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The Barack Obama Foundation at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

The Barack Obama Foundation

To inspire, empower, and connect people to change their world and to honor the legacy of president.

$11M
Granted FY2024still arriving
6
Grants FY2024still arriving
5
States reached
$3.5M
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, FY2018 to 2024.

Philanthropy$8.5MYouth Development$5.8MRecreation & Sports$5.5MEducation$3.7MHuman Services$2.5MArts & Culture$2.3MPublic Benefit$2.1MCommunity Improvement$1.7MOther$0
02FY2024 · 6 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 6 grants below total $7,140,864, the rows itemized in this filing. The $11,386,511 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $4,245,647 is giving the schedule does not break out (grants under the $5,000 itemization floor, grants to individuals, grants on other schedules). Every figure below describes the itemized rows only.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $50k–250k2 grants · $187k
  • $250k+4 grants · $7.0M
$1,000,000
Median grant
5
States reached
$1.1B
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
GOFUNDMEORG$3,454,197
NATIONAL ARCHIVES TRUST FUND$1,500,000
CHICAGO PARK DISTRICT$1,000,000
JOHN JAY COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC$1,000,000
YMCA OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO$100,000
URBAN ALLIANCE FOUNDATION INC$86,667
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 (FY18–24, $4.6M) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 57% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%CHANGE HAPPENS: $100k → 16%CHANGE HAPPENS: $100k → 16%TIDES CENTER: $1.0M → 10%JOHN JAY COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC: $1.0M → 17%CHANGE HAPPENS: $50k → 16%TIDES CENTER: $1.0M → 10%JOHN JAY COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC: $250k → 17%METROPOLITAN FAMILY SERVICES: $50k → 14%YMCA OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO: $100k → 14%YMCA OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO: $58k → 14%THRIVE CHICAGO: $500k → 14%THRIVE CHICAGO: $392k → 14%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
MI
NY
MA
NJ
CA
NE
MD
NM
DC
OK
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.
04

Where the work is directed

The same grants placed two ways: where each recipient sits, and where its stated purpose sends the money.

About 9% of The Barack Obama Foundation’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address.

The Barack Obama Foundationlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address
How this is measured
Recipient view: each grant at its grantee’s ZIP, mapped to a county. Directed view: each grant at the county its stated purpose names, falling back to the recipient’s county when the purpose names no place; US grants only. A county shows only if it carries the top 95% of that view’s dollars. Purposes are read from the funder’s own 990 grant descriptions.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

77%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$25M · 27 repeat orgs$7.3M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +74% since the first grant, against +19% for those funded once.

27 repeat relationships: 6 still active in FY2024, 21 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

27
11

Total granted

$25M
$7.3M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+74%
+19%

Still filing today

85%
82%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

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

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

’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
EducationHuman ServicesYouth DevelopmentEmploymentCommunity ImprovementPhilanthropyOther
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

  • JJ
    JOHN JAY COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC
    2× · 2023–2024 · $1.3M · revenue +3%
  • AA
    AFRICAN AMERICAN EMPOWERMENT NETWORK IN
    4× · 2018–2023 · $951k · revenue +55% · 33% of their budget
  • YG
    Youth Guidance
    3× · 2018–2020 · $700k · revenue +26%

Funded once

  • CP
    CHICAGO PARK DISTRICT
    one grant, 2021 · $3.5M
  • ER
    Educational Results Partnership
    one grant, 2020 · $1.1M · revenue -72%
  • II
    ImpactTulsa Incgraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $800k · revenue +335% · 73% of their budget
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
Chicago Youth Centers

To provide high-quality early learning and out-of-school time enrichment in under-resourced neighborhoods to holistically support children of all ages, their families, and their communities.

Youth Development
2
Midtown-Metro Achievement Centers

Midtown-Metro Achievement Centers, through its Midtown Center for boys and Metro Achievement Center for girls, helps close the achievement gap for Chicago's urban youth ages eight through eighteen.

Education
3
Chicago United for Equity

Connecting and amplifying the power of individuals to build a just, equitable, and inclusive city.

Civil Rights
4
Community Education Commission

CEC works with diverse stakeholders across Detroit to develop critical resources and system-level solutions that address common challenges faced by Detroit families in accessing quality education.

