The Bingaman Foundation

The Bingaman Foundation (EIN 81-4529965, tax-exempt since January 2018) is a single-family private foundation run entirely by John F. Bingaman, who holds every officer role — Director, President, Secretary, and Treasurer — uncompensated. Its filing address is Foundation Source's standard Wilmington, DE administrative office, the hallmark of a professionally back-officed but founder-directed giving vehicle with no program staff. The database records it as 'preselected_only' with no application form URL, no grants page, and application instructions left blank — all signals that this funder selects its own grantees rather than reviewing unsolicited proposals. Across 44 recorded grants and $481,780 in total documented giving, the pattern is consistent: repeat, multi-year support to a small, stable circle of organizations rather than one-time responsive grants to new applicants. Two distinct giving tracks emerge. First, global health and anti-poverty organizations — Against Malaria Foundation ($80,000 across 2 grants), Malaria Consortium US ($40,000/2), Médecins Sans Frontières USA ($40,000/3), and Helen Keller International ($40,000/2) — each funded repeatedly over multiple years, suggesting Bingaman treats these as standing annual commitments. Second, a cluster of Santa Fe, New Mexico and regional organizations (23 of 44 grantees are NM-based) spanning arts, youth development, and education: Lensic Performing Arts Center, National Dance Institute New Mexico, Think New Mexico, Growing Up New Mexico, and a named 'Jesse & Beth Bingaman Scholarship fund for Science' at Western New Mexico University Foundation — strongly suggesting personal or family ties to Santa Fe. First-time applicants should understand that unsolicited proposals are unlikely to be reviewed; there is no published intake process for this EIN. The more realistic path is indirect: the foundation has made three gifts to the Santa Fe Community Foundation earmarked for the 'All Together NM Fund' and 'Santa Fe Hestia Fund,' so New Mexico nonprofits may have better luck cultivating a relationship with that intermediary, or building visibility within Santa Fe's arts/education/human-services nonprofit community where Bingaman is already an active, familiar donor.

On the data available (a subset covering 44 grants, average $10,950, totaling $481,780), typical grant size ranges from $1,000 to $25,000 with a median of $7,500 and an average of $8,571 across the 14 grants captured in the foundation's most detailed typical-size record — but the largest cumulative relationships run much higher through repeat annual gifts: Against Malaria Foundation alone received $80,000 across 2 grants (a $40,000 average per grant), while Malaria Consortium, MSF USA, and Helen Keller International each received $40,000 in cumulative, multi-grant support. At the small end, one-time or first-year gifts to organizations like Autism Speaks ($1,500), Girls Incorporated of Santa Fe ($1,380), Food Depot ($1,000), and Aspen Santa Fe Ballet ($1,000) show the foundation is willing to make modest, low-commitment gifts alongside its larger standing relationships. Geographically, New Mexico dominates by grantee count (23 of 44, roughly 52%), followed by New York (11, largely reflecting the NY headquarters of the global-health grantees such as MSF USA and Helen Keller International), Maryland (3), North Carolina (2), Pennsylvania (2), Washington DC (2), and Colorado (1). Annual disbursements have grown substantially since the foundation's asset base roughly doubled on a $2.5 million contribution received in 2021: grants paid rose from $120,000 (FY2021) to $175,250 (FY2022) to $276,000 (FY2023) — the highest payout year on record — against total assets that have held steady in the $5.1-5.4 million range since 2021 (versus $2.7-3.0 million in 2019-2020). Total giving (which includes non-grant charitable expenses) tracked similarly: $140,420 (2021), $205,585 (2022), $308,118 (2023). FY2024 assets stood at $5,124,344 with revenue of only $107,883, well below FY2023's $202,864, on softer net investment income — a signal that FY2024/2025 payout levels may moderate from the FY2023 peak, though the exact FY2024 grants-paid figure was not disclosed in the data reviewed.

