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The Alden Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Alden Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$55k
Granted FY2024still arriving
9
Grants FY2024still arriving
3
States reached
$19k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0183% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Religion$114kHealth$36kInternational$27kSocial Science$3kArts & Culture$3kFood & Nutrition$2kCrime & Legal$2kHousing & Shelter$2kOther$0
02FY2024 · 9 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k6 grants · $10k
  • $10k–50k3 grants · $45k
$2,500
Median grant
3
States reached
$342k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
SELF REALIZATION FELLOWSHIP$18,950
STEPHEN WISE FREE SYNAGOGUE$16,094
FREED & KWON HUMANITARIAN MEDICAL FUND$10,000
DISCOVERY INSTITUTE$3,000
UPPER WEST SIDE CINEMA CENTER$2,500
VARIOUS OTHERS AT 500 AND BELOW$1,905
EAST HAMPTON HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION$1,000
CHILDREN INTERNATIONAL$770
LUSGARTEN FOUNDATION FOR PANCREATIC CANCER RESEARCH$529
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 (FY23–24, $2k) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 65% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%LUSGARTEN FOUNDATION FOR PANCREATIC CANCER RESEARCH: $529 → 6%JAMES LENOX HOUSE ASSN: $1k → 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

WA
MI
NY
MA
OR
NJ
CT
CA
MO
VA
KS
DC
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.

88%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$209k · 13 repeat orgs$30k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +55% since the first grant, against +11% for those funded once.

13 repeat relationships: 6 still active in FY2024, 7 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

13
20

Total granted

$209k
$17k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+55%
+11%

Still filing today

62%
70%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 76% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $13k 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
InternationalHealthHuman ServicesPhilanthropyHousing & ShelterArts & CultureOther
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

  • UO
    University of Michigan
    2× · 2021–2022 · $20k · revenue +96%
  • PA
    PROSTATE ACTION INC
    2× · 2022–2023 · $8k · revenue +49%
  • PC
    PROSTATE CANCER FOUNDATION
    3× · 2018–2020 · $4k · revenue +57%

Funded once

  • UF
    UKRAINE FOCUS
    one grant, 2023 · $2k
  • Feeding Americagraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $1k · revenue +40%
  • WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INCgraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $1k · revenue +36%
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
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
2
Urology Care Foundation Inc

We support, through philanthropic efforts, the improvement of urological care globally by funding research, clinical education, patient education, and humanitarian programs.

Health
3
Management Sciences for Health Inc

(msh) saves lives and improves the health of the world's poorest (see schedule o) and most vulnerable people by closing the gap between knowledge and action in public health.

International
4
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc

The mission of dfci is to provide expert, compassionate, and equitable care to children, adults, and their families, while advancing the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, cure, and prevention of cancer and related diseases. we train new…

Health
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
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

Leadership in the prevention, treatment, and cure of cancer through excellence, vision and cost effectiveness in patient care, outreach programs, research, and education.

Health
7
The Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Fdn Group

Susan g. komen 's mission is to save lives by meeting the most critical needs in our communities & investing in breakthrough research to prevent & cure breast cancer.

—
8
Project Hope - the People-to-People Health Foundation Inc

To conduct and support programs and activities aimed at solving some of the world's greatest public health challenges, with a specific focus on enabling health workers to have the greatest possible impact on the health of the people they…

International
9
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
10
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
11
Lung Cancer Research Foundation

The mission of the lung cancer research foundation is to improve lung cancer outcomes by funding research for the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and cure of lung cancer.

Health
12
Blood Cancer United Inc

Our mission is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families.

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Medecins Sans Frontieres Usa Inc; the most unlike its peers is University of Michigan. 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 36 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)
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

STEPHEN WISE FREE SYNAGOGUE: $67,593 · OtherSTEPHEN WISE FREE SYNAGOGUESELF REALIZATION FELLOWSHIP: $46,375 · OtherSELF REALIZATION FELLOWSHIPVARIOUS OTHERS AT 500 AND BELOW: $44,390 · OtherVARIOUS OTHERS AT 500 AND BELOWUniversity of Michigan: $20,000 · OtherUniversity of Michigan+13 more: $16,806 · Other+13 moreFREED & KWON HUMANITARIAN MEDICAL FUND INC: $10,000 · HealthFREED & K…PROSTATE ACTION INC: $8,000 · HealthPROSTATE …EAST HAMPTON HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION: $2,000 · HealthEAST HAMP…+1 more: $500 · HealthChildren International: $4,850 · InternationalMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $2,000 · InternationalWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $1,050 · InternationalMercy Corps: $1,000 · InternationalHEART TO HEART INTERNATIONAL INC: $1,000 · InternationalAMERICAN FRIENDS OF MAGEN DAVID ADOM: $1,000 · InternationalUNITED STATES FUND FOR UNICEF: $785 · InternationalFAIR GIRLS INC: $515 · InternationalBUILDON INC: $505 · InternationalPROSTATE CANCER FOUNDATION: $4,300 · PhilanthropyUNITED JEWISH APPEAL-FEDERATION OF JEWISH PHILANTHROPIES OF NEW YORK INC: $975 · PhilanthropyUPPER WEST SIDE CINEMA CENTER INC: $2,500 · Arts & CultureJAMES LENOX HOUSE ASSOCIATION INC: $1,000 · Human ServicesMARC LUSTGARTEN PANCREATIC CANCER FOUNDATION: $529 · Human ServicesFeeding America: $1,250 · Food & Nutrition
Other$195,164Health$20,500International$12,705Philanthropy$5,275Arts & Culture$2,500Human Services$1,529Food & Nutrition$1,250

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 budgetUniversity of Michigan: $20,000 over 2y, 3.1% of budgetFREED & KWON HUMANITARIAN MEDICAL FUND INC: $10,000 over 1y, 16% of budgetPROSTATE ACTION INC: $8,000 over 2y, 3.3% of budgetChildren International: $4,850 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetPROSTATE CANCER FOUNDATION: $4,300 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetDISCOVERY INSTITUTE: $3,600 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetUPPER WEST SIDE CINEMA CENTER INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetUKRAINE FOCUS: $2,060 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetEAST HAMPTON HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION: $2,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE OSBORNE ASSOCIATION INC: $1,525 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetFeeding America: $1,250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $1,050 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMercy Corps: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHEART TO HEART INTERNATIONAL INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN FRIENDS OF MAGEN DAVID ADOM: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetJAMES LENOX HOUSE ASSOCIATION INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetUNITED JEWISH APPEAL-FEDERATION OF JEWISH PHILANTHROPIES OF NEW YORK INC: $975 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUNITED STATES FUND FOR UNICEF: $785 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMARC LUSTGARTEN PANCREATIC CANCER FOUNDATION: $529 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFAIR GIRLS INC: $515 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBUILDON INC: $505 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN LUNG ASSOCIATION: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetJERICHO PROJECT: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetJEWISH HOSPICE & CHAPLAINCY NETWORK: $500 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.

The Goldman Sachs Cha…Jewish Communal FundNational Philanthropi…Vanguard Charitable E…Fidelity Investments …Donor Advised Charita…American Online Givin…Amazonsmile Foundation
The Goldman Sachs Charitable Gift FundNY12.7× affinity4 shared granteesties to 7 of 7Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Goldman Sachs Charitable Gift Fund · Jewish Communal Fund · National Philanthropic Trust · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Amazonsmile Foundation

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 Alden Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Alden Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%5%11%20%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 47%
  • Mercy Corps: 47% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
4report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely 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 Alden Foundation?

Find your warmest path to The Alden 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 36 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 Alden’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