· Public charity
Acumen Fund Inc
Acumen's mission is to change the way the world tackles poverty by investing in companies, leaders and ideas.acumen is a global force of entrepreneurs, investors, philanthropists, and social innovators working together to build a world based on dignity.
What it funded, over time
Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.
Where the money goes
Grants by size, and the largest recipients.
How this is measured
By grant size · FY2024
- $10k–50k7 grants · $115k
- $250k+2 grants · $745k
| Recipient | Amount |
|---|---|
| ACUMEN CAPITAL PARTNERS LLC | $412,278 |
| REFUGEE INVESTMENT NETWORK INC | $333,163 |
| CITY OF SAMARITANS PBC | $25,000 |
| STATEN ISLAND PERFORMING PROVIDER SYSTEM LLC | $25,000 |
| KAIZEN HEALTH INC | $25,000 |
| FARMBOX DIRECT INC | $10,000 |
| ZERAKI INC | $10,000 |
| RASA PUBLIC BENEFIT CORPORATION | $10,000 |
| FREE FROM MARKET | $10,000 |
Does the money reach high-need areas?
Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.
Its human-services grants (FY23–24, $535k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.
How this is measured
Which US states its grants reach
Grants abroad, by region: $3.6M on the FY2024 return
Schedule F, as filed: 5 regions. The IRS asks for region and purpose, not the recipient, so no country or grantee can be named here.
Stated purpose: TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR PORTFOLIO COMPANIES · TO MANUFACTURE AND SELL AFFORDABLE, HIGH-QUALITY SOLAR LIGHTING SOLUTIONS (LANTERNS AND HOME SYSTEMS), COOKSTOVES, AND OTHER ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS TO OFF-GRID HOUSEHOLDS AND SMALL BUSINESSES IN UNDERSERVED LOW-INCOME COMMUNITIES. · TO SERVE LOW-INCOME PEOPLE AND BUSINESSES IN MALAWI WITH HIGHQUALITY AND AFFORDABLE SOLAR ENERGY ACCESS.
Stated purpose: TO PROVIDE ENERGY SERVICES TO LOW-INCOME COMMUNITIES IN WEAKGRID AND OFF-GRID RURAL AREAS ACROSS AFRICA AND ASIA. · TO PREVENT CHILD MALNUTRITION BY BUILDING THE CAPACITY OF INDIA'S ANGANWADI CHILD CARE CENTERS THROUGH TRAINING AND DIGITAL TOOLS · TO ENGAGE IN THE BUSINESS OF EMPOWERING EDUCATORS TO BUILD PROFICIENCY IN FOUNDATIONAL STEAM LITERACY AS A LIFE SKILL IN SCHOOL-GOING CHILDREN TO CULTIVATE THE MINDSET OF SCIENTIFIC TEMPERAMENT.
Stated purpose: TO REDUCE THE DISPARITY IN THE LABOR MARKET WHERE 77% OF COMPANIES FACE A TALENT SHORTAGE WHILE YOUNG AND DIVERSE CANDIDATES STRUGGLE TO CONNECT WITH JOB OPPORTUNITIES. · TO ENHANCE PEACE BUILDING IN COLOMBIA USING FASHION AS A TOOL FOR CHANGE. · TO PROMOTE DIGNIFIED EMPLOYMENT AND REGENERATIVE FARMING IN RURAL REGIONS WITH A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE AND MARGINALIZATION THROUGH THE DISTRIBUTION OF HEALTHY FOOD PRODUCTS GROWN THROUGH AGROFORESTRY MANAGEMENT.
Stated purpose: TO MAKE AFFORDABLE, NUTRITIOUS, AND DELICIOUS FOOD ACCESSIBLE TO ALL INCLUDING UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES WHILE BREAKING THE CYCLE OF FOOD WASTE · TO REDUCE GENDER INEQUALITIES BY DELIVERING A LEGALLY SANCTIONED, AGE-APPROPRIATE, COMPREHENSIVE SEXUALITY EDUCATION (CSE) PROGRAM TO EMPOWER 16 MILLION CHILDREN IN VIETNAM.
