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Cognizant US Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Cognizant US Foundation

Its FY2022 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$20M
Granted FY2021
59
Grants FY2021
16
States reached
$1.8M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead

Read this first · the figures below need context

70% of Cognizant US Foundation’s FY2022 grant dollars went to Bny Mellon Charitable Gift Fund, not to grantees.

Its money now reaches organizations through that sponsor, which does not report who recommended each grant. FY2022 names 16 organizations directly, so a portfolio cannot be read from it. Everything below is therefore FY2021, the last year Cognizant US Foundation named its own grantees at scale: 31 organizations, $20M. It is dated, not current.

Organizations named directly on the return

11
’19
25
’20
31
’21
16
’22

Amber years are those where most dollars went to a sponsor.

01What it funds
0199% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2019 to 2022.

Philanthropy$36MEducation$29MEmployment$15MSocial Science$3.5MYouth Development$2.9MPublic Benefit$2.1MHuman Services$1.5MInternational$1.5MOther$0
02FY2021 · 59 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2021

  • Under $10k5 grants · $25k
  • $10k–50k7 grants · $145k
  • $50k–250k18 grants · $2.3M
  • $250k+29 grants · $18M
$203,042
Median grant
16
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CODE PATH$1,750,000
TEACH FOR AMERICA$1,500,000
NATIONAL GOVERNORS ASSOCIATION CENTER FOR BEST PRACTICES$1,222,500
WITNY (CORNELL UNIV)(BREAKTHROUGH TECH)$1,000,000
CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK (CUNY)$1,000,000
URBAN INSTITUTE$1,000,000
TURING SCHOOL$1,000,000
WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT$955,000
NATIONAL CENTER FOR WOMEN & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY$902,000
ADA DEVELOPERS ACADEMY$750,000
NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY$685,000
COMPUTER SCIENCE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION$500,000
CODE NATION$500,000
Individual grant recipient$500,000
JOBS FOR THE FUTURE$500,000
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 (FY19–21, $1.6M) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, 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%LEONARDO'S BASEMENT: $30k → 11%WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT: $955k → 14%WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT INC: $357k → 14%WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT: $178k → 14%FUNDERS TOGETHER TO END HOMELESSNESS: $80k → 16%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

WA
MT
MN
IL
NY
MA
OH
PA
CT
CA
CO
KY
VA
MD
AZ
NC
SC
DC
GA
TX
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.
04

Where the work is directed

The same grants placed two ways: where each recipient sits, and where its stated purpose sends the money.

About 36% of Cognizant US Foundation’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address.

Cognizant US Foundationlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address · 3.6% directed abroad (not shown)
How this is measured
Recipient view: each grant at its grantee’s ZIP, mapped to a county. Directed view: each grant at the county its stated purpose names, falling back to the recipient’s county when the purpose names no place; US grants only. A county shows only if it carries the top 95% of that view’s dollars. Purposes are read from the funder’s own 990 grant descriptions.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

66%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$40M · 34 repeat orgs$21M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +25% since the first grant, against +4% for those funded once.

34 repeat relationships: 29 still active in FY2021, 5 since wound down; 44 grantees were first funded in FY2021 (too recent to call). Read against FY2021, the last year this funder named its own grantees directly; its giving has since run through a sponsor, which reports no donor behind each grant.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

34
20

Total granted

$40M
$9.7M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+25%
+4%

Still filing today

71%
55%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2022, 61% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $6.0M went to new ones.

50%100%’19’20’21’22
RenewedFirst-time

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

’19’20’21’22
EducationEmploymentCommunity ImprovementArts & CultureHuman ServicesPhilanthropyOther
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

  • C
    CODEPATHORG
    4× · 2019–2022 · $4.2M · revenue ×13 · 39% of their budget
  • NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY
    2× · 2021–2022 · $2.4M · revenue +53%
  • THE URBAN INSTITUTE
    2× · 2020–2021 · $2.0M · revenue +14%

Funded once

  • CU
    Cornell University Women in Technology &
    one grant, 2019 · $2.0M
  • UNITED NATIONS FOUNDATION INC
    one grant, 2020 · $1.0M · revenue -74%
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2020 · $1.0M
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
AI4ALL

Ai4all's mission is to ensure that the next generation of ai leaders reflects humanity. ai4all is transforming the pipeline of ai practitioners who will shape ai for the benefit of humanity.

Youth Development
2
The Common Application Inc

The common application is a not-for-profit membership organization of over 1,100 colleges and universities across the globe committed to access, equity, and integrity in the college admission process. every year, over 1.5 million students…

Education
3
National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering Inc

To provide leadership and support for the national effort to increase the representation of successful african american, native american and latinx women and men in engineering and technology, math, and science-based careers.

