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The James Kerney Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The James Kerney Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$254k
Granted FY2025still arriving
25
Grants FY2025still arriving
6
States reached
$41k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Human Services$384kAnimals$247kArts & Culture$208kYouth Development$168kHousing & Shelter$165kEducation$158kFood & Nutrition$133kCrime & Legal$45kOther$0
02FY2025 · 25 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k11 grants · $12k
  • $10k–50k14 grants · $242k
$10,000
Median grant
6
States reached
$2.8M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Rescue Mission$40,750
120 East State$25,000
Womanspace$25,000
Homeworks Trenton Inc$21,000
JR Halsey Foundation of the Arts$18,000
PEI Kids$16,754
Homefront$15,500
Paul Robeson Charter School$15,000
Big Brothers Big Sisters$12,500
Trenton Circus Squad$12,000
The Makers Place$10,006
Anchor House$10,000
Dress for Success$10,000
Arm in Arm$10,000
Mercer Street Friends$7,787
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 (FY17–25, $168k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%HETRICK-MARTIN INSTITUTE: $500 → 17%HETRICK-MARTIN INSTITUTE: $250 → 17%STATE COLLEGE FOOD BANK: $500 → 16%State College Food Bank: $500 → 16%State College Food Bank: $250 → 16%Arm in Arm: $10k → 11%Arm in Arm: $5k → 11%Anchor House: $10k → 11%Anchor House: $10k → 11%Anchor House: $10k → 11%ANCHOR HOUSE: $100 → 11%ARM IN ARM: $26k → 11%Arm in Arm: $25k → 11%UIH FAMILY PARTNERS: $23k → 11%ARM IN ARM: $10k → 11%ARM IN ARM: $100 → 11%Millhill Child & Family Development: $13k → 11%The Makers Place: $10k → 11%Dress for Success: $10k → 11%MILL HILL CHILD & FAMILY DEVELOPMENT: $5k → 11%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
VT
NY
MA
PA
NJ
CT
RI
CO
VA
MD
DC
HI
GA
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.

81%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.3M · 52 repeat orgs$312k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +64% since the first grant, against +23% for those funded once.

52 repeat relationships: 19 still active in FY2025, 33 since wound down; 6 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

52
51

Total granted

$1.3M
$250k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+64%
+23%

Still filing today

52%
35%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 75% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $62k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
Human ServicesEducationArts & CultureEnvironmentHealthPhilanthropyOther
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

  • HOMEFRONT INC
    8× · 2017–2025 · $145k · revenue +62%
  • WOMANSPACE INC
    6× · 2017–2025 · $123k · revenue +79%
  • HomeWorks Trenton
    3× · 2019–2025 · $91k · revenue ×15

Funded once

  • JJ
    JR Jalsey Foundation of the Arts
    one grant, 2024 · $27k
  • UIH Family Partners d/b/a The Father Center of New Jerseygraduated
    one grant, 2018 · $23k · revenue +108%
  • TE
    THOMAS EDISON STATE COLLEGE FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2017 · $20k
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
Independent Colleges and Universities of New Jersey a Nj Nonprofit Corporation

The mission of the independent colleges and universities of new jersey, a new jersey non-profit corporation is to advance the interests of new jersey's independent, non-profit, public mission institutions of higher education by promoting…

—
2
Public Media Nj Inc

To bring quality public television programs and resources to communities throughout new jersey and its tri-state neighbors. its content, both on-air and online, aims to reflect the diverse

Arts & Culture
3
Capital Health-East Trenton Inc (Fka St Francis Medical Center Trenton Nj)

To improve the health and well-being of the populations we serve in urban and suburban communities.

Health
4
Chemistry Council of New Jersey

To advance member interests, operational and environmental excellence, science,education, and community outreach in New Jersey.

—
5
Christian School Association of North Central Jersey

In partnership with the Christian home and church, we strive to provide the finest Christ-centered education, equipping students to live productive, God-glorifying lives. We are a co-educational college prep school serving students from…

Education
6
The New Jersey Institute for Social Justice Inc

New jersey institute for social justice (the institute), a public charity, is a newark-based urban research and advocacy organization dedicated to the advancement of new jersey's urban areas and residents.

