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The Knowledge Freedom Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Knowledge Freedom Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$361k
Granted FY2025still arriving
30
Grants FY2025still arriving
11
States reached
$78k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0195% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2024.

International$1.2MReligion$464kFood & Nutrition$286kHuman Services$264kEducation$92kEnvironment$78kHealth$57kScience & Tech$45kOther$0
02FY2025 · 30 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k20 grants · $79k
  • $10k–50k7 grants · $105k
  • $50k–250k3 grants · $178k
$5,200
Median grant
11
States reached
$1.6M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
GIVEWELL$78,000
1INFINITELIFE$50,000
GIVE DIRECTLY$50,000
MALARIA CONSORTIUM$25,000
HELEN KELLER INTERNATIONAL$25,000
NEW INCENTIVES$12,500
HUMANITY'S TEAM$12,000
ALAMEDA COUNTY COMMUNITY FOOD BANK$10,000
MEDS & FOOD FOR KIDS$10,000
MATTHEW 25 MINISTRIES$10,000
Individual grant recipient$7,200
TEMPLE BETH EI$7,200
CHOCHMAT HALEV$7,200
URBAN ADAMAH$7,200
ADAMAH$5,200
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 (FY20–25, $122k) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 93% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%PEACE IN SCHOOLS: $5k → 12%PEACE IN SCHOOLS: $5k → 12%HOLT INTERNATIONAL: $12k → 15%HUMANITY'S TEAM: $30k → 12%PEACE IN SCHOOLS: $4k → 12%HOLT INTERNATIONAL: $12k → 15%HUMANITY'S TEAM: $12k → 12%PEACE IN SCHOOLS: $2k → 12%HUMANITY'S TEAM: $5k → 12%BAY AREA FRIENDSHIP CIRCLE: $4k → 8%HOLT INTERNATIONAL: $10k → 15%HUMANITY'S TEAM: $5k → 12%BAY AREA FRIENDSHIP CIRCLE: $4k → 8%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $5k → 14%HUMANITY'S TEAM: $2k → 12%WORLD FOOD PROGRAM: $5k → 14%BAY AREA FRIENDSHIP CIRCLE: $1k → 8%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

WA
MN
IL
NY
MA
OR
IA
IN
OH
PA
CT
CA
CO
MO
VA
KS
AR
NC
DC
HI
AL
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.

89%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$2.7M · 55 repeat orgs$325k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +29% since the first grant, against +2% for those funded once.

55 repeat relationships: 22 still active in FY2025, 33 since wound down; 8 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

55
37

Total granted

$2.7M
$309k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+29%
+2%

Still filing today

71%
57%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 96% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $16k went to new ones.

50%100%’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’20’21’22’23’24’25
InternationalHuman ServicesHealthReligionEnvironmentFood & 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

  • TC
    THE CLEAR FUND
    6× · 2020–2025 · $477k · revenue +130%
  • MC
    MALARIA CONSORTIUM US INC
    5× · 2021–2025 · $113k · revenue +52%
  • ALAMEDA COUNTY COMMUNITY FOOD BANK
    6× · 2020–2025 · $77k · revenue +39%

Funded once

  • CI
    CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF INTEGRAL STUDIES
    one grant, 2023 · $50k · revenue -12%
  • NU
    Naropa University
    one grant, 2023 · $40k · revenue +22%
  • BF
    BERKELEY FOOD AND HOUSING
    one grant, 2022 · $36k
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
Actionaid Usa

Actionaid is an international network building a just, equitable, and sustainable world in solidarity with communities on the frontlines of poverty and injustice. actionaid usa is the u.s. branch of actionaid international, which works in…

Social Science
2
International Medical Corps

To save lives & relieve suffering through health interventions & related activities that strengthen communities affected by conflict, natural disasters & disease outbreaks.

International
3
Pathfinder International

Pathfinder expands access to sexual and reproductive health services, opening the door to opportunities for women and all individuals to thrive-economically, educationally, and civically. driven by our country-led leadership and local…

International
4
International Aids Vaccine Initiative Inc

A global nonprofit biomedical research organization that develops vaccines and antibodies for hiv, tuberculosis, and emerging infectious diseases.

International
5
Rainforest Alliance Inc

RA works at the intersection of business, agriculture & forests to improve lives & protect nature by transforming how land is used, production of goods & consumer choices.

