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The Constitution Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Constitution Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$458k
Granted FY2024still arriving
4
Grants FY2024still arriving
4
States reached
$400k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead

Read this first · the figures below need context

87% of The Constitution Foundation’s FY2024 grant dollars went to Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program, not to grantees.

Its money now reaches organizations through that sponsor, which does not report who recommended each grant. FY2024 names 3 organizations directly, so a portfolio cannot be read from it.

Organizations named directly on the return

1
’17
2
’18
1
’19
0
’20
1
’21
2
’22
3
’23
3
’24

Amber years are those where most dollars went to a sponsor.

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.

Arts & Culture$570kPhilanthropy$400kSocial Science$98kHealth$20kEducation$18kHuman Services$9kYouth Development$4kAnimals$250
02FY2024 · 4 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k1 grant · $6k
  • $10k–50k2 grants · $53k
  • $250k+1 grant · $400k
$40,000
Median grant
4
States reached
$17M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
VANGUARD CHARITABLE$400,000
ATLAS SOCIETY$40,000
UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND FOUNDATION$12,500
BREAST CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION$5,500
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 8%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 11% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%BREAST CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $7k → 17%ATLAS SOCIETY: $40k → 16%THE ECONOMIC CLUB OF WASHINGTON DC: $23k → 14%LITTLE LIGHTHOUSE FOUNDATION: $4k → 15%VANGUARD CHARITABLE: $400k → 7%HALL OF HONOR FAIRBORN EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $1k → 9%ALZHEIMERS ASSOCIATION: $50 → 14%WOLF TRAP FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS: $136k → 6%UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND FOUNDATION: $13k → 11%BREAST CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $6k → 17%ATLAS SOCIETY: $30k → 16%WOLF TRAP FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS: $135k → 6%BREAST CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $5k → 17%ATLAS SOCIETY: $5k → 16%WOLF TRAP FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS: $89k → 6%BREAST CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $3k → 17%WOLF TRAP FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS: $89k → 6%WOLF TRAP FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS: $70k → 6%WOLF TRAP FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS: $51k → 6%DEVOTION TO CHILDREN: $9k → 6%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
NY
OH
RI
VA
MD
DC
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.

93%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$665k · 3 repeat orgs$53k to everyone else

3 repeat relationships: 2 still active in FY2024, 1 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

3
7

Total granted

$665k
$41k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+59%
+59%

Still filing today

67%
71%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 78% 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
Youth DevelopmentAnimalsArts & CulturePublic Safety & DisasterEducationHealthOther
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

  • WT
    WOLF TRAP FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
    6× · 2017–2022 · $570k
  • TA
    THE ATLAS SOCIETY LTD
    3× · 2022–2024 · $75k · revenue +53%
  • THE BREAST CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION INC
    4× · 2021–2024 · $20k · revenue +59%

Funded once

  • TE
    The Economic Club of Washington DCgraduated
    one grant, 2018 · $23k · revenue +89%
  • DT
    DEVOTION TO CHILDREN INCgraduated
    one grant, 2019 · $9k · revenue +31%
  • OE
    OPEN EDUCATION RESOURCE FOUNDATION LTD
    one grant, 2019 · $4k
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
University of Virginia Investment Management Company

The university of virginia investment management company (uvimco) is organized to invest funds on behalf of the rector and visitors of the university of virginia (the university or uva) and university-associated organizations (uaos).

Education
2
Harvard Club of Washington Dc

To inform and enrich the intellectual lives of 20,000 alumni of harvard university in the washington, dc area and to assist harvard university with respect to applicants and undergraduates from the dc area.

Education
3
Ucsf Foundation Investment Company

The organization provides professional investment management services for endowed gifts and financial assets entrusted to the ucsf foundation.

Education
4
Dallas Citizens Council

To lead and serve in the moments that matter the most for the people of dallas.

—
5
Ucla Foundation

The ucla foundation is the giving, receiving, and investing arm of the ucla campus. the foundation enables private donors to help build, sustain and advance one of the world's finest academic and research institutions. private philanthropy…

Education
6
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
7
Arc Research Institute

Our mission is to accelerate scientific progress, understand the root causes of disease, and narrow the gap between discoveries and impact on patients.

Health
8
The Rand Corporation

Help improve policy and decision making through research and analysis.

Public Benefit
9
National Association of Corporate Directors

We empower directors and transform boards to be future ready.

Public Benefit
10
Association of Washington Cities

The association of washington cities builds connections between our state's diverse cities and towns, while providing our members with the support needed to thrive through delivery of data-driven education, nationally recognized pooling…

—
11
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.

—
12
American Academy of Dermatology Association Inc

To represent the interests of dermatologists and their patients. to influence and be a credible resource for public and private entities related to all policies and regulations that have the potential to affect the delivery of dermatologic…

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Breast Cancer Research Foundation Inc; the most unlike its peers is The Atlas Society Ltd. 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

9 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. 9 of the 12 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)
9/9
Grantees still filing
8/9
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

WOLF TRAP FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS: $569,893 · OtherWOLF TRAP FOR THE PERFORMING ARTSThe Economic Club of Washington DC: $23,360 · Other+2 more: $5,000 · OtherVANGUARD CHARITABLE ENDOWMENT PROGRAM: $400,000 · PhilanthropyVANGUARD CHARITABLE ENDOWMENT PROGRAMTHE ATLAS SOCIETY LTD: $75,000 · Arts & CultureTHE BREAST CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION INC: $20,000 · Public Safety & DisasterUNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND FOUNDATION INC: $12,500 · EducationDEVOTION TO CHILDREN INC: $8,500 · Youth DevelopmentTHE LITTLE LIGHTHOUSE FOUNDATION INC: $3,750 · Youth DevelopmentWASHINGTON HUMANE SOCIETY: $250 · AnimalsALZHEIMER'S DISEASE & RELATED DISORDERS ASSOCIATION INC: $50 · Health
Other$598,253Philanthropy$400,000Arts & Culture$75,000Public Safety & Disaster$20,000Education$12,500Youth Development$12,250Animals$250Health$50

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 budgetVANGUARD CHARITABLE ENDOWMENT PROGRAM: $400,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE ATLAS SOCIETY LTD: $75,000 over 3y, 1.3% of budgetThe Economic Club of Washington DC: $23,360 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetTHE BREAST CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION INC: $20,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND FOUNDATION INC: $12,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE LITTLE LIGHTHOUSE FOUNDATION INC: $3,750 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetWASHINGTON HUMANE SOCIETY: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetALZHEIMER'S DISEASE & RELATED DISORDERS ASSOCIATION INC: $50 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 set of overlaps that mostly run through this funder rather than between each other.

Donor Advised Charita…
Donor Advised Charitable Giving IncCO7.3× affinity4 shared granteesties to 0 of 0Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%1%3%4%5%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • University of Maryland Foundation Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–5%
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 12 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

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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