Texas · Private foundation
The Sanders 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.
- $349k
- Granted FY2019
- 12
- Grants FY2019
- 11
- Organizations funded FY2019
- 18%
- First-time grantees FY2019
Read this first · the figures below need context
63% of The Sanders Foundation’s FY2025 grant dollars went to Cornell University Foundation, not to grantees.
Its money now reaches organizations through that sponsor, which does not report who recommended each grant. FY2025 names 3 organizations directly, so a portfolio cannot be read from it. Everything below is therefore FY2019, the last year The Sanders Foundation named its own grantees at scale: 9 organizations, $349k. It is dated, not current.
Organizations named directly on the return
Amber years are those where most dollars went to a sponsor.
- Median grant, FY2019
- $10,000
- Largest grant, FY2019
- $150,000
- Organizations funded a year
- 6 to 13
- FY2017 to FY2019
- States reached, FY2019
- 4
- Total assets, FY2019
- $1.3M
- Applications
- Preselected organizations only
- Per its most recent filing; check its own site
How open it is to new grantees
In FY2019, 18% of the organizations The Sanders Foundation funded were first-time grantees, receiving 2% of its grant dollars.
New vs renewed · share of each year
In FY2019, 98% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $7k went to new ones.
Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant
How this is measured
The numbers by year
| Fiscal year | Organizations funded | To those organizations | First-time grantees |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2019 | 11 | $324k | 18% |
| FY2018 | 6 | $315k | 83% |
| FY2017 | 13 | $286k | n/a |
What it funded, over time
Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.
Top grantees
Largest recipients by total granted, FY2017 to FY2025, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.
| Grantee | Total granted | Years | Share of their budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| Council on Regional Economic Exp & Educational Development Foundation | $450,000 | 3 | 75% |
| Borderplex Bi-National Economic Alliance Foundation Fka El Paso Reg | $215,000 | 8 | 11% |
| Williams College | $150,000 | 3 | 0% |
| Santa Fe Preparatory School | $40,000 | 4 | 0% |
| Hollins University Corporation | $35,000 | 4 | 0% |
| Kids Excel El Paso Inc | $30,000 | 3 | 2% |
| El Pasoans Fighting Hunger | $25,000 | 1 | 0% |
| Cornell University | $25,000 | 1 | 0% |
| Alpha Psi of Chi Psi Edu Trust | $20,000 | 1 | n/a |
| The Femap Foundation | $12,500 | 2 | 2% |
Show all 16 grantees
| Grantee | Total granted | Years | Share of their budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| Council on Regional Economic Exp & Educational Development Foundation | $450,000 | 3 | 75% |
| Borderplex Bi-National Economic Alliance Foundation Fka El Paso Reg | $215,000 | 8 | 11% |
| Williams College | $150,000 | 3 | 0% |
| Santa Fe Preparatory School | $40,000 | 4 | 0% |
| Hollins University Corporation | $35,000 | 4 | 0% |
| Kids Excel El Paso Inc | $30,000 | 3 | 2% |
| El Pasoans Fighting Hunger | $25,000 | 1 | 0% |
| Cornell University | $25,000 | 1 | 0% |
| Alpha Psi of Chi Psi Edu Trust | $20,000 | 1 | n/a |
| The Femap Foundation | $12,500 | 2 | 2% |
| El Paso Pro-Musica | $11,200 | 2 | 2% |
| El Paso Opera Foundation | $10,000 | 2 | n/a |
| Stars Scholarship Fund | $5,000 | 1 | 0% |
| Georgetown University | $5,000 | 1 | 0% |
| Junior Achievement of the Desert Southwest | $1,500 | 1 | 1% |
| Healing the Children | $200 | 1 | 0% |
Plus 10 recipients with no EIN on record ($1.0M), not named here.
Where it is load-bearing
The Sanders Foundation supplied at least a quarter of the budget for 1 of its grantees at some point. The chart plots its 14 largest grantees; load-bearing ones sit top left.
Tap a dot to name the grantee.
How this is measured
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.
Open a dossier: The Hunt Family Foundation · Paul L Foster Family Foundation · National Philanthropic Trust · Charities Aid Foundation America · Network for Good · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile Foundation
How this is measured
About The Sanders Foundation
- How much does The Sanders Foundation give?
- The Sanders Foundation reported 12 grants totaling $349,000 in its FY2019 IRS filing. It funded between 6 and 13 organizations a year over FY2017 to FY2019.
- What does The Sanders Foundation fund?
- By grant dollars over FY2017 to FY2025, its largest causes are Education (54%), Philanthropy (17%), Arts & Culture (13%).
- Who are The Sanders Foundation's largest grantees?
- By total granted over FY2017 to FY2025: Council on Regional Economic Exp & Educational Development Foundation ($450k), Borderplex Bi-National Economic Alliance Foundation Fka El Paso Reg ($215k), Williams College ($150k).
- Does The Sanders Foundation fund new organizations?
- In FY2019, 18% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
- Does The Sanders Foundation accept unsolicited applications?
- Its most recent filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and does not take unsolicited requests. Check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.
- Which funders back the same organizations as The Sanders Foundation?
- Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include The Hunt Family Foundation, Paul L Foster Family Foundation, National Philanthropic Trust.
- Where is The Sanders Foundation based?
- The Sanders Foundation is based in TX.
Play a game based on Sanders’ filings →