Education
5
A Better Chicago

A better chicago is changing how chicago fights poverty by investing in bold ideas that create opportunity for our youth.

Human Services
6
Cityworks Dc

Our mission is to dramatically improve the early career outcomes of dc youth and young adults of color by creating innovative programs and by mobilizing employers, educators, and city leaders to create a local, diverse talent pipeline. our…

Education
7
Chicago Votes

Chicago Votes is a non-partisan, non-profit organization building a more inclusive democracy by putting power in the hands of young Chicagoans. We're engaging and developing a new generation of leaders by opening the doors of government,…

Civil Rights
8
Community Youth Development Institute

Community Youth Development Institute (CYDI) provides alternative schooling for at-risk teenagers through grants and contracts with Youth Connection Charter School, Alternative School Network, the City of Chicago Department of Family and…

Community Improvement
9
The Partnership for College Completion

The Partnership for College Completion (PCC) champions policies, practices, and systems that increase college completion and eliminate degree completion disparities for low-income, first generation, and students of color in Illinois…

Education
10
Young Mens Educational Network

To prepare young men and women in North Lawndale for leadership by helping them grow in their faith and character, develop a love for learning, and use their talents to serve the community and strengthen for our families.

Education
11
Community Youth Center of San Francisco

Our mission is to encourage a diverse population of high-need young people to explore their full potential through academic, career, family, and community life. Every year, CYC impacts over 8,000 San Francisco youth and their families,…

—
12
Youth Policy Institute Inc

Youth policy institute (ypi) transforms los angeles neighborhoods, reducing poverty by offering cradle to college & career services.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Gary Comer Youth Center Inc; the most unlike its peers is Orlando Community & Youth Trust Inc. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
05the grantee network

36 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. 36 of the 41 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.

4
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
11
Early backer (in before they grew)
35/36
Grantees still filing
27/36
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

CHICAGO PARK DISTRICT: $3,500,000 · OtherCHICAGO PARK DISTRICTNATIONAL ARCHIVES TRUST FUND: $2,250,000 · OtherNATIONAL ARCHIVES TRUST FUNDTHE NATIONAL ARCHIVES ASSEMBLY: $2,083,000 · OtherTHE NATIONAL ARCHIVES ASSEMBLYCHICAGO PARK DISTRICT: $2,000,000 · OtherCHICAGO PARK DISTRICTEMERALD SOUTH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COLLOBORATIVE: $1,250,000 · OtherEMERALD SOUTH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COLLOBORATI…YONKERS PUBLIC SCHOOLS: $800,000 · OtherYONKERS PUBLIC SCHOOLSCENTERS FOR FAMILY DEVELOPMENT INC: $684,000 · OtherNepperhan Community Center Inc: $650,000 · Other+9 more: $1,209,500 · Other+9 moreGOFUNDMEORG: $7,685,546 · PhilanthropyGOFUNDMEORGLIBERTY HILL FOUNDATION: $612,500 · PhilanthropyLIBERTY HILL FOUNDATIONPUERTO RICO COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $584,000 · PhilanthropyPUERTO RICO COMMUNITY FOUNDA…TIDES CENTER: $2,000,000 · Human ServicesTIDES CENTERJOHN JAY COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC: $1,250,000 · Human ServicesJOHN JAY COLLE…THRIVE CHICAGO NFP: $891,949 · Human ServicesTHRIVE CHICAGO…Civic Heart Community Services: $250,000 · Human ServicesCivic Heart Co…The YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago: $157,662 · Human Services+1 more: $50,000 · Human ServicesEducational Results Partnership: $1,066,200 · EducationEducational R…AFRICAN AMERICAN EMPOWERMENT NETWORK IN: $951,000 · EducationAFRICAN AMERI…ImpactTulsa Inc: $800,000 · EducationImpactTulsa I…Youth Guidance: $700,000 · EducationYouth Guidanc…NACA-INSPIRED SCHOOLS NETWORK: $634,000 · EducationNACA-INSPIRED…+3 more: $169,000 · EducationTHE URBAN ALLIANCE FOUNDATION INC: $1,483,334 · EmploymentJUMA VENTURES INC: $100,000 · EmploymentYouthBuild Newark Inc: $800,000 · Youth DevelopmentNew Life Centers of Chicagoland: $151,000 · Youth DevelopmentRYSE INC: $134,000 · Youth Development+1 more: $15,000 · Youth DevelopmentSIERRA HEALTH FOUNDATION CENTER FOR HEALTH PROGRAM MANAGEMENT: $575,000 · Health
Other$14,426,500Philanthropy$8,882,046Human Services$4,599,611Education$4,320,200Employment$1,583,334Youth Development$1,100,000Health$575,000

