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The Asen Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Asen Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$69k
Granted FY2025still arriving
16
Grants FY2025still arriving
6
States reached
$25k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0197% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Health$239kEnvironment$225kArts & Culture$191kPhilanthropy$126kInternational$84kFood & Nutrition$83kCommunity Improvement$50kPublic Benefit$45kOther$0
02FY2025 · 16 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k13 grants · $24k
  • $10k–50k3 grants · $45k
$2,000
Median grant
6
States reached
$81k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
LJMN MEDIA INC$25,000
BIG LIFE FOUNDATION USA$10,000
WORLD SCIENCE FOUNDATION$10,000
ORKEESWA INC$5,250
LOUIS ARMSTRONG HOUSE MUSEUM$5,000
HOUSATONIC VALLEY ASSOCIATION$5,000
THE CANAAN FOUNDATION INC$2,000
CANAAN COMMUNITY TRUST$2,000
NORTHWEST CT COMMUNITY FOUNDATION$1,000
ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON SCHOOL$1,000
GREAT MOUNTAIN FOREST CORP$1,000
NEW CITY PARKS$1,000
TARGET MARGIN THEATER$500
PROJECT SAGE$300
THE NORFOLK LIBRARY$250
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 (FY17–25, $8k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 64% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%ORKEESWA INC: $5k → 13%WOMEN'S SUPPORT SERVICES: $600 → 9%WOMEN'S SUPPORT SERVICES: $300 → 9%WOMEN'S SUPPORT SERVICES: $300 → 9%WOMEN'S SUPPORT SERVICES: $300 → 9%WOMEN'S SUPPORT SERVICES: $250 → 9%ST JOHN'S FOUNDATION: $250 → 9%PROJECT SAGE: $300 → 9%PROJECT SAGE: $300 → 9%PROJECT SAGE: $300 → 9%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
WA
NY
MA
IN
PA
NJ
CT
CA
VA
AZ
DC
LA
GA
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.

68%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$838k · 46 repeat orgs$387k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +65% since the first grant, against +15% for those funded once.

46 repeat relationships: 12 still active in FY2025, 34 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

46
45

Total granted

$838k
$375k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+65%
+15%

Still filing today

72%
44%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 84% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $11k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
Arts & CultureInternationalAnimalsEducationEnvironmentHealthOther
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

  • MI
    MUSO INC
    4× · 2017–2021 · $205k · revenue +209%
  • BL
    BIG LIFE FOUNDATION USA
    6× · 2017–2025 · $100k · revenue +158%
  • FP
    FOCUSING PHILANTHROPY INC
    2× · 2022–2023 · $100k · revenue +49%

Funded once

  • TP
    THE PARIS REVIEW FOUNDATION INCgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $100k · revenue +119%
  • WI
    WILDARKORG INC
    one grant, 2020 · $50k · revenue -96%
  • UNITED STATES FUND FOR UNICEF
    one grant, 2022 · $50k · revenue -21%
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 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
2
World Wildlife Fund Inc

Wwf's mission is to conserve nature and reduce the most pressing threats to the diversity of life on earth. (continued on schedule o)

Environment
3
City Report Inc

CITY REPORT, INC. serves the people of New York through independent journalism that answers their information needs and holds the powerful to account.

Arts & Culture
4
New Museum of Contemporary Art

A center for exhibitions, information, and documentation about living artists since 1977, which continues to be a place of experimentation and a hub of new art and new ideas.

