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First Liberty Institute at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

First Liberty Institute

FIRST LIBERTY INSTITUTE provides pro bono legal services to advance and defend religious liberty for individuals, churches, and other ministries and organizations.

$155k
Granted FY2025still arriving
6
Grants FY2025still arriving
4
States reached
$50k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2025.

Public Benefit$249kEducation$198kHuman Services$95kArts & Culture$61kReligion$35kSocial Science$20k
02FY2025 · 6 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • $10k–50k5 grants · $105k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $50k
$28,418
Median grant
4
States reached
$25M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
FAMILY POLICY FOUNDATION$50,000
COUNCIL FOR NATIONAL POLICY$36,500
JAMES WILSON INSTITUTE$28,418
FAMILY RESEARCH COUNCIL$15,000
US SUPREME COURT HISTORICAL SOCIETY$15,000
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CHRISTIAN LAW MAKERS$10,000
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 (FY22–25, $95k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%Family Research Council: $15k → 14%FAMILY RESEARCH COUNCIL: $15k → 14%Rule of Law Defense Fund: $50k → 14%Rule of Law Defense Fund: $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.

73%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$484k · 7 repeat orgs$175k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +36% since the first grant, against +25% for those funded once.

7 repeat relationships: 6 still active in FY2025, 1 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

7
5

Total granted

$484k
$175k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+36%
+25%

Still filing today

100%
80%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

50%100%’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’20’21’22’23’24’25
EducationPublic BenefitHuman ServicesReligionSocial ScienceOther
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

  • CF
    COUNCIL FOR NATIONAL POLICY
    6× · 2020–2025 · $154k · revenue +36%
  • FP
    FAMILY POLICY ALLIANCE FOUNDATION
    2× · 2023–2025 · $75k · revenue +112%
  • RO
    RULE OF LAW DEFENSE FUND
    2× · 2022–2023 · $65k · revenue +45%

Funded once

  • TF
    THE FAMILY LEADER FOUNDATION INCgraduated
    one grant, 2024 · $100k · revenue +40%
  • BX
    BENEDICT XVI INSTITUTE FOR SACRED MUSIC AND DIVINE WORSHIP
    one grant, 2023 · $25k
  • CU
    CALVIN UNIVERSITY
    one grant, 2023 · $20k · revenue +1%
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
American Law Institute

The institute's mission, as set out in its certificate of incorporation, is to promote the clarification and simplification of the law and its better adaptation to social needs, to secure the better administration of justice, and to…

Crime & Legal
2
National Civil Justice Institute

The objectives and goals of the institute shall be to receive and administer funds for the purpose of providing and supporting educational programs for lawyers, legal academics, and members of the judiciary, conferences and publications…

—
3
Council of Chief Judges of the State Courts of Appeal

The council was formed as a vehicle for collective consultation and as a conduit for the exchange of ideas on court administration, rules and methods of procedure, and the organization and operation of state courts of appeal. the council…

Public Benefit
4
Americans United for Separation of Church and State

Americans united for separation of church and state is a nonpartisan educational and advocacy organization dedicated to advancing the separation of religion and government as the only way to ensure freedom of religion, including the right…

Civil Rights
5
Officers Christian Fellowship of the United

To engage military leaders in biblical fellowship and growth to equip them for christ-like service at the intersection of faith, family and profession.

Religion
6
International Catholic Jurists Forum Inc

The International Catholic Jurists Forum (ICJF) was established to produce, compile, and share resources on fundamental human rights under attack in the regional and international human rights protection systems. It operates as a forum for…

Religion
7
American Constitution Society for Law & Policy

The american constitution society for law and policy (acs) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, non-partisan legal organization. through a diverse nationwide network of progressive lawyers, law students, judges, scholars, advocates, and many others,…

Education
8
Minnesota Family Council

Minnesota family council (mfc) is a non-profit christian organization that is dedicated to strengthening minnesota families by advancing biblical principles in the public arena, for the glory of the lord jesus christ and the good of…

—
9
Association of American Law Schools Inc

The association of american law schools' mission is to uphold and advance excellence in legal education.

Education
10
Frontline Policy Council Inc

To be a state-focused, biblical organization that could tactfully address issues of life, religious freedom, educational opportunity, Gods design, human dignity, free speech, and principled government.

Education
11
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Inc

Serve as a leader, alongside diverse coalitions, in identifying and reforming flaws and inequities in the criminal legal system, and redressing systemic racism, and ensuring that its members and others in the criminal defense bar are fully…

—
12
American Civil Liberties Union Fund of the District of Columbia

Preservation of civil liberties through litigation and public education.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Family Policy Alliance Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty. 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

11 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. 11 of the 12 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.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
11/11
Grantees still filing
9/11
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

COUNCIL FOR NATIONAL POLICY: $154,100 · Public BenefitCOUNCIL FOR NATIONAL POLICYFAMILY POLICY ALLIANCE FOUNDATION: $75,000 · Public BenefitFAMILY POLICY ALLIANCE FOUNDATIONTHE FAMILY LEADER FOUNDATION INC: $100,000 · EducationTHE FAMILY LEADER FOUNDATION INCJAMES WILSON INSTITUTE FOR NATURAL RIGHTS AND THE AMERICAN FOUNDING: $78,418 · EducationJAMES WILSON INSTITUTE FOR NATURAL…CALVIN UNIVERSITY: $20,000 · EducationCALVIN UNIVERSITYRULE OF LAW DEFENSE FUND: $65,000 · Human ServicesRULE OF LAW DEFE…FAMILY RESEARCH COUNCIL: $30,000 · Human ServicesFAMILY RESEARCH …THE SUPREME COURT HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $61,252 · OtherTHE SUPREME CO…BENEDICT XVI INSTITUTE FOR SACRED MUSIC AND DIVINE WORSHIP: $25,000 · OtherBENEDICT XVI I…NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CHRISTIAN LAWMAKERS INC: $20,000 · ReligionChaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty: $10,000 · ReligionAMERICAN CONSERVATIVE UNION FOUNDATIONINC: $20,000 · Social Science
Public Benefit$229,100Education$198,418Human Services$95,000Other$86,252Religion$30,000Social Science$20,000

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 budgetCOUNCIL FOR NATIONAL POLICY: $154,100 over 6y, 1.2% of budgetTHE FAMILY LEADER FOUNDATION INC: $100,000 over 1y, 2.0% of budgetJAMES WILSON INSTITUTE FOR NATURAL RIGHTS AND THE AMERICAN FOUNDING: $78,418 over 3y, 4.2% of budgetFAMILY POLICY ALLIANCE FOUNDATION: $75,000 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetRULE OF LAW DEFENSE FUND: $65,000 over 2y, 1.3% of budgetTHE SUPREME COURT HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $61,252 over 3y, 1.7% of budgetFAMILY RESEARCH COUNCIL: $30,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCALVIN UNIVERSITY: $20,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN CONSERVATIVE UNION FOUNDATIONINC: $20,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CHRISTIAN LAWMAKERS INC: $20,000 over 2y, 2.7% of budgetChaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty: $10,000 over 1y, 20% 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.

Donors Trust IncNatl Christian Charit…Morgan Stanley Global…Vanguard Charitable E…National Philanthropi…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Donors Trust IncVA15.4× affinity5 shared granteesties to 7 of 7Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Donors Trust Inc · Natl Christian Charitable Fdn Inc · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · National Philanthropic Trust · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile 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 First Liberty Institute funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from First Liberty Institute. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%5%11%20%funder's share of their income ↑0%3%5%8%10%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 · 0–10%
    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.

    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 12 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 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on First Liberty Institute’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