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Amateur Radio Digital Communications at a glance

· Private foundation

Amateur Radio Digital Communications

TO SUPPORT, PROMOTE, AND ENHANCE AMATEUR RADIO DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS AND BROADER COMMUNICATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY.

$3.5M
Granted FY2025still arriving
111
Grants FY2025still arriving
32
States reached
$508k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0199% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2019 to 2025.

Science & Tech$17MEducation$6.2MArts & Culture$2.7MCommunity Improvement$2.1MPublic Safety & Disaster$1.9MInternational$1.3MPublic Benefit$545kHuman Services$407kOther$0
02FY2025 · 111 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k55 grants · $173k
  • $10k–50k40 grants · $918k
  • $50k–250k14 grants · $1.5M
  • $250k+2 grants · $827k
$10,662
Median grant
32
States reached
$143M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
ARRL FOUNDATION$507,500
INTERNET ARCHIVE$319,110
RHIZOMATICA COMMUNICATIONS$235,045
SOFTWARE FREEDOM CONSERVANCY INC$175,000
PLEASANT VALLEY TELECOMMUNICATIONS ADVISORY COUNCIL-PVTAC$170,356
SOCIETY OF WOMEN ENGINEERS$146,200
TEACHERS IN SPACE INC$110,107
FONDATION OPEN COLLECTIVE EUROPE (BEHALF HAMEENLINNAN RADIOAMATOORIT RY)$98,229
FONDATION OPEN COLLECTIVE EUROPE (ON BEHALF OF LIBRECUBE)$92,917
INFORMATION AGE LEARNING CENTER (ON BEHALF OF COMPUTER DECONSTRUCTION LABOR$88,678
FONDATION OPEN COLLECTIVE EUROPE (ON BEHALF OF THE RADIO SOCIETY OF SRI LAN$88,000
ESTERO RADIO CLUB INC$77,000
RADIO AMATEUR DU-OF QUEBEC INC (ON BEHALF LA FEDERATION DES CLUBS RADIOAMAT$73,584
AMERICAN INDIAN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING SOCIETY$72,000
FONDATION OPEN COLLECTIVE EUROPE (ON BEHALF OF WILDFIREMESH)$62,775
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

US giving: 86% of grant dollars ($29M). The need read here covers only this US portion; the 14% that went abroad ($4.7M) is mapped below.

show:

Its human-services grants (FY21–25, $1.6M) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 92% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%NEW ENGLAND SCI-TECH INC: $43k → 8%INTERNET ARCHIVE: $889k → 10%LEHI AMATEUR RADIO CLUB: $5k → 8%NEW ENGLAND SCI-TECH INC: $40k → 8%INTERNET ARCHIVE: $319k → 10%EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS IN CALABASAS: $19k → 14%LEHI AMATEUR RADIO CLUB: $4k → 8%NEW ENGLAND SCI-TECH INC: $30k → 8%INTERNET ARCHIVE: $3k → 10%SOUTHEAST COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $46k → 14%LEHI AMATEUR RADIO CLUB: $4k → 8%ARTISANS ASYLUM INC: $19k → 16%INTERNET ARCHIVE: $3k → 10%ARTISANS ASYLUM INC: $12k → 8%INTERNET ARCHIVE: $1k → 10%SOUTHEAST COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $36k → 14%PAPA SYSTEM INC: $157k → 11%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.

Which US states its grants reach

AK
ME
NH
WA
ID
ND
MN
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
OR
NV
SD
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CT
RI
CA
UT
CO
MO
KY
WV
VA
MD
DE
AZ
NM
KS
AR
TN
NC
SC
DC
OK
LA
MS
AL
GA
TX
FL

Beyond the US: 14% of all-years giving ($4.7M)

17 countries, by the recipient’s country on the filing.

grant dollars sentlessmore
Germany$1.2M · 11 grants
Belgium$788k · 17 grants
Canada$676k · 13 grants
Argentina$608k · 2 grants
Nepal$384k · 1 grant
Japan$236k · 1 grant
United Kingdom$201k · 1 grant
Turkey$142k · 4 grants
South Africa$124k · 1 grant
Chile$79k · 1 grant
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving. International giving is mapped by the recipient’s country from the same 990 filings; comparable need data isn’t available at that grain.
04

Where the work is directed

The same grants placed two ways: where each recipient sits, and where its stated purpose sends the money.

