Skip to content
The National Federation of the Blind at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

The National Federation of the Blind

Integrating the blind into society

$675k
Granted FY2025still arriving
6
Grants FY2025still arriving
6
States reached
$400k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2025.

Health$3.2MArts & Culture$91kScience & Tech$47kEducation$35kReligion$9k
02FY2025 · 6 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 6 grants below total $466,441, the rows itemized in this filing. The $674,665 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $208,224 is giving the schedule does not break out (grants under the $5,000 itemization floor, grants to individuals, grants on other schedules). Every figure below describes the itemized rows only.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k2 grants · $13k
  • $10k–50k3 grants · $54k
  • $250k+1 grant · $400k
$18,479
Median grant
6
States reached
$43M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
JACOBUS TENBROEK MEMORIAL FUND$400,000
NFB OF AZ$25,000
NFB OF OR$18,479
NFB OF ID$10,079
NFB OF WA$7,883
NFB OF IN$5,000
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, $2.1M) land where the poverty rate runs at 19%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%JACOBUS TENBROEK MEMORIAL FUND: $400k → 19%JACOBUS TENBROEK MEMORIAL FUND: $400k → 19%JACOBUS TENBROEK MEMORIAL FUND: $350k → 19%JACOBUS TENBROEK MEMORIAL FUND: $350k → 19%JACOBUS TENBROEK MEMORIAL FUND: $300k → 19%JACOBUS TENBROEK MEMORIAL FUND: $300k → 19%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

ME
VT
WA
ID
MN
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
OR
IN
PA
CT
CA
UT
CO
MD
AZ
OK
GA
TX
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.

85%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$2.6M · 7 repeat orgs$455k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +31% since the first grant, against +1% for those funded once.

7 repeat relationships: 5 still active in FY2025, 2 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

7
25

Total granted

$2.6M
$450k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+31%
+1%

Still filing today

71%
64%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 99% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $5k 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
Arts & CultureHealthCivil RightsEducationHuman ServicesScience & TechOther
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

  • TJ
    THE JACOBUS TENBROEK MEMORIAL FUND
    6× · 2020–2025 · $2.1M · revenue +31% · 41% of their budget
  • US
    UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY
    4× · 2020–2023 · $214k
  • DB
    DAN'S BLIND AMBITION LLC
    2× · 2021–2022 · $130k

Funded once

  • EL
    EASY LLC
    one grant, 2023 · $89k
  • ST
    Sea to See
    one grant, 2020 · $50k · revenue -41% · 31% of their budget
  • LO
    LOWELL OBSERVATORY
    one grant, 2022 · $47k · revenue -40%
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
American Museum of Natural History

The museum's mission statement is: "to discover, interpret, and disseminate - through scientific research and education - knowledge about human cultures, the natural world, and the universe."

Arts & Culture
2
National Federation of the Blind of New Mexico

Self-help for the blind

—
3
National Federation of the Blind of Missouri

Self help for the blind.

Health
4
National Federation of the Blind of Hawaii

Self-help for the blind.

—
5
National Federation of the Blind of Massachusetts Inc

self-help for the blind

—
6
National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey

self-help for the blind

Civil Rights
7
National Federation of the Blind of Alabama

self-help for the blind

Human Services
8
National Federation of the Blind of Michigan

self-help for the blind

—
9
National Federation of the Blind of North Carolina

Self help for the blind.

—
10
New York Hall of Science

Nysci's mission is to nurture generations of passionate learners, critical thinkers, and active citizens through design make play - an approach to learning and engagement that is deeply rooted in research on stem learning and guides the…

Arts & Culture
11
National Federation of the Blind of Louisiana Inc

Self-help for the blind

—
12
National Federation of the Blind of Pa

Self help for the blind.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is National Federation of the Blind of Idaho; the most unlike its peers is Geneva Lake Astrophysics and Steam 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

23 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. 23 of the 34 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.

