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The Armstrong Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Armstrong Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$1.2M
Granted FY2024still arriving
62
Grants FY2024still arriving
16
States reached
$45k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Public Benefit$2.8MEducation$2.2MSocial Science$1.2MCivil Rights$1.1MArts & Culture$652kCrime & Legal$463kCommunity Improvement$321kYouth Development$208kOther$0
02FY2024 · 62 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k13 grants · $58k
  • $10k–50k49 grants · $1.1M
$20,000
Median grant
16
States reached
$24M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
BILL OF RIGHTS INSTITUTE$45,000
LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE$45,000
HERITAGE FOUNDATION$40,000
AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE FOR P$37,500
STATE POLICY NETWORK$35,000
THE FUND FOR AMERICAN STUDIES$35,000
INTERCOLLEGIATE STUDIES INSTITUTE$35,000
FOUNDATION FOR ECONOMIC EDUCATION$35,000
ASHBROOK CENTER AT ASHLAND UNIVERSI$35,000
REASON FOUNDATION$35,000
INSTITUTE FOR JUSTICE$30,000
MOVING PICTURES INSTITUTE$30,000
TEXAS PUBLIC POLICY FOUNDATION$30,000
JACK MILLER CENTER$30,000
PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION$30,000
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, $11k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 85% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%BOTH ENDS BELIEVING: $830 → 5%WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT: $100 → 14%WALKING TOGETHER: $250 → 13%BOTH ENDS BELIEVING: $830 → 5%WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT: $100 → 14%CENTER FOR TRANSFORMING LIVES: $5k → 11%MEALS ON WHEELS: $500 → 11%MEALS ON WHEELS: $250 → 11%SAFEHAVEN OF TARRANT COUNTY: $250 → 11%LENA POPE HOME: $230 → 11%LENA POPE HOME: $230 → 11%LENA POPE HOME INC: $830 → 11%LENA POPE HOME: $830 → 11%LENA POPE HOME: $830 → 11%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

IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
NV
IA
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CA
UT
CO
MO
KY
VA
MD
DE
AZ
KS
SC
DC
OK
MS
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.

95%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$8.3M · 103 repeat orgs$393k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +57% since the first grant, against +9% for those funded once.

103 repeat relationships: 52 still active in FY2024, 51 since wound down; 7 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

103
40

Total granted

$8.3M
$327k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+57%
+9%

Still filing today

72%
45%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 94% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $66k 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
EducationPublic BenefitCivil RightsArts & CultureHuman ServicesSocial ScienceOther
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

  • THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION
    8× · 2017–2024 · $435k · revenue +63%
  • BO
    Bill of Rights Institute
    8× · 2017–2024 · $320k · revenue +248%
  • SP
    STATE POLICY NETWORK
    8× · 2017–2024 · $265k · revenue +90%

Funded once

  • AE
    AMERICAN ENT INST FOR PUB POLICY
    one grant, 2023 · $38k
  • MP
    MOVING PICTURES INSTITUTE
    one grant, 2022 · $35k
  • MP
    MOVING PICTURE INSTITUTE
    one grant, 2021 · $30k
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
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research

The american enterprise institute is a community of scholars and supporters committed to expanding liberty, increasing individual opportunity, and strengthening free enterprise. aei pursues these ideals through independent thinking and the…

Social Science
2
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
3
Foreign Policy Research Institute

The foreign policy research institute (frpi) is dedicated to producing the highest quality scholarship and nonpartisan policy analysis focused on crucial foreign policy and national security challenges facing the united states. we educate…

International
4
Manhattan Institute for Policy Research Inc

The manhattan institute is a community of scholars, journalists, activists, and civic leaders dedicated to advancing opportunity, individual liberty, and the rule of law in america and its great cities.

