Skip to content
Arnold & Porter Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Arnold & Porter Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$1.1M
Granted FY2024still arriving
25
Grants FY2024still arriving
9
States reached
$236k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0196% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Crime & Legal$2.7MEducation$1.4MCivil Rights$490kPublic Benefit$345kYouth Development$300kHealth$30kRecreation & Sports$20kHuman Services$17kOther$0
02FY2024 · 25 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $10k–50k17 grants · $357k
  • $50k–250k8 grants · $758k
$25,057
Median grant
9
States reached
$4.5M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
LEGAL AID SOCIETY (NY)$235,500
EQUAL JUSTICE WORKS$142,500
NATIONAL BAR ASSOCIATION$100,000
DELAWARE COMMUNITY LEGAL AID SOCIETY INC$71,823
FORWARD JUSTICE$55,200
DC BAR PRO BONO CENTER$52,250
CAMPAIGN LEGAL CENTER - DISTRICT MAPS IN WISCONSIN$51,000
FAIR ELECTION CENTER$50,000
BRONX DEFENDERS$42,312
Individual grant recipient$39,082
NEW YORK LEGAL ASSISTANCE GROUP$32,858
ACLU FOUNDATION OF GEORGIA$30,000
ADVOCATES FOR CHILDREN OF NEW YORK$25,057
THE JOHN PAUL STEVENS FOUNDATION$25,000
LAWYERS COMMITTEE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS UNDER LAW$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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 96% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%DELAWARE ACLU: $39k → 10%THE JOHN PAUL STEVENS FOUNDATION: $25k → 10%LEGAL AID SOCIETY (NY): $236k → 17%BRONX DEFENDERS: $42k → 28%LATINO JUSTICE: $25k → 13%FORWARD JUSTICE: $220k → 11%TAHIRIH JUSTICE CENTER: $50k → 6%DELAWARE COMMUNITY LEGAL AID SOCIETY INC: $72k → 8%A BETTER CHANCE: $100k → 17%A BETTER CHANCE: $100k → 17%A BETTER CHANCE: $100k → 17%ADVOCATES FOR CHILDREN OF NEW YORK: $50k → 17%LEGAL AID SOCIETY: $186k → 14%ADVOCATES FOR CHILDREN OF NEW YORK: $25k → 17%ADVANCEMENT PROJECT: $144k → 14%CITY BAR FUND: $42k → 17%THE CAMPAIGN LEGAL CENTER: $125k → 14%CITY BAR FUND: $38k → 17%ADVANCEMENT PROJECT EDUCATION FUND: $100k → 14%CITY BAR FUND: $38k → 17%ADVANCEMENT PROJECT: $100k → 14%CITY BAR FUND: $38k → 17%CAMPAIGN LEGAL CENTER - DISTRICT MAPS IN WISCONSIN: $51k → 14%DEMOS: $125k → 17%ACLU DEVELOPMENT: $75k → 17%NATIONAL BAR INSTITUTE: $100k → 14%DEMOS: $45k → 17%NEW YORK LEGAL ASSISTANCE GROUP: $33k → 17%NATIONAL BAR INSTITUTE: $100k → 14%NATIONAL BAR ASSOCIATION: $100k → 14%WASHINGTON LEGAL CLINIC FOR THE HOMELESS: $30k → 14%DC BAR PRO BONO CENTER: $57k → 14%DC BAR PRO BONO CENTER: $57k → 14%DC BAR PRO BONO CENTER: $56k → 14%DC BAR PRO BONO CENTER: $52k → 14%DC BAR PRO BONO CENTER: $52k → 14%EQUAL JUSTICE WORKS: $143k → 14%EQUAL JUSTICE WORKS: $137k → 14%EQUAL JUSTICE WORKS: $128k → 14%EQUAL JUSTICE WORKS: $122k → 14%EQUAL JUSTICE WORKS: $122k → 14%FAIR ELECTION CENTER: $50k → 14%LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION: $50k → 14%EQUAL JUSTICE WORKS: $122k → 14%LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION: $50k → 14%EQUAL JUSTICE WORKS: $118k → 14%LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION: $50k → 14%EQUAL JUSTICE WORKS: $113k → 14%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

IL
MI
NY
MA
PA
CT
CA
CO
MO
VA
MD
DE
NC
DC
GA
FL
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.

