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The Darwin Foundation Inc at a glance

· Private foundation

The Darwin Foundation Inc

Its FY2019 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$102k
Granted FY2019
28
Grants FY2019
10
States reached
$20k
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 2019.

Education$101kPublic Benefit$43kEnvironment$41kHealth$38kCrime & Legal$32kInternational$23kAnimals$15kSocial Science$6kOther$0
02FY2019 · 28 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2019

  • Under $10k25 grants · $55k
  • $10k–50k3 grants · $47k
$2,000
Median grant
10
States reached
$1.0M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY$20,000
REASON FOUNDATION$15,000
INSTITUTE FOR JUSTICE$12,000
DOWNSIZE DCORG$7,000
COMPASSION & CHOICES$6,000
FOUNDATION FOR ECONOMIC EDUCATION$6,000
THE CARTER CENTER$5,000
NATURE CONSERVANCY$5,000
SAVE$5,000
STONY BROOK - MILLSTONE WATERSHED$5,000
DRUG POLICY ALLIANCE$3,000
FRIENDS OF PRINCETON OPEN SPACE$2,500
NEW JERSEY SEEDS$2,000
CATO INSTITUTE$2,000
DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS USA$1,000
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–19) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 55% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants spread fairly evenly across need levels.

area typical 11%SAFE SACTUARY: $5k → 11%WIKIMEDIA FOUNDATION: $4k → 10%REASON FOUNDATION: $15k → 14%FOUNDATION FOR ECONOMIC EDUCATION: $6k → 9%DRUG POLICY ALLIANCE: $10k → 17%WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: $20k → 11%THE CARTER CENTER: $5k → 14%COMPASSION & CHOICES: $6k → 12%DOWNSIZE DCORG: $12k → 13%SAVE: $5k → 11%NEW JERSEY SEEDS: $3k → 16%GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $2k → 7%WIKIMEDIA FOUNDATION: $1k → 10%REASON FOUNDATION: $15k → 14%DRUG POLICY ALLIANCE: $5k → 17%WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: $20k → 11%THE CARTER CENTER: $5k → 14%COMPASSION & CHOICES: $6k → 12%DOWNSIZE DCORG: $7k → 13%SAVE: $5k → 11%NEW JERSEY SEEDS: $2k → 16%GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $1k → 7%WIKIMEDIA FOUNDATION: $1k → 10%REASON FOUNDATION: $7k → 14%DRUG POLICY ALLIANCE: $3k → 17%WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: $20k → 11%THE CARTER CENTER: $5k → 14%COMPASSION & CHOICES: $6k → 12%DOWNSIZE DCORG: $5k → 13%NEW JERSEY SEEDS: $2k → 16%NATURE CONSERVANCY: $5k → 7%CATO INSTITUTE: $2k → 14%NATURE CONSERVANCY: $5k → 7%CATO INSTITUTE: $2k → 14%NATURE CONSERVANCY: $5k → 7%CATO INSTITUTE: $2k → 14%CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL: $1k → 14%INSTITUTE FOR JUSTICE: $12k → 14%CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL: $1k → 14%STONY BROOK - MILLSTONE WATERSHED: $5k → 11%INSTITUTE FOR JUSTICE: $10k → 14%STONY BROOK - MILLSTONE WATERSHED: $5k → 11%CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL: $1k → 14%STONY BROOK - MILLSTONE WATERSHED: $5k → 11%INSTITUTE FOR JUSTICE: $10k → 14%FRIENDS OF PRINCETON OPEN SPACE: $3k → 11%FRIENDS OF PRINCETON OPEN SPACE: $3k → 11%FRIENDS OF PRINCETON OPEN SPACE: $3k → 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

MN
NY
OH
PA
NJ
CA
CO
MO
VA
DC
GA
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.

96%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$278k · 27 repeat orgs$12k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +73% since the first grant, against 0% for those funded once.

27 repeat relationships: 25 still active in FY2019, 2 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2019 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

27
3

Total granted

$278k
$6k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+73%
0%

Still filing today

74%
33%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2019, 94% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $6k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19
EducationInternationalAnimalsEnvironmentCivil RightsHealthOther
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

  • WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
    3× · 2017–2019 · $60k · revenue +76%
  • TR
    THE REASON FOUNDATION
    3× · 2017–2019 · $37k · revenue +80%
  • CC
    COMPASSION & CHOICES
    3× · 2017–2019 · $18k · revenue +169%

Funded once

  • SS
    SAFE SANCTUARY
    one grant, 2018 · $5k
  • U
    USABA
    one grant, 2017 · $500
  • LF
    Lawrenceville Fire Company Inc
    one grant, 2017 · $50 · revenue -44%
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
The Trustees of Princeton University

Research, education and general - princeton university is a private not-for-profit, non-sectarian institution of higher learning with approximately 5,700 undergraduate and 3,300 graduate students. 2,500 students graduated in the 2024-2025…

Education
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
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.

—
4
The Union of Concerned Scientists Inc

The union of concerned scientists puts rigorous, independent science into action, developing solutions and advocating for a healthy, safe, and just future.

