Skip to content
Four Friends Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Four Friends Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$1.2M
Granted FY2024still arriving
38
Grants FY2024still arriving
6
States reached
$110k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0194% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Health$3.1MArts & Culture$2.0MEducation$514kFood & Nutrition$443kYouth Development$341kPhilanthropy$167kHuman Services$130kPublic Benefit$90kOther$0
02FY2024 · 38 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k7 grants · $33k
  • $10k–50k19 grants · $360k
  • $50k–250k12 grants · $833k
$25,000
Median grant
6
States reached
$36M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CEDARS SINAI WOMEN'S GUILD$110,000
INSIDE OUT LITERARY ARTS$104,400
URBAN ARTS PARTNERSHIP$103,200
WILLIE MAE ROCK CAMP FOR GIRLS$100,600
L A COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART$65,000
BRONX DOCUMENTARY CENTER$50,000
BROOKLYN CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC$50,000
CITY MEALS ON WHEELS$50,000
UPBEAT NYC INC$50,000
JEWISH HOSPICE & CHAPLAINCY NETWORK$50,000
THE NOEL POINTER FOUNDATION$50,000
THE ARTS CONNECTION INC$50,000
NATIONAL DANCE INSTITUTE$30,461
CHRYSALIS$30,000
PEOPLES THEATRE PROJECT$25,000
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 (FY17–24, $178k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 30% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%JEWISH FAMILY SERVICE OF SEATTLE: $70k → 9%JEWISH FAMILY SERVICE OF SEATTLE: $30k → 9%JEWISH FAMILY SERVICE OF SEATTLE: $25k → 9%GROUNDSWELL COMMUNITY MURAL PROJECT: $3k → 20%RED HOOK INITIATIVE: $9k → 20%RED HOOK INITIATIVE: $5k → 20%ALEX HOUSE PROJECT: $5k → 20%COVENANT HOUSE: $25k → 17%INNOCENCE PROJECT: $5k → 17%INNOCENCE PROJECT: $1k → 17%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

VT
WA
IL
MI
NY
MA
CT
CA
VA
MD
DC
LA
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.

79%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$5.5M · 32 repeat orgs$1.5M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +36% since the first grant, against -7% for those funded once.

32 repeat relationships: 15 still active in FY2024, 17 since wound down; 22 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

32
33

Total granted

$5.5M
$898k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+36%
-7%

Still filing today

72%
64%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 51% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $591k 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
Arts & CultureHuman ServicesEducationHealthInternationalYouth DevelopmentOther
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

  • UO
    University of Michigan
    3× · 2019–2021 · $2.8M · revenue +140%
  • INSIDEOUT LITERARY ARTS PROJECT
    5× · 2019–2024 · $249k · revenue +104%
  • UA
    Urban Arts Partnership
    2× · 2023–2024 · $178k · revenue +18%

Funded once

  • MA
    MARIAN AND EDWARD MACDOWELL INCgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $100k · revenue +118%
  • CC
    CARLETON COLLEGE
    one grant, 2018 · $99k
  • GB
    GIRL BE HEARD INSTITUTE
    one grant, 2023 · $75k · revenue -47%
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
Move(Nyc) Foundation Inc

Move|nyc| is a civic arts and social justice organization committed to cultivating a more diverse and inclusive society through transforming the field of professional dance. more than an arts organization, move|nyc| is a movement for…

Public Benefit
2
New York Hall of Science

Nysci's mission is to nurture generations of passionate learners, critical thinkers, and active citizens through design make play - an approach to learning and engagement that is deeply rooted in research on stem learning and guides the…

Arts & Culture
3
Studio in a School Association Inc

From classrooms to careers, studio in a school expands access to visual arts education and professions in the arts by partnering with practicing artists, schools, and cultural institutions.

