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Propel Education at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

Propel Education

Propel Education (d/b/a "ed farm") equips educators in schools and commmunities with innovative tools and strategies that support active learning for all students.

$1.5M
Granted FY2023
5
Grants FY2023
5
States reached
$200k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its 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, FY2019 to 2023.

Education$3.3MHealth$400kEnvironment$200kPhilanthropy$200k
02FY2023 · 5 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 5 grants below total $1,000,000, the rows itemized in this filing. The $1,457,077 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $457,077 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.
$200,000
Median grant
5
States reached
$26M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
THE MOREHOUSE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE INC$200,000
VIRGINIA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION$200,000
THE CHEYNEY FOUNDATION$200,000
COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF THE EASTERN SHORE INC$200,000
HARRIS-STOWE FOUNDATION INC$200,000
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY19–23) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 13%. 64% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 13%THE DELAWARE STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $200k → 11%THE CHEYNEY FOUNDATION: $200k → 22%HBCUVC: $200k → 9%WILEY COLLEGE: $200k → 16%PRAIRIE VIEW A&M UNIVERSITY: $200k → 16%BENEDICT COLLEGE: $200k → 16%UNIVERSITY OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA FOUNDATION: $200k → 14%BETHUNE COOKMAN UNIVERSITY: $200k → 12%EDWARD WATERS UNIVERSITY: $200k → 14%MILES COLLEGE: $200k → 16%ALABAMA STATE UNIVERSITY: $200k → 18%BISHOP STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE: $200k → 19%HARRIS-STOWE FOUNDATION INC: $200k → 21%MOREHOUSE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: $200k → 13%JACKSON STATE UNIVERSITY: $200k → 23%SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY AG RESEARCH & EXTENSION CENTER: $200k → 8%COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF THE EASTERN SHORE INC: $200k → 13%SIMMONS COLLEGE OF KENTUCKY: $200k → 15%LAWSON STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE: $10k → 16%THE MOREHOUSE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE INC: $200k → 13%TECHBIRMINGHAM: $59k → 16%TECHBIRMINGHAM: $28k → 16%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

PA
MO
KY
VA
MD
DE
SC
DC
MS
AL
GA
TX
FL
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.
03Its 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
Texas College

To ensure that the student body experiences balanced intellectual, psychological, social and spiritual development, aimed at enabling them to become active productive members of society where they live and work.

Education
2
Waynesburg University

Waynesburg university educates students to make connections between faith, learning and serving so they might faithfully transofrm their communiities and the world. see continuation on schedule o.as a christian comprehensive university, we…

Education
3
Columbus State University Foundation Inc

The Columbus State University Foundation supports educational excellence and the expansion of educational opportunities at Columbus State University. The Foundation attracts, receives, invests, manages, and expends gifts and other…

Education
4
Daemen University

Private, independent university providing higher education to students. The mission of Daemen University is to prepare creative, ethically-minded leaders for a diverse and interconnected world by integrating the intellectual strengths…

Education
5
Tougaloo College

The College is an institution of higher education and provides instruction and various support services in achieving its purpose.

Education
6
The Foundation for Florida Gateway College Inc

The foundation provides academic scholarships and financial support to the college.

Education
7
Andrews University

Education

Education
8
Union Institute & University

Union Institute & University educates highly motivated adults who seek academic programs to engage, enlighten, and empower them to pursue professional goals and a lifetime of learning and service. Offering accredited bachelors, masters,…

—
9
Hampden-Sydney College

Since 1775, the mission of Hampden-Sydney College has been to form good men and good citizens in an atmosphere of sound learning.

Education
10
Thomas University

Thomas university is an independent, not for profit, institution of higher education with undergraduate and graduate programs that prepare students for successful careers and responsible citizenship in a rapidly changing and complex world.

