Skip to content
Plinth
Foundation DossiersMostly funded, not a grantmaker — see who funds it →
Plinth

· Public charity

FINRA Investor Education Foundation

The mission is to empower americans with the knowledge, skills and tools to make sound financial decisions throughout life.

$537k
Granted FY2024still arriving
10
Grants FY2024still arriving
10
States reached
$52k
Largest
01What you fundRead
02The needRead
03Your edgeRead
04Your fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What you fund
01100% classified

What you funded, over time

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

Education$1.3MPhilanthropy$292kSocial Science$283kEmployment$245kHuman Services$148kCommunity Improvement$130kHealth$89kPublic Safety & Disaster$49kOther$0
02FY2024 · 10 grants

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

The 10 grants below total $258,231 — the rows itemised in this filing. The $537,145 headline is the total grant expense reported on the return, so the remaining $278,914 is giving the schedule does not break out: grants under the $5,000 itemisation floor, grants to individuals, and grants reported on other schedules. Every figure below describes the itemised rows only.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $10k–50k9 grants · $206k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $52k
$24,915
Median grant
10
States reached
$86M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE$51,956
FARMINGTON PUBLIC LIBRARY FDN$25,000
KENOSHA PUBLIC LIBRARY$25,000
NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIV INC$25,000
FDN FOR BALTIMORE CTY PUBLIC LIBRARY$24,915
SOUTH ARKANSAS COLLEGE$23,562
BUFFALO & ERIE COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY$22,798
IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION$20,000
UNITED WAY OF HARRISONBURG & ROCKINGHAM CTY$20,000
UNITED WAY OF PICKENS COUNTY$20,000
02The need
03

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 (FY19–22, $60k) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of your grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%Catholic Charities Diocese of Fort Worth: $20k → 11%Rise Foundation: $20k → 17%Catholic Char Dioc of Fort Worth: $20k → 11%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

VT
NH
ID
MT
WI
MI
NY
MA
OR
IA
IN
OH
PA
CA
MO
WV
VA
MD
AZ
NM
KS
AR
TN
SC
DC
OK
GA
TX
FL

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.

04

Where the work is directed

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

About 14% of FINRA Investor Education Foundation’s grant dollars are earmarked, by their stated purpose, for a different county than the recipient’s own address — money that lands at a nonprofit in one place but is meant to do its work in another.

FINRA Investor Education Foundationlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address

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 foundation’s own 990 grant descriptions.

03Your edge
repeat funding

Who you back again

Which organizations you funded more than once, and which you funded a single time. Each grantee is matched to its own filings.

63%of every dollar goes to organizations you’ve funded before.
$1.5M · 20 repeat orgs$883k to everyone else

And the relationships you keep tend to grow: grantees you re-up on have seen median revenue of +51% since the first grant, against +7% for the ones you funded once.

20 repeat relationships — 5 still active in FY2024, 15 since wound down; 5 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

20
39

Total granted

$1.5M
$776k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+51%
+7%

Still filing today

60%
64%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 59% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $106k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
PhilanthropyEducationHuman ServicesSocial ScienceMembership BenefitOther

First-time = a grantee’s first year in your filing window; renewed = funded in an earlier year too. As a portfolio matures the renewed share naturally climbs — once funded, an org stays “renewable” — so the signal is the years that buck it (a new-grantee intake wave). 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

  • THE URBAN INSTITUTE
    3× · 2017–2019 · $212k · revenue +51%
  • ND
    NATIONAL DISABILITY INSTITUTE INC
    2× · 2017–2018 · $100k · revenue +196%
  • TR
    The Research Foundation for The State University of New York
    3× · 2019–2021 · $83k · revenue +55%

Funded once

  • UW
    UNITED WAY OF SOUTH CENTRAL INDIANA
    one grant, 2017 · $52k · revenue -62%
  • WG
    WEST GEORGIA REGIONAL LIBRARY SYSTEM
    one grant, 2023 · $25k
  • OC
    ORANGE COUNTY LIBRARY DISTRICT
    one grant, 2023 · $25k

Repeat = funded in two or more distinct years; growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Your 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
United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey

United way's mission is to end intergenerational poverty in our region by harnessing, leveraging and strategically investing the collective power of donors, advocates and volunteers, to help individuals and families break the cycle of…

Philanthropy
2
United Way Worldwide

To improve lives by mobilizing caring power of communities around the world to advance common good.

Philanthropy
3
Tulsa Area United Way

The tulsa area united way unites people and resources to improve lives and strengthen our communities.

—
4
United Way of the Midlands

United way connects people and resources to improve the quality of life in the midlands. united way invests in a broad range of community programs that increase access to health care, improve student success, assist people in crisis to…

Philanthropy
5
Indiana Association of United Ways Inc

Indiana united way is the leading voice to advocate, engage, and partner with a strong united way network and key stakeholders to advance human well-being throughout indiana.

Philanthropy
6
United Way of Charlotte County Inc

Mobilizing the power of our community to break the cycle of poverty.