Public Benefit
5
Liberty Justice Center

To advance economic and social liberties and a free enterprise society through strategic litigation, training, communication, activism and research. in addition, the center will train law students, lawyers and policy activists in the…

Crime & Legal
6
The International Institute for Strategic Studies - Us

To provide accurate, objective information and analysis on international strategic issues for legislators, diplomats, foreign affairs analysts, international business leaders, economists, the military, defense commentators, journalists,…

International
7
R Street Institute

The r street institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, public-policy research organization ("think tank"). our mission is to engage in policy research and outreach to promote free markets and limited, effective government. (continued on…

Education
8
Frontiers of Freedom Institute

To educate the public on constitutional issues and public policy matters. We are dedicated to the principles of individual liberty, peace through strength, limited government, free enterprise, and the values embodied in the Declaration of…

Public Benefit
9
The American Antitrust Institute Inc

Promote competition that protects consumers, businesses, and society.

Social Science
10
Center for American Progress

The center for american progress (cap) is an independent nonpartisan policy institute that is dedicated to improving the lives of all americans through bold, progressive ideas, as well as strong leadership and concerted action. our aim is…

Civil Rights
11
Pew Research Center

Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan "fact tank" that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. Pew Research Center generates a foundation of facts that enriches the public dialogue and…

Social Science
12
Progress Texas Institute

The Progress Texas Institute provides research and strategic communications on issues with the ultimate goal of increasing civic engagement.

Civil Rights
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Heritage Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Meals On Wheels. 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

99 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. 99 of the 153 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)
25
Early backer (in before they grew)
98/99
Grantees still filing
75/99
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Bill of Rights Institute: $320,000 · OtherBill of Rights InstituteTHE FUND FOR AMERICAN STUDIES: $240,000 · OtherTHE FUND FOR AMERICAN STUDIESAMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE FOR P: $222,500 · OtherInstitute for Humane Studies: $202,500 · OtherTHE INDEPENDENT INSTITUTE: $200,000 · OtherFREE THE PEOPLE FIGHT THE POWER FOU: $192,500 · OtherCOMPETITIVE ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE: $160,500 · OtherFOUNDATION FOR ECONOMIC EDUCATION: $157,500 · OtherYoung America's Foundation: $152,500 · OtherJACK MILLER CENTER FOR TEACHING AME: $150,000 · OtherCERTELL INC: $160,000 · Other+87 more: $2,092,015 · Other+87 moreTHE HERITAGE FOUNDATION: $435,000 · Public BenefitTHE HERITAGE FOUND…Leadership Institute: $307,000 · Public BenefitLeadership Institu…TEXAS PUBLIC POLICY FOUNDATION: $225,000 · Public BenefitTEXAS PUBLIC POLIC…CATO INSTITUTE: $140,000 · Public BenefitCATO INSTITUTETAX FOUNDATION: $132,500 · Public BenefitTAX FOUNDATIONAMERICAN LEGISLATIVE EXCHANGE COUNCIL: $116,000 · Public BenefitAMERICAN LEGISLATI…LUCY BURNS INSTITUTE INC: $62,500 · Public Benefit+5 more: $80,500 · Public Benefit+5 moreINTERCOLLEGIATE STUDIES INSTITUTE INC: $250,000 · EducationINTERCOLLEGIATE S…THE REASON FOUNDATION: $250,000 · EducationTHE REASON FOUNDA…MISSISSIPPI CENTER FOR PUBLIC POLICY: $175,000 · EducationMISSISSIPPI CENTE…ASHLAND UNIVERSITY: $175,000 · EducationASHLAND UNIVERSIT…HILLSDALE COLLEGE: $160,000 · EducationHILLSDALE COLLEGECONSTITUTING AMERICA INC: $125,000 · EducationCONSTITUTING AMER…STUDENTS FOR LIBERTY INC: $115,000 · EducationSTUDENTS FOR LIBE…PRAGER UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $100,000 · EducationPRAGER UNIVERSITY…+7 more: $100,830 · Education+7 moreMOVING PICTURE INSTITUTE: $183,000 · Arts & CultureMEDIA RESEARCH CENTER: $167,500 · Arts & CultureFREE TO CHOOSE NETWORK INC: $122,500 · Arts & CultureAMERICAN PRIVATE RADIO: $90,000 · Arts & CultureTHE AMERICAN CONSERVATIVE: $42,500 · Arts & CultureBETTER CITIES PROJECT: $39,000 · Arts & Culture+3 more: $30,000 · Arts & CultureSTATE POLICY NETWORK: $264,500 · Civil RightsINSTITUTE FOR JUSTICE: $235,000 · Civil RightsIndependent Women's Forum: $57,500 · Civil RightsGoodman Institute for Public Policy Research: $30,000 · Civil Rights+5 more: $50,424 · Civil RightsMercatus Center Inc: $163,000 · Social ScienceFoundation for Economic Education Inc: $115,000 · Social ScienceCENTER FOR INDEPENDENT THOUGHT: $62,500 · Social ScienceAtlas Economic Research Foundation: $42,000 · Social ScienceAmericans for Prosperity Foundation: $40,000 · Social ScienceAMERICAN INSTITUTE FOR ECONOMIC RESEARCH: $30,000 · Social Science+1 more: $15,000 · Social SciencePacific Legal Foundation: $177,500 · Crime & LegalWASHINGTON LEGAL FOUNDATION: $30,000 · Crime & LegalLandmark Legal Foundation: $20,000 · Crime & Legal
Other$4,250,015Public Benefit$1,498,500Education$1,450,830Arts & Culture$674,500Civil Rights$637,424Social Science$467,500Crime & Legal$227,500

