· Private foundation
The Ernest and Joan Liu 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.
What it funded, over time
Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2025.
Where the money goes
Grants by size, and the largest recipients.
By grant size · FY2025
- Under $10k1 grant · $1k
- $10k–50k8 grants · $164k
- $50k–250k4 grants · $200k
| Recipient | Amount |
|---|---|
| MUSEUM OF CHINESE IN AMERICA | $50,000 |
| THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO | $50,000 |
| CHINATOWN HEALTH CLINIC FOUNDATION | $50,000 |
| CHINA INSTITUTE IN AMERICA | $50,000 |
| CORNELL UNIVERSITY | $33,000 |
| THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO | $28,000 |
| CORNELL UNIVERSITY | $28,000 |
| TAIPEI AMERICAN SCHOOL FOUNDATION | $25,000 |
| GROTON SCHOOL | $20,000 |
| CORNELL UNIVERSITY | $10,000 |
| THE TOWN SCHOOL INC | $10,000 |
| THE BREARLEY SCHOOL | $10,000 |
| REGIS HIGH SCHOOL | $1,000 |
Who it funds again
Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.
13 repeat relationships: 10 still active in FY2025, 3 since wound down.
How the two cohorts compare
Organizations
Total granted
Median revenue growth · since first grant
Still filing today
New vs renewed · share of each year
In FY2025, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.
Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant
How this is measured
Backed again, and grew
- CUCORNELL UNIVERSITY3× · 2022–2025 · $296k
- TUTHE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO3× · 2022–2025 · $213k
- RHREGIS HIGH SCHOOL4× · 2020–2025 · $186k
Funded once
- CICHINA INSTITUTE IN AMERICA INCORPORATEDgraduatedone grant, 2020 · $201k · revenue +132%
Cornell Universityone grant, 2021 · $135k · revenue +23%
University of Chicagograduatedone grant, 2021 · $50k · revenue +34%
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.
7 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. 7 of the 29 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.
Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee
Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing
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.
Play a game based on Ernest and Joan Liu’s filings →