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American Competitiveness Institute at a glance

· Private foundation

American Competitiveness Institute

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$66k
Granted FY2019
8
Grants FY2019
5
States reached
$50k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead

Read this first · the figures below need context

100% of American Competitiveness Institute’s FY2025 grant dollars went to Trustees Of The University Of Pennsylvania, not to grantees.

Its money now reaches organizations through that sponsor, which does not report who recommended each grant. FY2025 names 0 organizations directly, so a portfolio cannot be read from it. Everything below is therefore FY2019, the last year American Competitiveness Institute named its own grantees at scale: 6 organizations, $66k. It is dated, not current.

Organizations named directly on the return

2
’17
4
’18
6
’19
0
’20
1
’21
1
’22
0
’23
0
’24
0
’25

Amber years are those where most dollars went to a sponsor.

01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Education$430kHuman Services$21kHealth$6kPublic Safety & Disaster$5kScience & Tech$3kPublic Benefit$2kAnimals$2k
02FY2019 · 8 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2019

  • Under $10k6 grants · $6k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $10k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $50k
$1,000
Median grant
5
States reached
$1.2M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
WIDENER UNIVERSITY$50,000
DREXEL UNIVERSITY$10,000
AMERICA'S VETDOGS$1,000
MARINE TOYS FOR TOTS$1,000
SHRINERS HOSPITALS FOR CHILDREN$1,000
NAVAL INSTITUTE FOUNDATION$1,000
PAWS FOR PURPLE HEARTS$1,000
Individual grant recipient$800
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 16%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 97% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%PHEASANTS FOREVER: $2k → 14%LOWER GYNEDD TOWNSHIP: $5k → 7%MASONIC CHARITIES OF THE GRAND LODGE OF PENNSYLVANIA: $20k → 9%WIDENER UNIVERSITY: $50k → 10%NDIA-DVC: $800 → 22%AMERICA'S VETDOGS: $1k → 7%MARINE TOYS FOR TOTS: $1k → 12%VFW: $100 → 15%PAWS FOR PURPLE HEARTS: $1k → 11%NAVAL INSTITUTE FOUNDATION: $1k → 6%STEVENSON UNIV: $30k → 11%CAAA: $5k → 7%WIDENER UNIVERSITY: $50k → 10%NDIA-DVC: $700 → 22%MONTGOMERY COUNTY SPCA: $200 → 7%WIDENER UNIVERSITY: $25k → 10%NDIA-DVC: $700 → 22%WIDENER UNIVERSITY: $20k → 10%SHRINERS HOSPITALS FOR CHILDREN: $1k → 22%WIDENER UNIVERSITY: $5k → 10%UNNIVERSITY OF PENN: $100k → 22%UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: $55k → 22%UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: $50k → 22%UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: $44k → 22%UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: $10k → 22%THE CHOP FOUNDATION: $100 → 22%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

MN
NY
IA
PA
MO
VA
MD
KS
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.

53%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$187k · 3 repeat orgs$167k to everyone else

3 repeat relationships: 3 still active in FY2019, 0 since wound down; 8 grantees were first funded in FY2019 (too recent to call). Read against FY2019, the last year this funder named its own grantees directly; its giving has since run through a sponsor, which reports no donor behind each grant.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

3
7

Total granted

$187k
$41k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+34%
+64%

Still filing today

67%
43%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2022, 50% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $20k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22
EducationPublic BenefitAnimalsHuman ServicesHealthOther
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

  • WU
    WIDENER UNIVERSITY
    5× · 2017–2022 · $150k · revenue +34%
  • DU
    DREXEL UNIVERSITY
    2× · 2018–2019 · $35k · revenue +7%
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    3× · 2017–2019 · $2k

Funded once

  • SU
    STEVENSON UNIVERSITY
    one grant, 2018 · $30k · revenue +23%
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2018 · $5k
  • C
    CAAA
    one grant, 2018 · $5k
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
Western New England University

Western new england university, a comprehensive private institution with a tradition of excellence in teaching and scholarship and a commitment to service, awards undergraduate, master's, and doctoral degrees in various departments from…

Education
2
Washington University

The washington university is a co-educational, nondenominational university with a long and distinguished history of teaching, research and (cont'd on schedule o)

Education
3
University of Southern California

The central mission of the university of southern california is the development of human beings and society as a whole through the cultivation and enrichment of the human mind and spirit. the principal means by which our mission is…

Education
4
Seton Hill University

Comprehensive institution of higher learning providing undergraduate and graduate student education.

