Skip to content
Atlas Economic Research Foundation at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

Atlas Economic Research Foundation

Atlas Network increases global prosperity by strengthening a network of independent partner organizations that promote individual freedom and are committed to identifying and removing barriers to human flourishing.

$16M
Granted FY2025still arriving
40
Grants FY2025still arriving
24
States reached
$409k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
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 2025.

Education$3.1MSocial Science$2.6MPublic Benefit$2.4MInternational$700kCivil Rights$596kCommunity Improvement$574kEnvironment$526kCrime & Legal$419kOther$0
02FY2025 · 40 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 40 grants below total $2,012,833, the rows itemized in this filing. The $15,774,921 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $13,762,088 is giving the schedule does not break out (grants under the $5,000 itemization floor, grants to individuals, grants on other schedules). Every figure below describes the itemized rows only.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k1 grant · $9k
  • $10k–50k25 grants · $649k
  • $50k–250k13 grants · $946k
  • $250k+1 grant · $409k
$32,000
Median grant
24
States reached
$19M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Archbridge Institute$409,000
Students for Liberty$127,218
Pacific Legal Foundation$100,000
American Conservation Coalition Campus$100,000
Libertas Institute$100,000
Beacon Center of Tennessee$78,315
Sutherland Institute$70,000
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii$70,000
Institute for the Study of Modern Authoritarianism (ISMA)$50,000
C3 Solutions$50,000
Acton Institute$50,000
Cardinal Institute for West Virginia$50,000
Human Rights Foundation$50,000
End It For Good$50,000
Mackinac Center for Public Policy$45,000
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 (FY21–21, $10k) land where the poverty rate runs at 17%, 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.

area typical 10%Let Grow Inc: $10k → 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

VT
WA
ID
MT
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
NV
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CT
CA
UT
CO
NE
KY
WV
VA
MD
AZ
AR
TN
NC
SC
DC
HI
OK
LA
MS
AL
GA
TX

Grants abroad, by region: $13M on the FY2025 return

Schedule F, as filed: 8 regions. The IRS asks for region and purpose, not the recipient, so no country or grantee can be named here.

Central America and the Caribbean$5.3M · 42% · 3 grants

Stated purpose: Economic Education

Europe (including Iceland and Greenland)$1.9M · 15% · 35 grants

Stated purpose: Economic Education

South America$1.3M · 10% · 37 grants

Stated purpose: Economic Education

Sub-Saharan Africa$1.2M · 10% · 35 grants

Stated purpose: Economic Education

Middle East and North Africa$873k · 7% · 7 grants

Stated purpose: Economic Education

Russia and Neighboring States$853k · 7% · 11 grants

Stated purpose: Economic Education

South Asia$738k · 6% · 16 grants

Stated purpose: Economic Education

East Asia and the Pacific$424k · 3% · 14 grants

Stated purpose: Economic Education

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. Grants abroad on Schedule F are filed by region, purpose and amount with no recipient name, so they are shown by region and cannot be placed on the country map or matched to a grantee.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

75%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$8.9M · 54 repeat orgs$2.9M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +64% since the first grant, against +42% for those funded once.

54 repeat relationships: 30 still active in FY2025, 24 since wound down; 10 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

54
51

Total granted

$8.9M
$2.6M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+64%
+42%

Still filing today

94%
78%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 85% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $305k 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
EducationPublic BenefitSocial ScienceCivil RightsInternationalCommunity ImprovementOther
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

  • AI
    ARCHBRIDGE INSTITUTE
    5× · 2017–2025 · $588k · revenue ×19
  • BC
    BEACON CENTER OF TENNESSEE
    8× · 2017–2025 · $537k · revenue +152%
  • PL
    Pacific Legal Foundation
    6× · 2020–2025 · $389k · revenue +91%

Funded once

  • CC
    CONSUMER CHOICE EDUCATION
    one grant, 2022 · $805k · revenue -98% · 54% of their budget
  • UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH
    one grant, 2022 · $405k · revenue +11%
  • RI
    REFORM INTERNATIONAL INC
    one grant, 2017 · $295k · 100% of their budget
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 Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research

