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The Bush Foundation at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Private foundation

The Bush Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$54M
Granted FY2024still arriving
148
Grants FY2024still arriving
13
States reached
$4.2M
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, FY2020 to 2024.

Community Improvement$109MCivil Rights$63MPhilanthropy$38MEducation$18MHuman Services$17MArts & Culture$17MReligion$14MEnvironment$14MOther$0
02FY2024 · 148 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k5 grants · $26k
  • $10k–50k48 grants · $993k
  • $50k–250k51 grants · $7.5M
  • $250k+44 grants · $45M
$150,000
Median grant
13
States reached
$1.5B
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
EXODUS FINANCIAL SERVICES$4,200,000
BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS$3,150,000
OWAMNIYOMNI OKHODAYAPI$2,625,000
WAKAN TIPI AWANYANKAPI$2,482,095
COMUNIDADES LATINAS UNIDAS EN SERVICIO INC$1,700,000
SAINT PAUL AND MINNESOTA FOUNDATION$1,600,000
SOUTH DAKOTA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION$1,600,000
NORTHCOUNTRY COOPERATIVE FOUNDATION$1,410,000
BUILD WEALTH MN INC$1,375,000
MINNEAPOLIS FOUNDATION$1,350,000
Individual grant recipient$1,335,000
MIDWEST INDIGENOUS IMMERSION NETWORK$1,270,050
BUSH FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM - COHORT 20$1,215,658
BUSH FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM - COHORT 20$1,210,371
FOUR BANDS COMMUNITY FUND INC$1,200,000
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:

Its human-services grants (FY20–24, $21.0M) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 82% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%THE ENITAN STORY: $110k → 7%SACRED PIPE RESOURCE CENTER: $500k → 10%RUNNING STRONG FOR AMERICAN INDIAN YOUTH: $761k → 6%THE ENITAN STORY: $100k → 7%SACRED PIPE RESOURCE CENTER: $400k → 10%RUNNING STRONG FOR AMERICAN INDIAN YOUTH: $254k → 6%SACRED PIPE RESOURCE CENTER: $400k → 10%RUNNING STRONG FOR AMERICAN INDIAN YOUTH: $209k → 6%NORTH DAKOTA RURAL ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE FOUNDATION: $110k → 10%SACRED PIPE RESOURCE CENTER: $109k → 10%NORTH DAKOTA RURAL ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE FOUNDATION: $100k → 10%SACRED PURPOSES INC: $135k → 14%WOMEN & TECHNOLOGY: $160k → 10%SACRED PIPE RESOURCE CENTER: $100k → 10%SACRED PURPOSES INC: $135k → 14%WOMEN AND TECHNOLOGY - A PARTNERSHIP: $110k → 10%WOMEN & TECHNOLOGY: $150k → 12%SACRED PURPOSES INC: $135k → 14%WOMEN AND TECHNOLOGY - A PARTNERSHIP: $100k → 10%WOMEN AND TECHNOLOGY - A PARTNERSHIP: $100k → 10%NATIVE GOVERNANCE CENTER: $1.3M → 14%PROJECT FOR PRIDE IN LIVING INC: $206k → 11%INDIAN LAND TENURE FOUNDATION: $1.5M → 14%INDIAN LAND TENURE FOUNDATION: $1.0M → 14%INDIAN LAND TENURE FOUNDATION: $1.0M → 14%INDIAN LAND TENURE FOUNDATION: $160k → 14%INDIAN LAND TENURE FOUNDATION: $150k → 14%INDIAN LAND TENURE FOUNDATION: $110k → 14%INDIAN LAND TENURE FOUNDATION: $100k → 14%INDIAN LAND TENURE FOUNDATION: $100k → 14%EXODUS FINANCIAL SERVICES: $4.2M → 14%ISUROON: $100k → 11%NATIVE GOVERNANCE CENTER: $2.0M → 11%NATIVE GOVERNANCE CENTER: $1.3M → 11%NATIVE GOVERNANCE CENTER: $1.1M → 11%NATIVE GOVERNANCE CENTER: $375k → 11%FIRST CHILDREN'S FINANCE: $208k → 11%NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT CENTER: $208k → 14%AMHERST H WILDER FOUNDATION: $186k → 14%AMHERST H WILDER FOUNDATION: $160k → 14%TIWAHE FOUNDATION: $160k → 14%AMHERST H WILDER FOUNDATION: $150k → 14%TIWAHE FOUNDATION: $150k → 14%TIWAHE FOUNDATION: $110k → 14%TIWAHE FOUNDATION: $100k → 14%TIWAHE FOUNDATION: $100k → 14%AMHERST H WILDER FOUNDATION: $87k → 14%AMHERST H WILDER FOUNDATION: $87k → 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

