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The Rust Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Rust 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.

$381k
Granted FY2025still arriving
109
Grants FY2025still arriving
26
States reached
$31k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0193% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Education$506kReligion$369kHealth$120kFood & Nutrition$95kEnvironment$94kArts & Culture$85kHuman Services$76kRecreation & Sports$58kOther$0
02FY2025 · 109 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k98 grants · $183k
  • $10k–50k11 grants · $198k
$1,000
Median grant
26
States reached
$3.4M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Individual grant recipient$30,500
WOODBERRY FOREST SCHOOL$28,500
SECOND HARVEST FOOD BANK$27,500
CHATHAM UNIVERSITY$26,000
CARNEGIE MUSEUMS OF PITTSBURGH$16,000
SAVE A WARRIOR$15,000
ST ANTHONY SCHOOL PROGRAMS$12,500
ONCUE THEATRE INCORPORATED$11,052
FOX FAMILIES CARE$11,000
GENESIS OF ANN ARBOR$10,000
THE SALVATION ARMY OF LOUDOUN COUNTY$10,000
ST CLARE'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH$9,000
NEW CANAAN COUNTY SCHOOL$7,500
CARLOW UNIVERSITY$6,500
SWEET BRIAR COLLEGE$6,500
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 (FY21–25, $50k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 79% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%LUSTGARTEN FOUNDATION: $2k → 6%GREENHOUSE MINISTRIES: $500 → 9%CANNON COUNTY SAVE: $10k → 11%M4K RICHMOND INC: $2k → 7%NEW HAMPSHIRE FOOD BANK: $2k → 7%LISTEN COMMUNITY SERVICES: $2k → 10%CANNON COUNTY SAVE: $4k → 11%NH FOOD BANK: $2k → 7%DREAM CENTER FOUNDATION: $5k → 10%CANNON COUNTY SAVE: $3k → 11%NH FOOD BANK: $500 → 7%HELLO NEIGHBOR: $1k → 11%A FARM LESS ORDINARY: $500 → 4%A FARM LESS ORDINARY: $500 → 4%A FARM LESS ORDINARY: $500 → 4%A FARM LESS ORDINARY: $500 → 4%SECOND HARVEST: $1k → 11%SECOND HARVEST: $500 → 11%FOX FAMILIES CARE: $11k → 11%FOX FAMILIES CARE: $500 → 11%WOMENS CENTER & SHELTER OF GRTR PITT: $1k → 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

AK
ME
NH
ID
MT
MN
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
OR
WY
IA
IN
OH
PA
CT
RI
CA
UT
CO
KY
VA
MD
NM
KS
TN
NC
DC
OK
LA
AL
TX
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.

78%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.3M · 118 repeat orgs$376k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +11% since the first grant, against +11% for those funded once.

118 repeat relationships: 67 still active in FY2025, 51 since wound down; 39 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

118
98

Total granted

$1.3M
$275k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+11%
+11%

Still filing today

53%
48%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 73% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $102k went to new ones.

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

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

’21’22’23’24’25
Arts & CultureEducationHuman ServicesEnvironmentHealthAnimalsOther
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 ELLIS SCHOOL
    5× · 2021–2025 · $74k · revenue +17%
  • TN
    THE NEW CANAAN COUNTRY SCHOOL INCORPORATED
    5× · 2021–2025 · $48k · revenue +26%
  • DRAKE UNIVERSITY
    4× · 2021–2025 · $43k · revenue +4%

Funded once

  • SA
    ST ANDREWS
    one grant, 2021 · $26k
  • ML
    MIRACLE LEAGUE OF WESTERN PA
    one grant, 2023 · $21k · revenue -53%
  • NV
    NORTHERN VA SCIENCE CTR
    one grant, 2021 · $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
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
Point Park University

Provides innovative education in a dynamic urban setting. dedicated to academic excellence and community engagement,we prepare students of diverse backgrounds with the knowledge, skill,and experience to lead meaningful lives as informed…

—
3
Western Pennsylvania Conservancy

The western pennsylvania conservancy protects and restores exceptional places to provide our region with clean waters and healthy forests, wildlife and natural areas for the benefit of present and future generations. the conservancy…

Environment
4
The Water Research Foundation

The purpose of the water research foundation (wrf) is a definitive research organization to advance the science of all things water to better meet the evolving needs of its subscribers and the water sector. to engage exclusively in…

Environment
5
Wilson College

Wilson college empowers students to be confident and critical thinkers, creative visionaries, effective communicators, honorable leaders, and agents of justice.

Education
6
Furman University

The primary mission of furman as a liberal arts institution is to provide a distinctive education in fine arts, humanities, social sciences, mathematics and the sciences, as well as selected professional disciplines.

Education
7
Gettysburg College

Gettysburg college is a residential, undergraduate college of the liberal arts and sciences.