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetGOFUNDMEORG: $7,685,546 over 5y, 47% of budgetTIDES CENTER: $2,000,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetTHE URBAN ALLIANCE FOUNDATION INC: $1,483,334 over 4y, 4.2% of budgetJOHN JAY COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC: $1,250,000 over 2y, 15% of budgetEMERALD SOUTH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COLLOBORATIVE: $1,250,000 over 2y, 20% of budgetEducational Results Partnership: $1,066,200 over 1y, 24% of budgetAFRICAN AMERICAN EMPOWERMENT NETWORK IN: $951,000 over 4y, 33% of budgetTHRIVE CHICAGO NFP: $891,949 over 2y, 31% of budgetImpactTulsa Inc: $800,000 over 1y, 73% of budgetYouthBuild Newark Inc: $800,000 over 1y, 11% of budgetYouth Guidance: $700,000 over 3y, 1.4% of budgetCENTERS FOR FAMILY DEVELOPMENT INC: $684,000 over 4y, 2.8% of budgetNepperhan Community Center Inc: $650,000 over 3y, 2.6% of budgetNACA-INSPIRED SCHOOLS NETWORK: $634,000 over 4y, 1.4% of budgetLIBERTY HILL FOUNDATION: $612,500 over 6y, 2.9% of budgetPUERTO RICO COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $584,000 over 4y, 4.4% of budgetSIERRA HEALTH FOUNDATION CENTER FOR HEALTH PROGRAM MANAGEMENT: $575,000 over 3y, 3.6% of budgetCivic Heart Community Services: $250,000 over 3y, 2.1% of budgetTHE MASS MENTORING PARTNERSHIP INC: $250,000 over 3y, 4.1% of budgetURBAN STRATEGIES COUNCIL: $200,000 over 2y, 6.5% of budgetThe YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago: $157,662 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetNew Life Centers of Chicagoland: $151,000 over 3y, 1.9% of budgetTHE CHICAGO COMMUNITY LOAN FUND: $150,000 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetYouth Leadership Institute: $134,000 over 3y, 1.4% of budgetRYSE INC: $134,000 over 3y, 1.9% of budgetORLANDO COMMUNITY & YOUTH TRUST INC: $134,000 over 3y, 5.2% of budgetLAWNDALE CHRISTIAN LEGAL CENTER: $134,000 over 3y, 2.2% of budgetBUILD INC: $134,000 over 3y, 1.3% of budgetSOUTH SHORE DRILL TEAM & PERFORMING ARTS ENSEMBLE: $120,000 over 3y, 5.0% of budgetJUMA VENTURES INC: $100,000 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetTHE MENTORING CENTER: $50,000 over 1y, 3.9% of budgetMetropolitan Family Services: $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE FUND FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS INC: $37,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCHAMPS MALE MENTORING PROGRAM - CHIRISE: $25,000 over 1y, 2.5% of budgetGARY COMER YOUTH CENTER INC: $15,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetCHILDREN FIRST FUND THE CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOUNDATION: $10,000 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.

Rockefeller Philanthr…The Chicago Community…Silicon Valley Commun…Tides CenterJohn D and Catherine …Field Foundation of I…Amalgamated Charitabl…Circle of Service Fou…United Way of Metropo…The San Francisco Fou…The California Wellne…The California Endowm…
Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors IncNY20.2× affinity9 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors Inc · The Chicago Community Trust · Silicon Valley Community Foundation · Tides Center · John D and Catherine T Macarthur Foundation · Field Foundation of Illinois · Amalgamated Charitable Foundation Inc · Circle of Service Foundation · United Way of Metropolitan Chicago Inc · The San Francisco Foundation · The California Wellness Foundation · The California Endowment

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%5%19%42%75%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 63%
  • The Mass Mentoring Partnership Inc: 63% of income from government
  • YouthBuild Newark Inc: 27% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
13report 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.

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 41 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 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

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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