MT
ND
MN
IL
NY
MA
OR
SD
IN
OH
CA
VA
MD
AZ
NM
KS
TN
NC
DC
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.
04

Where the work is directed

The same grants placed two ways: where each recipient sits, and where its stated purpose sends the money.

About 33% of The Bush Foundation’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address. By recipient address, 60% of the giving stays in MN; by stated purpose, 37%.

The Bush Foundationlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address · 41% directed abroad (not shown)
How this is measured
Recipient view: each grant at its grantee’s ZIP, mapped to a county. Directed view: each grant at the county its stated purpose names, falling back to the recipient’s county when the purpose names no place; US grants only. A county shows only if it carries the top 95% of that view’s dollars. Purposes are read from the funder’s own 990 grant descriptions.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

83%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$240M · 159 repeat orgs$50M to everyone else

159 repeat relationships: 84 still active in FY2024, 75 since wound down; 20 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

159
135

Total granted

$240M
$28M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+7%
+17%

Still filing today

80%
67%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 51% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $21M went to new ones.

50%100%’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’20’21’22’23’24
Arts & CultureCommunity ImprovementEducationPhilanthropyHuman ServicesHousing & ShelterOther
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

  • NG
    NATIVE GOVERNANCE CENTER
    4× · 2020–2024 · $6.0M · revenue +726% · 70% of their budget
  • FB
    FOUR BANDS COMMUNITY FUND INC
    4× · 2020–2024 · $5.6M · revenue +450%
  • NA
    NATIVE AMERICAN COMMUNITY CLINIC
    5× · 2020–2024 · $4.2M · revenue +93%

Funded once

  • FH
    FAMILY HOUSING FUND
    one grant, 2021 · $4.0M · revenue -89%
  • MI
    MINNESOTA INCLUSIVE GROWTH FUND LLC
    one grant, 2021 · $2.5M
  • CO
    CITY OF LAKES COMMUNITY LAND TRUST
    one grant, 2021 · $2.2M · revenue -38% · 44% of their budget
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
African Development Center

Grow businesses, build wealth and increase reinvestement in the african communities of minnesota

Human Services
2
Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and Industry

The minnesota chamber of commerce proactively leads the business community statewide to: advance pro-business, responsible minnesota public policy that creates jobs and grows the econony; provde member services to address evolving business…

—
3
Minnesota Business Partnership

The minnesota business partnership's mission is to maintain a high quality of life for all minnesotans by ensuring that the state's economy remains strong, globally competitive and its prospects for growth bright by working with elected…

—
4
Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce

Creating powerful advocacy to enhance economic vitality in the minneapolis-st. paul region.

—
5
Mn Community Measurement

Mn community measurement empowers stakeholders with meaningful information to drive improvement.

Health
6
United Way of Ne Minnesota

United way of northeastern minnesota invests in nonprofits, programs, and collaborations that equip and empower, creating opportunities for people to thrive in our communities.

—
7
Minnesota Voice

Minnesota Voice is a collaboration of organizations working toward permanent change in social, racial, and economic justice by increasing civic engagement and voter participation across the state.

Public Benefit
8
Minneapolis Downtown Council

To create an extraordinary downtown minneapolis, applying the core values of leadership, collaboration, advocacy and innovation.

—
9
Minnesota Medical Association

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

—
10
Minnesota Land Trust

The minnesota land trust protects and restores minnesota's most vital natural lands in order to provide wildlife habitat, clean water, outdoor experiences and scenic beauty for generations to come.

Environment
11
Growth & Justice

To develop and advocate for public policy that makes Minnesota's economy more prosperous and fair for all Minnesotans.

