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· Private foundation

The Tinybell Charitable Fund

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.

$371k
Granted FY2023
13
Grants FY2023
8
States reached
$80k
Largest

Read this first · the figures below need context

54% of The Tinybell Charitable Fund’s FY2025 grant dollars went to Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program, not to grantees.

Its money now reaches organizations through that sponsor, which does not report who recommended each grant. FY2025 names 10 organizations directly, so a portfolio cannot be read from it. Everything below is therefore FY2023, the last year The Tinybell Charitable Fund named its own grantees at scale: 10 organizations, $371k. It is dated, not current.

Organizations named directly on the return

1
’19
5
’20
12
’21
8
’22
10
’23
9
’24
10
’25

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

01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2019 to 2024.

Education$739kPhilanthropy$284kScience & Tech$108kHealth$52kAnimals$26kInternational$10kArts & Culture$8kCrime & Legal$6kOther$0
02FY2023 · 13 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2023

  • Under $10k3 grants · $9k
  • $10k–50k6 grants · $95k
  • $50k–250k4 grants · $267k
$20,000
Median grant
8
States reached
$18M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
VANGUARD CHARITABLE ENDOWMENT PROGRAM$80,000
PUNAHOU SCHOOL$75,000
UC SANTA BARBARA FOUNDATION$62,000
PENN STATE HEALTH$50,000
BELLINGCAT FUND$25,000
MID-PACIFIC INSTITUTE$20,000
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY$20,000
ELECTRONIC FRONTIER FOUNDATION INC$10,000
THE FREEBSD FOUNDATION$10,000
FREE SOFTWARE FOUNDATION INC$10,000
ARRL FOUNDATION INC$5,000
ARRL FOUNDATION INC$2,500
NETBSD FOUNDATION$1,000
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 (FY21–21, $3k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%INTERNET ARCHIVE: $3k → 10%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

NY
MA
PA
CT
RI
CA
CO
MD
DC
HI
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.

82%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$938k · 10 repeat orgs$201k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +40% since the first grant, against +28% for those funded once.

10 repeat relationships: 6 still active in FY2023, 4 since wound down; 11 grantees were first funded in FY2023 (too recent to call). Read against FY2023, the last year this funder named its own grantees directly; its giving has since run through a sponsor, which reports no donor behind each grant.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

10
13

Total granted

$938k
$50k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+40%
+28%

Still filing today

80%
77%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 85% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $42k went to new ones.

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

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

’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
EducationHealthPhilanthropyCivil RightsHuman ServicesArts & CultureOther
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

  • PS
    PUNAHOU SCHOOL
    5× · 2021–2025 · $345k · revenue +40%
  • UC SANTA BARBARA FOUNDATION
    6× · 2020–2025 · $338k · revenue +157%
  • MI
    MID-PACIFIC INSTITUTE
    5× · 2021–2025 · $145k · revenue +25%

Funded once

  • UO
    UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN
    one grant, 2021 · $10k
  • UO
    UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII FOUNDATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $5k · revenue +64%
  • TC
    The Concord Review Incgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $5k · revenue +31%
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
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The mission of mit is to advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century.

Education
2
President and Fellows of Harvard College

Undergraduate, graduate, and professional education and research across a broad array of academic domains.

Education
3
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
4
United States Naval Institute

Provide an independent forum for those who dare to read, think, speak, and write to advance the professional, literary, and scientific understanding of sea power and other issues critical to global security.

—
5
Pacific University

A diverse and sustainable learning community dedicated to discovery and excellence in teaching, scholarship and practice, pacific university inspires students to think, care, create and pursue justice in our world.

Education
6
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
7
Ucla Foundation

The ucla foundation is the giving, receiving, and investing arm of the ucla campus. the foundation enables private donors to help build, sustain and advance one of the world's finest academic and research institutions. private philanthropy…

Education
8
Trustees of Boston University

Organization's mission: boston university is an international, comprehensive, private research university, committed to educating students to be reflective, resourceful individuals ready to live, adapt, and lead in an interconnected world.…

—
9
University of the Pacific

To provide a superior, student-centered learning experience integrating liberal arts and professional education and preparing individuals for lasting achievement and responsible leadership in their careers and communities.