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 budgetTHE HERITAGE FOUNDATION: $435,000 over 8y, 0.2% of budgetBill of Rights Institute: $320,000 over 8y, 0.7% of budgetLeadership Institute: $307,000 over 8y, 0.3% of budgetSTATE POLICY NETWORK: $264,500 over 8y, 0.2% of budgetINTERCOLLEGIATE STUDIES INSTITUTE INC: $250,000 over 8y, 0.5% of budgetTHE REASON FOUNDATION: $250,000 over 8y, 0.3% of budgetTHE FUND FOR AMERICAN STUDIES: $240,000 over 8y, 0.4% of budgetINSTITUTE FOR JUSTICE: $235,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetTEXAS PUBLIC POLICY FOUNDATION: $225,000 over 8y, 0.2% of budgetInstitute for Humane Studies: $202,500 over 8y, 0.2% of budgetTHE INDEPENDENT INSTITUTE: $200,000 over 8y, 1.1% of budgetMOVING PICTURE INSTITUTE: $183,000 over 6y, 0.8% of budgetPacific Legal Foundation: $177,500 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetMISSISSIPPI CENTER FOR PUBLIC POLICY: $175,000 over 8y, 3.7% of budgetASHLAND UNIVERSITY: $175,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetMEDIA RESEARCH CENTER: $167,500 over 8y, 0.2% of budgetMercatus Center Inc: $163,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetCOMPETITIVE ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE: $160,500 over 8y, 0.3% of budgetCERTELL INC: $160,000 over 8y, 1.3% of budgetHILLSDALE COLLEGE: $160,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetYoung America's Foundation: $152,500 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetCATO INSTITUTE: $140,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetFREEDOMWORKS FOUNDATION INC: $132,500 over 7y, 0.4% of budgetTAX FOUNDATION: $132,500 over 8y, 0.3% of budgetAmerica's Future Foundation: $132,000 over 8y, 1.4% of budgetCONSTITUTING AMERICA INC: $125,000 over 8y, 2.6% of budgetFREE TO CHOOSE NETWORK INC: $122,500 over 8y, 0.5% of budgetAMERICAN LEGISLATIVE EXCHANGE COUNCIL: $116,000 over 8y, 0.2% of budgetFoundation for Economic Education Inc: $115,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetSTUDENTS FOR LIBERTY INC: $115,000 over 7y, 0.5% of budgetPRAGER UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $100,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN PRIVATE RADIO: $90,000 over 5y, 1.4% of budgetCENTER FOR INDEPENDENT THOUGHT: $62,500 over 5y, 0.6% of budgetLUCY BURNS INSTITUTE INC: $62,500 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetFOUNDATION FOR AMERICAN INNOVATION: $60,000 over 5y, 0.6% of budgetIndependent Women's Forum: $57,500 over 8y, 0.3% of budgetTHE PHILANTHROPY ROUNDTABLE: $55,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetTURNING POINT USA INC: $45,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFOUNDATION FOR GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY INC: $43,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetTHE AMERICAN CONSERVATIVE: $42,500 over 5y, 0.7% of budgetAtlas Economic Research Foundation: $42,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetYoung Voices: $40,000 over 5y, 1.2% of budgetAmericans for Prosperity Foundation: $40,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetBETTER CITIES PROJECT: $39,000 over 3y, 29% of budgetBOTANICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF TEXAS INC: $38,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetGoodman Institute for Public Policy Research: $30,000 over 2y, 5.3% of budgetWASHINGTON LEGAL FOUNDATION: $30,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetAMERICAN INSTITUTE FOR ECONOMIC RESEARCH: $30,000 over 3y, 0.3% 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.

