The Mark and Thuy Barnett Family Foundation focuses its giving on direct service and educational opportunities for vulnerable children and girls in Vietnam and the broader Asia region. They prioritize anti-trafficking/rescue and rehabilitation services and scholarship programs that enable disadvantaged Vietnamese girls to access higher education. Most funding goes to a small set of international NGOs with repeat grants rather than a broad portfolio.
Highly concentrated giving: few, relatively large grants distributed to a small number of repeat international grantees (multiple grants to the same organizations), with a clear geographic focus on Vietnam/Asia.
The Mark and Thuy Barnett Family Foundation’s recent giving is centered on two linked priorities: direct support for Vietnamese children in crisis and scholarship funding for disadvantaged girls in Vietnam. The largest recent grant, $178,780 in 2025, went to Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation USA for services that help children escape abuse and exploitation and receive education, shelter, and psychological support. That same pattern appears in multiple years, showing a recurring commitment to the same service model rather than one-off awards. A second major track is the Barnett Scholars in Vietnam program administered through The Asia Foundation. In 2023, the foundation awarded $140,014 for the 2022-2023 academic year, followed by $54,931 in 2025 for the 2023-2024 academic year. These grants indicate support for a named scholarship program rather than broad general operating support. Across the grants on file, the foundation works through a small set of organizations and appears to favor project-specific funding tied to child protection, education access, and rehabilitation services for vulnerable Vietnamese youth.
Child protection is a core theme. In 2025, the foundation gave $178,780 to Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation USA for services for Vietnamese children in crisis, including escape from abuse and exploitation, shelter, and psychological support. A smaller 2024 grant of $20,000 to the same organization carried the same purpose statement. Education access is the other clear track. The foundation awarded $140,014 to The Asia Foundation for the Barnett Scholars in Vietnam program for the 2022-2023 academic year, described as a scholarship program for disadvantaged girls in Vietnam. In 2025, it made another $54,931 grant to the same program for the 2023-2024 academic year. The grant language also points to direct service and program support rather than broad institutional funding. The named purposes emphasize rescue, rehabilitation, schooling, and psychological support for children and girls.
Typical grants cluster in the five-figure to low six-figure range, with a p25 of $64,875, a median of $109,750, and a p75 of $124,882. The pattern is recurring rather than episodic: the same grantees appear across multiple years, including repeat awards in 2023, 2024, and 2025. The foundation is a family foundation and funds individuals. It does not make program-related investments. The grant language is consistently project-specific, tied to named programs or defined service purposes rather than unrestricted support.
$234K
$945K
$189K
$251K
Most grants fall between $65K and $125K, with a median of $110K.
25th Percentile
$65K
Median
$110K
75th Percentile
$125K
About 0% of grants go to recipients in CO.
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Notable grantees: Blue Dragon Children's Foundation USA, The Asia Foundation, Barnett Scholars in Vietnam (program)
The foundation gives regionally, but its recent grants are concentrated through U.S.-based intermediaries that support work in Vietnam. Colorado is the top state by grant count, driven by repeated awards to Littleton-based Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation USA. California also appears through San Francisco-based The Asia Foundation. In the recipient-country distribution on file, all grants are listed in the U.S., reflecting the locations of the organizations receiving the funds rather than the beneficiary population.
The foundation focuses on anti-trafficking, rescue and rehabilitation services for Vietnamese children, scholarship programs for disadvantaged girls in Vietnam, and capacity-building or program support for Asia-focused NGOs working on child protection and education.
Yes. Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation USA received grants in 2024 and 2025, and The Asia Foundation received grants in 2023 and 2025 for the Barnett Scholars in Vietnam program.
The typical grant size is $64,875 at the 25th percentile, $109,750 at the median, and $124,882 at the 75th percentile. Recent awards also include larger and smaller amounts around that range, such as $178,780 and $20,000.
The grants support services for Vietnamese children in crisis, including escape from abuse and exploitation, shelter, and psychological support, as well as the Barnett Scholars in Vietnam scholarship program for disadvantaged girls.
Colorado is the top state by grant count in the recent grant data, with repeated grants to organizations in Littleton and San Francisco receiving funds that support work in Vietnam.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLUE DRAGON CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION USA | LITTLETON, CO | $178,780 | 2025 | PROVIDE VIETNAMESE CHILDREN IN CRISIS WITH THE SERVICES THEY NEED TO MAKE POSITIVE LIFE CHANGES, ESCAPE FROM ABUSE AND EXPLOITATION, AND BENEFIT FROM EDUCATION, SHELTERR, AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SUPPORT. |
| THE ASIA FOUNDATION | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $54,931 | 2025 | FUNDING OF THE BARNETT SCHOLARS IN VIETNAM PROGRAM FOR THE 2023-2024 ACADEMIC YEAR - A SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM FOR DISADVANTAGED GIRLS IN VIETNAM. |
| BLUE DRAGON CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION USA | LITTLETON, CO | $20,000 | 2024 | PROVIDE VIETNAMESE CHILDREN IN CRISIS WITH THE SERVICES THEY NEED TO MAKE POSITIVE LIFE CHANGES, ESCAPE FROM ABUSE AND EXPLOITATION, AND BENEFIT FROM EDUCATION, SHELTERR, AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SUPPORT. |
| THE ASIA FOUNDATION | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $140,014 | 2023 | FUNDING OF THE BARNETT SCHOLARS IN VIETNAM PROGRAM FOR THE 2022-2023 ACADEMIC YEAR - A SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM FOR DISADVANTAGED GIRLS IN VIETNAM. |
| BLUE DRAGON CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION USA | LITTLETON, CO | $109,750 | 2023 | PROVIDE VIETNAMESE CHILDREN IN CRISIS WITH THE SERVICES THEY NEED TO MAKE POSITIVE LIFE CHANGES, ESCAPE FROM ABUSE AND EXPLOITATION, AND BENEFIT FROM EDUCATION, SHELTERR, AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SUPPORT. |
PROVIDE VIETNAMESE CHILDREN IN CRISIS WITH THE SERVICES THEY NEED TO MAKE POSITIVE LIFE CHANGES, ESCAPE FROM ABUSE AND EXPLOITATION, AND BENEFIT FROM EDUCATION, SHELTERR, AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SUPPORT.
THE ASIA FOUNDATION
$54,931FUNDING OF THE BARNETT SCHOLARS IN VIETNAM PROGRAM FOR THE 2023-2024 ACADEMIC YEAR - A SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM FOR DISADVANTAGED GIRLS IN VIETNAM.
PROVIDE VIETNAMESE CHILDREN IN CRISIS WITH THE SERVICES THEY NEED TO MAKE POSITIVE LIFE CHANGES, ESCAPE FROM ABUSE AND EXPLOITATION, AND BENEFIT FROM EDUCATION, SHELTERR, AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SUPPORT.
THE ASIA FOUNDATION
$140,014FUNDING OF THE BARNETT SCHOLARS IN VIETNAM PROGRAM FOR THE 2022-2023 ACADEMIC YEAR - A SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM FOR DISADVANTAGED GIRLS IN VIETNAM.
PROVIDE VIETNAMESE CHILDREN IN CRISIS WITH THE SERVICES THEY NEED TO MAKE POSITIVE LIFE CHANGES, ESCAPE FROM ABUSE AND EXPLOITATION, AND BENEFIT FROM EDUCATION, SHELTERR, AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SUPPORT.