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Hawthornden Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Hawthornden 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.

$2.5M
Granted FY2024still arriving
43
Grants FY2024still arriving
9
States reached
$927k
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.

Arts & Culture$7.7MInternational$4.4MEducation$364kCivil Rights$100kCommunity Improvement$15k
02FY2024 · 43 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k11 grants · $55k
  • $10k–50k15 grants · $377k
  • $50k–250k16 grants · $1.1M
  • $250k+1 grant · $927k
$25,000
Median grant
9
States reached
$226M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CHARITIES AID FOUNDATION AMERICA$927,000
MOLESKINE FOUNDATION INC$150,000
Individual grant recipient$150,000
CAVE CANEM FOUNDATION INC$100,000
COMMUNITY OF LITERARY MAGAZINES AND PRESSES$75,000
WORDS WITHOUT BORDERS$75,000
INTERNATIONAL FRIENDS OF THE LONDON LIBRARY$60,000
ARCHIPELAGO BOOKS$50,000
COPPER CANYON PRESS$50,000
CITY OF ASYLUM PITTSBURGH$50,000
MERCANTILE LIBRARY ASSOCIATION OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK AKA CENTER FOR FICTI$50,000
JLF USA$50,000
BROOKLYN COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC$50,000
MEDGAR EVERS COLLEGE CUNY CENTER FOR BLACK LITERATURE$50,000
AUTHORS GUILD FOUNDATION$50,000
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 (FY23–24, $150k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%CITY OF ASYLUM PITTSBURGH: $50k → 11%JLF USA: $50k → 12%CITY OF ASYLUM: $50k → 11%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
MI
NY
PA
NJ
CA
CO
VA
DE
AZ
NM
MS
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 36% of Hawthornden Foundation’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address.

Hawthornden Foundationlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address · 4.3% directed abroad (not shown)
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.

50%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$4.1M · 22 repeat orgs$4.1M to everyone else

22 repeat relationships: 18 still active in FY2024, 4 since wound down; 24 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

22
29

Total granted

$4.1M
$3.5M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+5%
+17%

Still filing today

86%
59%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 62% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $592k went to new ones.

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

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

’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
Arts & CultureEducationInternationalHuman ServicesReligionEmploymentOther
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

  • CC
    CAVE CANEM FOUNDATION INC
    2× · 2023–2024 · $250k · revenue +190%
  • JC
    JLF COLORADO dba JLF BOULDER
    3× · 2021–2023 · $163k · revenue +174% · 35% of their budget
  • IF
    INTERNATIONAL FRIENDS OF THE LONDON LIBRARY INC
    2× · 2023–2024 · $120k · revenue +272% · 27% of their budget

Funded once

  • CO
    COUNCIL OF LITERARY MAGAZINES
    one grant, 2021 · $1.1M
  • NB
    NATIONAL BOOK FOUNDATION INC
    one grant, 2023 · $500k · revenue +21%
  • RS
    ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY AMERICA INC
    one grant, 2023 · $500k · revenue +14% · 89% of their budget
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
Susan Smith Blackburn Prize Inc
—
2
Nomadic Press

Through publications, events, and active community participation, Nomadic Press collectively weaves together platforms for intentionally marginalized voices to take their rightful place within the world of the written and spoken word.…

Arts & Culture
3
The Emrys Foundation

Expand the impact of the literay arts

—
4
Poetry Flash

Poetry flash builds community through literature

—
5
Litro Media Inc

Litro delivers public-facing literary programs: editorial publication of fiction essays free and low-cost readings and education on creative rights and responsible AI. Activities served NYC and online audiences.

Arts & Culture
6
Poets and Writers Inc

To foster the professional development of poets and writers, to promote communication throughout the literary community, and to help create an environment in which literature can be appreciated by the widest possible public.

