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Improving Economies for Stronger Communities at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

Improving Economies for Stronger Communities

Iesc helps people improve their lives by catalyzing private sector growth and employment in economically developing countries.

$10M
Granted FY2024still arriving
5
Grants FY2024still arriving
5
States reached
$309k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
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.

International$3.6MEducation$2.5MFood & Nutrition$1.1MCommunity Improvement$936kHuman Services$497kYouth Development$19k
02FY2024 · 5 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 5 grants below total $884,988, the rows itemized in this filing. The $10,175,160 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $9,290,172 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

  • $10k–50k1 grant · $18k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $284k
  • $250k+2 grants · $584k
$220,783
Median grant
5
States reached
$32M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
PURDUE UNIVERSITY$309,285
WORLD FOOD LOGISTICS ORGANIZATION$274,349
CIPE$220,783
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA$62,724
KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY$17,847
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY18–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 74% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%ASU: $341k → 11%MEDA: $746k → 9%RPX: $324k → 15%GRAMEEN FOUNDATION USA: $180k → 14%FAMU: $184k → 19%KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY: $78k → 20%PURDUE UNIVERSITY: $309k → 19%GLOBAL DAIRY: $27k → 14%FSQS CONSULTING LLC: $20k → 4%PAXTON: $61k → 6%WORLD PERSPECTIVES INC: $34k → 7%GLOBAL COMMUNITIES: $181k → 8%ASU: $69k → 11%MEDA: $594k → 9%SEAF: $120k → 14%FAMU: $139k → 19%KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY: $64k → 20%PURDUE UNIVERSITY: $164k → 19%GLOBAL DAIRY: $14k → 14%WORLD FOOD LOGISTICS ORGANIZATION: $274k → 7%GLOBAL COMMUNITIES: $164k → 8%MEDA: $349k → 9%GRAMEEN FOUNDATION USA: $36k → 14%KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY: $33k → 20%PURDUE UNIVERSITY: $149k → 19%WORLD FOOD LOGISTICS ORGANIZATION: $198k → 7%GLOBAL COMMUNITIES: $157k → 8%SEAF: $24k → 14%KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY: $18k → 20%PURDUE UNIVERSITY: $32k → 19%WFLO: $166k → 7%GLOBAL COMMUNITIES: $143k → 8%WORLD FOOD LOGISTICS ORGANIZATION: $148k → 7%GLOBAL COMMUNITIES: $122k → 8%WFLO: $143k → 7%GLOBAL COMMUNITIES: $58k → 8%ICMA: $295k → 14%WORLD FOOD LOGISTICS ORGANIZATION: $98k → 7%CIPE: $221k → 14%INSTITUTE FOR DEVELOPMENT IMPACT: $214k → 14%CIPE: $179k → 14%ICMA: $177k → 14%CIPE: $161k → 14%ICMA: $176k → 14%CIPE: $42k → 14%LINC LLC: $112k → 14%NCBA-CLUSA: $72k → 14%NCBA-CLUSA: $37k → 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.

Which US states its grants reach

WA
IL
NY
IN
PA
CA
VA
MD
AZ
KS
DC
FL

Grants abroad, by region: $9.3M on the FY2024 return

Schedule F, as filed: 6 regions, $8.8M to organizations and $514k to individuals. The IRS asks for region and purpose, not the recipient, so no country or grantee can be named here.

Russia and Neighboring States$6.3M · 68% · 42 grants

Stated purpose: PROGRAM SERVICES

Central America and the Caribbean$1.1M · 12% · 23 grants · 18 people

Stated purpose: PROGRAM SERVICES

South Asia$658k · 7% · 34 grants · 4 people

Stated purpose: PROGRAM SERVICES

South America$555k · 6% · 9 grants · 11 people

Stated purpose: PROGRAM SERVICES

Europe (including Iceland and Greenland)$525k · 6% · 20 grants

Stated purpose: PROGRAM SERVICES

Sub-Saharan Africa$116k · 1% · 11 people

Stated purpose: PROGRAM SERVICES

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. Grants abroad on Schedule F are filed by region, purpose and amount with no recipient name, so they are shown by region and cannot be placed on the country map or matched to a grantee.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

91%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$7.9M · 15 repeat orgs$763k to everyone else

15 repeat relationships: 5 still active in FY2024, 10 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

15
7

Total granted

$7.9M
$763k

Still filing today

67%
0%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 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
InternationalCommunity ImprovementScience & TechEducationOther
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

  • ME
    MENNONITE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATES
    3× · 2018–2020 · $1.7M · revenue +7%
  • GC
    GLOBAL COLD CHAIN FOUNDATION
    7× · 2018–2024 · $1.0M · revenue +14%
  • IC
    INTERNATIONAL CITYCOUNTY MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION
    4× · 2018–2022 · $654k · revenue +3%

Funded once

  • R
    RPX
    one grant, 2018 · $324k
  • IF
    INSTITUTE FOR DEVELOPMENT IMPACT
    one grant, 2021 · $214k
  • LL
    LINC LLC
    one grant, 2022 · $112k
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
Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition

The mission of the global alliance for improved nutrition (gain) is to improve the consumption of healthier diets for all, especially the most vulnerable, by improving the availability, affordability, desirability, and sustainability of…

Food & Nutrition
2
Rainforest Alliance Inc

RA works at the intersection of business, agriculture & forests to improve lives & protect nature by transforming how land is used, production of goods & consumer choices.