Arts & Culture
5
Museum of Modern Art

The Museum of Modern Art is a private, non-profit institution chartered by the State of New York Department of Education in 1929 to foster public awareness of modern and contemporary art. (Continued in Schedule O)

Arts & Culture
6
Wamc

Wamc is chartered by the new york state board of regents to "furnish, prepare and present non-profit and non-commercial educational, instructional and cultural radio programs and also non-profit and non-commercial programs (wamc's mission…

Arts & Culture
7
The Architectural League of New York

The architectural league of new york supports critically transformative work in the allied fields that shape the built environment. as a vital, independent forum, the league stimulates thinking, debate, and action on today's (continued on…

—
8
New York Botanical Garden

The new york botanical garden is a museum of plants and a scientific research center devoted to the study of plants and their uses. it is the garden's mission to improve public understanding of the natural world, horticulture, and the…

Environment
9
Columbia University Press

Enhance Columbia University's education mission by acquiring and publishing outstanding original works by scholars and others that contribute to an understanding of global human concerns. Columbia University Press became part of the…

Arts & Culture
10
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
11
The Jewish Museum

The mission of the jewish museum is to collect, preserve, exhibit and interpret art and jewish culture. see schedule o for more information.

Arts & Culture
12
Wnet

Wnet is a multi-media public service non-profit that delivers lifelong learning and meaningful experiences to our communities. our content inspires curiosity, encourages action and nurtures dreams.

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy Inc; the most unlike its peers is Great Mountain Forest 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

59 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. 59 of the 95 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)
20
Early backer (in before they grew)
57/59
Grantees still filing
39/59
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

MUSO INC: $205,000 · InternationalMUSO INCUNITED STATES FUND FOR UNICEF: $50,000 · InternationalUNITED STATES FUND FOR UNICE…MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $21,000 · InternationalMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA…THE URBAN ASSEMBLY INC: $11,010 · International+4 more: $23,042 · International+4 moreNEW VENTURE FUNDAMERICA VOTES: $40,000 · OtherNEW VENTURE FUNDAMERICA VOTESLAND GARDEN PRESERVE: $20,000 · OtherREPORTERS COMMITTEE FOR FREEDOM OF: $19,000 · OtherTHE REPORTERS COMMITTEE FOR FREEDOM OF THE PRESS: $15,000 · OtherTHE WORLD SCIENCE FESTIVAL: $13,000 · OtherCITY HARVEST INC: $55,000 · OtherCITY HARVEST INCWORLD SCIENCE FOUNDATION: $22,500 · OtherWORLD SCIENCE FOUNDATION+51 more: $197,680 · Other+51 moreBIG LIFE FOUNDATION USA: $100,000 · AnimalsBIG LIFE FO…THE ANIMAL MEDICAL CENTER: $20,000 · AnimalsTHE ANIMAL …+2 more: $2,500 · AnimalsFOCUSING PHILANTHROPY INC: $100,000 · PhilanthropyFOCUSING PH…THE CANAAN FOUNDATION INC: $11,000 · PhilanthropyTHE CANAAN …Great Mountain Forest Corporation: $7,000 · PhilanthropyGreat Mount…+1 more: $4,000 · PhilanthropyTHE PARIS REVIEW FOUNDATION INC: $100,000 · EducationTHE PARIS…+3 more: $6,250 · Education+3 moreLJMN Media Inc: $35,000 · Arts & CultureAMERICAN FOLK ART MUSEUM: $26,000 · Arts & CultureLA MAMA EXPERIMENTAL THEATRE CLUB INC: $7,500 · Arts & CultureLOUIS ARMSTRONG HOUSE MUSEUM: $5,000 · Arts & CultureTWO EAST SIXTY-SECOND STREET FOUNDATION: $5,000 · Arts & CultureTARGET MARGIN THEATER INC: $5,000 · Arts & Culture+7 more: $11,900 · Arts & CultureWILDARKORG INC: $50,000 · EnvironmentHOUSATONIC VALLEY ASSOCIATION INC: $35,000 · EnvironmentNORTHWEST CONNECTICUT LAND CONSERVANCY INC: $5,000 · Environment+1 more: $500 · Environment
International$310,052Other$382,180Animals$122,500Philanthropy$122,000Education$106,250Arts & Culture$95,400Environment$90,500

