Skip to content
Plinth

· Private foundation

The Fine Fund

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$282k
Granted FY2024still arriving
25
Grants FY2024still arriving
9
States reached
$30k
Largest
01What you fund
01100% classified

What you funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year — across FY20172024.

Environment$983kEducation$177kPhilanthropy$171kPublic Benefit$140kCivil Rights$130kHealth$100kArts & Culture$37kInternational$23kOther$0
02FY2024 · 25 grants

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k9 grants · $29k
  • $10k–50k16 grants · $253k
$10,000
Median grant
9
States reached
$3.3M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
NEW WORLD FOUNDATION$30,000
SUSTAINABLE MARKETS FOUNDATION$30,000
Individual grant recipient$25,000
WEST VIRGINIA RIVERS COALITION$20,000
NEW WORLD FOUNDATION$20,000
COMING CLEAN$20,000
CENTER FOR POLITICAL ECOLOGY$15,000
GENERATION COMMON GOOD$13,000
HABITABLE$10,000
HEALTH CARE WITHOUT HARM$10,000
TOXIC-FREE FUTURE$10,000
JUST TRANSITION ALLIANCE$10,000
SILENT SPRING INSTITUTE$10,000
ORION SOCIETY$10,000
DEPLOYUS$10,000
02The need
03

Do your dollars go where the need is?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, then read against the area’s typical level.

show:

Dollar for dollar, your grants (FY17–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 84% of your dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of your grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%SILENT SPRING INSTITUTE: $10k → 8%PROTEUS FUND: $10k → 12%SUSTAINABLE MARKETS FOUNDATION: $30k → 12%DEPLOYUS: $10k → 16%UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO: $25k → 10%JUST TRANSITION ALLIANCE: $10k → 11%SUSTAINABLE MARKETS FOUNDATION: $30k → 17%POTENTIAL ENERGY COALITION: $10k → 28%SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH NETWORK: $10k → 17%WEST VIRGINIA RIVERS COALITION: $20k → 18%PUBLIC DEMOCRACY AMERICA: $20k → 6%VIRGINIA ORGANIZING: $10k → 8%COURT ACCOUNTABILITY: $25k → 9%COMING CLEAN: $20k → 11%DEFEND OUR HEALTH: $15k → 7%SILENT SPRING INSTITUTE: $10k → 8%PROTEUS FUND: $10k → 12%ORION SOCIETY: $10k → 12%UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO: $25k → 10%SUSTAINABLE MARKETS FOUNDATION: $30k → 17%WEST VIRGINIA RIVERS COALITION: $20k → 18%HEALTH CARE WITHOUT HARM: $15k → 6%GLOBAL IMPACT: $15k → 9%COMING CLEAN: $20k → 11%DEFEND OUR HEALTH: $15k → 7%UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO: $20k → 10%SUSTAINABLE MARKETS FOUNDATION: $30k → 17%COMING CLEAN: $20k → 11%ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH STRATEGY CENTER: $15k → 7%UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO: $11k → 10%CLEAN FUTURES PROJECT (SPONSOR SUSTAINABLE MARKETS FOUNDATION): $30k → 17%COMING CLEAN: $20k → 11%SUSTAINABLE MARKETS FOUNDATION: $15k → 17%HEALTHY BUILDING NETWORK: $20k → 14%COMING CLEAN INC: $20k → 11%SUSTAINABLE MARKETS FOUNDATION: $15k → 17%COMING CLEAN INC: $20k → 11%COMING CLEAN: $20k → 11%TRUSTEES OF BOSTON UNIVERSITY: $25k → 16%ESSENTIAL INFORMATION: $30k → 14%TRUSTEES OF BOSTON UNIVERSITY: $25k → 16%ESSENTIAL INFORMATION: $25k → 14%ESSENTIAL INFORMATION: $20k → 14%ESSENTIAL INFORMATION: $20k → 14%NEW WORLD FOUNDATION: $30k → 17%ESSENTIAL INFORMATION: $20k → 14%NEW WORLD FOUNDATION: $20k → 17%GENERATION COMMON GOOD: $13k → 14%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount

Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty linein the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP; grantee ZIP can differ from where services are delivered.

Which US states your grants reach

ME
VT
NH
WA
MT
NY
MA
WY
IA
PA
CT
CA
WV
VA
MD
NC
DC

US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are actually delivered. Need from public data — U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA — shown as context about the area, never attributed to your giving.

03Your edge
repeat funding

Who you back again

Which organizations you funded more than once, and which you funded a single time. Each grantee is matched to its own filings.

