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Shared Ascent Fund at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

Shared Ascent Fund

SHARED ASCENT FUND's mission is to promote the common good by upholding democratic values, promoting health, and advancing social equity.

$1.3M
Granted FY2024still arriving
6
Grants FY2024still arriving
1
States reached
$250k
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, FY2020 to 2024.

Public Benefit$5.8MCrime & Legal$2.0MCivil Rights$1.5MArts & Culture$400kScience & Tech$400kEducation$150kEnvironment$29kSocial Science$25kOther$0
02FY2024 · 6 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $50k–250k3 grants · $500k
  • $250k+3 grants · $750k
$250,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$6.4M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CAMPAIGN LEGAL CENTER INC$250,000
VOTER REGISTRATION PROJECT$250,000
CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBILITY AND ETHICS IN WASHINGTON INC$250,000
ALL VOTING IS LOCAL$200,000
CONSTITUTIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY CENTER$200,000
LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE EDUCATION FUND INC$100,000
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 (FY20–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 95% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS INC: $400k → 8%RESOURCES LEGACY FUND: $29k → 12%LOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY: $15k → 14%PROTECT DEMOCRACY PROJECT: $150k → 17%AMERICAN BRIDGE 21ST CENTURY FOUNDATION: $1.5M → 14%THE UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS: $25k → 17%THE CENTER FOR TECHNOLOGY AND CIVIC LIFE: $100k → 14%ADVANCE DEMOCRACY INC: $100k → 6%WILLIAM J BRENNAN JR CENTER FOR JUSTICE INC: $150k → 17%AMERICAN INDEPENDENT FOUNDATION: $400k → 14%INDIVISIBLE CIVICS INC: $350k → 14%DEMAND JUSTICE INITIATIVE: $1.5M → 14%CAMPAIGN LEGAL CENTER INC: $630k → 14%CAMPAIGN LEGAL CENTER INC: $500k → 14%CAMPAIGN LEGAL CENTER INC: $250k → 14%CAMPAIGN LEGAL CENTER INC: $250k → 14%CAMPAIGN LEGAL CENTER INC: $174k → 14%LAWYERS' COMMITTEE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS UNDER LAW: $150k → 14%VOTER REGISTRATION PROJECT: $125k → 14%PUSHBLACK: $50k → 14%ISSUE ONE: $75k → 14%VOTER REGISTRATION PROJECT: $250k → 14%CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBILITY AND ETHICS IN WASHINGTON INC: $75k → 14%CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBILITY AND ETHICS IN WASHINGTON INC: $250k → 14%CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBILITY AND ETHICS IN WASHINGTON INC: $250k → 14%CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBILITY AND ETHICS IN WASHINGTON INC: $100k → 14%LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE EDUCATION FUND INC: $530k → 14%LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE EDUCATION FUND INC: $400k → 14%ALL VOTING IS LOCAL: $200k → 14%PRIORITIES USA FOUNDATION: $200k → 14%CONSTITUTIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY CENTER: $200k → 14%LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS EDUCATION FUND: $150k → 14%CONSTITUTIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY CENTER: $100k → 14%ASIAN AMERICANS ADVANCING JUSTICE: $100k → 14%CONSTITUTIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY CENTER: $100k → 14%LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE EDUCATION FUND INC: $100k → 14%LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE EDUCATION FUND INC: $100k → 14%CONSTITUTIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY CENTER: $100k → 14%ASIAN AMERICANS ADVANCING JUSTICE: $25k → 14%AMALGAMATED CHARITABLE FOUNDATION: $24k → 14%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.
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 grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

46%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$4.7M · 6 repeat orgs$5.5M to everyone else

6 repeat relationships: 5 still active in FY2024, 1 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

6
17

Total granted

$4.7M
$5.3M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

-10%
+59%

Still filing today

100%
94%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 84% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $200k went to new ones.

