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American Bar Endowment at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Public charity

American Bar Endowment

To make distributions to 501(c)(3) organizations including, in pact, to advance legal study and research and to promote the administration of justice and uniformity of judicial decision throughout the u.s.

$9.4M
Granted FY2025still arriving
31
Grants FY2025still arriving
20
States reached
$3.9M
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, FY2017 to 2025.

Crime & Legal$65MPhilanthropy$568kPublic Benefit$232kArts & Culture$224kHealth$181kEducation$165kHuman Services$162kReligion$91kOther$0
02FY2025 · 31 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k1 grant · $6k
  • $10k–50k22 grants · $458k
  • $50k–250k5 grants · $626k
  • $250k+3 grants · $8.2M
$25,000
Median grant
20
States reached
$224M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
AMERICAN BAR FOUNDATION$3,940,342
ABA FUND FOR JUSTICE & EDUCATION$3,937,076
JEWISH FEDERATION OF THE LEHIGH VALLEY$322,609
GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY PROJECT$231,830
FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND$155,407
MOUNT VERNON LADIES' ASSOCIATION OF THE UNION$100,000
JEWISH FEDERATION OF GREATER PITTSBURGH$84,451
CHABAD LUBAVITCH OF THE LEHIGH VALLEY INC$54,000
SANTA FE DREAMERS PROJECT$25,000
KIDS IN NEED OF DEFENSE (KIND INC)$25,000
ASYLUM SEEKER ADVOCACY PROJECT (ASAP)$25,000
PUBLIC INTEREST LAW CENTER OF NEW JERSEY DBA NEW JERSEY APPLESEED$25,000
REDEMPTION EARNED INC$25,000
CENTER FOR JUSTICE AND HUMAN DIGNITY (CJHD)$25,000
ECONOMIC JUSTICE INSTITUTE INC$25,000
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.

show:

Its human-services grants (FY17–25, $301k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 77% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%MINNESOTA ORG ON FETAL ALCHOHOL SYNDROME: $34k → 14%ASYLUM SEEKER ADVOCACY PROJECT (ASAP): $25k → 17%RESOURCES INPIRING SUCCESS AND EMPOWERING: $20k → 11%WOMEN AND CHILDREN'S HORIZONS: $25k → 10%Asian Services in Action: $30k → 13%ADVOCATING OPPORTUNITY: $20k → 18%COMMUNITY ACTIVISM LAW ALLIANCE: $25k → 14%SPECIAL CHILDREN CENTER: $6k → 11%NATIONAL CENTER FOR VICTIMS OF CRIME INC: $21k → 7%HOME IS HERE NOLA: $25k → 23%MOBILE PATHWAYS: $25k → 10%ASYLUM SEEKER ADVOCACY PROJECT: $25k → 17%START SMALL THINK BIG INC: $21k → 17%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
VT
WA
MN
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
NV
SD
IA
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CA
UT
CO
NE
KY
VA
MD
AZ
NM
KS
TN
NC
SC
DC
OK
LA
MS
AL
GA
TX
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.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

97%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$64M · 14 repeat orgs$2.0M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +31% since the first grant, against +25% for those funded once.

14 repeat relationships: 7 still active in FY2025, 7 since wound down; 20 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

14
63

Total granted

$64M
$1.4M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+31%
+25%

Still filing today

64%
89%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 93% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $621k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
Crime & LegalHuman ServicesEducationCivil RightsArts & CultureAnimalsOther
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

  • AB
    American Bar Association Fund for Justice and Education
    9× · 2017–2025 · $32M · revenue +38%
  • AB
    AMERICAN BAR FOUNDATION
    9× · 2017–2025 · $32M · revenue +10% · 44% of their budget
  • THE MOUNT VERNON LADIES' ASSOCIATION OF THE UNION
    5× · 2017–2025 · $165k · revenue +89%

Funded once

  • FF
    FOUNDATION FOR BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARYgraduated
    one grant, 2019 · $50k · revenue +123%
  • NK
    Northern Kentucky Legal Aid Societygraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $50k · revenue +71%
  • LS
    LONE STAR LEGAL AIDgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $50k · revenue +57%
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
Legal Aid Justice Center

The legal aid justice center partners with communities and clients to achieve justice by dismantling systems that create and perpetuate poverty.

Crime & Legal
2
Association of Legal Administrators

Ala is the catalyst for growth by providing: diverse educational experiences, engaged peer communities, strategic solutions, dynamic resources, and trusted networks.

—
3
Volunteer Lawyers Project of the Boston Bar Association Inc

The mission of the volunteer lawyers project of the boston bar association is to increase access to justice by delivering high quality pro bono civil legal services to eligible clients in the greater boston area.

Crime & Legal
4
Legal Aid of East Tennessee

Legal aid of east tennessee provides legal representation, legal education, and other civil legal services for the low-income population in our community through advocacy of all types.