85%of every dollar goes to organizations you’ve funded before.
$1.4M · 31 repeat orgs$237k to everyone else

And the relationships you keep tend to grow: grantees you re-up on have seen median revenue of +45% since the first grant, against +2% for the ones you funded once.

31 repeat relationships — 15 still active in FY2024, 16 since wound down; 5 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

31
24

Total granted

$1.4M
$181k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+45%
+2%

Still filing today

94%
58%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 76% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $56k 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
EnvironmentCommunity ImprovementEducationPublic Safety & DisasterHealthArts & CultureOther

First-time = a grantee’s first year in your filing window; renewed = funded in an earlier year too. As a portfolio matures the renewed share naturally climbs — once funded, an org stays “renewable” — so the signal is the years that buck it (a new-grantee intake wave). 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

  • CC
    COMING CLEAN INC
    8× · 2017–2024 · $180k · revenue +244%
  • SM
    SUSTAINABLE MARKETS FOUNDATION
    5× · 2017–2024 · $155k · revenue +270%
  • EI
    ESSENTIAL INFORMATION INC
    6× · 2018–2023 · $120k · revenue +17%

Funded once

  • CF
    CLEAN FUTURES PROJECT (SPONSOR SUSTAINABLE MARKETS FOUNDATION)
    one grant, 2023 · $30k
  • PD
    PUBLIC DEMOCRACY AMERICA
    one grant, 2022 · $20k · revenue -19%
  • Potential Energy Coalition Incgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $10k · revenue +45%

Repeat = funded in two or more distinct years; growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Your field

The map has a center of gravity: the average direction from the rest of the sector toward the organizations the foundation funds — the shape of its giving. Scoring every nonprofit along that direction surfaces the ones that look most like the portfolio. These are the closest matchesthat aren’t grantees — a resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
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
2
CarbonPlan

Improving the transparency and scientific integrity of climate solutions through open data and tools.

Environment
3
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
4
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
5
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
6
E3G Third Generation Environmentalism

E3g is a leading international not-for-profit think tank specialising in climate diplomacy harnessing expertise in the politics and economics of climate change.

Environment
7
Environmental Law Foundation

Environmental Law Foundation's (ELF) mission is to protect the environment, communities, and consumers against harmful toxics and other environmental harms. Our work consistently improves environmental quality for those most at risk by…

Crime & Legal
8
Partnership for Policy Integrity

Partnership for Policy Integrity (PFPI) uses data-driven advocacy and litigation to fight for forests, communities and the climate.

Environment
9
Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide

Educational & charitable. to provide legal and scientific information to public interest attorneys and scientists in numerous countries.

10
Climate Catalyst Inc

Climate catalyst sparks collective action to tackle the biggest climate challenges we face today: cutting emissions in heavy industries.

Environment
11
Environmental Research Center Inc

To safeguard the public from health hazards that impact families, workers, and the environment

Environment
12
Center for International Environmental Law Inc

To investigate, research, write, publish, present conferences and teach with respect to global, regional, transboundary, and comparative environmental issues and to make the findings from such activities available to the general public; to…

International

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Defend Our Health and the most unlike its peers is Highstead Foundation Inc. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.

For each theme you fund, this compares how the sector’s money is shifting with how your own giving is shifting.

← shrinkinggrowing →↓ leaning in → pulling backsteadyEnvironmental Conservation …Cancer Support ServicesWomen & Girls Leadership De…Community FoundationsCommunity FoundationsPolicy Research and AdvocacyPregnancy Support Services
the sector your giving your giving is ahead of the sector the sector’s ahead of you· dot size = how much the theme matters to each side
Ordered by the change in your giving — leaning in on top, pulling back at the bottom. The bar between the two dots is how out of step you are with the sector. Hover any row for detail.

Sector change and giving change are each shown relative to their own range, growing (right) or shrinking (left); both normalized, so inflation isn’t mistaken for growth.

Your grantees are a median of 29 years old; the field is 16. You back the established end — and your money leans older still.

THE FIELDby orgYOUR GRANTEESby number22%2%<5yr14%4%5–10yr19%17%10–20yr16%46%20–35yr13%17%35–55yr16%15%55yr+
THE FIELDby orgYOUR MONEYby value22%1%<5yr14%5%5–10yr19%18%10–20yr16%53%20–35yr13%13%35–55yr16%11%55yr+

The field is 22% startups (under 5 years old) — 2% of your grantees by number, and just 1% of your money.

