Buffett Early Childhood Fund
Omaha, NE · EIN 20-1768874. Reported 186 grants totalling $165.5M to 97 recipients across tax years 2021-2025. This foundation told the IRS it does not accept unsolicited requests: it contributes only to organizations it selects itself.
Does this foundation accept applications?
No -- on its own tax return. Form 990-PF asks every private foundation to check a box if it "only makes contributions to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds". Buffett Early Childhood Fund checked it on its most recent filing, as 78% of the 91,758 foundations in our data that made a grant and answered did. An unsolicited request is unlikely to go anywhere.
Organizations it funds that make grants of their own
5 of the organizations Buffett Early Childhood Fund funded make grants themselves, and it reported 17 grants totalling $26.5M to them. That is 19% of the $136.0M of its giving we could match to a registered organization. Each is classified by the IRS as a philanthropy or grantmaking organization, reported grants to at least 25 organizations of its own, and has at least 10 funders behind it.
All of them file Form 990, which never asks whether an organization funds only groups it picks, so there is no answer on record either way.
What that does not mean. It does not mean an application to any of them reaches this foundation's money. A private foundation's grant to a community foundation or a federated campaign is often a donor-advised fund or a gift designated for a purpose the foundation chose, and has nothing to do with any open programme the receiving organization runs. Its return's purpose text sometimes names a family fund or a designated purpose, which is the plainest case of money no applicant can reach; where it names none, neither return says which. The list is who this foundation paid that also makes grants. Whether any of them would fund you is a question for its own page.
| Grantmaker | Kind | State | Received | Grants | Years | Last | Only funds organizations it picks? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nebraska Children & Families Foundation | federated giving programme | Nebraska | $21.5M | 5 | 5 | 2025 | Its form does not ask |
| Comic Relief Inc Dba Comic Relief US | grantmaking organization | New York | $4,268,648 | 5 | 5 | 2025 | Its form does not ask |
| Lincoln Community Foundation Inc | community foundation | Nebraska | $630,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 | Its form does not ask |
| Strivetogether Inc | grantmaking organization | Ohio | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 | Its form does not ask |
| Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors Inc | grantmaking organization | New York | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2025 | Its form does not ask |
A floor, not a full list. A grantmaker appears here only where this foundation's return named it clearly enough for us to match the name to an EIN, which we manage for about two thirds of 990-PF grant rows, and only where that grantmaker has a page on this site. There may be more. Dollars here are summed by EIN across every spelling on its returns, so a figure can differ from the matching row in the full list below, which groups names as written. And the IRS classification cannot tell a grantmaker from a funders' association or a donor-advised fund sponsor, so a payment to one of these may be dues or an account rather than support for a grants programme.
How big are its grants?
The median grant is $150,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $50,000 and $896,412; the smallest was $300 and the largest $9,802,094.
Every organization it funded
This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Recipients are grouped by name and state as they were written on the returns, so an organization entered under two different names appears twice. Years funded is the number of separate tax years in which that name received money.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nebraska Early Childhood Collaborative | Omaha, NE | $28.6M | 6 | 5 | 2025 |
| Nebraska Children & Families Foundation | Lincoln, NE | $21.5M | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Start Early | Chicago, IL | $20.5M | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Educare of Omaha Inc | Omaha, NE | $19.9M | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Educare Lincoln | Lincoln, NE | $10.2M | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Alliance for Early Success | Shawnee Mission, KS | $8,995,786 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Alliance for Early Success | Washington, DC | $5,991,046 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| President & Fellows of Harvard College | Boston, MA | $5,250,540 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Comic Relief Inc | New York, NY | $4,268,648 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Early Childhood Impact Group | Omaha, NE | $3,608,022 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Educare of Washington DC | Washington, DC | $3,497,353 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Next Door Foundation | Milwaukee, WI | $2,375,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Educare of Lincoln | Lincoln, NE | $2,188,943 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill | Chapel Hill, NC | $1,981,287 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Tsnemissionworks | Boston, MA | $1,827,886 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Early Futures Partnership | Lincoln, NE | $1,783,800 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Chapel Hill, NC | $1,652,893 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Project Harmony | Omaha, NE | $1,540,222 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Vanderbilt University Peabody College of Education & Human Dvlopmt | Nashville, TN | $1,500,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| President and Fellows of Harvard College | Boston, MA | $1,490,616 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Tsne | Boston, MA | $1,425,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill Fpg Child Development Inst | Chapel Hill, NC | $1,208,562 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| University of Nebraska - Lincoln | Lincoln, NE | $1,163,849 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| University of Nebraska Foundation | Lincoln, NE | $1,100,661 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Project Harmony Child Advocacy Center | Omaha, NE | $1,000,472 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Teachers College at Columbia University | New York, NY | $900,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Board of Regents of University of Nebraska | Lincoln, NE | $899,488 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Lincoln Community Foundation | Lincoln, NE | $630,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| The Aspen Institute | Washington, DC | $600,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| University of Nebraska Board of Regents | Lincoln, NE | $529,612 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Vanderbilt University Peabody College | Nashville, TN | $500,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Partnership 4 Kids | Omaha, NE | $445,739 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Ncsl Foundation for State Legislatures | Denver, CO | $400,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Brazelton Touchpoints Project Inc Children's Hospital Boston | Boston, MA | $340,000 | 3 | 2 | 2022 |