International
5
Friends of the Earth

Friends of the earth strives for a more healthy and just world by defendng the environment and human health while advancing social and economic justice by conducting research and education, transforming the economy so it protects the…

Environment
6
Furman University

The primary mission of furman as a liberal arts institution is to provide a distinctive education in fine arts, humanities, social sciences, mathematics and the sciences, as well as selected professional disciplines.

Education
7
Environmental Investigation Agency

To establish and promote programs to protect the global climate, forests, wildlife and the natural environment, through research, advocacy, and investigation.

International
8
Waterorg

Water.org's goal is to bring safe water and sanitation to the world through access to small, affordable loans.

International
9
Internet Society Foundation

At the internet society foundation, we focus on funding initiatives that strengthen the internet in function and reach so that it can effectively serve all people. our work advances the vision of the internet society (isoc): the internet…

International
10
American Association for the Advancement of Science

Advance science, engineering, and innovation throughout the world for the benefit of all. the world's largest multidisciplinary scientific society and a leading publisher of cutting-edge research through its science family of journals,…

Science & Tech
11
World Resources Institute

Wri is committed to creating change that improves people's lives and ensures the natural world can thrive. (see schedule o)wri's bold vision requires a formula for success we call "count it. change it. scale it.":- count it: our work is…

International
12
International Life Sciences Institute

Ilsi is a global, nonprofit federation dedicated to generating and advancing emerging science and groundbreaking research to ensure foods are safe, nutritious and sustainable, and that they improve planetary and human health and well-being…

Science & Tech
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Seeing Eye Inc; the most unlike its peers is Safe Sanctuary. 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

24 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. 24 of the 33 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)
5
Early backer (in before they grew)
22/24
Grantees still filing
19/24
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: $60,000 · EducationWASHINGTON UNIVERSITYTHE REASON FOUNDATION: $37,000 · EducationTHE REASON FOUNDATIONDOWNSIZEDC ORG INC: $24,000 · EducationDOWNSIZEDC ORG INCNEW JERSEY SEEDS INC: $7,000 · EducationWIKIMEDIA FOUNDATION INC: $6,000 · Education+2 more: $3,400 · EducationINSTITUTE FOR JUSTICE: $32,000 · OtherINSTITUTE FOR JUSTICETHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $15,000 · OtherTHE NATURE CONSERVANCYSTONY BROOK - MILLSTONE WATERSHED: $15,000 · OtherSTONY BROOK - MILLSTONE WATERSHEDFOUNDATION FOR ECONOMIC EDUCATION: $6,000 · OtherFOUNDATION FOR ECONOMIC EDUCATIONSAFE SANCTUARY: $5,000 · OtherSAFE SANCTUARYCONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL: $3,000 · OtherCATO INSTITUTE: $6,000 · OtherCATO INSTITUTE+11 more: $7,750 · Other+11 moreTHE CARTER CENTER INC: $15,000 · InternationalMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $8,000 · InternationalCOMPASSION & CHOICES: $18,000 · Civil RightsDRUG POLICY ALLIANCE: $18,000 · HealthSAVE A FRIEND TO HOMELESS ANIMALS: $10,000 · Animals+1 more: $150 · AnimalsFRIENDS OF PRINCETON OPEN SPACE: $7,500 · EnvironmentD&R GREENWAY LAND TRUST INC: $800 · Environment
Education$137,400Other$89,750International$23,000Civil Rights$18,000Health$18,000Animals$10,150Environment$8,300

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 budgetWASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: $60,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE REASON FOUNDATION: $37,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetCOMPASSION & CHOICES: $18,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetDRUG POLICY ALLIANCE: $18,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $15,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE CARTER CENTER INC: $15,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSAVE A FRIEND TO HOMELESS ANIMALS: $10,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $8,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFRIENDS OF PRINCETON OPEN SPACE: $7,500 over 3y, 2.1% of budgetNEW JERSEY SEEDS INC: $7,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetWIKIMEDIA FOUNDATION INC: $6,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCATO INSTITUTE: $6,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetGEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $3,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE SEEING EYE INC: $1,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetISLES INC: $1,300 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMORAVIAN ACADEMY: $900 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetD&R GREENWAY LAND TRUST INC: $800 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPETERS VALLEY SCHOOL OF CRAFT INC: $750 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTASK Inc Trenton Area Soup Kitchen Inc: $500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetHOMEFRONT INC: $400 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetAlley Cat Allies Inc: $150 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetLawrenceville Fire Company 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 tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Bristol-Myers Squibb …Princeton Area Commun…The Robert Wood Johns…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation IncNJ13.4× affinity4 shared granteesties to 4 of 4Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation Inc · Princeton Area Community Foundation Inc · The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · 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 Darwin Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Darwin Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 50%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 9%
  • Isles Inc: 21% of income from government
  • D&r Greenway Land Trust Inc: 9% of income from government
  • Homefront Inc: 9% of income from government
  • Lawrenceville Fire Company Inc: 3% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
5get no government money at all
3report 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 33 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 2019, released 2019. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Darwin’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