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The Charles and Elizabeth Barr Foundation at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Private foundation

The Charles and Elizabeth Barr 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.

$515k
Granted FY2025still arriving
32
Grants FY2025still arriving
12
States reached
$150k
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, FY2022 to 2025.

Environment$558kArts & Culture$497kEducation$299kInternational$89kReligion$70kRecreation & Sports$30kHousing & Shelter$20kHealth$18kOther$0
02FY2025 · 32 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k16 grants · $70k
  • $10k–50k14 grants · $225k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $220k
$10,000
Median grant
12
States reached
$6.7M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
YEW DELL BOTANICAL GARDENS$150,000
SPEED ART MUSEUM$70,000
WEST END SCHOOL$30,000
KENTUCKY OPERA ASSOCIATION INC$30,000
THE LOUISVILLE ORCHESTRA INC$25,000
IVY 1879 FOUNDATION INC$25,000
SEE INTERNATIONAL$20,000
LIBERTY HALL HISTORIC SITE$12,500
THE NATIONAL SOCIETY OF THE COLONIAL DAMES OF AMERICA$12,500
MACULA SOCIETY$10,398
VISUALLY IMPAIRED PRESCHOOL SERVICES INC$10,000
ETHEL WALKER SCHOOL$10,000
RIVER FIELDS INC$10,000
Individual grant recipient$10,000
PINE ISLAND CAMP INC$10,000
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 (FY24–24, $1k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, 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%SHEPHERDS WATCH FOUNDATION: $1k → 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

ME
IL
NY
MA
OR
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CT
CA
KY
VA
MD
DC
GA
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 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.
$1.5M · 36 repeat orgs$101k to everyone else

36 repeat relationships: 26 still active in FY2025, 10 since wound down; 5 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

36
18

Total granted

$1.5M
$73k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+3%
+8%

Still filing today

81%
50%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 94% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $28k went to new ones.

50%100%’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’22’23’24’25
EducationArts & CultureEnvironmentInternationalAnimalsHealthOther
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

  • SA
    SPEED ART MUSEUM
    4× · 2022–2025 · $235k · revenue +28%
  • SE
    SURGICAL EYE EXPEDITIONS INTERNATIONAL INC
    4× · 2022–2025 · $80k · revenue +39%
  • TL
    THE LOUISVILLE ORCHESTRA INC
    4× · 2022–2025 · $65k · revenue +42%

Funded once

  • KO
    KENTUCKY OPERA
    one grant, 2022 · $25k
  • DH
    DUMBARTON HOUSE
    one grant, 2022 · $10k
  • I1
    IVY 1879
    one grant, 2022 · $10k
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
Boston Architectural College

The bac is committed to provide excellence in design education grounded in practice and accessible to diverse communities.

—
2
Wilson College

Wilson college empowers students to be confident and critical thinkers, creative visionaries, effective communicators, honorable leaders, and agents of justice.

Education
3
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.

—
4
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
5
Environmental Investigation Agency

To establish and promote programs to protect the global climate, forests, wildlife and the natural environment, through research, advocacy, and investigation.

International
6
American Association for the Advancement of Science

Advance science, engineering, and innovation throughout the world for the benefit of all. the world's largest multidisciplinary scientific society and a leading publisher of cutting-edge research through its science family of journals,…

Science & Tech
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
Aquarium of the Pacific Corporation

The aquarium of the pacific's mission is to instill a sense of wonder, respect, and stewardship for the pacific ocean, its inhabitants, and ecosystems.

Animals
9
Eastern National

Eastern national promotes the public's understanding and support of america's national parks and other public trust partners by providing quality educational experiences, products and services.

Recreation & Sports
10
Rainforest Trust

Rainforest trust saves endangered wildlife and protects our planet by creating rainforest reserves through partnerships, community engagement, and donor support.

International
11
New York School of Interior Design

New york school of interior design provides the most innovative, immersive, and transformative interior design education in the world, demonstrating the impact of professionally designed interiors on the health, happiness, and well-being…

Education
12
Lake Forest Academy

Lake forest academy strives to embody in its practices - and to cultivate in its students -excellence of character, scholarship, citizenship, and responsibility.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Louisville Free Public Library Foundatio; the most unlike its peers is West End School 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

44 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. 44 of the 60 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)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
43/44
Grantees still filing
25/44
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

