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Russell Sage Foundation at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Private foundation

Russell Sage Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$7.3M
Granted FY2024still arriving
171
Grants FY2024still arriving
25
States reached
$199k
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.

Education$24MSocial Science$3.6MScience & Tech$3.4MHealth$3.3MEmployment$3.0MCivil Rights$2.3MCrime & Legal$2.2MRecreation & Sports$1.2MOther$0
02FY2024 · 171 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k5 grants · $39k
  • $10k–50k113 grants · $2.7M
  • $50k–250k53 grants · $4.5M
$34,920
Median grant
25
States reached
$467M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Cornell University$199,096
Columbia University$181,173
University of California Los Angeles$176,777
University of Pennsylvania$146,742
New York University$133,824
Drake University$129,353
University of Pittsburgh$125,057
University of California Los Angeles$100,000
Harvard University$99,999
New York University$99,840
Boston College$99,409
University of California Berkeley$98,448
University of California San Diego$97,511
University of Nebraska Lincoln$96,943
University of California Los Angeles$96,495
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 (FY17–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 77% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%Boston College: $174k → 7%Tufts University: $150k → 16%Stanford University: $175k → 8%Cornell University: $199k → 16%Social Science Research Council: $175k → 20%University of Oklahoma: $137k → 13%Drake University: $129k → 10%Washington University St Louis: $175k → 11%North Carolina State University: $175k → 8%Duke University: $165k → 11%Indiana University Bloomington: $161k → 18%Northwestern University: $136k → 14%University of Mississippi: $135k → 18%Rutgers University New Brunswick: $141k → 8%Princeton University: $132k → 11%Stanford University: $167k → 8%University of Michigan: $161k → 14%Washington University St Louis: $150k → 11%Duke University: $132k → 11%Georgia Tech Research Corporation: $133k → 13%Northwestern University: $130k → 14%Stanford University: $152k → 8%University of Southern California: $126k → 14%University of Michigan: $141k → 14%Duke University: $130k → 11%Brown University: $143k → 14%University of Michigan: $136k → 14%Brown University: $129k → 14%Harvard University: $164k → 8%Columbia University: $181k → 17%University of California Berkeley: $158k → 10%University of Pittsburgh: $125k → 11%University of Pennsylvania: $149k → 22%University of Pennsylvania: $147k → 22%University of California Los Angeles: $177k → 14%University of California Los Angeles: $144k → 14%University of Chicago: $175k → 14%University of Chicago: $150k → 14%University of Chicago: $149k → 14%University of Chicago: $134k → 14%John Jay College of Criminal Justice: $146k → 17%Russell Sage Foundation: $150k → 17%Russell Sage Foundation: $148k → 17%Russell Sage Foundation: $130k → 17%Russell Sage Foundation: $127k → 17%New York University: $154k → 17%New York University: $138k → 17%New York University: $134k → 17%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

VT
NH
WA
MN
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
OR
IA
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CT
RI
CA
UT
CO
NE
MO
KY
VA
MD
DE
AZ
NM
TN
NC
SC
DC
OK
LA
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.
04

Where the work is directed

The same grants placed two ways: where each recipient sits, and where its stated purpose sends the money.

About 15% of Russell Sage Foundation’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address.

Russell Sage Foundationlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address · 2.8% directed abroad (not shown)
How this is measured
Recipient view: each grant at its grantee’s ZIP, mapped to a county. Directed view: each grant at the county its stated purpose names, falling back to the recipient’s county when the purpose names no place; US grants only. A county shows only if it carries the top 95% of that view’s dollars. Purposes are read from the funder’s own 990 grant descriptions.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

92%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$35M · 116 repeat orgs$3.2M to everyone else

116 repeat relationships: 62 still active in FY2024, 54 since wound down; 15 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

116
60

Total granted

$35M
$2.4M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+29%
+39%

Still filing today

48%
43%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 86% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $783k 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
EducationSocial ScienceHealthScience & TechRecreation & SportsCivil RightsOther
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

  • UO
    University of Michigan
    8× · 2017–2024 · $2.2M · revenue +202% · 98% of their budget
  • NY
    New York University
    8× · 2017–2024 · $1.7M · revenue +76%
  • University of Chicago
    8× · 2017–2024 · $1.1M · revenue +56%

Funded once

  • SS
    SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH COUNCIL
    one grant, 2022 · $175k · revenue -57%
  • JJ
    John Jay College of Criminal Justice
    one grant, 2018 · $146k
  • UO
    University of Oklahoma
    one grant, 2023 · $137k
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
Lehigh University

The university's goal in the coming decade is to advance learning through the integration of teaching, research and service to others. the core of this goal is to prepare graduates to engage with the world and lead lives of meaning. to do…

Education
2
University of New Haven

The University of New Haven is a student-centered comprehensive university with an emphasis on excellence in liberal arts and professional education. Our mission is to prepare our students to lead purposeful and fulfilling lives in a…

Education
3
Furman University

The primary mission of furman as a liberal arts institution is to provide a distinctive education in fine arts, humanities, social sciences, mathematics and the sciences, as well as selected professional disciplines.