Education
10
The International School of San Francisco

Guided by the principles of academic rigor and diversity, the international school of san francisco offers programs of study in french and english to prepare its graduates for a world in which the ability to think critically and to…

Education
11
Ucsf Foundation Investment Company

The organization provides professional investment management services for endowed gifts and financial assets entrusted to the ucsf foundation.

Education
12
Tmt International Observatory Llc

Tmt international observatory (tio) was founded by the members listed below exclusively to further charitable, educational and scientific purposes and, within such limits, to advance scientific knowledge and education through the study,…

Science & Tech
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Wikimedia Foundation Inc; the most unlike its peers is Internet Archive. 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

28 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. 28 of the 36 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)
3
Early backer (in before they grew)
28/28
Grantees still filing
22/28
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

PUNAHOU SCHOOL: $345,000 · EducationPUNAHOU SCHOOLUC SANTA BARBARA FOUNDATION: $337,500 · EducationUC SANTA BARBARA FOUNDATIONTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $200,000 · EducationTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVER…CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY: $65,000 · EducationCALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY+4 more: $20,500 · EducationVANGUARD CHARITABLE ENDOWMENT PROGRAM: $525,006 · PhilanthropyVANGUARD CHARITABLE ENDOWMENT PRO…+2 more: $22,500 · PhilanthropyMID-PACIFIC INSTITUTE: $145,000 · OtherMID-PACIFIC INS…BELLINGCAT FUND: $25,000 · OtherBELLINGCAT FUNDSILICON VALLEY INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL: $11,000 · OtherFree Software Foundation Inc: $10,000 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN: $10,000 · OtherElectronic Frontier Foundation Inc: $10,000 · Other+12 more: $41,500 · Other+12 morePenn State Health: $50,000 · HealthSanta Barbara Cottage Hospital Foundation: $25,000 · Health+1 more: $2,000 · HealthTHE FREEBSD FOUNDATION: $10,000 · Science & TechKQED INC: $5,000 · Arts & CultureTHE TAHIRIH JUSTICE CENTER: $3,000 · Civil RightsAMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF HAWAII FOUNDATION: $1,000 · Civil Rights
Education$968,000Philanthropy$547,506Other$252,500Health$77,000Science & Tech$10,000Arts & Culture$5,000Civil Rights$4,000

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 budgetVANGUARD CHARITABLE ENDOWMENT PROGRAM: $525,006 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetPUNAHOU SCHOOL: $345,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetUC SANTA BARBARA FOUNDATION: $337,500 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $200,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMID-PACIFIC INSTITUTE: $145,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetCALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY: $65,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetPenn State Health: $50,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetARRL FOUNDATION INC: $17,500 over 5y, 0.7% of budgetSILICON VALLEY INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL: $11,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFree Software Foundation Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetTHE NETBSD FOUNDATION INC: $10,000 over 2y, 18% of budgetTHE FREEBSD FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetElectronic Frontier Foundation Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF HAWAII FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Concord Review Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetKQED INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUNICEF USA Impact Fund for Children Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLOKAHI TENNIS CORP: $3,000 over 2y, 1.5% of budgetInternet Archive: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWIKIMEDIA FOUNDATION INC: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE TAHIRIH JUSTICE CENTER: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetKHAN ACADEMY INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetONE MIND: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHUNAKAI PARK ASSOCIATION: $1,000 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetAMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF HAWAII FOUNDATION: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMO HOCK KE LOCK BO MUN LUN SCHOOL: $1,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetHAWAIIAN HUMANE SOCIETY: $500 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 Blackbaud Giving FundSC10.9× affinity6 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Blackbaud Giving Fund · Silicon Valley Community Foundation · Verizon Foundation · Jpmorgan Chase Foundation · American Endowment Foundation · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · National Philanthropic Trust · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund

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 Tinybell Charitable Fund funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Tinybell Charitable Fund. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 30%1%5%11%20%funder's share of their income ↑0%23%45%68%90%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    3get no government money at all
    2report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–90%
    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 Tinybell Charitable Fund?

    Find your warmest path to The Tinybell Charitable Fund 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 36 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 2023, released 2023. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

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