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The Filmmaker Fund at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Private foundation

The Filmmaker Fund

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.

$123k
Granted FY2024still arriving
30
Grants FY2024still arriving
7
States reached
$30k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0186% 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$230kEducation$172kPhilanthropy$80kFood & Nutrition$62kAnimals$60kScience & Tech$50kCivil Rights$48kHousing & Shelter$42kOther$0
02FY2024 · 30 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k27 grants · $73k
  • $10k–50k3 grants · $50k
$2,041
Median grant
7
States reached
$3.5M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
BROOKLYN COLLEGE$30,000
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY$10,000
COVENANT HOUSE$10,000
Individual grant recipient$5,000
ASPCA$5,000
DA LASALLE ACADEMY$5,000
PLANNED PARENTHOOD$5,000
CT HUMANE SOCIETY$5,000
CT FOOD BANK$5,000
Individual grant recipient$5,000
ASPETUCK LAND TRUST INC$4,000
TROUT UNLIMITED$2,575
WILTON LAND CONSERVATION TRUST$2,500
LOVELAND FOUNDATION$2,100
MIANUS RIVER GORGE$2,041
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 (FY18–20, $21k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 51% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants spread fairly evenly across need levels.

area typical 11%LA LUZ CENTER: $5k → 9%COURAGE CAMPAIGN INSTITUTE: $11k → 14%LA LUZ CENTER: $5k → 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

IL
NY
IN
NJ
CT
CA
UT
VA
MD
DE
DC
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.

34%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$303k · 21 repeat orgs$592k to everyone else

21 repeat relationships: 15 still active in FY2024, 6 since wound down; 15 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

21
31

Total granted

$303k
$548k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

0%
+7%

Still filing today

52%
52%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 64% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $44k 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
AnimalsPhilanthropyCivil RightsHuman ServicesArts & CultureFood & NutritionOther
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

  • Feeding America
    2× · 2021–2022 · $17k · revenue +23%
  • CF
    CONNECTICUT FOODSHARE INC
    4× · 2021–2024 · $15k · revenue +64%
  • MP
    Muddy Paws Rescue
    4× · 2021–2024 · $9k · revenue +112%

Funded once

  • TS
    The Soze Foundation Inc
    one grant, 2018 · $150k · revenue -98%
  • CM
    COS MOR IV LLC
    one grant, 2023 · $50k
  • MV
    MOLLY VS THE MACHINES
    one grant, 2023 · $50k
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
Food & Water Watch

Food & water watch conducts extensive research and public education to ensure the food and water we consume is safe, accessible and sustainably produced. so we can all enjoy and trust in what we eat and drink, we help people take charge of…

Food & Nutrition
2
Animal Outlook Inc

Animal outlook is a national animal protection organization working to end the abuse of farmed animals using a variety of strategies, including investigations, legal advocacy, corporate and food system reform, and vegan outreach.

Animals
3
Wedontwaste Inc

We Dont Waste increases food access and protects the planet by rescuing and repurposing food, while educating and advocating to increase food security and decrease food waste.

Food & Nutrition
4
Marin Humane Society

Marin humane transforms lives through exceptional animal care, humane education, and advocacy. every day, marin humane inspires compassion and positive relationships between people and animals.

Animals
5
Sustainable Conservation

Sustainable Conservation advances the collaborative stewardship of Californias land, air, and water for the benefit of nature and people. For over three decades, Sustainable Conservation has built coalitions of people with different…

Environment
6
Westchester Land Trust Inc

The primary mission of the Westchester Land Trust is to conserve, maintain and enhance the natural environment and resources of Westchester County and eastern Putnam County. The Trust acquires interests in land exhibiting important natural…

Environment
7
The Humane Society for Seattleking County

Seattle humane promotes the human-animal bond by saving and serving pets in need, regardless of age, ability, circumstance or geography.

Animals
8
Animal Care Sanctuary

Animal care sanctuary's lifesaving mission as a no kill organization envisions a community that promotes turning compassion into action for companion animals by: 1.) adopting healthy pet companions into loving homes. 2.) promoting the…

Animals
9
Land Conservancy of West Michigan

Our mission is conserving West Michigans ecologically critical land. We protect land by creating public nature preserves, providing support to communities and local governments in creating natural areas, and helping private landowners…

Environment
10
Danbury Animal Welfare Society

Danbury animal welfare society , inc.(daws) is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of animals in our community and beyond. we promote responsible pet guardianship and the humane treatment of animals, and work toward…

Animals
11
Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons Inc

THE ANIMAL RESCUE FUND OF THE HAMPTONS ACTIVELY RESCUES CATS AND DOGS, PROVIDES QUALITY CARE AND OFFERS SANCTUARY UNTIL LOVING HOMES CAN BE FOUND. ARF's work with animals, within our community and throughout the organization is guided by…

Animals
12
California Farmland Trust

The mission of the California Farmland Trust is to help farmers protect the best farmland in the world.

Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Safe & Sound; the most unlike its peers is Waldos Rescue Pen 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

34 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. 34 of the 67 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)
34/34
Grantees still filing
16/34
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

BROOKLYN COLLEGE: $70,000 · OtherBROOKLYN COLLEGEUC Regents: $60,000 · OtherUC RegentsCOS MOR IV LLC: $50,000 · OtherCOS MOR IV LLCMOLLY VS THE MACHINES: $50,000 · OtherMOLLY VS THE MACHINESJORDAN DAVIS FOUNDATION INC: $32,730 · OtherJORDAN DAVIS FOUNDATION INCCHAMPION IN THE MAKING FOUNDATION: $24,788 · OtherINDEPENDENT FILMMAKER PROJECT: $20,000 · OtherWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $20,000 · Other+38 more: $187,337 · Other+38 moreThe Soze Foundation Inc: $150,000 · Civil RightsThe Soze Foundation In…ILLUMINE SERVICE FOUNDATION INC: $25,000 · Civil RightsILLUMINE SERVICE FOUND…+1 more: $4,100 · Civil RightsGOFUNDMEORG: $30,000 · PhilanthropyREDWOOD CREDIT UNION COMMUNITY FUND INC: $10,000 · PhilanthropyMuddy Paws Rescue: $8,625 · PhilanthropySonoma Valley Education Foundation: $5,000 · Philanthropy4 Dogs Farm Rescue: $24,045 · AnimalsWaldos Rescue Pen Inc: $5,500 · AnimalsCONNECTICUT HUMANE SOCIETY: $5,000 · AnimalsTHE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS: $5,000 · AnimalsWise Animal Rescue: $4,000 · AnimalsTROUT UNLIMITED INC: $2,575 · AnimalsMIANUS RIVER GORGE INC: $2,041 · AnimalsWILDLIFE IN CRISIS INC: $2,000 · AnimalsGOD'S LOVE WE DELIVER INC: $30,000 · Food & NutritionFeeding America: $17,000 · Food & NutritionTHE BROOKLYN COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC: $25,000 · EducationDE LA SALLE ACADEMY: $5,000 · EducationCOURAGE CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE C3: $10,600 · Human ServicesLA LUZ CENTER: $10,000 · Human Services
Other$514,855Civil Rights$179,100Philanthropy$53,625Animals$50,161Food & Nutrition$47,000Education$30,000Human Services$20,600

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 budgetThe Soze Foundation Inc: $150,000 over 1y, 18% of budgetGOFUNDMEORG: $30,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetGOD'S LOVE WE DELIVER INC: $30,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetILLUMINE SERVICE FOUNDATION INC: $25,000 over 1y, 2.0% of budgetTHE BROOKLYN COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budget4 Dogs Farm Rescue: $24,045 over 1y, 5.5% of budgetWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $20,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFeeding America: $17,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCONNECTICUT FOODSHARE INC: $14,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCOURAGE CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE C3: $10,600 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetASPETUCK LAND TRUST: $10,500 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetINSPIRICA INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetREDWOOD CREDIT UNION COMMUNITY FUND INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLA LUZ CENTER: $10,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetMuddy Paws Rescue: $8,625 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetWilton Land Conservation Trust: $7,000 over 3y, 1.0% of budgetWaldos Rescue Pen Inc: $5,500 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetSan Francisco Film Society: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetHOMES WITH HOPE: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetDE LA SALLE ACADEMY: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCONNECTICUT HUMANE SOCIETY: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSonoma Valley Education Foundation: $5,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetOAKLAND CHAMBER OF COMMERCE FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetTHE LOVELAND FOUNDATION INC: $4,100 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetSAFE & SOUND: $4,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWise Animal Rescue: $4,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetTROUT UNLIMITED INC: $2,575 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMIANUS RIVER GORGE INC: $2,041 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE OPEN DOOR SHELTER INC: $2,010 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWILDLIFE IN CRISIS INC: $2,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetVOTERISE: $1,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetCONNECTICUT NEWS PROJECT INC: $512 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPRO PUBLICA INC: $250 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.

Fairfield County's Co…National Philanthropi…Ibm International Fou…Jewish Communal FundThe Pfizer Foundation…The Chicago Community…Gs Donor Advised Phil…Vanguard Charitable E…Network for GoodThe Bank of America C…Paypal Charitable Giv…Morgan Stanley Global…
Fairfield County's Community Foundation IncCT15× affinity5 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Fairfield County's Community Foundation Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · Ibm International Foundation · Jewish Communal Fund · The Pfizer Foundation Inc · The Chicago Community Trust · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Network for Good · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Paypal Charitable Giving Fund · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust 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 Filmmaker Fund funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Filmmaker Fund. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 40%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 28%
  • Inspirica Inc: 30% of income from government
  • Homes With Hope: 28% of income from government
  • Aspetuck Land Trust: 28% of income from government
  • The Open Door Shelter Inc: 14% of income from government
  • Connecticut Foodshare Inc: 5% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
4get no government money at all
5report 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 67 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 Filmmaker’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