New York · Nonprofit
GARDEN OF DREAMS FOUNDATION
GARDEN OF DREAMS FOUNDATION (New York) receives grants from 79 organizations whose IRS filings report $4,437,708 to it, the largest being THE VINIAR FAMILY FOUNDATION ($1,890,000). 35 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $8.9M
- Funders on record
- 79
- Grants received
- $4.4M
- Net assets
- $5.7M
What Garden of Dreams Foundation does
Mission
Our mission is supported by three core pillars: 1) community projects - we provide direct financial support for improvements to community facilities, as well as for community-based sports, entertainment and media projects, that enhance the environment of young people where they live and grow. 2) education - we provide scholarships for college and trade schools as well as mentorship and career exposure programs that open the doors to opportunities and impact our young people's futures. 3) inspiration & joy - we provide unforgettable experiences that inspire young people in our communities, and foster healing and joy.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Events at madison square garden, radio city music hall, teams' training center and other venues: the foundation provides access to events such as concerts, sporting events and a talent show, as well as programming such as mentoring & educational opportunities at various venues, including msg, radio city music hall, msg training center & other venues. The foundation also supports the children of its partner organizations through various direct donations throughout the year, such as an adopt-a-family drive during the holiday season in which msg employees can purchase necessary food, clothing & other items for specific families.
$4,585,050 spentof which $3,254,508 as grants66% of program spendingThe garden of dreams giving program: the program helps its partner organizations meet the critical needs of the children they serve, including through direct support of college scholarships and capital improvement projects within the community. Examples of these grants are refurbishments of gymnasiums, dance studios, recording studios and children's hospital wings.
$1,888,293 spentof which $1,888,293 as grants27% of program spendingCbo support: in response to the pandemic & through its community organizations the foundation provided assistance to families suffering from food scarcity through the provision of meals and other supplies.
$342,360 spentof which $342,360 as grants5% of program spendingOther program services: includes donations of goodie bags, team merchandise & other gifts commemorating special experiences for children and families participating in the foundation's programs, and shipping of items to recipient organizations.
$106,063 spent2% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $6,921,766.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2019 to 2020, from $6.6M to $3.6M (−46%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
98% of GARDEN OF DREAMS FOUNDATION’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (82% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 4 of the last 9 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Board chair
Barry Watkins
Chairman
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 7 funders to 22 funders, grant income rose $76k → $793k.
17 of 79 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 22% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
Left out of every figure on this page: $144 from one payer (the payer shares this organization's board, largest Msg Relief Fund Co Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp). These are real filings, and they are not money GARDEN OF DREAMS FOUNDATION raised.
From the IRS filings of GARDEN OF DREAMS FOUNDATION’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 79 funders by total. Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
GARDEN OF DREAMS FOUNDATION leans on a few funders — its largest provides 43% of grant income and the top three 58%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
37% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund GARDEN OF DREAMS FOUNDATION.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 46% · 2018 28% · 2019 25% · 2020 53% · 2021 58% · 2022 48% · 2023 47% — broadly stable.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
29% of GARDEN OF DREAMS FOUNDATION's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 44% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
87% of GARDEN OF DREAMS FOUNDATION's grant income comes from New York funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $957k arriving through sponsors registered in 13 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
GARDEN OF DREAMS FOUNDATION is better cushioned than half of the 1,645 philanthropy nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 1,645 philanthropy nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2025
Organizations like GARDEN OF DREAMS FOUNDATION
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In New York
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
81% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
92%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 4 states
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for GARDEN OF DREAMS FOUNDATION: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds GARDEN OF DREAMS FOUNDATION?
- GARDEN OF DREAMS FOUNDATION (New York) receives grants from 79 organizations whose IRS filings report $4,437,708 to it, the largest being THE VINIAR FAMILY FOUNDATION ($1,890,000). 35 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does GARDEN OF DREAMS FOUNDATION have?
- IRS filings report 79 organizations giving $4,437,708 in grants to GARDEN OF DREAMS FOUNDATION, 35 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of GARDEN OF DREAMS FOUNDATION?
- THE VINIAR FAMILY FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $1,890,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like GARDEN OF DREAMS FOUNDATION find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in New York. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 79 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing