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The Burnham Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Burnham 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.

$1.8M
Granted FY2025still arriving
42
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$700k
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 2024.

Education$1.4MCommunity Improvement$895kArts & Culture$892kCrime & Legal$758kYouth Development$401kRecreation & Sports$389kHuman Services$384kEmployment$240kOther$0
02FY2025 · 42 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k18 grants · $69k
  • $10k–50k16 grants · $319k
  • $50k–250k7 grants · $679k
  • $250k+1 grant · $700k
$10,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$4.3M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
SAN DIEGO HISTORY CENTER$700,000
J CRAIG VENTER INSTITUTE$200,000
NATIONAL CONFLICT RESOLUTION CENTER$150,000
FOREVER BALBOA PARK$100,000
NATIONAL CONFLICT RESOLUTION CENTER$75,000
SAN DIEGO TIJUANA WORLD DESIGN CAPITAL 2024$54,000
INSTITUTE OF THE AMERICAS$50,000
SANFORD BURNHAM PREBYS$50,000
SAN DIEGO YACHT CLUB$36,770
Individual grant recipient$25,000
SAN DIEGO REGIONAL ECONOMIC CORPORATION$25,000
SDYC SAILING FOUNDATION$25,000
SAN DIEGO REGIONAL ECONOMIC CORPORATION$25,000
SAN YSIDRO HEALTH$25,000
SAN DIEGO JAZZ VENTURES$25,000
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 (FY17–25, $82k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%LIFESAVERS FOUNDATION: $5k → 14%ANGELS OF GRACE: $1k → 19%LIFESAVERS FOUNDATION: $3k → 14%YMCA OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY: $9k → 11%YMCA OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY: $9k → 11%YMCA OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY: $5k → 11%SAN DIEGO CENTER FOR CHILDREN: $2k → 11%SAN DIEGO CENTER FOR CHILDREN: $2k → 11%SAN DIEGO CENTER FOR CHILDREN: $2k → 11%ICF CENTER FOR CROSS BORDER PHILANTHROPY: $3k → 11%WARRIOR FOUNDATION FREEDOM STATION: $2k → 11%WARRIOR FOUNDATION FREEDOM STATION: $2k → 11%ICF CENTER FOR CROSS BORDER PHILANTHROPY: $3k → 11%WARRIOR FOUNDATION FREEDOM STATION: $2k → 11%ICF CENTER FOR CROSS BORDER PHILANTHROPY: $3k → 11%WARRIOR FOUNDATION FREEDOM STATION: $1k → 11%ICF CENTER FOR CROSS BORDER PHILANTHROPY: $3k → 11%WARRIOR FOUNDATION FREEDOM STATION: $1k → 11%WARRIOR FOUNDATION FREEDOM STATION: $1k → 11%WARRIOR FOUNDATION FREEDOM STATION: $1k → 11%WARRIOR FOUNDATION FREEDOM STATION: $1k → 11%ICF CENTER FOR CROSS BORDER PHILANTHROPY: $3k → 11%RISE UP INDUSTRIES: $5k → 11%RISE UP INDUSTRIES: $3k → 11%TRANS FAMILY SUPPORT SERVICES: $5k → 11%TRANS FAMILY SUPPORT SERVICES: $3k → 11%TRANS FAMILY SUPPORT SERVICES: $2k → 11%TRANS FAMILY SUPPORT SERVICES: $2k → 11%TRANS FAMILY SUPPORT SERVICES: $1k → 11%CULTURE OF LIFE FAMILY SERVICES: $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.

86%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$6.4M · 65 repeat orgs$1.1M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +58% since the first grant, against +44% for those funded once.

65 repeat relationships: 21 still active in FY2025, 44 since wound down; 16 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

65
37

Total granted

$6.4M
$679k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+58%
+44%

Still filing today

62%
46%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 79% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $371k 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 & CultureHuman ServicesHealthAnimalsInternationalOther
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

  • NC
    NATIONAL CONFLICT RESOLUTION CENTER
    9× · 2017–2025 · $977k · revenue +151%
  • SD
    SAN DIEGO HISTORICAL SOCIETY
    4× · 2019–2025 · $746k · revenue +228%
  • TS
    THE SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATION
    4× · 2020–2023 · $625k · revenue +6%

Funded once

  • CF
    CSUM FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2018 · $225k
  • CF
    CONNECT FOUNDATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2018 · $100k · revenue +63%
  • SD
    SAN DIEGO RESCUE MISSION INCgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $50k · revenue +44%
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
The San Diego Foundation

The san diego foundation inspires enduring philanthropy and enables community solutions to improve the quality of life in our region.