61%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$3.4M · 21 repeat orgs$2.2M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +40% since the first grant, against +11% for those funded once.

21 repeat relationships: 10 still active in FY2024, 11 since wound down; 15 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

21
27

Total granted

$3.4M
$1.5M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+40%
+11%

Still filing today

67%
41%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 34% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $735k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
EducationCrime & LegalCivil RightsRecreation & SportsInternationalArts & CultureOther
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

  • EJ
    EQUAL JUSTICE WORKS
    8× · 2017–2024 · $1.0M · revenue +33%
  • FJ
    FORWARD JUSTICE
    2× · 2020–2024 · $275k · revenue +68%
  • DB
    DC BAR PRO BONO CENTER
    5× · 2020–2024 · $275k · revenue +31%

Funded once

  • UO
    UNIVERSITY OF DENVER STRUM COLLEGE OF LAW
    one grant, 2018 · $687k
  • LA
    LEGAL AID SOCIETY
    one grant, 2020 · $186k
  • THE CAMPAIGN LEGAL CENTER INC
    one grant, 2023 · $125k · revenue -35%
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
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
2
National Association of College and University Attorneys

To advance the practice of higher education attorneys for the benefit of the institutions they serve.

—
3
University of New Haven

The University of New Haven is a student-centered comprehensive university with an emphasis on excellence in liberal arts and professional education. Our mission is to prepare our students to lead purposeful and fulfilling lives in a…

Education
4
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.

—
5
The George Washington University

The mission of the george washington university (gw) is to educate individuals in liberal arts, languages, sciences, learned professions, and other courses and subjects of study, and to conduct scholarly research and publish the findings…

Education
6
Thomas Jefferson School of Law

The mission of the school is to provide outstanding legal education in a collegial and supportive environment with attention to newly emerging areas of law, particularly those related to technological development, globalization and the…

Education
7
Boston Architectural College

The bac is committed to provide excellence in design education grounded in practice and accessible to diverse communities.

—
8
Furman University

The primary mission of furman as a liberal arts institution is to provide a distinctive education in fine arts, humanities, social sciences, mathematics and the sciences, as well as selected professional disciplines.

Education
9
New York Law School

The mission of new york law school is to provide its students with knowledge, skills and ethical values needed for a career in law.

Education
10
Lehigh University

The university's goal in the coming decade is to advance learning through the integration of teaching, research and service to others. the core of this goal is to prepare graduates to engage with the world and lead lives of meaning. to do…

Education
11
President and Fellows of Harvard College

Undergraduate, graduate, and professional education and research across a broad array of academic domains.

Education
12
New England Lawboston

New england law/boston dedicates itself to preparing students to be successful lawyers and leaders in the public and private sectors through integrated practical, theoretical and ethical education of the highest caliber and to contributing…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Equal Justice Works; the most unlike its peers is New York University. 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

36 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. 36 of the 64 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)
5
Early backer (in before they grew)
36/36
Grantees still filing
24/36
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

