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The Debruce Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Debruce Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$225k
Granted FY2024still arriving
22
Grants FY2024still arriving
4
States reached
$100k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0190% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2019 to 2024.

Housing & Shelter$1.6MArts & Culture$879kEducation$718kPublic Benefit$225kPhilanthropy$191kCommunity Improvement$173kEnvironment$86kYouth Development$68kOther$0
02FY2024 · 22 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k15 grants · $55k
  • $10k–50k6 grants · $70k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $100k
$5,000
Median grant
4
States reached
$14M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
UMKC$100,000
KANSAS CITY REPERTORY THEATRE$20,000
UMKC HENRY BLOCH SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT$10,000
FRIENDS OF BOCA GRANDE$10,000
UMKC TRUSTEES$10,000
SHOW-ME INSTITUTE$10,000
JEWISH COMMUNITY RELATIONS BUREAUAJC$10,000
KU ENDOWMENT ASSOCIATION$7,500
JAZZOO - KANSAS CITY ZOO$5,000
Individual grant recipient$5,000
MOCSA$5,000
KANSAS CITY SYMPHONY$5,000
NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL FOUNDATION$5,000
KANSAS CITY FRIENDS OF ALVIN AILEY$5,000
GICIA$4,000
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 (FY22–23, $12k) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, 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%HIGH ASPIRATIONS: $10k → 15%LEAD TO READ KC: $1k → 15%LEAD TO READ KC: $1k → 15%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

NY
OR
CA
MO
KS
AR
DC
FL
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.

76%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.9M · 38 repeat orgs$606k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +27% since the first grant, against +8% for those funded once.

38 repeat relationships: 18 still active in FY2024, 20 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

38
35

Total granted

$1.9M
$493k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+27%
+8%

Still filing today

76%
40%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 47% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $113k 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
EducationArts & CultureAnimalsPhilanthropyHealthFood & NutritionOther
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

  • TE
    The Eisenhower Foundation
    2× · 2021–2022 · $200k · revenue +197%
  • WILD SALMON CENTER
    2× · 2021–2022 · $50k · revenue +115%
  • KC
    KANSAS CITY REPERTORY THEATRE INC
    3× · 2022–2024 · $40k · revenue +2%

Funded once

  • RU
    ROCKHURST UNIVERSITY
    one grant, 2022 · $100k · revenue -10%
  • UW
    UNITED WAY
    one grant, 2022 · $50k
  • WF
    WOMEN'S FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2020 · $50k
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 Kansas University Alumni Association

We build lifelong relationships that strengthen the university of kansas and the legacy of excellence embodied by its students, alumni, faculty, staff and friends.

Education
2
Kansas Wesleyan University

Kansas wesleyan university is a liberal arts college that promotes and integrates academic excellence, spiritual development, personal well-being, and social responsibility.

Education
3
University of Kansas Memorial Corporation

The memorial unions function as a concessionaire to the university of kansas for the purpose of operating various enterprises within the kansas union building, the burge union, the debruce center, residential dining halls, and other…

Education
4
Chamber of Commerce of Greater Kansas City

Leading the way to the best kc region by convening innovative leaders, collaborating with like-minded organizations, advocating for positive change, and helping small businesses grow.

—
5
Kansas City Ballet Association

To inspire and engage through the beauty, power and passion of dance

Arts & Culture
6
Kansas Farm Bureau

Kansas farm bureau exists to strengthen agriculture and the lives of kansans through advocacy, education, and service.

—
7
Kansas City Museum Foundation Inc

The kansas city museum foundation preserves, interprets, and celebrates kansas city through collections, exhibitions, and bold programs that reflect the city's evolution and spirit, and engage visitors in unfolding stories about kansas…

Arts & Culture
8
Kansas City Public Schools Education Foundation

To secure and provide funds and resources to enhance student learning in the kansas city public schools.

Education
9
The Ku Endowment Charitable Gift Fund

To strengthen the University and communities that have touched the lives of KU alumni and friends, the mission of The KU Endowment Charitable Gift Fund is to receive and administer gifts and bequests to further the charitable objectives of…

Philanthropy
10
Kansas Legal Services Inc

Kansas legal services is devoted to helping low income kansans meet their basic needs through the provision of important legal and mediation services.

—
11
Park University

Park university's mission is to transform lives through accessible, student-centered, quality higher education.

Education
12
North Kansas City Schools Education Foundation

Engaging our communities to support and fund extraordinary educational experiences.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Umkc Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Johann Fust Library Foundation 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 77 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)
10
Early backer (in before they grew)
44/44
Grantees still filing
31/44
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