—
4
Manhattan School of Music

Manhattan school of music is deeply committed to excellence in education, performance, and creative activity; to the humanity of the school's environment; and to the cultural enrichment of the larger community. a premiere international…

Arts & Culture
5
Women's Project & Productions Inc

Wp theater is the nation's oldest and largest theater company dedicated to developing, producing, and promoting the work of women+ at every stage of their careers. for over four decades we have served as leaders of a global movement…

Arts & Culture
6
The Diller-Quaile School of Music Inc

For more than a century, diller-quaile has offered an environment where music can flourish in all its aspects, enriching the lives of students of all ages and cultural backgrounds. the belief that music is a fundamental part of human life…

Arts & Culture
7
The Young Men's and Young Women's Hebrew Association

For over 150 years, the 92nd street y, new york has been serving its communities and the larger world by bringing people together (continued on schedule o)and providing exceptional, groundbreaking programs in the performing and visual…

Religion
8
Lookingglass Theatre Company

Lookingglass theatre company is a national leader in the creation and presentation of innovative, cutting-edge theatrical work. lookingglass interweaves movement, circus arts and narrative in original and captivating ways. guided by an…

Arts & Culture
9
Masters School

The masters school celebrates active participation, deep understanding, and meaningful connection. a community of diverse individuals, we gather to learn, to strive, to dare, to do - to be a power for good in the world.

—
10
The Wharton Institute for the Performing Arts Inc

To offer accessible, high-quality performing arts education that sparks personal growth and builds inclusive communities. its vision is to transform performing arts education in an inclusive community accessible to all.

—
11
New World Symphony Inc

Prepares gifted graduates of prestigious music programs for successful careers in orchestras and ensembles.

Education
12
School in the Square Public Charter School

School in the square ("s2") engages, educates and empowers adolescents to respond mindfully and creatively to life's opportunities and challenges. s2 is a place where students, families and educators are seen, heard, and inspired and where…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Girl Be Heard Institute; the most unlike its peers is The Noel Pointer Foundation 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

62 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. 62 of the 89 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)
7
Early backer (in before they grew)
62/62
Grantees still filing
36/62
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

University of Michigan: $2,750,000 · OtherUniversity of MichiganL A COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART: $354,500 · OtherL A COUNTY MUSEUM OF ARTZENO MOUNTAIN FARM: $238,000 · OtherUrban Arts Partnership: $178,200 · OtherWILLIE MAE ROCK CAMP FOR GIRLS INC: $175,600 · Other+39 more: $1,341,000 · Other+39 moreINSIDEOUT LITERARY ARTS PROJECT: $249,400 · Arts & CultureINSIDEOUT LITERARY A…FILM AT LINCOLN CENTER INC: $93,346 · Arts & CultureFILM AT LINCOLN CENT…ARTSCONNECTION INC: $90,000 · Arts & CultureARTSCONNECTION INCAmerican Museum of Natural History: $84,568 · Arts & CultureAmerican Museum of N…NATIONAL DANCE INSTITUTE: $80,461 · Arts & CultureNATIONAL DANCE INSTI…The Art Students League Of New York Inc: $80,000 · Arts & CultureThe Art Students Lea…GIRL BE HEARD INSTITUTE: $75,000 · Arts & CultureGIRL BE HEARD INSTIT…Dancing Classrooms Inc: $75,000 · Arts & CultureDancing Classrooms I…THE BROOKLYN QUEENS CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC: $50,000 · Arts & CultureTHE BRONX DOCUMENTARY CENTER: $50,000 · Arts & CultureSTEM FROM DANCE INC: $50,000 · Arts & CultureACADEMY FOUNDATION: $50,000 · Arts & CultureUPBEAT NYC INC: $50,000 · Arts & CultureWNET: $50,000 · Arts & Culture+11 more: $151,000 · Arts & Culture+11 moreJEWISH FAMILY SERVICE: $125,000 · Human ServicesCOVENANT HOUSE: $25,000 · Human ServicesRED HOOK INITIATIVE: $14,000 · Human ServicesTHE INNOCENCE PROJECT INC: $6,000 · Human Services+2 more: $7,500 · Human ServicesMILTON ACADEMY: $62,000 · EducationThe Charlie Cart Project: $50,000 · EducationTeam Read: $30,000 · EducationSUCCESS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOLS - NYC: $20,000 · EducationWIKIMEDIA FOUNDATION INC: $10,000 · EducationGS DONOR ADVISED PHILANTHROPY FUND FOR WEALTH MANAGEMENT INC: $128,000 · PhilanthropySOCIAL VENTURE PARTNERS: $20,000 · PhilanthropyTHE NEW YORK COMMUNITY TRUST: $19,000 · PhilanthropyCITYMEALS-ON-WHEELS: $155,000 · Food & NutritionTHE MICHAEL J FOX FOUNDATION FOR PARKINSON'S RESEARCH: $75,000 · HealthTHE CENTER FOR MIND-BODY MEDICINE: $30,000 · HealthHEAD STRONG PROJECT INC: $30,000 · HealthFOUNDATION FOR ADVANCEMENT OF HAITIAN MIDWIVES INC: $5,000 · HealthSERIOUSFUN CHILDREN'S NETWORK: $5,000 · Health
Other$5,037,300Arts & Culture$1,278,775Human Services$177,500Education$172,000Philanthropy$167,000Food & Nutrition$155,000Health$145,000