—
12
Minnesota Chamber Foundation

The organization's mission is to bring stakeholders together to promote prosperity and long-term growth of minnesota's economy.

Public Benefit
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Charities Review Council; the most unlike its peers is Fargo-Moorhead Crossroads. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
05the grantee network

269 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. 269 of the 337 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.

49
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
60
Early backer (in before they grew)
257/269
Grantees still filing
146/269
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

NEXUS COMMUNITY PARTNERS: $54,370,000 · PhilanthropyNEXUS COMMUNITY PARTNERSSAINT PAUL & MINNESOTA FOUNDATION: $12,972,000 · PhilanthropySAINT PAUL & MINNESOTA FOUNDATIO…SOUTH DAKOTA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $7,316,000 · PhilanthropySOUTH DAKOTA COMMUNITY FOUNDATIO…NORTHWEST NORTH DAKOTA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $4,466,000 · PhilanthropyPROPEL NONPROFITS: $3,458,000 · PhilanthropyTHE MINNEAPOLIS FOUNDATION: $3,211,500 · Philanthropy+16 more: $9,835,200 · Philanthropy+16 moreNDN COLLECTIVE INC: $51,110,000 · Community ImprovementNDN COLLECTIVE INCLOCAL INITIATIVES SUPPORT CORPORATION: $5,707,000 · Community ImprovementLOCAL INITIATIVES SUPPORT C…FOUR BANDS COMMUNITY FUND INC: $5,635,000 · Community ImprovementFOUR BANDS COMMUNITY FUND I…NORTHSIDE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY NETWORK: $4,043,000 · Community ImprovementSOUTHWEST INITIATIVE FOUNDATION: $2,907,000 · Community Improvement+18 more: $10,548,775 · Community Improvement+18 moreBUSH FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM: $9,500,695 · OtherBUSH FELLOWSHIP PROGRAMCITY OF SAINT PAUL: $3,155,000 · OtherBUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS: $3,150,000 · OtherHEADWATERS FOUNDATION FOR JUSTICE: $3,016,000 · OtherBUSH FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM - COHORT 20: $3,006,946 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $3,000,000 · OtherNATIVE AMERICAN COMMUNITY CLINIC: $4,242,000 · OtherLOWER PHALEN CREEK PROJECT: $3,090,595 · Other+88 more: $56,171,221 · Other+88 moreNATIVE GOVERNANCE CENTER: $6,046,495 · Human ServicesEXODUS FINANCIAL SERVICES: $4,200,000 · Human ServicesINDIAN LAND TENURE FOUNDATION: $4,130,000 · Human ServicesSACRED PIPE RESOURCE CENTER: $1,509,000 · Human ServicesAMERICAN INDIAN YOUTH RUNNING STRONG INC: $1,224,000 · Human ServicesAMHERST H WILDER FOUNDATION: $844,325 · Human Services+10 more: $3,189,500 · Human ServicesBuild Wealth MN Inc: $3,937,500 · EducationKnowledgeworks Foundation: $3,736,262 · EducationFINNOVATION INSTITUTE: $2,585,000 · EducationNACA-INSPIRED SCHOOLS NETWORK: $2,063,333 · EducationEDUCATION EVOLVING: $1,675,000 · EducationSOUTH DAKOTA EDUCATION EQUITY COALITION: $1,070,000 · EducationEDVISIONS SCHOOLS INC: $1,000,000 · EducationPresident and Fellows of Harvard College: $907,524 · EducationAFRICAN AMERICAN LEADERSHIP FORUM: $828,000 · Education+10 more: $2,952,733 · EducationNATIONAL ARTS STRATEGIES INC: $3,827,600 · Arts & CultureSPRINGBOARD FOR THE ARTS: $1,781,000 · Arts & CultureArts Midwest Incorporated: $1,350,000 · Arts & CultureMIDWEST INDIGENOUS IMMERSION NETWORK: $1,270,050 · Arts & CultureEQUITY IN ACTION WAY FOUNDATION: $718,858 · Arts & CultureFIRST PEOPLES FUND: $707,500 · Arts & CultureARTS SOUTH DAKOTA INC: $667,500 · Arts & CultureCoalition of Asian American Leaders: $620,000 · Arts & CultureHISPANIC ADVOCACY AND COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT THROUGH RESEARCH: $482,500 · Arts & Culture+7 more: $1,698,594 · Arts & CultureFAMILY HOUSING FUND: $4,000,000 · Housing & ShelterCITY OF LAKES COMMUNITY LAND TRUST: $2,206,000 · Housing & ShelterLAND BANK TWIN CITIES INC: $2,100,000 · Housing & ShelterNORTHCOUNTRY COOPERATIVE FOUNDATION: $1,410,000 · Housing & ShelterLatino Economic Development Center: $818,000 · Housing & ShelterMINNESOTA EDUCATION EQUITY PARTNERSHIP: $620,000 · Housing & Shelter+2 more: $317,000 · Housing & Shelter
Philanthropy$95,628,700Community Improvement$79,950,775Other$88,332,457Human Services$21,143,320Education$20,755,352Arts & Culture$13,123,602Housing & Shelter$11,471,000

