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The Ajana Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Ajana 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.

$1.6M
Granted FY2024still arriving
17
Grants FY2024still arriving
3
States reached
$150k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0199% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Food & Nutrition$3.6MInternational$596kCommunity Improvement$504kEnvironment$500kHuman Services$276kHousing & Shelter$241kPhilanthropy$196kEducation$142kOther$0
02FY2024 · 17 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $10k–50k2 grants · $90k
  • $50k–250k15 grants · $1.5M
$100,000
Median grant
3
States reached
$33M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
THE URBAN FOOD INITIATIVE DBA DAILY TABLE$150,000
TRUSTEES OF TUFTS$130,000
URBAN FARMING INSTITUTE$130,000
HARVARD LAW SCHOOL FOOD LAW & POLICY CLINIC$125,000
GREEN CITY FORCE$105,000
THE FOOD PROJECT$100,000
HALEY HOUSE$100,000
REFED$100,000
LOVIN' SPOONFULS INC$100,000
THE BHUTAN FOUNDATION$100,000
BOSTON AREA GLEANERS$100,000
THIRD SECTOR NEW ENGLAND FBO MASSACHUSETTS FOOD SYSTEM COLLABORATIVE$100,000
COMMONWEALTH KITCHEN$100,000
WORLD FARMERS$50,000
MASHPEE WAMPANOAG TRIBE$50,000
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:

Its human-services grants (FY17–24, $276k) land where the poverty rate runs at 17%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 98% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%YMCA OF THE NORTH SHORE: $50k → 10%SEND IT: $3k → 11%SOUTH EAST CONSORTIUM FOR SPECIAL SERVICES INC: $1k → 9%GREEN CITY FORCE: $105k → 20%SIBLING CONNECTIONS INC: $500 → 7%CRADLES TO CRAYONS INC: $2k → 8%NOT FOR SALE FUND: $500 → 10%SOUTH EAST CONSORTIUM FOR SPECIAL SERVICES INC: $1k → 9%GREEN CITY FORCE: $105k → 20%SEND IT: $500 → 11%HISPANIC RESOURCE CENTER OF LARCHMONT MAMARONECK I: $1k → 9%SEND IT: $500 → 11%SEND IT: $500 → 11%SEND IT: $500 → 11%MCGAW YMCA: $2k → 14%SIBLING CONNECTIONS INC: $500 → 16%ONE FAMILY INC: $2k → 16%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

WA
MT
MN
IL
WI
NY
MA
OR
WY
OH
PA
RI
CA
UT
CO
VA
MD
AZ
DC
LA
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.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

94%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$5.7M · 59 repeat orgs$339k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +67% since the first grant, against +25% for those funded once.

59 repeat relationships: 17 still active in FY2024, 42 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

59
106

Total granted

$5.7M
$339k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+67%
+25%

Still filing today

86%
89%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 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
EnvironmentEducationHuman ServicesFood & NutritionHealthInternationalOther
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

  • RI
    REFED INC
    5× · 2019–2024 · $600k · revenue +202%
  • TB
    The Bhutan Foundation
    8× · 2017–2024 · $591k · revenue +141%
  • THE URBAN FARMING INSTITUTE OF BOSTONINC
    5× · 2019–2024 · $540k · revenue +361%

Funded once

  • THIRD SECTOR NEW ENGLAND INC
    one grant, 2021 · $85k · revenue +14%
  • PA
    PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE - CENTER
    one grant, 2021 · $75k
  • YMCA OF THE NORTH SHORE INC
    one grant, 2023 · $50k · revenue +23%
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
The Union of Concerned Scientists Inc

The union of concerned scientists puts rigorous, independent science into action, developing solutions and advocating for a healthy, safe, and just future.

International
2
The Water Research Foundation

The purpose of the water research foundation (wrf) is a definitive research organization to advance the science of all things water to better meet the evolving needs of its subscribers and the water sector. to engage exclusively in…

Environment
3
Friends of the Earth

Friends of the earth strives for a more healthy and just world by defendng the environment and human health while advancing social and economic justice by conducting research and education, transforming the economy so it protects the…

Environment
4
American Flood Coalition Inc

To drive transformational adaptation to protect communities across the country from higher seas, stronger storms, and more frequent flooding.

Environment
5
Waterorg

Water.org's goal is to bring safe water and sanitation to the world through access to small, affordable loans.

International
6
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
7
Food Forward Inc

Food forward fights hunger and prevents food waste by rescuing fresh surplus produce, connecting this abundance with people experiencing food insecurity, and inspiring others to do the same.

Food & Nutrition
8
Environmental Investigation Agency

To establish and promote programs to protect the global climate, forests, wildlife and the natural environment, through research, advocacy, and investigation.