Human Services
7
Teen Arts New Jersey a Nj Nonprofit Corporation

The mission of teen arts new jersey is to provide comprehensive programming, support, access, and resources that empower students to explore, excel, and thrive creatively.

Arts & Culture
8
New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute Inc

The Organization's mission is to improve the safety, quality, and affordability of healthcare for everyone.

—
9
Trenton Downtown Association Inc

To make the capital city of Trenton, NJ a more competitive location for business owners and an engaging center for workers, residents, and visitors.

—
10
Marion P Thomas Charter School

The charter schools mission is to prepare newarks next generation of children to be intelectually, emotionally, socially and financially responsible citizens.

Education
11
New Jersey Policy Perspective

New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP) is a nonpartisan think tank that drives policy change to advance economic, social, and racial justice through evidence-based, independent research, analysis, and strategic communications.

Arts & Culture
12
Philips Academy Charter School of Paterson

We will provide a moral and rigorous education, accomplished in a hands-on, technology infused educational environment that will allow our students to attend college, while developing a commitment to global citizenship, environmental…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Prevention Education Inc; 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

53 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

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 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 53 of the 109 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)
17
Early backer (in before they grew)
51/53
Grantees still filing
40/53
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Rescue Mission: $246,250 · OtherRescue MissionWOMANSPACE INC: $123,100 · OtherWOMANSPACE INCMercer Street Friends: $68,037 · OtherMercer Street FriendsCatholic Youth Organization of Mercer County: $67,500 · OtherCatholic Youth Organization of Mercer CountyBig Brothers Big Sisters: $54,500 · OtherBig Brothers Big SistersTrenton Circus Squad: $34,800 · OtherPAUL ROBESON CHARTER SCHOOL: $33,705 · Other+70 more: $301,447 · Other+70 moreHOMEFRONT INC: $145,095 · EducationHOMEFRONT INCHomeWorks Trenton: $91,250 · EducationHomeWorks Trenton+6 more: $6,600 · EducationARM IN ARM INC: $75,800 · Human ServicesARM IN ARM …ANCHOR HOUSE INC: $30,100 · Human ServicesANCHOR HOUS…UIH Family Partners d/b/a The Father Center of New Jersey: $23,000 · Human ServicesUIH Family …MILLHILL CHILD & FAMILY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $17,500 · Human ServicesMILLHILL CH…The Makers Place Inc: $10,006 · Human ServicesThe Makers …DRESS FOR SUCCESS CENTRAL NEW JERSEY: $10,000 · Human ServicesDRESS FOR S…+3 more: $2,500 · Human ServicesCapital Harmony Works Inc: $33,348 · Arts & CultureJAMES R HALSEY FOUNDATION OF THE ARTS: $28,000 · Arts & Culture120 East State: $25,000 · Arts & CultureArtworks Trenton Inc: $10,000 · Arts & CultureCROSSROADS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION ASSOCIATION INC: $8,248 · Arts & Culture+3 more: $3,200 · Arts & CultureTASK Inc Trenton Area Soup Kitchen Inc: $76,000 · Food & Nutrition+1 more: $100 · Food & NutritionLATIN AMERICAN LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATIONAL FUND INC: $28,600 · Crime & LegalPREVENTION EDUCATION INC: $16,754 · Crime & LegalFernbrook Environmental Education Center Inc: $37,250 · Environment+2 more: $450 · Environment
Other$929,339Education$242,945Human Services$168,906Arts & Culture$107,796Food & Nutrition$76,100Crime & Legal$45,354Environment$37,700

