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Aware La at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Public charity

Aware La

To educate the public about equality issues and advocate for public policies that promote racial justice and equity in California and throughout the country.

$329k
Granted FY2024still arriving
2
Grants FY2024still arriving
1
States reached
$303k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0195% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2021 to 2024.

Civil Rights$678kPhilanthropy$134kPublic Benefit$103kCrime & Legal$38kEnvironment$17kInternational$16kOther$0
02FY2024 · 2 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 2 grants below total $318,337, the rows itemized in this filing. The $328,754 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $10,417 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 · FY2024

  • $10k–50k1 grant · $15k
  • $250k+1 grant · $303k
$303,020
Median grant
1
States reached
$225k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Center for Black Power$303,020
White People 4 Black Lives$15,317
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 (FY21–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 89% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%No on Prop 25- Committee Against Pretrial Racism: $45k → 10%La Defensa: $22k → 10%National Lawyers Guild of Los Angeles: $25k → 14%March on Maryland: $7k → 6%La Defensa: $16k → 10%Students Deserve: $23k → 14%Real Justice: $20k → 10%Students Deserve - A Project of Social and Environmental Entrepreneurs: $11k → 14%Students Deserve: $6k → 14%Center for Black Power: $303k → 14%Center for Black Power: $240k → 14%Los Angeles Community Action Network: $62k → 14%Los Angeles Community Action Network: $23k → 14%Cangress: $16k → 14%Yes on J - Re-imagine LA County: $45k → 14%Initiate Justice: $23k → 14%Initiate Justice: $9k → 14%Initiate Justice Action: $6k → 14%Living Through Giving Foundation: $50k → 14%White People 4 Black Lives: $15k → 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.
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.

68%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$631k · 4 repeat orgs$295k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +53% since the first grant, against 0% for those funded once.

4 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2024, 3 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

4
10

Total granted

$631k
$280k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+53%
0%

Still filing today

100%
60%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 95% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $15k went to new ones.

50%100%’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’21’22’23’24
Civil RightsCrime & LegalCommunity ImprovementFood & NutritionEnvironmentOther
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

  • TA
    TIDES ADVOCACY
    2× · 2021–2023 · $38k · revenue +18%
  • IJ
    INITIATE JUSTICE
    2× · 2021–2022 · $33k · revenue +59%
  • SA
    SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENTREPRENEURS (SEE) INC
    2× · 2022–2023 · $17k · revenue +53%

Funded once

  • LT
    LIVING THROUGH GIVING FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2021 · $50k · revenue -47%
  • NO
    No on Prop 25- Committee Against Pretrial Racism
    one grant, 2021 · $45k
  • RI
    Re Imagine LA A Coalition of Nonprofit Orgs and Justice Advocates
    one grant, 2021 · $45k
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
Social Justice and Solidarity Fund

The Funds mission is to provide sustained support to grassroots organizing projects and movements rooted in the multi-racial working class which rely on their members and constituency to build power in the community.

—
2
Dignity and Power Now

Dignity and Power Now (DPN) is a Los Angeles based grassroots organization that fights for the dignity and power of all incarcerated people, their families, and communities. DPNs mission is to build a Black and Brown led abolitionist…

Philanthropy
3
National Legal Advocacy Network Dba Glow

The National Legal Advocacy Network d/b/a Grassroots Law & Organizing for Workers is a legal non-profit organization dedicated to using legal strategies as a tool to build power for marginalized workers and create systemic change through…

Crime & Legal
4
California Donor Table

California Donor Table anchors a hub of donors, foundations, and community leaders. We pool together our resources to shape California into a truly democratic state that works for the people, not the powerful. Rooted in our commitment to…

Civil Rights
5
League of Women Voters of Los Angeles

The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization, encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and…

—
6
Strategic Concepts in Organizing & Policy Education

To Build grassroots power to eliminate structural barriers to social and economic opportunities in low-income and disenfranchised communities.

Human Services
7
California Black Power Network Action Fund

Promote social welfare thru political policy

Civil Rights
8
California Environmental Justice Alliance

Our mission is to fight against fossil fuel executives and industries that have turned our communities into dumping grounds for toxic waste, poisoning our air, water, lan, and bodies. We organize to oppose giant oil refineries, dirty…

Environment
9
California Center for Movement Legal Services

The California Center for Movement Legal Services (Movement Legal) provides legal services in the pursuit of improving the lives of California's traditionally underserved residents, carrying out legal work that fosters community led policy…

Crime & Legal
10
Fund for Justice

Fund for Justice is a nationally connected social impact research and advocacy organization that works to achieve fundamental, systemic reform by addressing policies and practicies that prevent individuals from reaching their full…

Crime & Legal
11
Legal Link

Legal Link removes legal barriers that prolong poverty by adding critically needed capacity to the legal ecosystem.

