Skip to content
Syncopation Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Syncopation Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$210k
Granted FY2020
13
Grants FY2020
4
States reached
$100k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead

Read this first · the figures below need context

53% of Syncopation Foundation’s FY2024 grant dollars went to Pef Israel Endowment Funds Inc, not to grantees.

Its money now reaches organizations through that sponsor, which does not report who recommended each grant. FY2024 names 12 organizations directly, so a portfolio cannot be read from it. Everything below is therefore FY2020, the last year Syncopation Foundation named its own grantees at scale: 5 organizations, $210k. It is dated, not current.

Organizations named directly on the return

7
’17
3
’19
5
’20
4
’21
4
’22
4
’23
12
’24

Amber years are those where most dollars went to a sponsor.

01What it funds
0186% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

International$1.0MPublic Benefit$475kHealth$228kPhilanthropy$210kEducation$169kFood & Nutrition$149kCivil Rights$130kArts & Culture$110kOther$0
02FY2020 · 13 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2020

  • Under $10k6 grants · $10k
  • $10k–50k6 grants · $100k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $100k
$10,000
Median grant
4
States reached
$16M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
VOTER REGISTRATION PROJECT$100,000
SAINT ANN'S SCHOOL ONL$30,000
NEW ISRAEL FUND$25,000
PEF ISRAEL ENDOWMENT FUNDS$15,000
DOE FUND INC$10,000
GO2 FDN FOR LUNG CANCER$10,000
GO2 FOUNDATION$10,000
Individual grant recipient$5,000
Individual grant recipient$1,650
Individual grant recipient$1,000
Individual grant recipient$1,000
IYENGAR YOGA ASSOCIATION$526
BROOKLYN PUBLIC LIBRARY$515
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 15%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 84% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%AMERICAN FRIENDS OF LIBI INC: $40k → 7%AMERICA ISRAEL DEMOCRACY COALITION: $100k → 10%BONNIE J ADDARIO LUNG CANCER FOUNDATION: $5k → 7%VOTEORG: $150k → 10%SIMPLE TRAIN INC: $10k → 14%THE AMERICAN INDEPENDENT FOUNDATION: $100k → 14%TESS MAJORS FOUNDATION: $10k → 14%FEEDING AMERICA: $20k → 14%ACCELERATE CHANGE: $75k → 16%SAINT ANN'S SCHOOL ONL: $30k → 20%VOTER REGISTRATION PROJECT: $100k → 14%ACCELERATE CHANGE: $50k → 16%SAINT ANN'S SCHOOL ONL: $30k → 20%VOTER REGISTRATION PROJECT: $100k → 14%AMERICAN FRIENDS OF LIBI INC: $30k → 16%SAINT ANN'S SCHOOL: $25k → 20%VOTER REGISTRATION PROJECT: $50k → 14%TIDES FOUNDATION: $100k → 10%AMERICAN SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL INC: $6k → 17%SAINT ANN'S SCHOOL ONL: $20k → 20%PLANNED PARENTHOOD ACTION: $10k → 14%PLYMOUTH CHURCH SCHOOL: $10k → 20%GO2 FOUNDATION: $10k → 14%PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA: $8k → 17%PLYMOUTH CHURCH SCHOOL: $10k → 20%THE VOTER PARTICIPATION CENTER: $75k → 14%DONATION ISREAL: $20k → 20%GO2 FOUNDATION FOR LUNG CANCER: $10k → 14%HOSPITAL FOR SPECIAL SURGERY: $50k → 17%PLYMOUTH CHURCH SCHOOL: $10k → 20%NEW ISRAEL FUND: $20k → 14%HOSPITAL FOR SPECIAL SURGERY FUND INC: $50k → 17%DONATION ISREAL: $20k → 20%GO2 FDN FOR LUNG CANCER: $10k → 14%HOSPITAL FOR SPECIAL SURGERY: $50k → 17%SAINT ANNS SCHOOL: $10k → 20%JEROME LOHEZ SEPTEMBER 11TH SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION: $10k → 17%THE DOE FUND: $8k → 17%AMERICA GIVES INC: $10k → 17%PEF ISRAEL ENDOWMENT FUNDS: $415k → 17%PEF ISRAEL ENDOWMENT FUNDS INC: $370k → 17%PEF ISRAEL ENDOWMENT FUNDS: $15k → 17%PEF ISRAEL ENDOWMENT FUNDS: $15k → 17%PEF ISRAEL ENDOWMENT FUNDS: $15k → 17%PEF ISRAEL ENDOWMENT FUNDS: $15k → 17%PEF ISRAEL ENDOWMENT FUNDS: $15k → 17%DOEORG: $50k → 17%DOE FUND INC: $10k → 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

ME
IL
NY
MA
PA
CA
MD
TN
DC
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 grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

65%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.1M · 21 repeat orgs$590k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +84% since the first grant, against +12% for those funded once.