Philanthropy
2
San Diego Coasters
Arts & Culture
3
San Diego Double Ten Committee
Arts & Culture
4
San Diego Jewish Academy

San Diego Jewish Academy empowers each student to learn for life, guided by Jewish values and rooted in strength of community.

Education
5
Policy & Innovation Center

The policy & innovation center's (pic) mission is to unlock the region's potential by cultivating and building partnerships. our niche is to address intractable issues that can only be solved with cross-sector, multi-jurisdictional…

Philanthropy
6
San Diego Regional Economic Development Foundation

To support and cultivate sustainable employment opportunities for San Diego County residents contributing to a prosperous local economy.

Community Improvement
7
San Diego Opera Association

Mission: the mission of san diego opera is to deliver exceptional performances and exciting, accessible programs to diverse audiences, focusing on community partnerships, and the transformative and expressive power of the human voice. as…

Arts & Culture
8
University of Southern California

The central mission of the university of southern california is the development of human beings and society as a whole through the cultivation and enrichment of the human mind and spirit. the principal means by which our mission is…

Education
9
Associated Students of San Diego State University

To support the social, recreational, cultural and education programs and facilities, both on campus and in the community, and to advocate for student interests, provide leadership opportunities and participate in shared governance.

—
10
San Diego State University Foundation Sdsu Research Foundation

To support and further the research, education and community service objectives of san diego state university.

Education
11
San Diego Diplomacy Council

Programmed and coordinated visits to san diego by international visitors and escorts, working in association with appropriate united states government agencies and the global ties u.s. network.

Community Improvement
12
San Diego Parks Foundation

To improve the quality of life of communities throughout the city of San Diego through equitable investments in parks, greenspace, and recreational opportunities.Vison - Every San Diegan has access to quality recreational facilities as…

Recreation & Sports
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Uc San Diego Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Futuro Brillante. 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

72 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. 72 of the 121 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.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
29
Early backer (in before they grew)
71/72
Grantees still filing
59/72
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

NATIONAL CONFLICT RESOLUTION CENTER: $977,000 · OtherNATIONAL CONFLICT RESOLUTION CENTERSAN DIEGO HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $746,000 · OtherSAN DIEGO HISTORICAL SOCIETYUNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO: $521,055 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGOIndividual grant recipient: $350,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientSAN DIEGO REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEV CORP: $325,000 · OtherSAN DIEGO REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEV CORPPENINSULA FAMILY YMCA: $255,000 · OtherCONTRIBUTE: $240,000 · OtherCSUM FOUNDATION: $225,000 · Other+83 more: $1,514,513 · Other+83 moreTHE CAMPANILE FOUNDATION: $254,750 · EducationTHE CAMPANILE…Teach for America Inc: $250,000 · EducationTeach for Ame…KYOTO SYMPOSIUM ORGANIZATION: $105,000 · EducationKYOTO SYMPOSI…CONNECT FOUNDATION: $100,000 · EducationCONNECT FOUND…MONARCH SCHOOL PROJECT: $60,000 · EducationMONARCH SCHOO…UC SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION: $49,699 · EducationUC SAN DIEGO …+7 more: $77,750 · Education+7 moreTHE SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATION: $625,000 · Arts & CultureTHE SAN DIEG…INSTALLATION GALLERY: $45,000 · Arts & CultureINSTALLATION…PLANO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATION: $37,500 · Arts & CultureTHE PUTNAM FOUNDATION DBA TIMKEN MUSEUM OF ART: $35,000 · Arts & Culture+6 more: $90,250 · Arts & Culture+6 moreINSTITUTE OF THE AMERICAS: $275,000 · InternationalFUTURO BRILLANTE: $36,000 · International+2 more: $20,000 · InternationalACCESS YOUTH ACADEMY: $250,000 · Youth DevelopmentJ CRAIG VENTER INSTITUTE: $210,000 · Science & TechFOREVER BALBOA PARK: $108,500 · Religion
Other$5,153,568Education$897,199Arts & Culture$832,750International$331,000Youth Development$250,000Science & Tech$210,000Religion$108,500

