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The Bunker Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Bunker Foundation

Its FY2017 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$210k
Granted FY2017
14
Grants FY2017
8
States reached
$50k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01FY2017 · 14 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2017

  • Under $10k6 grants · $25k
  • $10k–50k6 grants · $85k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $100k
$10,000
Median grant
8
States reached
$54k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
AFRICAN EDUCATION FOUNDATION$50,000
CURRIKI$50,000
teach for america bay area$25,000
STANFORD UNIVERSITY$20,000
MARTY HENNESSY INSPIRING CHILDREN F$10,000
UJA FEDERATION OF NEW YORK$10,000
COLLEGE TRACK$10,000
GEORGE W BUSH FOUNDATION$10,000
AUBRI BROWN CLUB$7,500
FOLDS OF HONOR FOUNDATION$5,000
NOAH BEGAY III FOUNDATION$5,000
NATL CTR FOR MISSING EXPLT'D CHILDR$5,000
CASEY LEE BALL FOUNDATION$2,000
THE EDDY HOUSE$500
02The need
02

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 (FY17–17, $8k) land where the poverty rate runs at 8%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 6% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%THE EDDY HOUSE: $500 → 10%AUBRI BROWN CLUB: $8k → 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.

Which US states its grants reach

WA
NY
NV
CA
VA
NM
OK
TX
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 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
National Science and Technology Medals Foundation Inc

The nstmf's mission is to build inclusive stem communities across the united states. fundamental to these communities are the significant, inspirational connections we foster between the individuals who have received national recognition…

—
2
Bentley University

Organization's mission bentley university believes good business can impact more than the bottom line - it can change the world. bentley is a community of future business leaders who will deliver value in the marketplace and lasting…

Education
3
Trustees of Boston College

Mission strengthened by more than a century and a half of dedication to academic excellence, boston college commits itself to the highest standards of teaching and research in undergraduate, graduate and professional programs and to the…

Education
4
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
5
New York University

Nyu is a private university with approximately 60,000 matriculating students in 20 schools and institutes. nyu's primary missions are education, research and scholarship, and patient care.

Education
6
The Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy Inc

Committed to helping families and communities nationwide build brighter futures through literacy

Arts & Culture
7
World Learning Inc

Creating a more sustainable, peaceful, and just world through education, development, and exchange since 1932. as both an accredited academic institution and an international ngo, world learning, inc. offers the best of theory and practice…

International
8
Albright College

As a diverse community of learners, we cultivate integrity, curiosity, connection and resilience.

Education
9
Council On Foreign Relations Inc

The council on foreign relations (cfr) is an independent, nonpartisan membership organization, think tank, and publisher dedicated to being a resource for its members, government officials, business executives, journalists, educators and…

International
10
Future Problem Solving Program International Inc

Future problem solving proudly celebrates more than 50 years of placing close to a million young people at the core of a dynamic, purposeful learning experience. each year k-12 students from around the world participate in a variety of…

—
11
Northern Illinois University Foundation

The niu foundation's mission is to energize and connect the private sector with the niu community to secure and steward resources that support the future and growth of niu.

Education
12
Western New England University

Western new england university, a comprehensive private institution with a tradition of excellence in teaching and scholarship and a commitment to service, awards undergraduate, master's, and doctoral degrees in various departments from…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Folds of Honor Foundation; the most unlike its peers is The Aubri Brown Club. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
03the grantee network

13 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. 13 of the 14 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)
3
Early backer (in before they grew)
12/13
Grantees still filing
8/13
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

CURRIKI: $50,000 · EducationCURRIKITeach for America Inc: $25,000 · EducationTeach for America IncTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $20,000 · EducationTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITYCOLLEGE TRACK: $10,000 · EducationCOLLEGE TRACKTHE GEORGE W BUSH FOUNDATION: $10,000 · EducationTHE GEORGE W BUSH FOUNDATIONFOLDS OF HONOR FOUNDATION: $5,000 · EducationAFRICAN EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $50,000 · OtherAFRICAN EDUCATION FOUNDATIONNATL CTR FOR MISSING EXPLT'D CHILDR: $5,000 · OtherNATL CTR FOR MISSING EXPLT'D …MARTY HENNESSY INSPIRING CHILDREN FOUNDATION: $10,000 · HealthUNITED JEWISH APPEAL-FEDERATION OF JEWISH PHILANTHROPIES OF NEW YORK INC: $10,000 · PhilanthropyTHE AUBRI BROWN CLUB: $7,500 · Human ServicesEDDY HOUSE: $500 · Human ServicesTHE NOTAH BEGAY III FOUNDATION INC: $5,000 · Recreation & SportsCASEY LEE BALL FOUNDATION: $2,000 · Arts & Culture
Education$120,000Other$55,000Health$10,000Philanthropy$10,000Human Services$8,000Recreation & Sports$5,000Arts & Culture$2,000

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 budgetCURRIKI: $50,000 over 1y, 3.2% of budgetAFRICAN EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 1y, 22% of budgetTeach for America Inc: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $20,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCOLLEGE TRACK: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMARTY HENNESSY INSPIRING CHILDREN FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetTHE GEORGE W BUSH FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUNITED JEWISH APPEAL-FEDERATION OF JEWISH PHILANTHROPIES OF NEW YORK INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE AUBRI BROWN CLUB: $7,500 over 1y, 2.6% of budgetFOLDS OF HONOR FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCASEY LEE BALL FOUNDATION: $2,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetEDDY HOUSE: $500 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.

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.

National Philanthropi…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
National Philanthropic TrustPA9.2× affinity4 shared granteesties to 3 of 3Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%5%10%15%20%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    1get no government money at all
    3report 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.

    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 14 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 2017, released 2017. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Bunker’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