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The Essex Avenue Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Essex Avenue Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$28M
Granted FY2024still arriving
77
Grants FY2024still arriving
17
States reached
$1.9M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2021 to 2024.

Education$20MEnvironment$18MHousing & Shelter$13MHuman Services$6.2MFood & Nutrition$5.2MHealth$4.8MRecreation & Sports$1.4MReligion$1.4MOther$0
02FY2024 · 77 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k1 grant · $7k
  • $10k–50k9 grants · $160k
  • $50k–250k24 grants · $3.0M
  • $250k+43 grants · $25M
$300,000
Median grant
17
States reached
$616M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
ESCUELA COMUNITARIA DEL BRONX BRONX COMMUNITY SCHO$1,895,108
BREAKING GROUND HOUSING DEVELOPMENT FUND CORPORATI$1,000,000
CITY AND COUNTRY SCHOOL INC$1,000,000
THE NEW YORK FOUNDLING$1,000,000
WE CARE SOLAR$750,000
ALI FORNEY CENTER$750,000
HEALTH IN HARMONY INC$750,000
COALITION FOR THE HOMELESS INC$700,000
WOMEN IN NEED INC$700,000
JUBILEE JUSTICE INC$700,000
REFED INC$700,000
GREENWAVE ORGANIZATION CORP$625,000
CORAL RESTORATION FOUNDATION INC$600,000
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY INTERNATIONAL INC$580,000
CITY PARKS FOUNDATION INC$530,000
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 (FY22–24, $8.3M) land where the poverty rate runs at 19%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%STATEN ISLAND COMMUNITY JOB CENTER INC: $150k → 11%STATEN ISLAND COMMUNITY JOB CENTER INC: $90k → 11%THE NEW YORK FOUNDLING: $1.0M → 17%BRONXWORKS INC: $500k → 28%THE NEW YORK FOUNDLING: $1.0M → 17%BRONXWORKS INC: $500k → 28%GREEN CITY FORCE: $500k → 20%BRONXWORKS INC: $350k → 28%GREEN CITY FORCE: $250k → 20%THE NEW YORK FOUNDLING: $500k → 17%THE NEW YORK FOUNDLING: $500k → 17%THE CHILDRENS AID SOCIETY: $500k → 17%WOMEN IN NEED INC: $700k → 17%WOMEN IN NEED INC: $500k → 17%WOMEN IN NEED INC: $450k → 17%WOMEN IN NEED INC: $450k → 17%WOMEN IN NEED INC: $350k → 17%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
VT
WA
IL
NY
MA
OR
NJ
CT
CA
CO
VA
MD
AZ
DC
LA
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.

92%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$67M · 60 repeat orgs$6.1M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +15% since the first grant, against -1% for those funded once.

60 repeat relationships: 55 still active in FY2024, 5 since wound down; 14 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

60
10

Total granted

$67M
$1.9M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+15%
-1%

Still filing today

90%
60%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 85% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $4.2M went to new ones.

50%100%’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’21’22’23’24
EnvironmentEducationHuman ServicesHealthPhilanthropyHousing & ShelterOther
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

  • EC
    ESCUELA COMUNITARIA DEL BRONXBRONX COMMUNITY SCHOOL INC
    3× · 2022–2024 · $9.7M · revenue +299% · 55% of their budget
  • TC
    THE CITY AND COUNTRY SCHOOL INC
    4× · 2021–2024 · $5.0M · revenue +15%
  • Cornell University
    2× · 2021–2022 · $3.5M · revenue +23%

Funded once

  • OG
    OYATE GROUP
    one grant, 2023 · $1.0M · revenue -1% · 38% of their budget
  • GA
    GRID ALTERNATIVES
    one grant, 2023 · $400k
  • BI
    BIG INITIATIVES INCORPORATED
    one grant, 2023 · $250k · revenue -51%
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
Natural Areas Conservancy Inc

The natural areas conservancy champions urban natural areas in new york city and across the nation through innovative research, partnerships, and advocacy. we increase the health and resilience of urban forests and wetlands, catalyze…

Environment
2
New York City Bird Alliance Inc

Nyc bird alliance is a grassroots community that protects wild birds and habitat in the five boroughs, improving the quality of life for all new yorkers.

