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Public Citizen Foundation Inc at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

Public Citizen Foundation Inc

Work for consumer rights.

$987k
Granted FY2025still arriving
15
Grants FY2025still arriving
4
States reached
$232k
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, FY2017 to 2024.

Environment$4.5MPublic Benefit$1.6MCommunity Improvement$519kCivil Rights$217kEducation$89kHealth$73kPublic Safety & Disaster$13kInternational$13kOther$0
02FY2025 · 15 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 15 grants below total $794,094, the rows itemized in this filing. The $987,094 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $193,000 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 · FY2025

  • Under $10k1 grant · $6k
  • $10k–50k9 grants · $291k
  • $50k–250k5 grants · $497k
$33,333
Median grant
4
States reached
$45M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
AMERICANS FOR FINANCIAL REFORM EDUCATION FUND$231,570
HEALTHY GULF$106,593
CONSTITUTIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY CENTER$53,000
MOVEONORG CIVIC ACTION$53,000
STAND UP AMERICA$53,000
AIR ALLIANCE HOUSTON$38,333
ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNITY ADVOCATES OF GALENA PARK$33,333
ACHIEVING COMMUNITY TASKS SUCCESSFULLY$33,333
BAYOU CITY WATERKEEPER$33,333
COALITION OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS$33,333
EAST HARRIS COUNTY EMPOWERMENT COUNCIL$33,333
TEXAS HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT ALLIANCE$33,333
COALITION FOR SENSIBLE SAFEGUARDS$33,100
FORT BEND COUNTY HOUSTON ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANIZATION$20,000
TRANSFORMATIVE JUSTICE COALITION$5,500
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 (FY17–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 94% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%ARIZONA CENTER: $45k → 11%ISAIAH: $65k → 14%CITIZENS TRADE CAMPAIGN: $100k → 7%AIR ALLIANCE HOUSTON: $133k → 16%HEALTHY GULF: $107k → 23%STAND UP AMERICA: $80k → 17%FAIR SHOT TEXAS: $100k → 10%AIR ALLIANCE HOUSTON: $103k → 16%ARIZONA ADVOCACY NETWORK FOUNDATION: $80k → 11%STAND UP AMERICA: $53k → 17%FAIR SHOT TEXAS: $100k → 10%AIR ALLIANCE HOUSTON: $71k → 16%PUBLIC CITIZEN INC: $475k → 14%AIR ALLIANCE HOUSTON: $68k → 16%COMMON DEFENSE EDUCATION FUND: $69k → 17%AIR ALLIANCE HOUSTON: $58k → 16%COALITION FOR SENSIBLE SAFEGUARDS: $392k → 14%COALITION OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS: $76k → 16%AIR ALLIANCE OF HOUSTON: $69k → 16%PUBLIC CITIZEN INC: $150k → 14%COALITION OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS: $61k → 16%COALITION OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS: $44k → 16%COALITION FOR SENSIBLE SAFEGUARDS: $66k → 14%ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNITY ADVOCATES OF GALENA PARK: $74k → 16%COALITION OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS: $118k → 16%COALITION OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZERS: $55k → 16%COALITION OF COMMUNITY ORG: $54k → 16%AMERICANS FOR FINANCIAL REFORM EDUCATION FUND: $514k → 14%AMERICANS FOR FINANCIAL REFORM EDUCATION FUND: $500k → 14%AMERICANS FOR FINANCIAL REFORM EDUCATION FUND: $500k → 14%AMERICANS FOR FINANCIAL REFORM EDUCATION FUND: $500k → 14%TEXAS ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ADVOCACY SERVICES: $55k → 16%AMERICANS FOR FINANCIAL REFORM EDUCATION FUND: $232k → 14%TEXAS ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ADVOCACY SERVICE: $49k → 16%DEMOCRACY 21 EDUCATION FUND: $75k → 14%ACHIEVING COMMUNITY TASKS SUCCESSFULLY: $104k → 16%DEMOCRACY 21 EDUCATION FUND: $60k → 14%ACHIEVING COMMUNITY TASKS SUCCESSFULLY: $59k → 16%CONSTITUTIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY CENTER: $53k → 14%ACHIEVING COMMUNITY TASKS SUCCESSFULLY: $48k → 16%EAST HARRIS COUNTY EMPOWERMENT COUNCIL: $45k → 16%EAST HARRIS COUNTY EMPOWERMENT COUNCIL: $91k → 16%NETWORK EDUCATION PROGRAM: $50k → 14%BAYOU CITY WATERKEEPER: $86k → 16%TEXAS HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT ALLIANCE: $114k → 16%TEXAS HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT ALLIANCE: $61k → 16%TEXAS HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL ALLIANCE: $50k → 16%TEXAS HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL ALLIANCE: $41k → 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

