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The Morning Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Morning Foundation

Its FY2023 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$1k
Granted FY2022
3
Grants FY2022
1
States reached
$1k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0195% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2022.

Arts & Culture$24kReligion$2kPhilanthropy$1kHuman Services$900Education$750Health$500Youth Development$250Recreation & Sports$100Other$0
02FY2022 · 3 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$110
Median grant
1
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
THE ART SHOW CO HENRY STREET SETTLEMENT$1,000
METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART$110
FRIENDS OF DAG HAMMARSKJOLD PLAZA$100
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 (FY17–18, $900) land where the poverty rate runs at 16%, against an area that typically sits at 13%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 13%ZERO TO THREE: $500 → 14%HENRY STREET SETTLEMENT: $400 → 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.
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.

71%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$21k · 8 repeat orgs$9k to everyone else

8 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2022, 7 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2022 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

8
15

Total granted

$21k
$7k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+32%
+38%

Still filing today

63%
60%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2022, 9% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $1k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22
Arts & CultureEducationHuman ServicesRecreation & SportsHealthOther
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

  • SO
    SPHINX ORGANIZATION INC
    3× · 2017–2019 · $6k · revenue +32%
  • MM
    METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART
    4× · 2019–2022 · $2k · revenue +76%
  • WF
    WIKIMEDIA FOUNDATION INC
    2× · 2018–2019 · $250 · revenue +102%

Funded once

  • MT
    MANHATTAN THEATRE
    one grant, 2018 · $3k
  • CI
    CHASHAMA INCgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $1k · revenue +68%
  • TH
    THEATER HALL OF FAME INC
    one grant, 2018 · $600
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
Museum of the City of New York

The museum of the city of new york fosters understanding of the distinctive nature of urban life in the world's most influential metropolis. it engages visitors by celebrating, documenting, and interpreting the city's past, present, and…

Arts & Culture
2
The Neue Galerie New York
Arts & Culture
3
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

See schedule osfmoma believes the art of our time is vital and shares it with passion and purpose, and that art and the creative process can open minds and help build a better world. for that reason, we assemble unparalleled collections,…

Arts & Culture
4
The Studio Museum in Harlem

The studio museum in harlem is a contemporary art museum that focuses on the work of artists of african descent - as well as work that has been inspired and influenced by african culture - past and present; through its exhibitions,…

Arts & Culture
5
The Young Men's and Young Women's Hebrew Association

For over 150 years, the 92nd street y, new york has been serving its communities and the larger world by bringing people together (continued on schedule o)and providing exceptional, groundbreaking programs in the performing and visual…

Religion
6
Municipal Art Society of New York

The municipal art society of new york (mas) lifts up the voices of the people in the debates that shape new york's built environment and leads the way to a more livable city from sidewalk to skyline. mas envisions a future in which all new…

Arts & Culture
7
Berggruen Institute
Education
8
Solomon R Guggenheim Foundation

Committed to innovation, the solomon r. guggenheim foundation (the "foundation") collects, (continued on schedule o)

Arts & Culture
9
The Paley Center for Media

Description of organization mission: the paley center for media is the premier institution dedicated to advancing the understanding of media-it's artistic value, social impact and historical importance-for the public and media…

Arts & Culture
10
Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts

Deeply rooted in our local beverly hills community and influenced by cultural change, the wallis annenberg center for the performing arts, a public-private partnership with the city of beverly hills, strives to be a site for the…

Arts & Culture
11
Amigos Del Museo Del Barrio Inc El Museo Del Barrio

El museo's mission is to preserve, interpret, and promote the artistic heritage of puerto ricans and all latin americans in the united states by means of exhibitions, public programs, publications, and educational activities.

Arts & Culture
12
American Museum of the Moving Image

See schedule omuseum of the moving image (momi) is the only museum in the u.s. that explores the central technology of the present moment.screens are all around us. we use them to educate, entertain, and communicate. the moving…

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Henry Street Settlement; the most unlike its peers is Poster House 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

17 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. 17 of the 26 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)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
16/17
Grantees still filing
12/17
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

The Carnegie Hall Society Inc: $10,000 · OtherThe Carnegie Hall Society IncMANHATTAN THEATRE: $2,500 · OtherMANHATTAN THEATRETHE RIVERSIDE CHURCH: $1,750 · OtherTHE RIVERSIDE CHURCHTHE ART SHOW CO HENRY STREET SETTLEMENT: $1,000 · OtherTHE ART SHOW CO HENRY STREET SETTLEMENTNYPL: $750 · OtherTHEATER HALL OF FAME INC: $600 · Other+4 more: $950 · Other+4 moreSPHINX ORGANIZATION INC: $5,500 · Arts & CultureSPHINX ORGANIZATION INCMETROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART: $1,786 · Arts & CultureMETROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ARTCHASHAMA INC: $1,030 · Arts & CultureCHASHAMA INCBROOKLYN ARTS COUNCIL INC: $400 · Arts & CultureNEW YORK PUBLIC RADIO: $400 · Arts & Culture+4 more: $191 · Arts & CultureCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF GREATER FLINT: $1,000 · PhilanthropyZERO TO THREE NATIONAL CENTER FOR INFANTS TODDLERS AND FAMILIES: $500 · Human ServicesHENRY STREET SETTLEMENT: $400 · Human ServicesWILBERFORCE UNIVERSITY WILBERFORCE UNIVERSITY: $500 · EducationWIKIMEDIA FOUNDATION INC: $250 · EducationNORTHWELL HEALTH FOUNDATION: $500 · HealthFRIENDS OF DAG HAMMARSKJOLD PLAZA INC: $100 · Recreation & Sports
Other$17,550Arts & Culture$9,307Philanthropy$1,000Human Services$900Education$750Health$500Recreation & Sports$100

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 budgetSPHINX ORGANIZATION INC: $5,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMETROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART: $1,786 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCHASHAMA INC: $1,030 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF GREATER FLINT: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetZERO TO THREE NATIONAL CENTER FOR INFANTS TODDLERS AND FAMILIES: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNORTHWELL HEALTH FOUNDATION: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWILBERFORCE UNIVERSITY WILBERFORCE UNIVERSITY: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBROOKLYN ARTS COUNCIL INC: $400 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHENRY STREET SETTLEMENT: $400 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNEW YORK PUBLIC RADIO: $400 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWIKIMEDIA FOUNDATION INC: $250 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFRIENDS OF DAG HAMMARSKJOLD PLAZA INC: $100 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetMANHATTAN GRAPHICS CENTER INC DBA MGC Community Print Studio: $100 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPOSTER HOUSE INC: $55 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFILM FORUM INC: $25 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSHED NYC INC: $11 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.

American Online Givin…Fidelity Investments …Donor Advised Charita…Amazonsmile Foundation
American Online Giving Foundation IncDE6.2× affinity4 shared granteesties to 3 of 3Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · 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 Morning Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Morning Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%15%30%45%60%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    2report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–60%
    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 Morning Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to The Morning 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 26 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 2022, released 2022. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2023) is on record and reports no grant expense, so the figures above are from FY2022, the most recent year this funder made grants.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Morning’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