About 9% of Amateur Radio Digital Communications’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address.

Amateur Radio Digital Communicationslessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address · 15% directed abroad (not shown)
How this is measured
Recipient view: each grant at its grantee’s ZIP, mapped to a county. Directed view: each grant at the county its stated purpose names, falling back to the recipient’s county when the purpose names no place; US grants only. A county shows only if it carries the top 95% of that view’s dollars. Purposes are read from the funder’s own 990 grant descriptions.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

47%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$15M · 54 repeat orgs$17M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +18% since the first grant, against 0% for those funded once.

54 repeat relationships: 26 still active in FY2025, 28 since wound down; 75 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

54
216

Total granted

$15M
$15M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+18%
0%

Still filing today

57%
27%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 49% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $1.8M went to new ones.

50%100%’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
EducationArts & CultureScience & TechPublic Safety & DisasterHuman ServicesPhilanthropyOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • AF
    ARRL FOUNDATION INC
    6× · 2020–2025 · $4.6M · revenue +207% · 34% of their budget
  • SO
    SOCIETY OF WOMEN ENGINEERS
    4× · 2021–2025 · $959k · revenue +44%
  • RC
    RHIZOMATICA COMMUNICATIONS
    3× · 2021–2025 · $882k · revenue +29% · 80% of their budget

Funded once

  • AR
    AMATEUR RADIO ON THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
    one grant, 2021 · $1.3M · revenue -96% · 40% of their budget
  • DA
    DEUTSCHER AMATEUR RADIO CLUB (DARC) EV
    one grant, 2022 · $778k
  • FRANKLIN W OLIN COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING INC
    one grant, 2021 · $672k · revenue +7%
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.

04Its field

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.

1
Universities Space Research Association

To provide a collaborative membership organization where universities and other research organizations may cooperate effectively with each other, with the United States government, and other entities to develop knowledge associated with…

Science & Tech
2
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research

See schedule ouniversity corporation for atmospheric research (ucar), on behalf of, and in cooperation with its member university members, is engaged in the management of long-term atmospheric and related research and educational…

Science & Tech
3
Earthscope Consortium

Facilitating geophysical research and education, promoting free and open exchange of geophysical data and knowledge, fostering cooperation to advance geophysical reseach and conveying its benefits to all of humanity.

Public Safety & Disaster
4
Unavco Inc

Unavco, a non-profit university-governed consortium, facilitates geoscience research and education using geodesy.

—
5
Association for Computing Machinery Inc

We are an intl. scientific & educational org. dedicated to advancing art, science & technology.

Science & Tech
6
Society of Photo Optical Instrumentation Engineers

SPIE is an international nonprofit technical society dedicated to advancing scientific research and engineering applications of optical, photonic, imaging and optoelectronic technologies through its meetings, education programs and…

—
7
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Inc

Embry-riddle is the world leader in aviation and aerospace higher education. its mission is to teach the science, practice and business of aviation and aerospace, preparing students for productive careers and leadership roles in business,…

Education
8
University Corporation for Advanced Internet Development

Internet2 promotes the missions of its members by providing both leading-edge network capabilities and unique partnership opportunities that together facilitate the development, deployment and use of revolutionary internet technologies.

Science & Tech
9
The Mitre Corporation

The primary exempt purpose of the mitre corporation is to conduct scientific research activities in the public interest that ensure the safety and security of the united states, enabling solutions and decisions related to complex…

Science & Tech
10
Lowell Observatory

The mission of lowell observatory is to pursue the study of astronomy, especially the study of our solar system and its evolution; to conduct pure research in astronomical phenomena; and to maintain quality public education and outreach…

Science & Tech
11
United States Telecom Association

See schedule oustelecom exists to ensure members can compete, grow and thrive to build a world where families, enterprises and communities are connected through the power of broadband.our member companies have committed a considerable…

—
12
Ohio Aerospace Institute

The primary tax-exempt purpose is to further human scientific and engineering knowledge in a broad array of aerospace related disciplines through investigational and developmental research; to build ohio's aerospace economy through…

Science & Tech
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Arrl Foundation Inc; the most unlike its peers is Mississippi Valley Amateur Radio Association Inc. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
05the grantee network

106 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. 106 of the 349 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.

