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The Bruning Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Bruning 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.

$801k
Granted FY2024still arriving
90
Grants FY2024still arriving
18
States reached
$69k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0187% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Education$1.4MHealth$1.3MArts & Culture$779kEnvironment$539kAnimals$538kFood & Nutrition$441kHuman Services$339kRecreation & Sports$203kOther$0
02FY2024 · 90 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k61 grants · $233k
  • $10k–50k27 grants · $450k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $119k
$5,000
Median grant
18
States reached
$18M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
NORTH LAKELAND DISCOVERY CENTER$69,000
DUCKS UNLIMITED$50,000
CARMEL HIGH SCHOOL$45,000
Individual grant recipient$45,000
Individual grant recipient$24,500
BROWN FAMILY YMCA$21,000
JACKSONVILLE UNIVERSITY$20,000
SEAMARK RANCH$20,000
CAN-DO CANINES$18,000
TWIN CITIES PET RESCUE$16,000
LOVE FUTBOL INC$15,000
FRIENDS OF THE GTM RESERVE$15,000
ME SQUARED CANCER CENTER$15,000
ST THOMAS RUTHERFORD FOUNDATION$15,000
SHATTUCK-ST MARY'S SCHOOL$15,000
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:

Its human-services grants (FY17–24, $375k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 84% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%CHALLENGED ATHLETES FOUNDATION: $5k → 11%SEAMARK RANCH: $25k → 14%CAMP COURAGEOUS OF IOWA: $5k → 11%SCHOLL COMMUNITY IMPACT GROUP: $8k → 10%CHALLENGE ASPEN: $5k → 6%FREEDOM SERVICE DOGS: $4k → 8%MI CASA RESOURCE CENTER: $5k → 12%LAZARUS HOUSE: $3k → 8%SEAMARK RANCH: $25k → 14%CAMP COURAGEOUS OF IOWA: $5k → 11%SCHOLL COMMUNITY IMPACT GROUP: $7k → 10%CHALLENGE ASPEN: $4k → 6%MI CASA RESOURCE CENTER: $5k → 12%SEAMARK RANCH: $25k → 14%SCHOLL COMMUNITY IMPACT GROUP: $7k → 10%CHALLENGE ASPEN: $3k → 6%M CASA RESOURCE CENTER: $4k → 12%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $3k → 14%SEAMARK RANCH: $25k → 14%SCHOLL COMMUNITY IMPACT GROUP: $7k → 10%CHALLENGE ASPEN: $3k → 6%MISERACORDIA HOME: $3k → 14%SEAMARK RANCH: $20k → 14%SCHOLL COMMUNITY IMPACT GROUP: $7k → 10%CHALLENGE ASPEN: $3k → 6%SEAMARK RANCH: $20k → 14%SCHOLL COMMUNITY IMPACT GROUP: $6k → 10%CHALLENGE ASPEN: $3k → 6%BLESSINGS IN A BACKPACK: $3k → 6%SEAMARK RANCH: $20k → 14%BLESSINGS IN A BACKPACK: $3k → 6%SEAMARK RANCH: $20k → 14%SCHOLL COMMUNITY IMPACT GROUP: $5k → 10%SCHOLL COMMUNITY IMPACT GROUP: $5k → 10%FELICIA'S DONATION CLOSET: $3k → 10%FRIENDS IN NEED FOOD SHELF: $8k → 6%FRIENDS IN NEED FOOD SHELF: $5k → 6%FRIENDS IN NEED FOOD SHELF: $3k → 6%JONATHAN'S PLACE: $3k → 14%JONATHAN'S PLACE: $3k → 14%HEART HOUSE: $3k → 14%HEART HOUSE: $3k → 14%HOPE 2 OTHERS: $5k → 10%HOPE 2 OTHERS: $5k → 10%HOPE 2 OTHERS: $3k → 10%HOPE 2 OTHERS: $3k → 10%OPPORTUNIT KNOCKS: $5k → 14%OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS: $3k → 14%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

MN
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
OR
IA
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CT
CA
CO
MO
KY
VA
AZ
TN
NC
SC
DC
AL
TX
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.