Environment
3
Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corp

To manage the brooklyn navy yard for the city of new york, specifically to expand job opportunities for new yorkers by fostering the development of small businesses.

Community Improvement
4
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
5
New York City Energy Efficiency Corporation

Nyceec's mission is to deliver financing solutions and advance markets for energy efficiency and clean energy in communities.

Environment
6
Environment Next Inc

Environment next supports individuals, nonprofits and businesses around the world on solutions to complex climate issues. we provide leadership, outreach and communication support, grants, and investments to empower leaders and their ideas…

Environment
7
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
8
New York League of Conservation Voters

See schedule onylcv is a non-partisan policy making and political action organization that works to make environmental protection a top priority with elected officials, decision-makers and the voters by evaluating incumbent performance and…

—
9
Planet Reimagined Inc

Planet reimagined is on a mission to deliver fair solutions for people and the planet.the organization is a creative climate incubator using an innovative action research method to test, refine, and scale solutions. we bring together…

Environment
10
Asociacion Interamericana Para La Defensa Del Ambiente

To strenghten people's ability to guarantee their individual and collective right to a healthy environment, via the development, implementation, and effective enforcement of national and international law.

Crime & Legal
11
American Flood Coalition Inc

To drive transformational adaptation to protect communities across the country from higher seas, stronger storms, and more frequent flooding.

Environment
12
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
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Fund for Public Housing Inc; the most unlike its peers is Ocean Professional Theatre Company Inc. 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

73 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. 73 of the 85 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.

7
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
9
Early backer (in before they grew)
73/73
Grantees still filing
44/73
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

