Skip to content
The Charles H and Melanie K Berman Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Charles H and Melanie K Berman 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.

$44k
Granted FY2025still arriving
9
Grants FY2025still arriving
4
States reached
$10k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0198% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2019 to 2025.

Health$76kEducation$71kArts & Culture$64kYouth Development$13kPhilanthropy$10kReligion$10kSocial Science$5kRecreation & Sports$3kOther$0
02FY2025 · 9 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k7 grants · $24k
  • $10k–50k2 grants · $20k
$5,000
Median grant
4
States reached
$943k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CLEVELAND CLINIC INDIAN RIVER HOSPITAL$10,000
STAMFORD HOSPITAL FOUNDATION$10,000
VERO BEACH MUSEUM$7,000
BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF INDIAN RIVER COUNTY$5,000
NEW CANAAN LIBRARY$5,000
AMHERST COLLEGE$5,000
RIVERSIDE THEATRE$1,016
MEMORIAL SLOAN KETTERING CANCER CENTER$1,000
ROWAYTON VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPT$250
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY19–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 19% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%AMHERST COLLEGE: $10k → 12%NAPA VALLEY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $10k → 9%ZONE 126: $1k → 13%WHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART: $3k → 17%PIONEER WORKS: $500 → 20%INNOVATIONS FOR POVERTY ACTION: $250 → 14%VERO BEACH MUSEUM: $7k → 12%ROWAYTON VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPT: $500 → 9%DARTMOUTH: $10k → 10%AMHERST COLLEGE: $10k → 12%WHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART: $3k → 17%VERO BEACH MUSEUM: $7k → 12%ROWAYTON VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPT: $250 → 9%DARTMOUTH COLLEGE: $10k → 10%AMHERST COLLEGE: $10k → 12%WHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART: $3k → 17%VERO BEACH MUSEUM: $7k → 12%NORWALK RIVER WATERSHED ASSOCIATION INC: $250 → 9%DARTMOUTH: $10k → 10%AMHERST COLLEGE: $5k → 12%VERO BEACH MUSEUM OF ART: $2k → 12%NORWALK RIVER WATERSHED ASSOCIATION INC: $250 → 9%DARTMOUTH: $10k → 10%RIVERSIDE THEATRE: $1k → 12%SHATTERPROOF: $250 → 9%BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF INDIAN RIVER COUNTY: $5k → 12%ABC NEW CANAAN: $10k → 9%BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF INDIAN RIVER COUNTY: $5k → 12%NEW CANAAN LIBRARY: $5k → 9%BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF INDIAN RIVER COUNTY: $2k → 12%NEW CANAAN LIBRARY: $5k → 9%CROSSOVER MISSION: $512 → 12%NEW CANAAN LIBRARY: $5k → 9%NEW CANAAN LIBRARY: $5k → 9%NEW CANAAN LIBRARY: $5k → 9%CT ALLIANCE FOR TENNIS AND EDUCATION: $3k → 9%NEW CANAAN YMCA: $1k → 9%WEE BURN COUNTRY CLUB SCHOLARSHIP FUND: $350 → 9%A BETTER CHANCE OF NEW CANAAN: $1k → 9%STAMFORD HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $15k → 9%STAMFORD HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $10k → 9%STAMFORD HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $10k → 9%STAMFORD HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $10k → 9%STAMFORD HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $10k → 9%STAMFORD HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $10k → 9%BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF STAMFORD: $500 → 9%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.

84%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$198k · 9 repeat orgs$38k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +89% since the first grant, against +76% for those funded once.

9 repeat relationships: 6 still active in FY2025, 3 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

9
13

Total granted

$198k
$26k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+89%
+76%

Still filing today

67%
62%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 73% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $12k went to new ones.

50%100%’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
Arts & CultureEducationYouth DevelopmentEnvironmentSocial ScienceHealthOther
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

  • AC
    AMHERST COLLEGE TRUSTEES
    4× · 2019–2025 · $35k · revenue +89%
  • BG
    BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF INDIAN RIVER COUNTY INC
    3× · 2023–2025 · $12k · revenue +62%
  • WM
    WHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART
    3× · 2019–2021 · $9k · revenue +101%

Funded once

  • AN
    ABC NEW CANAAN
    one grant, 2024 · $10k
  • HB
    HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL FUND
    one grant, 2019 · $5k
  • CA
    CT ALLIANCE FOR TENNIS AND EDUCATION
    one grant, 2019 · $3k
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
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
2
Boston Architectural College

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

—
3
Rhode Island School of Design

The mission of rhode island school of design, through its college and museum,is to educate its students and the public in the creation and (see schedule o)appreciation of works of art and design, to discover and transmit knowledge and to…

Education
4
The Trustees of Grinnell College

To educate students in the liberal arts through free inquiry and the open exchange of ideas.when grinnell college framed its charter in the iowa territory of the united states in 1846, it set forth a mission to educate its students "for…

Education
5
The Trustees of Princeton University

Research, education and general - princeton university is a private not-for-profit, non-sectarian institution of higher learning with approximately 5,700 undergraduate and 3,300 graduate students. 2,500 students graduated in the 2024-2025…

Education
6
Darrow School

Darrow school is dedicated to serving students with diverse backgrounds and abilities, building on each student's talents and interests to inspire enduring confidence for success in college and life. this mission is accomplished through…

Education
7
The Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences

The mission of the brooklyn institute of arts and sciences, d/b/a brooklyn museum (the "museum") is to bring people together through art and experiences that inspire celebration, compassion, courage, and the will to act. (see schedule o).

