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The Narayanan Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Narayanan Family 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.

$241k
Granted FY2025still arriving
16
Grants FY2025still arriving
6
States reached
$45k
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, FY2017 to 2025.

Education$392kEnvironment$273kScience & Tech$190kRecreation & Sports$132kArts & Culture$47kCommunity Improvement$40kInternational$32kSocial Science$30kOther$0
02FY2025 · 16 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k7 grants · $31k
  • $10k–50k9 grants · $210k
$10,000
Median grant
6
States reached
$7.1M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
IIT MADRAS FOUNDATION$45,000
ASHOKA TRUST FOR RESEARCH IN ECOLOGY AND THE ENVIR$40,000
INSTITUTE FOR FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND RESEARCH$30,000
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN FOUNDATION$25,000
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY FOUNDATION$20,000
MUSEUM OF ART AND PHOTOGRAPHY FOUNDATION INC$15,000
ASHOKA TRUST FOR RESEARCH IN ECOLOGY AND THE ENVIR$15,000
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE FOUNDATION$10,000
BLACK LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS NETWORK$10,000
NUDGE FOUNDATION$8,000
SWATALEEM USA CORPORATION$7,000
WXLA INC$5,000
INCLUSIVE WORLD$3,000
BHARATA DANCE & ALLIED ARTS$3,000
WRITERS GROTTO$2,500
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 (FY21–25, $190k) land where the poverty rate runs at 8%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%IIT MADRAS FOUNDATION: $90k → 8%IIT MADRAS FOUNDATION: $45k → 8%IIT MADRAS FOUNDATION: $30k → 8%IIT MADRAS FOUNDATION: $25k → 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

IL
WI
NY
MA
CA
DC
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.
$1.1M · 20 repeat orgs$99k to everyone else

20 repeat relationships: 14 still active in FY2025, 6 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

20
7

Total granted

$1.1M
$89k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

0%
+753%

Still filing today

75%
57%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 96% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $10k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
EnvironmentEducationArts & CultureRecreation & SportsCommunity ImprovementHuman ServicesOther
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

  • IM
    IIT MADRAS FOUNDATION
    4× · 2021–2025 · $190k · revenue +289%
  • UO
    UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY FOUNDATION
    8× · 2017–2025 · $120k · revenue +189%
  • TN
    The Nudge Foundation
    4× · 2022–2025 · $32k · revenue +41%

Funded once

  • II
    Indian Inst of Tech Madras via IIT Madras Fdn
    one grant, 2020 · $40k
  • FF
    FOUNDATION FOR EXCELLENCE INCgraduated
    one grant, 2024 · $22k · revenue +46%
  • DO
    DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA GREEN SPACES ALLIANCE INCgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $10k · revenue +64%
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
Nalanda 20

Improve excellence and access in higher education. Current focus is on India. Thus, Nalanda 2.0's current focus is to make India's higher education system world-class by building a world-class multidisciplinary research university,…

Education
2
Us-India Policy Institute

Us-india policy institute (usipi)undertaking policy research on diversity and inclusive developments in india and the usa. usipis vision for equal access to freedom,justice, and opportunity in india rests on its three pillars; research &…

Arts & Culture
3
India Awareness Foundation Inc

Public education

Education
4
Iisc Foundation

The specific purpose, mission, and activity of the corporation is to secure funding for promoting education, research, technology development, startup incubation, acceleration, and translational research at the indian institute of science…

Education
5
Iit Delhi Endowment Fund Us

To grant funds solely to the indian institute of technology delhi for charitable purposes to their endowment fund to support their instructional and research objectives.

Education
6
Wadhwani Institute for Artificial Intelligence Foundation
Science & Tech
7
Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles

Devoted to a greater appreciation of indian cinema and culture by showcasing films, supporting emerging filmmakers, and promoting the diverse perspectives of the indian diaspora.

Arts & Culture
8
South India Fine Arts

To promote and develp south indian fine arts

—
9
Iit Roorkee Foundation Inc

Receives donation for funding & establishing scholarships,promoting reserch & development, ecxellence in education, teaching & other related tax exempt activities

Philanthropy
10
Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur Foundation

The specific purposes for which the Foundation is organized are to fund and promote overall betterment of Indian Institute Of Technology,Kanpur and its students,faculty and alumni body.