Stated purpose: ONLINE EDUCATIONAL VIDEOS · TO UPLIFT FAMILIES THROUGH EDUCATIONAL EQUITY BY DRIVING INCLUSIVE PARENTAL ENGAGEMENT THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS WITH SCHOOLS
How this is measured
Who it funds again
Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.
Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +97% since the first grant, against +15% for those funded once.
25 repeat relationships: 6 still active in FY2024, 19 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).
How the two cohorts compare
Organizations
Total granted
Median revenue growth · since first grant
Still filing today
New vs renewed · share of each year
In FY2024, 95% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $45k went to new ones.
Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant
How this is measured
Backed again, and grew
- IIID INSIGHT INC3× · 2018–2020 · $1.5M · revenue +106%
- RIREFUGEE INVESTMENT NETWORK INC2× · 2023–2024 · $485k · revenue +108% · 29% of their budget
- TTANAGER2× · 2018–2019 · $361k · revenue +97%
Funded once
- SISOCIAL INVESTMENT MANAGERS AND ADVISORS LLCone grant, 2020 · $1.0M
- ROREGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIAone grant, 2019 · $700k
- CPCLIMATE POLICY INITIATIVE INCone grant, 2023 · $374k · revenue +8%
How this is measured
Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.
Closest unfunded matches
The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.
The international center for research for women (icrw) is a global research institute, with a mission to advance rights and opportunities for women, girls, and structurally excluded populations with actionable evidence and solutions.
Middle east investment initiative, inc. (meii) stimulates sustainable economic activity and long-lasting job creation in the middle east and north africa (mena) by designing and deploying finance and technical assistance programs to…
Ibp works with civil society, governments, international institutions and the private sector to bring about a world in which empowered citizens participate in open, inclusive public budgeting processes to shape policies and practices that…
Development gateway (dg) creates tools and design processes that help collect, visualize, and use data for a more equitable world. for 20 years, we have built systems, dashboards, and tools to create more effective, open, and engaging…
Our mission is to create a fair and inclusive economy where underserved people have quality financial choices and opportunities to improve their economic well-being. we find and help build innovative companies with the potential to reach…
See schedule o for a more detailed description of ide's mission statement and achievements.
Inclusive Development International supports communities around the world to defend their rights and resources in the face of harmful corporate activities and internationally financed development projects, and we advocate for a more just…
Building a movement of diverse, upwardly mobile college grads overcoming underemployment through digital skills and peer connections.
Upturn advances equity and justice in the design, governance, and use of technology.
Nuru is a global collective that enables inclusive and sustainable prosperity by identifying communities at the stability tipping point, strengthening rural livelihoods and market systems, and fostering stabilizing connections that repair…
Aceli's mission is to unlock the growth and impact of agricultural small- and medium-sized enterprises (smes) by bridging the gap between capital supply and demand.
Bringing diverse voices together across global sectors, disciplines, and demographics so developments in ai advance positive outcomes for people and society.
How this is measured
21 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.
Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.
How this is measured
Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 21 of the 62 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.
Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.
Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee
Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding
A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.
- Who funds ID INSIGHT INC ↗
- Who funds REFUGEE INVESTMENT NETWORK INC ↗
- Who funds CLIMATE POLICY INITIATIVE INC ↗
- Who funds TANAGER ↗
- Who funds UNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO ↗
- Who funds Massachusetts Institute of Technology ↗
- Who funds MAZIWA ↗
- Who funds STATEN ISLAND PERFORMING PROVIDER SYSTEM LLC ↗
- Who funds VIRGINIA ORGANIZING INC ↗
- Who funds SANERGY INC ↗
- Who funds HELLO FUTURE INC ↗
Co-funders
Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.
Open a dossier: Gates Foundation · Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors Inc · Tides Foundation · Silicon Valley Community Foundation · Jpmorgan Chase Foundation · National Philanthropic Trust · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Amazonsmile Foundation
How this is measured
How much its grantees rely on government
Each dot is one organization Acumen Fund Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Acumen Fund Inc. Bigger dots raise more.
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology: 35% of income from government
How this is measured
Play a game based on Acumen’s filings →