ESCUELA COMUNITARIA DEL BRONXBRONX COMMUNITY SCHOOL INC: $9,747,237 · EducationESCUELA COMUNITARIA DEL BRO…Cornell University: $3,500,000 · EducationCornell UniversityBILLION OYSTER PROJECT INC: $1,810,000 · EducationBILLION OYSTER PROJECT INCGREENWAVE ORGANIZATION CORP: $1,025,000 · EducationGREENWAVE ORGANIZATION CORPUniversity of Maine Foundation: $855,000 · EducationPROJECT DRAWDOWN: $750,000 · Education+2 more: $334,000 · EducationTHE CITY AND COUNTRY SCHOOL INC: $5,000,000 · OtherTHE CITY AND COUNTRY SCHOOL INCBREAKING GROUND HOUSING DEVELOPMENT FUND CORPORATI: $4,000,000 · OtherBREAKING GROUND HOUSING DEVELOPMENT FUND…MEMORIAL SLOAN-KETTERING CANCER CENTER: $3,000,000 · OtherMEMORIAL SLOAN-KETTERING CANCER CENTERCOALITION FOR THE HOMELESS INC: $1,916,461 · OtherCOALITION FOR THE HOMELESS INCFAUNA & FLORA INTERNATIONAL USA INC: $900,000 · OtherCITY PARKS FOUNDATION INC: $1,430,000 · OtherCITY PARKS FOUNDATION INCChristian Herald Association Inc: $1,350,000 · OtherOYATE GROUP: $1,000,000 · OtherWILD LANDSCAPES INC: $1,000,000 · Other+27 more: $6,962,242 · Other+27 moreCOUNCIL ON THE ENVIRONMENT INC: $2,150,000 · EnvironmentCOUNCIL ON THE…THE CORAL RESTORATION FOUNDATION INC: $1,100,000 · EnvironmentTHE CORAL REST…TREES FOR THE FUTURE INC: $1,050,000 · EnvironmentTREES FOR THE …Solar United Neighbors Inc: $1,025,000 · EnvironmentSolar United N…NEW YORK RESTORATION PROJECT: $763,500 · EnvironmentNEW YORK RESTO…CEC STUYVESANT COVE INC: $630,000 · EnvironmentCEC STUYVESANT…ACTIVATE GLOBAL INC: $500,000 · EnvironmentTHE CONSERVATION FUND A NONPROFIT CORPORATION: $500,000 · Environment+13 more: $1,945,000 · Environment+13 moreNEW YORK FOUNDLING: $3,000,000 · Human ServicesNEW YORK FOUN…WOMEN IN NEED INC: $2,450,000 · Human ServicesWOMEN IN NEED…BRONXWORKS INC: $1,350,000 · Human ServicesBRONXWORKS IN…GREEN CITY FORCE INC: $750,000 · Human ServicesGREEN CITY FO…THE CHILDREN'S AID SOCIETY: $500,000 · Human ServicesTHE CHILDREN'…INTERNATIONAL REFUGEE ASSISTANCE PROJECT INC: $325,000 · Human Services+1 more: $240,000 · Human ServicesREFED INC: $1,700,000 · Food & NutritionJUBILEE JUSTICE INC: $1,200,000 · Food & NutritionRETHINK FOOD NYC INC: $850,000 · Food & NutritionWE CARE SOLAR: $1,250,000 · HealthHealth in Harmony: $1,250,000 · HealthPROJECT RENEWAL INC: $350,000 · HealthABORTION CARE NETWORK: $300,000 · HealthDOULA PROGRAM TO ACCOMPANY AND COMFORT INC: $270,000 · HealthAid For Life International Inc: $150,000 · Health+1 more: $100,000 · HealthALI FORNEY CENTER INC: $1,600,000 · Housing & ShelterWOMEN'S HOUSING & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $1,482,000 · Housing & ShelterFUND FOR PUBLIC HOUSING INC: $420,000 · Housing & Shelter
Education$18,021,237Other$26,558,703Environment$9,663,500Human Services$8,615,000Food & Nutrition$3,750,000Health$3,670,000Housing & Shelter$3,502,000