The american enterprise institute is a community of scholars and supporters committed to expanding liberty, increasing individual opportunity, and strengthening free enterprise. aei pursues these ideals through independent thinking and the…

Social Science
2
Frontiers of Freedom Institute

To educate the public on constitutional issues and public policy matters. We are dedicated to the principles of individual liberty, peace through strength, limited government, free enterprise, and the values embodied in the Declaration of…

Public Benefit
3
Open Markets Institute

The open markets institute works to help people relearn how to use competition policy to build stronger democracies, more just and equitable societies, more innovative and sustainable economies, and a more secure and peaceful world.

Education
4
Peter G Peterson Institute for International Economics

The peterson institute for international economics (piie) is an independent nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization dedicated to strengthening prosperity and human welfare in the global economy through expert analysis and practical…

Social Science
5
Technology Policy Institute
International
6
Manhattan Institute for Policy Research Inc

The manhattan institute is a community of scholars, journalists, activists, and civic leaders dedicated to advancing opportunity, individual liberty, and the rule of law in america and its great cities.

Public Benefit
7
The Libertarian Institute

Disseminate information and education about pertinent economic, social and governmental topics, via print, web and other media to educate the public about the principles of LIbertarianism.

Education
8
The Berkeley Policy Institute Inc
Social Science
9
Foreign Policy Research Institute

The foreign policy research institute (frpi) is dedicated to producing the highest quality scholarship and nonpartisan policy analysis focused on crucial foreign policy and national security challenges facing the united states. we educate…

International
10
Competition & Innovation Institute
Public Benefit
11
Independence Institute

The mission of independence institute is to empower individuals and to educate citizens,legislators and opinion makers about public policies that enhance personal and economic freedom.

Public Benefit
12
The Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research Inc

To promote the ideals of free market economics, individual liberty, and limited government through the conduct of public opinion research.

Social Science
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Texas Public Policy Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Grace Richardson Fund. 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

106 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. 106 of the 116 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.

7
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
39
Early backer (in before they grew)
100/106
Grantees still filing
76/106
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