—
5
Afl-Cio Union Lawyers Alliance

Afl-cio union lawyers alliance was established to better the conditions of working men and women and their families by enhancing the quality of legal representation that is available to the afl-cio and the national and international unions…

—
6
The Public Interest Law Center

The Public Interest Law Center uses high-impact legal strategies to advance the civil, social, and economic rights of communities in the Philadelphia region facing discrimination, inequality, and poverty. We use litigation, community…

Crime & Legal
7
Volunteer Legal Advocates

To advocate for domestic violence victims, at-risk children, and other vulnerable individuals by providing over $22.8m in pro bono legal services, social service referrals, and on-going support; to train and support a strong network of…

Housing & Shelter
8
District of Columbia Access to Justice

Work with DC courts, private bar & legal services providers to increase legal representations for low & moderate income DC residents, enhance efficiency of legal services, and reduce barriers to the judicial system.

Crime & Legal
9
American Law Institute

The institute's mission, as set out in its certificate of incorporation, is to promote the clarification and simplification of the law and its better adaptation to social needs, to secure the better administration of justice, and to…

Crime & Legal
10
Legal Aid Chicago

At legal aid chicago, we work together to provide high quality civil legal aid to people living in poverty and other vulnerable groups.through advocacy, education, collaboration, and litigation we empower individuals, protect fundamental…

Crime & Legal
11
Council for Court Excellence

Council for court excellence's (cce's) mission is to bring people together to conduct research, educate, and advocate to make d.c.'s unique legal systems more just, equitable, and accountable to the community.

—
12
Legal Aid of Northwest Texas

Ensure equal access to justice and improve the lives of low-income communities by providing high-quality legal representation, strategic litigation, valuable legal advice, and meaningful collaborations, outreach, and community education.

Crime & Legal
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Arizona Foundation for Legal Services & Education; the most unlike its peers is Integrative Communities Inc Dba the Social Impact Center. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

88 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

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 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 88 of the 101 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.

2
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
23
Early backer (in before they grew)
88/88
Grantees still filing
57/88
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

American Bar Association Fund for Justice and Education: $31,848,296 · Crime & LegalAmerican Bar Association Fund for Justice and EducationAMERICAN BAR FOUNDATION: $31,622,062 · Crime & LegalAMERICAN BAR FOUNDATION+29 more: $752,878 · Crime & LegalCYSTIC FIBROSIS FOUNDATION - MD CHAPTER: $90,000 · OtherTHE NATIONAL JUDICIAL COLLEGE: $70,000 · OtherALASKA STATE ASSOCIATION FOR GUARDIANSHIP & ADVOCACY: $70,000 · OtherCHABAD LUBAVITCH OF THE LEHIGH VALLEY INC: $64,000 · OtherFIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND: $155,407 · Other+34 more: $630,383 · OtherJEWISH FEDERATION OF THE LEHIGH VALLEY: $322,609 · PhilanthropyJEWISH FEDERATION OF GREATER PITTSBURGH: $84,451 · Philanthropy+1 more: $5,577 · PhilanthropyASYLUM SEEKER ADVOCACY PROJECT INC: $50,000 · Human ServicesPROOF ALLIANCE: $34,450 · Human ServicesASIAN SERVICES IN ACTION INC: $30,000 · Human ServicesWOMEN AND CHILDREN'S HORIZONS INC: $25,000 · Human ServicesPATHWAYS INC: $25,000 · Human ServicesHOME IS HERE NOLA: $25,000 · Human ServicesBEYOND LEGAL AID: $25,000 · Human ServicesNATIONAL CENTER FOR VICTIMS OF CRIME INC: $20,500 · Human ServicesSTART SMALL THINK BIG INC: $20,500 · Human ServicesAO ADVOCATING OPPORTUNITY INC: $20,000 · Human ServicesRESOURCES INSPIRING SUCCESS AND EMPOWERING: $20,000 · Human Services+1 more: $5,600 · Human ServicesFOUNDATION FOR BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY: $50,000 · EducationDUQUESNE UNIVERSITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT: $25,000 · EducationTHE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO: $25,000 · EducationCODE THE DREAM INC: $25,000 · EducationGEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY RESEARCH FOUNDATION INC: $24,000 · EducationMONTCLAIR STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $21,601 · EducationINDIAN CREEK SCHOOL INC: $20,000 · EducationPACE UNIVERSITY: $20,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF NEVADA LAS VEGAS FOUNDATION: $19,500 · EducationMITCHELL HAMLINE SCHOOL OF LAW: $14,203 · EducationTHOMAS MORE UNIVERSITY INC: $10,419 · Education+1 more: $6,607 · EducationGovernment Accountability Project: $231,830 · Public BenefitTHE MOUNT VERNON LADIES' ASSOCIATION OF THE UNION: $165,000 · Arts & CultureTULSA BALLET THEATRE INC: $33,964 · Arts & CultureAMERICAN INNS OF COURT FOUNDATION: $10,000 · Arts & Culture
Crime & Legal$64,223,236Other$1,079,790Philanthropy$412,637Human Services$301,050Education$261,330Public Benefit$231,830Arts & Culture$208,964