Education
11
Iit (Bhu) Foundation Inc

The foundation is a u.s. "friends of" entity formed by individuals who wish to advance and support the work of the indian institute of technology (banaras hindu university, "iit (bhu)"), a public technical and research university located…

Education
12
The Desai Foundation
Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Landscape Architecture Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Bharata Dance & Allied Arts. 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

21 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. 21 of the 28 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)
6
Early backer (in before they grew)
20/21
Grantees still filing
10/21
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY FOUNDATION: $120,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNI…UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN FOUNDATION: $100,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN…FOUNDATION FOR EXCELLENCE INC: $22,000 · EducationFOUNDATION FOR EXCELLEN…+1 more: $4,000 · EducationINSTITUTE FOR FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND RESEARCH: $55,000 · OtherINSTITUTE FOR FINANCIAL MA…Indian Inst of Tech Madras via IIT Madras Fdn: $40,000 · OtherIndian Inst of Tech Madras…CARE EARTH: $31,000 · OtherCARE EARTHBUILD PUBLIC INC: $30,000 · OtherBUILD PUBLIC INCASHOKA TRUST FOR RESEARCH IN ECOLOGY AND THE ENVIR: $30,000 · OtherASHOKA TRUST FOR RESEARCH …SWATALEEM USA CORPORATION: $17,000 · OtherSWATALEEM USA CORPORATIONThe Nudge Foundation: $32,000 · OtherThe Nudge FoundationWXLA INC: $15,000 · OtherWXLA INCLANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE FOUNDATION: $10,000 · Other+4 more: $16,000 · Other+4 moreAshoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment Inc: $108,000 · EnvironmentAshoka Trust for R…BLACK LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS NETWORK: $65,000 · EnvironmentBLACK LANDSCAPE AR…THE CENTER FOR THE LIVING CITY: $10,000 · EnvironmentDISTRICT OF COLUMBIA GREEN SPACES ALLIANCE INC: $10,000 · EnvironmentIIT MADRAS FOUNDATION: $190,000 · Human ServicesIIT MADRAS FOUNDAT…SAN FRANCISCO PARKS ALLIANCE: $126,800 · Recreation & SportsSAN FRANCISC…FOUNDATION FOR PROMOTION OF SPORTS AND GAMES: $5,000 · Recreation & SportsPRATHAM USA: $110,000 · PhilanthropyPRATHAM US…MUSEUM OF ART & PHOTOGRAPHY FOUNDATION INC: $30,000 · Arts & CultureBHARATA DANCE & ALLIED ARTS: $12,000 · Arts & CultureTHE WRITERS GROTTO: $5,000 · Arts & Culture
Education$246,000Other$276,000Environment$193,000Human Services$190,000Recreation & Sports$131,800Philanthropy$110,000Arts & Culture$47,000

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 budgetIIT MADRAS FOUNDATION: $190,000 over 4y, 0.9% of budgetSAN FRANCISCO PARKS ALLIANCE: $126,800 over 6y, 0.5% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY FOUNDATION: $120,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetPRATHAM USA: $110,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetAshoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment Inc: $108,000 over 3y, 2.1% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN FOUNDATION: $100,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetBLACK LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS NETWORK: $65,000 over 5y, 28% of budgetThe Nudge Foundation: $32,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetMUSEUM OF ART & PHOTOGRAPHY FOUNDATION INC: $30,000 over 2y, 2.2% of budgetFOUNDATION FOR EXCELLENCE INC: $22,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetSWATALEEM USA CORPORATION: $17,000 over 2y, 4.1% of budgetWXLA INC: $15,000 over 3y, 20% of budgetBHARATA DANCE & ALLIED ARTS: $12,000 over 4y, 3.4% of budgetTHE CENTER FOR THE LIVING CITY: $10,000 over 2y, 4.5% of budgetTHE WRITERS GROTTO: $5,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetFOUNDATION FOR PROMOTION OF SPORTS AND GAMES: $5,000 over 1y, 4.4% of budgetINCLUSIVE WORLD: $4,500 over 2y, 1.3% of budgetFAMILY EQUALITY: $4,000 over 2y, 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.

The Goldman Sachs Cha…Gs Donor Advised Phil…National Philanthropi…Charities Aid Foundat…Morgan Stanley Global…American Online Givin…Vanguard Charitable E…American Endowment Fo…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
The Goldman Sachs Charitable Gift FundNY12.3× affinity4 shared granteesties to 10 of 10Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Goldman Sachs Charitable Gift Fund · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · Charities Aid Foundation America · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · American Endowment Foundation · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · 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 Narayanan Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Narayanan Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 30%2%8%17%30%funder's share of their income ↑0%3%5%8%10%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    3get 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
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–10%
    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 Narayanan Family Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to The Narayanan Family 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 28 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 Narayanan Family’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