Education
4
Boston Architectural College

The bac is committed to provide excellence in design education grounded in practice and accessible to diverse communities.

—
5
Manhattanville University

To educate students to be ethical and socially responsible leaders in a global community.

Education
6
Manhattan University

Manhattan university is an independent catholic instituion of higher learning that embraces qualified men and women of all faiths, cultures, and traditions. the mission of manhattan university is to provide a contemporary, person-centered…

Education
7
Case Western Reserve University

Case Western Reserve University is an independent, research-oriented university with broadly based strengths in health, including medicine, nursing and dentistry; in engineering; in the arts and sciences; and in law, management and social…

Education
8
President and Trustees of Bates College

Bates is a college of the liberal arts and sciences, and is a coeducational, nonsectarian, residential college with special commitments to academic rigor, and to assuring in all of its efforts the dignity of each individual, and access to…

Education
9
Point Park University

Provides innovative education in a dynamic urban setting. dedicated to academic excellence and community engagement,we prepare students of diverse backgrounds with the knowledge, skill,and experience to lead meaningful lives as informed…

—
10
Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Wpi transforms lives, turns knowledge into action to confront global challenges, and revolutionizes stem through distinctive and inclusive education, projects and research. (http://www.wpi.edu/about/mission.html)

—
11
Western New England University

Western new england university, a comprehensive private institution with a tradition of excellence in teaching and scholarship and a commitment to service, awards undergraduate, master's, and doctoral degrees in various departments from…

Education
12
Roger Williams University

At Roger Williams University, students are prepared to be thinkers and doers ready to solve challenging problems with innovative solutions. RWU offers robust offerings of undergraduate, graduate and professional programs across eight…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Georgetown University; the most unlike its peers is Seattle University. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
05the grantee network

97 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. 97 of the 201 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)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
97/97
Grantees still filing
86/97
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

University of Michigan: $2,240,092 · OtherUniversity of MichiganUniversity of California Berkeley: $1,841,066 · OtherUniversity of California BerkeleyRussell Sage Foundation: $1,825,131 · OtherRussell Sage FoundationUniversity of California Los Angeles: $1,426,749 · OtherUniversity of California Los AngelesUNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA- DAVIS: $824,543 · OtherUniversity of Wisconsin Madison: $808,830 · Other+109 more: $14,747,849 · Other+109 morePresident and Fellows of Harvard College: $1,812,319 · EducationPresident and Fellows of Harvard CollegeNew York University: $1,650,448 · EducationNew York UniversityTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $1,519,889 · EducationTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JU…THE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK: $1,497,773 · EducationTHE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY…University of Chicago: $1,129,998 · EducationUniversity of ChicagoDUKE UNIVERSITY: $992,726 · EducationThe Trustees of Princeton University: $725,930 · EducationTRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: $696,147 · Education+65 more: $9,139,298 · Education+65 moreBROWN UNIVERSITY: $1,030,023 · Community ImprovementWASHINGTON CENTER FOR EQUITABLE GROWTH INC: $205,950 · Social ScienceTHE URBAN INSTITUTE: $198,344 · Social ScienceSOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH COUNCIL: $174,976 · Social ScienceTHE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: $139,622 · Social ScienceNATIONAL BUREAU OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH INC: $138,000 · Social Science+1 more: $29,472 · Social ScienceNorthwestern University: $678,914 · Recreation & SportsNATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES: $396,309 · Science & TechSANTA FE INSTITUTE: $109,286 · Science & TechGEORGIA TECH RESEARCH CORPORATION: $177,194 · HealthNATIONAL ACADEMY OF SOCIAL INSURANCE: $35,000 · Health
Other$23,714,260Education$19,164,528Community Improvement$1,030,023Social Science$886,364Recreation & Sports$678,914Science & Tech$505,595Health$212,194

Showing the 200 largest grantees by grant value.

