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Hacks Hackers at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

Hacks Hackers

The organization exists to bring together journalists (hacks) and technologists (hackers) who are leaders in their sectors to advance media innovation and foster public trust in the information ecosystem.

$1.1M
Granted FY2024still arriving
7
Grants FY2024still arriving
7
States reached
$724k
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, FY2017 to 2024.

Education$1.6MScience & Tech$522kHealth$246kSocial Science$220kArts & Culture$179kCommunity Improvement$125kPublic Benefit$108k
02FY2024 · 7 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 7 grants below total $1,053,224, the rows itemized in this filing. The $1,078,336 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $25,112 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 · FY2024

  • Under $10k1 grant · $6k
  • $10k–50k3 grants · $112k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $212k
  • $250k+1 grant · $724k
$45,146
Median grant
7
States reached
$1.1M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON$723,688
CODINGSCAPE$111,863
DISCOURSE LABS$100,200
CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA$45,146
SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH COUNCIL$40,827
NATIONAL PUBLIC HEALTH INFORMATION COALITION INC$26,000
WIKIMEDIA DC$5,500
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 (FY22–23, $223k) land where the poverty rate runs at 8%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%KNOWLEDGE FUTURES: $150k → 8%KNOWLEDGE FUTURES GROUP: $73k → 8%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
NY
MA
NV
PA
CA
MD
DE
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.
04

Where the work is directed

The same grants placed two ways: where each recipient sits, and where its stated purpose sends the money.

About 70% of Hacks Hackers’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address.

Hacks Hackerslessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address
How this is measured
Recipient view: each grant at its grantee’s ZIP, mapped to a county. Directed view: each grant at the county its stated purpose names, falling back to the recipient’s county when the purpose names no place; US grants only. A county shows only if it carries the top 95% of that view’s dollars. Purposes are read from the funder’s own 990 grant descriptions.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

78%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$2.3M · 8 repeat orgs$651k to everyone else

8 repeat relationships: 3 still active in FY2024, 5 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

8
11

Total granted

$2.3M
$408k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

0%
+20%

Still filing today

50%
73%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 77% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $244k 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
EducationScience & TechHealthSocial ScienceArts & CultureCivil RightsOther
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 WASHINGTON
    4× · 2020–2024 · $1.4M
  • KF
    KNOWLEDGE FUTURES INC
    2× · 2022–2023 · $223k · revenue -81%
  • SS
    SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH COUNCIL
    3× · 2020–2024 · $220k · revenue -32%

Funded once

  • TC
    THE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA
    one grant, 2023 · $186k · revenue +21%
  • PO
    PRESIDENT-BOARD OF TRUSTEES SANTA CLARA COLLEGE
    one grant, 2019 · $50k · revenue +20%
  • TG
    The George Washington University
    one grant, 2023 · $50k · revenue +13%
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
Orcid Inc

Orcid provides an identifier for individuals to use with their name as they engage in research, scholarship, and innovation activities. we provide open tools that enable transparent and trustworthy connections between researchers, their…

Education
2
Open Markets Institute

The open markets institute works to help people relearn how to use competition policy to build stronger democracies, more just and equitable societies, more innovative and sustainable economies, and a more secure and peaceful world.

Education
3
Creative Commons Corporation

Develops legal and technical infrastructure for digital creativity, sharing, and innovation.

Education
4
Democracy Works Inc

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

Civil Rights
5
International Consortium of Investigative Journalists Inc

International consortium of investigative journalists, inc.'s (icij) mission is to show people how the world really works through stories that rock the world; forcing positive change.

International
6
National Opinion Research Center

See schedule onorc at the university of chicago conducts research and data science on critical societal issues to guide decision-making and the development of programs and public policy. our experts identify relationships and trends, and…

Social Science
7
Open Transformation Lab Inc

The missions is to provide information and resources to counter disinformation, propaganda, and offer a window to trusted content about the events that are going on in the Middle East.