  • Who funds THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Bill of Rights Institute ↗
  • Who funds Leadership Institute ↗
  • Who funds STATE POLICY NETWORK ↗
  • Who funds INTERCOLLEGIATE STUDIES INSTITUTE INC ↗
  • Who funds THE REASON FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds THE FUND FOR AMERICAN STUDIES ↗
  • Who funds INSTITUTE FOR JUSTICE ↗
  • Who funds TEXAS PUBLIC POLICY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Institute for Humane Studies ↗
  • Who funds THE INDEPENDENT INSTITUTE ↗
  • Who funds MOVING PICTURE INSTITUTE ↗
  • Who funds Pacific Legal Foundation ↗
  • Who funds MISSISSIPPI CENTER FOR PUBLIC POLICY ↗
  • Who funds ASHLAND UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds MEDIA RESEARCH CENTER ↗
  • Who funds Mercatus Center Inc ↗
  • Who funds COMPETITIVE ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE ↗
  • Who funds CERTELL INC ↗
  • Who funds HILLSDALE COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds Young America's Foundation ↗
  • Who funds CATO INSTITUTE ↗
  • Who funds FREEDOMWORKS FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds TAX FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds America's Future Foundation ↗
  • Who funds CONSTITUTING AMERICA INC ↗
  • Who funds FREE TO CHOOSE NETWORK INC ↗
  • Who funds AMERICAN LEGISLATIVE EXCHANGE COUNCIL ↗
  • Who funds Foundation for Economic Education Inc ↗
  • Who funds STUDENTS FOR LIBERTY INC ↗
  • Who funds PRAGER UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds AMERICAN PRIVATE RADIO ↗

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.

Donors Trust IncCharles Koch Foundati…Bradley Impact Fund I…Sarah Scaife Foundati…Adolph Coors Foundati…The Lynde and Harry B…Charles Koch InstituteKen W Davis FoundationJohn William Pope Fou…Triad Foundation IncWoodford FoundationThe Dunn Foundation
Donors Trust IncVA59.6× affinity29 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Donors Trust Inc · Charles Koch Foundation · Bradley Impact Fund Inc · Sarah Scaife Foundation Incorporated · Adolph Coors Foundation · The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation Inc · Charles Koch Institute · Ken W Davis Foundation · John William Pope Foundation · Triad Foundation Inc · Woodford Foundation · The Dunn 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 Armstrong Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Armstrong Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 50%2%8%17%30%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • Wounded Warrior Project Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
5get no government money at all
7report 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.

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 153 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 Armstrong’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