Skip to content
Sustainable Ct Inc at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

Sustainable Ct Inc

To inspire, support, and certify sustainability actions by connecticut towns and cities.

$227k
Granted FY2025still arriving
20
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$8k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0199% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2024.

Environment$427kArts & Culture$328kFood & Nutrition$184kRecreation & Sports$67kCommunity Improvement$53kYouth Development$38kEducation$35kReligion$33kOther$0
02FY2025 · 20 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 20 grants below total $137,595, the rows itemized in this filing. The $226,998 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $89,403 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.
$7,500
Median grant
1
States reached
$3.0M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
THE WEST HARTFORD TREE PROJECT$7,500
TWO WRASSLIN' CATS ACCORD$7,500
CONNECTICUT COMMUNITY BICYCLE$7,500
ELLINGTON FARMERS MARKET$7,500
CHICKS AHOY FARM$7,500
BREAKFAST LUNCH & DINNER$7,500
EVERYONE OUTSIDE$7,500
BIKE WEST HARTFORD$7,500
SIERR CLUB CONNECTICUT CHAPTER$7,500
BETHAL ARTS$7,500
FREE HART CLOSET$7,345
GREENWICH AUDUBON CENTER$7,250
HUNEEBEE PROJECT$6,000
COOPERATE CONNECTICUT$6,000
NIGHT FALL INC$6,000
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.

None of its grants could be placed against low income need for this view.

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 18% of Sustainable Ct Inc’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address.

Sustainable Ct Inclessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address · 2.9% 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.

47%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$648k · 26 repeat orgs$744k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +19% since the first grant, against +16% for those funded once.

26 repeat relationships: 9 still active in FY2025, 17 since wound down; 11 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

26
78

Total granted

$648k
$669k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+19%
+16%

Still filing today

65%
45%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 45% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $75k went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24’25
EnvironmentArts & CultureCommunity ImprovementFood & NutritionEducationHuman ServicesOther
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

  • TR
    The Riseup Group Inc
    3× · 2021–2024 · $88k · revenue +282% · 27% of their budget
  • BC
    BENINCASA COMMUNITY INC
    4× · 2021–2024 · $47k · revenue +126%
  • CL
    CITY LIGHTS & COMPANY
    5× · 2020–2025 · $36k · revenue +85%

Funded once

  • PC
    PTSA CONNECTICUT CONGRESS
    one grant, 2023 · $38k
  • SE
    SUSTAINABLE ESSEX DEEP RIVER
    one grant, 2023 · $18k
  • UM
    UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
    one grant, 2023 · $18k
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
Connecticut Citizen Action Group Inc

We encourage Connecticut residents to participate in government and their communities and we conduct public interest lobbying to advocate for consumer and environmental concerns.

—
2
Site Projects Inc

Commissions world class public artworks, programming, and events on a project by project basis in partnership with local agencies and organizations that enhance New Havens cultural heritage and diversity.

Arts & Culture
3
Federated Garden Clubs of Connecticut Inc

To stimulate the knowledge and love of gardening and the art of flower arranging; to aid in the protection of trees, plants, and birds; to encourage civic beautification and to instill a respect for the environment.

—
4
Nw Ct Food Hub Inc

Nw ct food hub, inc. is set up to relieve food insecurity, advance public health and nutrition education, and strengthen the viability of small, local, and start-up farms in connecticut.

—
5
North Central Conservation District Inc

To provide leadership and take initiatives for locally led conservation with the goal to protect soil, water and other natural resources of north central connecticut.

Environment
6
Newtown Earth Day Inc
Environment
7
Connecticut Theatre Exchange Inc

Connecticut Theatre Exchange exists to bring together theatre artists from various backgrounds and identities to support their process of developing new projects and new skills in a nurturing environment that is both accessible and…

Arts & Culture
8
West Colebrook Farm Company
Arts & Culture
9
New Britain Roots Inc

ROOTS is a community-engaged 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to promoting food security and agricultural education in K-12 programs. We make healthy food accessible and affordable to low-income families. We work with Connecticut farmers,…

Food & Nutrition
10
Kestrel Land Trust

Kestrel land trust conserves and cares for forests, farms, and riverways in the connecticut river valley of western massachusetts while nurturing an enduring love of the land

Environment
11
Eastern Connecticut Conservation District Inc

The organization is dedicated to helping the towns and citizens of eastern ct with their conservation needs.