YEW DELL INC: $500,000 · EnvironmentYEW DELL INCRIVER FIELDS INC: $30,000 · EnvironmentRIVER FIELDS INC+3 more: $6,000 · EnvironmentSPEED ART MUSEUM: $235,000 · Arts & CultureSPEED ART MUSEUMKENTUCKY OPERA ASSOCIATION INC: $80,000 · Arts & CultureKENTUCKY OPERA ASSOCIATION I…THE LOUISVILLE ORCHESTRA INC: $65,000 · Arts & CultureTHE LOUISVILLE ORCHESTRA INCTHE NATIONAL SOCIETY OF THE COLONIAL DAMES OF AMERICA: $22,500 · Arts & CultureTHE NATIONAL SOCIETY OF THE …+2 more: $3,000 · Arts & CultureSECOND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH: $40,000 · OtherSECOND PRESBYTERIAN CH…VISUALLY IMPARIED PRESCHOOL SERVICES INC: $40,000 · OtherVISUALLY IMPARIED PRES…LIBERTY HALL HISTORIC SITE: $32,500 · OtherLIBERTY HALL HISTORIC …Individual grant recipient: $30,000 · OtherIndividual grant recip…KENTUCKY OPERA: $25,000 · OtherKENTUCKY OPERACHEVY CHASE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH: $20,000 · OtherCHEVY CHASE PRESBYTERI…DUMBARTON HOUSE FUND FOR FUTURE: $15,000 · Other+25 more: $112,398 · Other+25 moreWest End School Inc: $90,000 · EducationWest End School…IVY 1879 FOUNDATION INC: $55,000 · EducationIVY 1879 FOUNDA…ETHEL WALKER SCHOOL INC: $25,000 · EducationETHEL WALKER SC…LOUISVILLE FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATIO: $15,000 · EducationLOUISVILLE FREE…WELLS COLLEGE: $10,000 · Education+7 more: $23,000 · Education+7 moreSURGICAL EYE EXPEDITIONS INTERNATIONAL INC: $80,000 · InternationalMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $7,000 · International+1 more: $2,000 · InternationalPine Island Camp: $30,000 · Recreation & SportsFeeding America: $12,000 · Food & Nutrition
Environment$536,000Arts & Culture$405,500Other$314,898Education$218,000International$89,000Recreation & Sports$30,000Food & Nutrition$12,000

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 budgetYEW DELL INC: $500,000 over 4y, 5.0% of budgetSPEED ART MUSEUM: $235,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetWest End School Inc: $90,000 over 4y, 0.7% of budgetSURGICAL EYE EXPEDITIONS INTERNATIONAL INC: $80,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetKENTUCKY OPERA ASSOCIATION INC: $80,000 over 3y, 1.5% of budgetTHE LOUISVILLE ORCHESTRA INC: $65,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetIVY 1879 FOUNDATION INC: $55,000 over 3y, 5.7% of budgetVISUALLY IMPARIED PRESCHOOL SERVICES INC: $40,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetPine Island Camp: $30,000 over 4y, 0.6% of budgetRIVER FIELDS INC: $30,000 over 4y, 2.2% of budgetETHEL WALKER SCHOOL INC: $25,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetTHE NATIONAL SOCIETY OF THE COLONIAL DAMES OF AMERICA: $22,500 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetLOUISVILLE FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATIO: $15,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetFeeding America: $12,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetHABITAT FOR HUMANITY ALLEGHENY VALLEY: $10,000 over 2y, 2.3% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWELLS COLLEGE: $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $7,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetJOIN: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetREACH OUT AND READ INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCATLIN GABEL SCHOOL: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law: $4,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE HOLTON ARMS SCHOOL: $4,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetThe Potomac School: $4,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE NATIONAL CENTER FOR MISSING AND EXPLOITED CHILDREN: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBowdoin College: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE PHILLIPS COLLECTION: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetOREGON WILDLIFE HERITAGE FOUNDATION: $2,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetKENTUCKY COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL INC: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPotomac Riverkeeper Network: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetOREGON FOOD BANK: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetColumbia Riverkeeper: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE SURFRIDER FOUNDATION: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetInternational Rescue Committee INC: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetNEW AVENUES FOR YOUTH INC: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN PRINTING HOUSE FOR THE BLIND INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHABITAT FOR HUMANITY PORTLAND METRO EAST: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetShepherds Watch Foundation: $1,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetOregon State University Foundation: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN FISHERIES SOCIETY: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCentral City Concern: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% 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.

Barr Foundation IncThe Community Foundat…The Gheens Foundation…LG&E and Ku Foundatio…The Community Foundat…Gardner Foundation In…Ina B Bond Ashbourne …Snowy Owl Foundation …The Community Foundat…The Gilbert Foundatio…Limestone Family Foun…The Whippoorwill Fami…
Barr Foundation IncKY24.2× affinity9 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Barr Foundation Inc · The Community Foundation of Louisville Inc · The Gheens Foundation Inc · LG&E and Ku Foundation Inc · The Community Foundation of Louisville Depository Inc · Gardner Foundation Incorporated · Ina B Bond Ashbourne Charitable Fund Inc · Snowy Owl Foundation Inc · The Community Foundation of Louisville Corporate Depository Inc · The Gilbert Foundation Inc · Limestone Family Foundation Inc · The Whippoorwill 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 Charles and Elizabeth Barr Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Charles and Elizabeth Barr Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 30%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%23%45%68%90%share of the org’s income from government →median 9%
  • Oregon Food Bank: 21% of income from government
  • New Avenues for Youth Inc: 20% of income from government
  • Oregon Wildlife Heritage Foundation: 16% of income from government
  • Habitat for Humanity Portland Metro East: 14% of income from government
  • Central City Concern: 10% of income from government
  • American Fisheries Society: 9% of income from government
  • Reach Out and Read Inc: 9% of income from government
  • Join: 4% of income from government
  • Columbia Riverkeeper: 1% of income from government
  • Oregon State University Foundation: 0% of income from government
  • Catlin Gabel School: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
3get no government money at all
5report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–90%
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 Charles and Elizabeth Barr Foundation?

Find your warmest path to The Charles and Elizabeth Barr 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 60 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 Charles and Elizabeth Barr’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