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 budgetNATIONAL CONFLICT RESOLUTION CENTER: $977,000 over 9y, 2.2% of budgetSAN DIEGO HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $746,000 over 4y, 7.5% of budgetTHE SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATION: $625,000 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO: $521,055 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetINSTITUTE OF THE AMERICAS: $275,000 over 5y, 4.0% of budgetTHE CAMPANILE FOUNDATION: $254,750 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetACCESS YOUTH ACADEMY: $250,000 over 5y, 7.5% of budgetTeach for America Inc: $250,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetJ CRAIG VENTER INSTITUTE: $210,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFOREVER BALBOA PARK: $108,500 over 2y, 1.5% of budgetKYOTO SYMPOSIUM ORGANIZATION: $105,000 over 6y, 5.1% of budgetCONNECT FOUNDATION: $100,000 over 1y, 5.3% of budgetMONARCH SCHOOL PROJECT: $60,000 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetSAN DIEGO RESCUE MISSION INC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetSan Diego-Imperial Council Boy Scouts of America: $50,000 over 1y, 2.0% of budgetSANFORD BURNHAM PREBYS MEDICAL DISCOVERY INSTITUTE: $50,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUC SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION: $49,699 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetINSTALLATION GALLERY: $45,000 over 6y, 2.8% of budgetPLANO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATION: $37,500 over 5y, 0.7% of budgetFUTURO BRILLANTE: $36,000 over 3y, 3.5% of budgetTHE PUTNAM FOUNDATION DBA TIMKEN MUSEUM OF ART: $35,000 over 7y, 0.5% of budgetJULIAN COMMUNITY HERITAGE FNDN (JCHF): $32,500 over 7y, 5.9% of budgetVAPA Foundation: $25,000 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetSAN DIEGO JAZZ VENTURES INC: $25,000 over 1y, 10% of budgetTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetYMCA OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY: $23,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSAN DIEGO HUMANE SOCIETY AND SPCA: $22,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetTHE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS: $20,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetLAS PATRONAS: $19,000 over 9y, 0.3% of budgetVOICE OF SAN DIEGO: $15,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetSAN DIEGO AIR & SPACE MUSEUM INC: $14,750 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetSAN DIEGO SPORTS ASSOCIATION: $13,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetTransFamily Support Services: $13,000 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetINTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $12,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetOLIVEWOODS GARDENS & LEARNING CENTER INC: $12,500 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetUSS MIDWAY MUSEUM: $12,500 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetWARRIOR FOUNDATION FREEDOM STATION: $11,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetDiamond Educational Excellence Partnership: $10,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetCORONADO MUSIC & ARTS FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 2y, 81% of budgetGLOBAL CARE ALLIANCE INC: $10,000 over 2y, 1.8% of budgetRise Up Industries: $8,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetLIFESAVERS FOUNDATION: $7,500 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetALPHA PROJECT FOR THE HOMELESS: $7,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTREVOR PROJECT INC: $7,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetVOLCAN MOUNTAIN FOUNDATION: $6,500 over 3y, 0.9% of budgetGrossmont Hospital Foundation: $6,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCatalyst of San Diego & Imperial Counties: $6,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetThe Wednesday Club: $5,000 over 1y, 3.6% 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 NATIONAL CONFLICT RESOLUTION CENTER ↗
  • Who funds SAN DIEGO HISTORICAL SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds THE SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds UNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO ↗
  • Who funds INSTITUTE OF THE AMERICAS ↗
  • Who funds THE CAMPANILE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds ACCESS YOUTH ACADEMY ↗
  • Who funds Teach for America Inc ↗
  • Who funds J CRAIG VENTER INSTITUTE ↗
  • Who funds FOREVER BALBOA PARK ↗
  • Who funds KYOTO SYMPOSIUM ORGANIZATION ↗
  • Who funds CONNECT FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds SAN DIEGO TIJUANA WORLD DESIGN CAPITAL 2024 ↗
  • Who funds MONARCH SCHOOL PROJECT ↗
  • Who funds SAN DIEGO RESCUE MISSION INC ↗
  • Who funds San Diego-Imperial Council Boy Scouts of America ↗
  • Who funds SANFORD BURNHAM PREBYS MEDICAL DISCOVERY INSTITUTE ↗
  • Who funds UC SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds INSTALLATION GALLERY ↗
  • Who funds SAN DIEGO YACHT CLUB ↗
  • Who funds PLANO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds FUTURO BRILLANTE ↗
  • Who funds THE PUTNAM FOUNDATION DBA TIMKEN MUSEUM OF ART ↗

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.

Jewish Community Foun…The Conrad Prebys Fou…The San Diego Foundat…Price Philanthropies …Sempra FoundationDavid C Copley Founda…Rancho Santa Fe Found…Walter J & Betty C Za…The Parker FoundationThe Cushman FoundationArt Pratt Foundation …Girard Foundation
Jewish Community Foundation of San DiegoCA47.7× affinity23 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego · The Conrad Prebys Foundation · The San Diego Foundation · Price Philanthropies Foundation · Sempra Foundation · David C Copley Foundation · Rancho Santa Fe Foundation · Walter J & Betty C Zable Foundation · The Parker Foundation · The Cushman Foundation · Art Pratt Foundation of Old Mission Rc · Girard 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 Burnham Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Burnham Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%6%23%51%90%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    1get no government money at all
    24report 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 Burnham Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to The Burnham 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 121 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 Burnham’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