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Whitten Arts Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Whitten Arts Foundation

Its FY2020 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$16k
Granted FY2020
1
Grants FY2020
1
States reached
$16k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2020.

Arts & Culture$88kHealth$28kPhilanthropy$27kEducation$22kReligion$20kPublic Benefit$5kEnvironment$3kYouth Development$3kOther$0
02FY2020 · 1 grant

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$15,773
Median grant
1
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
JUST BUFFALO LITERACY CENTER$15,773
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 (FY19–19, $3k) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%HOSPICE BUFFALO: $3k → 13%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.
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.

45%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$88k · 5 repeat orgs$109k to everyone else

5 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2020, 4 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

5
17

Total granted

$88k
$109k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+26%
+72%

Still filing today

80%
59%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2020, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20
Arts & CultureEducationPhilanthropyCommunity ImprovementRecreation & SportsEnvironmentOther
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

  • JB
    JUST BUFFALO LITERARY CENTER INC
    2× · 2019–2020 · $36k · revenue +26%
  • BURCHFIELD PENNEY ART CENTER
    3× · 2017–2019 · $25k · revenue +51%
  • DU
    D'YOUVILLE UNIVERSITY
    2× · 2017–2018 · $3k · revenue +23%

Funded once

  • DH
    Donald H Cloudsley Foundation
    one grant, 2019 · $27k · revenue -95% · 100% of their budget
  • RP
    ROSWELL PARK ALLIANCE FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2019 · $26k · revenue -2%
  • SJ
    ST JOSEPH'S UNIVERSITY PARISH
    one grant, 2019 · $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
The Western New York Foundation
—
2
Buffalo Institute for Contemporary Art

The Buffalo Institiute for Contemporary Art (Bica) is a art and educational project for Buffalo, NY. Through Innovative exhibitions, cross-discipplinary skills-based programming, and arts ecology development, bica mission is to break down…

Arts & Culture
3
Ralph Wilson Park Conservancy Inc

The organization was formed for the specific purpose of operating, maintaining and protecting parks and public spaces in the city of buffalo, new york, including but not limited to parks and public spaces owned or operated by the city of…

Recreation & Sports
4
Buffalo Renaissance Foundation Inc

To foster a better quality of life in buffalo and the western new york region.

Philanthropy
5
Buffalo Niagara Partnership Foundation

The buffalo niagara partnership foundation is a vehicle for the initiations and promotion of key economic development projects in the buffalo area.

—
6
Binghamton Philharmonic Inc

The mission of the Binghamton Philharmonic is building community through the power of live music.

Arts & Culture
7
Invest Buffalo Niagara Foundation Inc

Invest buffalo niagara foundation, inc. is a vehicle to solicit charitable contributions to develop programs, collaborate with, and provide funding to organizations that advance and encourage economic development in western new york.

Community Improvement
8
Invest Buffalo Niagara Inc

To attract new employers to the buffalo niagara region through outreach to growing companies around the world. to support business attraction, expansion and entrepreneurship, invest buffalo niagara collaborates with local businesses,…

Community Improvement
9
Cny Arts Inc

CNY Arts' mission is to promote, support, and celebrate arts and culture in Central New York.

Arts & Culture
10
Niagara University

Niagara university educates its students and enriches their lives through programs in the liberal arts and through career preparation, informed by the catholic and vincentian traditions.

Education
11
Buffalo Niagara River Land Trust Inc

To acquire, remediate, and steward lands along wny's waterfronts prioritizing public access.

Environment
12
Artpark & Company Inc

Artpark & company fosters a transformative world of artistic engagement that explores the human experience, cultivates creativity, and encourages curiosity. our work is informed by a long tradition of discovery, an expectation of artistic…

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Buffalo State College Foundation Inc; the most unlike its peers is Donald H Cloudsley 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

14 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. 14 of the 22 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.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
6
Early backer (in before they grew)
14/14
Grantees still filing
10/14
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

JUST BUFFALO LITERARY CENTER INC: $35,773 · Arts & CultureJUST BUFFALO LITERARY CENTER INCBURCHFIELD PENNEY ART CENTER: $24,750 · Arts & CultureBURCHFIELD PENNEY ART CENTERIRISH CLASSICAL THEATER CO: $2,600 · Arts & Culture+1 more: $2,000 · Arts & CultureIndividual grant recipient: $22,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientST JOSEPH'S UNIVERSITY PARISH: $20,000 · OtherST JOSEPH'S UNIVERSITY PARISHUB FOUNDATION: $7,500 · OtherUB FOUNDATIONSTATE UNIV OF NY BUFFALO FDN: $3,400 · OtherSTATE UNIV OF NY BUFFALO FDNJOURNEY'S END REFUGEE SERVICES INC: $2,500 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $2,500 · Other+3 more: $2,250 · OtherDonald H Cloudsley Foundation: $26,700 · PhilanthropyDonald H Cloudsley FoundationROSWELL PARK ALLIANCE FOUNDATION: $25,500 · PhilanthropyROSWELL PARK ALLIANCE FOUNDAT…D'YOUVILLE UNIVERSITY: $3,250 · EducationREAD TO SUCCEED BUFFALO INC: $2,500 · EducationBUFFALO STATE COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC: $2,000 · EducationPartnership For the Public Good Inc: $5,000 · Community ImprovementTre & Associates Inc: $2,500 · Recreation & SportsBUFFALO NIAGARA WATERKEEPER INC: $2,500 · EnvironmentHOSPICE BUFFALO INC: $2,500 · Human Services
Arts & Culture$65,123Other$60,150Philanthropy$52,200Education$7,750Community Improvement$5,000Recreation & Sports$2,500Environment$2,500Human Services$2,500

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

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetJUST BUFFALO LITERARY CENTER INC: $35,773 over 2y, 2.5% of budgetDonald H Cloudsley Foundation: $26,700 over 1y, 100% of budgetBURCHFIELD PENNEY ART CENTER: $24,750 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetPartnership For the Public Good Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetD'YOUVILLE UNIVERSITY: $3,250 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetIRISH CLASSICAL THEATER CO: $2,600 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetJOURNEY'S END REFUGEE SERVICES INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTre & Associates Inc: $2,500 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetREAD TO SUCCEED BUFFALO INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetBUFFALO NIAGARA WATERKEEPER INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetHOSPICE BUFFALO INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBUFFALO STATE COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSHAKESPEARE IN DELAWARE PARK INC: $2,000 over 1y, 0.4% 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.

Community Foundation …Cullen FoundationCullen Foundation of …The John R Oishei Fou…The Ralph C Wilson Jr…The Cameron and Jane …The Western New York …Red Top FoundationFirst Niagara Foundat…The Peter and Elizabe…Weissman Family Found…Children's Foundation…
Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo IncNY31.8× affinity13 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo Inc · Cullen Foundation · Cullen Foundation of Western New York Inc · The John R Oishei Foundation · The Ralph C Wilson Jr Foundation · The Cameron and Jane Baird Foundation · The Western New York Foundation · Red Top Foundation · First Niagara Foundation · The Peter and Elizabeth C Tower Foundation · Weissman Family Foundation Inc · Children's Foundation of Erie County Inc

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 Whitten Arts Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Whitten Arts Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%10%20%30%40%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    3report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–40%
    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 Whitten Arts Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Whitten Arts Foundation 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 22 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 2020, released 2020. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Whitten Arts’ 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