20
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
13
Early backer (in before they grew)
103/106
Grantees still filing
51/106
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

DEUTSCHER AMATEUR RADIO CLUB (DARC) EV: $778,315 · OtherDEUTSCHER AMATEUR RADIO CLUB (DARC) EVFOUNDATION FOR AMATEUR RADIO (FAR): $600,000 · OtherTUCSON AMATEUR PACKET RADIO CORPORATION: $529,300 · Other+153 more: $12,609,133 · Other+153 moreMassachusetts Institute of Technology: $1,620,000 · EducationMassachusetts Insti…AMATEUR RADIO ON THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION: $1,292,515 · EducationAMATEUR RADIO ON TH…FRANKLIN W OLIN COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING INC: $671,878 · EducationFRANKLIN W OLIN COL…University of Scranton: $287,480 · EducationNATIVE FORWARD SCHOLARS FUND: $250,000 · EducationUC SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION: $225,533 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH: $211,971 · EducationInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc: $200,000 · Education+14 more: $908,698 · Education+14 moreARRL FOUNDATION INC: $4,569,264 · PhilanthropyARRL FOUNDATION …+5 more: $309,211 · Philanthropy+5 moreSOFTWARE FREEDOM CONSERVANCY INC: $1,972,000 · Science & TechSOFTWARE FREED…OPEN RESEARCH INSTITUTE INC: $776,483 · Science & TechOPEN RESEARCH …SETI INSTITUTE: $583,142 · Science & TechSETI INSTITUTETHE DEEP SPACE EXPLORATION SOCIETY: $350,049 · Science & TechTHE DEEP SPACE…ASSOCIATED UNIVERSITIES INC: $315,123 · Science & TechASSOCIATED UNI…+1 more: $100,000 · Science & TechInternet Archive: $1,214,515 · Human ServicesPAPA SYSTEM INC: $157,425 · Human ServicesNEW ENGLAND SCI-TECH INC: $112,315 · Human ServicesSOUTHEAST COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $82,320 · Human Services+2 more: $49,878 · Human ServicesSOCIETY OF WOMEN ENGINEERS: $959,200 · Community ImprovementHIGHLINE AMATEUR RADIO CLUB: $183,229 · Community ImprovementBellingham Makerspace: $62,785 · Community ImprovementRHIZOMATICA COMMUNICATIONS: $882,151 · International
Other$14,516,748Education$5,668,075Philanthropy$4,878,475Science & Tech$4,096,797Human Services$1,616,453Community Improvement$1,205,214International$882,151

Showing the 200 largest grantees by grant value.