Philanthropy
7
United Way of Benton & Lincoln Counties

United way works to increase the organized capacity of people to care for one another. united way is a funder, a mobilizer, a convener and a fundraiser. united way is a community builder, connecting people through philanthropy,…

—
8
Cedar Valley United Way

Uniting our community to empower individuals and families to thrive.

Philanthropy
9
Berkshire United Way Inc

Berkshire united way ignites the collective power of individuals and organizations to build a stronger and more equitable community where everyone can thrive. we magnify your contributions to make lasting, positive change right here in the…

—
10
United Way Manitowoc County Inc

United way's mission is to improve lives.

Philanthropy
11
United Way of Central Iowa

To improve lives by uniting the caring power of our community

—
12
United Way of Wisconsin Inc

United way of wisconsin is dedicated to supporting and enriching a strong statewide united way network that maximizes the capacity of local united ways to address human needs, improve lives and create lasting positive change across…

Philanthropy

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is United Way of Buffalo and Erie County and the most unlike its peers is New York University. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.

For each theme you fund, this compares how the sector’s money is shifting with how your own giving is shifting.

← shrinkinggrowing →↓ leaning in → pulling backsteadyUnited Way AffiliatesPublic Library OperationsFaith-Based Liberal Arts Co…Policy Research and AdvocacyImmigrant Worker SupportSenior Support ServicesCommunity Foundations
the sector your giving your giving is ahead of the sector the sector’s ahead of you· dot size = how much the theme matters to each side
Ordered by the change in your giving — leaning in on top, pulling back at the bottom. The bar between the two dots is how out of step you are with the sector. Hover any row for detail.

Sector change and giving change are each shown relative to their own range, growing (right) or shrinking (left); both normalized, so inflation isn’t mistaken for growth.

Your grantees are a median of 54 years old; the field is 16. You back the established end — and your money leans older still.

THE FIELDby orgYOUR GRANTEESby number22%0%<5yr14%5%5–10yr19%2%10–20yr16%16%20–35yr13%28%35–55yr16%49%55yr+
THE FIELDby orgYOUR MONEYby value22%0%<5yr14%4%5–10yr19%1%10–20yr16%25%20–35yr13%24%35–55yr16%46%55yr+

The field is 22% startups (under 5 years old) — 0% of your grantees by number, and just 0% of your money.

Closures · last 5 years

The orgs you fund almost never close — 2% lost their exemption, against 13% of the field you don’t fund.

orgs you fund
2%1/66
the rest of the field
13%
240,395/1,819,499

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.

05the grantee network

43 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. 43 of the 66 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.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
6
Early backer (in before they grew)
42/43
Grantees still filing
28/43
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY — $159,012 · OtherMONTANA STATE UNIVERSITYIOWA STATE UNIVERSITY — $156,398 · OtherIOWA STATE UNIVERSITYTHE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE — $103,124 · OtherTHE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEEUNIVERSITY OF PUERTO RICO — $93,437 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF PUERTO RICOFRIENDS OF LIBRARIES IN OKLAHOMA INC — $58,704 · OtherSara Hightower Regional Library — $50,000 · OtherCLAYTON COLLABORATIVE AUTHORITY — $50,000 · OtherFARMINGTON PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION — $50,000 · OtherKENOSHA PUBLIC LIBRARY — $50,000 · Other+31 more — $620,645 · Other+31 moreTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY — $142,857 · EducationTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF …NATIONAL DISABILITY INSTITUTE INC — $100,000 · EducationNATIONAL DISABILITY INSTI…The Research Foundation for The State University of New York — $82,659 · EducationThe Research Foundation f…New York University — $60,698 · EducationNew York UniversityNova Southeastern University Inc — $50,000 · EducationNova Southeastern Univers…FOUNDATION FOR BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY — $49,830 · EducationFOUNDATION FOR BALTIMORE …Research Foundation of the City University of New York — $49,638 · EducationResearch Foundation of th…MEMORIAL LIBRARY OF NAZARETH & VICINITY — $21,576 · EducationIOWA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION — $20,000 · Education+1 more — $9,852 · EducationUNITED WAY OF SOUTH CENTRAL INDIANA — $52,319 · PhilanthropyUNITED WAY O…BARRY COUNTY UNITED WAY — $20,000 · PhilanthropyBARRY COUNTY…UNITED WAY OF BUFFALO AND ERIE COUNTY — $20,000 · PhilanthropyUNITED WAY O…United Way of Greater Stark County — $20,000 · PhilanthropyUnited Way o…UNITED WAY OF NORTHWEST VERMONT INC — $20,000 · PhilanthropyUNITED WAY O…UNITED WAY MIAMI INC — $20,000 · PhilanthropyUNITED WAY M…UNITED WAY OF GREATER TOLEDO — $20,000 · PhilanthropyUNITED WAY O…UNITED WAY OF GREATER ATLANTA INC — $20,000 · PhilanthropyUNITED WAY O…GREEN MOUNTAIN UNITED WAY INC — $20,000 · PhilanthropyGREEN MOUNTA…UNITED WAY FOX CITIES INC — $20,000 · PhilanthropyUNITED WAY F…UNITED WAY OF TRUMBULL COUNTY — $20,000 · PhilanthropyUNITED WAY O…UNITED WAY OF BARTHOLOMEW COUNTY INC — $20,000 · PhilanthropyUNITED WAY O…THE URBAN INSTITUTE — $211,750 · Social ScienceTHE URBAN…CATHOLIC CHARITIES DIOCESE OF FORT WORTH — $40,000 · Human ServicesRISE MEMPHIS INC — $20,000 · Human ServicesEducation & Research Fund of Employee Benefit Research Institute — $47,496 · Membership Benefit
Other$1,391,320Education$587,110Philanthropy$272,319Social Science$211,750Human Services$60,000Membership Benefit$47,496