CONSUMER CHOICE EDUCATION: $804,812 · EducationCONSUMER CHOICE EDUCATIONARCHBRIDGE INSTITUTE: $588,125 · EducationARCHBRIDGE INSTITUTEUNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH: $405,465 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGHGeorgia Center for Opportunity Inc: $380,251 · EducationGeorgia Center for Opportuni…STUDENTS FOR LIBERTY INC: $367,922 · EducationSTUDENTS FOR LIBERTY INCSutherland Institute: $115,000 · Education+14 more: $354,500 · Education+14 moreBEACON CENTER OF TENNESSEE: $537,441 · Public BenefitBEACON CENTER OF TENNESS…Libertas Network: $337,814 · Public BenefitLibertas NetworkTHE COMMONWEALTH FOUNDATION FOR PUBLIC POLICY ALTERNATIVES: $313,335 · Public BenefitTHE COMMONWEALTH FOUNDAT…PROPERTY AND ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH CENTER: $287,950 · Public BenefitPROPERTY AND ENVIRONMENT…PELICAN INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY: $238,323 · Public BenefitPELICAN INSTITUTE FOR PU…BADGER INSTITUTE INC: $130,521 · Public BenefitGRASSROOT INSTITUTE OF HAWAII INC: $130,000 · Public BenefitBARRY GOLDWATER INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY RESEARCH: $120,500 · Public BenefitILLINOIS POLICY INSTITUTE: $96,983 · Public BenefitTEXAS PUBLIC POLICY FOUNDATION: $95,500 · Public BenefitFRONTIER INSTITUTE INC: $86,488 · Public BenefitTAX FOUNDATION: $85,000 · Public Benefit+3 more: $72,500 · Public BenefitTaliesin Nexus: $684,997 · OtherTaliesin NexusREFORM INTERNATIONAL INC: $295,250 · OtherREFORM INTERNATIONAL INCTHE JOHN LOCKE FOUNDATION INC: $182,200 · OtherThe Buckeye Institute: $171,369 · OtherFreedom Lights Our World: $135,000 · OtherYoung Voices: $133,893 · OtherPacific Legal Foundation: $389,185 · OtherPacific Legal FoundationBETTER CITIES PROJECT: $212,485 · OtherBETTER CITIES PROJECTFRIENDS OF UFM INC: $180,000 · OtherLADIES OF LIBERTY ALLIANCE: $138,730 · OtherAMERICAN CONSERVATION COALITION ACTION INC: $175,000 · OtherEND IT FOR GOOD INC: $130,000 · Other+36 more: $1,013,795 · Other+36 moreCardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy Inc: $354,784 · Social ScienceCardinal …The Becket Fund: $140,000 · Social ScienceThe Becke…Foundation for Economic Education Inc: $135,200 · Social ScienceFoundatio…PLATTE INSTITUTE FOR ECONOMIC RESEARCH INC: $128,068 · Social SciencePLATTE IN…Mercatus Center Inc: $86,867 · Social ScienceMercatus …AMERICAN INSTITUTE FOR ECONOMIC RESEARCH: $54,133 · Social ScienceTHE INSTITUTE FOR NEW ECONOMIC THINKING INC: $35,000 · Social Science+5 more: $85,000 · Social Science+5 moreHUMAN RIGHTS FOUNDATION INC: $185,225 · Civil RightsHardwired Incorporated: $100,000 · Civil RightsFOUNDATION FOR INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS AND EXPRESSION INC: $80,000 · Civil RightsFREE THE PEOPLE FIGHT THE POWER FOUND DBA FREE THE PEOPLE FOUNDATION: $65,050 · Civil RightsActon Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty: $50,000 · Civil RightsThe Future of Free Speech: $45,000 · Civil RightsWORLD LIBERTY CONGRESS INC: $25,000 · Civil RightsNEW ENGLAND LEGAL FOUNDATION: $25,000 · Civil Rights+1 more: $10,000 · Civil RightsIdeas Beyond Borders Inc: $236,510 · InternationalCENTER FOR ECONOMIC AND POLICY RESEARCH: $55,000 · InternationalINTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY: $44,225 · InternationalTHE CEDICE FOUNDATION: $36,937 · InternationalCENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: $32,000 · InternationalCERTELL INC: $25,000 · InternationalMACKINAC CENTER CHARITABLE FOUNDATION: $187,000 · Community ImprovementFundacion Luis G Fortuno Inc: $160,775 · Community ImprovementCenter for Innovative Governance Research: $37,500 · Community ImprovementCENTER FOR ECONOMIC ACCOUNTABILITY: $20,000 · Community Improvement+2 more: $17,944 · Community Improvement
Education$3,016,075Public Benefit$2,532,355Other$3,841,904Social Science$1,019,052Civil Rights$585,275International$429,672Community Improvement$423,219