—
6
Fajr Scientific

To provide multi-specialty surgical care, humanitarian aid and educational support to people in low- and middle-income countries.

Science & Tech
7
The One Campaign

The ONE Campaign ("ONE") continued its work to educate and raise awareness among the public, media and policymakers around the world about the importance of official development assistance and international programs that (Continued on…

Unclassified
8
Alight

Alight builds a meaningful life for and with the displaced. not simply addressing basic needs, but building a life filled with joy, dignity, connection, and purpose. we walk with them along their entire journey of displacement and deliver…

International
9
Project Hope - the People-to-People Health Foundation Inc

To conduct and support programs and activities aimed at solving some of the world's greatest public health challenges, with a specific focus on enabling health workers to have the greatest possible impact on the health of the people they…

International
10
Rainforest Alliance Holding Inc

RA works at the intersection of business, agriculture & forests to improve lives & protect nature by transforming how land is used, production of goods & consumer choices.

Environment
11
Management Sciences for Health Inc

(msh) saves lives and improves the health of the world's poorest (see schedule o) and most vulnerable people by closing the gap between knowledge and action in public health.

International
12
Health in Harmony

Health in Harmony's mission is to reverse tropical rainforest deforestation for planetary health.

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Map International Inc; the most unlike its peers is 1INFINITELIFE. 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

65 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

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 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 65 of the 101 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.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
10
Early backer (in before they grew)
65/65
Grantees still filing
39/65
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

NEW INCENTIVES: $162,500 · InternationalNEW INCENTIVESHELEN KELLER INTERNATIONAL: $87,500 · InternationalHELEN KELLER INTERNATIONA…Matthew 25 Ministries Inc: $72,800 · InternationalMatthew 25 Ministries IncMEDS & FOOD FOR KIDS: $65,400 · InternationalMEDS & FOOD FOR KIDSMAP International Inc: $48,800 · InternationalMAP International IncHEART TO HEART INTERNATIONAL INC: $44,800 · InternationalHEART TO HEART INTERNATIO…Kids Alive International Inc: $34,200 · InternationalAMERICARES FOUNDATION INC: $33,600 · InternationalSave The Children Federation Inc: $30,000 · InternationalDIRECT RELIEF: $28,200 · InternationalPALESTINE CHILDREN'S RELIEF FUND: $27,000 · International+5 more: $38,880 · International+5 moreTHE CLEAR FUND: $476,500 · PhilanthropyTHE CLEAR FUNDTHE BLACK BELT COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $20,840 · Philanthropy+1 more: $2,500 · PhilanthropyALAMEDA COUNTY COMMUNITY FOOD BANK: $77,000 · OtherALAMEDA COUNTY COMMUNITY FO…Naropa University: $39,600 · OtherNaropa UniversityBERKELEY FOOD AND HOUSING: $36,000 · OtherSAN FRANCISCO FOOD BANK: $33,500 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $28,800 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $26,000 · OtherUrban Adamah: $29,800 · OtherMEALS ON WHEELS OF ALAMEDA COUNTY: $48,600 · OtherMEALS ON WHEELS OF ALAMEDA …EQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE: $26,840 · OtherINSTITUTE OF NOETIC SCIENCES: $29,800 · Other+48 more: $358,397 · Other+48 more1INFINITELIFE: $354,000 · Education1INFINITELIFECALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF INTEGRAL STUDIES: $49,500 · EducationCALIFORNIA INST…+1 more: $3,000 · EducationGIVEDIRECTLY INC: $256,500 · Human ServicesGIVEDIRECTLY I…HUMANITY'S TEAM: $54,200 · Human ServicesHUMANITY'S TEA…HOLT INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN'S SERVICES INC: $34,000 · Human ServicesHOLT INTERNATI…PEACE IN SCHOOLS: $15,400 · Human Services+4 more: $20,280 · Human ServicesMALARIA CONSORTIUM US INC: $112,500 · HealthMALARIA C…The Against Malaria Foundation: $75,000 · HealthThe Again…SIGHTSAVERS INC: $25,000 · HealthSIGHTSAVE…SIGHT SAVERS OF AMERICA INC: $25,000 · HealthSIGHT SAV…SYRIAN AMERICAN MEDICAL SOCIETY FOUNDATION: $12,000 · Health+2 more: $6,080 · HealthCHOCHMAT HALEV: $31,760 · ReligionThe Center for Integral Wisdom: $26,040 · ReligionScience and Nonduality: $16,200 · ReligionADAMAH INC: $5,200 · ReligionTHE RABBI SACKS LEGACY CORP: $3,600 · ReligionChadeish Yameinu: $3,600 · Religion
International$673,680Philanthropy$499,840Other$734,337Education$406,500Human Services$380,380Health$255,580Religion$86,400

