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Forward Arts Foundation Inc at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

Forward Arts Foundation Inc

To provide support to the visual arts in the atlanta, ga area.

$245k
Granted FY2025still arriving
4
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$150k
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, FY2017 to 2025.

Arts & Culture$1.4MEnvironment$70kCommunity Improvement$30kEducation$10k
02FY2025 · 4 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 4 grants below total $240,000, the rows itemized in this filing. The $245,000 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $5,000 is giving the schedule does not break out (grants under the $5,000 itemization floor, grants to individuals, grants on other schedules). Every figure below describes the itemized rows only.

By grant size · FY2025

  • $10k–50k2 grants · $40k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $200k
$50,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$8.2M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
MICHAEL C CARLOS MUSEUM$150,000
ERNEST G WELCH SCHOOL OF ART AND DESIGN$50,000
ATLANTA BELTLINE PARTNERSHIP$30,000
ATLANTA CENTER FOR PHOTOGRAPHY$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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 97% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%BOOTH WESTERN ART MUSEUM IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION: $25k → 10%BLUE HERON NATURE PRESERVE INC: $20k → 13%AGNES SCOTT COLLEGE: $10k → 14%GEORGIA MUSEUM OF ART: $50k → 27%BOOTH WESTERN ART MUSEUM IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION: $25k → 10%ATLANTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC: $15k → 13%MICHAEL C CARLOS MUSEUM: $150k → 14%GEORGIA MUSEUM OF ARTUNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA FOUNDATION: $25k → 27%HIGH MUSEUM OF ARTS THE WOODRUFF ARTS CENTER: $500k → 13%Michael C Carlos Museum Emory University: $50k → 14%Georgia Museum of Art University of Georgia Foundation: $25k → 27%HIGH MUSEUM OF ART THE WOODRUFF ARTS CENTER: $100k → 13%MICHAEL C CARLOS MUSEUM EMORY UNIVERSITY: $50k → 14%HIGH MUSEUM OF ART: $100k → 13%OGLETHORPE UNIVERSITY MUSEUM OF ART: $25k → 14%ATLANTA BOTANICAL GARDENS: $50k → 13%DASHBOARD CO-OP INC: $10k → 14%THE MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART OF GEORGIA INC: $20k → 13%Museum of Contemporary Art of Atlanta: $20k → 13%GEORGIA COMMITTEE OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN IN THE ARTS INC: $15k → 13%HIGH MUSEUM OF ART: $14k → 13%ATLANTA BELTLINE PARTNERSHIP: $30k → 13%ATLANTA CONTEMPORARY ART CENTER: $25k → 13%ATLANTA CONTEMPORARY ART CENTER: $20k → 13%ATLANTA CONTEMPORARY ART CENTER: $15k → 13%Atlanta Contemporary Art Center: $10k → 13%ATLANTA CONTEMPORARY ART CENTER: $10k → 13%ATLANTA CENTER FOR PHOTOGRAPHY: $10k → 13%Arts Critic Atl Inc (ArtsAtl): $5k → 13%ERNEST G WELCH SCHOOL OF ART AND DESIGN: $50k → 13%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.
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 Forward Arts Foundation Inc’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address. By recipient address, 100% of the giving stays in GA; by stated purpose, 64%.

Forward Arts Foundation Inclessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address
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.

74%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.1M · 6 repeat orgs$390k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +80% since the first grant, against +7% for those funded once.

6 repeat relationships: 0 still active in FY2025, 6 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

6
8

Total granted

$1.1M
$150k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+80%
+7%

Still filing today

100%
88%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 0% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $240k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’22’23’24’25
Arts & CultureEnvironmentEducationOther
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

  • RW
    ROBERT W WOODRUFF ARTS CENTER INC
    5× · 2018–2024 · $714k · revenue +54%
  • TU
    THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA FOUNDATION
    3× · 2017–2022 · $100k · revenue +112%
  • EU
    Emory University
    2× · 2017–2020 · $100k · revenue +80%

Funded once

  • TA
    THE ATLANTA BOTANICAL GARDEN INCgraduated
    one grant, 2018 · $50k · revenue +194%
  • OU
    OGLETHORPE UNIVERSITY MUSEUM OF ART
    one grant, 2024 · $25k
  • BH
    BLUE HERON NATURE PRESERVE INC
    one grant, 2020 · $20k · revenue +7%
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
The African Diasporic Art Museum of Atlanta Inc

to showcase contemporary art and culture of the African Diaspora

Arts & Culture
2
Berggruen Institute
Education
3
Savannah College of Art and DesignInc

Scad prepares talented students for creative professions through engaged teaching and learning in a positively oriented university environment.