Education
5
New York University

Nyu is a private university with approximately 60,000 matriculating students in 20 schools and institutes. nyu's primary missions are education, research and scholarship, and patient care.

Education
6
Southern California University of Health Sciences

The mission of southern california university of health sciences (scu) is to educate students as competent, caring and successful practitioners of integrative healthcare. the university is committed to providing excellence in academics,…

Education
7
University of Minnesota Physicians

University of minnesota physicians serves as the integrated group practice for the university of minnesota medical school full-time faculty to provide the highest quality healthcare to patients and their families.university of minnesota…

Health
8
Monmouth University Inc

See schedule omonmouth university is a comprehensive institution of higher education committed to excellence and integrity in teaching, scholarship and service. through its offerings in liberal arts, sciences, and professional programs,…

Education
9
The Graduate School of the Stowers Institute for Medical Research

The graduate school of the stowers institute for medical research ("gssimr") exempt purpose is to provide graduate education that will prepare scholars for scientific research in the biological sciences.

Education
10
Salus University

The mission of salus university is to advance integrated health care through innovative education, research and clinical services.

—
11
Fairleigh Dickinson University

Fairleigh dickinson university is a center of academic excellence dedicated to the preparation of world citizens through global education. the university strives to provide students with the multi-disciplinary, intercultural, and ethical…

Education
12
Bentley University

Organization's mission bentley university believes good business can impact more than the bottom line - it can change the world. bentley is a community of future business leaders who will deliver value in the marketplace and lasting…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Widener University; the most unlike its peers is Paws for Purple Hearts. 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

10 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. 10 of the 19 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.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
1
Early backer (in before they grew)
10/10
Grantees still filing
10/10
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

TRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: $159,020 · EducationTRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIAWIDENER UNIVERSITY: $150,000 · EducationWIDENER UNIVERSITYDREXEL UNIVERSITY: $35,000 · EducationDREXEL UNIVERSITYSTEVENSON UNIVERSITY: $30,000 · EducationSTEVENSON UNIVERSITYIndividual grant recipient: $100,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientMASONIC CHARITIES OF THE GRAND LODGE OF PENNSYLVANIA: $20,000 · OtherMASONIC CHARITIES OF THE GRAND…Individual grant recipient: $5,000 · OtherCAAA: $5,000 · Other+6 more: $5,900 · OtherPAWS FOR PURPLE HEARTS: $1,000 · Public BenefitAMERICA'S VETDOGS THE VETERANS K-9 CORPS INC: $1,000 · Public BenefitSHRINERS HOSPITALS FOR CHILDREN: $1,000 · HealthMontgomery County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals: $200 · AnimalsWOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT INC: $100 · Human Services
Education$374,020Other$135,900Public Benefit$2,000Health$1,000Animals$200Human Services$100

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

25%50%75%100%$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetTRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: $159,020 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetWIDENER UNIVERSITY: $150,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetDREXEL UNIVERSITY: $35,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSTEVENSON UNIVERSITY: $30,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPAWS FOR PURPLE HEARTS: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE NAVAL INSTITUTE FOUNDATION INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICA'S VETDOGS THE VETERANS K-9 CORPS INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSHRINERS HOSPITALS FOR CHILDREN: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMontgomery County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals: $200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT INC: $100 over 1y, 0.0% 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.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization American Competitiveness Institute funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from American Competitiveness Institute. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%4%8%11%15%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • Stevenson University: 6% of income from government
  • Wounded Warrior Project Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Shriners Hospitals for Children: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
1report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–15%
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.
05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to American Competitiveness Institute?

Find your warmest path to American Competitiveness Institute through trustees and officers whose names appear on both boards. Search for your organization and Plinth traces the shortest route it can evidence.

Each link is a name appearing on two organizations’ public IRS 990 filings, matched on that name and, where the filings support it, on location. A same-state match has geographic support, which is a second matching feature rather than confirmation that the two are one person; a cross-state one is the likeliest to be two people who share a name. Every hop shows its tier, low-confidence and distant paths are held back rather than guessed, and it is worth confirming the person before you use the introduction.

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 19 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 2019, released 2019. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on American Competitiveness Institute’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