94%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$6.5M · 133 repeat orgs$445k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +50% since the first grant, against +28% for those funded once.

133 repeat relationships: 75 still active in FY2024, 58 since wound down; 15 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

133
66

Total granted

$6.5M
$364k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+50%
+28%

Still filing today

58%
44%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 90% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $81k 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
EducationHuman ServicesHealthEnvironmentInternationalPhilanthropyOther
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

  • NL
    NORTH LAKELAND DISCOVERY CENTER INC
    8× · 2017–2024 · $571k · revenue +100%
  • DU
    Ducks Unlimited Inc
    8× · 2017–2024 · $390k · revenue +99%
  • NC
    Northwest Community Healthcare
    5× · 2017–2021 · $325k · revenue +197%

Funded once

  • CONVERSE UNIVERSITYgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $50k · revenue +49%
  • M2
    Matthew 25 Ministries Inc
    one grant, 2018 · $50k · revenue +21%
  • CF
    COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF GREATER
    one grant, 2023 · $20k
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
Furman University

The primary mission of furman as a liberal arts institution is to provide a distinctive education in fine arts, humanities, social sciences, mathematics and the sciences, as well as selected professional disciplines.

Education
2
Central Indiana Corporate Partnership Inc

Central indiana corporate partnership (cicp) is an alliance of indiana's business and research university leaders coming together to foster long-term prosperity for the region. cicp's mission is to transform the economy of indiana in order…

Community Improvement
3
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The mission of mit is to advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century.

Education
4
Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States Inc

The fsmb serves as the voice for state medical boards, supporting them through education, assessment, research and advocacy while providing services and initiatives that promote patient safety, quality health care and regulatory best…

Health
5
United States Naval Institute

Provide an independent forum for those who dare to read, think, speak, and write to advance the professional, literary, and scientific understanding of sea power and other issues critical to global security.

—
6
Columbia College

Columbia college improves lives by providing quality education to both traditional and nontraditional students, helping them achieve their true potential.

Education
7
Augustana College

Rooted in the liberal arts & sciences & lutheran expression of the christian faith, & is committed to offering a challenging education that develops qualities of mind, spirit, & body necessary for a rewarding life of leadership & service…

Education
8
Columbia College Chicago

The organization's mission is to educate students for creative occupations in diverse fields of arts and media.

Education
9
University of New Haven

The University of New Haven is a student-centered comprehensive university with an emphasis on excellence in liberal arts and professional education. Our mission is to prepare our students to lead purposeful and fulfilling lives in a…

Education
10
Minnesota Medical Association

To be the leading voice of medicine to make minnesota the healthiest state and the best place to practice.

—
11
Northeast College of Health Sciences

Northeast college of health sciences (the college) is committed to academic excellence, leadership, and professional best practices in the health sciences.

Education
12
Allosource

Inspired by the gift of donation from our communities, allosource responsibly provides innovative cellular and tissue allografts to advance patient healing.

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Feed My Starving Children Inc; the most unlike its peers is The Roberti Community House. 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

115 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. 115 of the 215 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.

