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The Velmans Foundation Inc at a glance

· Private foundation

The Velmans Foundation Inc

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$250
Granted FY2024still arriving
1
Grants FY2024still arriving
1
States reached
$250
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0196% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Philanthropy$164kEnvironment$79kInternational$62kArts & Culture$38kHuman Services$37kHealth$27kCommunity Improvement$26kFood & Nutrition$7kOther$0
02FY2024 · 1 grant

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$250
Median grant
1
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
FRIENDS OF THE SHEFFIELD SENIOR CEN$250
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 (FY17–23, $63k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 52% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants spread fairly evenly across need levels.

area typical 10%THE POLLINATION PROJECT FOUNDATION: $20k → 10%SPM DISABILITY JUSTICE FUND: $30k → 10%LEARNING ALLY: $350 → 11%MULTICULTURAL BRIDGE: $250 → 12%THE POLLINATION PROJECT FOUNDATION: $10k → 10%LEARNING ALLY: $250 → 11%MULTICULTURAL BRIDGE: $100 → 12%LEARNING ALLY: $100 → 11%LEARNING ALLY: $100 → 11%ELDER SERVICES OF BERKSHIRE COUNTY: $200 → 12%ELDER SERVICES OF BERKSHIRE COUNTY: $200 → 12%ELDER SERVICES OF BERKSHIRE COUNTY: $100 → 12%COMMUNITY ACCESS TO THE ARTS: $250 → 12%COMMUNITY ACCESS TO THE ARTS: $250 → 12%COMMUNITY ACCESS TO THE ARTS: $250 → 12%COMMUNITY ACCESS TO THE ARTS: $250 → 12%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
OR
IA
IN
NJ
RI
CA
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.

76%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$293k · 42 repeat orgs$91k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +119% since the first grant, against +44% for those funded once.

42 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2024, 41 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

42
34

Total granted

$293k
$91k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+119%
+44%

Still filing today

50%
44%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
Human ServicesArts & CultureFood & NutritionInternationalEnvironmentEducationOther
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

  • MAHAIWE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER INC
    6× · 2017–2023 · $13k · revenue +186%
  • CE
    CLOSE ENCOUNTERS WITH MUSIC
    7× · 2017–2023 · $8k · revenue +67%
  • CI
    CONSTRUCT INC
    6× · 2017–2023 · $6k · revenue +186%

Funded once

  • DP
    Disability Power Bloc
    one grant, 2023 · $30k
  • TN
    THE NETHERLAND-AMERICA FOUNDATION INCgraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $30k · revenue +59%
  • SD
    SPM DISABILITY BRILLANCE FUND
    one grant, 2022 · $15k
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
Trustees of the Berkshire Museum

Bringing people together for experiences that spark creativity and innovative thinking by making inspiring educational connections among art, history, and natural science.

Arts & Culture
2
Berks Arts Council

The mission of the berks arts council is to inspire, engage and unite our community through arts education, collaboration, and presentation.

Arts & Culture
3
Berk County Regional Employment Board

To provide policy guidance, selection and oversight and to organize programs for the purpose of work force development in berkshire county, massachusetts.

Employment
4
Berkshire Health Systems Inc

The mission of berkshire health systems is to advance health & wellness for everyone in our community in a welcoming,inclusive & personalized environment.

Health
5
Boston Public Library Fund Inc

The boston public library fund provides financial support to the boston public library (bpl), ensuring that it remains viable, engaging, accessible, and free to all. the library fund fulfills this mission by working in partnership with…

Education
6
1BERKSHIRE Strategic Alliance Inc

To strengthen and grow the berkshire economy using an innovative collaborative approach among the region's business, tourism, economic, and creative development efforts.

Community Improvement
7
Berkshire International Film Festival Corp

The berkshire international film festival (biff) is for filmmakers and film lovers alike to be entertained, educated and inspired. biff seeks to celebrate independent film and to recognize and pay tribute to accomplished artists on both…

Education
8
Barnstable Land Trust Inc

Preservation of undeveloped land in the town of barnstable and nearby areas

Environment
9
Berkshire Faculty Services Inc

The mission of berkshire faculty services is to advance health and wellness for everyone in our community in a welcoming, inclusive and personalized environment.

