The Bean Space Foundation directs essentially all of its philanthropic resources to supporting engineering education at the University of Nevada, Reno. Its grants (all categorized under higher education) are focused on a multi-year pledge labeled 'Engineering Excellence,' signaling a strategic, institution-specific investment in STEM capacity at UNR. The foundation's giving is highly targeted geographically to Reno/Nevada and functionally to engineering/higher education priorities.
Bean Space Foundation’s largest recent grant was a $691,805 award in 2025 to the University of Nevada Reno Foundation for a research portfolio that includes wind electrical generation, 3D printing of electronics, terrain-penetrating sensors, a 75 GHz rectifier for wireless power transfer, and atmospheric water harvesting. That scale helps define the foundation: it uses a concentrated, university-linked model to fund engineering education, faculty support, scholarships, and applied research at the University of Nevada, Reno. The foundation has continued that pattern across multiple years. In 2024 it gave $204,263 for research tied to wireless power transfer and an atmospheric water harvesting prototype for plant irrigation, followed by a $120,000 engineering excellence pledge in 2023. Smaller awards have also supported scholarship funds and specific students, including work directed through the University of Nevada Reno Foundation and the Board of Regents University of Nevada Reno. Across the recent grants, the foundation’s activity stays tightly centered on UNR and engineering capacity-building rather than a broad portfolio of unrelated causes. Its gifts reach research projects, student support, and faculty teaching support within the same institutional setting.
Engineering research is the clearest theme. In 2025, Bean Space Foundation gave $691,805 to the University of Nevada Reno Foundation for a bundled research effort covering wind electrical generation, 3D printing of electronics, terrain-penetrating sensors, wireless power transfer, and atmospheric water harvesting. It also supports specific technology development. In 2024, the foundation awarded $204,263 for a 75 GHz rectifier for wireless power transfer and an atmospheric water harvesting prototype for plant irrigation. Student support is another recurring area. Grants of $128,000 in 2024 and $120,000 in 2025 went to annual scholarship funds for students pursuing civil and electrical engineering, while a $80,000 award in 2023 supported the Presidential Scholarship Fund for engineering students. Faculty support appears as well: a $44,200 grant in 2025 covered a UNR twelve-month faculty teaching contract with Dr. Sanad.
Bean Space Foundation’s recent grants show a wide spread in size, from a p25 of $4,875 to a median of $7,500 and a p75 of $80,000. The distribution includes several larger pledge-style and research awards alongside smaller scholarship grants. The pattern is strongly recurring: the same UNR-linked institutions and scholarship vehicles appear across 2023, 2024, and 2025, including multi-year support for engineering priorities. The foundation is a regular funder and also funds individuals, which fits the presence of qualified scholarships and direct support for named students. The grants in the file are all domestic and locally concentrated rather than dispersed across many recipients or regions.
$1M
$97K
$1.4M
$1M
Most grants fall between $5K and $80K, with a median of $8K.
25th Percentile
$5K
Median
$8K
75th Percentile
$80K
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Highly concentrated: all funding goes to a single institutional grantee (University of Nevada, Reno Foundation) across multiple grants as part of a named Engineering Excellence pledge, indicating large, sustained, targeted support rather than distributed small grants.
Notable grantees: University of Nevada, Reno Foundation
Bean Space Foundation’s giving is geographically concentrated in Nevada. All 20 recent grants went to U.S. recipients, and 100% of grants were awarded to recipients in the HQ state of Nevada. Reno is the main recipient city, especially through the University of Nevada Reno Foundation and the Board of Regents University of Nevada Reno. Las Vegas appears as well through Las Vegas College, which received multiple scholarship fund grants. The only recipient outside the state-level academic pattern is a scholarship payment tied to a graduate student studying in Boston, but the recipient listed is still Reno-based.
Its recent giving centers on the University of Nevada, Reno and related engineering priorities. Grants support research, scholarship funds for civil and electrical engineering students, faculty teaching support, and named scholarship awards through UNR-linked entities.