ME
MI
NY
MA
PA
CT
CA
CO
MO
WV
VA
AZ
NC
SC
DC
LA
AL
GA
TX
FL

Grants abroad, by region: $100k on the FY2025 return

Schedule F, as filed: 1 region. The IRS asks for region and purpose, not the recipient, so no country or grantee can be named here.

South America$100k · 100% · 3 grants

Stated purpose: ACCESS TO MEDICINES IN PERU · PROMOTE ACCESS TO MEDICINES REGARDING COVID TREATMENT · ACCESS TO MEDICINES IN CHILE

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.

86%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$6.7M · 23 repeat orgs$1.1M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +22% since the first grant, against 0% for those funded once.

23 repeat relationships: 13 still active in FY2025, 10 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

23
45

Total granted

$6.7M
$1.0M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+22%
0%

Still filing today

96%
78%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 93% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $59k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
Civil RightsPublic BenefitEnvironmentCommunity ImprovementEducationSocial ScienceOther
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

  • AF
    Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund
    6× · 2020–2025 · $2.3M · revenue +84%
  • PC
    PUBLIC CITIZEN INC
    2× · 2019–2024 · $625k · revenue +238%
  • AA
    AIR ALLIANCE HOUSTON
    9× · 2017–2025 · $622k · revenue +197%

Funded once

  • CT
    CITIZENS TRADE CAMPAIGN
    one grant, 2018 · $100k · revenue -67%
  • PP
    PHILADELPHIA PRIMITIVE BAPTIST CHURCH
    one grant, 2024 · $100k
  • AA
    ARIZONA ADVOCACY FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2020 · $80k · revenue -100%
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
Electoral Collective Action

Electoral Collective Action coordinates a broad-based coalition of existing entities active in the climate justice and community organizing space to raise public awareness and educational opportunities.

Civil Rights
2
Climate Equity Action Fund

The climate equity action fund (ceaf) works hand-in-hand with community-based partners in critical states across the country to secure and sustain policy wins for climate and clean energy. building on over a decade of trust with leading…

Environment
3
Electoral Collective

Electoral Collective coordinates a broad-based coalition of existing entities active in the climate justice and community organizing space to raise public awareness and educational opportunities.

Civil Rights
4
California Environmental Justice Alliance

Our mission is to fight against fossil fuel executives and industries that have turned our communities into dumping grounds for toxic waste, poisoning our air, water, lan, and bodies. We organize to oppose giant oil refineries, dirty…

Environment
5
California Environmental Voters

To increase public awareness of elected officials' performances on environmental issues, to influence decisions of public officials on environmental legislation and policy, and to engage in related social welfare activities to promote and…

Civil Rights
6
America Votes

The Organization was established to coordinate and promote progressive issues, policies, initiatives, and referenda, and to pursue electoral reform that expands access to the ballot.

Community Improvement
7
The Equal Voting Rights Institute

To protect and, where necessary, restore the primacy of all americans shared civil rights. the acr project exists to systematically sponsor litigation, file administrative complaints, participate in rulemaking, and educate both government…

Crime & Legal
8
The Center for Election Innovation & Research

CEIR seeks to restore trust in the American election system and promote election procedures that encourage participation while ensuring election integrity and security.

