Skip to content
Foundation for Improving Horizons at a glance

· Private foundation

Foundation for Improving Horizons

Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$23k
Granted FY2025still arriving
5
Grants FY2025still arriving
3
States reached
$21k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0183% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2018 to 2025.

International$111kPhilanthropy$3kEnvironment$3kArts & Culture$560Membership Benefit$500Education$400Housing & Shelter$298Human Services$250Other$0
02FY2025 · 5 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k4 grants · $2k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $21k
$200
Median grant
3
States reached
$793k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
RESCUE TASK FORCE$21,400
WILD LENS INC$1,000
Individual grant recipient$200
CHANTICLEER GARDEN$150
Individual grant recipient$150
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 (FY18–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 97% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%OXFAM AMERICA: $250 → 12%JENKINS ARBORETUM: $150 → 6%UNION FIRE ASSOCIATION: $100 → 7%SCOTT ARBORETUM: $80 → 10%MORRIS ARBORETUM: $150 → 22%SIERRA CLUB: $250 → 10%RESCUE TASK FORCE: $21k → 11%WORLD EMERGENCY RELIEF: $2k → 14%ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND: $250 → 14%EO WILSON BIODIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $1k → 11%NATIONAL CHRISTIAN FOUNDATION: $3k → 13%TECHNOSERVE: $500 → 7%JENKINS ARBORETUM: $100 → 6%FRIENDS OF THE CYNWYD HERITAGE TRAIL: $100 → 7%TYLER ARBORETUM: $200 → 10%WHYY: $260 → 22%SIERRA CLUB: $100 → 10%RESCUE TASK FORCE: $20k → 11%PUBLIC CITIZEN: $200 → 14%HABITAT FOR HUMANITY: $298 → 13%TECHNOSERVE: $250 → 7%CHANTICLEER GARDEN: $150 → 6%MERION CIVIC ASSOCIATION: $100 → 7%TYLER ARBORETUM: $105 → 10%WHYY: $100 → 22%RESCUE TASK FORCE: $17k → 11%CHANTICLEER GARDEN: $125 → 6%NARBERTH FIRE COMPANY: $150 → 7%TYLER ARBORETUM: $100 → 10%WHYY: $100 → 22%RESCUE TASK FORCE: $17k → 11%LOWER MERION FOP LODGE #28: $250 → 10%RESCUE TASK FORCE: $16k → 11%LOWER MERION POLICE PENSION: $250 → 10%RESCUE TASK FORCE: $10k → 11%ARDMORE FREE LIBRARY: $250 → 10%RESCUE TASK FORCE: $6k → 11%LOWER MERION FOP LODGE #28: $250 → 10%RESCUE TASK FORCE: $1k → 11%NARBERTH AMBULANCE: $150 → 10%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

ID
MN
PA
CA
VA
NC
DC
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.

93%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$111k · 8 repeat orgs$9k to everyone else

8 repeat relationships: 4 still active in FY2025, 4 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

8
15

Total granted

$111k
$8k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+8%
+21%

Still filing today

50%
53%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 96% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $1k went to new ones.

50%100%’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
InternationalEnvironmentPhilanthropyArts & CulturePublic BenefitHealthOther
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

  • LC
    LIFE CHARITIES INC
    8× · 2018–2025 · $108k · revenue +5%
  • TI
    TECHNOSERVE INC
    2× · 2020–2021 · $750 · revenue +51%
  • WHYY INC
    3× · 2021–2024 · $460 · revenue +8%

Funded once

  • NC
    NATIONAL CHRISTIAN FOUNDATION INCgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $3k · revenue ×103
  • WE
    WORLD EMERGENCY RELIEF
    one grant, 2021 · $2k · revenue +15%
  • EO WILSON BIODIVERSITY FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2021 · $1k · revenue -61%
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
World Wildlife Fund Inc

Wwf's mission is to conserve nature and reduce the most pressing threats to the diversity of life on earth. (continued on schedule o)

Environment
2
Conservation International Foundation

Ci works to spotlight and secure the critical benefits that nature provides to humanity.

