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Freedom From Religion Foundation Inc at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

Freedom From Religion Foundation Inc

To keep church and state separate and to educate the public about nontheism

$1.0M
Granted FY2025still arriving
8
Grants FY2025still arriving
4
States reached
$650k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2018 to 2024.

Civil Rights$1.2MEducation$921kHealth$105kReligion$32kArts & Culture$28kInternational$20kYouth Development$10kEmployment$9kOther$0
02FY2025 · 8 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 8 grants below total $790,000, the rows itemized in this filing. The $1,031,390 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $241,390 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–50k6 grants · $90k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $50k
  • $250k+1 grant · $650k
$20,000
Median grant
4
States reached
$33M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
FFRF ACTION FUND$650,000
CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS$50,000
DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS USA INC$30,000
ABORTION COALITION FOR TELEMEDICINE$20,000
THE FREEDOM FUND$10,000
CONSERVATION VOTERS OF PENNSYLVANIA$10,000
BLACK NONBELIEVERS INC$10,000
OPTIONS FUND$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:

Its human-services grants (FY25–25, $20k) land where the poverty rate runs at 17%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%ABORTION COALITION FOR TELEMEDICINE: $20k → 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

WA
MN
WI
NY
NJ
CA
VA
DC
GA
FL
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.

66%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$2.1M · 8 repeat orgs$1.1M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +78% since the first grant, against +37% for those funded once.

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

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

8
15

Total granted

$2.1M
$971k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+78%
+37%

Still filing today

88%
67%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 89% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $90k 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
Civil RightsEducationHealthInternationalFood & NutritionYouth 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

  • WM
    WOMEN'S MEDICAL FUND INC
    4× · 2020–2023 · $80k · revenue +92%
  • SS
    SECULAR STUDENT ALLIANCE
    3× · 2020–2024 · $34k · revenue +86%
  • OF
    Options Fund
    2× · 2024–2025 · $20k · revenue +78%

Funded once

  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2023 · $500k
  • PC
    Pitzer Collegegraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $300k · revenue +82%
  • EC
    Ending Clergy Abuse USAgraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $50k · revenue +113%
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
National Network of Abortion Funds Inc

The national network of abortion funds (nnaf) is determined to build a world where all reproductive options are valued, accessible, and stigma-free. we believe all people know how to best care for their own bodies and build their own…

Environment
2
Secular Coalition for America Inc

To increase the visibility and respect for nontheistic viewpoints in the United States and to protect and strengthen the secular character of our government.

Civil Rights
3
American Civil Liberties Union of Florida Inc

To promote civil liberties through communication and interaction with and between the citizens and legislators of the state of florida

Civil Rights
4
American Civil Liberties Union of Texas Inc

The ACLU of Texas works with communities, at the State Capitol, and in the courts to protect and advance civil rights and civil liberties for every Texan, no exceptions.

—
5
Equality Federation

Equality federation is an advocacy accelerator rooted in social justice, building power in our network of state-based lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (lgbtq+) advocacy organizations.

Civil Rights
6
American Foreign Service Association

American foreign service association (afsa) is both the principal advocate for the long-term institutional wellbeing of the professional career foreign service and responsible for safeguarding the interest of afsa members. (continued on…

—
7
International Federation of Accountants

Ifac acts in the public interest and has no profit-making purpose. ifac serves the public interest by: speaking out and engaging as the voice for the global profession; leading and developing a future-ready accountancy profession; and…

Education
8
Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States Inc

The fsmb serves as the voice for state medical boards, supporting them through education, assessment, research and advocacy while providing services and initiatives that promote patient safety, quality health care and regulatory best…

Health
9
Pro-Choice Arizona

Pro-Choice Arizona centers abolition and reproductive justice values to prioritize community needs. We advance reproductive equity, pregnancy and family justice, and abortion access for all folks living in Arizona through direct service…

Health
10
American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Florida Inc

To defend the civil liberties of the residents in the state of florida

Civil Rights
11
American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania Inc

The aclu is a nonpartisan organization dedicated to defending and protecting our constitutional and civil rights and personal freedoms.

—
12
National Abortion Federation

The mission of the national abortion federation (naf) is to unite, represent, serve, and support abortion providers in delivering patient-centered, evidence-based care.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Freedom Fund; the most unlike its peers is International Rescue Committee 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

21 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. 21 of the 27 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.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
7
Early backer (in before they grew)
21/21
Grantees still filing
11/21
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

FFRF ACTION FUND INC: $1,800,000 · Civil RightsFFRF ACTION FUND INC+3 more: $125,000 · Civil Rights+3 moreIndividual grant recipient: $500,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientTHINK SCHOOL: $62,500 · OtherTHINK SCHOOLBLACK NONBELIEVERS: $40,000 · OtherBLACK NONBELIEVERS+11 more: $126,000 · Other+11 morePitzer College: $300,000 · EducationPitzer Colle…SECULAR STUDENT ALLIANCE: $33,500 · EducationSECULAR STUD…+1 more: $10,000 · EducationWOMEN'S MEDICAL FUND INC: $80,000 · HealthTHE ED ASNER FAMILY CENTER: $5,000 · HealthMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $40,000 · InternationalInternational Rescue Committee INC: $10,000 · InternationalABORTION COALITION FOR TELEMEDICINE INC: $20,000 · Human ServicesAMERICAN ATHEISTS INC: $10,000 · Religion
Civil Rights$1,925,000Other$728,500Education$343,500Health$85,000International$50,000Human Services$20,000Religion$10,000

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 budgetFFRF ACTION FUND INC: $1,800,000 over 4y, 100% of budgetPitzer College: $300,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetWOMEN'S MEDICAL FUND INC: $80,000 over 4y, 3.7% of budgetEnding Clergy Abuse USA: $50,000 over 1y, 23% of budgetTHE CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS INC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetBLACK NONBELIEVERS: $40,000 over 4y, 23% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $40,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSECULAR STUDENT ALLIANCE: $33,500 over 3y, 2.5% of budgetTHE AMERICAN HUMANIST ASSOCIATION: $20,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetOptions Fund: $20,000 over 2y, 8.5% of budgetAMERICAN ATHEISTS INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetConservation Voters of Pennsylvania: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCAMP QUEST INC: $10,000 over 1y, 13% of budgetNATIONAL NETWORK OF ABORTION FUNDS: $10,000 over 1y, 9.6% of budgetInternational Rescue Committee INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN CONSTITUTION SOCIETY FOR LAW & POLICY: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetSECOND HARVEST FOODBANK OF SOUTHERN WI: $7,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE ED ASNER FAMILY CENTER: $5,000 over 1y, 0.8% 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.

Stiefel Freethought F…Charter Charitable Fo…Assurant FoundationVanguard Charitable E…Donor Advised Charita…American Online Givin…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Stiefel Freethought FoundationDE15.7× affinity5 shared granteesties to 7 of 7Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Stiefel Freethought Foundation · Charter Charitable Foundation · Assurant Foundation · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · 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 Freedom From Religion Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Freedom From Religion Foundation Inc. 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%10%20%30%40%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    1get 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 · 0–40%
    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 Freedom From Religion Foundation Inc?

    Find your warmest path to Freedom From Religion Foundation Inc 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 27 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 Freedom From Religion’s 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