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Open Philanthropy Action Fund at a glance

· Public charity

Open Philanthropy Action Fund

The mission of OPEN PHILANTHROPY ACTION FUND is to study and promote more effective giving for public policy, advocacy and social welfare purposes.

$37M
Granted FY2024still arriving
29
Grants FY2024still arriving
10
States reached
$6.4M
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.

Crime & Legal$73MEnvironment$50MHousing & Shelter$16MHealth$15MInternational$10MCivil Rights$10.0MFood & Nutrition$9.8MScience & Tech$7.1MOther$0
02FY2024 · 29 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 29 grants below total $16,815,139, the rows itemized in this filing. The $37,359,496 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $20,544,357 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 · $9k
  • $10k–50k8 grants · $243k
  • $50k–250k13 grants · $1.5M
  • $250k+7 grants · $15M
$106,800
Median grant
10
States reached
$41M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
ACCOUNTABLE JUSTICE ACTION FUND$6,400,000
AMERICANS FOR RESPONSIBLE INNOVATION$2,948,728
PLANT BASED FOODS ASSOCIATION$2,500,000
VITAL STRATEGIES ACTION FUND INC$1,740,378
COMPETITIVE MARKETS ACTION INC$629,000
BREAKTHROUGH ENERGY ACTION INC$404,409
CENTRE FOR THE GOVERNANCE OF AI INC$400,000
RETHINK PRIORITIES$180,000
CAMBRIDGE BOSTON ALIGNMENT INITIATIVE INC$180,000
MALNUTRITION ADVOCACY FUND$163,083
DIGITAL HARBOR FOUNDATION INC$150,000
YIMBY ACTION$120,000
PLAYERS PHILANTHROPY FUND$110,000
ZETEO TECH INC$108,785
FARM ACTION FUND INC$106,800
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 (FY17–24, $821k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%RETHINK PRIORITIES: $180k → 10%Prodigal Child Project: $20k → 17%Citizen Action of New York Inc: $266k → 14%CITIZEN ACTION OF NEW YORK INC: $200k → 14%VOCAL ACTION FUND INC: $155k → 20%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
MI
NY
MA
OR
NV
OH
PA
CA
CO
MO
VA
MD
DE
NC
DC
LA
AL
TX
FL

Grants abroad, by region: $19M on the FY2024 return

Schedule F, as filed: 9 regions, $18M to organizations and $1.4M to individuals. The IRS asks for region and purpose, not the recipient, so no country or grantee can be named here.

Europe (including Iceland and Greenland)$15M · 78% · 53 grants · 47 people

Stated purpose: LEGAL INTERVENTION FOR FARMED ANIMALS · ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SAFETY · FARM ANIMAL WELFARE

East Asia and the Pacific$2.2M · 12% · 15 grants · 13 people

Stated purpose: FARM ANIMAL WELFARE · PIG WELFARE REFORMS IN SOUTH KOREA · RESEARCH AND ADVOCACY PROMOTING GLOBAL HEALTH IN EAST ASIA

South Asia$644k · 3% · 3 grants · 1 person

Stated purpose: FARM ANIMAL WELFARE · CAGE-FREE EGG FARM AND TRAINING CENTER · INDIVIDUAL GRANTS PROGRAM

North America (Canada and Mexico)$596k · 3% · 2 grants · 4 people

Stated purpose: FARM ANIMAL ADVOCACY · AI SAFETY ACTIVITIES · INDIVIDUAL GRANTS PROGRAM

South America$549k · 3% · 2 grants · 8 people

Stated purpose: CAGE-FREE CAMPAIGNS IN PERU · FISH WELFARE · INDIVIDUAL GRANTS PROGRAM

Middle East and North Africa$139k · 1% · 1 grant

Stated purpose: INFORMATION SECURITY TALENT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

Russia and Neighboring States$50k · 0% · 1 grant

Stated purpose: FARM ANIMAL WELFARE

Central America and the Caribbean$40k · 0% · 1 grant

Stated purpose: FORECASTING NEWSLETTER

Sub-Saharan Africa$30k · 0% · 5 people

Stated purpose: INDIVIDUAL GRANTS PROGRAM

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.

89%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$182M · 35 repeat orgs$23M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +31% since the first grant, against 0% for those funded once.

35 repeat relationships: 13 still active in FY2024, 22 since wound down; 13 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

35
53

Total granted

$182M
$19M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+31%
0%

Still filing today

83%
68%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 74% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $4.3M 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
Civil RightsAnimalsCommunity ImprovementEducationHuman ServicesScience & TechOther
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

  • AJ
    ACCOUNTABLE JUSTICE ACTION FUND
    7× · 2017–2024 · $57M · revenue ×11 · 95% of their budget
  • TA
    TIDES ADVOCACY
    5× · 2017–2021 · $12M · revenue +130%
  • PB
    PLANT BASED FOODS ASSOCIATION
    5× · 2018–2024 · $6.9M · revenue +191% · 82% of their budget

Funded once

  • PC
    Prevent Cruelty California a Humane Society Committee
    one grant, 2018 · $4.0M · 35% of their budget
  • EI
    ECONOMIC INNOVATION GROUP INC
    one grant, 2023 · $1.2M · revenue -12%
  • FEDERATION OF AMERICAN SCIENTISTSgraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $1.0M · revenue +211%
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
Partnership for Policy Integrity

Partnership for Policy Integrity (PFPI) uses data-driven advocacy and litigation to fight for forests, communities and the climate.

