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The Nea Foundation for the Improvement of Education at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Public charity

The Nea Foundation for the Improvement of Education

The nea foundation (the foundation), works in partnership with others to advance the absolute best in public education.

$2.2M
Granted FY2025still arriving
28
Grants FY2025still arriving
14
States reached
$225k
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, FY2018 to 2025.

Education$7.2MPublic Safety & Disaster$425kCrime & Legal$390kPhilanthropy$383kCivil Rights$277kHealth$250kCommunity Improvement$70kFood & Nutrition$67kOther$0
02FY2025 · 28 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 28 grants below total $1,614,927, the rows itemized in this filing. The $2,244,472 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $629,545 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

  • $10k–50k18 grants · $362k
  • $50k–250k10 grants · $1.3M
$30,000
Median grant
14
States reached
$56M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
AEH COMMUNITY HEALTH SERVICES CENTER INC$225,000
LITTLE ROCK PUBLIC SCHOOLS$200,000
BATESVILLE SCHOOL DISTRICT$200,000
INSTITUTE FOR DEMOCRATIC ED IN AMERICA$130,000
COMMUNITY FOUNDATION FOR MISSISSIPPI$120,000
UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AT PINE BLUFF$115,000
NATIONAL CENTER FOR YOUTH LAW$100,000
CLARKSDALE MUNICIPAL SCHOOL DISTRICT$58,000
RURAL COMMUNITY ALLIANCE$55,000
GRANTMAKERS FOR EDUCATION$50,000
PARTNERSHIP FOR THE FUTURE OF LEARNING$35,000
NATIONAL NETWORK OF STATE TEACHERS OF THE YEAR$35,000
LEARNING POLICY INSTITUTE$35,000
WEST TALLAHATCHIE SCHOOL DISTRICT$30,000
COMMUNITYSHARE$30,000
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 (FY23–25, $65k) land where the poverty rate runs at 23%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%COMMUNITYSHARE: $30k → 15%EMMETT TILL INTERPRETIVE CENTER: $20k → 31%EMMETT TILL INTERPRETIVE CENTER: $15k → 31%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
MT
ND
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
OR
WY
SD
OH
PA
CT
CA
CO
MO
VA
MD
AZ
KS
AR
TN
DC
LA
MS
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.

74%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$6.0M · 27 repeat orgs$2.1M to everyone else

27 repeat relationships: 15 still active in FY2025, 12 since wound down; 10 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

27
32

Total granted

$6.0M
$1.9M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+1%
+5%

Still filing today

70%
56%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 86% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $199k went to new ones.

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

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

’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
EducationCommunity ImprovementCivil RightsPublic BenefitArts & CulturePhilanthropyOther
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

  • NC
    National Center for Youth Law
    5× · 2018–2025 · $640k · revenue +22%
  • NN
    National Network of State Teachers of the Year
    4× · 2019–2025 · $358k · revenue +20% · 81% of their budget
  • IF
    INSTITUTE FOR DEMOCRATIC EDUCATION IN AMERICA INC
    2× · 2024–2025 · $260k · revenue +209% · 57% of their budget

Funded once

  • WC
    Weld County School District 6
    one grant, 2018 · $295k
  • AF
    AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS AFL-CIO PARENT ORGANIZATION
    one grant, 2018 · $272k · revenue -4%
  • FB
    FIRST BOOK
    one grant, 2018 · $244k · revenue -4%
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
North Carolina Assoc of Educators Inc

To advocate for members and students, to enhance the education profession, and to advance public education.

—
2
Missouri National Education Association

To serve as the united voice to promote, advance and protect public education and to advocate for the rights and interests of students and our members.

—
3
National Education Association of New Mexico Inc

To elevate the profession of teaching, to secure effective cooperation of all agencies for improving schools, and to promote the advancement of the educator professionally, economically, and socially.

—
4
The National Center on Education and the Economy

The Center is dedicated to providing tools the nation needs to lead the world in education & training in a swiftly globalizing world economy.

Public Benefit
5
Nebraska State Education Association

The mission of the nebraska state education association is to advocate for all education professionals, emplowering them to provide an excellent public education for every student.

Employment
6
Washington Education Association

The mission of the washington education association is to advance the professional interests of its members in order to make public education the best it can be for students, staff, and communities.