Education
8
Manhattanville University

To educate students to be ethical and socially responsible leaders in a global community.

Education
9
Boston Architectural College

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

—
10
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
11
Northeast College of Health Sciences

Northeast college of health sciences (the college) is committed to academic excellence, leadership, and professional best practices in the health sciences.

Education
12
Zoological Society of Pittsburgh

The zoological society of pittsburgh is dedicated to being a leader in, and significant contributor to, the conservation of endangered and threatened species. the society provides an enjoyable family experience that fosters understanding,…

Animals
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The New Canaan Country School Incorporated; the most unlike its peers is Virts Miller Foundation. 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

134 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. 134 of the 259 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)
18
Early backer (in before they grew)
133/134
Grantees still filing
81/134
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

ST ANDREWS EPISCOPAL CHURCH: $131,500 · OtherST ANDREWS EPISCOPAL CHURCHIndividual grant recipient: $60,500 · OtherIndividual grant recipientMIDDLE TENN STATE UNIV: $54,000 · OtherCALVARY EPISCOPAL CHURCH: $46,500 · Other+132 more: $754,302 · Other+132 moreTHE ELLIS SCHOOL: $73,500 · EducationTHE ELLIS SCHOOLTHE NEW CANAAN COUNTRY SCHOOL INCORPORATED: $48,000 · EducationTHE NEW CANAAN COUNTRY S…DRAKE UNIVERSITY: $42,500 · EducationDRAKE UNIVERSITYWOODBERRY FOREST SCHOOL: $41,500 · EducationWOODBERRY FOREST SCHOOLCHATHAM UNIVERSITY: $34,500 · EducationCHATHAM UNIVERSITYCARLOW UNIVERSITY: $28,500 · EducationCARLOW UNIVERSITYSWEET BRIAR INSTITUTE: $28,500 · EducationSWEET BRIAR INSTITUTESTEEL CITY SQUASH INC: $15,000 · Education+11 more: $63,000 · Education+11 moreAppalachian Mountain Club: $26,000 · EnvironmentChewonki Foundation Inc: $23,500 · EnvironmentAmerican Whitewater: $11,500 · EnvironmentMaine Coast Heritage Trust: $3,750 · EnvironmentFauquier and Loudoun Garden Club: $3,500 · EnvironmentEARTHJUSTICE: $3,000 · EnvironmentTeam River Runner Incorporated: $2,500 · EnvironmentSAVE A WARRIOR INC: $15,000 · HealthDartmouth-Hitchcock Health: $12,000 · HealthEPILEPSY FOUNDATION OF AMERICA: $8,500 · HealthPLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC: $7,500 · HealthPLANNED PARENTHOOD OF WESTERN PA INC: $7,000 · HealthST MARGARET FOUNDATION: $6,000 · HealthAMERICAN FOUNDATION FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION: $3,500 · HealthThe Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Inc: $3,500 · Health+1 more: $2,000 · HealthCANNON CO SERVICES AND VIOLENCE EDU CANNON COUNTY SAVE: $17,000 · Human ServicesFox Families Care: $11,500 · Human ServicesDREAM CENTER FOUNDATION: $5,000 · Human ServicesAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $5,000 · Human ServicesNew Hampshire Catholic Charities: $4,500 · Human ServicesSHELTERBOX USA INC: $4,000 · Human ServicesA FARM LESS ORDINARY: $2,000 · Human ServicesLISTEN Lebanon in Service to Each Neighbor: $2,000 · Human ServicesMARC LUSTGARTEN PANCREATIC CANCER FOUNDATION: $2,000 · Human Services+4 more: $5,000 · Human ServicesCARNEGIE INSTITUTE: $31,000 · Arts & CultureSewickley Valley Historical Society: $5,000 · Arts & CultureNATIONAL LINKS TRUST: $3,000 · Arts & CultureQUINCY SOCIETY OF FINE ARTS: $2,000 · Arts & Culture+9 more: $10,200 · Arts & CultureWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $38,500 · InternationalMETRO JUSTICE OF ROCHESTER INC: $3,000 · International+1 more: $1,000 · International
Other$1,046,802Education$375,000Environment$73,750Health$65,000Human Services$58,000Arts & Culture$51,200International$42,500

Showing the 200 largest grantees by grant value.