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 CLEAR FUND: $476,500 over 6y, 0.1% of budget1INFINITELIFE: $354,000 over 4y, 100% of budgetGIVEDIRECTLY INC: $256,500 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetNEW INCENTIVES: $162,500 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetMALARIA CONSORTIUM US INC: $112,500 over 5y, 0.6% of budgetHELEN KELLER INTERNATIONAL: $87,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetALAMEDA COUNTY COMMUNITY FOOD BANK: $77,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetThe Against Malaria Foundation: $75,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMatthew 25 Ministries Inc: $72,800 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetMEDS & FOOD FOR KIDS: $65,400 over 6y, 0.4% of budgetHUMANITY'S TEAM: $54,200 over 5y, 2.0% of budgetCALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF INTEGRAL STUDIES: $49,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMAP International Inc: $48,800 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetMEALS ON WHEELS OF ALAMEDA COUNTY: $48,600 over 3y, 0.9% of budgetHEART TO HEART INTERNATIONAL INC: $44,800 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetNaropa University: $39,600 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetKids Alive International Inc: $34,200 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetHOLT INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN'S SERVICES INC: $34,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICARES FOUNDATION INC: $33,600 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSAN FRANCISCO FOOD BANK: $33,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetCHOCHMAT HALEV: $31,760 over 6y, 1.4% of budgetSave The Children Federation Inc: $30,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetUrban Adamah: $29,800 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetINSTITUTE OF NOETIC SCIENCES: $29,800 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetDIRECT RELIEF: $28,200 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetPALESTINE CHILDREN'S RELIEF FUND: $27,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetEQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE: $26,840 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetThe Center for Integral Wisdom: $26,040 over 2y, 3.9% of budgetSIGHTSAVERS INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSIGHT SAVERS OF AMERICA INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetFeeding America: $23,175 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetTHE BLACK BELT COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $20,840 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetWilderness Torah: $20,280 over 4y, 1.1% of budgetSHOWING UP FOR RACIAL JUSTICE EDUCATION FUND INC: $19,440 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetScience and Nonduality: $16,200 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND INCORPORATED: $16,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetThe American Himalayan Foundation: $15,480 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetPEACE IN SCHOOLS: $15,400 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetNATIONAL NETWORK OF ABORTION FUNDS INC: $15,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSYRIAN AMERICAN MEDICAL SOCIETY FOUNDATION: $12,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetInternational Rescue Committee INC: $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetESALEN INSTITUTE: $9,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBAY AREA FRIENDSHIP CIRCLE: $8,280 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetAssociation of Ramaytush Ohlone: $7,500 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetGaia Passages: $5,400 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetNEW JEWISH NARRATIVE INC: $5,400 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetRAINFOREST TRUST: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMAUI FOOD BANK INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% 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.

Jewish Community Foun…Jewish Community Fede…Tides FoundationSilicon Valley Commun…Marin Community Found…ImpactassetsincRsf Social Finance IncGs Donor Advised Phil…WK Kellogg FoundationNational Philanthropi…American Endowment Fo…Vanguard Charitable E…
Jewish Community Foundation of Los AngelesCA16.1× affinity6 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles · Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco the Peninsula Marin & Sonoma · Tides Foundation · Silicon Valley Community Foundation · Marin Community Foundation · Impactassetsinc · Rsf Social Finance Inc · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · WK Kellogg Foundation · National Philanthropic Trust · American Endowment Foundation · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 50%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%10%20%30%40%share of the org’s income from government →median 30%
  • Save the Children Federation Inc: 30% of income from government
  • Americares Foundation Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
5get no government money at all
7report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–40%
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 101 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 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Knowledge Freedom’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