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Guarding Against Pandemics at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Public charity

Guarding Against Pandemics

GUARDING AGAINST PANDEMICS gap advocates for public investments to prevent the next pandemic.

$12M
Granted FY2022
13
Grants FY2022
4
States reached
$7.5M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its fieldRead
04Through 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, FY2021 to 2022.

Public Benefit$12MCivil Rights$2.9MCommunity Improvement$113kInternational$50kPhilanthropy$25k
02FY2022 · 13 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2022

  • $10k–50k3 grants · $88k
  • $50k–250k6 grants · $725k
  • $250k+4 grants · $11M
$150,000
Median grant
4
States reached
$335k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
PLANNING FOR TOMORROW$7,550,000
FWD US INC$1,605,000
VOTEVETS ACTION FUND$1,000,000
CAMPAIGN LEGAL CENTER ACTION$750,000
WORKING FAMILIES ORGANIZATION INC$225,000
NEVADA ALLIANCE$150,000
NARAL PRO CHOICE AMERICA$150,000
THE NEXT 50 ACTION$100,000
314 ACTION$50,000
EMERGING AMERICAN MAJORITIES$50,000
PROSPERITY ALLIANCE$37,500
NEWDEAL$25,000
TIDES FOUNDATION$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 (FY22–22, $150k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, 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%NARAL PRO CHOICE AMERICA: $150k → 14%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.
03Its 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
Democracy Forward

See schedule o.this organization seeks to build collective power to defend and advance a vibrant democracy that benefits all people.

—
2
Fdd Action

FDD Action is a non-profit, non-partisan 504(c)4 organization established to advocate for effective policies to promote U.S. National Security and defend free nations.

Community Improvement
3
The Campaign Legal Center Inc

The nonpartisan campaign legal center advances democracy through law at the federal, state and local levels, fighting for every american's rights to responsive government and a fair opportunity to participate in and affect the democratic…

Crime & Legal
4
New American Leaders Action Fund Inc

New american leaders action fund (nalaf) is building a democracy that represents and includes all people by engaging new voters, supporting new americans as they run for office, and expanding civic engagement.

Civil Rights
5
Democracy Works Inc

The organization's mission is to leverage web-technologies to improve civic engagement and voter education.

Civil Rights
6
One for Democracy Action Fund

One for democracy unlocks resources to build a healthy democracy by fostering meaningful relationships between philanthropists and the democracy leaders of our time.

—
7
Right to Democracy Action

Advance democracy, equity, and self-determination in u.s. territories, including by promoting civic engagement among the territorial diaspora throughout the united states.

—
8
Network for Civic Action

Network for civic action advocates for the protection of democracy and encourages civic engagement. it evaluates programs and educates donors about how their donations can best serve those goals.

—
9
Democracy Forward Foundation

To protect the rights and institutions that make our nation's democracy strong by working through the legal system and administrative processes to preserve the rule of law and hold government accountable, and to educate the public about…

Crime & Legal
10
Voteamerica

The mission of voteamerica is to strengthen united states democracy by increasing voter turnout.

Civil Rights
11
Foreign Policy for America

Foreign Policy For America is a nonpartisan advocacy organization founded to strengthen support for principled American engagement in the world.

—
12
California Forward

Ca fwd drives action to identify solutions that can be taken to scale to meet the challenges the state is facing. the organization is driven by the belief that regional solutions across the state will help ensure economic, environmental,…

Public Benefit
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Fwdus Inc; the most unlike its peers is Prosperity Alliance 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

19 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.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

5
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
6
Early backer (in before they grew)
18/19
Grantees still filing
14/19
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

PLANNING FOR TOMORROW: $9,550,000 · OtherPLANNING FOR TOMORROWVOTEVETS ACTION FUND INC: $1,000,000 · OtherVOTEVETS ACTION FUND INCVOTO LATINO INC: $1,000,000 · OtherVOTO LATINO INC+3 more: $325,000 · OtherFWDUS INC: $1,605,000 · Civil RightsFWDUS INCCAMPAIGN LEGAL CENTER ACTION: $750,000 · Civil RightsCAMPAIGN LEGAL CENTE…WORKING FAMILIES ORGANIZATION INC: $225,000 · Civil RightsWORKING FAMILIES ORG…NAKASEC ACTION FUND: $125,000 · Civil Rights+1 more: $60,000 · Civil RightsCENTER FOR POPULAR DEMOCRACY INC: $150,000 · Public BenefitSTATE DEMOCRACY ACTION FUND: $50,000 · Public BenefitProsperity Alliance Inc: $37,500 · Public BenefitREPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM FOR ALL: $150,000 · Human ServicesHOUSE MAJORITY FORWARD: $100,000 · Community ImprovementNEWDEAL: $25,000 · Community Improvement314ACTION: $50,000 · InternationalTIDES FOUNDATION: $25,000 · Philanthropy
Other$11,875,000Civil Rights$2,765,000Public Benefit$237,500Human Services$150,000Community Improvement$125,000International$50,000Philanthropy$25,000

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 budgetPLANNING FOR TOMORROW: $9,550,000 over 2y, 33% of budgetFWDUS INC: $1,605,000 over 1y, 66% of budgetVOTEVETS ACTION FUND INC: $1,000,000 over 1y, 20% of budgetVOTO LATINO INC: $1,000,000 over 1y, 29% of budgetCAMPAIGN LEGAL CENTER ACTION: $750,000 over 1y, 93% of budgetWORKING FAMILIES ORGANIZATION INC: $225,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetREPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM FOR ALL: $150,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetNEVADA ALLIANCE: $150,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetCENTER FOR POPULAR DEMOCRACY INC: $150,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetNAKASEC ACTION FUND: $125,000 over 1y, 56% of budgetHOUSE MAJORITY FORWARD: $100,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetChamber of Commerce of the USA: $75,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetJustice Action Center: $60,000 over 1y, 3.9% of budgetSTATE DEMOCRACY ACTION FUND: $50,000 over 1y, 2.5% of budget314ACTION: $50,000 over 1y, 3.7% of budgetProsperity Alliance Inc: $37,500 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetNEWDEAL: $25,000 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetTIDES FOUNDATION: $25,000 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.

Sixteen Thirty FundFund for a Better Fut…Fwdus IncAmerica VotesOpen Society Action F…Tides AdvocacyTides FoundationHopewell Fund
Sixteen Thirty FundDC17.4× affinity6 shared granteesties to 7 of 7Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Sixteen Thirty Fund · Fund for a Better Future Inc · Fwdus Inc · America Votes · Open Society Action Fund Inc · Tides Advocacy · Tides Foundation · Hopewell Fund

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 Guarding Against Pandemics funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Guarding Against Pandemics. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%1%3%4%5%share of the org’s 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 · 0–5%
    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.
    04Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to Guarding Against Pandemics?

    Find your warmest path to Guarding Against Pandemics 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 19 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 2022, released 2022. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2023) is on record and reports no grant expense, so the figures above are from FY2022, the most recent year this funder made grants.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Guarding Against Pandemics’ 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