Closures · last 5 years

The orgs you fund almost never close 2% lost their exemption, against 13% of the field you don’t fund.

orgs you fund
2%1/61
the rest of the field
13%
240,395/1,819,504

Age = years since IRS exemption (a founding proxy). “Closed” = auto-revocation for 3 years of non-filing — a floor on closure, not proof, and bigger established orgs lapse least. Association, not causation.

04the grantee network

59 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each one resolved to its own IRS returns and tracked year by year — your grant beside their revenue from every source. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

Counted here: distinct organizations you funded across 20172025, not grant rows in a single year — so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 59 of the 70 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile; the rest are funded organizations whose filings we could not track year by year.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
13
Early backer (in before they grew)
57/59
Grantees still filing
38/59
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

COMING CLEAN INC — $180,000 · EnvironmentCOMING CLEAN INCSUSTAINABLE MARKETS FOUNDATION — $155,000 · EnvironmentSUSTAINABLE MARKETS FOUNDATIONDEPLOYUS INC — $70,000 · EnvironmentDEPLOYUS INCDEFEND OUR HEALTH — $69,700 · EnvironmentDEFEND OUR HEALTHTHE ORION SOCIETY INC — $61,000 · EnvironmentTHE ORION SOCIETY INCCENTER FOR POLITICAL ECOLOGY — $60,000 · EnvironmentCENTER FOR POLITICAL ECOLOGYNEW VENTURE FUND — $50,000 · EnvironmentNEW VENTURE FUNDTOXIC-FREE FUTURE F/K/A WASHINGTON TOXICS COALITION — $43,500 · EnvironmentWEST VIRGINIA RIVERS COALITION INC — $40,000 · EnvironmentHEALTH CARE WITHOUT HARM — $35,000 · Environment+16 more — $125,500 · Environment+16 moreESSENTIAL INFORMATION INC — $120,000 · OtherESSENTIAL INFORMATION INCUNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO — $80,804 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN …TRUSTEES OF BOSTON UNIVERSITY — $50,000 · OtherTRUSTEES OF BOSTON UNIVERSITYCLEAN FUTURES PROJECT (SPONSOR SUSTAINABLE MARKETS FOUNDATION) — $30,000 · OtherCLEAN FUTURES PROJECT (SPONSO…Individual grant recipient — $25,000 · OtherVIRGINIA ORGANIZING INC — $35,250 · OtherVIRGINIA ORGANIZING INCCARNEGIE INSTITUTE — $25,000 · Other+20 more — $113,532 · Other+20 moreRACHEL'S NETWORK INC — $90,000 · Public Safety & DisasterRACHEL'S N…HABITABLE — $70,000 · Public Safety & DisasterHABITABLEPROTEUS FUND INC — $40,000 · EducationMassachusetts Institute of Technology — $15,000 · EducationGeneration Common Good Inc — $13,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS FOUNDATION INC — $10,000 · EducationLINCOLN INSTITUTE OF LAND POLICY — $5,000 · EducationTHE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK — $3,000 · EducationSILENT SPRING INSTITUTE INC — $80,000 · HealthBREAST CANCER PREVENTION PARTNERS — $5,000 · HealthTHE NEW WORLD FOUNDATION — $50,000 · PhilanthropyCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF JACKSON HOLE — $11,500 · PhilanthropyENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH TRUST — $2,500 · Philanthropy+3 more — $4,000 · PhilanthropyTHE PROGRAM FOR PRESERVING THE NATURAL WORLD INC — $45,000 · Animals
Environment$889,700Other$479,586Public Safety & Disaster$160,000Education$86,000Health$85,000Philanthropy$68,000Animals$45,000