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 budgetTHE URBAN INSTITUTE — $211,750 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY — $142,857 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL DISABILITY INSTITUTE INC — $100,000 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetThe Research Foundation for The State University of New York — $82,659 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetNew York University — $60,698 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFARMINGTON PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION — $50,000 over 2y, 28% of budgetNova Southeastern University Inc — $50,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFOUNDATION FOR BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY — $49,830 over 2y, 5.2% of budgetResearch Foundation of the City University of New York — $49,638 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetEducation & Research Fund of Employee Benefit Research Institute — $47,496 over 2y, 4.2% of budgetCATHOLIC CHARITIES OF NORTHEAST KANSAS INC — $40,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCATHOLIC CHARITIES DIOCESE OF FORT WORTH — $40,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetMEMORIAL LIBRARY OF NAZARETH & VICINITY — $21,576 over 2y, 1.5% of budgetBARRY COUNTY UNITED WAY — $20,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetUNITED WAY OF DANE COUNTY INC — $20,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetUNITED WAY OF BUFFALO AND ERIE COUNTY — $20,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetUnited Way of Greater Stark County — $20,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetUNITED WAY OF NORTHWEST VERMONT INC — $20,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetIOWA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION — $20,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCatholic Charities of Idaho — $20,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetUNITED WAY OF PICKENS COUNTY — $20,000 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetCONSUMER CREDIT COUNSELING SERVICE OF THE SAVANNAH AREA INC — $20,000 over 1y, 3.5% of budgetUNITED WAY OF GREATER TOLEDO — $20,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetGRANITE UNITED WAY — $20,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetRISE MEMPHIS INC — $20,000 over 1y, 2.4% of budgetUNITED WAY OF GREATER ATLANTA INC — $20,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUNITED WAY OF CENTRAL SHENANDOAH VALLEY INC — $20,000 over 1y, 2.8% of budgetGREEN MOUNTAIN UNITED WAY INC — $20,000 over 1y, 3.7% of budgetLA CASA DE ESPERANZA INC — $20,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCatholic Community Services of Southern Arizona Inc — $20,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetUNITED WAY FOX CITIES INC — $20,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetUNITED WAY OF TRUMBULL COUNTY — $20,000 over 1y, 4.6% of budgetUNITED WAY OF LOGAN COUNTY INC — $20,000 over 1y, 2.8% of budgetUnited Way of Madison County Indiana Inc — $20,000 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetUNITED WAY OF BARTHOLOMEW COUNTY INC — $20,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetUNITED WAY OF GREATER NEW BEDFORD INC — $20,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetUNITED WAY OF GEAUGA COUNTY — $20,000 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetCATHOLIC CHARITIES OF ASHTABULA COUNTY — $20,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetEmployee Benefit Research Institute — $11,874 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetCABELL COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY — $9,852 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetFREE LIBRARY OF PHILADELPHIA FOUNDATION — $9,541 over 1y, 0.1% 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.

United Way WorldwideLumen Clarke M Willia…Tr Ua Fifth Third Fou…Td Charitable Foundat…Premier Bank Foundati…Firstenergy FoundationAT&T FoundationCenterpoint Energy Fo…AARPThe Blackbaud Giving …Dollar General Litera…Share Our Strength
United Way WorldwideVA21.9× affinity14 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: United Way Worldwide · Lumen Clarke M Williams Foundation · Tr Ua Fifth Third Foundation · Td Charitable Foundation · Premier Bank Foundation · Firstenergy Foundation · AT&T Foundation · Centerpoint Energy Foundation Inc · AARP · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · Dollar General Literacy Foundation · Share Our Strength

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 FINRA Investor Education Foundation 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 · 10%2%8%17%30%your share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 23%
  • United Way of Greater New Bedford Inc — 35% of income from government
  • United Way of Northwest Vermont Inc — 34% of income from government
  • United Way Miami Inc — 23% of income from government
  • Green Mountain United Way Inc — 15% of income from government
  • Nova Southeastern University Inc — 2% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
11report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
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.

05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to FINRA Investor Education Foundation?

Find your warmest path to FINRA Investor Education 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 directly from IRS e-file XML — your own 990/990-PF and the multi-year returns of the 66 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.

Source object · view filing

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 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