Environment
2
Legal Advocates for Safe Science and Technology Inc

Using legal advocacy to make advances in science and technology safer for people and the planet.

Science & Tech
3
CarbonPlan

Improving the transparency and scientific integrity of climate solutions through open data and tools.

Environment
4
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
5
Center for Ai Policy Inc

The center for ai policy (caip) is a nonpartisan research organization dedicated to mitigating the catastrophic risks of ai through policy development and advocacy. operating out of washington, dc, caip works to ensure ai is developed and…

Science & Tech
6
Fund for Justice

Fund for Justice is a nationally connected social impact research and advocacy organization that works to achieve fundamental, systemic reform by addressing policies and practicies that prevent individuals from reaching their full…

Crime & Legal
7
Policy Action for a Clean Tomorrow Inc

Clean Tomorrow advances policies that reduce climate emissions by turning policy ambition into action. We work to catalyze rapid change that will accelerate the innovation and growth of clean energy.

Environment
8
Foreign Policy for America

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

—
9
Corporate Accountability Lab

The Organization unleashes the creative potential of the law to protect people and the planet from corporate abuse.

International
10
Common Future

Common future is a network of pioneering leaders across the u.s. and canada who work deeply within their communities to create alternative approaches to business, philanthropy, and investing. we envision an economy that has transitioned…

Community Improvement
11
Center for Humane Technology

Center for Humane Technology is a nonprofit dedicated to ensuring that the most consequential technologies actually serve humanity. We bring clarity to how the tech ecosystem works in order to shift the incentives that drive it.

Science & Tech
12
E3G Third Generation Environmentalism

E3g is a leading international not-for-profit think tank specialising in climate diplomacy harnessing expertise in the politics and economics of climate change.

Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Americans for Responsible Innovation Ltd; the most unlike its peers is Charak Foundation. 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

82 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. 82 of the 103 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.

37
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
21
Early backer (in before they grew)
75/82
Grantees still filing
37/82
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

ACCOUNTABLE JUSTICE ACTION FUND: $57,450,000 · Crime & LegalACCOUNTABLE JUSTICE ACTION FUND+2 more: $98,738 · Crime & LegalBreakthrough Energy Action Inc: $49,771,031 · EnvironmentBreakthrough Energy Action I…+3 more: $906,861 · EnvironmentTIDES ADVOCACY: $12,153,000 · OtherTIDES ADVOCACYMALNUTRITION ADVOCACY FUND: $7,897,860 · OtherMALNUTRITION ADVOCACY FUNDPrevent Cruelty California a Humane Society Committee: $4,000,000 · OtherPrevent Cruelty California a Huma…VITAL STRATEGIES ACTION FUND INC: $3,240,378 · OtherAMERICANS FOR RESPONSIBLE INNOVATION LTD: $2,948,728 · OtherREFORM LA JAILS: $2,341,000 · OtherIFP ACTION: $2,041,660 · Other+75 more: $26,420,980 · Other+75 moreCalifornia YIMBY: $8,650,001 · Housing & ShelterOPEN NEW YORK INC: $3,496,392 · Housing & Shelter+1 more: $62,500 · Housing & ShelterCALIFORNIANS AGAINST PANDEMICS: $11,100,000 · Health+1 more: $250,000 · HealthPLANT BASED FOODS ASSOCIATION: $6,875,000 · Community ImprovementPEOPLE'S ACTION INSTITUTE: $837,000 · Community ImprovementREGIONAL PLAN ASSOCIATION INC: $525,000 · Community ImprovementYIMBY ACTION: $420,000 · Community Improvement+2 more: $275,000 · Community ImprovementEMPLOY AMERICA ACTION FUND: $1,800,000 · EmploymentECONOMIC INNOVATION GROUP INC: $1,223,935 · EmploymentEMPLOY AMERICA: $150,000 · Employment
Crime & Legal$57,548,738Environment$50,677,892Other$61,043,606Housing & Shelter$12,208,893Health$11,350,000Community Improvement$8,932,000Employment$3,173,935