2
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
30
Early backer (in before they grew)
114/115
Grantees still filing
85/115
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Individual grant recipient: $348,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientGOLISANO CHILDRENS HOSPITAL: $293,000 · OtherGOLISANO CHILDRENS HOSPITALMax McGraw Wildlife Foundation: $240,100 · OtherMax McGraw Wildlife Foundation+136 more: $3,143,000 · Other+136 moreBELOIT COLLEGE: $200,000 · EducationBELOIT COLLE…Jacksonville University: $167,000 · EducationJacksonville…TRUSTEES OF THE COLLEGE OF THE HOLY CROSS: $96,500 · EducationTRUSTEES OF …SHATTUCK-ST MARY'S SCHOOL: $50,000 · EducationSHATTUCK-ST …CONVERSE UNIVERSITY: $50,000 · EducationCONVERSE UNI…DICKINSON COLLEGE: $49,500 · EducationDICKINSON CO…+14 more: $159,500 · Education+14 moreNORTH LAKELAND DISCOVERY CENTER INC: $571,000 · Arts & CultureNORTH LAKE…DALLAS THEATER CENTER: $36,000 · Arts & CultureDALLAS THE…+2 more: $17,000 · Arts & CultureNorthwest Community Healthcare: $325,000 · HealthLYMPHOMA RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $45,000 · HealthHonor Connor Inc: $39,500 · HealthCOLORADO HEALTH NETWORK INC: $18,500 · Health+5 more: $21,000 · HealthDucks Unlimited Inc: $390,000 · EnvironmentDALLAS ARBORETUM AND BOTANICAL SOCIETY INC: $20,000 · Environment+4 more: $26,500 · EnvironmentSEAMARK RANCH INC: $180,000 · Human ServicesSCHOLL COMMUNITY IMPACT GROUP INC: $51,500 · Human ServicesCHALLENGE ASPEN: $26,000 · Human ServicesHOPE 2 OTHERS: $16,000 · Human ServicesCAMP COURAGEOUS OF IOWA: $16,000 · Human ServicesMI CASA RESOURCE CENTER: $16,000 · Human ServicesFRIENDS IN NEED FOOD SHELF: $16,000 · Human Services+10 more: $52,500 · Human ServicesBEEF 4 HUNGER: $119,000 · Food & NutritionGLADIOLUS FOOD PANTRY INC: $97,500 · Food & NutritionSECOND HARVEST HEARTLAND: $18,000 · Food & Nutrition+2 more: $4,500 · Food & Nutrition
Other$4,024,100Education$772,500Arts & Culture$624,000Health$449,000Environment$436,500Human Services$374,000Food & Nutrition$239,000

Showing the 200 largest grantees by grant value.

