California · Public charity
First Look Institute Inc
First Look Institute supports fearless investigative journalism, innovative and cinematic nonfiction filmmaking, and press freedom initiatives to protect the right to a free and open society and press.
- $26M
- Granted FY2023
- 4
- Grants FY2023
- 4
- Organizations funded FY2023
- 75%
- First-time grantees FY2023
- Median grant, FY2023
- $9,372,941
- Largest grant, FY2023
- $14,770,250
- Organizations funded a year
- 3 to 16
- FY2017 to FY2023
- States reached, FY2023
- 2
- Total assets, FY2023
- $1.8M
How open it is to new grantees
In FY2023, 75% of the organizations First Look Institute Inc funded were first-time grantees, receiving 96% of its grant dollars.
New vs renewed · share of each year
In FY2023, 4% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $25M went to new ones.
Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant
How this is measured
The numbers by year
| Fiscal year | Organizations funded | To those organizations | First-time grantees |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2023 | 4 | $26M | 75% |
| FY2022 | 3 | $108k | 33% |
| FY2021 | 16 | $586k | 69% |
| FY2020 | 12 | $341k | 50% |
| FY2019 | 12 | $426k | 67% |
| FY2018 | 8 | $1.6M | 50% |
| FY2017 | 13 | $1.3M | n/a |
What it funded, over time
Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2023.
Where its grants go
Grant dollars by states, across the years we hold.
Which US states its grants reach
Top grantees
Largest recipients by total granted, FY2017 to FY2023, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.
| Grantee | Total granted | Years | Share of their budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Intercept Media Inc | $14,770,250 | 1 | 78% |
| Field of Vision Inc | $9,372,941 | 1 | n/a |
| Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz PC | $1,150,890 | 1 | n/a |
| Association of the Bar of the City of New York Fund Inc | $1,145,000 | 4 | 9% |
| University of Maryland College Park Foundation Inc | $997,000 | 1 | 1% |
| Freedom of the Press Foundation | $680,000 | 2 | 11% |
| Type Media Center Inc | $633,571 | 3 | 0% |
| Baker Donelson | $204,334 | 1 | n/a |
| National Press Photographers Foundation Inc | $139,000 | 3 | 32% |
| First Amendment Coalition | $120,000 | 3 | 8% |
Show all 44 grantees
| Grantee | Total granted | Years | Share of their budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Intercept Media Inc | $14,770,250 | 1 | 78% |
| Field of Vision Inc | $9,372,941 | 1 | n/a |
| Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz PC | $1,150,890 | 1 | n/a |
| Association of the Bar of the City of New York Fund Inc | $1,145,000 | 4 | 9% |
| University of Maryland College Park Foundation Inc | $997,000 | 1 | 1% |
| Freedom of the Press Foundation | $680,000 | 2 | 11% |
| Type Media Center Inc | $633,571 | 3 | 0% |
| Baker Donelson | $204,334 | 1 | n/a |
| National Press Photographers Foundation Inc | $139,000 | 3 | 32% |
| First Amendment Coalition | $120,000 | 3 | 8% |
| Human Rights Foundation Inc | $110,000 | 1 | 0% |
| Firelight Media Inc | $105,000 | 3 | 2% |
| The Signals Network Inc | $105,000 | 2 | 52% |
| The Center for Independent Documentary Inc | $100,000 | 2 | 1% |
| Journalism Development Network Inc | $100,000 | 1 | 1% |
| No Evil Eye Microcinema LLC | $75,000 | 2 | n/a |
| Committee to Protect Journalists Inc | $72,000 | 5 | 0% |
| The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press | $67,500 | 3 | 1% |
| Thomas R Burke Esq Davis Wright Tremaine | $50,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Kirsten Johnson Inc | $50,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Alliance for Global Justice Corp | $50,000 | 1 | 2% |
| Baker & Hostetller LLP | $35,000 | 2 | n/a |
| Participant Media LLC | $33,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Multitude Films LLC | $30,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Sky Bear Media LLC | $30,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Standing Above the Clouds LLC | $30,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Afghan Media Futures Inc | $30,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Blknws LLC | $30,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Sisters in Cinema NFP | $30,000 | 1 | 3% |
| Syracuse University | $26,500 | 1 | 0% |
| Chico Community Publishing Inc | $25,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Maysles Institute Inc | $25,000 | 1 | 5% |
| Wesley Paul Esq Paul Law Group LLP | $15,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Regents of the University of California at Berkeley | $15,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Big Sky Film Institute | $13,000 | 1 | 3% |
| The Center for Investigative Reporting formrly Foundation for National Progress | $10,000 | 1 | 0% |
| National Press Photographers Association Inc | $10,000 | 1 | 1% |
| Ifc Theatres LLC | $7,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Center for Constitutional Rights | $5,000 | 1 | 0% |
| NAACP Legal Defense & Educ Fund Inc | $5,000 | 1 | 0% |
| Equal Justice Initiative | $5,000 | 1 | 0% |
| Elgron Inc | $1,680 | 1 | n/a |
| Goldberg & Allen LLP | $633 | 1 | n/a |
| Modern Money Network Limited | $300 | 1 | n/a |
Plus 2 recipients with no EIN on record ($38k), not named here.
Where it is load-bearing
First Look Institute Inc supplied at least a quarter of the budget for 3 of its grantees at some point. The chart plots its 24 largest grantees; load-bearing ones sit top left.
Tap a dot to name the grantee.
How this is measured
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.
Open a dossier: Foundation to Promote Open Society · John D and Catherine T Macarthur Foundation · The Ford Foundation · Chicken & Egg Films Inc · Perspective Media Initiatives Inc · Park Foundation Inc · Silicon Valley Community Foundation · Tides Foundation · National Philanthropic Trust · Network for Good · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · American Online Giving Foundation Inc
How this is measured
About First Look Institute Inc
- How much does First Look Institute Inc give?
- First Look Institute Inc reported 4 grants totaling $26,097,191 in its FY2023 IRS filing. It funded between 3 and 16 organizations a year over FY2017 to FY2023.
- What does First Look Institute Inc fund?
- By grant dollars over FY2017 to FY2023, its largest causes are Arts & Culture (83%), Crime & Legal (8%), Recreation & Sports (3%).
- Who are First Look Institute Inc's largest grantees?
- By total granted over FY2017 to FY2023: The Intercept Media Inc ($15M), Field of Vision Inc ($9.4M), Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz PC ($1.2M).
- Does First Look Institute Inc fund new organizations?
- In FY2023, 75% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
- Which funders back the same organizations as First Look Institute Inc?
- Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include Foundation to Promote Open Society, John D and Catherine T Macarthur Foundation, The Ford Foundation.
- Where is First Look Institute Inc based?
- First Look Institute Inc is based in CA.
Play a game based on First Look Institute’s filings →