Arts & Culture
8
Endicott College

Endicott college offers students a vibrant academic environment that remains true to its founding principle of integrating professional and liberal arts with experiential learning. for more information see schedule o.

Education
9
Dickinson College

Dickinson college provides a useful, innovative and interdisciplinary education in the liberal arts and sciences to prepare students to lead rich and fulfilling lives of engaged global citizenship

Education
10
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
11
DePauw University

Depauw university develops leaders the world needs through an uncommon commitment to the liberal arts. depauw's diverse and inclusive learning and living experience, distinctive in its rigorous intellectual engagement and its global and…

Education
12
Brunswick School Inc

Brunswick school, inc. is a day school for boys in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. the purpose of the school is to educate the "whole boy". it does so by helping boys and young men - without regard to culture, ethnicity or religion…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Boys & Girls Club of Indian River County Inc; the most unlike its peers is The Dartmouth 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

17 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. 17 of the 27 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)
17/17
Grantees still filing
11/17
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

STAMFORD HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $65,040 · OtherSTAMFORD HOSPITAL FOUNDATIONTHE DARTMOUTH INC: $30,000 · OtherTHE DARTMOUTH INCVERO BEACH MUSEUM: $21,000 · OtherVERO BEACH MUSEUMABC NEW CANAAN: $10,000 · OtherABC NEW CANAANCLEVELAND CLINIC INDIAN RIVER HOSPITAL: $10,000 · OtherCLEVELAND CLINIC INDIAN RIVER HOSPITALHARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL FUND: $5,000 · Other+7 more: $7,975 · Other+7 moreAMHERST COLLEGE TRUSTEES: $35,000 · EducationAMHERST COLLEGE TRUSTEESTHE NEW CANAAN LIBRARY INC: $25,000 · EducationTHE NEW CANAAN LIBRARY INCTrustees of Dartmouth College: $10,000 · EducationTrustees of Dartmouth College+1 more: $1,000 · EducationWHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART: $9,000 · Arts & CultureVERO BEACH MUSEUM OF ART INC: $2,250 · Arts & CultureRIVERSIDE THEATRE INC: $1,016 · Arts & CulturePIONEER WORKS ART FOUNDATION: $500 · Arts & CultureBOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF INDIAN RIVER COUNTY INC: $11,500 · Youth DevelopmentCROSSOVER MISSION INC: $512 · Youth DevelopmentCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF THE NAPA VALLEY: $10,000 · PhilanthropyNorwalk River Watershed Association Inc: $500 · EnvironmentINNOVATIONS FOR POVERTY ACTION A NONPROFIT CORPORATION: $250 · Social ScienceSHATTERPROOF A NONPROFIT CORPORATION: $250 · Health
Other$149,015Education$71,000Arts & Culture$12,766Youth Development$12,012Philanthropy$10,000Environment$500Social Science$250Health$250

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 budgetAMHERST COLLEGE TRUSTEES: $35,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetTHE DARTMOUTH INC: $30,000 over 3y, 8.8% of budgetTHE NEW CANAAN LIBRARY INC: $25,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetBOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF INDIAN RIVER COUNTY INC: $11,500 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF THE NAPA VALLEY: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTrustees of Dartmouth College: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART: $9,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetVERO BEACH MUSEUM OF ART INC: $2,250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetRIVERSIDE THEATRE INC: $1,016 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetABC INC OF NEW CANAAN: $1,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetTHE NEW CANAAN COMMUNITY YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCROSSOVER MISSION INC: $512 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF STAMFORD INC: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPIONEER WORKS ART FOUNDATION: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNorwalk River Watershed Association Inc: $500 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetINNOVATIONS FOR POVERTY ACTION A NONPROFIT CORPORATION: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSHATTERPROOF A NONPROFIT CORPORATION: $250 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.

Ge Aerospace Foundati…Fairfield County's Co…The Goldman Sachs Cha…Jpmorgan Chase Founda…Morgan Stanley Global…National Philanthropi…Vanguard Charitable E…The Bank of America C…American Online Givin…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Ge Aerospace FoundationCT13.5× affinity5 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Ge Aerospace Foundation · Fairfield County's Community Foundation Inc · The Goldman Sachs Charitable Gift Fund · Jpmorgan Chase Foundation · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · 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 Charles H and Melanie K Berman Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Charles H and Melanie K Berman 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%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 2%
  • Boys & Girls Club of Stamford Inc: 17% of income from government
  • Shatterproof a Nonprofit Corporation: 2% of income from government
  • Amherst College Trustees: 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
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 27 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 H and Melanie K Berman’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