Recreation & Sports
12
Norwalk River Watershed Association Inc

To protect water quality and wildlife habitat in the seven-town Norwalk River Watershed

Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Greenwich Botanical Center Inc; the most unlike its peers is Times Fool Company. 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

65 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

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 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 65 of the 119 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)
21
Early backer (in before they grew)
62/65
Grantees still filing
40/65
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

PTSA CONNECTICUT CONGRESS: $37,500 · OtherTOWN OF BRANFORD: $35,330 · OtherTUCKER MEMORIAL FUND: $30,000 · OtherGARDEN CLUB OF WINDHAM: $30,000 · Other+66 more: $583,222 · Other+66 moreCITY LIGHTS & COMPANY: $35,820 · Arts & CultureCITY LIGHTS & …VOICE OF ART INC: $22,500 · Arts & CultureVOICE OF ART I…TIMES FOOL COMPANY: $21,000 · Arts & CultureTIMES FOOL COM…EVERGREEN FAMILY THEATRE INC: $15,000 · Arts & CultureEVERGREEN FAMI…BRUCE MUSEUM INC: $15,000 · Arts & CultureBRUCE MUSEUM I…MASSARO COMMUNITY FARM INC: $15,000 · Arts & CultureMASSARO COMMUN…FIRST NIGHT HARTFORD INC: $14,451 · Arts & CultureFIRST NIGHT HA…SONIA PLUMB DANCE COMPANY INC: $8,000 · Arts & CultureCHARTER OAK TEMPLE RESTORATION ASSOC D/B/A CHARTER OAK CULTURAL CENTER: $7,500 · Arts & CultureART COUNCIL OF GREATER NEW HAVEN INC: $7,500 · Arts & CultureCultural Alliance of Fairfield County Inc: $7,500 · Arts & Culture+3 more: $17,700 · Arts & Culture+3 moreEVERYONE OUTSIDE: $30,000 · EnvironmentEVERYONE OUT…EARTHPLACE INC: $22,500 · EnvironmentEARTHPLACE I…AVALONIA LAND CONSERVANCY INC: $15,000 · EnvironmentAVALONIA LAN…Farmington Land Trust: $15,000 · EnvironmentFarmington L…HAVENS HARVEST INC: $9,000 · EnvironmentHAVENS HARVE…CONNECTICUT RESOURCE CONSERVATION & DEV AREA INC: $9,000 · EnvironmentCONNECTICUT …POLLINATOR PATHWAY INC: $7,500 · EnvironmentCONNECTICUT CITIZEN RESEARCH GROUP INC: $7,500 · EnvironmentSIERRA CLUB FOUNDATION: $7,500 · EnvironmentLITCHFIELD LAND TRUST INC: $7,500 · EnvironmentPARK CITY COMPOST INITIATIVE INC: $7,500 · EnvironmentGREENWICH BOTANICAL CENTER INC: $7,500 · EnvironmentFriends of the Norwalk River Valley Trail Inc: $7,405 · EnvironmentHUNEEBEE PROJECT INC: $6,000 · EnvironmentThe Riseup Group Inc: $88,469 · EducationThe Riseu…WESTVILLE COMMUNITY NURSERY SCHOOL INC: $15,000 · EducationWESTVILLE…SOLAR YOUTH INC: $7,500 · EducationSOLAR YOU…EASTERN CT COMMUNITY GARDENS ASSOC: $6,000 · EducationNEW HAVEN ECOLOGY PROJECT INC: $24,000 · Food & NutritionChicks Ahoy Farm Inc: $24,000 · Food & NutritionEAST LYME GIVING GARDEN INC: $22,500 · Food & NutritionREAL FOOD CT: $15,000 · Food & NutritionELLINGTON FARMERS MARKET INC: $15,000 · Food & NutritionCLICK INC: $9,000 · Food & NutritionBENINCASA COMMUNITY INC: $46,500 · Community ImprovementiQuilt Partnership Inc: $15,000 · Community ImprovementFREE CENTER INCORPORATED: $15,000 · Community ImprovementGROUNDWORK BRIDGEPORT INC: $7,500 · Community ImprovementBIKE WEST HARTFORD INC: $7,500 · Community ImprovementNEW HAVEN - URBAN RESOURCES INITIATIVE INC: $6,300 · Community ImprovementSouthside Institutions Neighborhood Alliance Inc: $5,000 · Community ImprovementTHE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF EASTERN CONNECTICUT INC: $28,778 · PhilanthropyCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY INC: $15,000 · PhilanthropyNEW CANAAN COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $10,000 · PhilanthropyUR COMMUNITY CARES INC: $7,500 · Philanthropy
Other$716,052Arts & Culture$186,971Environment$158,905Education$116,969Food & Nutrition$109,500Community Improvement$102,800Philanthropy$61,278