Civil Rights
4
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The mission of mit is to advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century.

Education
5
United States Naval Institute

Provide an independent forum for those who dare to read, think, speak, and write to advance the professional, literary, and scientific understanding of sea power and other issues critical to global security.

—
6
Boston Architectural College

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

—
7
Central Indiana Corporate Partnership Inc

Central indiana corporate partnership (cicp) is an alliance of indiana's business and research university leaders coming together to foster long-term prosperity for the region. cicp's mission is to transform the economy of indiana in order…

Community Improvement
8
Citizen Schools Inc

In fiscal year 2025, the agency operated an americorps maker fellowship, placing 7 americorps vista members at 6 different education focused organizations in ca, ma, and ny. americorps members worked on capacity building projects to expand…

Education
9
Activate Global Inc

Activate empowers scientists to reinvent the world by bringing their research to market. activate partners with u.s. based funders, research institutions, and other pillars of the hard technology community to help entrepreneurial…

Environment
10
Wentworth Institute of Technology Inc

Wentworth institute of technology is a nationally recognized private coeducational and residential university of higher education with a mission to empower, inspire and innovate through experiential learning with a core purpose of career…

Education
11
New Classrooms Innovation Partners Inc

To create and inspire better ways to give every student an educational foundation for lifelong success. we imagine a world where every student attends a school that meets them where they are, adapts to the unique ways they learn, and…

Education
12
National Association of Corporate Directors

We empower directors and transform boards to be future ready.

Public Benefit
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Aspen Institute Inc; the most unlike its peers is Mitchell Kapor Foundation. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
05the grantee network

53 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. 53 of the 99 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.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
12
Early backer (in before they grew)
53/53
Grantees still filing
34/53
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

BNY MELLON CHARITABLE GIFT FUND: $35,591,821 · PhilanthropyBNY MELLON CHARITABLE GIFT FUND+3 more: $724,631 · PhilanthropyNATIONAL GOVERNORS ASSOCIATION CENTER FOR BEST PRACTICES: $2,122,500 · OtherNATIONAL GOVERNORS ASSOCIATION CE…TURING SCHOOL: $2,000,000 · OtherTURING SCHOOLCornell University Women in Technology &: $2,000,000 · OtherCornell University Women in Techn…FLATIRON SCHOOL: $1,200,000 · OtherCompTIA Creating IT Futures: $1,199,000 · OtherCITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK (CUNY): $1,000,000 · OtherWITNY (CORNELL UNIV)(BREAKTHROUGH TECH): $1,000,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $1,000,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $1,000,000 · OtherUNITED NATIONS FOUNDATION INC: $1,000,000 · Other+53 more: $14,606,946 · Other+53 moreTeach for America Inc: $5,244,350 · EducationTeach for America IncCODEPATHORG: $4,150,000 · EducationCODEPATHORGNORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY: $2,381,750 · EducationNORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITYSCRIPTED INC DBA CODE NATION: $1,550,000 · EducationSCRIPTED INC DBA CODE NAT…Cornell University: $1,286,000 · EducationCornell UniversityADA DEVELOPERS ACADEMY: $1,250,000 · EducationADA DEVELOPERS ACADEMYTURING SCHOOL OF SOFTWARE AND DESIG: $1,060,000 · EducationDONORSCHOOSEORG: $1,000,000 · EducationCOMPUTER SCIENCE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION LLC: $800,000 · Education+10 more: $2,675,000 · Education+10 moreOPPORTUNITYWORK INC: $1,300,000 · EmploymentGOODWILL INDUSTRIES OF THE SOUTHERN PIEDMONT INC: $1,100,000 · EmploymentJOBS FOR THE FUTURE INC: $749,080 · Employment+3 more: $305,000 · EmploymentTHE URBAN INSTITUTE: $2,000,000 · Social ScienceTHE ASPEN INSTITUTE INC: $1,250,000 · Social ScienceNATIONAL CENTER FOR WOMEN AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY: $1,769,000 · Youth DevelopmentBRAVEN INC: $150,000 · Youth DevelopmentWOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT INC: $1,490,000 · Human ServicesFUNDERS TOGETHER TO END HOMELESSNES: $80,000 · Human Services+1 more: $30,000 · Human Services
Philanthropy$36,316,452Other$28,128,446Education$21,397,100Employment$3,454,080Social Science$3,250,000Youth Development$1,919,000Human Services$1,600,000