International
9
Partners in Food Solutions

Improve the food value chain in developing countries by mobilizing corporate volunteers to share knowledge and expertise with small and growing food processors.

International
10
Actionaid Usa

Actionaid is an international network building a just, equitable, and sustainable world in solidarity with communities on the frontlines of poverty and injustice. actionaid usa is the u.s. branch of actionaid international, which works in…

Social Science
11
Npr Foundation

The npr foundation ("foundation") is organized and operated exclusively for the benefit of its sole supported organization, national public radio, inc. ("npr inc."). the foundation supports npr inc. through various activities such as…

—
12
United States Naval Institute

Provide an independent forum for those who dare to read, think, speak, and write to advance the professional, literary, and scientific understanding of sea power and other issues critical to global security.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Evidence Action; the most unlike its peers is Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc. 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

154 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. 154 of the 171 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.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
34
Early backer (in before they grew)
151/154
Grantees still filing
109/154
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

The Bhutan Foundation: $590,625 · OtherThe Bhutan FoundationTRUSTEES OF TUFTS: $390,000 · OtherTRUSTEES OF TUFTSTHE URBAN FOOD INITIATIVE DBA DAILY TABLE: $350,000 · OtherTHE URBAN FOOD INITIATIVE DBA DAILY TABLEHARVARD LAW SCHOOL FOOD LAW & POLICY CLINIC: $325,000 · OtherHARVARD LAW SCHOOL FOOD LAW & POLICY CLINICTHIRD SECTOR NEW ENGLAND FBO MASSACHUSETTS FOOD SYSTEM COLLABORATIVE: $300,000 · OtherTHIRD SECTOR NEW ENGLAND FBO MASSACHUSETTS F…MASHPEE WAMPANOAG TRIBE: $85,000 · Other+109 more: $416,475 · Other+109 moreREFED INC: $600,000 · Food & NutritionREFED INCSPOONFULS: $463,500 · Food & NutritionSPOONFULSBOSTON AREA GLEANERS INC: $280,000 · Food & NutritionBOSTON AREA GLEANERS INCThe Food Project Inc: $245,000 · Food & NutritionThe Food Project IncTHE URBAN FOOD INITIATIVE INC: $140,000 · Food & NutritionTHE URBAN FOOD INITIATIVE INCWORLD FARMERS INC: $100,000 · Food & NutritionEQUITY ADVOCATES INC: $90,000 · Food & Nutrition+5 more: $54,250 · Food & NutritionTHE URBAN FARMING INSTITUTE OF BOSTONINC: $540,000 · Community ImprovementTHE URBAN FARMING I…COMMONWEALTH KITCHEN INC: $352,000 · Community ImprovementCOMMONWEALTH KITCHE…THIRD SECTOR NEW ENGLAND INC: $85,000 · Community ImprovementTHIRD SECTOR NEW EN…FRANKLIN COUNTY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $65,000 · Community ImprovementFRANKLIN COUNTY COM…FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND: $39,000 · Community Improvement+1 more: $500 · Community ImprovementGREEN CITY FORCE INC: $210,000 · Human ServicesYMCA OF THE NORTH SHORE INC: $50,000 · Human Services+11 more: $20,550 · Human ServicesHALEY HOUSE INC & AFFILIATES: $225,000 · Housing & Shelter+2 more: $2,250 · Housing & ShelterNEW VENTURE FUND: $102,500 · EnvironmentNATIONAL OUTDOOR LEADERSHIP SCHOOL: $5,175 · Environment+14 more: $12,625 · EnvironmentStone Barns Restoration Corp DBA Stone Barns Center for Food & Agri: $80,000 · Arts & CultureGREATER WASHINGTON EDUCATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATION INC: $35,000 · Arts & Culture+4 more: $5,050 · Arts & Culture
Other$2,457,100Food & Nutrition$1,972,750Community Improvement$1,081,500Human Services$280,550Housing & Shelter$227,250Environment$120,300Arts & Culture$120,050