Health
10
Bay State Performing Arts Inc

Organization creates musical experiences to inspire change, build community and celebrate difference.

Arts & Culture
11
Berkshire Community College Foundation Inc

To encourage, receive and administer gifts and bequests of property and funds for educational and charitable purposes for the advancement of berkshire community college.

Philanthropy
12
Berkshire Film and Media Collaborative Inc

The berkshire film and media collaborative (bfmc) creates educational, workforce and production opportunities in the film and media industry as an economic initiative for the western massachusetts region.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation Inc; the most unlike its peers is Wmht Educational Telecommunications 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

39 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. 39 of the 79 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)
19
Early backer (in before they grew)
39/39
Grantees still filing
34/39
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

NAF: $104,500 · OtherNAFSPM DISABILITY BRILLANCE FUND: $15,000 · OtherSPM DISABILITY BRILLANCE FUND+52 more: $60,020 · Other+52 morePOLLINATE GROUP: $70,000 · InternationalPOLLINATE GROUPTHE NETHERLAND-AMERICA FOUNDATION INC: $30,000 · InternationalTHE NETHERLAND-AMERICA F…+2 more: $2,250 · InternationalRenaissance Charitable Foundation Inc: $55,036 · PhilanthropyRenaissance Charitab…BERKSHIRE TACONIC COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $25,500 · PhilanthropyBERKSHIRE TACONIC CO…+1 more: $2,750 · PhilanthropyDisability Power Bloc: $30,000 · Human ServicesDisability Powe…THE POLLINATION PROJECT FOUNDATION: $30,000 · Human ServicesTHE POLLINATION…+5 more: $2,900 · Human ServicesMAHAIWE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER INC: $12,500 · Arts & CultureCLOSE ENCOUNTERS WITH MUSIC: $8,000 · Arts & CultureJACOB'S PILLOW DANCE FESTIVAL INC: $3,000 · Arts & CultureSHEFFIELD HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $1,100 · Arts & CultureTRIPLEX CINEMA INC: $1,000 · Arts & Culture+1 more: $250 · Arts & CultureTHE SHEFFIELD LAND TRUST INC: $5,000 · EnvironmentFLYING CLOUD INSTITUTE INC: $2,250 · EnvironmentBERKSHIRE COMMUNITY LAND TRUST INC: $500 · Environment+1 more: $165 · EnvironmentCONSTRUCT INC: $6,000 · Housing & Shelter
Other$179,520International$102,250Philanthropy$83,286Human Services$62,900Arts & Culture$25,850Environment$7,915Housing & Shelter$6,000

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 budgetPOLLINATE GROUP: $70,000 over 3y, 24% of budgetRenaissance Charitable Foundation Inc: $55,036 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetDisability Power Bloc: $30,000 over 1y, 13% of budgetTHE NETHERLAND-AMERICA FOUNDATION INC: $30,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetTHE POLLINATION PROJECT FOUNDATION: $30,000 over 2y, 1.3% of budgetBERKSHIRE TACONIC COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $25,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetMAHAIWE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER INC: $12,500 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetCLOSE ENCOUNTERS WITH MUSIC: $8,000 over 7y, 0.5% of budgetCONSTRUCT INC: $6,000 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetTHE SHEFFIELD LAND TRUST INC: $5,000 over 5y, 0.9% of budgetBERKSHIRE GROWN INC: $4,450 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetRAILROAD STREET YOUTH PROJECT INC: $4,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetJACOB'S PILLOW DANCE FESTIVAL INC: $3,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetJEWISH FEDERATION OF THE BERKSHIRES: $2,750 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetFLYING CLOUD INSTITUTE INC: $2,250 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetBARRINGTON STAGE COMPANY INC: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $2,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetSHEFFIELD HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $1,100 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetFRIENDS OF BUSHNELL-SAGE MEMORIAL LIBRARY INC: $1,000 over 4y, 1.8% of budgetEMPOWER GENERATIONS: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTRIPLEX CINEMA INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCOMMUNITY ACCESS TO THE ARTS INC: $1,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetLearning Ally Inc: $800 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetWMHT EDUCATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS INC: $600 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetBERKSHIRE COMMUNITY LAND TRUST INC: $500 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetBERKSHIRE AGRICULTURAL VENTURES INC: $500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCOMMUNITY HEALTH PROGRAMS INCORPORATED: $500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetELDER SERVICES OF BERKSHIRE COUNTY INC: $500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetFAIRVIEW HOSPITAL: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBERSHIRE RESOURCES FOR INTEGRATION OF DIVERSE GROUPS & EDUCATION INC BRIDGE: $350 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetVOLUNTEERS IN MEDICINE-BERKSHIRES INC: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBERKSHIRE PULSE INC: $250 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE PEOPLES PANTRY: $250 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetHANDS IN OUTREACH INC: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBERKSHIRE SOUTH REGIONAL COMMUNITY CENTER INC: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE TRUSTEES OF RESERVATIONS: $165 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.