Crime & Legal
12
Detention Watch Network

Detention Watch Network seeks to end the cruel system of immigration detention via programs of grassroots organizing, strategic communications, and collective advocacy.

Human Services
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Cangress Dba Los Angeles Community Action Network; the most unlike its peers is National Lawyers Guild of Los Angeles. 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

13 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. 13 of the 16 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)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
12/13
Grantees still filing
7/13
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

CENTER FOR BLACK POWER: $542,872 · Civil RightsCENTER FOR BLACK POWERSHOWING UP FOR RACIAL JUSTICE EDUCATION FUND INC: $42,950 · Civil RightsSHOWING UP FOR RACIAL JUSTICE EDUCATION FUND INCNATIONAL LAWYERS GUILD OF LOS ANGELES: $25,000 · Civil Rights+1 more: $7,038 · Civil RightsNo on Prop 25- Committee Against Pretrial Racism: $45,000 · OtherNo on Prop 25- Commi…Re Imagine LA A Coalition of Nonprofit Orgs and Justice Advocates: $45,000 · OtherRe Imagine LA A Coal…TIDES ADVOCACY: $38,235 · OtherTIDES ADVOCACYIndividual grant recipient: $23,423 · OtherIndividual grant rec…Individual grant recipient: $19,950 · OtherIndividual grant rec…WHITE PEOPLE 4 BLACK LIVES: $15,317 · OtherWHITE PEOPLE 4 BLACK…NETWORK FOR GOOD: $84,272 · Public Safety & DisasterNETWORK F…LIVING THROUGH GIVING FOUNDATION: $50,000 · Food & NutritionINITIATE JUSTICE: $32,564 · Crime & LegalInitiate Justice Action: $5,657 · Crime & LegalSOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENTREPRENEURS (SEE) INC: $17,023 · EnvironmentCANGRESS DBA LOS ANGELES COMMUNITY ACTION NETWORK: $15,585 · Community Improvement
Civil Rights$617,860Other$186,925Public Safety & Disaster$84,272Food & Nutrition$50,000Crime & Legal$38,221Environment$17,023Community Improvement$15,585

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 budgetCENTER FOR BLACK POWER: $542,872 over 2y, 42% of budgetNETWORK FOR GOOD: $84,272 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetLIVING THROUGH GIVING FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetSHOWING UP FOR RACIAL JUSTICE EDUCATION FUND INC: $42,950 over 1y, 2.8% of budgetTIDES ADVOCACY: $38,235 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetINITIATE JUSTICE: $32,564 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetNATIONAL LAWYERS GUILD OF LOS ANGELES: $25,000 over 1y, 14% of budgetSOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENTREPRENEURS (SEE) INC: $17,023 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCANGRESS DBA LOS ANGELES COMMUNITY ACTION NETWORK: $15,585 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetWHITE PEOPLE 4 BLACK LIVES: $15,317 over 1y, 27% of budgetMARCH ON MARYLAND: $7,038 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetInitiate Justice Action: $5,657 over 1y, 1.2% 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.

Liberty Hill Foundati…California Community …Tides FoundationCommon Counsel Founda…Amalgamated Charitabl…Silicon Valley Commun…Morgan Stanley Global…American Online Givin…Fidelity Investments …
Liberty Hill FoundationCA15.5× affinity5 shared granteesties to 8 of 8Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Liberty Hill Foundation · California Community Foundation · Tides Foundation · Common Counsel Foundation · Amalgamated Charitable Foundation Inc · Silicon Valley Community Foundation · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund

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 Aware La funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Aware La. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%19%38%56%75%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–75%
    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 Aware La?

    Find your warmest path to Aware La 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 16 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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2025) is on record and reports $247k of grant expense, but none of it to a named recipient. On a Form 990 that can mean grants abroad, filed by region only (Schedule F), grants under $5,000, which are not itemized, or a schedule referenced as an attachment the e-file does not carry. The figures above are therefore from FY2024, the most recent year this funder named its grantees.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Aware La’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