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 budgetAmerican Bar Association Fund for Justice and Education: $31,848,296 over 9y, 5.1% of budgetAMERICAN BAR FOUNDATION: $31,622,062 over 9y, 44% of budgetJEWISH FEDERATION OF THE LEHIGH VALLEY: $322,609 over 1y, 5.5% of budgetTHE MOUNT VERNON LADIES' ASSOCIATION OF THE UNION: $165,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetFIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND: $155,407 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetJEWISH FEDERATION OF GREATER PITTSBURGH: $84,451 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE NATIONAL JUDICIAL COLLEGE: $70,000 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetALASKA STATE ASSOCIATION FOR GUARDIANSHIP & ADVOCACY: $70,000 over 2y, 76% of budgetFOUNDATION FOR BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY: $50,000 over 1y, 15% of budgetNorthern Kentucky Legal Aid Society: $50,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetASYLUM SEEKER ADVOCACY PROJECT INC: $50,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetLONE STAR LEGAL AID: $49,612 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetLEGAL AID OF NEBRASKA: $40,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetILLINOIS LEGAL AID ONLINE: $40,000 over 2y, 1.5% of budgetLEGAL SERVICES OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS INC: $39,712 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetTULSA BALLET THEATRE INC: $33,964 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetINNOCENCE PROJECT NEW ORLEANS: $31,713 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetASIAN SERVICES IN ACTION INC: $30,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetLONE STAR JUSTICE ALLIANCE: $25,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetIntegrative Communities Inc DBA The Social Impact Center: $25,000 over 1y, 4.7% of budgetPARTNERS FOR JUSTICE INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetWOMEN AND CHILDREN'S HORIZONS INC: $25,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetPROTECT OUR DEFENDERS FOUNDATION % RUSSELL H MILLER: $25,000 over 1y, 6.2% of budgetDUQUESNE UNIVERSITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMARA LEGAL CENTER: $25,000 over 1y, 3.4% of budgetCALIFORNIA COLLABORATIVE FOR IMMIGRANT JUSTICE: $25,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetPATHWAYS INC: $25,000 over 1y, 16% of budgetNEW FRIENDS NEW LIFE: $25,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetTHE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHOME IS HERE NOLA: $25,000 over 1y, 5.9% of budgetCONTIGO IMMIGRANT JUSTICE: $25,000 over 1y, 2.3% of budgetNational Association of Counsel for Children: $25,000 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetBEHAVIORAL IDEAS LAB INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetBEYOND LEGAL AID: $25,000 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetCODE THE DREAM INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetTENNESSEANS FOR ALTERNATIVES TO THE DEATH PENALTY: $24,250 over 1y, 8.2% of budgetMEMPHIS PUBLIC INTEREST LAW CENTER: $24,100 over 1y, 20% of budgetGEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY RESEARCH FOUNDATION INC: $24,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNEIGHBORHOOD CHRISTIAN LEGAL CLINIC INC: $23,500 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetMONTCLAIR STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $21,601 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetNATIONAL CENTER FOR VICTIMS OF CRIME INC: $20,500 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetSTART SMALL THINK BIG INC: $20,500 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetCOLORADO LEGAL SERVICES: $20,241 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetTENNESSEE ALLIANCE FOR LEGAL SERVICES: $20,000 over 1y, 2.5% of budgetIowa Legal Aid: $20,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetATLANTA LEGAL AID SOCIETY INC: $20,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetGLBTQ LEGAL ADVOCATES & DEFENDERS INC: $20,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetINDIAN CREEK SCHOOL INC: $20,000 over 2y, 0.1% 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.

Equal Justice WorksLegal Services Corpor…Tides FoundationThe Skadden FoundationNEO Philanthropy IncAustin Community Foun…Amalgamated Charitabl…American Bar Associat…Tennessee Bar Foundat…The Wilson Sonsini Go…Rockefeller Philanthr…Texas Bar Foundation
Equal Justice WorksDC32.9× affinity14 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Equal Justice Works · Legal Services Corporation · Tides Foundation · The Skadden Foundation · NEO Philanthropy Inc · Austin Community Foundation Inc · Amalgamated Charitable Foundation Inc · American Bar Association Fund for Justice and Education · Tennessee Bar Foundation · The Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Foundation · Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors Inc · Texas Bar 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 American Bar Endowment funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from American Bar Endowment. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 80%3%13%28%50%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 5%
  • National Center for Victims of Crime Inc: 10% of income from government
  • The Special Children Center: 5% of income from government
  • Glbtq Legal Advocates & Defenders Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
8get no government money at all
23report 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 101 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 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 American Bar Endowment’s 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