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The Star Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Star Foundation

Its FY2021 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$4.4M
Granted FY2021
19
Grants FY2021
—
States reached
$1.3M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02Its fieldRead

Read this first · the figures below need context

59% of The Star Foundation’s FY2021 grant dollars went to Central New York Community Foundation Inc, not to grantees.

Its money now reaches organizations through that sponsor, which does not report who recommended each grant. FY2021 names 16 organizations directly, so a portfolio cannot be read from it.

Organizations named directly on the return

0
’20
16
’21

Amber years are those where most dollars went to a sponsor.

01What it funds
0190% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2021.

Philanthropy$3.9MArts & Culture$55kEducation$55kEnvironment$23kHuman Services$15kYouth Development$14kCrime & Legal$5kOther$0
02FY2021 · 19 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 19 grants below total $4,028,852, the rows itemized in this filing. The $4,354,852 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $326,000 is giving the schedule does not break out (grants under the $5,000 itemization floor, grants to individuals, grants on other schedules). Every figure below describes the itemized rows only.

By grant size · FY2021

  • Under $10k12 grants · $56k
  • $10k–50k4 grants · $113k
  • $250k+3 grants · $3.9M
$5,000
Median grant
—
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Central New York Community Foundation$1,286,784
Essex County Community Foundation$1,286,784
Long Island Community Foundation$1,286,784
Hofstra University$45,000
Touchstone Theatre$35,000
Onondaga Earth Corps$18,000
Mercy Center$14,500
Baum School of Art$5,000
Community Bike Works$5,000
Community Music School$5,000
Fund to Benefit Children & Youth, Inc.$5,000
Lehigh Gap Nature Center$5,000
PA Shakespeare Festival at DeSales University$5,000
Raw Art Works.$5,000
Repertory Dance Theatre$5,000
02Its 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
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…

—
2
Wilson College

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

Education
3
Carleton College

See schedule o.founded in 1866, carleton college is a private, coeducational liberal arts college of 2,007 students located in the historic river town of northfield, minnesota. nationally recognized as the nation's top college for…

Education
4
Maryland Institute

Degree granting college-maryland institute college of art is a private college dedicated to the education of professional artists and the further advancement of art in the community.

Education
5
Susquehanna University

Susquehanna university educates students for productive, creative and reflective lives of achievement, leadership, and service in a diverse, dynamic and interdependent world.

Education
6
New York City Center Inc

The mission of new york city center is to be new york city's leading center for dance and musical theater. dedicated to making the arts accessible to the broadest possible audience, city center seeks to create a welcoming environment and…

Arts & Culture
7
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
8
Manhattanville University

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

Education
9
New York School of Interior Design

New york school of interior design provides the most innovative, immersive, and transformative interior design education in the world, demonstrating the impact of professionally designed interiors on the health, happiness, and well-being…

Education
10
Gettysburg College

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

Education
11
Mastery Charter High School

All students learn the academic and personal skills they need to be truly prepared for postsecondary success and able to pursue their dreams.

Education
12
Boston Architectural College

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

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Central New York Community Foundation Inc; the most unlike its peers is Community Music School. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
03the grantee network

18 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. 18 of the 19 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)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
18/18
Grantees still filing
10/18
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

ESSEX COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $1,286,784 · PhilanthropyESSEX COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INCCENTRAL NEW YORK COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $1,286,784 · PhilanthropyCENTRAL NEW YORK COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC+1 more: $2,000 · PhilanthropyCOMMUNITY FUNDS INC: $1,286,784 · OtherCOMMUNITY FUNDS INC+4 more: $20,000 · OtherHOFSTRA UNIVERSITY: $45,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND COLLEGE PARK FOUNDATION INC: $5,000 · EducationTOUCHSTONE THEATRE: $35,000 · Arts & CulturePENNYSLVANIA SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL: $5,000 · Arts & CultureCOMMUNITY MUSIC SCHOOL: $5,000 · Arts & CultureONONDAGA ENVIRONMENTAL INSTITUTE INC: $18,000 · EnvironmentWILDLIFE INFORMATION CENTER INC: $5,000 · EnvironmentMERCY CENTER CORPORATION: $14,500 · Human ServicesCOMMUNITY BIKE WORKS: $5,000 · Youth DevelopmentBOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF ALLENTOWN INC: $4,000 · Youth DevelopmentFUND TO BENEFIT CHILDREN AND YOUTH INC: $5,000 · Crime & Legal
Philanthropy$2,575,568Other$1,306,784Education$50,000Arts & Culture$45,000Environment$23,000Human Services$14,500Youth Development$9,000Crime & Legal$5,000

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 budgetESSEX COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $1,286,784 over 1y, 3.9% of budgetCENTRAL NEW YORK COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $1,286,784 over 1y, 3.4% of budgetHOFSTRA UNIVERSITY: $45,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTOUCHSTONE THEATRE: $35,000 over 1y, 5.1% of budgetONONDAGA ENVIRONMENTAL INSTITUTE INC: $18,000 over 1y, 3.0% of budgetMERCY CENTER CORPORATION: $14,500 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND COLLEGE PARK FOUNDATION INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPENNYSLVANIA SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL: $5,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCOMMUNITY MUSIC SCHOOL: $5,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetTHE BAUM SCHOOL OF ART: $5,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetSCHOOL OF LEADERSHIP-AFGHANISTAN INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetWILDLIFE INFORMATION CENTER INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetFUND TO BENEFIT CHILDREN AND YOUTH INC: $5,000 over 1y, 2.0% of budgetRAW ART WORKS INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCOMMUNITY BIKE WORKS: $5,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetREPERTORY DANCE THEATRE: $5,000 over 1y, 6.2% of budgetBOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF ALLENTOWN INC: $4,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetALBUQUERQUE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $2,000 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.

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.

The Century Fund TrustHarry C Trexler EstateLehigh Valley Communi…Air Products Foundati…Martin Guitar Charita…Ppl FoundationVerna O Canova Founda…The Rider-Pool Founda…Dexter F and Dorothy …Ross J Born and Wendy…Amaranth FoundationButz Foundation
The Century Fund TrustPA24.2× affinity9 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Century Fund Trust · Harry C Trexler Estate · Lehigh Valley Community Foundation · Air Products Foundation · Martin Guitar Charitable Foundation · Ppl Foundation · Verna O Canova Foundation · The Rider-Pool Foundation · Dexter F and Dorothy H Baker Foundation · Ross J Born and Wendy G Born Charitable Trust · Amaranth Foundation · Butz 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.

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 19 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 2021, released 2021. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Star’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