Environment
3
World Resources Institute

Wri is committed to creating change that improves people's lives and ensures the natural world can thrive. (see schedule o)wri's bold vision requires a formula for success we call "count it. change it. scale it.":- count it: our work is…

International
4
Natural Resources Defense Council Inc

We safeguard the earth: its people, its plants and animals, and (see schedule o) the natural systems on which all life depends. we work to restore the integrity of the elements that sustain life - air, land, and water - to defend…

Environment
5
Rainforest Trust

Rainforest trust saves endangered wildlife and protects our planet by creating rainforest reserves through partnerships, community engagement, and donor support.

International
6
Wildaid Inc

Wildaid's mission is to inspire change and empower the world to protect wildlife and vital habitats from critical threats.

Animals
7
Ocean Conservancy

Ocean conservancy unites science, people, and policy to protect our ocean, today and for generations to come.

Environment
8
Rainforest Foundation Inc

The purpose of rainforest foundation us is to support indigenous peoples and forest communities in their efforts to secure their lands, protect their environment, and uphold their rights.

Environment
9
Environment Now
—
10
Project Drawdown

Project drawdown's mission is to drive meaningful climate action by advancing science-based solutions and strategies. project drawdown's work is focused on three pillars: science - advancing science-based climate solutions and strategies;…

Education
11
The Nature Conservancy

The mission of the nature conservancy is to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends.

—
12
Waterorg

Water.org's goal is to bring safe water and sanitation to the world through access to small, affordable loans.

International
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Environmental Defense Fund Incorporated; the most unlike its peers is Ardmore Free Library. 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

15 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

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 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 15 of the 25 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)
14/15
Grantees still filing
10/15
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

LIFE CHARITIES INC: $107,969 · PhilanthropyLIFE CHARITIES INC+1 more: $3,000 · PhilanthropyLOWER MERION FOP LODGE #28: $500 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $405 · OtherSIERRA CLUB: $350 · OtherHABITAT FOR HUMANITY INC: $298 · OtherCHANTICLEER GARDEN: $275 · OtherLOWER MERION POLICE PENSION: $250 · OtherARDMORE FREE LIBRARY: $250 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $250 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $150 · Other+4 more: $380 · OtherWORLD EMERGENCY RELIEF: $1,650 · InternationalTECHNOSERVE INC: $750 · InternationalOXFAM-AMERICA INC: $250 · InternationalEO WILSON BIODIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $1,000 · EnvironmentWILDLENS INC: $1,000 · EnvironmentENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND INCORPORATED: $250 · EnvironmentWHYY INC: $460 · Arts & CulturePUBLIC CITIZEN INC: $200 · Public BenefitVOLUNTEER MEDICAL SERV CORPS OF LM & NAR: $150 · HealthTRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: $150 · Education
Philanthropy$110,969Other$3,108International$2,650Environment$2,250Arts & Culture$460Public Benefit$200Health$150Education$150

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 budgetLIFE CHARITIES INC: $107,969 over 8y, 1.6% of budgetWORLD EMERGENCY RELIEF: $1,650 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetEO WILSON BIODIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWILDLENS INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetTECHNOSERVE INC: $750 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWHYY INC: $460 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSIERRA CLUB: $350 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetARDMORE FREE LIBRARY: $250 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetOXFAM-AMERICA INC: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND INCORPORATED: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPUBLIC CITIZEN INC: $200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetVOLUNTEER MEDICAL SERV CORPS OF LM & NAR: $150 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: $150 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.

Fund for EducationDonor Advised Charita…Amazonsmile Foundation
Fund for EducationPA17.9× affinity6 shared granteesties to 2 of 2Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Fund for Education · Donor Advised Charitable Giving 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 Foundation for Improving Horizons funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Foundation for Improving Horizons. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%19%38%56%75%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • Oxfam-America Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
1report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–75%
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.
05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Foundation for Improving Horizons?

Find your warmest path to Foundation for Improving Horizons 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 from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 25 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-PF 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 Foundation for Improving Horizons’ 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