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The Robert a & Renee E Belfer Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Robert a & Renee E Belfer Family 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.

$20k
Granted FY2020
2
Grants FY2020
1
States reached
$10k
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, FY2017 to 2020.

Religion$293kEducation$290kHealth$256kArts & Culture$55kCommunity Improvement$25kRecreation & Sports$7kInternational$7kHuman Services$6kOther$0
02FY2020 · 2 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$10,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$87k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART$10,000
92ND STREET Y$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 (FY17–17, $6k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 83% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%SID JACOBSON JCC: $1k → 9%MORSELIFE FOUNDATION INC: $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.
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.

48%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$331k · 4 repeat orgs$365k to everyone else

4 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2020, 3 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2020 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

4
18

Total granted

$331k
$355k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+31%
+34%

Still filing today

100%
78%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2020, 50% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $10k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20
Arts & CultureEducationInternationalHuman ServicesHealthReligionOther
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

  • TY
    THE YOUNG MEN'S AND YOUNG WOMEN'S HEBREW ASSOCIATION
    4× · 2017–2020 · $293k · revenue +31%
  • AD
    ALZHEIMER'S DRUG DISCOVERY FOUNDATION
    2× · 2017–2018 · $20k · revenue +227%
  • DS
    DALTON SCHOOLS INC
    2× · 2017–2018 · $15k · revenue +16%

Funded once

  • AE
    ALBERT EINSTEIN COLLEGE OF MEDICINE
    one grant, 2017 · $200k
  • REGIONAL PLAN ASSOCIATION INCgraduated
    one grant, 2019 · $25k · revenue +34%
  • Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Incgraduated
    one grant, 2018 · $25k · revenue +123%
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 Jewish Museum

The mission of the jewish museum is to collect, preserve, exhibit and interpret art and jewish culture. see schedule o for more information.

Arts & Culture
2
Institute for Advanced Study - Louis Bamberger & Mrs Felix Fuld Foundation

The institute for advanced study (the institute) is one of the world's leading centers for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. see schedule o.

Science & Tech
3
Bar Ilan University in Israel Inc

Biu produces students who excel in the sciences, humanities, law, engineering, business & the arts.

—
4
Us Middle East Project Inc

The organization's mission is to engage in non partisan analysis of u.s. foreign policy in the middle east, with special emphasis on the middle east peace process, and to present policymakers in the united states, in the region and in the…

International
5
Weizmann Institute of Science

The weizmann institute of science, located in rehovot, israel, is one of the worlds top-ranking, multidisciplinary research institutions. at any one time, several thousand scientists, staff and students are involved in hundreds of research…

Science & Tech
6
Artis Contemporary Israeli Art Fundinc

Artis is an independent nonprofit organization that supports contemporary artists from israel whose work addresses aesthetic, social and political questions to inspire reflection and debate. www.artis.art

Arts & Culture
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
Berggruen Institute
Education
9
Boston Architectural College

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

—
10
Yivo Institute for Jewish Research Inc

Yivo's mission is to study the thousand-year history of jewish life in eastern europe and russia in all its aspects: language, history, religion, folkways and material culture. yivo's archive and library preserves a significant collection…

Religion
11
Hebrew Academy of Cleveland

The mission of the hebrew academy is to imbue all students with a love of god, torah and eretz yisroel and to prepare them to achieve excellence in torah and general knowledge based on successful cooperation among family, judaic and…

—
12
The Lieber Institute Inc

The mission of the institute is to translate basic genetic and molecular mechanisms of schizophrenia and related developmental brain disorders into clinical advances that change the lives of affected individuals. it is catalyzing a new…

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The American Federation of Arts Inc; the most unlike its peers is The Arts Arena International 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

20 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. 20 of the 24 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)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
20/20
Grantees still filing
18/20
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE YOUNG MEN'S AND YOUNG WOMEN'S HEBREW ASSOCIATION: $293,000 · ReligionTHE YOUNG MEN'S AND YOUNG WOMEN'S H…President and Fellows of Harvard College: $250,000 · EducationPresident and Fellows of Harvard C…RIVERDALE COUNTRY SCHOOL INC: $25,000 · EducationRIVERDALE COUNTRY SCHOOL INCDALTON SCHOOLS INC: $15,000 · EducationALBERT EINSTEIN COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: $200,000 · OtherALBERT EINSTEIN COLLEGE OF M…+10 more: $34,500 · Other+10 moreTHE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF ARTS INC: $25,000 · Arts & CultureTHE ARTS ARENA INTERNATIONAL INC: $10,000 · Arts & CultureMETROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART: $10,000 · Arts & CultureAMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE ISRAEL MUSEUM: $5,000 · Arts & CultureNEW YORK CITY CENTER INC: $5,000 · Arts & CultureDana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc: $25,000 · HealthNEW YORK-PRESBYTERIAN FUND INC: $3,000 · HealthREGIONAL PLAN ASSOCIATION INC: $25,000 · Community ImprovementALZHEIMER'S DRUG DISCOVERY FOUNDATION: $20,000 · Social Science
Religion$293,000Education$290,000Other$234,500Arts & Culture$55,000Health$28,000Community Improvement$25,000Social Science$20,000

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 budgetTHE YOUNG MEN'S AND YOUNG WOMEN'S HEBREW ASSOCIATION: $293,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetPresident and Fellows of Harvard College: $250,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetREGIONAL PLAN ASSOCIATION INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetDana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF ARTS INC: $25,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetRIVERDALE COUNTRY SCHOOL INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetALZHEIMER'S DRUG DISCOVERY FOUNDATION: $20,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetDALTON SCHOOLS INC: $15,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE ARTS ARENA INTERNATIONAL INC: $10,000 over 1y, 5.8% of budgetMETROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE BREAST CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION INC: $7,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWASHINGTON INSTITUTE FOR NEAR EAST POLICY: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE ISRAEL MUSEUM: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMORSELIFE FOUNDATION INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetNEW YORK CITY CENTER INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNEW YORK-PRESBYTERIAN FUND INC: $3,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetISRAEL POLICY FORUM INC: $1,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSID JACOBSON JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUNITED JEWISH APPEAL-FEDERATION OF JEWISH PHILANTHROPIES OF NEW YORK INC: $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.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization The Robert a & Renee E Belfer Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Robert a & Renee E Belfer Family 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%4%8%11%15%share of the org’s income from government →median 7%
  • President and Fellows of Harvard College: 7% of income from government
  • Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc: 7% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
4report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–15%
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 Robert a & Renee E Belfer Family Foundation?

Find your warmest path to The Robert a & Renee E Belfer Family 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 24 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 2020, released 2020. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2025) is on record and reports no grant expense, so the figures above are from FY2020, the most recent year this funder made grants.

Source object · view filing

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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