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 budgetMUSO INC: $205,000 over 4y, 1.0% of budgetBIG LIFE FOUNDATION USA: $100,000 over 6y, 1.5% of budgetTHE PARIS REVIEW FOUNDATION INC: $100,000 over 1y, 5.2% of budgetFOCUSING PHILANTHROPY INC: $100,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetCITY HARVEST INC: $55,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWILDARKORG INC: $50,000 over 1y, 6.3% of budgetUNITED STATES FUND FOR UNICEF: $50,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLJMN Media Inc: $35,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetHOUSATONIC VALLEY ASSOCIATION INC: $35,000 over 7y, 0.5% of budgetAMERICAN FOLK ART MUSEUM: $26,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetWORLD SCIENCE FOUNDATION: $22,500 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $21,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE ANIMAL MEDICAL CENTER: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE REPORTERS COMMITTEE FOR FREEDOM OF THE PRESS: $15,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetCAMPHILL VILLAGE USA INC: $12,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetFishes and Loaves Food Pantry Inc: $12,000 over 2y, 3.4% of budgetTHE URBAN ASSEMBLY INC: $11,010 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetTHE CANAAN FOUNDATION INC: $11,000 over 8y, 9.2% of budgetMount Desert Land and Garden Preserve: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetDKMS: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetVILLAGE COOPERATIVE INC: $10,000 over 1y, 3.2% of budgetLA MAMA EXPERIMENTAL THEATRE CLUB INC: $7,500 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetGreat Mountain Forest Corporation: $7,000 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetCITYMEALS-ON-WHEELS: $6,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetLOUIS ARMSTRONG HOUSE MUSEUM: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTWO EAST SIXTY-SECOND STREET FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetFOOD BANK FOR NEW YORK CITY: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNORTHWEST CONNECTICUT LAND CONSERVANCY INC: $5,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTARGET MARGIN THEATER INC: $5,000 over 8y, 0.2% of budgetNORTHWEST CONNECTICUT COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $4,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL BOOK FOUNDATION INC: $3,750 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetNORFOLK LIBRARY INC: $3,500 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetSMILE TRAIN INC: $3,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPROJECT SAGE INC: $2,650 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetMI VECINOS: $2,500 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetCivic Life Project Inc: $2,500 over 1y, 2.3% of budgetNEW CITY PARKS INC: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetNETWORK 20 20 INC: $2,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetRANCHO TIERRA MADRA CORP: $2,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetTHE AUTHORS GUILD FOUNDATION INC: $2,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetALLIANCE FOR YOUNG ARTISTS AND WRITERS INC: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTri-State Public Communications Inc: $2,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetNORTHEAST HARBOR LIBRARY: $1,750 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetNEW ART PUBLICATIONS INC: $1,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSpirit of America Worldwide: $1,042 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTUSK USA INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPANCREATIC CANCER ACTION NETWORK INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCHECKERBOARD FOUNDATION INC: $1,000 over 1y, 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.

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 William and Mary …Berkshire Taconic Com…The Goldman Sachs Cha…Northwest Connecticut…The Andrew W Mellon F…Jewish Communal FundThe Bernhill FundAkc Fund IncBooth Ferris Foundati…Lily Auchincloss Foun…The Connecticut Commu…National Philanthropi…
The William and Mary Greve Foundation IncCT26.1× affinity10 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The William and Mary Greve Foundation Inc · Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation Inc · The Goldman Sachs Charitable Gift Fund · Northwest Connecticut Community Foundation Inc · The Andrew W Mellon Foundation · Jewish Communal Fund · The Bernhill Fund · Akc Fund Inc · Booth Ferris Foundation Xxxxx4008 · Lily Auchincloss Foundation Inc · The Connecticut Community Foundation · National Philanthropic Trust

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 80%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 37%
  • Housatonic Valley Association Inc: 38% of income from government
  • Save the Sound: 37% of income from government
  • Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy Inc: 9% of income from government
  • Civic Life Project Inc: 7% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
8get no government money at all
11report 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 95 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 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Asen’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