—
7
Education Commission of the States

The mission of education commission of the states is to advocate for attaining educational excellence for all and to help state leaders identify, develop and implement public policy for education that addresses current and future needs of…

Education
8
Maine Education Association

We advocate for our members by influencing government policies, building community support for public education, expanding educational employees' rights, and promoting improvements in working conditions.

—
9
Learning First Alliance

The learning first alliance, a partnership of leading education associations representing more than 10 million members, supports improved student learning in america's public schools by engaging individual and organizational expertise,…

Arts & Culture
10
Deans for Impact

See Schedule ODeans for Impact supports educator-preparation programs to bring the science of learning into teaching practice; partners with policymakers to ensure pathways into teaching are accessible, practice-based, and…

Education
11
Leading Educators Inc

Leading educators partners with school systems to build and sustain the conditions, teaching, and leadership to ensure that the students furthest from opportunity succeed in school and in life.

Education
12
Oklahoma Education Association

To advocate for education professionals and to unite our members and the people of oklahoma to fulfill the promise of public education to prepare every student to succeed in a diverse and interdependent world.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Grantmakers for Education; the most unlike its peers is Gateway Municipalities Community. 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

48 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. 48 of the 73 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.

2
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
7
Early backer (in before they grew)
48/48
Grantees still filing
26/48
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

LITTLE ROCK ZOOLOGICAL GARDEN: $773,000 · OtherLITTLE ROCK ZOOLOGICAL GARDENNational Center for Youth Law: $640,000 · OtherNational Center for Youth LawBATESVILLE SCHOOL DISTRICT: $617,500 · OtherBATESVILLE SCHOOL DISTRICTWeld County School District 6: $295,000 · OtherWeld County School District 6AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS AFL-CIO PARENT ORGANIZATION: $272,250 · OtherAMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS AFL-CIO PARENT ORGANIZAT…Green Bay Area Public School District: $245,874 · OtherEDUCATION FIRST CONSULTING LLC: $215,000 · OtherLOUISIANA ASSOCIATION OF EDUCATORS: $211,422 · Other+37 more: $1,361,960 · Other+37 moreNational Network of State Teachers of the Year: $357,878 · EducationNational Network of State Te…INSTITUTE FOR EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP: $356,841 · EducationINSTITUTE FOR EDUCATIONAL LE…INSTITUTE FOR DEMOCRATIC EDUCATION IN AMERICA INC: $260,000 · EducationINSTITUTE FOR DEMOCRATIC EDU…FIRST BOOK: $243,840 · EducationFIRST BOOKADVOCATES FOR COMMUNITY AND RURAL EDUCATION: $214,000 · EducationADVOCATES FOR COMMUNITY AND …FORWARD ARKANSAS: $200,000 · EducationFORWARD ARKANSASARKANSAS EDUCATION ASSOCIATION: $185,500 · EducationARKANSAS EDUCATION ASSOCIATI…CHATTANOOGAHAMILTON COUNTY PUBLIC EDUCATION FUND: $150,000 · EducationCHATTANOOGAHAMILTON COUNTY P…GRANTMAKERS FOR EDUCATION: $81,500 · EducationTHE SCHOTT FOUNDATION FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION: $80,000 · Education+6 more: $165,000 · Education+6 moreCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION FOR MISSISSIPPI: $566,000 · PhilanthropyROCKEFELLER PHILANTHROPY ADVISORS INC: $80,000 · PhilanthropyPARTNERSHIP FOR THE FUTURE: $35,000 · Philanthropy+1 more: $7,000 · PhilanthropyAaron E Henry Community Health Services Center Inc: $675,000 · HealthKenwood Oakland Community Organization: $172,500 · Community ImprovementMORENO VALLEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT SCHOOL FACILITIES CORPORATION: $170,000 · Community Improvement+2 more: $17,000 · Community ImprovementNEW VENTURE FUND: $346,700 · EnvironmentOne Voice: $149,000 · Public BenefitNATIONAL PUBLIC EDUCATION SUPPORT FUND: $110,000 · Public Benefit
Other$4,632,006Education$2,294,559Philanthropy$688,000Health$675,000Community Improvement$359,500Environment$346,700Public Benefit$259,000