Civil Rights
9
Alabama Values

A nonpartisan grassroots communication organization that works to raise awareness and increase engagement around community issues in alabama by working directly with civic organizations advocating civic participation in communities across…

Arts & Culture
10
Texas Campaign for the Environment

Empowering Texans to fight pollution through sustained grassroots organizing campaigns that shift corporate and governmental policy.

Environment
11
National Caucus of Environmental Legislators

The national caucus of environmental legislators empowers a nonpartisan network of legislative champions to protect, conserve, and improve the natural and human environment.

Education
12
American Civil Liberties Union of Texas Inc

The ACLU of Texas works with communities, at the State Capitol, and in the courts to protect and advance civil rights and civil liberties for every Texan, no exceptions.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington Inc; the most unlike its peers is Coalition of Community Organizations. 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

64 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. 64 of the 71 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.

3
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
13
Early backer (in before they grew)
60/64
Grantees still filing
29/64
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund: $2,285,220 · Public BenefitAmericans for Financial Reform Education FundPUBLIC CITIZEN INC: $625,000 · Public BenefitPUBLIC CITIZEN INCFAIR SHOT TEXAS: $200,000 · Public BenefitFAIR SHOT TEXASDEMOCRACY 21 EDUCATION FUND: $135,000 · Public Benefit+10 more: $262,000 · Public Benefit+10 moreAIR ALLIANCE HOUSTON: $621,699 · EnvironmentAIR ALLIANCE HOUSTONTEXAS HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT ALLIANCE INC: $373,509 · EnvironmentTEXAS HEALTH AND ENVIR…BAYOU CITY WATERKEEPER INC: $126,733 · EnvironmentBAYOU CITY WATERKEEPER…ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNITY ADVOCATES OF GALENA PARK: $114,133 · EnvironmentENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNIT…HEALTHY GULF: $113,593 · EnvironmentHEALTHY GULFTEXAS ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ADVOCACY: $103,438 · EnvironmentTEXAS ENVIRONMENTAL JU…+5 more: $93,705 · Environment+5 moreCOALITION OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS: $471,240 · Community ImprovementCOALITION OF…EAST HARRIS COUNTY EMPOWERMENT COUNCIL: $267,733 · Community ImprovementEAST HARRIS …CITIZENS TRADE CAMPAIGN: $100,000 · Community ImprovementCITIZENS TRA…+3 more: $47,990 · Community Improvement+3 moreTHE COALITION FOR SENSIBLE SAFEGUARDS INC: $490,900 · Civil RightsTHE COALITIO…STAND UP AMERICA INC: $158,000 · Civil RightsSTAND UP AME…ARIZONA CENTER FOR EMPOWERMENT: $45,000 · Civil RightsCAROLINA FOR ALL EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $31,000 · Civil Rights+13 more: $152,600 · Civil Rights+13 moreAchieving Community Task Successfully: $312,633 · EducationMoveOnorg Civic Action: $53,000 · Education+1 more: $10,000 · EducationPHILADELPHIA PRIMITIVE BAPTIST CHURCH: $100,000 · OtherARIZONA ADVOCACY FOUNDATION: $80,000 · OtherFORT BEND COUNTY HOUSTON ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANIZATION: $60,000 · OtherACHIEVING COMMUNITY TASKS SUCCESSFULLY: $36,150 · OtherENVIRONMENT TEXAS RESEARCH AND POLICY CENTER INC: $18,000 · OtherInstitute for Southern Studies Inc: $70,000 · OtherISAIAH: $65,000 · Other+12 more: $107,406 · OtherCONSTITUTIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY CENTER: $83,000 · Crime & Legal
Public Benefit$3,507,220Environment$1,546,810Community Improvement$886,963Civil Rights$877,500Education$375,633Other$536,556Crime & Legal$83,000

