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New York · Public charity

Born This Way Foundation

BORN THIS WAY FOUNDATION empowers and inspires young people to build a kinder, braver world that supports their mental health.

$3.3M
Granted FY2024(still arriving)
25
Itemized grants FY2024
4
Organizations funded FY2023
50%
First-time grantees FY2023
Read the full brief
Itemized, FY2024
$915k
The rest is grants the schedule does not break out
Median grant, FY2024
$30,000
Largest grant, FY2024
$75,000
Organizations funded a year
2 to 22
FY2017 to FY2023
States reached, FY2024
17
Total assets, FY2024
$9.0M

How open it is to new grantees

In FY2023, 50% of the organizations Born This Way Foundation funded were first-time grantees, receiving 88% of its grant dollars.

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2023, 12% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $268k went to new ones.

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

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

’18’19’21’22’23
Human ServicesHealthYouth DevelopmentEducationCivil RightsHousing & ShelterOther
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.
The numbers by year
Fiscal yearOrganizations fundedTo those organizationsFirst-time grantees
FY2024still arriving25$915k96%
FY20234$303k50%
FY202222$1.0M100%
FY202111$114k100%
FY20192$93k0%
FY20182$175k50%
FY20172$208kn/a
99% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Health$835kYouth Development$569kHuman Services$464kCivil Rights$429kEducation$255kArts & Culture$111kHousing & Shelter$92kEmployment$50kOther$0

Where its grants go

Grant dollars by states, across the years we hold.

Which US states its grants reach

IL
MI
NY
MA
OR
NV
PA
NJ
RI
CA
CO
NE
MO
WV
VA
AZ
SC
DC
AL
GA
TX
FL

Top grantees

Largest recipients by total granted, FY2017 to FY2024, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.

Show all 61 grantees
All grantees of Born This Way Foundation by total granted
GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
Centerlink Inc$321,00027%
National Council for Behavioral Health$295,32840%
Donorschooseorg$192,91020%
Aliento Education Fund$75,00014%
Lavender Youth Recreation & Information Center Inc Lyric$65,02721%
Artist Mentorship Program$60,00019%
Halfthestory$55,00012%
Sam & Devorah Foundation For Trans Youth$53,765124%
Midwest Asian Health Association$52,52712%
Civic Suds Corporation$51,980128%
Cafe Momentum$50,00011%
Right to Be Inc$50,00011%
Camp Laurel Foundation$50,00015%
Guitars Over Guns Organization Inc$50,00011%
Connected Content Inc$50,000124%
Young Audiences Inc of Houston$50,00013%
Hopebound Mental Health$50,000112%
Our Minds Matter$50,00017%
Girls Embracing Mothers Inc$50,00015%
Adolescent Counseling Services$50,00012%
Projectq$50,00015%
Miry's List$50,0001n/a
Mighty Writers$50,00011%
Hopelab Foundation Inc$50,00010%
We Are Family$50,00017%
Breaktime United Inc$50,00011%
Bagly Inc$50,00012%
Cor Inc$50,00016%
Teens4teens Help$40,000119%
Letters to Strangers$40,000111%
Centre LGBTQA Support Network$40,000117%
The Montrose Center$38,76510%
The Alliance for LGBTQ Youth Inc$35,00016%
Joy as Resistance$34,70015%
Elyse Fox Club Inc$30,0001n/a
The Ryan Bartel Foundation Inc$30,00014%
Sasha Bruce Youthwork Inc$25,84210%
Erikas Lighthouse A Beacon of Hope for Adolescent Depression$25,00012%
Black Girls Smile Inc$25,00012%
Restoring Lifeways$25,00011%
Didi Hirsch Psychiatric Service$25,00010%
Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska$25,0001n/a
Stand With Trans$20,00014%
Youth Pride Inc$20,00012%
National Youth Foundation$20,0001n/a
Libera Inc$20,00012%
Daughters Rising Inc$18,2401n/a
Human Rights Alliance$17,52718%
The Unbreakable Organization Inc$15,0001n/a
Exploring the Arts Inc$11,03111%
Cooperative Downtown Ministries Inc$10,38810%
Los Angeles Lgbt Center$10,38810%
Ali Forney Center Inc$10,38810%
Wanda Alston Foundation Inc$10,38811%
Birmingham AIDS Outreach Inc$10,38810%
The Hetrick-Martin Institute Inc$10,33910%
Trinity Community Connection Inc$10,33811%
Project 150$10,00020%
Gay & Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada$10,00010%
Choose Love Inc$10,00010%
Pay Away the Layaway Inc$8,000114%

Plus 1 recipient with no EIN on record ($10k), not named here.

Where it is load-bearing

Born This Way Foundation supplied at least a quarter of the budget for 1 of its grantees at some point. The chart plots its 55 largest grantees; load-bearing ones sit top left.