All five peer foundations sit within roughly $10,000 of Bingaman's $5.12M asset base and share its 'Philanthropy & Grantmaking' NTEE classification — this is a common asset tier for Foundation Source-administered single-family vehicles, and none of the peers have public websites listed in the database, reinforcing that closed, founder-directed grantmaking (rather than published RFPs) is the norm at this scale. Bingaman stands out among this peer set for maintaining a documented, searchable grant history (44 recipients across 7 states) and a clear geographic anchor in Santa Fe, NM, whereas the peers' giving patterns are not independently disclosed in the data reviewed. Grant seekers should treat 'presumed invitation-only' status for the undocumented peers as an inference from asset size and administrative structure, not a confirmed fact — direct verification via each foundation's own 990 filings is recommended before assuming their process mirrors Bingaman's.

The most recent verifiable filing is the FY2024 Form 990-PF (filed October 30, 2025), showing total assets of $5,124,344, total revenue of $107,883, and total expenses of $287,108 — with disbursements of roughly $284,340. That revenue figure is less than half of FY2023's $202,864, driven by lower net investment income ($113,246 vs. a comparable prior-year figure), which may mean FY2024/2025 grantmaking pulls back from FY2023's record $276,000 payout, though the exact FY2024 grants-paid total was not itemized in the data reviewed. No leadership changes were found — John F. Bingaman remains the sole officer across all four roles (Director, President, Secretary, Treasurer), uncompensated, as he has been since the foundation's 2018 formation. No new program announcements, press coverage, or public statements from this specific EIN (81-4529965) turned up in web search for 2025-2026. One important caution for grant seekers: the website URL on file for this foundation, thebingamanfoundation.com, currently displays content describing a foundation 'founded in 2023 by a high school educator' focused on economically disadvantaged children, with a Pennsylvania-area phone number (610-587-1602) — a mission and origin story that does not match this EIN's 2018 ruling date, Delaware/Foundation Source filing address, or its documented giving history (global health organizations and Santa Fe, NM arts/education groups). This appears to be a same-named but unrelated organization; applicants should not assume that website's content applies to the EIN 81-4529965 entity profiled here, and should rely on 990 filings (ProPublica, CauseIQ, Instrumentl) rather than that site for outreach decisions.

Because this foundation shows no application form, no grants page, and a 'preselected_only' designation in the record, the single most important tip is: do not spend time preparing an unsolicited written proposal for this EIN — there is no evidence any exists to receive it, and the website currently associated with the domain on file appears to belong to a different, unrelated organization. Instead, focus on visibility and relationship-building in the two spheres where Bingaman already gives repeatedly. For Santa Fe, NM-based nonprofits (arts, youth development, education, human services — the profile of grantees like National Dance Institute NM, Think New Mexico, Growing Up New Mexico, and Lensic Performing Arts Center), the more promising path is building a relationship with the Santa Fe Community Foundation, since Bingaman has already routed three gifts through its 'All Together NM Fund' and 'Santa Fe Hestia Fund' — becoming visible to that community foundation's fund advisors may be more productive than approaching Bingaman directly. For global-health/international-development organizations, note that Bingaman's giving there concentrates on large, well-established, low-overhead names (Against Malaria Foundation, Malaria Consortium, MSF USA, Helen Keller International) — a newer or smaller organization in that space is competing against very established brand recognition and would need an unusually direct connection to break in. Right-size any ask: the documented typical range is $1,000-$25,000 per grant with a $7,500 median, though the foundation's largest relationships (the malaria/global-health grantees) run to $40,000-$80,000 in cumulative multi-year support — so a modest first ask (in the $1,000-$5,000 range, matching gifts like those to Food Depot or Aspen Santa Fe Ballet) may be the realistic opening move for an organization with no prior relationship. Given the pattern of 2-3 repeat grants to the same organizations, the strategic emphasis should be on cultivating an ongoing relationship rather than treating any single gift as a one-time transaction. Common mistake to avoid: assuming thebingamanfoundation.com is this funder's active portal — verify any outreach channel against the 990 filings first.