| Foundations Inc | Mt Laurel, NJ | $300,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Health Federation of Philadelphia | Philadelphia, PA | $300,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Save the Children | Fairfield, CT | $300,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Teachers College Columbia University | New York, NY | $300,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Child Saving Institute | Omaha, NE | $280,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| First Book | Washington, DC | $250,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Impacting Futures Inc | Inglewood, CA | $250,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Nebraska Association for the Education of Young Children Inc | Lincoln, NE | $243,466 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Reach Out & Read Inc | Boston, MA | $200,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Southwest Human Development | Phoenix, AZ | $177,198 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Council for a Strong America | Washington, DC | $175,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Universtiy of Nebraska Medical Center | Omaha, NE | $165,600 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| University of Nebraska Medical Center | Omaha, NE | $156,912 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai | New York, NY | $150,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Malone Community Center | Lincoln, NE | $150,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Northern Illinois University Foundation | Dekalb, IL | $150,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Pie for Providers | Chicago, IL | $150,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Esu 3 Educational Foundation | La Vista, NE | $130,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Pubic Private Strategies Institute | Washington, DC | $125,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| The Nebraska Medical Center | Omaha, NE | $110,883 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Before Racism | Saint Paul, MN | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Common Sense | San Francisco, CA | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Institute for Child Success Inc | Greenville, SC | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| North Mississippi Education Consortium | Oxford, MS | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Stanford University Center on Early Childhood | El Monte, CA | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| University of Chicago | Chicago, IL | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Social & Environmental Entrepreneurs Inc | Calabasas, CA | $90,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Capita Social Inc | Greenville, SC | $85,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Let's Grow Kids | Middlebury, VT | $85,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Local Initiatives Support Corp | New York, NY | $75,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Naeyc | Washington, DC | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| National Association for the Education of Young Children | Washington, DC | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| National Black Child Development Institute Inc | Silver Spring, MD | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| University of Oregon | Eugene, OR | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| National Workforce Registry Alliance | Washington, DC | $45,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Greater Omaha Chamber Foundation | Omaha, NE | $40,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Society for Research in Child Development | Washington, DC | $40,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Educare of Winnebago Inc | Winnebago, NE | $35,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| National Head Start Association | Alexandria, VA | $25,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Lutheran Family Services | Omaha, NE | $24,424 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Association of Black Foundation Executives | New York, NY | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Erikson Institute | Chicago, IL | $14,500 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Voices for Children in Nebraska | Ralston, NE | $11,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Ashland Greenwood Public Schools Foundation | Ashland, NE | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Learning Community Foundation of Douglas and Sarpy Counties | Omaha, NE | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| National Center for Families Learning | Louisville, KY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Lincoln Children's Museum | Lincoln, NE | $6,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Belmont Community Center | Lincoln, NE | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Canopy Center Inc | Madison, WI | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| DC Action | Washington, DC | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Kingsley House Inc | New Orleans, LA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Strivetogether Inc | Cincinnati, OH | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| United Planning Organization | Washington, DC | $3,750 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Child Care Services Association | Chapel Hill, NC | $3,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Holland Children's Institute | Omaha, NE | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors Inc | New York, NY | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Unite-La Inc | Los Angeles, CA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Springfield Operations Ecs Inc | Springfield, MA | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Educare West Dupage | West Chicago, IL | $1,010 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Educare California at Silicon Valley | San Jose, CA | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Educare of West Dupage | West Chicago, IL | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Foundation for Farmworkers | Raleigh, NC | $600 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Center for Law and Social Policy | Washington, DC | $300 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
43 of 97 (44%) received money in more than one year over the 5 years we hold.