The recent grant-size distribution is p25 $4,875, median $7,500, and p75 $80,000. That mix shows a combination of smaller scholarships and much larger research or pledge-style awards.
It funds both. The file includes direct scholarships to named individuals such as Lorenzo Arvisu and Kyree Bigback, alongside institutional grants to the University of Nevada Reno Foundation and the Board of Regents University of Nevada Reno.
Its giving is local and entirely in Nevada in the recent grants file. Reno is the primary recipient city, with additional grants to Las Vegas College in Las Vegas.
Several awards recur across multiple years. The annual scholarship fund contribution appears in 2023, 2024, and 2025, and the Kyree Bigback scholarship appears in 2023, 2024, and 2025 as well.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA RENO FOUNDATION | RENO, NV | $691,805 | 2025 | STATEMENT OF WORK RESEARCH- 1 WIND ELECTRICAL GENERATION2 3D PRINTING OF ELECTRONICS3 TERRAIN PENETRATING SENSORS4 75 GHZ RECTIFIER FOR WIRELESS POWER TRANSFER5 DEVELOPMENT OF AN ATMOSHPERIC WATER HARVESTING PROTOTYPE USING THERMOELECTRIC COOLERS FOR YOUNG PLANT IRRIGATION6 TERRAIN SENSING (DR. SENAD)7 SPECTROSCOPY8 QUANTUM POWERED UAV9 RECTIFICATION DEVICES10 UAV-BASED TERRAIN PENETRATING SENSORS11 NEVADA PRIVATE R&D SPEND12 NEVADA GEOTHERMAL |
| UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA RENO FOUNDATION | RENO, NV | $120,000 | 2025 | ANNUAL SCHOLARSHIP FUND CONTRIBUTION INTENDED FOR STUDENTS PURSUING DEGREES IN CIVIL AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING |
| UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA RENO FOUNDATION | RENO, NV | $80,000 | 2025 | PRESIDENTIAL SCHOLARSHIP FUND |
| UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA RENO FOUNDATION | RENO, NV | $48,000 | 2025 | ANNUAL SCHOLARSHIP FUND |
| UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA RENO FOUNDATION | RENO, NV | $44,200 | 2025 | UNR TWELVE-MONTH FACULTY TEACHING CONTRACT WITH DR. SANAD |
| BOARD OF REGENTS UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA RENO | RENO, NV | $25,713 | 2025 | KYREE BIGBACK SCHOLARSHIP |
| LORENZO ARVISU | RENO, NV | $4,950 | 2025 | QUALIFIED SCHOLARSHIP FOR GRADUATE STUDENT'S SUBLEASE PAYMENT AS THEY WERE STUDYING IN BOSTON, MA |
| UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA RENO FOUNDATION | RENO, NV | $204,263 | 2024 | STATEMENT OF WORK RESEARCH- 75 GHZ RECTIFIER FOR WIRELESS POWER TRANSFER & ATMOSPHERIC WATER HARVESTING PROTOTYPE FOR PLANT IRRIGATION |
| UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA RENO FOUNDATION | RENO, NV | $128,000 | 2024 | ANNUAL SCHOLARSHIP FUND CONTRIBUTION INTENDED FOR STUDENTS PURSUING DEGREES IN CIVIL AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING |
| BOARD OF REGENTS UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA RENO | RENO, NV | $22,362 | 2024 | KYREE BIGBACK SCHOLARSHIP |
| LAS VEGAS COLLEGE | LAS VEGAS, NV | $4,875 | 2024 | LAS VEGAS COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP FUND |
| KYREE BIGBACK | RENO, NV | $1,450 | 2024 | QUALIFIED SCHOLARSHIP FOR NURSING EDUCATION |
| UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA RENO FOUNDATION | RENO, NV | $120,000 | 2023 | ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE PLEDGE |
| UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA RENO FOUNDATION | RENO, NV | $80,000 | 2023 | PRESIDENTIAL SCHOLARSHIP FUND FOR ENGINEERING STUDENTS |
| UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA RENO FOUNDATION | RENO, NV | $48,000 | 2023 | ANNUAL SCHOLARSHIP FUND CONTRIBUTION INTENDED FOR STUDENTS PURSUING DEGREES IN CIVIL AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING |
| BOARD OF REGENTS UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA RENO | RENO, NV | $7,500 | 2023 | KYREE BIGBACK SCHOLARSHIP |
| LAS VEGAS COLLEGE | LAS VEGAS, NV | $4,875 | 2023 | LAS VEGAS COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP FUND |
| LAS VEGAS COLLEGE | LAS VEGAS, NV | $4,875 | 2023 | LAS VEGAS COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP FUND |
| KYREE BIGBACK | RENO, NV | $2,500 | 2023 | QUALIFIED SCHOLARSHIP |
| KYREE BIGBACK | RENO, NV | $300 | 2023 | QUALIFIED SCHOLARSHIP |
STATEMENT OF WORK RESEARCH- 1 WIND ELECTRICAL GENERATION2 3D PRINTING OF ELECTRONICS3 TERRAIN PENETRATING SENSORS4 75 GHZ RECTIFIER FOR WIRELESS POWER TRANSFER5 DEVELOPMENT OF AN ATMOSHPERIC WATER HARVESTING PROTOTYPE USING THERMOELECTRIC COOLERS FOR YOUNG PLANT IRRIGATION6 TERRAIN SENSING (DR. SENAD)7 SPECTROSCOPY8 QUANTUM POWERED UAV9 RECTIFICATION DEVICES10 UAV-BASED TERRAIN PENETRATING SENSORS11 NEVADA PRIVATE R&D SPEND12 NEVADA GEOTHERMAL
ANNUAL SCHOLARSHIP FUND CONTRIBUTION INTENDED FOR STUDENTS PURSUING DEGREES IN CIVIL AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
UNR TWELVE-MONTH FACULTY TEACHING CONTRACT WITH DR. SANAD
BOARD OF REGENTS UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA RENO
$25,713KYREE BIGBACK SCHOLARSHIP
LORENZO ARVISU
$4,950QUALIFIED SCHOLARSHIP FOR GRADUATE STUDENT'S SUBLEASE PAYMENT AS THEY WERE STUDYING IN BOSTON, MA
STATEMENT OF WORK RESEARCH- 75 GHZ RECTIFIER FOR WIRELESS POWER TRANSFER & ATMOSPHERIC WATER HARVESTING PROTOTYPE FOR PLANT IRRIGATION
ANNUAL SCHOLARSHIP FUND CONTRIBUTION INTENDED FOR STUDENTS PURSUING DEGREES IN CIVIL AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
BOARD OF REGENTS UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA RENO
$22,362KYREE BIGBACK SCHOLARSHIP
LAS VEGAS COLLEGE
$4,875LAS VEGAS COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP FUND
KYREE BIGBACK
$1,450QUALIFIED SCHOLARSHIP FOR NURSING EDUCATION
PRESIDENTIAL SCHOLARSHIP FUND FOR ENGINEERING STUDENTS
ANNUAL SCHOLARSHIP FUND CONTRIBUTION INTENDED FOR STUDENTS PURSUING DEGREES IN CIVIL AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
BOARD OF REGENTS UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA RENO
$7,500KYREE BIGBACK SCHOLARSHIP
LAS VEGAS COLLEGE
$4,875LAS VEGAS COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP FUND
LAS VEGAS COLLEGE
$4,875LAS VEGAS COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP FUND
KYREE BIGBACK
$2,500QUALIFIED SCHOLARSHIP
KYREE BIGBACK
$300QUALIFIED SCHOLARSHIP