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 budgetAmericans for Financial Reform Education Fund: $2,285,220 over 6y, 15% of budgetPUBLIC CITIZEN INC: $625,000 over 2y, 5.7% of budgetAIR ALLIANCE HOUSTON: $621,699 over 9y, 11% of budgetTHE COALITION FOR SENSIBLE SAFEGUARDS INC: $490,900 over 3y, 94% of budgetCOALITION OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS: $471,240 over 9y, 56% of budgetTEXAS HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT ALLIANCE INC: $373,509 over 7y, 25% of budgetAchieving Community Task Successfully: $312,633 over 6y, 22% of budgetEAST HARRIS COUNTY EMPOWERMENT COUNCIL: $267,733 over 6y, 5.9% of budgetFAIR SHOT TEXAS: $200,000 over 2y, 5.1% of budgetSTAND UP AMERICA INC: $158,000 over 4y, 19% of budgetDEMOCRACY 21 EDUCATION FUND: $135,000 over 2y, 7.6% of budgetBAYOU CITY WATERKEEPER INC: $126,733 over 3y, 12% of budgetENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNITY ADVOCATES OF GALENA PARK: $114,133 over 3y, 30% of budgetHEALTHY GULF: $113,593 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetTEXAS ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ADVOCACY: $103,438 over 2y, 15% of budgetCITIZENS TRADE CAMPAIGN: $100,000 over 1y, 25% of budgetCONSTITUTIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY CENTER: $83,000 over 2y, 1.4% of budgetARIZONA ADVOCACY FOUNDATION: $80,000 over 1y, 3.7% of budgetNETWORK EDUCATION PROGRAM NETWORK ADVOCATES FOR CATHOLIC SOCIAL JUSTICE: $75,000 over 2y, 2.0% of budgetInstitute for Southern Studies Inc: $70,000 over 1y, 3.9% of budgetCOMMON DEFENSE EDUCATION FUND INC: $69,000 over 1y, 3.6% of budgetISAIAH: $65,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetMoveOnorg Civic Action: $53,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetARIZONA CENTER FOR EMPOWERMENT: $45,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetENERGY PROGRAMS CONSORTIUM: $37,500 over 1y, 13% of budgetTHE LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE EDUCATION FUND INC: $35,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetCAROLINA FOR ALL EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $31,000 over 3y, 8.8% of budgetTexas Solar Energy Society Inc: $25,500 over 2y, 6.4% of budgetPEOPLE FOR THE AMERICAN WAY FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetUNITED STATES PUBLIC INTEREST RESEARCH GROUP EDUCATION FUND INC: $25,000 over 1y, 2.3% of budgetPROGRESSNOW COLORADO EDUCATION: $22,490 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetCENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS: $20,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetENVIRONMENT TEXAS RESEARCH AND POLICY CENTER INC: $18,000 over 1y, 5.8% of budgetCENTRO POR LA JUSTICIA: $18,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetINDIVISIBLE PROJECT: $15,200 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetPROMOTE THE VOTE INC: $15,000 over 1y, 3.0% of budgetTHE CENTER FOR AUTO SAFETY INC: $13,206 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetSIERRA CLUB FOUNDATION: $13,205 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS INC: $12,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC: $12,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPROGEORGIA STATE TABLE INC: $10,900 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetAsian & Pacific Islander American Vote: $10,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetMaine Citizens for Clean Elections: $10,000 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetOPEN MARKETS INSTITUTE: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBILITY AND ETHICS IN WASHINGTON INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCenter for Common Ground: $10,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetLEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS EDUCATION FUND: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetALL VOTING IS LOCAL: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% 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.

New Venture FundTides FoundationWindward FundJacob and Terese Hers…Amalgamated Charitabl…United States Energy …Foundation to Promote…Hopewell FundHouston Endowment IncThe Ford FoundationResources Legacy FundNEO Philanthropy Inc
New Venture FundDC37.3× affinity21 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: New Venture Fund · Tides Foundation · Windward Fund · Jacob and Terese Hershey Foundation · Amalgamated Charitable Foundation Inc · United States Energy Foundation · Foundation to Promote Open Society · Hopewell Fund · Houston Endowment Inc · The Ford Foundation · Resources Legacy Fund · NEO Philanthropy Inc

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 Public Citizen Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Public Citizen Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 30%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    3get no government money at all
    3report 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 71 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 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Public Citizen’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