Measured the way we measure every foundation -- what share of one year's grantees are funded again the next -- this one retains 53%, across 4 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is less consistent than most. This measures how often it paid the same organizations again. It says nothing about whether it would consider a new one, and this foundation told the IRS it does not.
What the money was for
Taken verbatim from the purpose field of its filings. This is the closest thing to a statement of what this foundation cares about, in its own words.
- Nebraska Early Childhood Collaborative
GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT 2022, GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT 2023 - Nebraska Children & Families Foundation
FIRST FIVE NEBRASKA OPERATING SUPPORT, ROOTED IN RELATIONSHIPS PROGRAM SUPPORT, COMMUNITIES4KIDS SUPPORT - Educare of Omaha Inc
QUALITY EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAM OPERATING SUPPORT - Start Early
EDUCARE LEARNING NETWORK SUPPORT, FIRST FIVE YEARS FUND SUPPORT, AND ANNUAL LUNCHEON SUPPORT - Early Childhood Impact Group
EDUCARE LEARNING NETWORK PROGRAM SUPPORT - Alliance for Early Success
STATE BASED EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION SUPPORT
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 114 grants where we could match the recipient to a registered organization. The categories are the IRS's. The match, made from the name and address on the return, is ours.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 35 | $37.3M | $150,000 |
| 2022 | 29 | $32.4M | $150,000 |
| 2023 | 39 | $30.6M | $100,000 |
| 2024 | 41 | $31.9M | $150,000 |
| 2025 | 42 | $33.4M | $200,000 |
Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- filings arrive about a year late, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a foundation winding down.
Already committed for future years
Form 990-PF has a separate schedule for grants approved but not yet paid. Buffett Early Childhood Fund has 39 of them, worth $27.9M. This is the one part of the filing that looks forward rather than back.
| Organization | Location | Approved |
|---|---|---|
| Early Futures Partnership | Lincoln, NE | $2,483,252 |
| Nebraska Children & Families Foundation | Lincoln, NE | $2,380,338 |
| University of Nebraska - Omaha | Omaha, NE | $2,159,125 |
| Nebraska Early Childhood Collaborative | Omaha, NE | $1,921,012 |
| President & Fellows of Harvard College | Cambridge, MA | $1,500,000 |
| University of Nebraska - Lincoln | Lincoln, NE | $1,439,417 |
| Nebraska Children & Families Foundation | Lincoln, NE | $1,314,438 |
| Educare of Lincoln | Lincoln, NE | $1,200,000 |
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Chapel Hill, NC | $1,036,995 |
| The Aspen Institute | Washington, DC | $1,000,000 |
| Educare Lincoln | Lincoln, NE | $763,980 |
| Nebraska Children & Families Foundation | Lincoln, NE | $736,154 |
| Educare Lincoln | Lincoln, NE | $728,272 |
| University of Nebraska - Lincoln | Lincoln, NE | $719,708 |
| University of Nebraska Board of Regents | Lincoln, NE | $719,708 |
Where its money goes
58% of its giving went to organizations in Nebraska.
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Funders that support the same organizations
These funders gave to organizations this one also funded -- some private foundations, some community foundations and other grantmaking charities. Shared grantees are a sign of overlapping priorities and nothing more. Unlike this foundation, none of them is on record as funding only organizations it picks, and each page says what its filings show.
Related guides
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from Buffett Early Childhood Fund's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 5 returns (tax years 2021-2025). Grant figures are from its returns. Matching recipients to registered organizations, their IRS classifications, the retention rate and the funders that support the same organizations are our own calculations, described in how we build this.
Address of record on the latest return: 808 Conagra Drive 200, Omaha, NE, 68102. This is the address the foundation gave the IRS.
EIN 20-1768874 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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