Skip to content
The 2a Foundation Inc at a glance

· Private foundation

The 2a Foundation Inc

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.

$5.0M
Granted FY2024still arriving
25
Grants FY2024still arriving
9
States reached
$1.5M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0196% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Education$7.4MPhilanthropy$4.8MFood & Nutrition$1.8MCivil Rights$1.5MPublic Benefit$1.0MInternational$955kAnimals$610kHealth$600kOther$0
02FY2024 · 25 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $10k–50k7 grants · $105k
  • $50k–250k14 grants · $1.6M
  • $250k+4 grants · $3.3M
$100,000
Median grant
9
States reached
$120M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
NCSSM FOUNDATION$1,500,000
BANK OF AMERICA CHARITABLE GIFT FUND$1,000,000
ACLU$500,000
ROBIN HOOD FOUNDATION$300,000
STONE BARN CENTER FOR FOOD & AGRICULTURE$200,000
PROJECT ON MIDDLE EAST DEMOCRACY$200,000
DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS$150,000
CITY HARVEST INC$150,000
GREENSBORO DAY SCHOOL$150,000
CENTRAL PARK CONSERVANCY$125,000
NEW YORK-PRESBYTERIAN HOSPITAL$125,000
CARE INC$100,000
ELECTRONIC FRONTIER FOUNDATION$100,000
BEST FRIENDS ANIMALS SOCIETY$75,000
THE BOWERY MISSION$75,000
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%. 89% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY: $188k → 8%BANK OF AMERICA CHARITABLE GIFT FUND: $1.2M → 16%ELECTRONIC FRONTIER FOUNDATION: $100k → 10%GOTHAM GIVES INC: $100k → 17%CITY HARVEST INC: $350k → 20%TEXAS A&M FOUNDATION COLLEGE OF EDU & HUMAN DEV: $100k → 22%THE PROJECT ON MIDDLE EAST DEMOCRACY INC: $200k → 14%GREENSBORO DAY SCHOOL: $150k → 16%BEST FRIENDS ANIMAL SOCIETY: $200k → 9%CARE: $150k → 13%MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY: $188k → 8%BANK OF AMERICA CHARITABLE GIFT FUND: $1.0M → 16%ELECTRONIC FRONTIER FOUNDATION: $100k → 10%STONE BARN CENTER FOR FOOD & AGRICULTURE: $200k → 9%CITY HARVEST INC: $150k → 20%TEXAS A&M FOUNDATION COLLEGE OF EDU & HUMAN DEV: $100k → 22%PROJECT ON MIDDLE EAST DEMOCRACY: $200k → 14%GREENSBORO DAY SCHOOL: $100k → 16%MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY: $188k → 8%BANK OF AMERICA CHARITABLE GIFT FUND: $1.0M → 16%STONE BARN CENTER FOR FOOD & AGRICULTURE: $150k → 9%PROJECT ON MIDDLE EAST DEMOCRACY: $200k → 14%NCSSM FOUNDATION: $1.5M → 11%STONE BARN CENTER FOR FOOD & AGRICULTURE: $150k → 9%CITY HARVEST: $200k → 17%PROJECT ON MIDDLE EAST DEMOCRACY: $200k → 14%NCSSM FOUNDATION: $1.5M → 11%CITY HARVEST: $200k → 17%PROJECT ON MIDDLE EAST DEMOCRACY: $200k → 14%NCSSM FOUNDATION: $1.0M → 11%NCSSM FOUNDATION: $1.0M → 11%CITY HARVEST INC: $400k → 17%NC SCHOOL OF SCIENCE & MATHEMATICS FOUNDATION: $850k → 11%NEW YORK-PRESBYTERIAN HOSPITAL: $125k → 17%NEW YORK-PRESBYTERIAN HOSPITAL: $125k → 17%NEW YORK-PRESBYTERIAN HOSPITAL: $125k → 17%NEW YORK-PRESBYTERIAN HOSPITAL: $125k → 17%CENTRAL PARK CONSERVANCY: $125k → 17%DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS: $150k → 17%DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS: $150k → 17%ROBIN HOOD FOUNDATION: $300k → 17%ROBIN HOOD FOUNDATION: $300k → 17%ROBIN HOOD FOUNDATION: $300k → 17%ROBIN HOOD FOUNDATION: $250k → 17%ROBIN HOOD FOUNDATION: $250k → 17%ACLU: $500k → 17%ACLU: $500k → 17%ACLU: $500k → 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