3
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
1
Early backer (in before they grew)
23/23
Grantees still filing
12/23
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE JACOBUS TENBROEK MEMORIAL FUND: $2,100,000 · Human ServicesTHE JACOBUS TENBROEK MEMORIAL FUNDUTAH STATE UNIVERSITY: $213,660 · OtherUTAH STATE UNIVERSITYDAN'S BLIND AMBITION LLC: $130,000 · OtherDAN'S BLIND AMBITION …EASY LLC: $88,608 · OtherEASY LLCNATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND OF OREGON: $64,127 · OtherNATIONAL FEDERATION O…MVERSE INC: $25,000 · Other+10 more: $113,499 · Other+10 moreIMPACTASSETSINC: $300,000 · PhilanthropyIMPACTASS…Sea to See: $50,000 · Arts & CultureTHE DISCOVERY MUSEUM INC: $26,016 · Arts & CultureCALIFORNIA STATE RAILROAD MUSEUM FOUNDATION INC: $16,077 · Arts & CultureSACRAMENTO HISTORY ALLIANCE INC: $9,450 · Arts & CultureALBANY INSTITUTE OF HISTORY AND ART: $9,260 · Arts & CultureHouston Museum of Natural Science: $9,240 · Arts & CultureSCIENCE MUSEUM OF MINNESOTA: $8,139 · Arts & CultureSCIENCE CENTRAL INC: $7,950 · Arts & CultureNATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND OF ARIZONA INC: $55,000 · HealthNATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND OF WASHINGTON: $40,814 · HealthNATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND OF TEXAS INC: $5,000 · HealthNATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND OF INDIANA: $5,000 · HealthLOWELL OBSERVATORY: $46,761 · Science & TechNATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND OF IDAHO: $41,502 · Civil RightsSCIACCESS INC: $5,000 · Civil RightsGENEVA LAKE ASTROPHYSICS AND STEAM INC: $25,000 · EducationSPRINGFIELD MUSEUMS CORPORATION: $5,000 · Education
Human Services$2,100,000Other$634,894Philanthropy$300,000Arts & Culture$136,132Health$105,814Science & Tech$46,761Civil Rights$46,502Education$30,000

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 budgetTHE JACOBUS TENBROEK MEMORIAL FUND: $2,100,000 over 6y, 41% of budgetIMPACTASSETSINC: $300,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND OF OREGON: $64,127 over 4y, 15% of budgetNATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND OF ARIZONA INC: $55,000 over 2y, 48% of budgetSea to See: $50,000 over 1y, 31% of budgetLOWELL OBSERVATORY: $46,761 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetNATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND OF IDAHO: $41,502 over 5y, 22% of budgetNATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND OF WASHINGTON: $40,814 over 5y, 12% of budgetTHE DISCOVERY MUSEUM INC: $26,016 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetGENEVA LAKE ASTROPHYSICS AND STEAM INC: $25,000 over 1y, 6.7% of budgetCALIFORNIA STATE RAILROAD MUSEUM FOUNDATION INC: $16,077 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetSACRAMENTO HISTORY ALLIANCE INC: $9,450 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetMUSEUM OF THE BIBLE: $9,450 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetALBANY INSTITUTE OF HISTORY AND ART: $9,260 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetHouston Museum of Natural Science: $9,240 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL COWBOY AND WESTERN HERITAGE MUSEUM: $8,750 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSCIENCE MUSEUM OF MINNESOTA: $8,139 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSCIENCE CENTRAL INC: $7,950 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetNATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND OF CALIFORNIA INC: $7,300 over 1y, 13% of budgetNATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND OF TEXAS INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetSPRINGFIELD MUSEUMS CORPORATION: $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.

Jpmorgan Chase Founda…Vanguard Charitable E…American Online Givin…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Jpmorgan Chase FoundationNY6.8× affinity4 shared granteesties to 5 of 5Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Jpmorgan Chase Foundation · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · 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 National Federation of the Blind funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The National Federation of the Blind. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 40%3%13%28%50%funder's share of their income ↑0%10%20%30%40%share of the org’s income from government →median 15%
  • The Discovery Museum Inc: 15% of income from government
  • Springfield Museums Corporation: 5% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
4get no government money at all
6report 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 34 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 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 National Federation of the Blind’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