Education
4
Baltimore Museum of Art

The baltimore museum of art connects art to baltimore and baltimore to the world, embodying a commitment to artistic excellence and social equity in every decision from art presentation, interpretation, and collecting, to the composition…

Arts & Culture
5
The Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences

The mission of the brooklyn institute of arts and sciences, d/b/a brooklyn museum (the "museum") is to bring people together through art and experiences that inspire celebration, compassion, courage, and the will to act. (see schedule o).

Arts & Culture
6
Mint Inc

Mint's mission is to make atlanta a destination for the arts: a cultural hub where artists thrive, patrons experience transformative work, and communities are activated and engaged.

—
7
Mint Museum of Art Inc

The mint museum welcomes all to be inspired and transformed through the power of art and creativity.

Arts & Culture
8
Kadist Collection Manager Inc
Arts & Culture
9
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Inc

Organization's mission statement true to the ambitious vision of its founder and her spirit of creative risk-taking, the mission of the isabella stewart gardner museum is: - to bring to life and preserve the rich historic collection; - to…

Arts & Culture
10
Arnot Art Museum

The arnot art museum is an exhibiting and collecting fine arts museum, accredited by the american association of museums. the museum exhibits its permanent collection of 17th-19th century european paintings and sculpture; 19th century…

Arts & Culture
11
Flux Projects Inc

Commissioning public art that invites audiences in atlanta to explore the citys sites and stories as a means to imagining its future possibilities.

Arts & Culture
12
Metropolitan Museum of Art

The metropolitan museum of art collects, studies, conserves, and presents significant works of art across all times and cultures in order to connect people to creativity, knowledge, and ideas.

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Atlanta Historical Society Inc; the most unlike its peers is Blue Heron Nature Preserve Inc. 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

14 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. 14 of the 18 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)
1
Early backer (in before they grew)
14/14
Grantees still filing
11/14
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

ROBERT W WOODRUFF ARTS CENTER INC: $714,300 · Arts & CultureROBERT W WOODRUFF ARTS CENTER INCATLANTA CONTEMPORY ART CENTER INC: $80,000 · Arts & CultureATLANTA CONTEMPORY ART CENTER INCSMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION: $50,000 · Arts & CultureTHE MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART OF GEORGIA INC: $40,000 · Arts & Culture+3 more: $55,000 · Arts & Culture+3 moreMICHAEL C CARLOS MUSEUM: $150,000 · OtherMICHAEL C CARLOS MUS…ERNEST G WELCH SCHOOL OF ART AND DESIGN: $50,000 · OtherERNEST G WELCH SCHOO…OGLETHORPE UNIVERSITY MUSEUM OF ART: $25,000 · OtherOGLETHORPE UNIVERSIT…GEORGIA COMMITTEE OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN: $15,000 · OtherGEORGIA COMMITTEE OF…Agnes Scott College: $10,000 · OtherATLANTA CENTER FOR PHOTOGRAPHY: $10,000 · Other+1 more: $5,000 · OtherTHE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA FOUNDATION: $100,000 · EducationTHE UNIVERSITY …Emory University: $100,000 · EducationEmory Universit…THE ATLANTA BOTANICAL GARDEN INC: $50,000 · EnvironmentBLUE HERON NATURE PRESERVE INC: $20,000 · Environment
Arts & Culture$939,300Other$265,000Education$200,000Environment$70,000

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetROBERT W WOODRUFF ARTS CENTER INC: $714,300 over 5y, 0.6% of budgetTHE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA FOUNDATION: $100,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetEmory University: $100,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetATLANTA CONTEMPORY ART CENTER INC: $80,000 over 5y, 4.9% of budgetTHE ATLANTA BOTANICAL GARDEN INC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetSMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION: $50,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART OF GEORGIA INC: $40,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetATLANTA BELTLINE PARTNERSHIP INC: $30,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetBLUE HERON NATURE PRESERVE INC: $20,000 over 1y, 4.7% of budgetATLANTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC: $15,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGEORGIA COMMITTEE OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN: $15,000 over 1y, 18% of budgetDASHBOARD CO-OP INC: $10,000 over 1y, 2.0% of budgetAgnes Scott College: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetARTS CRITIC ATL INC: $5,000 over 1y, 1.5% 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.

The Community Foundat…Tim & Lauren Schrager…The Imlay Foundation …The Arthur M Blank Fa…National Philanthropi…The Bank of America C…Amazonsmile Foundation
The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta IncGA17.2× affinity6 shared granteesties to 6 of 6Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta Inc · Tim & Lauren Schrager Family Foundation · The Imlay Foundation Inc · The Arthur M Blank Family Foundation · National Philanthropic Trust · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · 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 Forward Arts Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Forward Arts Foundation Inc. 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%4%8%11%15%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    4report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–15%
    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 18 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 Forward Arts’ 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