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 budgetREFED INC: $600,000 over 5y, 3.3% of budgetThe Bhutan Foundation: $590,625 over 8y, 2.7% of budgetTHE URBAN FARMING INSTITUTE OF BOSTONINC: $540,000 over 5y, 5.0% of budgetSPOONFULS: $463,500 over 8y, 0.9% of budgetCOMMONWEALTH KITCHEN INC: $352,000 over 5y, 1.6% of budgetBOSTON AREA GLEANERS INC: $280,000 over 3y, 2.7% of budgetThe Food Project Inc: $245,000 over 3y, 3.3% of budgetHALEY HOUSE INC & AFFILIATES: $225,000 over 3y, 1.5% of budgetGREEN CITY FORCE INC: $210,000 over 2y, 2.6% of budgetTHE URBAN FOOD INITIATIVE INC: $140,000 over 4y, 2.4% of budgetNEW VENTURE FUND: $102,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWORLD FARMERS INC: $100,000 over 2y, 1.9% of budgetEQUITY ADVOCATES INC: $90,000 over 2y, 13% of budgetTHIRD SECTOR NEW ENGLAND INC: $85,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetStone Barns Restoration Corp DBA Stone Barns Center for Food & Agri: $80,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetFRANKLIN COUNTY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $65,000 over 3y, 1.3% of budgetGREATER BOSTON FOOD BANK INC: $62,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $51,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetYMCA OF THE NORTH SHORE INC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetPresident and Fellows of Harvard College: $45,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCommunity Foundation for MetroWest Inc: $40,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetTREES THAT FEED FOUNDATION: $40,000 over 3y, 4.9% of budgetFIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND: $39,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGREATER WASHINGTON EDUCATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATION INC: $35,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHOPE COMMUNITY SERVICES INC: $12,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetEvanston Community Foundation: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetWOODS HOLE OCEANOGRAPHIC INSTITUTION: $5,850 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC: $5,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL OUTDOOR LEADERSHIP SCHOOL: $5,175 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetFOUNDATION FOR THE HOMELESS INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetSTEM ALLIANCE OF LARCHMONT- MAMARONECK INC: $5,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetCARITAS OF AUSTIN: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetISLAND FOOD PANTRY OF MARTHA'S VINEYARD INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetSEND IT: $4,500 over 5y, 0.7% of budgetWESTCHESTER ARC FOUNDATION INC: $4,100 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetTHE CAMPAIGN FOR THE WESTCHESTER CHILDREN'S MUSEUM INC: $4,000 over 5y, 4.2% of budgetBRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATERS INC: $3,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION: $3,250 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetEDIBLE SCHOOLYARD NEW YORK: $3,250 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetDana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGIVEDIRECTLY INC: $3,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetEQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE: $3,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPRESERVATION WORCESTER INC: $2,800 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetNEW LEADERS INC: $2,650 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSOUTH EAST CONSORTIUM: $2,600 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetAMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION INC: $2,600 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetENVIRONMENTAL AND ENERGY STUDY INSTITUTE: $2,500 over 3y, 0.1% of budget826 Valencia: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% 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.

Boston Foundation IncPatagoniaorgEastern Bank Foundati…Cummings Foundation G…The Cabot Family Char…ImpactassetsincLiberty Mutual Founda…Combined Jewish Phila…The Lazard Charitable…The New York Communit…The 1434 Foundation I…Merck Family Fund
Boston Foundation IncMA25.8× affinity16 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Boston Foundation Inc · Patagoniaorg · Eastern Bank Foundation · Cummings Foundation Grants Inc (Fka Oneworld Boston Inc) · The Cabot Family Charitable Trust · Impactassetsinc · Liberty Mutual Foundation Inc · Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston Inc · The Lazard Charitable Foundation · The New York Community Trust · The 1434 Foundation Inc · Merck Family 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 Ajana Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Ajana Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 120%1%4%8%15%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 7%
  • Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution: 63% of income from government
  • World Farmers Inc: 39% of income from government
  • Rize Massachusetts Foundation Inc: 39% of income from government
  • Bridge Over Troubled Waters Inc: 32% of income from government
  • Center for Coastal Studies Inc: 26% of income from government
  • More Than Words Inc: 24% of income from government
  • Franklin County Community Development Corporation: 22% of income from government
  • Greater Boston Food Bank Inc: 22% of income from government
  • Boston Area Gleaners Inc: 20% of income from government
  • City Year Inc: 11% of income from government
  • Sibling Connections Inc: 10% of income from government
  • Preservation Worcester Inc: 10% of income from government
  • Commonwealth Kitchen Inc: 9% of income from government
  • School On Wheels of Massachusetts Inc: 7% of income from government
  • President and Fellows of Harvard College: 7% of income from government
  • Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc: 7% of income from government
  • Ymca of the North Shore Inc: 6% of income from government
  • Friday Night Supper Program Inc: 5% of income from government
  • Gaining Ground Inc: 5% of income from government
  • The Urban Farming Institute of Bostoninc: 4% of income from government
  • Community Foundation for MetroWest Inc: 4% of income from government
  • Habitat for Humanity of the Chesapeake Inc: 4% of income from government
  • Third Sector New England Inc: 3% of income from government
  • Cradles to Crayons Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Artists for Humanity Inc: 2% of income from government
  • One Family Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Rosie's Place Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Animal Rescue League of Boston: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
12get no government money at all
37report 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.
05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to The Ajana Foundation?

Find your warmest path to The Ajana Foundation 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 171 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 Ajana’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