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%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetNEXUS COMMUNITY PARTNERS: $54,370,000 over 5y, 93% of budgetNDN COLLECTIVE INC: $51,110,000 over 3y, 71% of budgetSAINT PAUL & MINNESOTA FOUNDATION: $12,972,000 over 5y, 4.5% of budgetSOUTH DAKOTA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $7,316,000 over 5y, 3.6% of budgetNATIVE GOVERNANCE CENTER: $6,046,495 over 4y, 70% of budgetLOCAL INITIATIVES SUPPORT CORPORATION: $5,707,000 over 2y, 1.6% of budgetFOUR BANDS COMMUNITY FUND INC: $5,635,000 over 4y, 22% of budgetNORTHWEST NORTH DAKOTA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $4,466,000 over 3y, 77% of budgetNATIVE AMERICAN COMMUNITY CLINIC: $4,242,000 over 5y, 17% of budgetEXODUS FINANCIAL SERVICES: $4,200,000 over 1y, 84% of budgetINDIAN LAND TENURE FOUNDATION: $4,130,000 over 5y, 9.9% of budgetNORTHSIDE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY NETWORK: $4,043,000 over 5y, 27% of budgetFAMILY HOUSING FUND: $4,000,000 over 1y, 9.4% of budgetBuild Wealth MN Inc: $3,937,500 over 3y, 18% of budgetNATIONAL ARTS STRATEGIES INC: $3,827,600 over 4y, 71% of budgetKnowledgeworks Foundation: $3,736,262 over 5y, 26% of budgetPROPEL NONPROFITS: $3,458,000 over 5y, 35% of budgetTHE MINNEAPOLIS FOUNDATION: $3,211,500 over 4y, 0.9% of budgetLOWER PHALEN CREEK PROJECT: $3,090,595 over 2y, 35% of budgetHEADWATERS FOUNDATION FOR JUSTICE: $3,016,000 over 4y, 23% of budgetSOUTHWEST INITIATIVE FOUNDATION: $2,907,000 over 2y, 14% of budgetOWAMNIYOMNI OKHODAYAPI: $2,625,000 over 1y, 22% of budgetMakoce Agriculture Development: $2,625,000 over 3y, 44% of budgetFINNOVATION INSTITUTE: $2,585,000 over 3y, 33% of budgetCITY OF LAKES COMMUNITY LAND TRUST: $2,206,000 over 1y, 44% of budgetLAND BANK TWIN CITIES INC: $2,100,000 over 1y, 28% of budgetNACA-INSPIRED SCHOOLS NETWORK: $2,063,333 over 4y, 11% of budgetNorth American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems: $1,995,000 over 1y, 39% of budgetSPRINGBOARD FOR THE ARTS: $1,781,000 over 5y, 16% of budgetCOMMUNIDADES LATINAS UNIDAS EN SERVICO INC: $1,760,000 over 2y, 11% of budgetFamily Tree Inc: $1,737,000 over 3y, 19% of budgetST LUKE'S HOSPITAL OF DULUTH: $1,700,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetEDUCATION EVOLVING: $1,675,000 over 5y, 38% of budgetImpact Foundation: $1,666,300 over 5y, 28% of budgetMinnesota Council on Foundations: $1,547,000 over 5y, 10% of budgetSACRED PIPE RESOURCE CENTER: $1,509,000 over 5y, 43% of budgetNORTHCOUNTRY COOPERATIVE FOUNDATION: $1,410,000 over 1y, 41% of budgetNORTH DAKOTA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $1,407,000 over 4y, 3.9% of budgetENHANCING AND STRENGTHENING NORTH DAKOTA NONPROFITS: $1,400,310 over 5y, 51% of budgetBLACK HILLS AREA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $1,366,000 over 2y, 6.8% of budgetArts Midwest Incorporated: $1,350,000 over 3y, 5.9% of budgetMIDWEST INDIGENOUS IMMERSION NETWORK: $1,270,050 over 1y, 17% of budgetAMERICAN INDIAN YOUTH RUNNING STRONG INC: $1,224,000 over 3y, 10% of budgetGIVEMN: $1,217,600 over 5y, 20% of budgetINITIATIVE FOUNDATION: $1,115,000 over 5y, 2.2% of budgetSOUTH DAKOTA EDUCATION EQUITY COALITION: $1,070,000 over 2y, 15% of budgetTHE MODERN CLASSROOMS PROJECT INC: $1,000,000 over 2y, 9.9% of budgetEDVISIONS SCHOOLS INC: $1,000,000 over 3y, 92% 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 NEXUS COMMUNITY PARTNERS ↗