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 budgetCONSUMER CHOICE EDUCATION: $804,812 over 1y, 54% of budgetTaliesin Nexus: $684,997 over 6y, 20% of budgetARCHBRIDGE INSTITUTE: $588,125 over 5y, 11% of budgetBEACON CENTER OF TENNESSEE: $537,441 over 8y, 6.7% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH: $405,465 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPacific Legal Foundation: $389,185 over 6y, 0.4% of budgetGeorgia Center for Opportunity Inc: $380,251 over 7y, 5.6% of budgetSTUDENTS FOR LIBERTY INC: $367,922 over 5y, 2.2% of budgetCardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy Inc: $354,784 over 7y, 14% of budgetLibertas Network: $337,814 over 7y, 0.4% of budgetTHE COMMONWEALTH FOUNDATION FOR PUBLIC POLICY ALTERNATIVES: $313,335 over 6y, 1.7% of budgetREFORM INTERNATIONAL INC: $295,250 over 1y, 100% of budgetPROPERTY AND ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH CENTER: $287,950 over 6y, 3.0% of budgetPELICAN INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY: $238,323 over 5y, 5.3% of budgetIdeas Beyond Borders Inc: $236,510 over 6y, 5.3% of budgetBETTER CITIES PROJECT: $212,485 over 3y, 70% of budgetHUMAN RIGHTS FOUNDATION INC: $185,225 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetTHE JOHN LOCKE FOUNDATION INC: $182,200 over 5y, 3.1% of budgetFRIENDS OF UFM INC: $180,000 over 3y, 12% of budgetAMERICAN CONSERVATION COALITION ACTION INC: $175,000 over 2y, 6.1% of budgetThe Buckeye Institute: $171,369 over 6y, 1.4% of budgetFundacion Luis G Fortuno Inc: $160,775 over 6y, 4.4% of budgetThe Becket Fund: $140,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetLADIES OF LIBERTY ALLIANCE: $138,730 over 4y, 16% of budgetFoundation for Economic Education Inc: $135,200 over 5y, 0.6% of budgetYoung Voices: $133,893 over 5y, 4.7% of budgetBADGER INSTITUTE INC: $130,521 over 5y, 3.6% of budgetGRASSROOT INSTITUTE OF HAWAII INC: $130,000 over 2y, 3.4% of budgetEND IT FOR GOOD INC: $130,000 over 3y, 9.0% of budgetPLATTE INSTITUTE FOR ECONOMIC RESEARCH INC: $128,068 over 5y, 3.4% of budgetBARRY GOLDWATER INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY RESEARCH: $120,500 over 4y, 0.6% of budgetSutherland Institute: $115,000 over 3y, 1.9% of budgetECONOMIC FUNDAMENTALS INITIATIVE INC: $108,175 over 4y, 3.4% of budgetHardwired Incorporated: $100,000 over 3y, 3.1% of budgetILLINOIS POLICY INSTITUTE: $96,983 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetTEXAS PUBLIC POLICY FOUNDATION: $95,500 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetMercatus Center Inc: $86,867 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetFRONTIER INSTITUTE INC: $86,488 over 3y, 19% of budgetTAX FOUNDATION: $85,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetThe Conservative Coalition for Climate Solutions: $80,000 over 2y, 1.7% of budgetFOUNDATION FOR INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS AND EXPRESSION INC: $80,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetPIONEER INSTITUTE INC: $75,500 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetFREE THE PEOPLE FIGHT THE POWER FOUND DBA FREE THE PEOPLE FOUNDATION: $65,050 over 4y, 2.2% of budgetAMERICAN CONSERVATION COALITION INC: $55,453 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetCENTER FOR ECONOMIC AND POLICY RESEARCH: $55,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetTHE REASON FOUNDATION: $55,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetE FOUNDATION FOR OKLAHOMA INC: $55,000 over 1y, 5.3% of budgetAMERICAN INSTITUTE FOR ECONOMIC RESEARCH: $54,133 over 1y, 2.4% 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.

Donors Trust IncThe Lynde and Harry B…State Policy NetworkAdolph Coors Foundati…Charles Koch Foundati…Charles Koch InstituteThe Roe FoundationThe Seminar Network I…Bradley Impact Fund I…Beth and Ravenel Curr…John William Pope Fou…Sarah Scaife Foundati…
Donors Trust IncVA101.4× affinity55 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Donors Trust Inc · The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation Inc · State Policy Network · Adolph Coors Foundation · Charles Koch Foundation · Charles Koch Institute · The Roe Foundation · The Seminar Network Inc · Bradley Impact Fund Inc · Beth and Ravenel Curry Foundation · John William Pope Foundation · Sarah Scaife Foundation Incorporated

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 Atlas Economic Research Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Atlas Economic Research Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 50%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%5%10%15%20%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
5get no government money at all
3report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–20%
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 116 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 Atlas Economic Research’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