Skip to content
Foundation for Contemporary Arts Inc at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

Foundation for Contemporary Arts Inc

To encourage, sponsor, and promote innovative work in the arts created and presented by individuals, groups, and organizations.

$1.6M
Granted FY2024still arriving
2
Grants FY2024still arriving
2
States reached
$45k
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 2024.

Arts & Culture$290kEducation$280k
02FY2024 · 2 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 2 grants below total $90,000, the rows itemized in this filing. The $1,605,000 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $1,515,000 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.
$45,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$55M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART DETROIT$45,000
IMMEDIATE MEDIUM INC$45,000
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 (FY17–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 13%. 69% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 13%CALIFORNIA COLLEGE OF THE ARTS: $40k → 10%THE UNDERGROUND MUSEUM INC: $40k → 14%SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY: $10k → 14%THE NEW SCHOOL: $20k → 17%PRATT INSTITUTE: $10k → 20%SITE SANTA FE: $45k → 12%MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART DETROIT: $45k → 21%UNIVERSITY OF HARTFORD: $20k → 11%UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT: $10k → 11%SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT STATE UNIVERSITY: $10k → 12%FRIST ART MUSEUM: $45k → 14%SOUTHEASTERN CENTER FOR CONTEMPORARY ARTS: $10k → 15%AUGUSTA UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $40k → 18%CLEVELAND INSTITUTE OF ART: $20k → 17%VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY: $40k → 22%MAINE COLLEGE OF ART: $10k → 7%INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY ART LOS ANGELES: $40k → 14%SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY: $10k → 14%UNIVERSITY OF HARTFORD: $10k → 11%SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY: $10k → 14%UNIVERSITY OF HARTFORD: $10k → 11%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

ME
MI
NY
OH
CT
CA
VA
NM
TN
NC
GA
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.

16%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$90k · 3 repeat orgs$480k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +45% since the first grant, against +24% for those funded once.

3 repeat relationships: 0 still active in FY2024, 3 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

3
15

Total granted

$90k
$390k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+45%
+24%

Still filing today

100%
87%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 0% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $90k 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
EducationArts & CultureOther
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

  • UNIVERSITY OF HARTFORD
    3× · 2018–2023 · $40k · revenue +11%
  • SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY
    3× · 2017–2020 · $30k · revenue +45%
  • SC
    Savannah College of Art and DesignInc
    2× · 2017–2018 · $20k · revenue +99%

Funded once

  • SS
    SITE SANTA FEgraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $45k · revenue +103%
  • FRIST ART MUSEUM
    one grant, 2022 · $45k · revenue +6%
  • AU
    AUGUSTA UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INCgraduated
    one grant, 2018 · $40k · revenue +130%
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
Boston Architectural College

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

—
2
Museum of Arts and Design

To collect, display and interpret objects in craft art and design.

Arts & Culture
3
New York School of Interior Design

New york school of interior design provides the most innovative, immersive, and transformative interior design education in the world, demonstrating the impact of professionally designed interiors on the health, happiness, and well-being…

Education
4
Art Center College of Design

Our mission is to educate, inspire, and empower creative and design leaders.

Education
5
Maryland Institute

Degree granting college-maryland institute college of art is a private college dedicated to the education of professional artists and the further advancement of art in the community.

Education
6
Columbia College Chicago

The organization's mission is to educate students for creative occupations in diverse fields of arts and media.

Education
7
National Academy of Design

The mission of the national academy of design is to promote the fine arts in america through exhibition and education.

Education
8
Kentucky College of Art Design

The kentucky college of art and design opens the door to a creative and productive life through an undergraduate education in the contemporary arts.

Education
9
Rhode Island School of Design

The mission of rhode island school of design, through its college and museum,is to educate its students and the public in the creation and (see schedule o)appreciation of works of art and design, to discover and transmit knowledge and to…

Education
10
Laguna College of Art & Design

Laguna college of art & design prepares individuals for careers as creative artists and designers in a culturally and ethnically diverse world through a curriculum that emphasizes acquiring skills based on observation, representation, and…

Education
11
Minneapolis College of Art and Design

Mcad provides a transformative education within a community of support for creative students of all backgrounds to work, collaborate, and lead with confidence in a dynamic, interconnected world.

Education
12
California Institute of Contemporary Art
—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Cleveland Institute of Art; the most unlike its peers is Immediate Medium Inc. 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

18 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. 18 of the 20 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)
18/18
Grantees still filing
16/18
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

UNIVERSITY OF HARTFORD: $40,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF HARTFORDCALIFORNIA COLLEGE OF THE ARTS: $40,000 · EducationCALIFORNIA COLLEGE OF THE ARTSVIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY FOUNDAT: $40,000 · EducationVIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY FOUNDATSYRACUSE UNIVERSITY: $30,000 · EducationSYRACUSE UNIVERSITYThe New School: $20,000 · EducationThe New SchoolSavannah College of Art and DesignInc: $20,000 · EducationSavannah College of Art and DesignIncTHE CLEVELAND INSTITUTE OF ART: $20,000 · EducationTHE CLEVELAND INSTITUTE OF ARTPRATT INSTITUTE: $10,000 · EducationMAINE COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN: $10,000 · EducationCRANBROOK EDUCATIONAL COMMUNITY: $10,000 · EducationMUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART DETROIT: $45,000 · Arts & CultureMUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART DETROITSITE SANTA FE: $45,000 · Arts & CultureSITE SANTA FEFRIST ART MUSEUM: $45,000 · Arts & CultureFRIST ART MUSEUMICA LA: $40,000 · Arts & CultureICA LATHE UNDERGROUND MUSEUM INC: $40,000 · Arts & CultureTHE UNDERGROUND MUSEUM INCSECCA Foundation: $10,000 · Arts & CultureIMMEDIATE MEDIUM INC: $45,000 · OtherIMMEDIATE MEDIUM INCAUGUSTA UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $40,000 · OtherAUGUSTA UNIVERSITY F…SOUTHERN CT STATE UNIVERSITY: $10,000 · OtherSOUTHERN CT STATE UN…UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT: $10,000 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF CONNEC…
Education$240,000Arts & Culture$225,000Other$105,000

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 budgetMUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART DETROIT: $45,000 over 1y, 2.6% of budgetIMMEDIATE MEDIUM INC: $45,000 over 1y, 22% of budgetSITE SANTA FE: $45,000 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetFRIST ART MUSEUM: $45,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF HARTFORD: $40,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetAUGUSTA UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $40,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetCALIFORNIA COLLEGE OF THE ARTS: $40,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetICA LA: $40,000 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetVIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY FOUNDAT: $40,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetTHE UNDERGROUND MUSEUM INC: $40,000 over 1y, 5.3% of budgetSYRACUSE UNIVERSITY: $30,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetThe New School: $20,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSavannah College of Art and DesignInc: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE CLEVELAND INSTITUTE OF ART: $20,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetPRATT INSTITUTE: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMAINE COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCRANBROOK EDUCATIONAL COMMUNITY: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% 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.

Morgan Stanley Global…The Bank of America C…National Philanthropi…Vanguard Charitable E…American Endowment Fo…Donor Advised Charita…American Online Givin…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust IncIN10× affinity6 shared granteesties to 8 of 8Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · American Endowment Foundation · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · American Online Giving Foundation 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 Foundation for Contemporary Arts Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Foundation for Contemporary Arts Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%2%6%14%25%funder's share of their income ↑0%8%15%22%30%share of the org’s income from government →median 1%
  • University of Hartford: 1% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
6report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–30%
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 20 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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Foundation for Contemporary 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