Science & Tech
8
Pew Research Center

Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan "fact tank" that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. Pew Research Center generates a foundation of facts that enriches the public dialogue and…

Social Science
9
Center for Democracy and Technology

Advocating for public policies that advance democratic values in the digital age.

Civil Rights
10
Electronic Privacy Information Center

Epic's mission is to secure the fundamental right to privacy in the digital age for all people through advocacy, research, and litigation.

Civil Rights
11
Finreglab Inc

Finreglab is a d.c.-based research organization working at the intersection of financial innovation and public policy. our mission is to advance technology and data use to help people and small businesses manage their financial lives,…

Science & Tech
12
Internet Society Foundation

At the internet society foundation, we focus on funding initiatives that strengthen the internet in function and reach so that it can effectively serve all people. our work advances the vision of the internet society (isoc): the internet…

International
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Wikimedia Foundation Inc; the most unlike its peers is Colab Inc. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
05the grantee network

16 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. 16 of the 23 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)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
15/16
Grantees still filing
8/16
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON: $1,427,707 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTONCOLAB INC: $200,000 · OtherCOLAB INCCODINGSCAPE: $111,863 · OtherCODINGSCAPEDISCOURSE LABS INC: $100,200 · OtherGEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY: $77,455 · Other+4 more: $94,516 · OtherKNOWLEDGE FUTURES INC: $223,250 · Human ServicesSOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH COUNCIL: $220,111 · Social ScienceTHE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA: $186,221 · HealthNATIONAL PUBLIC HEALTH INFORMATION COALITION INC: $15,000 · HealthPRESIDENT-BOARD OF TRUSTEES SANTA CLARA COLLEGE: $50,000 · EducationThe George Washington University: $50,000 · EducationWIKIMEDIA FOUNDATION INC: $32,976 · EducationHACKS HACKERS: $26,000 · EducationHEXLABS INC: $10,000 · Education+1 more: $5,500 · EducationMeedan Inc: $138,128 · Science & TechMOZILLA FOUNDATION: $11,373 · Science & TechART FEMINISM INC: $9,000 · Arts & CultureMUCKROCK FOUNDATION INC: $7,500 · Civil Rights
Other$2,011,741Human Services$223,250Social Science$220,111Health$201,221Education$174,476Science & Tech$149,501Arts & Culture$9,000Civil Rights$7,500

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 budgetKNOWLEDGE FUTURES INC: $223,250 over 2y, 14% of budgetSOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH COUNCIL: $220,111 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetTHE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA: $186,221 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMeedan Inc: $138,128 over 3y, 3.0% of budgetDISCOURSE LABS INC: $100,200 over 1y, 100% of budgetPRESIDENT-BOARD OF TRUSTEES SANTA CLARA COLLEGE: $50,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe George Washington University: $50,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWIKIMEDIA FOUNDATION INC: $32,976 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetHACKS HACKERS: $26,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetNATIONAL PUBLIC HEALTH INFORMATION COALITION INC: $15,000 over 1y, 2.2% of budgetMOZILLA FOUNDATION: $11,373 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHEXLABS INC: $10,000 over 1y, 7.9% of budgetART FEMINISM INC: $9,000 over 1y, 3.6% of budgetMUCKROCK FOUNDATION INC: $7,500 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetWiki Society of Washington DC Inc: $5,500 over 1y, 3.8% 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.

John S and James L Kn…The Ford FoundationSilicon Valley Commun…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
John S and James L Knight FoundationFL15.3× affinity5 shared granteesties to 5 of 5Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: John S and James L Knight Foundation · The Ford Foundation · Silicon Valley Community Foundation · Donor Advised Charitable Giving 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 Hacks Hackers funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Hacks Hackers. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 40%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    4get no government money at all
    2report 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.
    05Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to Hacks Hackers?

    Find your warmest path to Hacks Hackers 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 23 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 Hacks Hackers’ 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