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetTHE ELLIS SCHOOL: $73,500 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetTHE NEW CANAAN COUNTRY SCHOOL INCORPORATED: $48,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetDRAKE UNIVERSITY: $42,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetWOODBERRY FOREST SCHOOL: $41,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $38,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCHATHAM UNIVERSITY: $34,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetCARNEGIE INSTITUTE: $31,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCARLOW UNIVERSITY: $28,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetSWEET BRIAR INSTITUTE: $28,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetAppalachian Mountain Club: $26,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetChewonki Foundation Inc: $23,500 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetOHIO WILDLIFE CENTER: $21,500 over 4y, 1.2% of budgetMIRACLE LEAGUE OF WESTERN PA: $20,500 over 1y, 23% of budgetCANNON CO SERVICES AND VIOLENCE EDU CANNON COUNTY SAVE: $17,000 over 3y, 3.2% of budgetUNITED WAY OF HUMPHREYS COUNTY: $15,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetGLEANERS COMMUNITY FOOD BANK OF SOUTHEASTERN MICHIGAN: $15,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSTEEL CITY SQUASH INC: $15,000 over 1y, 2.0% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $15,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAUTISM SOCIETY CENTRAL OHIO: $12,250 over 5y, 3.8% of budgetDartmouth-Hitchcock Health: $12,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican Whitewater: $11,500 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetFox Families Care: $11,500 over 2y, 1.9% of budgetPOSHARD FOUNDATION FOR ABUSED CHILDREN INC: $10,250 over 3y, 2.0% of budgetTHETA CHI AT DRAKE UNIVERSITY HELPING HAND FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 4y, 16% of budgetCARLETON COLLEGE: $10,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetHILLSDALE COLLEGE: $8,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetEPILEPSY FOUNDATION OF AMERICA: $8,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetFOOD BANK FOR NEW YORK CITY: $8,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetHilliard Food Pantry Plus: $8,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC: $7,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD OF WESTERN PA INC: $7,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetCAPITAL AREA FOOD BANK INC: $6,750 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $6,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetST MARGARET FOUNDATION: $6,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetSEXUAL ASSAULT RESOURCE AGENCY: $6,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSHADY SIDE ACADEMY: $5,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetSewickley Valley Historical Society: $5,000 over 1y, 4.9% of budgetDREAM CENTER FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSAMARITAN'S PURSE: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCALIFORNIA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBROWN UNIVERSITY: $5,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetNew Hampshire Catholic Charities: $4,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSHELTERBOX USA INC: $4,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetROTARY CLUB OF LEESBURG FOUNDATION INC: $4,000 over 3y, 6.7% of budgetHABITAT FOR HUMANITY OF GREATER PITTSBURGH: $4,000 over 4y, 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.

  • Who funds THE ELLIS SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds THE NEW CANAAN COUNTRY SCHOOL INCORPORATED ↗
  • Who funds DRAKE UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds WOODBERRY FOREST SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC ↗
  • Who funds CHATHAM UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds CARNEGIE INSTITUTE ↗
  • Who funds CARLOW UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds SWEET BRIAR INSTITUTE ↗
  • Who funds Appalachian Mountain Club ↗
  • Who funds Chewonki Foundation Inc ↗
  • Who funds OHIO WILDLIFE CENTER ↗
  • Who funds MIRACLE LEAGUE OF WESTERN PA ↗
  • Who funds CANNON CO SERVICES AND VIOLENCE EDU CANNON COUNTY SAVE ↗
  • Who funds SAVE A WARRIOR INC ↗
  • Who funds UNITED WAY OF HUMPHREYS COUNTY ↗
  • Who funds GLEANERS COMMUNITY FOOD BANK OF SOUTHEASTERN MICHIGAN ↗
  • Who funds STEEL CITY SQUASH INC ↗
  • Who funds THE NATURE CONSERVANCY ↗
  • Who funds AUTISM SOCIETY CENTRAL OHIO ↗
  • Who funds Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health ↗
  • Who funds American Whitewater ↗
  • Who funds Fox Families Care ↗

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.

Hillman Family Founda…The Pittsburgh Founda…The Double Eagle Foun…The Burke FoundationThe Burke Family Foun…The Grable FoundationRichard King Mellon F…Peter C Dozzi Family …Ibm International Fou…The United Way of Sou…The Simpson Family Fo…Poise Foundation
Hillman Family FoundationsPA25.3× affinity12 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Hillman Family Foundations · The Pittsburgh Foundation · The Double Eagle Foundation 4191-06-43 · The Burke Foundation · The Burke Family Foundation · The Grable Foundation · Richard King Mellon Foundation · Peter C Dozzi Family Foundation Aka Eugene Dozzi Charitable Foundation · Ibm International Foundation · The United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania · The Simpson Family Foundation U/A Dtd 10/19/1999 · Poise 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 Rust Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Rust Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 30%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 5%
  • Epilepsy Foundation of America: 22% of income from government
  • Team River Runner Incorporated: 19% of income from government
  • Stamford Museum & Nature Center Inc: 9% of income from government
  • American Whitewater: 5% of income from government
  • The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk Inc: 5% of income from government
  • Soundwaters Inc: 4% of income from government
  • Appalachian Mountain Club: 1% of income from government
  • Sandy Hook Promise Foundation: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
3get no government money at all
33report 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 259 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 Rust’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