Arts & Culture
7
Dzanc Books Inc

Dzanc Books was hailed as the future of publishing in Publishers Weekly in December 2007. Beginning with modest goals of publishing 4-6 titles each year, the house now publishes between 10-15 books annually. Notable and award-winning…

Arts & Culture
8
The Poetry Foundation
Arts & Culture
9
Boa Editions Ltd

To publish and foster appreciation of comtemporary literary works.

—
10
Republic of Letters

The Organization principally exists to (a) cultivate writing that extends the literary tradition while enabling the public to confront the challenges of the present; (b) develop literature using meticulous craft and discerning curation…

Arts & Culture
11
Literary Freedom Project Inc

The Literary Freedom Project creates free, open spaces for communities to engage with books through weekly discussions and presentations. Our programs promote literacy, celebrate the diverse cultures of the Bronx and NYC, and foster…

Arts & Culture
12
The Boundless Books Project
Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Academy of American Poets Inc; the most unlike its peers is Jlf Usa. 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

45 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. 45 of the 76 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.

9
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
9
Early backer (in before they grew)
43/45
Grantees still filing
24/45
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

CHARITIES AID FOUNDATION AMERICA: $4,322,000 · PhilanthropyCHARITIES AID FOUNDATION AMERICATHE ACADEMY OF AMERICAN POETS INC: $1,600,000 · Arts & CultureTHE ACADEMY OF AMERICAN POETS IN…ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY AMERICA INC: $500,000 · Arts & CultureROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY AMERIC…MOLESKINE FOUNDATION INC: $300,000 · Arts & CultureMOLESKINE FOUNDATION INCJLF COLORADO dba JLF BOULDER: $163,000 · Arts & CultureA PUBLIC SPACE LITERARY PROJECTS INC: $150,000 · Arts & Culture+19 more: $900,000 · Arts & Culture+19 moreCOUNCIL OF LITERARY MAGAZINES: $1,100,000 · OtherCOUNCIL OF LITERARY MAGAZINESCOMMUNITY OF LITERARY MAGAZINES AND PRESSES: $575,000 · OtherCOMMUNITY OF LITERARY MAGAZINE…NATIONAL BOOK FOUNDATION INC: $500,000 · OtherNATIONAL BOOK FOUNDATION INCPRINCE CLAUS FUND: $330,000 · OtherPRINCE CLAUS FUNDIndividual grant recipient: $150,000 · Other+30 more: $778,051 · Other+30 moreCAVE CANEM FOUNDATION INC: $250,000 · EducationINTERNATIONAL FRIENDS OF THE LONDON LIBRARY INC: $120,000 · EducationTHE BROOKLYN COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC: $100,000 · EducationBrooklyn Book Festival Inc: $80,000 · Education826 National Inc: $80,000 · Education826NYC Inc: $40,000 · EducationURBAN WORD NYC INC: $35,000 · Education+2 more: $46,650 · EducationWords Without Borders Inc: $90,000 · InternationalART OMI INC: $35,000 · InternationalMEXICAN CULTURAL INSTITUTE OF NEW YORK INC: $35,000 · InternationalCITY OF ASYLUM: $100,000 · Human ServicesJLF USA: $50,000 · Human ServicesMUSLIMS FOR PROGRESSIVE VALUES: $100,000 · ReligionTHE EYEBEAM ATELIER INC: $22,150 · Employment
Philanthropy$4,322,000Arts & Culture$3,613,000Other$3,433,051Education$751,650International$160,000Human Services$150,000Religion$100,000Employment$22,150