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 budgetESCUELA COMUNITARIA DEL BRONXBRONX COMMUNITY SCHOOL INC: $9,747,237 over 3y, 55% of budgetTHE CITY AND COUNTRY SCHOOL INC: $5,000,000 over 4y, 6.8% of budgetCornell University: $3,500,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetNEW YORK FOUNDLING: $3,000,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetWOMEN IN NEED INC: $2,450,000 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetCOUNCIL ON THE ENVIRONMENT INC: $2,150,000 over 3y, 5.0% of budgetCOALITION FOR THE HOMELESS INC: $1,916,461 over 3y, 3.7% of budgetBILLION OYSTER PROJECT INC: $1,810,000 over 3y, 16% of budgetREFED INC: $1,700,000 over 2y, 9.1% of budgetALI FORNEY CENTER INC: $1,600,000 over 3y, 2.5% of budgetWOMEN'S HOUSING & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $1,482,000 over 3y, 1.4% of budgetCITY PARKS FOUNDATION INC: $1,430,000 over 3y, 3.2% of budgetBRONXWORKS INC: $1,350,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetChristian Herald Association Inc: $1,350,000 over 3y, 2.0% of budgetWE CARE SOLAR: $1,250,000 over 2y, 5.8% of budgetHealth in Harmony: $1,250,000 over 2y, 9.4% of budgetJUBILEE JUSTICE INC: $1,200,000 over 2y, 23% of budgetTHE CORAL RESTORATION FOUNDATION INC: $1,100,000 over 2y, 8.6% of budgetTREES FOR THE FUTURE INC: $1,050,000 over 2y, 4.0% of budgetGREENWAVE ORGANIZATION CORP: $1,025,000 over 3y, 8.2% of budgetSolar United Neighbors Inc: $1,025,000 over 2y, 5.4% of budgetWILD LANDSCAPES INC: $1,000,000 over 2y, 16% of budgetOYATE GROUP: $1,000,000 over 1y, 38% of budgetFAUNA & FLORA INTERNATIONAL USA INC: $900,000 over 1y, 10% of budgetUniversity of Maine Foundation: $855,000 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetRETHINK FOOD NYC INC: $850,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetNEW YORK RESTORATION PROJECT: $763,500 over 3y, 5.1% of budgetPROJECT DRAWDOWN: $750,000 over 2y, 6.0% of budgetGREEN CITY FORCE INC: $750,000 over 2y, 9.4% of budgetCEC STUYVESANT COVE INC: $630,000 over 3y, 4.0% of budgetNEW YORK ABORTION ACCESS FUND: $600,000 over 2y, 17% of budgetWATERFRONT ALLIANCE INC: $575,000 over 3y, 12% of budgetTHE BOMA PROJECT INC: $560,514 over 2y, 2.6% of budgetTHE SURVIVOR FUND: $549,000 over 4y, 87% of budgetTHE CHILDREN'S AID SOCIETY: $500,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetACTIVATE GLOBAL INC: $500,000 over 2y, 1.4% of budgetTHE CONSERVATION FUND A NONPROFIT CORPORATION: $500,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetFUND FOR PUBLIC HOUSING INC: $420,000 over 2y, 4.1% of budgetWEST SIDE CENTER FOR COMMUNITY LIFE: $350,000 over 3y, 1.3% of budgetPROJECT RENEWAL INC: $350,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetINTERNATIONAL REFUGEE ASSISTANCE PROJECT INC: $325,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetNATIONAL NETWORK OF ABORTION FUNDS INC: $300,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetNATIVE RENEWABLES INC: $300,000 over 1y, 6.5% of budgetThe New York Public Library Astor Lenox and Tilden Foundations: $300,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetEARTH MATTER NY INC: $300,000 over 1y, 28% of budgetABORTION CARE NETWORK: $300,000 over 3y, 1.5% of budgetNONTRADITIONAL EMPLOYMENT FOR WOMEN: $300,000 over 1y, 7.7% of budgetDOULA PROGRAM TO ACCOMPANY AND COMFORT INC: $270,000 over 4y, 27% 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 Hyde and Watson F…Lily Auchincloss Foun…Pinkerton FoundationPatagoniaorgRobin Hood FoundationCity Parks Foundation…The New York Communit…Brooklyn Community Fo…The Schmidt Family Fo…Amalgamated Charitabl…Freedom Together Foun…The Jm Kaplan Fund Inc
The Hyde and Watson FoundationNJ27.7× affinity12 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Hyde and Watson Foundation · Lily Auchincloss Foundation Inc · Pinkerton Foundation · Patagoniaorg · Robin Hood Foundation · City Parks Foundation Inc · The New York Community Trust · Brooklyn Community Foundation · The Schmidt Family Foundation · Amalgamated Charitable Foundation Inc · Freedom Together Foundation · The Jm Kaplan Fund 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 Essex Avenue Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Essex Avenue Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 80%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 16%
  • The Coral Restoration Foundation Inc: 16% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
8get no government money at all
24report 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.
05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to The Essex Avenue Foundation?

Find your warmest path to The Essex Avenue Foundation through trustees and officers whose names appear on both boards. Search for your organization and Plinth traces the shortest route it can evidence.

Each link is a name appearing on two organizations’ public IRS 990 filings, matched on that name and, where the filings support it, on location. A same-state match has geographic support, which is a second matching feature rather than confirmation that the two are one person; a cross-state one is the likeliest to be two people who share a name. Every hop shows its tier, low-confidence and distant paths are held back rather than guessed, and it is worth confirming the person before you use the introduction.

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 85 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 Essex Avenue’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