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

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetACCOUNTABLE JUSTICE ACTION FUND: $57,450,000 over 7y, 95% of budgetBreakthrough Energy Action Inc: $49,771,031 over 4y, 79% of budgetTIDES ADVOCACY: $12,153,000 over 5y, 12% of budgetCALIFORNIANS AGAINST PANDEMICS: $11,100,000 over 2y, 50% of budgetCalifornia YIMBY: $8,650,001 over 6y, 73% of budgetMALNUTRITION ADVOCACY FUND: $7,897,860 over 2y, 96% of budgetPLANT BASED FOODS ASSOCIATION: $6,875,000 over 5y, 82% of budgetPrevent Cruelty California a Humane Society Committee: $4,000,000 over 1y, 35% of budgetOPEN NEW YORK INC: $3,496,392 over 4y, 97% of budgetVITAL STRATEGIES ACTION FUND INC: $3,240,378 over 2y, 33% of budgetAMERICANS FOR RESPONSIBLE INNOVATION LTD: $2,948,728 over 1y, 56% of budgetIFP ACTION: $2,041,660 over 2y, 100% of budgetEMPLOY AMERICA ACTION FUND: $1,800,000 over 2y, 100% of budgetGreater Greater Washington: $1,254,227 over 5y, 46% of budgetECONOMIC INNOVATION GROUP INC: $1,223,935 over 1y, 19% of budgetCOMPETITIVE MARKETS ACTION INC: $1,209,000 over 2y, 64% of budgetAbundant Housing MA Inc: $1,195,667 over 2y, 95% of budgetPolaris Research Institute Inc: $1,087,627 over 2y, 39% of budgetFEDERATION OF AMERICAN SCIENTISTS: $1,011,000 over 1y, 8.8% of budget1DAY SOONER ACTION PROJECT INC: $1,000,000 over 1y, 100% of budgetJust Liberty: $989,000 over 2y, 100% of budgetCAMBRIDGE BOSTON ALIGNMENT INITIATIVE INC: $975,986 over 2y, 53% of budgetEFFECTIVE VENTURES FOUNDATION USA INC: $855,000 over 2y, 4.3% of budgetPEOPLE'S ACTION INSTITUTE: $837,000 over 1y, 11% of budgetGlobal Challenges Project Inc: $800,800 over 2y, 87% of budgetVOTERS ORGANIZED TO EDUCATE-VOTE ACTION FUND: $800,000 over 1y, 39% of budgetCHARAK FOUNDATION: $799,600 over 2y, 100% of budgetFloridians for a Fair Democracy Inc: $750,000 over 1y, 5.9% of budgetSightline Institute: $658,214 over 3y, 14% of budgetCANOPY RETREATS INC: $654,500 over 1y, 49% of budgetREDWOOD RESEARCH GROUP INC: $627,201 over 1y, 4.5% of budgetCalifornians for Stem Cell Research Treatments and Cures: $580,000 over 2y, 4.7% of budgetREGIONAL PLAN ASSOCIATION INC: $525,000 over 2y, 6.3% of budgetHumane World Action Fund: $525,000 over 1y, 10% of budgetGlobal Animal Partnership: $500,000 over 1y, 37% of budgetCITIZEN ACTION OF NEW YORK INC: $466,000 over 2y, 17% of budgetFARM ACTION FUND: $439,800 over 3y, 74% of budgetYIMBY ACTION: $420,000 over 2y, 22% of budgetCENTER FOR POPULAR DEMOCRACY ACTION FUND INC: $405,000 over 2y, 8.3% of budgetCENTRE FOR THE GOVERNANCE OF AI INC: $400,000 over 1y, 7.0% of budgetDHARMA VOICES FOR ANIMALS: $251,000 over 2y, 74% of budgetTEXAS ORGANIZING PROJECT EDUCATION FUND: $250,000 over 1y, 4.6% of budgetDIGITAL HARBOR FOUNDATION: $246,718 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetCENTER FOR RESPONSIBLE FOOD BUSINESS: $220,000 over 2y, 83% of budgetFAIRVOTE WASHINGTON: $217,000 over 1y, 42% of budgetSAFETY AND JUSTICE OREGON: $200,000 over 1y, 56% of budgetGOOD FOREVER FOUNDATION: $200,000 over 1y, 12% of budgetFUTUREWISE: $198,647 over 1y, 12% 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.

Good Ventures Foundat…Sixteen Thirty FundTides AdvocacyAll Hands on Deck Net…Effective Ventures Fo…Accountable Justice A…Chan Zuckerberg Initi…State Engagement FundCenter for Community …Open Society Action F…See Forward Fund IncHumane America Animal…
Good Ventures FoundationCA46.1× affinity20 shared granteesties to 5 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Good Ventures Foundation · Sixteen Thirty Fund · Tides Advocacy · All Hands on Deck Network Inc · Effective Ventures Foundation USA Inc · Accountable Justice Action Fund · Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Advocacy · State Engagement Fund · Center for Community Change Action · Open Society Action Fund Inc · See Forward Fund Inc · Humane America Animal 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 Open Philanthropy Action Fund funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Open Philanthropy Action Fund. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24
no gov · 60%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 35%
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology: 35% of income from government
  • Digital Harbor Foundation: 2% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
6get 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, FY20–24
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 Open Philanthropy Action Fund?

Find your warmest path to Open Philanthropy Action Fund 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 103 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 Open Philanthropy Action’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