Texas · Private foundation
Musk Foundation
Its FY2021 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.
- $1.7M
- Granted FY2021
- 4
- Grants FY2021
- 2
- Organizations funded FY2021
- 100%
- First-time grantees FY2021
Read this first · the figures below need context
88% of Musk Foundation’s FY2021 grant dollars went to Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund, not to grantees.
Its money now reaches organizations through that sponsor, which does not report who recommended each grant. FY2021 names 2 organizations directly, so a portfolio cannot be read from it.
Organizations named directly on the return
Amber years are those where most dollars went to a sponsor.
- Median grant, FY2021
- $100,000
- Largest grant, FY2021
- $1,364,300
- Organizations funded a year
- 1 to 9
- FY2017 to FY2021
- States reached, FY2021
- 2
- Applications
- Preselected organizations only
- Per its most recent filing; check its own site
How open it is to new grantees
In FY2021, 100% of the organizations Musk Foundation funded were first-time grantees, receiving 100% of its grant dollars.
New vs renewed · share of each year
In FY2021, 0% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $200k went to new ones.
Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant
How this is measured
The numbers by year
| Fiscal year | Organizations funded | To those organizations | First-time grantees |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2021 | 2 | $200k | 100% |
| FY2020 | 9 | $2.9M | 100% |
| FY2017 | 1 | $10M | n/a |
What it funded, over time
Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2021.
Top grantees
Largest recipients by total granted, FY2017 to FY2021, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.
| Grantee | Total granted | Years | Share of their budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yc Org | $10,000,000 | 1 | 62% |
| Mercatus Center Inc | $1,000,000 | 1 | 1% |
| Wikimedia Foundation Inc | $1,000,000 | 1 | 1% |
| The Hack Foundation D/B/A Hack Club | $500,000 | 1 | 31% |
| Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation | $250,000 | 1 | 3% |
| The St Bernard Project Inc | $100,000 | 1 | 0% |
| The Cajun Navy Relief Inc | $100,000 | 1 | 8% |
| Ad Astra School | $60,000 | 1 | 4% |
| Sacred Heart University Incorporated | $50,000 | 1 | 0% |
| Windward School | $25,000 | 1 | 0% |
Show all 11 grantees
| Grantee | Total granted | Years | Share of their budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yc Org | $10,000,000 | 1 | 62% |
| Mercatus Center Inc | $1,000,000 | 1 | 1% |
| Wikimedia Foundation Inc | $1,000,000 | 1 | 1% |
| The Hack Foundation D/B/A Hack Club | $500,000 | 1 | 31% |
| Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation | $250,000 | 1 | 3% |
| The St Bernard Project Inc | $100,000 | 1 | 0% |
| The Cajun Navy Relief Inc | $100,000 | 1 | 8% |
| Ad Astra School | $60,000 | 1 | 4% |
| Sacred Heart University Incorporated | $50,000 | 1 | 0% |
| Windward School | $25,000 | 1 | 0% |
| Crossroads School for Arts and Sciences | $25,000 | 1 | 0% |
Plus 1 recipient with no EIN on record ($3k), not named here.
Where it is load-bearing
Musk Foundation supplied at least a quarter of the budget for 2 of its grantees at some point. The chart plots its 11 largest grantees; load-bearing ones sit top left.
Tap a dot to name the grantee.
How this is measured
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.
Open a dossier: Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund
How this is measured
Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus
How do I get to Musk Foundation?
Find your warmest path to Musk 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.
About Musk Foundation
- How much does Musk Foundation give?
- Musk Foundation reported 4 grants totaling $1,664,300 in its FY2021 IRS filing. It funded between 1 and 9 organizations a year over FY2017 to FY2021.
- What does Musk Foundation fund?
- By grant dollars over FY2017 to FY2021, its largest causes are Philanthropy (82%), Science & Tech (14%), Education (2%).
- Who are Musk Foundation's largest grantees?
- By total granted over FY2017 to FY2021: Yc Org ($10M), Mercatus Center Inc ($1.0M), Wikimedia Foundation Inc ($1.0M).
- Does Musk Foundation fund new organizations?
- In FY2021, 100% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
- Does Musk Foundation accept unsolicited applications?
- Its most recent filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and does not take unsolicited requests. Check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.
- Which funders back the same organizations as Musk Foundation?
- Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc, Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund.
- Where is Musk Foundation based?
- Musk Foundation is based in TX.
Play a game based on Musk’s filings →