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Plinth

· Public charity

Bright Future Fund

BRIGHT FUTURE FUND is dedicated to a brighter future for all americans.

$182M
Granted FY2024still arriving
53
Grants FY2024still arriving
13
States reached
$21M
Largest
01What you fundRead
02The needRead
03Your fieldRead
04Through PlinthRead
01What you fund
01FY2024 · 53 grants

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $50k–250k6 grants · $780k
  • $250k+47 grants · $181M
$2,000,000
Median grant
13
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
FUTURE FORWARD USA ACTION$20,835,000
OUR AMERICAN FUTURE ACTION$20,000,000
WORKING AMERICA$14,500,000
RAPID RESIST ACTION$12,400,000
WORKMONEY FOUNDATION INC$10,000,000
WORKING AMERICA EDUCATION$10,000,000
FORWARD MAJORITY ACTION$7,790,000
CENTER FOR VOTER INFORMATION$6,700,000
WORKMONEY INC$6,500,000
PRO-DEMOCRACY CAMPAIGN$6,000,000
MAJORITY FORWARD$5,350,000
FOCUS FOR DEMOCRACY ACTION$4,500,000
PIVOTPAC$4,330,000
FUTURE NOW ACTION$4,000,000
LOCAL JOBS & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUND$3,750,000
02The need
02

Do your dollars go where the need is?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, then read against the area’s typical level.

show:

Your human-services grants (FY24–24, $10.0M) 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 your grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%WORKMONEY FOUNDATION INC: $10.0M → 17%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount

Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty linein the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP; grantee ZIP can differ from where services are delivered.

Which US states your grants reach

IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
OR
NV
CA
MD
DE
NC
DC
TX

US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are actually delivered. Need from public data — U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA — shown as context about the area, never attributed to your giving.

03Your field

The map has a center of gravity: the average direction from the rest of the sector toward the organizations the foundation funds — the shape of its giving. Scoring every nonprofit along that direction surfaces the ones that look most like the portfolio. These are the closest matchesthat aren’t grantees — a resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Democracy Works Inc

The organization's mission is to leverage web-technologies to improve civic engagement and voter education.

Civil Rights
2
Democracy Forward

See schedule o.this organization seeks to build collective power to defend and advance a vibrant democracy that benefits all people.

—
3
One for Democracy Action Fund

One for democracy unlocks resources to build a healthy democracy by fostering meaningful relationships between philanthropists and the democracy leaders of our time.

—
4
Democracy Matters

Democracy matters was formed to connect and build a community of pro-democracy donors.

Civil Rights
5
Defend the Vote Action Fund

To sustain and support the prioritization of comprehensive voting rights and democracy reform legislation at all levels of government.

—
6
Network for Civic Action

Network for civic action advocates for the protection of democracy and encourages civic engagement. it evaluates programs and educates donors about how their donations can best serve those goals.

—
7
Voteamerica

The mission of voteamerica is to strengthen united states democracy by increasing voter turnout.

Civil Rights
8
Commission On Presidential Debates

Organize general election presidential and vice-presidential debates

Civil Rights
9
Advance American Democracy Inc

To protect democracy by advocating for policies to strenghten democracy, educating the public about threats to our democracy, and highlighting the unpopularity of federal policies that places money and power over the rights and freedom of…

—
10
Fair Fight Action Inc

Fair fight action promotes fair elections in georgia and around the country, encourages voter participation in elections, educates voters about elections and their voting rights, and advocates for progressive issues.

Education
11
The Campaign Legal Center Inc

The nonpartisan campaign legal center advances democracy through law at the federal, state and local levels, fighting for every american's rights to responsive government and a fair opportunity to participate in and affect the democratic…

Crime & Legal
12
Issue One Action

Issue one action is uniting republicans, democrats, and independents to protect our elections and fix our political system. we are committed to free, fair, and secure elections and reducing the influence of well-financed special interests…

—

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Pro-Democracy Campaign and the most unlike its peers is Civic Nation. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.

Your grantees are a median of 6 years old; the field is 18. You back the younger end — and your money leans older still.

THE FIELDby orgYOUR GRANTEESby number20%33%<5yr14%30%5–10yr18%24%10–20yr18%9%20–35yr16%0%35–55yr15%3%55yr+
THE FIELDby orgYOUR MONEYby value20%24%<5yr14%38%5–10yr18%11%10–20yr18%14%20–35yr16%0%35–55yr15%13%55yr+

The field is 20% startups (under 5 years old) — 33% of your grantees by number, and just 24% of your money.