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 budgetINSIDEOUT LITERARY ARTS PROJECT: $249,400 over 5y, 3.9% of budgetUrban Arts Partnership: $178,200 over 2y, 1.5% of budgetWILLIE MAE ROCK CAMP FOR GIRLS INC: $175,600 over 2y, 17% of budgetCITYMEALS-ON-WHEELS: $155,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetGS DONOR ADVISED PHILANTHROPY FUND FOR WEALTH MANAGEMENT INC: $128,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetJEWISH FAMILY SERVICE: $125,000 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetFILM AT LINCOLN CENTER INC: $93,346 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetARTSCONNECTION INC: $90,000 over 4y, 0.8% of budgetAmerican Museum of Natural History: $84,568 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL DANCE INSTITUTE: $80,461 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetCENTRAL PARK CONSERVANCY INC: $80,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetThe Art Students League Of New York Inc: $80,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetTHE MICHAEL J FOX FOUNDATION FOR PARKINSON'S RESEARCH: $75,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetGIRL BE HEARD INSTITUTE: $75,000 over 1y, 6.5% of budgetDancing Classrooms Inc: $75,000 over 1y, 2.7% of budgetMILTON ACADEMY: $62,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE BROOKLYN QUEENS CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetThe Charlie Cart Project: $50,000 over 1y, 2.9% of budgetJEWISH HOSPICE & CHAPLAINCY NETWORK: $50,000 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetTHE BRONX DOCUMENTARY CENTER: $50,000 over 1y, 3.7% of budgetTHE NOEL POINTER FOUNDATION INC: $50,000 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetSTEM FROM DANCE INC: $50,000 over 1y, 2.5% of budgetACADEMY FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetUPBEAT NYC INC: $50,000 over 1y, 12% of budgetWNET: $50,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS: $45,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetUNITED STATES FUND FOR UNICEF: $40,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPERFECT EARTH PROJECT INC: $30,000 over 4y, 3.0% of budgetTHE CENTER FOR MIND-BODY MEDICINE: $30,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetTeam Read: $30,000 over 2y, 1.8% of budgetHEAD STRONG PROJECT INC: $30,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetNYC SALT INC: $30,000 over 2y, 1.9% of budgetCOVENANT HOUSE: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE YOUNG PEOPLE'S CHORUS OF NEW YORK CITY INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetMOSAIC YOUTH THEATRE OF DETROIT: $25,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetIMPACT SOCIETY GLOBAL: $25,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetPEOPLE'S THEATRE PROJECT INC: $25,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetOpening Act Inc: $25,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetSOCIAL VENTURE PARTNERS: $20,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetSUCCESS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOLS - NYC: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE NEW YORK COMMUNITY TRUST: $19,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetRED HOOK INITIATIVE: $14,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetINNOCENCE PROJECT NEW ORLEANS: $10,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetSeattle JazzED: $10,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetREEL STORIES TEEN FILMMAKING INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetSPHINX ORGANIZATION INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetBROOKLYN YOUTH CHORUS ACADEMY INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetBEAM CENTER INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.3% 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.

Pinkerton FoundationThe Pierre & Tana Mat…The Hyde and Watson F…The New York Communit…Brooklyn Community Fo…The Ford FoundationAltman FoundationYouth Improving Non-P…Jewish Communal FundLily Auchincloss Foun…The Jean & Louis Drey…The Keith Haring Foun…
Pinkerton FoundationNY33.7× affinity14 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Pinkerton Foundation · The Pierre & Tana Matisse Foundation Inc · The Hyde and Watson Foundation · The New York Community Trust · Brooklyn Community Foundation · The Ford Foundation · Altman Foundation · Youth Improving Non-Profits for Children · Jewish Communal Fund · Lily Auchincloss Foundation Inc · The Jean & Louis Dreyfus Foundation Inc · The Keith Haring Foundation Inc

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 Four Friends Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Four Friends Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • Milton Academy: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
25report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
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 89 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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Four Friends’ 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