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

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetNORTH LAKELAND DISCOVERY CENTER INC: $571,000 over 8y, 9.2% of budgetDucks Unlimited Inc: $390,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetNorthwest Community Healthcare: $325,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetMax McGraw Wildlife Foundation: $240,100 over 7y, 0.5% of budgetBELOIT COLLEGE: $200,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetSEAMARK RANCH INC: $180,000 over 8y, 1.3% of budgetJacksonville University: $167,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetSAINT THOMAS RUTHERFORD FOUNDATION: $120,000 over 7y, 1.1% of budgetBEEF 4 HUNGER: $119,000 over 8y, 32% of budgetCAN DO CANINES: $106,000 over 8y, 0.5% of budgetGLADIOLUS FOOD PANTRY INC: $97,500 over 8y, 1.7% of budgetTRUSTEES OF THE COLLEGE OF THE HOLY CROSS: $96,500 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetTWIN CITIES PET RESCUE: $66,000 over 8y, 5.8% of budgetTKE FOUNDATION INC: $53,000 over 8y, 0.7% of budgetSCHOLL COMMUNITY IMPACT GROUP INC: $51,500 over 8y, 13% of budgetMagdalene House Chicago Inc: $50,000 over 5y, 7.9% of budgetSHATTUCK-ST MARY'S SCHOOL: $50,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetCONVERSE UNIVERSITY: $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMatthew 25 Ministries Inc: $50,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPROJECT ANGEL HEART: $50,000 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetDICKINSON COLLEGE: $49,500 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetFEED MY STARVING CHILDREN INC: $48,500 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetBridging Bionics Foundation: $47,000 over 8y, 1.3% of budgetLYMPHOMA RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $45,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetLOVE FUTBOL INC: $44,000 over 8y, 1.1% of budgetHonor Connor Inc: $39,500 over 4y, 6.2% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE ORPHANS D/B/A NPH-USA: $37,500 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetNMDP FOUNDATION: $37,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetDALLAS THEATER CENTER: $36,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetRISE INCORPORATED: $30,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetREACHING EVERYONE PREVENTING SUICIDE INC: $26,000 over 7y, 5.6% of budgetCHALLENGE ASPEN: $26,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetThe United Way of Lee County Inc: $24,500 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetSTEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION: $24,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetK9S FOR WARRIORS INC: $22,500 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetDANS HANDS EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $22,500 over 8y, 50% of budgetDALLAS ARBORETUM AND BOTANICAL SOCIETY INC: $20,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCOLORADO HEALTH NETWORK INC: $18,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetSECOND HARVEST HEARTLAND: $18,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetASPEN ACADEMY: $18,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetHOPE 2 OTHERS: $16,000 over 4y, 7.6% of budgetCAMP COURAGEOUS OF IOWA: $16,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetMI CASA RESOURCE CENTER: $16,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetFRIENDS IN NEED FOOD SHELF: $16,000 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetOVERALL CREEK ELEMENTARY PTO: $15,000 over 3y, 4.9% of budgetNORTH CENTRAL CAMP CHERITH: $15,000 over 3y, 1.1% of budgetUNION LEAGUE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS: $14,000 over 4y, 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 NORTH LAKELAND DISCOVERY CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds Ducks Unlimited Inc ↗
  • Who funds Northwest Community Healthcare ↗
  • Who funds Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation ↗
  • Who funds BELOIT COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds SEAMARK RANCH INC ↗
  • Who funds Jacksonville University ↗
  • Who funds SAINT THOMAS RUTHERFORD FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds BEEF 4 HUNGER ↗
  • Who funds CAN DO CANINES ↗
  • Who funds GLADIOLUS FOOD PANTRY INC ↗
  • Who funds TRUSTEES OF THE COLLEGE OF THE HOLY CROSS ↗
  • Who funds TWIN CITIES PET RESCUE ↗
  • Who funds TKE FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds SCHOLL COMMUNITY IMPACT GROUP INC ↗
  • Who funds Magdalene House Chicago Inc ↗
  • Who funds SHATTUCK-ST MARY'S SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds CONVERSE UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds Matthew 25 Ministries Inc ↗
  • Who funds PROJECT ANGEL HEART ↗
  • Who funds DICKINSON COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds FEED MY STARVING CHILDREN INC ↗
  • Who funds Bridging Bionics Foundation ↗
  • Who funds LYMPHOMA RESEARCH FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds LOVE FUTBOL INC ↗

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.

Xcel Energy FoundationAbbVie FoundationColorado Gives Founda…Northwestern Memorial…Nextfifty InitiativeThe Ayco Charitable F…Fred C and Katherine …Rocky Mountain Health…The Chicago Community…The Colorado Health F…Robert R McCormick Fo…Alliant Energy Founda…
Xcel Energy FoundationMN19.9× affinity12 shared granteesties to 10 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Xcel Energy Foundation · AbbVie Foundation · Colorado Gives Foundation · Northwestern Memorial HealthCare Group · Nextfifty Initiative · The Ayco Charitable Foundation · Fred C and Katherine B Andersen Foundation · Rocky Mountain Health Foundation · The Chicago Community Trust · The Colorado Health Foundation · Robert R McCormick Foundation · Alliant Energy Foundation Inc

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 70%3%13%28%50%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 1%
  • Preeclampsia Foundation Inc: 9% of income from government
  • Jacksonville University: 3% of income from government
  • Trustees of Boston College: 3% of income from government
  • Volunteer Florida Foundation Inc: 2% of income from government
  • The United Way of Lee County Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Regional Food Bank of Northeast Florida Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Amherst College Trustees: 0% of income from government
  • Larc Inc: 0% of income from government
  • K9S for Warriors Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
7get no government money at all
32report 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.

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 215 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 Bruning’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