WI
NY
MA
CA
UT
VA
NC
DC
GA
TX
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.

98%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$16M · 25 repeat orgs$350k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +22% since the first grant, against +9% for those funded once.

25 repeat relationships: 22 still active in FY2024, 3 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

25
5

Total granted

$16M
$285k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+22%
+9%

Still filing today

76%
60%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 98% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $65k 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
EducationInternationalPhilanthropyAnimalsFood & NutritionRecreation & SportsOther
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

  • CITY HARVEST INC
    5× · 2020–2024 · $1.3M · revenue +3%
  • MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC
    5× · 2020–2024 · $505k · revenue +39%
  • BEST FRIENDS ANIMAL SOCIETY
    5× · 2020–2024 · $500k · revenue +39%

Funded once

  • NP
    NY PRESBYTERIAN HOSPITAL
    one grant, 2020 · $100k
  • TA
    Texas A&M Foundationgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $100k · revenue +54%
  • NF
    NYC FOUNDATION FOR COMPUTER SCIENCE EDUCATION
    one grant, 2020 · $50k
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
Ie New York College

(see schedule o)

Education
2
The New School

The new school's mission is to prepare our students to understand, contribute to, and succeed in a rapidly changing society, and thus make the world a better and more just place. (continued on schedule o)

Education
3
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
4
Manhattanville University

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

Education
5
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
6
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
7
American Museum of Natural History

The museum's mission statement is: "to discover, interpret, and disseminate - through scientific research and education - knowledge about human cultures, the natural world, and the universe."

Arts & Culture
8
New York School of Interior Design

New york school of interior design provides the most innovative, immersive, and transformative interior design education in the world, demonstrating the impact of professionally designed interiors on the health, happiness, and well-being…

Education
9
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
10
Cornell University

Education, research, medical services and other public services.

Education
11
Fordham University

Fordham university, the jesuit university of new york, is committed to the discovery of wisdom and the transmission of learning, through research and through education of the highest quality. for more information, see schedule o.

Education
12
New York University School of Law Foundation

The foundation, a subsidiary of new york university, fosters legal education and research at new york university's school of law by awarding scholarships, making grants for educational purposes related to law, and supporting programs of…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Robin Hood Foundation; the most unlike its peers is The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. 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

26 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. 26 of the 34 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.

2
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
26/26
Grantees still filing
17/26
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

NORTH CAROLINA SCHOOL OF SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS FOUNDATION: $5,850,000 · OtherNORTH CAROLINA SCHOOL OF SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS FOUND…ACLU: $1,500,000 · OtherACLUNEW YORK-PRESBYTERIAN HOSPITAL: $500,000 · OtherElectronic Frontier Foundation Inc: $400,000 · OtherCENTRAL PARK CONSERVANCY INC: $350,000 · Other+11 more: $1,005,000 · Other+11 moreBANK OF AMERICA CHARITABLE GIFT FD: $3,160,000 · PhilanthropyBANK OF AMERICA CHARITABLE …ROBIN HOOD FOUNDATION: $1,400,000 · PhilanthropyROBIN HOOD FOUNDATIONGOTHAM GIVES INC: $200,000 · PhilanthropyTHE PROJECT ON MIDDLE EAST DEMOCRACY INC: $1,000,000 · InternationalTHE PROJECT…MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $505,000 · InternationalMEDECINS SA…COOPERATIVE FOR ASSISTANCE AND RELIEF EVERYWHERE INC: $450,000 · InternationalCOOPERATIVE…CITY HARVEST INC: $1,300,000 · Food & NutritionMassachusetts Institute of Technology: $562,500 · EducationGreensboro Independent School Corp: $370,000 · EducationTexas A&M Foundation: $100,000 · EducationMATHCOUNTS Foundation: $50,000 · EducationRELAY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION: $50,000 · Education+3 more: $75,000 · EducationBEST FRIENDS ANIMAL SOCIETY: $500,000 · AnimalsTHE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS: $110,000 · AnimalsStone Barns Restoration Corp DBA Stone Barns Center for Food & Agri: $500,000 · Arts & Culture
Other$9,605,000Philanthropy$4,760,000International$1,955,000Food & Nutrition$1,300,000Education$1,207,500Animals$610,000Arts & Culture$500,000