  • Who funds POLLINATE GROUP ↗
  • Who funds Renaissance Charitable Foundation Inc ↗
  • Who funds Disability Power Bloc ↗
  • Who funds THE NETHERLAND-AMERICA FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds THE POLLINATION PROJECT FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds BERKSHIRE TACONIC COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds MAHAIWE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds CLOSE ENCOUNTERS WITH MUSIC ↗
  • Who funds CONSTRUCT INC ↗
  • Who funds THE SHEFFIELD LAND TRUST INC ↗
  • Who funds BERKSHIRE GROWN INC ↗
  • Who funds RAILROAD STREET YOUTH PROJECT INC ↗
  • Who funds JACOB'S PILLOW DANCE FESTIVAL INC ↗
  • Who funds JEWISH FEDERATION OF THE BERKSHIRES ↗
  • Who funds FLYING CLOUD INSTITUTE INC ↗
  • Who funds BARRINGTON STAGE COMPANY INC ↗
  • Who funds MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC ↗
  • Who funds SHEFFIELD HISTORICAL SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds FRIENDS OF BUSHNELL-SAGE MEMORIAL LIBRARY INC ↗
  • Who funds EMPOWER GENERATIONS ↗
  • Who funds TRIPLEX CINEMA INC ↗
  • Who funds COMMUNITY ACCESS TO THE ARTS INC ↗

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.

Berkshire Taconic Com…Shoval FoundationThe Feigenbaum Founda…Berkshire Bank Founda…Dr Robert C & Tina So…The Buchwald Family F…Jane and Jack Fitzpat…Lee Bank Foundation I…Berkshire United Way …Josephine and Louise …Price Chopper's Golub…The Jane & Martin Sch…
Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation IncMA53.8× affinity24 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation Inc · Shoval Foundation · The Feigenbaum Foundation Inc · Berkshire Bank Foundation Inc · Dr Robert C & Tina Sohn Foundation · The Buchwald Family Foundation · Jane and Jack Fitzpatrick Trust · Lee Bank Foundation Inc · Berkshire United Way Inc · Josephine and Louise Crane Foundation · Price Chopper's Golub Foundation · The Jane & Martin Schwartz Family 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 Velmans Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Velmans Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 70%1%4%8%15%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 3%
  • Railroad Street Youth Project Inc: 45% of income from government
  • Berkshire Grown Inc: 28% of income from government
  • Community Health Programs Incorporated: 13% of income from government
  • Volunteers in Medicine-Berkshires Inc: 10% of income from government
  • Flying Cloud Institute Inc: 6% of income from government
  • Construct Inc: 4% of income from government
  • Learning Ally Inc: 4% of income from government
  • Fairview Hospital: 3% of income from government
  • Community Access to the Arts Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation Inc: 2% of income from government
  • The Trustees of Reservations: 2% of income from government
  • Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Sheffield Historical Society: 2% of income from government
  • Berkshire Agricultural Ventures Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Berkshire Pulse Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival Inc: 1% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
7get no government money at all
8report 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 79 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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Velmans’ 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