21 repeat relationships: 7 still active in FY2020, 14 since wound down; 16 grantees were first funded in FY2020 (too recent to call). Read against FY2020, the last year this funder named its own grantees directly; its giving has since run through a sponsor, which reports no donor behind each grant.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

21
6

Total granted

$1.1M
$16k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+84%
+12%

Still filing today

57%
50%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 24% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $265k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’19’20’21’22’23’24
EducationHealthCivil RightsPhilanthropyArts & CultureFood & NutritionOther
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

  • VR
    VOTER REGISTRATION PROJECT
    3× · 2019–2022 · $250k · revenue +50%
  • AC
    ACCELERATE CHANGE INC
    2× · 2021–2022 · $125k · revenue +495%
  • SA
    SAINT ANN'S SCHOOL
    5× · 2017–2024 · $115k · revenue +36%

Funded once

  • PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC
    one grant, 2017 · $8k · revenue +12%
  • BT
    BREAKING THE SILENCE
    one grant, 2017 · $5k
  • PARTNERS IN HEALTH A NONPROFIT CORPORATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $2k · revenue +120%
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
Open Markets Institute

The open markets institute works to help people relearn how to use competition policy to build stronger democracies, more just and equitable societies, more innovative and sustainable economies, and a more secure and peaceful world.

Education
2
Institute for Advanced Study - Louis Bamberger & Mrs Felix Fuld Foundation

The institute for advanced study (the institute) is one of the world's leading centers for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. see schedule o.

Science & Tech
3
Us Middle East Project Inc

The organization's mission is to engage in non partisan analysis of u.s. foreign policy in the middle east, with special emphasis on the middle east peace process, and to present policymakers in the united states, in the region and in the…

International
4
Bar Ilan University in Israel Inc

Biu produces students who excel in the sciences, humanities, law, engineering, business & the arts.

—
5
New York Genome Center Inc

Operate a state-of-the-art, world-class genomic research center that creates and uses advanced genomics to understand the genetic basis of disease. for more information, see schedule o.

Health
6
Observer Research Foundation America

Organization mission the observer research foundation america orf america is an independent, non-partisan, and nonprofit organization in washington dc dedicated to addressing policy challenges facing the united states, india, and their…

International
7
American Israel Public Affairs Committee

To strengthen and expand the u.s.-israel relationship in ways that enhance the security of the united states and israel.

International
8
New York University

Nyu is a private university with approximately 60,000 matriculating students in 20 schools and institutes. nyu's primary missions are education, research and scholarship, and patient care.

Education
9
The Paris Review Foundation Inc

The mission of the organization is to foster the development of creative individuals as writers and artists and to promote public appreciation of excellence in the literary and graphic arts by publishing a magazine containing fiction,…

Education
10
Free Press Action Fund

Free press action fund fights for your rights to connect and communicate. we fight to save the free and open internet, curb runaway media consolidation, protect press freedom, and promote digital civil rights. we believe that change…

Civil Rights
11
Weizmann Institute of Science

The weizmann institute of science, located in rehovot, israel, is one of the worlds top-ranking, multidisciplinary research institutions. at any one time, several thousand scientists, staff and students are involved in hundreds of research…

Science & Tech
12
Middle East Media and Research Institute Inc

The middle east media research institute (memri) explores the middle east through its media, providing timely translations from arabic, farsi, urdu, pashtu, and turkish media and publishing original analysis of political, ideological,…

International
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Accelerate Change Inc; the most unlike its peers is Partners in Health a Nonprofit Corporation. 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

25 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. 25 of the 46 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)
25/25
Grantees still filing
17/25
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