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 budgetThe Riseup Group Inc: $88,469 over 3y, 27% of budgetBENINCASA COMMUNITY INC: $46,500 over 4y, 18% of budgetCITY LIGHTS & COMPANY: $35,820 over 5y, 4.2% of budgetEVERYONE OUTSIDE: $30,000 over 4y, 5.7% of budgetTHE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF EASTERN CONNECTICUT INC: $28,778 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetNEW HAVEN ECOLOGY PROJECT INC: $24,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetChicks Ahoy Farm Inc: $24,000 over 3y, 32% of budgetEARTHPLACE INC: $22,500 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetVOICE OF ART INC: $22,500 over 3y, 11% of budgetEAST LYME GIVING GARDEN INC: $22,500 over 2y, 25% of budgetLEVO INTERNATIONAL INC: $22,330 over 3y, 4.9% of budgetTIMES FOOL COMPANY: $21,000 over 3y, 6.6% of budgetCONNECTICUT COMMUNITY BICYCLE WORKSHOP INC: $15,500 over 2y, 4.1% of budgetREAL FOOD CT: $15,000 over 2y, 6.8% of budgetWEST HARTFORD ALL SPORTS COUNCIL INC: $15,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY INC: $15,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetAVALONIA LAND CONSERVANCY INC: $15,000 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetWESTVILLE COMMUNITY NURSERY SCHOOL INC: $15,000 over 1y, 4.0% of budgetiQuilt Partnership Inc: $15,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetFarmington Land Trust: $15,000 over 1y, 4.3% of budgetELLINGTON FARMERS MARKET INC: $15,000 over 2y, 4.1% of budgetEVERGREEN FAMILY THEATRE INC: $15,000 over 2y, 20% of budgetBRUCE MUSEUM INC: $15,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMASSARO COMMUNITY FARM INC: $15,000 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetFREE CENTER INCORPORATED: $15,000 over 2y, 3.9% of budgetFIRST NIGHT HARTFORD INC: $14,451 over 2y, 5.5% of budgetNEW CANAAN COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetHAVENS HARVEST INC: $9,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCONNECTICUT RESOURCE CONSERVATION & DEV AREA INC: $9,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetCLICK INC: $9,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetSONIA PLUMB DANCE COMPANY INC: $8,000 over 1y, 9.6% of budgetSOLAR YOUTH INC: $7,500 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetGROUNDWORK BRIDGEPORT INC: $7,500 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetCHARTER OAK TEMPLE RESTORATION ASSOC D/B/A CHARTER OAK CULTURAL CENTER: $7,500 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetCOMMUNITY RENEWAL TEAM INC: $7,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPOLLINATOR PATHWAY INC: $7,500 over 1y, 5.9% of budgetCONNECTICUT CITIZEN RESEARCH GROUP INC: $7,500 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetTHE MADISON FOUNDATION: $7,500 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetQPLUS QUEER YOUTH PROGRAM OF CONNECTICUT: $7,500 over 1y, 5.7% of budgetSIERRA CLUB FOUNDATION: $7,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLITCHFIELD LAND TRUST INC: $7,500 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetFALLS VILLAGE HOUSING TRUST INC: $7,500 over 1y, 27% of budgetMILL HILL SCHOOL PTA: $7,500 over 1y, 12% of budgetPARK CITY COMPOST INITIATIVE INC: $7,500 over 1y, 5.9% of budgetART COUNCIL OF GREATER NEW HAVEN INC: $7,500 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetGREENWICH BOTANICAL CENTER INC: $7,500 over 1y, 2.9% of budgetCultural Alliance of Fairfield County Inc: $7,500 over 1y, 2.4% of budgetMILL RIVER COLLABORATIVE INC: $7,500 over 1y, 0.2% 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.

Hartford Foundation f…Connecticut Humanitie…William Caspar Graust…Eversource Energy Fou…In Our Backyards IncFairfield County's Co…The Betty Knox Founda…The Community Foundat…The Emily Hall Tremai…Newalliance Foundatio…Edward C & Ann T Robe…Liberty Bank Foundati…
Hartford Foundation for Public GivingCT51× affinity27 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Hartford Foundation for Public Giving · Connecticut Humanities Council Inc · William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund · Eversource Energy Foundation Inc · In Our Backyards Inc · Fairfield County's Community Foundation Inc · The Betty Knox Foundation Inc · The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven · The Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation Inc · Newalliance Foundation Inc · Edward C & Ann T Roberts Foundation · Liberty Bank Foundation 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 Sustainable Ct Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Sustainable Ct Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 200%3%10%23%40%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 19%
  • Mill River Collaborative Inc: 100% of income from government
  • Connecticut Resource Conservation & Dev Area Inc: 100% of income from government
  • New Haven - Urban Resources Initiative Inc: 100% of income from government
  • IQuilt Partnership Inc: 100% of income from government
  • Groundwork Bridgeport Inc: 100% of income from government
  • Community Renewal Team Inc: 77% of income from government
  • Emerge Connecticut Inc: 47% of income from government
  • Click Inc: 44% of income from government
  • Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County Inc: 41% of income from government
  • Keney Park Sustainability Project: 37% of income from government
  • Massaro Community Farm Inc: 27% of income from government
  • Avalonia Land Conservancy Inc: 21% of income from government
  • Solar Youth Inc: 19% of income from government
  • Ellington Farmers Market Inc: 19% of income from government
  • Real Food Ct: 17% of income from government
  • Art Council of Greater New Haven Inc: 14% of income from government
  • Levo International Inc: 10% of income from government
  • New Haven Ecology Project Inc: 9% of income from government
  • City Lights & Company: 9% of income from government
  • Benincasa Community Inc: 4% of income from government
  • Friends of the Litchfield Community Greenway Inc: 3% of income from government
  • First Night Hartford Inc: 1% of income from government
  • The Riseup Group Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Bruce Museum Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Connecticut Citizen Research Group Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
20get no government money at all
8report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
6rely 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 119 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 Sustainable Ct’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