Closures · last 5 years

The orgs you fund almost never close — 0.0% lost their exemption, against 12% of the field you don’t fund.

orgs you fund
0.0%0/53
the rest of the field
12%
1,600/12,948

Age = years since IRS exemption (a founding proxy). “Closed” = auto-revocation for 3 years of non-filing — a floor on closure, not proof, and bigger established orgs lapse least. Association, not causation.

03the grantee network

44 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each one resolved to its own IRS returns and tracked year by year — your grant beside their revenue from every source. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

Counted here: distinct organizations you funded across 2017–2025, not grant rows in a single year — so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 44 of the 53 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile; the rest are funded organizations whose filings we could not track year by year.

11
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
1
Early backer (in before they grew)
44/44
Grantees still filing
7/44
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

OUR AMERICAN FUTURE ACTION — $20,000,000 · OtherOUR AMERICAN FUTURE ACTIONWORKING AMERICA — $14,500,000 · OtherWORKING AMERICAFORWARD MAJORITY ACTION — $7,790,000 · OtherFORWARD MAJORITY ACTIONWORKMONEY INC — $6,500,000 · OtherWORKMONEY INCMAJORITY FORWARD — $5,350,000 · OtherMAJORITY FORWARDFOCUS FOR DEMOCRACY ACTION — $4,500,000 · OtherFOCUS FOR DEMOCRACY ACTIONPIVOTPAC — $4,330,000 · OtherLOCAL JOBS & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUND INC — $3,750,000 · OtherPEOPLE'S ACTION POWER — $3,450,000 · OtherDEMOCRACYFIRST — $2,940,000 · Other+13 more — $9,840,000 · Other+13 moreRAPID RESIST ACTION — $12,400,000 · Civil RightsRAPID RESIST ACTIONCENTER FOR VOTER INFORMATION — $6,700,000 · Civil RightsCENTER FOR VOTER INFORMAT…PRO-DEMOCRACY CAMPAIGN — $6,000,000 · Civil RightsPRO-DEMOCRACY CAMPAIGNMICHIGAN CIVIC EDUCATION FUND — $2,700,000 · Civil RightsMICHIGAN CIVIC EDUCATION …UNITED FOR DEMOCRACY — $2,500,000 · Civil RightsUNITED FOR DEMOCRACYFOCUS FOR DEMOCRACY FUND — $2,500,000 · Civil RightsFOCUS FOR DEMOCRACY FUNDFAIR DEMOCRACY — $2,000,000 · Civil RightsALL VOTING IS LOCAL — $1,500,000 · Civil Rights+8 more — $4,510,000 · Civil Rights+8 moreFUTURE FORWARD USA ACTION — $20,835,000 · Public BenefitFUTURE FORWARD US…FUTURE NOW ACTION — $4,000,000 · Public BenefitFUTURE NOW ACTIONSTATE ENGAGEMENT FUND — $1,000,000 · Public Benefit+5 more — $1,967,500 · Public Benefit+5 moreWORKING AMERICA EDUCATION FUND — $10,000,000 · EducationCivic Nation — $2,500,000 · EducationWORKMONEY FOUNDATION INC — $10,000,000 · Human ServicesBUSINESS FORWARD FOUNDATION — $2,500,000 · Arts & CultureLEXINGTON OBSERVER INC — $2,000,000 · Arts & CultureSIXTEEN THIRTY FUND — $3,500,000 · Environment
Other$82,950,000Civil Rights$40,810,000Public Benefit$27,802,500Education$12,500,000Human Services$10,000,000Arts & Culture$4,500,000Environment$3,500,000