UNIVERSITY OF DENVER STRUM COLLEGE OF LAW: $687,286 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF DENVER STRUM COLLEGE OF LAWA BETTER CHANCE INC: $300,000 · OtherA BETTER CHANCE INCDC BAR PRO BONO CENTER: $274,625 · OtherDC BAR PRO BONO CENTERADVANCEMENT PROJECT: $244,000 · OtherADVANCEMENT PROJECTNATIONAL BAR INSTITUTE: $200,000 · OtherNATIONAL BAR INSTITUTELEGAL AID SOCIETY: $186,000 · OtherLEGAL AID SOCIETYCITY BAR FUND: $154,410 · Other+33 more: $974,757 · Other+33 moreEQUAL JUSTICE WORKS: $1,004,000 · Crime & LegalEQUAL JUSTICE WORKSFORWARD JUSTICE: $275,000 · Crime & LegalFORWARD JUSTICETHE LEGAL AID SOCIETY: $235,500 · Crime & LegalTHE LEGAL AID SOCIETYLEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION: $150,000 · Crime & LegalLEGAL SERVICES CORPORATIONTHE CAMPAIGN LEGAL CENTER INC: $125,000 · Crime & LegalTHE CAMPAIGN LEGAL CENTER INCAdvocates for Children of New York: $74,561 · Crime & Legal+1 more: $42,312 · Crime & LegalADVANCEMENT PROJECT EDUCATION FUND: $100,000 · Civil RightsTHE TAHIRIH JUSTICE CENTER: $83,904 · Civil RightsFair Elections Center: $50,000 · Civil RightsACLU FOUNDATION OF GEORGIA INC: $30,000 · Civil RightsTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $50,000 · EducationThe John Paul Stevens Foundation: $47,500 · EducationDC PUBLIC EDUCATION FUND: $35,000 · EducationFordham University: $20,000 · EducationNew York University: $20,000 · EducationASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN LAW SCHOOLS INC: $15,000 · EducationCornell University: $10,000 · EducationGEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: $10,000 · EducationWASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: $10,000 · EducationTHE HOWARD UNIVERSITY: $10,000 · EducationDEMOS A NETWORK FOR IDEAS AND ACTION LTD: $170,000 · Public BenefitHISPANIC NATIONAL BAR ASSOCIATION: $20,000 · Community ImprovementNorthwestern University: $20,000 · Recreation & Sports
Other$3,021,078Crime & Legal$1,906,373Civil Rights$263,904Education$227,500Public Benefit$170,000Community Improvement$20,000Recreation & Sports$20,000

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

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetEQUAL JUSTICE WORKS: $1,004,000 over 8y, 0.7% of budgetA BETTER CHANCE INC: $300,000 over 3y, 2.5% of budgetFORWARD JUSTICE: $275,000 over 2y, 4.8% of budgetDC BAR PRO BONO CENTER: $274,625 over 5y, 1.3% of budgetTHE LEGAL AID SOCIETY: $235,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetNATIONAL BAR INSTITUTE: $200,000 over 2y, 11% of budgetDEMOS A NETWORK FOR IDEAS AND ACTION LTD: $170,000 over 2y, 1.8% of budgetLEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION: $150,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE CAMPAIGN LEGAL CENTER INC: $125,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetADVANCEMENT PROJECT EDUCATION FUND: $100,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetNATIONAL BAR ASSOCIATION: $100,000 over 1y, 2.0% of budgetTHE TAHIRIH JUSTICE CENTER: $83,904 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetAdvocates for Children of New York: $74,561 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetLawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law: $70,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $50,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetFair Elections Center: $50,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetThe John Paul Stevens Foundation: $47,500 over 4y, 2.1% of budgetTHE BRONX DEFENDERS: $42,312 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetDC PUBLIC EDUCATION FUND: $35,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetNEW YORK LEGAL ASSISTANCE GROUP INC: $32,858 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE WASHINGTON LEGAL CLINIC FOR THE HOMELESS INC: $30,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetACLU FOUNDATION OF GEORGIA INC: $30,000 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetFordham University: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetNew York University: $20,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHISPANIC NATIONAL BAR ASSOCIATION: $20,000 over 1y, 4.9% of budgetNorthwestern University: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetJUSTICE IN AGING: $17,494 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN LAW SCHOOLS INC: $15,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetHUMAN RIGHTS FIRST: $15,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetHALCYON HOUSE: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCornell University: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUniversity of Michigan: $10,000 over 1y, 3.1% of budgetGEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTRUSTEES OF BOSTON UNIVERSITY: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE HOWARD UNIVERSITY: $10,000 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.

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.

Greater Washington Co…Public Welfare Founda…The Sidley Austin Fou…Tides FoundationJewish Communal FundGs Donor Advised Phil…Network for GoodNational Philanthropi…American Online Givin…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Greater Washington Community FoundationDC14.7× affinity5 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Greater Washington Community Foundation · Public Welfare Foundation Inc · The Sidley Austin Foundation · Tides Foundation · Jewish Communal Fund · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · Network for Good · National Philanthropic Trust · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile 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 Arnold & Porter Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Arnold & Porter Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%4%8%15%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 12%
  • Trustees of Boston University: 12% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
5report 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.
05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Arnold & Porter Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Arnold & Porter Foundation 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 64 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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Arnold & Porter’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