND SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS: $1,300,000 over 5y, 3.9% of budgetAmerican Forests: $1,050,000 over 8y, 1.9% of budgetDefenders of Wildlife: $900,000 over 8y, 0.5% of budgetCENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY INC: $900,000 over 6y, 0.9% of budgetNATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION: $900,000 over 8y, 0.2% of budgetNATIONAL PARKS CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION: $850,000 over 8y, 0.4% of budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD OF SOUTH FLORIDA AND THE TREASURE COAST INC: $700,000 over 3y, 1.2% of budgetNATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC: $650,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetOCEANA INC: $525,000 over 8y, 0.3% of budgetTHE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND: $475,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetGREENPEACE FUND INC: $375,000 over 6y, 0.5% of budgetVIRGINIA LEAGUE FOR PLANNED PARENTHOOD INCORPORATED: $250,000 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetHumane World for Animals Inc: $100,000 over 1y, 0.1% 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 SIERRA CLUB FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds THE NATURE CONSERVANCY ↗
  • Who funds THE CONSERVATION FUND A NONPROFIT CORPORATION ↗
  • Who funds CHESAPEAKE BAY FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND INCORPORATED ↗
  • Who funds THE CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS INC ↗
  • Who funds EARTHJUSTICE ↗
  • Who funds TRI COUNTY HUMANE SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds OCEAN CONSERVANCY ↗
  • Who funds SOUTHERN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER ↗
  • Who funds AMERICAN HUMANE ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds AMERICAN RIVERS INC ↗
  • Who funds THE ELEPHANT SANCTUARY IN TENNESSEE ↗
  • Who funds REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM FOR ALL FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds AFRICAN WILDLIFE FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds RICHMOND SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS ↗
  • Who funds American Forests ↗
  • Who funds Defenders of Wildlife ↗
  • Who funds CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY INC ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL PARKS CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF SOUTH FLORIDA AND THE TREASURE COAST INC ↗
  • Who funds NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC ↗
  • Who funds OCEANA INC ↗
  • Who funds THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND ↗
  • Who funds GREENPEACE FUND INC ↗
  • Who funds VIRGINIA LEAGUE FOR PLANNED PARENTHOOD INCORPORATED ↗

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization The Brunckhorst Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Brunckhorst Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 6%
  • Planned Parenthood of South Florida and the Treasure Coast Inc: 6% of income from government
  • Chesapeake Bay Foundation Inc: 2% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get 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
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 Brunckhorst Foundation?

Find your warmest path to The Brunckhorst 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 42 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 Brunckhorst’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