Each org by its size and your share of it — top-left is where you’re load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ your share of their budgetFUTURE FORWARD USA ACTION — $20,835,000 over 1y, 3.4% of budgetOUR AMERICAN FUTURE ACTION — $20,000,000 over 1y, 9.7% of budgetWORKING AMERICA — $14,500,000 over 1y, 32% of budgetRAPID RESIST ACTION — $12,400,000 over 1y, 69% of budgetWORKMONEY FOUNDATION INC — $10,000,000 over 1y, 14% of budgetWORKING AMERICA EDUCATION FUND — $10,000,000 over 1y, 22% of budgetCENTER FOR VOTER INFORMATION — $6,700,000 over 1y, 18% of budgetWORKMONEY INC — $6,500,000 over 1y, 6.3% of budgetPRO-DEMOCRACY CAMPAIGN — $6,000,000 over 1y, 39% of budgetMAJORITY FORWARD — $5,350,000 over 1y, 4.2% of budgetFOCUS FOR DEMOCRACY ACTION — $4,500,000 over 1y, 28% of budgetFUTURE NOW ACTION — $4,000,000 over 1y, 21% of budgetLOCAL JOBS & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUND INC — $3,750,000 over 1y, 20% of budgetSIXTEEN THIRTY FUND — $3,500,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetMICHIGAN CIVIC EDUCATION FUND — $2,700,000 over 1y, 21% of budgetBUSINESS FORWARD FOUNDATION — $2,500,000 over 1y, 45% of budgetHOPEWELL FUND — $2,500,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetUNITED FOR DEMOCRACY — $2,500,000 over 1y, 37% of budgetCivic Nation — $2,500,000 over 1y, 8.8% of budgetFOCUS FOR DEMOCRACY FUND — $2,500,000 over 1y, 10% of budgetFAIR DEMOCRACY — $2,000,000 over 1y, 21% of budgetLEXINGTON OBSERVER INC — $2,000,000 over 1y, 49% of budgetALL VOTING IS LOCAL — $1,500,000 over 1y, 10% of budgetClear Choice Action Inc — $1,250,000 over 1y, 15% of budgetSTATE ENGAGEMENT FUND — $1,000,000 over 1y, 5.3% of budgetPUBLIC RIGHTS PROJECT — $1,000,000 over 1y, 15% of budgetVOTE REV ACTION FUND — $1,000,000 over 1y, 11% of budgetCENTER FOR COMMUNITY CHANGE ACTION — $887,500 over 1y, 13% of budgetNORTH FUND — $610,000 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetAmerica Votes — $550,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetEQUISLABS — $470,000 over 1y, 18% of budgetCivic Nation Action — $450,000 over 1y, 49% of budgetTHE ACT NOW PROJECT — $400,000 over 1y, 8.8% of budgetDEMOCRACY PLANNING & ENHANCEMENT FUND — $250,000 over 1y, 4.5% of budgetBATTLE BORN PROGRESS — $250,000 over 1y, 26% of budgetDEMOCRACY SENTRY — $250,000 over 1y, 22% of budgetGround Game Texas — $250,000 over 1y, 33% of budgetVOTE FORWARD — $250,000 over 1y, 3.9% of budgetHOUSE MAJORITY FORWARD — $200,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetSOUTHERN VISION ALLIANCE — $120,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetMTG RESEARCH INC — $110,000 over 1y, 15% of budgetWESTERN STATES STRATEGIES — $100,000 over 1y, 48% of budget
Go grantee by grantee — a decade per org, and how each moved after you funded them

A decade per grantee — revenue shaded, your grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

The grantmakers whose grantees overlap with yours far more than size alone predicts. Each orbits closer the stronger the alignment; the arcs between them show where they also fund each other. Here it reads as a tightly interlocked camp — most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Our American Future A…Sixteen Thirty FundFuture Forward USA Ac…Hopewell FundOpen Society Action F…Tides AdvocacyAmerica VotesOakw FundOur Children Our Futu…Brick by Brick Founda…Advocacy Action Fund …Way to Win Action Fun…
Our American Future ActionDC44.6× affinity19 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Our American Future Action · Sixteen Thirty Fund · Future Forward USA Action · Hopewell Fund · Open Society Action Fund Inc · Tides Advocacy · America Votes · Oakw Fund · Our Children Our Future · Brick by Brick Foundation · Advocacy Action Fund Inc · Way to Win Action Fund Inc

Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. A research starting point: overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

Government reliance of your grantees

Every dot is one organization Bright Future Fund funds. Left–right is the share of its income from government; up–down is the share from you. Bigger dots raise more. Filter to federal or a single department — and drag the year to watch it move.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 60%6%25%56%100%your share of their income ↑0%1%3%4%5%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    6get no government money at all
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–5%
    typical government reliance, FY20–25

    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 your grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first — a floor, not 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 12–24 months.

    04Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to Bright Future Fund?

    Find your warmest path to Bright Future Fund 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 directly from IRS e-file XML — your own 990/990-PF and the multi-year returns of the 53 grantees we resolved across every year we hold, several hundred filings in all (a different count from the grant rows on the cover, which are one fiscal year)— each linked to its source. Grantee achievements and outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III); we read these as association with sustained funding — the foundation is one of several forces — suppress low-confidence name matches rather than guess, and say so where a figure rests on a single grant or filing. Not everything on this page is a filed figure, and the difference matters. Filed is what you reported on your 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. How we build these →

    Generated from your IRS Form 990 e-file return for fiscal year 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2025) is on record and reports no grant expense, so the figures above are from FY2024, the most recent year this funder made grants.

    Source object · view filing

    More from the funding graph

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    The regranting layer
    51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
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    The camps
    funders cluster by geography, not ideology
    By state
    where grant money is based, and what stays home
    State money flows
    the interactive map of money crossing state lines