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetCenterlink Inc: $321,000 over 2y, 7.2% of budgetNational Council for Behavioral Health: $295,328 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetDonorschooseorg: $192,910 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetAliento Education Fund: $75,000 over 1y, 3.5% of budgetLavender Youth Recreation & Information Center Inc Lyric: $65,027 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetArtist Mentorship Program: $60,000 over 1y, 9.2% of budgetHalfthestory: $55,000 over 1y, 2.5% of budgetSam & Devorah Foundation For Trans Youth: $53,765 over 1y, 24% of budgetMidwest Asian Health Association: $52,527 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetCivic Suds Corporation: $51,980 over 1y, 28% of budgetCafe Momentum: $50,000 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetRight to Be Inc: $50,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetCamp Laurel Foundation: $50,000 over 1y, 5.0% of budgetGuitars Over Guns Organization Inc: $50,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetConnected Content Inc: $50,000 over 1y, 24% of budgetYoung Audiences Inc of Houston: $50,000 over 1y, 3.2% of budgetHopebound Mental Health: $50,000 over 1y, 12% of budgetOur Minds Matter: $50,000 over 1y, 7.0% of budgetGirls Embracing Mothers Inc: $50,000 over 1y, 5.5% of budgetAdolescent Counseling Services: $50,000 over 1y, 2.4% of budgetProjectq: $50,000 over 1y, 5.2% of budgetMighty Writers: $50,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetHopelab Foundation Inc: $50,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetWe Are Family: $50,000 over 1y, 6.9% of budgetBreaktime United Inc: $50,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetBagly Inc: $50,000 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetCor Inc: $50,000 over 1y, 6.4% of budgetTeens4teens Help: $40,000 over 1y, 19% of budgetLetters to Strangers: $40,000 over 1y, 11% of budgetCentre LGBTQA Support Network: $40,000 over 1y, 17% of budgetThe Montrose Center: $38,765 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetThe Alliance for LGBTQ Youth Inc: $35,000 over 1y, 5.9% of budgetJoy as Resistance: $34,700 over 1y, 4.6% of budgetThe Ryan Bartel Foundation Inc: $30,000 over 1y, 4.3% of budgetSasha Bruce Youthwork Inc: $25,842 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetErikas Lighthouse A Beacon of Hope for Adolescent Depression: $25,000 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetBlack Girls Smile Inc: $25,000 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetRestoring Lifeways: $25,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetDidi Hirsch Psychiatric Service: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetStand With Trans: $20,000 over 1y, 4.0% of budgetYouth Pride Inc: $20,000 over 1y, 2.2% of budgetLibera Inc: $20,000 over 1y, 2.0% of budgetHuman Rights Alliance: $17,527 over 1y, 7.9% of budgetExploring the Arts Inc: $11,031 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetCooperative Downtown Ministries Inc: $10,388 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetLos Angeles Lgbt Center: $10,388 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAli Forney Center Inc: $10,388 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetWanda Alston Foundation Inc: $10,388 over 1y, 0.8% of budget

Tap a dot to name the grantee.

How this is measured
Share of budget is the funder’s grant in a year over the grantee’s total revenue that year, at its highest across the years we hold; revenue is from all sources. Only grantees confirmed against their own filings, whose grants do not exceed their revenue, are plotted: the largest 55.

Nonprofits that may fit its grantmaking

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.

Centerlink IncFL23.8× affinity9 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Centerlink Inc · Tides Foundation · Panorama Global · Hopewell Fund · Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors Inc · East Bay Community Foundation · New Profit Inc · AIDS Healthcare Foundation · Horizons Foundation · Broadway Caresequity Fights AIDS Inc · Enterprise Holdings Foundation · The Gap 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.

Compare Born This Way Foundation with peer funders

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Born This Way Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Born This Way 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.

About Born This Way Foundation

How much does Born This Way Foundation give?
Born This Way Foundation reported 25 itemized grants totaling $914,782, out of $3,314,098 in total grant expense reported on the return in its FY2024 IRS filing. It funded between 2 and 22 organizations a year over FY2017 to FY2023.
What does Born This Way Foundation fund?
By grant dollars over FY2017 to FY2024, its largest causes are Health (29%), Youth Development (20%), Human Services (16%).
Who are Born This Way Foundation's largest grantees?
By total granted over FY2017 to FY2024: Centerlink Inc ($321k), National Council for Behavioral Health ($295k), Donorschooseorg ($193k).
Does Born This Way Foundation fund new organizations?
In FY2023, 50% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
Which funders back the same organizations as Born This Way Foundation?
Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include Centerlink Inc, Tides Foundation, Panorama Global.
Where is Born This Way Foundation based?
Born This Way Foundation is based in NY.

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 63 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.

Source object · view filing

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