Each org by its size and your share of it — top-left is where you’re load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ your share of their budgetCOMING CLEAN INC — $180,000 over 8y, 2.4% of budgetSUSTAINABLE MARKETS FOUNDATION — $155,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetESSENTIAL INFORMATION INC — $120,000 over 6y, 3.4% of budgetRACHEL'S NETWORK INC — $90,000 over 8y, 1.5% of budgetSILENT SPRING INSTITUTE INC — $80,000 over 8y, 0.6% of budgetHABITABLE — $70,000 over 6y, 0.7% of budgetDEPLOYUS INC — $70,000 over 7y, 4.0% of budgetDEFEND OUR HEALTH — $69,700 over 7y, 1.9% of budgetTHE ORION SOCIETY INC — $61,000 over 6y, 1.6% of budgetCENTER FOR POLITICAL ECOLOGY — $60,000 over 4y, 26% of budgetTRUSTEES OF BOSTON UNIVERSITY — $50,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetNEW VENTURE FUND — $50,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetTHE NEW WORLD FOUNDATION — $50,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetTHE PROGRAM FOR PRESERVING THE NATURAL WORLD INC — $45,000 over 8y, 10% of budgetTOXIC-FREE FUTURE F/K/A WASHINGTON TOXICS COALITION — $43,500 over 7y, 0.4% of budgetPROTEUS FUND INC — $40,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetWEST VIRGINIA RIVERS COALITION INC — $40,000 over 2y, 1.5% of budgetVIRGINIA ORGANIZING INC — $35,250 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetHEALTH CARE WITHOUT HARM — $35,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetCARNEGIE INSTITUTE — $25,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetPUBLIC DEMOCRACY AMERICA — $20,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetMassachusetts Institute of Technology — $15,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetGlobal Impact — $15,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGeneration Common Good Inc — $13,000 over 1y, 19% of budgetCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF JACKSON HOLE — $11,500 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetENVIRONMENTAL LEAGUE OF MASSACHUSETTS INC — $10,500 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetPotential Energy Coalition Inc — $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetScience & Environmental Health Network — $10,000 over 1y, 2.5% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS FOUNDATION INC — $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPesticide Action Network North America — $10,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetCROATAN INSTITUTE — $10,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetJUST TRANSITION ALLIANCE — $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetAMERICAN FRIENDS OF REICHMAN UNIVERSITY INC — $7,732 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES — $7,500 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetNEW ENGLAND GRASSROOTS ENVIRONMENT FUND INC — $7,500 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetCONSERVATION LAW FOUNDATION INC — $7,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMOTHERS OUT FRONT INC — $7,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTOXICS ACTION CENTER INC — $6,500 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetWOMEN'S VOICES FOR THE EARTH — $6,000 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetLINCOLN INSTITUTE OF LAND POLICY — $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPOWERSWITCH ACTION — $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBREAST CANCER PREVENTION PARTNERS — $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetKITCHEN TABLE CAMPAIGNS — $5,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetPEOPLE FOR THE AMERICAN WAY FOUNDATION — $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetNORTHEAST WILDERNESS TRUST CORPORATION — $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHIGHSTEAD FOUNDATION INC — $5,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetEMERALD NECKLACE CONSERVANCY INC — $5,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetINVEST FOR BETTER INC — $3,500 over 2y, 1.4% of budget
Go grantee by grantee — a decade per org, and how each moved after you funded them

A decade per grantee — revenue shaded, your grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

The grantmakers whose grantees overlap with yours far more than size alone predicts. Each orbits closer the stronger the alignment; the arcs between them show where they also fund each other. Here it reads as a tightly interlocked camp — most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Maine Community Foundation IncME27.5× affinity13 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Maine Community Foundation Inc · Boston Foundation Inc · Impactassetsinc · The Marisla Foundation · Park Foundation Inc · United States Energy Foundation · The John Merck Fund · Patagoniaorg · Forsythia Foundation Inc · The Passport Foundation · Cloud Mountain Foundation · Cedar Tree Foundation

Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. A research starting point: overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

Government reliance of your grantees

Every dot is one organization The Fine Fund funds. Left–right is the share of its income from government; up–down is the share from you. Bigger dots raise more. Filter to federal, a single department, or state — and drag the year to watch it move.

2024
202122232425
no gov · 100%2%8%17%30%your share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from governmentmedian 9%
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology35% of income from government
  • Mystic River Watershed Association Inc18% of income from government
  • Trustees of Boston University12% of income from government
  • Silent Spring Institute Inc12% of income from government
  • East Quabbin Land Trust Inc9% of income from government
  • Northeast Wilderness Trust Corporation2% of income from government
  • The Orion Society Inc2% of income from government
  • Emerald Necklace Conservancy Inc0% of income from government
  • Boston Foundation Inc0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
10get no government money at all
4report 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, FY2025

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 your grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first — a floor, not 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 12–24 months.

05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to The Fine Fund?

Find your warmest path to The Fine Fund 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 directly from IRS e-file XML — your own 990/990-PF and the multi-year returns of the 70 grantees we resolved across every year we hold, several hundred filings in all (a different count from the grant rows on the cover, which are one fiscal year)— each linked to its source. Grantee achievements and outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III); we read these as association with sustained funding — the foundation is one of several forces — suppress low-confidence name matches rather than guess, and say so where a figure rests on a single grant or filing. Not everything on this page is a filed figure, and the difference matters. Filed is what you reported on your 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. How we build these →

Generated from your IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

More from the funding graph