PEF ISRAEL ENDOWMENT FUNDS INC: $860,000 · PhilanthropyPEF ISRAEL ENDOWMENT FUNDS INCTIDES FOUNDATION: $100,000 · PhilanthropyTIDES FOUNDATIONAMERICA ISRAEL DEMOCRACY COALITION: $100,000 · PhilanthropyAMERICA ISRAEL DEMOCRACY COALITION+1 more: $15,600 · PhilanthropyVOTER REGISTRATION PROJECT: $250,000 · OtherVOTER REGISTRATION PROJECTAFCOMAS: $125,000 · OtherAFCOMASTHE AMERICAN INDEPENDENT FOUNDATION: $100,000 · OtherTHE AMERICAN INDEPENDENT FOUNDATIONHOSPITAL FOR SPECIAL SURGERY: $100,000 · OtherHOSPITAL FOR SPECIAL SURGERYDOEORG: $50,000 · OtherDOEORGDONATION ISREAL: $40,000 · OtherGO2 FOR LUNG CANCER: $35,000 · OtherDONATION ON FRIENDS OF THE ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES: $30,000 · OtherPLYMOUTH CHURCH SCHOOL: $30,000 · Other+17 more: $111,103 · Other+17 moreVOTEORG: $150,000 · Civil RightsVOTEORGACCELERATE CHANGE INC: $125,000 · Civil RightsACCELERATE CHA…THE VOTER PARTICIPATION CENTER: $75,000 · Civil RightsTHE VOTER PART…NEW ISRAEL FUND: $80,000 · InternationalAMERICAN FRIENDS OF LIBI INC: $70,000 · InternationalSAINT ANN'S SCHOOL: $115,000 · EducationJEROME LOHEZ SEPTEMBER 11 SCHOLARSH FOUNDATION: $15,000 · EducationTHE TESS MAJORS FOUNDATION: $10,000 · EducationMATH-M-ADDICTS NEW YORK INC: $5,000 · Education+2 more: $3,555 · EducationThe Hospital for Special Surgery Fund Inc: $50,000 · HealthGO2 For Lung Cancer: $25,000 · HealthPLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC: $7,700 · Health+1 more: $2,000 · HealthFeeding America: $23,500 · Food & Nutrition
Philanthropy$1,075,600Other$871,103Civil Rights$350,000International$150,000Education$148,555Health$84,700Food & Nutrition$23,500

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 budgetPEF ISRAEL ENDOWMENT FUNDS INC: $860,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetVOTER REGISTRATION PROJECT: $250,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetVOTEORG: $150,000 over 1y, 4.6% of budgetACCELERATE CHANGE INC: $125,000 over 2y, 1.6% of budgetSAINT ANN'S SCHOOL: $115,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetTIDES FOUNDATION: $100,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE AMERICAN INDEPENDENT FOUNDATION: $100,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetAMERICA ISRAEL DEMOCRACY COALITION: $100,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetNEW ISRAEL FUND: $80,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetTHE VOTER PARTICIPATION CENTER: $75,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetAMERICAN FRIENDS OF LIBI INC: $70,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetThe Hospital for Special Surgery Fund Inc: $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetGO2 For Lung Cancer: $25,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetFeeding America: $23,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE DOE FUND INC: $17,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICA GIVES INC: $15,600 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetJEROME LOHEZ SEPTEMBER 11 SCHOLARSH FOUNDATION: $15,000 over 2y, 97% of budgetBKS IYENGAR YOGA ASSOCIATION OF GREATER NEW YORK INC: $15,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetTHE TESS MAJORS FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 4.3% of budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC: $7,700 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMATH-M-ADDICTS NEW YORK INC: $5,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetWIKIMEDIA FOUNDATION INC: $2,540 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPARTNERS IN HEALTH A NONPROFIT CORPORATION: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBROOKLYN PUBLIC LIBRARY: $1,015 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetNEW YORK PUBLIC RADIO: $250 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 set of overlaps that mostly run through this funder rather than between each other.

Fidelity Investments …
Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift FundMA5.3× affinity4 shared granteesties to 0 of 0Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund

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 Syncopation Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Syncopation Foundation. 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%13%25%38%50%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • Partners in Health a Nonprofit Corporation: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
2get 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
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–50%
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 46 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 2020, released 2020. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Syncopation’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