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 budgetUniversity of Michigan: $2,240,092 over 8y, 98% of budgetPresident and Fellows of Harvard College: $1,812,319 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetNew York University: $1,650,448 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $1,519,889 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetTHE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK: $1,497,773 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetUniversity of Chicago: $1,129,998 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetBROWN UNIVERSITY: $1,030,023 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetDUKE UNIVERSITY: $992,726 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetThe Trustees of Princeton University: $725,930 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetTRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: $696,147 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetNorthwestern University: $678,914 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetTRUSTEES OF BOSTON UNIVERSITY: $670,580 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCarnegie Mellon University: $591,844 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetCornell University: $576,694 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: $523,716 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetTRUSTEES OF BOSTON COLLEGE: $481,167 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetResearch Foundation of the City University of New York: $471,973 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetUniversity of Notre Dame du Lac: $443,861 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetTrustees of Dartmouth College: $428,768 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES: $396,309 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetGEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: $387,144 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetJOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: $316,526 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetWellesley College: $293,534 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTrustees of Tufts College: $274,306 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMassachusetts Institute of Technology: $267,454 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetThe Research Foundation for The State University of New York: $260,007 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetSYRACUSE UNIVERSITY: $257,263 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetTemple University - Of The Commonwealth System of Higher Education: $229,201 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF DENVER: $226,582 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetWASHINGTON CENTER FOR EQUITABLE GROWTH INC: $205,950 over 5y, 1.2% of budgetTHE URBAN INSTITUTE: $198,344 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetThe George Washington University: $195,837 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetWilliam Marsh Rice University: $190,237 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetEmory University: $184,392 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetBRANDEIS UNIVERSITY: $181,791 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetW E UPJOHN UNEMPLOYMENT TRUSTEE CORPORATION: $178,605 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetGEORGIA TECH RESEARCH CORPORATION: $177,194 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetThe Hastings Center Inc: $175,000 over 2y, 1.9% of budgetSOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH COUNCIL: $174,976 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetMIGRATION POLICY INSTITUTE: $174,398 over 2y, 1.7% of budgetTrinity University: $170,881 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWESLEYAN UNIVERSITY: $160,167 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH: $160,057 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBucknell University: $150,207 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetVanderbilt University: $142,307 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetTHE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: $139,622 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetNATIONAL BUREAU OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH INC: $138,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF HARTFORD: $131,089 over 3y, 0.0% 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 University of Michigan ↗
  • Who funds President and Fellows of Harvard College ↗
  • Who funds New York University ↗
  • Who funds THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds THE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK ↗
  • Who funds University of Chicago ↗
  • Who funds BROWN UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds DUKE UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds The Trustees of Princeton University ↗
  • Who funds TRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA ↗
  • Who funds Northwestern University ↗
  • Who funds TRUSTEES OF BOSTON UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds Carnegie Mellon University ↗
  • Who funds Cornell University ↗
  • Who funds UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ↗
  • Who funds TRUSTEES OF BOSTON COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds Research Foundation of the City University of New York ↗
  • Who funds University of Notre Dame du Lac ↗
  • Who funds Trustees of Dartmouth College ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES ↗
  • Who funds GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds Wellesley College ↗

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.

The Robert Wood Johns…Alfred P Sloan Founda…Gates FoundationThe Ford FoundationSilicon Valley Commun…Laura and John Arnold…Carnegie Corporation …Annie E Casey Foundat…WK Kellogg FoundationCharities Aid Foundat…National Philanthropi…Vanguard Charitable E…
The Robert Wood Johnson FoundationNJ20× affinity8 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation · Alfred P Sloan Foundation · Gates Foundation · The Ford Foundation · Silicon Valley Community Foundation · Laura and John Arnold Foundation · Carnegie Corporation of New York · Annie E Casey Foundation Inc · WK Kellogg Foundation · Charities Aid Foundation America · National Philanthropic Trust · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 7%
  • Jsi Research & Training Institute Inc: 69% of income from government
  • National Bureau of Economic Research Inc: 48% of income from government
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology: 35% of income from government
  • University of Delaware: 30% of income from government
  • Trustees of Tufts College: 13% of income from government
  • Trustees of Boston University: 12% of income from government
  • Johns Hopkins University: 12% of income from government
  • The Trustees of Princeton University: 11% of income from government
  • Brandeis University: 9% of income from government
  • President and Fellows of Harvard College: 7% of income from government
  • Northeastern University: 7% of income from government
  • Trustees of Boston College: 3% of income from government
  • University of Hartford: 1% of income from government
  • President and Fellows of Middlebury College: 1% of income from government
  • Wesleyan University: 1% of income from government
  • Wellesley College: 1% of income from government
  • Assumption University: 0% of income from government
  • Emmanuel College: 0% of income from government
  • Amherst College Trustees: 0% of income from government
  • Williams College: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
6report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
1rely 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 201 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-PF 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 Russell Sage’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