50%100%’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’20’21’22’23’24
Civil RightsPublic BenefitCrime & LegalEducationInternationalEnvironmentOther
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

  • THE CAMPAIGN LEGAL CENTER INC
    5× · 2020–2024 · $1.8M · revenue -10%
  • TL
    THE LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE EDUCATION FUND INC
    4× · 2020–2024 · $1.1M · revenue -71%
  • CF
    CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBILITY AND ETHICS IN WASHINGTON INC
    4× · 2021–2024 · $675k · revenue +47%

Funded once

  • AF
    AB FOUNDATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $1.5M · revenue +651%
  • DJ
    DEMAND JUSTICE INITIATIVEgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $1.5M · revenue +96% · 39% of their budget
  • TA
    THE AMERICAN INDEPENDENT FOUNDATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $400k · revenue ×12
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
American Civil Liberties Union Fund of the District of Columbia

Preservation of civil liberties through litigation and public education.

—
2
American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Iowa

The foundation works to defend and promote the constitution of the united states, focusing especially on the first, fourth, fifth, sixth, eighth, and 14th amendments. the foundation also works to defend and promote the constitution of the…

Civil Rights
3
National Veterans Legal Services Program Inc

To provide at no cost legal assistance to veterans of the u.s. armed forces and current service members.

—
4
American Constitution Society for Law & Policy

The american constitution society for law and policy (acs) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, non-partisan legal organization. through a diverse nationwide network of progressive lawyers, law students, judges, scholars, advocates, and many others,…

Education
5
Liberty Justice Center

To advance economic and social liberties and a free enterprise society through strategic litigation, training, communication, activism and research. in addition, the center will train law students, lawyers and policy activists in the…

Crime & Legal
6
Commission On Presidential Debates

Organize general election presidential and vice-presidential debates

Civil Rights
7
American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa

The union works to advocate and advance a public policy agenda to support and protect the constitution of the united states and the constitution of the state of iowa. it works to maintain throughout the united states the rights of free…

—
8
Amazon Conservation Association

Amazon conservation unites science, people, and innovation to protect the amazon - the greatest wild forest on earth. as guardians of the most iconic forest on the planet, we bring together the power of the latest science and technology…

Environment
9
Council for Court Excellence

Council for court excellence's (cce's) mission is to bring people together to conduct research, educate, and advocate to make d.c.'s unique legal systems more just, equitable, and accountable to the community.

—
10
Association of Legal Administrators

Ala is the catalyst for growth by providing: diverse educational experiences, engaged peer communities, strategic solutions, dynamic resources, and trusted networks.

—
11
America's Newspapers

Providing research, education and practical information all aimed at optimizing newspapers' business operations, deepening their community engagement and enhancing the quality of their journalism.

Employment
12
American Arbitration Association Inc

The american arbitration association ("aaa") is dedicated to effective, efficient and economical methods of dispute resolution through education, technology and solutions-oriented service.

Crime & Legal
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Aajc Inc; the most unlike its peers is Pushblack. 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