  • Who funds NDN COLLECTIVE INC ↗
  • Who funds SAINT PAUL & MINNESOTA FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds SOUTH DAKOTA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds NATIVE GOVERNANCE CENTER ↗
  • Who funds LOCAL INITIATIVES SUPPORT CORPORATION ↗
  • Who funds FOUR BANDS COMMUNITY FUND INC ↗
  • Who funds NORTHWEST NORTH DAKOTA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds NATIVE AMERICAN COMMUNITY CLINIC ↗
  • Who funds EXODUS FINANCIAL SERVICES ↗
  • Who funds INDIAN LAND TENURE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds NORTHSIDE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY NETWORK ↗
  • Who funds FAMILY HOUSING FUND ↗
  • Who funds Build Wealth MN Inc ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL ARTS STRATEGIES INC ↗
  • Who funds Knowledgeworks Foundation ↗
  • Who funds PROPEL NONPROFITS ↗
  • Who funds THE MINNEAPOLIS FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds LOWER PHALEN CREEK PROJECT ↗
  • Who funds HEADWATERS FOUNDATION FOR JUSTICE ↗
  • Who funds SOUTHWEST INITIATIVE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds OWAMNIYOMNI OKHODAYAPI ↗
  • Who funds Makoce Agriculture Development ↗
  • Who funds FINNOVATION INSTITUTE ↗
  • Who funds CITY OF LAKES COMMUNITY LAND TRUST ↗
  • Who funds LAND BANK TWIN CITIES INC ↗
  • Who funds NACA-INSPIRED SCHOOLS NETWORK ↗
  • Who funds North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems ↗
  • Who funds SPRINGBOARD FOR THE ARTS ↗
  • Who funds COMMUNIDADES LATINAS UNIDAS EN SERVICO INC ↗
  • Who funds Family Tree 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.

The McKnight Foundati…Northwest Area Founda…Otto Bremer TrustFr Bigelow FoundationSaint Paul & Minnesot…Target FoundationThe Minneapolis Found…Women's Foundation of…Propel NonprofitsMortenson Family Foun…Headwaters Foundation…Pohlad Family Foundat…
The McKnight FoundationMN160.5× affinity107 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The McKnight Foundation · Northwest Area Foundation · Otto Bremer Trust · Fr Bigelow Foundation · Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation · Target Foundation · The Minneapolis Foundation · Women's Foundation of Minnesota · Propel Nonprofits · Mortenson Family Foundation · Headwaters Foundation for Justice · Pohlad Family 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 Bush Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Bush Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 7%
  • Enterprise Community Partners Inc: 22% of income from government
  • President and Fellows of Harvard College: 7% of income from government
  • Third Sector New England Inc: 3% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
55report 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 Bush Foundation?

Find your warmest path to The Bush 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 337 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 Bush’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