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetARRL FOUNDATION INC: $4,569,264 over 6y, 34% of budgetSOFTWARE FREEDOM CONSERVANCY INC: $1,972,000 over 6y, 18% of budgetMassachusetts Institute of Technology: $1,620,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMATEUR RADIO ON THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION: $1,292,515 over 1y, 40% of budgetInternet Archive: $1,214,515 over 4y, 2.9% of budgetSOCIETY OF WOMEN ENGINEERS: $959,200 over 4y, 2.3% of budgetRHIZOMATICA COMMUNICATIONS: $882,151 over 3y, 80% of budgetOPEN RESEARCH INSTITUTE INC: $776,483 over 2y, 100% of budgetFRANKLIN W OLIN COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING INC: $671,878 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetSETI INSTITUTE: $583,142 over 3y, 0.9% of budgetTUCSON AMATEUR PACKET RADIO CORPORATION: $529,300 over 3y, 89% of budgetTHE DEEP SPACE EXPLORATION SOCIETY: $350,049 over 2y, 99% of budgetASSOCIATED UNIVERSITIES INC: $315,123 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetUniversity of Scranton: $287,480 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetCENTRAL MICHIGAN AMATEUR NETWORK: $250,945 over 1y, 100% of budgetNATIVE FORWARD SCHOLARS FUND: $250,000 over 1y, 2.4% of budgetPORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $242,240 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetUC SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION: $225,533 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetAMERICAN INDIAN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING SOCIETY: $216,000 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH: $211,971 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetRADIO AMATEUR SATELLITE CORP: $208,295 over 3y, 19% of budgetInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc: $200,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHEALTHCARE COMMUNITY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB: $198,946 over 1y, 100% of budgetHIGHLINE AMATEUR RADIO CLUB: $183,229 over 1y, 100% of budgetWashington Women in Need: $160,000 over 2y, 5.8% of budgetPAPA SYSTEM INC: $157,425 over 1y, 49% of budgetCALNET AMATEUR RADIO GROUP: $152,250 over 1y, 100% of budgetCOLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES FOUNDATION: $150,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetOPENCOLLECTIVE FOUNDATION: $150,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetEAST TENNESSEE REPEATER ASSOCIATION: $142,513 over 2y, 96% of budgetNEW ENGLAND SCI-TECH INC: $112,315 over 3y, 23% of budgetSOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENTREPRENEURS (SEE) INC: $112,200 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTEACHERS IN SPACE INC: $110,107 over 1y, 12% of budgetSOFTWARE IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST INC: $100,000 over 1y, 14% of budgetYork County Amateur Radio Society Club Inc: $99,723 over 1y, 79% of budgetRADIO SCOUTING INC: $93,320 over 2y, 96% of budgetCASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY: $89,763 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSOUTHEAST COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $82,320 over 2y, 7.4% of budgetAIRCRAFT CARRIER HORNET FOUNDATION: $80,438 over 1y, 3.1% of budgetCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF THE OZARKS INC: $67,750 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetBellingham Makerspace: $62,785 over 1y, 36% of budgetMilitary Heritage Museum Inc: $61,115 over 1y, 5.4% of budgetAFRICAN COMMUNITY HOUSING & DEVELOPMENT: $60,492 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetSCIENCE IS ELEMENTARY INC: $52,600 over 1y, 13% of budgetFree Software Foundation Inc: $52,100 over 2y, 4.3% of budgetCAL POLY POMONA FOUNDATION INC: $51,945 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI FOUNDATION: $45,203 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Freedom Academy Foundation: $43,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budget
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.

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.

The Yasme FoundationArrl Foundation IncInternet Society Foun…Gates FoundationTexas Instruments Fou…The Ford FoundationThe William & Flora H…Bright Funds Foundati…Marin Community Found…The Yelp FoundationSilicon Valley Commun…John D and Catherine …
The Yasme FoundationWA13.6× affinity4 shared granteesties to 1 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Yasme Foundation · Arrl Foundation Inc · Internet Society Foundation · Gates Foundation · Texas Instruments Foundation · The Ford Foundation · The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation · Bright Funds Foundation · Marin Community Foundation · The Yelp Foundation · Silicon Valley Community Foundation · John D and Catherine T Macarthur Foundation

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Amateur Radio Digital Communications funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Amateur Radio Digital Communications. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 80%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 2%
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology: 35% of income from government
  • Emergency Volunteer Corps of Nehalem Bay: 31% of income from government
  • Military Heritage Museum Inc: 5% of income from government
  • Franklin W Olin College of Engineering Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Python Software Foundation: 0% of income from government
  • Portland State University Foundation: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
8get no government money at all
11report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
typical government reliance, FY20–25
How this is measured
Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.

On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 349 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

How this is measured
Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

Generated from the IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Amateur Radio Digital Communications’ filings →

More from the funding graph

The unnamed billions
grants reported with no recipient in the public record
The regranting layer
51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
The DAF merry-go-round
$9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
The endowment market
who holds foundation money, and what just moved
The camps
funders cluster by geography, not ideology
By state
where grant money is based, and what stays home