Education
11
Franklin University

Since 1902, Franklin University has been a pioneer in meeting the needs of adult students who have the ambition to continue their education in combination with other responsibilities, receiving its status as a tax exempt organization in…

—
12
Livingstone College

The College provides a Christian based environment suitable for learning, it provides liberal arts and religious programs for students from all ethnic backgrounds designed to develop their potential for leadership and service to a global…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Benedict College; the most unlike its peers is Wiley College. 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

19 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. 19 of the 21 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)
3
Early backer (in before they grew)
19/19
Grantees still filing
11/19
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

MOREHOUSE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: $400,000 · EducationMOREHOUSE SCHOOL OF MEDICINEWiley College: $200,000 · EducationWiley CollegeBISHOP STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $200,000 · EducationBISHOP STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATIONSimmons College of Kentucky Inc: $200,000 · EducationSimmons College of Kentucky IncHarris-Stowe Foundation Inc: $200,000 · EducationHarris-Stowe Foundation IncDELAWARE STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $200,000 · EducationDELAWARE STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INCTHE CHEYNEY FOUNDATION: $200,000 · EducationTHE CHEYNEY FOUNDATIONBENEDICT COLLEGE: $200,000 · EducationBENEDICT COLLEGEEdward Waters University Inc: $200,000 · EducationEdward Waters University IncSOCIAL GOOD FUND INC: $200,000 · EducationSOCIAL GOOD FUND INCUNIVERSITY OF DC FOUNDATION INC: $200,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF DC FOUNDATION INCPRAIRIE VIEW A&M FOUNDATION: $200,000 · EducationPRAIRIE VIEW A&M FOUNDATIONVIRGINIA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $200,000 · EducationVIRGINIA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATIONMiles College Inc: $200,000 · EducationMiles College IncBETHUNE-COOKMAN UNIVERSITY: $200,000 · EducationBETHUNE-COOKMAN UNIVERSITYJACKSON STATE UNIVERSITY: $200,000 · OtherJACKSON STATE UN…SOUTHERN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER: $200,000 · OtherSOUTHERN ENVIRON…ALABAMA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $200,000 · OtherALABAMA STATE UN…+1 more: $10,000 · OtherCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF THE EASTERN SHOR: $200,000 · PhilanthropyPropel Education: $86,679 · Employment
Education$3,200,000Other$610,000Philanthropy$200,000Employment$86,679

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 budgetMOREHOUSE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: $400,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetSimmons College of Kentucky Inc: $200,000 over 1y, 2.4% of budgetHarris-Stowe Foundation Inc: $200,000 over 1y, 6.6% of budgetDELAWARE STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $200,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetTHE CHEYNEY FOUNDATION: $200,000 over 1y, 30% of budgetBENEDICT COLLEGE: $200,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetEdward Waters University Inc: $200,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetSOUTHERN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER: $200,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF THE EASTERN SHOR: $200,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetSOCIAL GOOD FUND INC: $200,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF DC FOUNDATION INC: $200,000 over 1y, 5.3% of budgetALABAMA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $200,000 over 1y, 3.5% of budgetPRAIRIE VIEW A&M FOUNDATION: $200,000 over 1y, 8.1% of budgetVIRGINIA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $200,000 over 1y, 3.9% of budgetMiles College Inc: $200,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetBETHUNE-COOKMAN UNIVERSITY: $200,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetPropel Education: $86,679 over 2y, 2.4% 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.

Tom Joyner Foundation…Strada Education Foun…Enterprise Holdings F…Thurgood Marshall Col…United Negro College …Educational Credit Ma…Wells Fargo FoundationPga Tour IncAnnie E Casey Foundat…Truist Foundation IncThe Blackbaud Giving …Charities Aid Foundat…
Tom Joyner Foundation IncTX28.4× affinity11 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Tom Joyner Foundation Inc · Strada Education Foundation Inc · Enterprise Holdings Foundation · Thurgood Marshall College Fund · United Negro College Fund Inc · Educational Credit Management Corporation · Wells Fargo Foundation · Pga Tour Inc · Annie E Casey Foundation Inc · Truist Foundation Inc · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · Charities Aid Foundation America

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 Propel Education funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Propel Education. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 11%
  • Edward Waters University Inc: 11% of income from government
  • Bethune-Cookman University: 6% of 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
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 21 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 2023, released 2023. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2025) is on record and reports $113k of grant expense, but none of it to a named recipient. On a Form 990 that can mean grants abroad, filed by region only (Schedule F), grants under $5,000, which are not itemized, or a schedule referenced as an attachment the e-file does not carry. The figures above are therefore from FY2023, the most recent year this funder named its grantees.

Source object · view filing

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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