—
3
Land O'lakes VENTURE37

To replace poverty with prosperity by implementing donor-funded projects that provide global humanitarian aid to communities and individuals in developing countries through in-kind, financial and technical assistance.

International
4
Gdp Research Alliance

The GDP Research Alliance (GDPRA) is a newly organized D.C. non-profit corporation that was formed exclusively for research, development, and educational purposes.

Science & Tech
5
Rainforest Alliance Holding Inc

RA works at the intersection of business, agriculture & forests to improve lives & protect nature by transforming how land is used, production of goods & consumer choices.

Environment
6
Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Foundation

To engage and catalyze global seafood supply chains in rebuilding depleted fish stocks and reducing the environmental impacts of fishing and fish farming.

Animals
7
World Cocoa Foundation Inc
—
8
Conservation International Foundation

Ci works to spotlight and secure the critical benefits that nature provides to humanity.

Environment
9
Dairy Management Inc

Dairy management inc (dmi) was formed in 1995 by the national dairy promotion and research board (ndb) and the united dairy industry association (udia). dmi is a management organization that invests dairy producer checkoff funds in…

—
10
Council of the Americas Inc

Council of the americas is a business organization whose members share a common commitment to economic and social development, open markets, the rule of law, and democracy throughout the americas. the council's membership consists of…

—
11
International Development Enterprises

See schedule o for a more detailed description of ide's mission statement and achievements.

International
12
Institute for Agriculture & Trade Policy

Iatp works locally and globally at the intersection of policy and practice to ensure fair and sustainable food, farm and trade systems.

Food & Nutrition
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Center for International Private Enterprise Inc; the most unlike its peers is International Citycounty Management Association. 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

10 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. 10 of the 22 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)
1
Early backer (in before they grew)
10/10
Grantees still filing
7/10
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

MENNONITE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATES: $1,688,677 · InternationalMENNONITE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATESGLOBAL COMMUNITIES: $825,094 · InternationalGLOBAL COMMUNITIESINTERNATIONAL CITYCOUNTY MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION: $653,977 · InternationalINTERNATIONAL CITYCOUNTY MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATIONCENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL PRIVATE ENTERPRISE INC: $611,893 · InternationalCENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL PRIVATE ENTERPRISE INCGRAMEEN FOUNDATION USA: $236,013 · InternationalGRAMEEN FOUNDATION USAUNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA: $912,368 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF FLORIDATRUSTEES OF PURDUE UNIVERSITY: $653,743 · OtherTRUSTEES OF PURDUE UNIVERSITYARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY: $410,279 · OtherARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITYRPX: $324,229 · OtherRPXFLORIDA AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL UNIVERSITY TERM: $323,477 · OtherFLORIDA AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL UNIVER…INSTITUTE FOR DEVELOPMENT IMPACT: $213,759 · OtherINSTITUTE FOR DEVELOPMENT IMPACTLINC LLC: $111,882 · OtherCOOPERATIVE LEAGUE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: $108,936 · Other+5 more: $142,817 · OtherGLOBAL COLD CHAIN FOUNDATION: $1,035,567 · Science & TechGLOBAL COLD C…KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $192,737 · EducationSMALL ENTERPRISE ASSISTANCE FUNDS: $144,000 · Community ImprovementGlobal Dairy Platform Inc: $40,643 · Community Improvement
International$4,015,654Other$3,201,490Science & Tech$1,035,567Education$192,737Community Improvement$184,643

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetGLOBAL COLD CHAIN FOUNDATION: $1,035,567 over 7y, 12% of budgetGLOBAL COMMUNITIES: $825,094 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetINTERNATIONAL CITYCOUNTY MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION: $653,977 over 4y, 1.0% of budgetCENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL PRIVATE ENTERPRISE INC: $611,893 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetGRAMEEN FOUNDATION USA: $236,013 over 4y, 2.4% of budgetKANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $192,737 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetSMALL ENTERPRISE ASSISTANCE FUNDS: $144,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetCOOPERATIVE LEAGUE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: $108,936 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetGlobal Dairy Platform Inc: $40,643 over 2y, 0.6% 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.

  • Who funds MENNONITE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATES ↗
  • Who funds GLOBAL COLD CHAIN FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds GLOBAL COMMUNITIES ↗
  • Who funds INTERNATIONAL CITYCOUNTY MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL PRIVATE ENTERPRISE INC ↗
  • Who funds GRAMEEN FOUNDATION USA ↗
  • Who funds KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds SMALL ENTERPRISE ASSISTANCE FUNDS ↗
  • Who funds COOPERATIVE LEAGUE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ↗
  • Who funds Global Dairy Platform Inc ↗

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.

Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift FundMA2.4× affinity4 shared granteesties to 1 of 1Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: 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 Improving Economies for Stronger Communities funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Improving Economies for Stronger Communities. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%4%8%15%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 44%
  • Global Communities: 44% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
4report 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 22 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 Improving Economies for Stronger Communities’ 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