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 budgetHOMEFRONT INC: $145,095 over 8y, 0.2% of budgetWOMANSPACE INC: $123,100 over 6y, 0.9% of budgetHomeWorks Trenton: $91,250 over 3y, 1.6% of budgetTASK Inc Trenton Area Soup Kitchen Inc: $76,000 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetARM IN ARM INC: $75,800 over 6y, 0.8% of budgetCatholic Youth Organization of Mercer County: $67,500 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetFernbrook Environmental Education Center Inc: $37,250 over 3y, 7.1% of budgetCapital Harmony Works Inc: $33,348 over 2y, 3.0% of budgetANCHOR HOUSE INC: $30,100 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetMeals on Wheels of Mercer County Inc: $30,000 over 2y, 1.6% of budgetLATIN AMERICAN LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATIONAL FUND INC: $28,600 over 2y, 3.5% of budgetJAMES R HALSEY FOUNDATION OF THE ARTS: $28,000 over 2y, 4.7% of budget120 East State: $25,000 over 1y, 4.4% of budgetUIH Family Partners d/b/a The Father Center of New Jersey: $23,000 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetISLES INC: $20,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetMILLHILL CHILD & FAMILY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $17,500 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetPREVENTION EDUCATION INC: $16,754 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetMEALS ON WHEELS INC: $15,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetOLD BARRACKS ASSOCIATION OF TRENTON NEW: $10,779 over 3y, 1.0% of budgetMOUNT CARMEL GUILD OF TRENTON NJ: $10,000 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetArtworks Trenton Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 2.8% of budgetCROSSROADS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION ASSOCIATION INC: $8,248 over 4y, 1.0% of budgetTRENTON CHILDREN'S CHORUS INC: $6,600 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetFREEDOM HOUSE INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHOMAS EDISON STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetTRENTON HEALTH TEAM INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetNATIONAL JUNIOR TENNIS & LEARNING OF TRENTON INC: $4,500 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetSEA EDUCATION ASSOCIATION INC: $2,518 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetBROOKLINE MUSIC SCHOOL INC: $2,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetFOOD BANK OF THE STATE COLLEGE AREA INC: $1,250 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCAPITAL HEALTH FOUNDATION-EAST TRENTON INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetTHE HETRICK-MARTIN INSTITUTE INC: $750 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE CENTER FOR GRIEVING CHILDREN: $700 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetJOHANN FUST LIBRARY FOUNDATION INC: $625 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetAMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY INC: $550 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPUNAHOU SCHOOL: $500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMATER DEI SCHOOL INC: $500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetThe Girls Foundation of Tanzania: $500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetNew Jersey State Museum Foundation: $500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetHEADING HOME INC: $300 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBOCA GRANDE HEALTH CLINIC FNDTN INC: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUNITED WAY OF SOUTHERN CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY INC: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE TAFT SCHOOL CORPORATION: $200 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFRIENDS OF CASCO BAY: $200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE COLORADO COLLEGE: $200 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPresident and Fellows of Middlebury College: $200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGood Shepherd Food Bank: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHOPEWELL VALLEY EDUCATION FOUNDATION INC: $100 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.

Princeton Area Commun…Bristol-Myers Squibb …The Robert Wood Johns…Investors Foundation …Citizens Philanthropi…Community Foundation …Merancas Foundation I…Tenacre FoundationGeorge H and Estelle …FirstBank Charitable …The Burke Foundation …Curtis W McGraw Found…
Princeton Area Community Foundation IncNJ54.4× affinity26 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Princeton Area Community Foundation Inc · Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation Inc · The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation · Investors Foundation Inc · Citizens Philanthropic Foundation Inc · Community Foundation of New Jersey · Merancas Foundation Inc · Tenacre Foundation · George H and Estelle M Sands Foundation · FirstBank Charitable Foundation Inc · The Burke Foundation Inc · Curtis W McGraw 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 James Kerney Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The James Kerney Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 130%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 17%
  • Mount Carmel Guild of Trenton Nj: 100% of income from government
  • Old Barracks Association of Trenton New: 90% of income from government
  • Crossroads of the American Revolution Association Inc: 62% of income from government
  • Womanspace Inc: 47% of income from government
  • Anchor House Inc: 45% of income from government
  • Prevention Education Inc: 39% of income from government
  • Trenton Health Team Inc: 31% of income from government
  • Isles Inc: 21% of income from government
  • Heading Home Inc: 17% of income from government
  • Sea Education Association Inc: 12% of income from government
  • Homefront Inc: 9% of income from government
  • Artworks Trenton Inc: 8% of income from government
  • HomeWorks Trenton: 6% of income from government
  • Arm in Arm Inc: 4% of income from government
  • Freedom House Inc: 4% of income from government
  • Brookline Music School Inc: 1% of income from government
  • President and Fellows of Middlebury College: 1% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
13get no government money at all
13report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
3rely 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 109 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 James Kerney’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