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 budgetAaron E Henry Community Health Services Center Inc: $675,000 over 4y, 1.5% of budgetNational Center for Youth Law: $640,000 over 5y, 1.4% of budgetCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION FOR MISSISSIPPI: $566,000 over 5y, 1.1% of budgetNational Network of State Teachers of the Year: $357,878 over 4y, 81% of budgetINSTITUTE FOR EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP: $356,841 over 3y, 1.3% of budgetNEW VENTURE FUND: $346,700 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS AFL-CIO PARENT ORGANIZATION: $272,250 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetINSTITUTE FOR DEMOCRATIC EDUCATION IN AMERICA INC: $260,000 over 2y, 57% of budgetFIRST BOOK: $243,840 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetADVOCATES FOR COMMUNITY AND RURAL EDUCATION: $214,000 over 4y, 9.2% of budgetLOUISIANA ASSOCIATION OF EDUCATORS: $211,422 over 4y, 3.0% of budgetFORWARD ARKANSAS: $200,000 over 2y, 4.9% of budgetARKANSAS EDUCATION ASSOCIATION: $185,500 over 4y, 5.1% of budgetKenwood Oakland Community Organization: $172,500 over 2y, 4.6% of budgetMORENO VALLEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT SCHOOL FACILITIES CORPORATION: $170,000 over 2y, 9.2% of budgetTEXAS STATE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION: $152,436 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetCHATTANOOGAHAMILTON COUNTY PUBLIC EDUCATION FUND: $150,000 over 1y, 3.8% of budgetOne Voice: $149,000 over 3y, 1.7% of budgetNATIONAL PUBLIC EDUCATION SUPPORT FUND: $110,000 over 5y, 0.9% of budgetGRANTMAKERS FOR EDUCATION: $81,500 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetROCKEFELLER PHILANTHROPY ADVISORS INC: $80,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE SCHOTT FOUNDATION FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION: $80,000 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetWYOMING EDUCATION ASSOCIATION: $65,000 over 2y, 1.8% of budgetSOUTH DAKOTA EDUCATION ASSOCIATION: $60,000 over 2y, 2.0% of budgetNORTH DAKOTA UNITED: $60,000 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetSCHOOL NUTRITION FOUNDATION: $47,246 over 1y, 5.3% of budgetNETWORK FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION INC: $45,000 over 1y, 11% of budgetNATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES: $40,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetEMMETT TILL INTERPRETIVE CENTER: $35,000 over 2y, 1.5% of budgetNational Teachers Hall of Fame Inc: $35,000 over 2y, 11% of budgetCommunityShare: $30,000 over 1y, 3.6% of budgetMIKVA CHALLENGE GRANT FOUNDATION: $30,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetNATIONAL BOARD FOR PROFESSIONAL TEACHING STANDARDS: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSTONE LANTERN FILMS INC: $25,000 over 1y, 18% of budgetNOVA INSTITUTE INC: $10,000 over 1y, 15% of budgetGATEWAY MUNICIPALITIES COMMUNITY: $10,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetOHIO EDUCATION ASSOCIATION: $9,800 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetELEMENTS OF EDUCATION PARTNERS: $7,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetCalifornians For Justice Education Fund: $7,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetEDMONDS EDUCATION ASSOCIATION: $5,948 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetAMERICAN INDIAN COLLEGE FUND: $5,000 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.

WK Kellogg FoundationThe Schott Foundation…National Education As…The William & Flora H…Gates FoundationThe Ford FoundationWalton Family Foundat…Amalgamated Charitabl…GenYOUTH IncorporatedNew Venture FundElbridge Stuart Found…The Heising-Simons Fo…
WK Kellogg FoundationMI23.8× affinity12 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: WK Kellogg Foundation · The Schott Foundation for Public Education · National Education Association of the United States · The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation · Gates Foundation · The Ford Foundation · Walton Family Foundation Inc · Amalgamated Charitable Foundation Inc · GenYOUTH Incorporated · New Venture Fund · Elbridge Stuart Foundation Dba Stuart Foundation · The Heising-Simons 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 Nea Foundation for the Improvement of Education funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Nea Foundation for the Improvement of Education. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 30%6%23%51%90%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    3get no government money at all
    9report 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, 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 73 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 Nea Foundation for the Improvement of Education’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