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The Philadelphia Poverty Action Fund at a glance

· Public charity

The Philadelphia Poverty Action Fund

THE PHILADELPHIA POVERTY ACTION FUND provides funding & administers grants to non-profit organizations & partnerships in order to connect individuals & families to important economic security programs, public benefits workforce programs that can help lift them out of poverty & help ensure equitable economic recovery in philadelphia.

$2.1M
Granted FY2025still arriving
4
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$665k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0199% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2021 to 2025.

Human Services$6.0MCrime & Legal$5.8MCommunity Improvement$4.7MArts & Culture$4.0MCivil Rights$584kYouth Development$235kHealth$200kFood & Nutrition$195kOther$0
02FY2025 · 4 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 4 grants below total $1,844,512, the rows itemized in this filing. The $2,056,681 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $212,169 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

  • $50k–250k1 grant · $150k
  • $250k+3 grants · $1.7M
$529,938
Median grant
1
States reached
$3.4M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
GREATER PHILA COMMUNITY ALLIANCE$664,574
AFRICAN CULTURAL ALLIANCE OF N AMERICA$529,938
LOCAL INITIATIVES SUPPORT CORP PHILA$500,000
BEECH COMMUNITY SRVCS$150,000
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 (FY21–25, $6.0M) land where the poverty rate runs at 22%, against an area that typically sits at 16%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 16%Diversified Community Services Inc: $1.9M → 22%GREATER PHILADELPHIA COMMUNITY ALLIANCE: $1.5M → 22%GREATER PHILADELPHIA COMMUNITY ALLIANCE: $1.5M → 22%GREATER PHILA COMMUNITY ALLIANCE: $665k → 22%Southwest CDC: $55k → 22%MAKE IT HAPPEN PHILLY: $30k → 22%MAKE IT HAPPEN PHILLY: $30k → 22%EASTERN NORTH PHILA WORKFORCE DEVELOP COR: $60k → 22%Eastern North Philadelphia Workforce Development C: $55k → 22%EASTERN NORTH PHILA WORKFORCE DEVELOP CORP: $30k → 22%Every Murder is Real: $55k → 22%Community of Compassion Inc (Compassion CDC): $55k → 22%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.

87%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$19M · 19 repeat orgs$2.9M to everyone else

19 repeat relationships: 4 still active in FY2025, 15 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

19
15

Total granted

$19M
$2.9M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+27%
+40%

Still filing today

95%
80%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

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

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

’21’22’23’24’25
Human ServicesCrime & LegalCommunity ImprovementArts & CultureHealthHousing & ShelterOther
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

  • GP
    GREATER PHILADELPHIA COMMUNITY ALLIANCE
    4× · 2021–2025 · $5.6M · revenue +361% · 35% of their budget
  • LOCAL INITIATIVES SUPPORT CORPORATION
    4× · 2022–2025 · $3.6M · revenue +25%
  • CF
    Campaign for Working Families Inc
    3× · 2021–2024 · $3.0M · revenue +62% · 49% of their budget

Funded once

  • AC
    AFRICAN-AMERICAN CULTURAL ALLIANCEgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $1.4M · revenue +177%
  • PL
    PHILADELPHIA LAWYERS OF SOCIAL EQUITY
    one grant, 2023 · $399k
  • CL
    COMMUNITY LEGAL SERVICES
    one grant, 2022 · $300k · revenue +18%
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
Philadelphia Area Jobs With Justice

Building support for the rights of working people through coalitions of labor and community and through public education.

Employment
2
Philadelphia Legal Assistance Center Inc C/O the Organization

Enforcing and protecting the rights of individuals and families by providing accessible, creative, and high quality legal assistance and working collaboratively for systemic change.

Crime & Legal
3
Frankford Community Development Corporation

The Frankford Community Development Corporation FCDC is dedicated to the asset-based development of Lower Northeast Philadelphia by focusing on job creation affordable and workforce housing development improving awareness and outcomes…

Housing & Shelter
4
Philadelphia Works Inc

Philadelphia works, inc. develops and manages smart workforce solutions that respond to business needs and increases economic opportunity for all philadelphia residents.

Employment
5
The Public Interest Law Center

The Public Interest Law Center uses high-impact legal strategies to advance the civil, social, and economic rights of communities in the Philadelphia region facing discrimination, inequality, and poverty. We use litigation, community…

Crime & Legal
6
Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation

The corporation's mission includes, but is not limited to, combatingcommunity deterioration within chinatown; preserving and developingthe chinatown community; leading the community in neighborhoodplanning, considering land use, and…

Community Improvement
7
Pennsylvania Community Real Estate Corp

None

Housing & Shelter
8
Urban Affairs Coalition

Driving change from the ground up, the urban affairs coalition (uac) unites government, business, neighborhoods, and individual initiatives to improve the quality of life in the region, build wealth in urban communities, and solve emerging…

—
9
PowerCorpsPHL

To combat community deterioration and promote education.

Employment
10
Together for West Philadelphia

Together for West Philadelphia partners with healthcare systems community-based organizations, academic institutions, and public and private stakeholders to achieve equitable health outcomes for West Philadelphians.

Unclassified
11
Committee for Dignity and Fairness for the Homeless Housing Development

Dignity Housing's mission is to break the cycle of homelessness and poverty that confronts low-income families and individuals in the City of Philadelphia.

—
12
Unemployment Information Center Inc

Provides information and support to unemployed and low-income individuals. organizing the unemployed to unite with labor, religious, organizations, and the community to advocate for jobs and economic justice.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Greater Philadelphia Community Alliance; the most unlike its peers is Reawakening Agency. 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

32 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. 32 of the 35 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.