The Eisenhower Foundation: $200,000 · OtherThe Eisenhower FoundationUMKC - DIGITAL SANDBOX: $200,000 · OtherUMKC - DIGITAL SANDBOXMISSOURI DEVELOPMENT FINANCE BOARD: $160,000 · OtherMISSOURI DEVELOPMENT FINANCE BOARDUMKC: $100,000 · OtherUMKCUNITED WAY: $50,000 · OtherWOMEN'S FOUNDATION: $50,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $50,000 · OtherUMKC - KC STEM ALLIANCE: $50,000 · Other+41 more: $316,988 · Other+41 moreKANSAS CITY ART INSTITUTE: $500,000 · EducationKANSAS CITY ART INSTITUTEUMKC FOUNDATION: $303,661 · EducationUMKC FOUNDATIONROCKHURST UNIVERSITY: $100,000 · EducationROCKHURST UNIVERSITYUMKC TRUSTEES: $52,500 · Education+8 more: $83,000 · Education+8 moreKANSAS CITY REPERTORY THEATRE INC: $40,000 · Arts & CultureKANSAS CITY SYMPHONY: $37,000 · Arts & CultureKEMPER MUSEUM OPERATING FOUNDATION: $16,000 · Arts & CultureUNION STATION KANSAS CITY INC: $10,000 · Arts & CultureKANSAS CITY FRIENDS OF ALVIN AILEY: $10,000 · Arts & CultureKANSAS CITY JAZZ ORCHESTRA: $7,500 · Arts & CultureNATIONAL WWI MUSEUM AND MEMORIAL: $5,000 · Arts & Culture+1 more: $1,500 · Arts & CultureJEWISH FEDERATION OF GREATER KANSAS CITY: $45,000 · PhilanthropySHOW-ME INSTITUTE: $30,000 · PhilanthropyOPES CHARITABLE FOUNDATION INC: $10,000 · PhilanthropyWILD SALMON CENTER: $50,000 · AnimalsMONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM FOUNDATION: $10,000 · AnimalsBOYS CLUB OF GREATER KANSAS CITY: $50,000 · Youth DevelopmentTURNER HOUSE CLINIC INC: $20,000 · HealthBLOOD CANCER UNITED INC: $15,000 · Health
Other$1,176,988Education$1,039,161Arts & Culture$127,000Philanthropy$85,000Animals$60,000Youth Development$50,000Health$35,000

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 budgetKANSAS CITY ART INSTITUTE: $500,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetUMKC FOUNDATION: $303,661 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetThe Eisenhower Foundation: $200,000 over 2y, 3.9% of budgetROCKHURST UNIVERSITY: $100,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetUMKC TRUSTEES: $52,500 over 5y, 2.3% of budgetWILD SALMON CENTER: $50,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetBOYS CLUB OF GREATER KANSAS CITY: $50,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetJEWISH FEDERATION OF GREATER KANSAS CITY: $45,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetKANSAS CITY REPERTORY THEATRE INC: $40,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetKANSAS CITY SYMPHONY: $37,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetSHOW-ME INSTITUTE: $30,000 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetROSE BROOKS CENTER INC: $25,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetMETROPOLITAN ORGANIZATION COUNTERING SEXUAL ASSAULT: $25,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetTHE HARRY S TRUMAN LIBRARY INSTITUTE NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS: $20,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTURNER HOUSE CLINIC INC: $20,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetKEMPER MUSEUM OPERATING FOUNDATION: $16,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetAmerican Public Square Inc: $15,000 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetNAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL FOUNDATION INC: $15,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetBLOOD CANCER UNITED INC: $15,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Kansas University Endowment Association: $13,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY ACADEMY FOUNDATION: $13,500 over 4y, 0.6% of budgetFIVE OAKS AG RESEARCH AND EDUCATION CENTER INC: $10,350 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetUNION STATION KANSAS CITY INC: $10,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetOPES CHARITABLE FOUNDATION INC: $10,000 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetUNITED WE: $10,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetTHE GIVING GROVE: $10,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetMONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetHIGH ASPIRATIONS INCORPORATED: $10,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetSCHOOL SMART KC INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetKANSAS CITY FRIENDS OF ALVIN AILEY: $10,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetTHE KANSAS CITY ROSE SOCIETY: $7,500 over 3y, 2.8% of budgetKANSAS CITY JAZZ ORCHESTRA: $7,500 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetAWESOME AMBITIONS: $7,500 over 3y, 2.8% of budgetTURN THE PAGE KC INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetOPERATION BREAKTHROUGH INC: $5,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetECONOMIC CLUB OF KANSAS CITY: $5,000 over 1y, 2.7% of budgetNATIONAL WWI MUSEUM AND MEMORIAL: $5,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPOWELL GARDENS INC: $3,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPOLICE FOUNDATION OF KANSAS CITY: $2,500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetLEAD TO READ INC: $2,020 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetSTARLIGHT THEATRE ASSOCIATION OF KANSAS CITY INC: $1,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetLITERACY KANSAS CITY: $1,200 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetFOLDS OF HONOR KANSAS CITY INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetJOHANN FUST LIBRARY FOUNDATION INC: $1,000 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.

Greater Kansas City C…G Kenneth and Ann Bau…Jewish Community Foun…The H & R Block Found…Ewing Marion Kauffman…J B Reynolds Foundati…Marion and Henry Bloc…The Sherman Family Fo…William T Kemper Foun…Oppenstein Brothers F…Muriel McBrien Kauffm…The Kansas City Royal…
Greater Kansas City Community FoundationMO42× affinity21 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Greater Kansas City Community Foundation · G Kenneth and Ann Baum Philanthropic Fund · Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Kansas City · The H & R Block Foundation · Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation · J B Reynolds Foundation · Marion and Henry Bloch Family Foundation · The Sherman Family Foundation · William T Kemper Foundation Commerce Bank Trustee · Oppenstein Brothers Foundation · Muriel McBrien Kauffman Family Foundation · The Kansas City Royals 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 Debruce Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Debruce 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%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 49%
  • Wild Salmon Center: 49% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
15report 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 Debruce Foundation?

Find your warmest path to The Debruce 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 77 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 Debruce’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