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 budgetCHARITIES AID FOUNDATION AMERICA: $4,322,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetTHE ACADEMY OF AMERICAN POETS INC: $1,600,000 over 2y, 27% of budgetNATIONAL BOOK FOUNDATION INC: $500,000 over 1y, 21% of budgetROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY AMERICA INC: $500,000 over 1y, 89% of budgetMOLESKINE FOUNDATION INC: $300,000 over 2y, 40% of budgetCAVE CANEM FOUNDATION INC: $250,000 over 2y, 8.6% of budgetJLF COLORADO dba JLF BOULDER: $163,000 over 3y, 35% of budgetA PUBLIC SPACE LITERARY PROJECTS INC: $150,000 over 1y, 30% of budgetINTERNATIONAL FRIENDS OF THE LONDON LIBRARY INC: $120,000 over 2y, 27% of budgetCITY OF ASYLUM: $100,000 over 2y, 3.9% of budgetNATIONAL POETRY SERIES INC: $100,000 over 1y, 22% of budgetARCHIPELAGO BOOKS INC: $100,000 over 2y, 5.5% of budgetTHE BROOKLYN COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC: $100,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetMUSLIMS FOR PROGRESSIVE VALUES: $100,000 over 1y, 14% of budgetMARA BROCK AKIL'S WRITERS' COLONY FOUNDATION: $100,000 over 2y, 18% of budgetCOPPER CANYON PRESS: $100,000 over 2y, 4.1% of budgetWords Without Borders Inc: $90,000 over 2y, 8.4% of budgetBrooklyn Book Festival Inc: $80,000 over 2y, 9.5% of budget826 National Inc: $80,000 over 2y, 1.6% of budgetZOEGLOSSIA INC: $70,000 over 2y, 43% of budgetBALDWIN FOR THE ARTS INC: $70,000 over 2y, 6.3% of budgetSouth Asia Speaks Foundation: $50,000 over 2y, 17% of budgetTHE LITQUAKE FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 2y, 3.9% of budgetGRAYWOLF PRESS: $50,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetTHE AUTHORS GUILD FOUNDATION INC: $50,000 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetHIGHLIGHTS FOUNDATION INC: $50,000 over 1y, 2.4% of budget826NYC Inc: $40,000 over 1y, 3.8% of budgetTEACHERS & WRITERS COLLABORATIVE INC: $35,000 over 1y, 2.5% of budgetCenter for the Art of Translation: $35,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetART OMI INC: $35,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetURBAN WORD NYC INC: $35,000 over 1y, 4.3% of budgetMEXICAN CULTURAL INSTITUTE OF NEW YORK INC: $35,000 over 1y, 30% of budgetTHE BROOKLYN RAIL INC: $35,000 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetPOETRY SOCIETY OF AMERICA: $35,000 over 1y, 4.4% of budgetBrooklyn Poets Inc: $30,000 over 2y, 3.4% of budgetARTS AREA: $25,000 over 1y, 40% of budgetWOODLAND PATTERN INC: $25,000 over 1y, 2.0% of budgetKUNDIMAN INC: $25,000 over 1y, 4.7% of budgetTRANSIT BOOKS: $25,000 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetNew York University: $24,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE MERCANTILE LIBRARY ASSOCIATION OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK INC: $22,650 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetTHE EYEBEAM ATELIER INC: $22,150 over 1y, 1.5% 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.

The Poetry FoundationThe Academy of Americ…National Book Foundat…Just Buffalo Literary…The Ford FoundationThe Andrew W Mellon F…Lannan FoundationThe Hyde and Watson F…Lily Auchincloss Foun…Council of Literary M…Jerome Foundation IncBrooklyn Community Fo…
The Poetry FoundationIL39.9× affinity17 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Poetry Foundation · The Academy of American Poets Inc · National Book Foundation Inc · Just Buffalo Literary Center Inc · The Ford Foundation · The Andrew W Mellon Foundation · Lannan Foundation · The Hyde and Watson Foundation · Lily Auchincloss Foundation Inc · Council of Literary Magazines and Presses · Jerome Foundation Inc · Brooklyn Community 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 Hawthornden Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Hawthornden Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%6%23%51%90%funder's share of their income ↑0%5%10%15%20%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    2get no government money at all
    5report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–20%
    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 Hawthornden Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Hawthornden Foundation 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 76 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 Hawthornden’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