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 budgetNORTH CAROLINA SCHOOL OF SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS FOUNDATION: $5,850,000 over 5y, 29% of budgetBANK OF AMERICA CHARITABLE GIFT FD: $3,160,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetROBIN HOOD FOUNDATION: $1,400,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetCITY HARVEST INC: $1,300,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetTHE PROJECT ON MIDDLE EAST DEMOCRACY INC: $1,000,000 over 5y, 33% of budgetMassachusetts Institute of Technology: $562,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $505,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetBEST FRIENDS ANIMAL SOCIETY: $500,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetStone Barns Restoration Corp DBA Stone Barns Center for Food & Agri: $500,000 over 3y, 2.1% of budgetCOOPERATIVE FOR ASSISTANCE AND RELIEF EVERYWHERE INC: $450,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetElectronic Frontier Foundation Inc: $400,000 over 4y, 0.6% of budgetGreensboro Independent School Corp: $370,000 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetCENTRAL PARK CONSERVANCY INC: $350,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetChristian Herald Association Inc: $280,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetGOTHAM GIVES INC: $200,000 over 3y, 7.0% of budgetTHE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS: $110,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetLIFTING UP WESTCHESTER INC: $100,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetTexas A&M Foundation: $100,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWMC FOUNDATION INC: $75,000 over 3y, 2.2% of budgetMATHCOUNTS Foundation: $50,000 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetRELAY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION: $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetDUKE UNIVERSITY: $40,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFree Software Foundation Inc: $30,000 over 3y, 0.9% of budgetTeachers College Columbia University: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE SHARING SHELF INC: $15,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetNEW YORK MATH CIRCLE INC: $10,000 over 1y, 2.3% 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.

Jpmorgan Chase Founda…The Pfizer Foundation…Charities Aid Foundat…Renaissance Charitabl…National Philanthropi…The Blackbaud Giving …Vanguard Charitable E…The Bank of America C…American Online Givin…Donor Advised Charita…Natl Christian Charit…Fidelity Investments …
Jpmorgan Chase FoundationNY11.4× affinity5 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Jpmorgan Chase Foundation · The Pfizer Foundation Inc · Charities Aid Foundation America · Renaissance Charitable Foundation Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Natl Christian Charitable Fdn Inc · 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 The 2a Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The 2a Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%3%10%23%40%funder's share of their income ↑0%10%20%30%40%share of the org’s income from government →median 35%
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology: 35% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
2get no government money at all
5report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–40%
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.
05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to The 2a Foundation Inc?

Find your warmest path to The 2a Foundation Inc through trustees and officers whose names appear on both boards. Search for your organization and Plinth traces the shortest route it can evidence.

Each link is a name appearing on two organizations’ public IRS 990 filings, matched on that name and, where the filings support it, on location. A same-state match has geographic support, which is a second matching feature rather than confirmation that the two are one person; a cross-state one is the likeliest to be two people who share a name. Every hop shows its tier, low-confidence and distant paths are held back rather than guessed, and it is worth confirming the person before you use the introduction.

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 34 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 2a’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