24 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. 24 of the 25 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)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
24/24
Grantees still filing
13/24
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE CAMPAIGN LEGAL CENTER INC: $1,803,750 · Crime & LegalTHE CAMPAIGN LEGAL CENTER INCDEMAND JUSTICE INITIATIVE: $1,455,000 · Crime & LegalDEMAND JUSTICE INITIATIVECONSTITUTIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY CENTER: $500,000 · Crime & LegalCONSTITUTIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY CENTERAB FOUNDATION: $1,500,000 · Public BenefitAB FOUNDATIONTHE LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE EDUCATION FUND INC: $1,130,000 · Public BenefitTHE LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE EDUCATION FU…CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBILITY AND ETHICS IN WASHINGTON INC: $675,000 · Public BenefitCITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBILITY AND ETHICS…+2 more: $175,000 · Public BenefitVOTER REGISTRATION PROJECT: $475,000 · OtherVOTER REGISTR…THE AMERICAN INDEPENDENT FOUNDATION: $400,000 · OtherTHE AMERICAN …LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS EDUCATION FUND: $150,000 · OtherLEAGUE OF WOM…Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law: $150,000 · OtherLawyers' Comm…+1 more: $25,000 · OtherINDIVISIBLE CIVICS: $350,000 · Civil RightsINDIVISIBLE…ALL VOTING IS LOCAL: $200,000 · Civil RightsALL VOTING …PRIORITIES USA FOUNDATION: $200,000 · Civil RightsPRIORITIES …PROTECT DEMOCRACY PROJECT: $150,000 · Civil RightsPROTECT DEM…ASIAN AMERICANS ADVANCING JUSTICE - AAJC INC: $125,000 · Civil RightsASIAN AMERI…PUSHBLACK: $50,000 · Civil RightsTHE UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS INC: $400,000 · InternationalADVANCE DEMOCRACY INC: $100,000 · InternationalWILLIAM J BRENNAN CENTER FOR JUSTICE INC: $150,000 · EducationLOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY: $15,000 · EducationRESOURCES LEGACY FUND: $28,841 · EnvironmentAmalgamated Charitable Foundation Inc: $23,750 · Philanthropy
Crime & Legal$3,758,750Public Benefit$3,480,000Other$1,200,000Civil Rights$1,075,000International$500,000Education$165,000Environment$28,841Philanthropy$23,750

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

25%50%75%100%$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetTHE CAMPAIGN LEGAL CENTER INC: $1,803,750 over 5y, 4.1% of budgetAB FOUNDATION: $1,500,000 over 1y, 15% of budgetDEMAND JUSTICE INITIATIVE: $1,455,000 over 1y, 39% of budgetTHE LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE EDUCATION FUND INC: $1,130,000 over 4y, 1.1% of budgetCITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBILITY AND ETHICS IN WASHINGTON INC: $675,000 over 4y, 3.7% of budgetCONSTITUTIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY CENTER: $500,000 over 4y, 6.8% of budgetVOTER REGISTRATION PROJECT: $475,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetTHE AMERICAN INDEPENDENT FOUNDATION: $400,000 over 1y, 8.2% of budgetTHE UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS INC: $400,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetINDIVISIBLE CIVICS: $350,000 over 1y, 6.5% of budgetALL VOTING IS LOCAL: $200,000 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetPRIORITIES USA FOUNDATION: $200,000 over 1y, 2.5% of budgetLEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS EDUCATION FUND: $150,000 over 1y, 2.5% of budgetLawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law: $150,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetPROTECT DEMOCRACY PROJECT: $150,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetWILLIAM J BRENNAN CENTER FOR JUSTICE INC: $150,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetASIAN AMERICANS ADVANCING JUSTICE - AAJC INC: $125,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetCENTER FOR TECHNOLOGY AND CIVIC LIFE: $100,000 over 1y, 2.9% of budgetADVANCE DEMOCRACY INC: $100,000 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetISSUE ONE: $75,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetPUSHBLACK: $50,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetRESOURCES LEGACY FUND: $28,841 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAmalgamated Charitable Foundation Inc: $23,750 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY: $15,000 over 1y, 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.

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 FoundationSilicon Valley Commun…ImpactassetsincResources Legacy FundWellspring Philanthro…Foundation to Promote…Hopewell FundJewish Community Fede…Amalgamated Charitabl…The San Francisco Fou…Gs Donor Advised Phil…
New Venture FundDC18.8× affinity7 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: New Venture Fund · Tides Foundation · Silicon Valley Community Foundation · Impactassetsinc · Resources Legacy Fund · Wellspring Philanthropic Fund Inc · Foundation to Promote Open Society · Hopewell Fund · Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco the Peninsula Marin & Sonoma · Amalgamated Charitable Foundation Inc · The San Francisco Foundation · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management 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 Shared Ascent Fund funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Shared Ascent Fund. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%3%10%23%40%funder's share of their income ↑0%1%3%4%5%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    1get no government money at all
    1report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–5%
    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 25 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 Shared Ascent’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