7
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
8
Early backer (in before they grew)
31/32
Grantees still filing
24/32
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

GREATER PHILADELPHIA COMMUNITY ALLIANCE: $5,603,637 · Human ServicesGREATER PHILADELPHIA COMMUNITY…+5 more: $370,000 · Human Services+5 moreCampaign for Working Families Inc: $2,972,602 · Crime & LegalCampaign for Working Families…COMMUNITY LEGAL SERVICES INC: $900,000 · Crime & LegalCOMMUNITY LEGAL SERVICES INCPHILADELPHIA LAWYERS FOR SOCIAL EQUITY: $900,000 · Crime & LegalPHILADELPHIA LAWYERS FOR SOCI…DEFENDER ASSOCIATION OF PHILADELPHIA: $688,172 · Crime & LegalDEFENDER ASSOCIATION OF PHILA…COMMUNITY LEGAL SERVICES: $300,000 · Crime & Legal+1 more: $55,000 · Crime & LegalLOCAL INITIATIVES SUPPORT CORPORATION: $3,560,000 · Community ImprovementLOCAL INITIATIVES SUPPO…Beech Community Services: $750,000 · Community ImprovementBeech Community Service…NO-MO: $175,000 · Community Improvement+1 more: $85,000 · Community ImprovementAFRICAN CULTURAL ALLIANCE OF NORTH AMERICA: $2,644,938 · Arts & CultureAFRICAN CULTURAL ALL…AFRICAN-AMERICAN CULTURAL ALLIANCE: $1,394,246 · Arts & CultureAFRICAN-AMERICAN CUL…PHILADELPHIA LAWYERS OF SOCIAL EQUITY: $399,166 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $300,000 · OtherAshland Little League: $175,000 · OtherURBAN LEAGUE OF GREATER PHILADELPHIA: $145,000 · OtherNew Kensington Community Development Corp: $85,000 · OtherFEDERATION OF NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS: $175,000 · OtherFathers Day Rally Committee Inc: $130,000 · Other+7 more: $285,000 · OtherREAWAKENING AGENCY: $115,000 · HealthPHILADELPHIA FIGHT: $85,000 · HealthUPLIFT SOLUTIONS INC: $195,000 · Food & Nutrition
Human Services$5,973,637Crime & Legal$5,815,774Community Improvement$4,570,000Arts & Culture$4,039,184Other$1,694,166Health$200,000Food & Nutrition$195,000

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 budgetGREATER PHILADELPHIA COMMUNITY ALLIANCE: $5,603,637 over 4y, 35% of budgetLOCAL INITIATIVES SUPPORT CORPORATION: $3,560,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetCampaign for Working Families Inc: $2,972,602 over 3y, 49% of budgetAFRICAN CULTURAL ALLIANCE OF NORTH AMERICA: $2,644,938 over 4y, 39% of budgetCOMMUNITY LEGAL SERVICES INC: $900,000 over 2y, 1.7% of budgetPHILADELPHIA LAWYERS FOR SOCIAL EQUITY: $900,000 over 2y, 51% of budgetBeech Community Services: $750,000 over 3y, 76% of budgetDEFENDER ASSOCIATION OF PHILADELPHIA: $688,172 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetCOMMUNITY LEGAL SERVICES: $300,000 over 1y, 3.1% of budgetUPLIFT SOLUTIONS INC: $195,000 over 3y, 3.8% of budgetFEDERATION OF NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS: $175,000 over 3y, 1.8% of budgetNO-MO: $175,000 over 3y, 4.7% of budgetAshland Little League: $175,000 over 3y, 94% of budgetURBAN LEAGUE OF GREATER PHILADELPHIA: $145,000 over 3y, 0.9% of budgetEastern North Philadelphia Workforce Development Corp: $145,000 over 3y, 1.2% of budgetFathers Day Rally Committee Inc: $130,000 over 2y, 20% of budgetREAWAKENING AGENCY: $115,000 over 3y, 66% of budgetPHILADELPHIA FIGHT: $85,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCEIBA INC: $85,000 over 2y, 7.4% of budgetNew Kensington Community Development Corp: $85,000 over 2y, 1.5% of budgetMAKE IT HAPPEN PHILLY INC: $60,000 over 2y, 3.5% of budgetEVERY MURDER IS REAL: $55,000 over 1y, 5.1% of budgetPHILADELPHIA BAIL FUND INC: $55,000 over 1y, 7.4% of budgetJEVS HUMAN SERVICES: $55,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetBeyond Literacy: $55,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetSOUTHWEST COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COR: $55,000 over 1y, 3.8% of budgetFirst Step Staffing Inc: $30,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetXIENTE: $30,000 over 1y, 0.3% 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.

United Way of Greater…The William Penn Foun…The Philadelphia Foun…Philadelphia City Fun…The Patricia Kind Fam…The Barra Foundation …Bread and Roses Commu…Philanthropy Network …Scattergood Behaviora…Independence Public M…Philadelphia Works IncIndependence Foundati…
United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New JerseyPA45.1× affinity20 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey · The William Penn Foundation · The Philadelphia Foundation · Philadelphia City Fund Inc · The Patricia Kind Family Foundation · The Barra Foundation Inc · Bread and Roses Community Fund · Philanthropy Network Greater Philadelphia · Scattergood Behavioral Health Foundation · Independence Public Media of Philadelphia Inc · Philadelphia Works Inc · Independence 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 Philadelphia Poverty Action Fund funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Philadelphia Poverty Action Fund. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%23%45%68%90%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    14report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–90%
    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 Philadelphia Poverty Action Fund?

    Find your warmest path to The Philadelphia Poverty Action Fund 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 35 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 Philadelphia Poverty Action’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