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 budgetBNY MELLON CHARITABLE GIFT FUND: $35,591,821 over 1y, 9.7% of budgetTeach for America Inc: $5,244,350 over 4y, 0.9% of budgetCODEPATHORG: $4,150,000 over 4y, 39% of budgetNORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY: $2,381,750 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetNATIONAL GOVERNORS ASSOCIATION CENTER FOR BEST PRACTICES: $2,122,500 over 2y, 7.6% of budgetTHE URBAN INSTITUTE: $2,000,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetNATIONAL CENTER FOR WOMEN AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY: $1,769,000 over 2y, 13% of budgetSCRIPTED INC DBA CODE NATION: $1,550,000 over 3y, 19% of budgetWOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT INC: $1,490,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetOPPORTUNITYWORK INC: $1,300,000 over 3y, 8.1% of budgetCornell University: $1,286,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetADA DEVELOPERS ACADEMY: $1,250,000 over 2y, 4.4% of budgetTHE ASPEN INSTITUTE INC: $1,250,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetGOODWILL INDUSTRIES OF THE SOUTHERN PIEDMONT INC: $1,100,000 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetTURING SCHOOL OF SOFTWARE AND DESIG: $1,060,000 over 2y, 11% of budgetUNITED NATIONS FOUNDATION INC: $1,000,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetDONORSCHOOSEORG: $1,000,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetCOMPUTER SCIENCE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION LLC: $800,000 over 2y, 13% of budgetNEW YORK HALL OF SCIENCE: $750,000 over 2y, 2.6% of budgetJOBS FOR THE FUTURE INC: $749,080 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetMANAGEMENT LEADERSHIP FOR TOMORROW: $705,000 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetTHE KING'S TRUST USA INC: $669,631 over 2y, 13% of budgetGIRLSTART: $530,000 over 2y, 12% of budgetNEO Philanthropy Inc: $500,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetCODEORG: $500,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetCIVIC HALL LABS INC: $500,000 over 1y, 7.1% of budgetACHIEVING THE DREAM INC: $500,000 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetGLOBALGIVING FOUNDATION INC: $500,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetNATIONAL SKILLS COALITION: $400,000 over 1y, 6.4% of budgetThurgood Marshall College Fund: $350,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetNPOWER INC: $250,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetNATL STUDENT CLEARINGHOUSE RESEARCH CENTER: $250,000 over 1y, 2.9% of budgetMARCY LAB INC: $200,000 over 1y, 9.3% of budgetROAD2HIRE: $200,000 over 1y, 6.3% of budgetTHE CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF ATLANTA INC: $200,000 over 2y, 3.3% of budgetCONNECTICUT SCIENCE CENTER INC: $175,000 over 2y, 1.5% of budgetBRAVEN INC: $150,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetCENTER FOR THE FUTURE OF ARIZONA: $150,000 over 1y, 2.8% of budgetCODE PLATOON NFP: $105,000 over 2y, 3.4% of budgetResilient Coders Inc: $100,000 over 1y, 3.4% of budgetUS Chamber of Commerce Foundation: $100,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetPER SCHOLAS INC: $100,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetFUNDERS TOGETHER TO END HOMELESSNES: $80,000 over 1y, 3.4% of budgetJA WORLDWIDE INC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetMITCHELL KAPOR FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetDALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $50,000 over 1y, 7.1% of budgetLEONARDO'S BASEMENT: $30,000 over 1y, 12% of budgetBLIND INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY: $30,000 over 1y, 2.8% 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.

Bny Mellon Charitable…Tides FoundationGates FoundationLumina Foundation for…Silicon Valley Commun…Annie E Casey Foundat…The Patrick J McGover…Truist Foundation IncGs Donor Advised Phil…Ascendium Education S…The Ford FoundationJpmorgan Chase Founda…
Bny Mellon Charitable Gift FundMA22.9× affinity10 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Bny Mellon Charitable Gift Fund · Tides Foundation · Gates Foundation · Lumina Foundation for Education Inc · Silicon Valley Community Foundation · Annie E Casey Foundation Inc · The Patrick J McGovern Foundation Inc · Truist Foundation Inc · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · Ascendium Education Solutions Inc · The Ford Foundation · Jpmorgan Chase 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 Cognizant US Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Cognizant US Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 40%1%5%11%20%funder's share of their income ↑0%19%38%56%75%share of the org’s income from government →median 7%
  • Connecticut Science Center Inc: 14% of income from government
  • Jobs for the Future Inc: 11% of income from government
  • Northeastern University: 7% of income from government
  • Achieving the Dream Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Wounded Warrior Project Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
4get no government money at all
15report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–75%
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 Cognizant US Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Cognizant US 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 99 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 2021, released 2021. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Cognizant US’ 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