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The Sky Foundation Inc at a glance

· Private foundation

The Sky Foundation Inc

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$334k
Granted FY2024still arriving
13
Grants FY2024still arriving
6
States reached
$150k
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, FY2021 to 2024.

Science & Tech$330kEducation$247kEnvironment$218kPhilanthropy$65kArts & Culture$58kHuman Services$37kCrime & Legal$24kPublic Benefit$12kOther$0
02FY2024 · 13 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k7 grants · $31k
  • $10k–50k3 grants · $53k
  • $50k–250k3 grants · $250k
$9,000
Median grant
6
States reached
$10.0M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
DIGITAL HARBOR FOUNDATION INC$150,000
CASCADE CLIMATE INC$50,000
SPARK CLIMATE SOLUTIONS INC$50,000
MS 297 PARENT TEACHER ASSOCIATION INC$21,160
WATERWELL PRODUCTIONS INC$16,000
NEW YORK INTERNATIONAL CHILDRENS FILM FESTIVAL INC$15,800
WATERWELL PRODUCTIONS INC$9,000
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY ASTOR LENOX AND TILDEN$6,500
FOUNDATION FOR NATIONAL PROGRESS$5,000
SURE WE CAN INC$5,000
CANARY MEDIA INC$2,500
WIKIMEDIA FOUNDATION INC$2,000
INNOCENCE PROJECT INC$1,000
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 (FY21–24, $61k) land where the poverty rate runs at 24%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%CENTER FOR RACIAL JUSTICE IN EDUCATION INC: $25k → 28%CENTER FOR RACIAL JUSTICE IN EDUCATION INC: $10k → 28%CENTER FOR RACIAL JUSTICE IN EDUCATION INC: $2k → 28%INNOCENCE PROJECT INC: $10k → 17%INNOCENCE PROJECT INC: $10k → 17%INNOCENCE PROJECT INC: $3k → 17%INNOCENCE PROJECT INC: $1k → 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.

Which US states its grants reach

MN
NY
MA
CT
CA
MD
NC
DC
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.
04

Where the work is directed

The same grants placed two ways: where each recipient sits, and where its stated purpose sends the money.

About 10% of The Sky Foundation Inc’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address.

The Sky Foundation Inclessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address
How this is measured
Recipient view: each grant at its grantee’s ZIP, mapped to a county. Directed view: each grant at the county its stated purpose names, falling back to the recipient’s county when the purpose names no place; US grants only. A county shows only if it carries the top 95% of that view’s dollars. Purposes are read from the funder’s own 990 grant descriptions.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

59%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$512k · 9 repeat orgs$353k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +14% since the first grant, against -15% for those funded once.

9 repeat relationships: 5 still active in FY2024, 4 since wound down; 7 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

9
7

Total granted

$512k
$93k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+14%
-15%

Still filing today

89%
100%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 22% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $260k went to new ones.

50%100%’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’21’22’23’24
EnvironmentEducationHuman ServicesArts & CultureScience & TechPublic BenefitOther
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

  • AG
    ACTIVATE GLOBAL INC
    3× · 2021–2023 · $280k · revenue +135%
  • SC
    Spark Climate Solutions
    2× · 2023–2024 · $100k · revenue +95%
  • TC
    The Center for Investigative Reporting formrly Foundation for National Progress
    3× · 2021–2024 · $12k · revenue +64%

Funded once

  • EC
    EXAQUEST CARBON
    one grant, 2021 · $50k · revenue -99% · 98% of their budget
  • SA
    STEM ALLIANCE OF LARCHMONT- MAMARONECK INC
    one grant, 2023 · $15k · revenue +13%
  • CITY HARVEST INC
    one grant, 2022 · $10k · revenue -3%
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
The Union of Concerned Scientists Inc

The union of concerned scientists puts rigorous, independent science into action, developing solutions and advocating for a healthy, safe, and just future.

International
2
CarbonPlan

Improving the transparency and scientific integrity of climate solutions through open data and tools.

Environment
3
World Resources Institute

Wri is committed to creating change that improves people's lives and ensures the natural world can thrive. (see schedule o)wri's bold vision requires a formula for success we call "count it. change it. scale it.":- count it: our work is…

International
4
City Report Inc

CITY REPORT, INC. serves the people of New York through independent journalism that answers their information needs and holds the powerful to account.

Arts & Culture
5
Climate Catalyst Inc

Climate catalyst sparks collective action to tackle the biggest climate challenges we face today: cutting emissions in heavy industries.

Environment
6
The Water Research Foundation

The purpose of the water research foundation (wrf) is a definitive research organization to advance the science of all things water to better meet the evolving needs of its subscribers and the water sector. to engage exclusively in…

Environment
7
Grist Magazine Inc

Grist is an independent, non profit media organization dedicated to reporting on climate change.

Environment
8
Open Markets Institute

The open markets institute works to help people relearn how to use competition policy to build stronger democracies, more just and equitable societies, more innovative and sustainable economies, and a more secure and peaceful world.

Education
9
Environmental Investigation Agency

To establish and promote programs to protect the global climate, forests, wildlife and the natural environment, through research, advocacy, and investigation.

International
10
National Opinion Research Center

See schedule onorc at the university of chicago conducts research and data science on critical societal issues to guide decision-making and the development of programs and public policy. our experts identify relationships and trends, and…

Social Science
11
The Climate Group Inc

Climate group advances climate action by mobilizing business and government leadership to drive systemic decarbonization across energy, transport, and industry, while engaging the public through large-scale convenings and global platforms.…

Environment
12
Cdp North America Inc

Cdp north america, inc. 's ("cdp-na") vision for the future is a thriving economy that works for people and planet in the long term. we focus investors and companies on taking urgent action to build a truly sustainable economy by measuring…

Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Wikimedia Foundation Inc; the most unlike its peers is Waterwell Productions Inc. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
05the grantee network

26 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. 26 of the 27 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)
0
Early backer (in before they grew)
26/26
Grantees still filing
9/26
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

ACTIVATE GLOBAL INC: $280,000 · EnvironmentACTIVATE GLOBAL INCSpark Climate Solutions: $100,000 · EnvironmentSpark Climate SolutionsNEW VENTURE FUND: $65,000 · EnvironmentNEW VENTURE FUNDWINDWARD FUND: $50,000 · EnvironmentWINDWARD FUNDCascade Climate Inc: $50,000 · EnvironmentCascade Climate Inc+3 more: $12,500 · EnvironmentDIGITAL HARBOR FOUNDATION: $150,000 · EducationDIGITAL HARBOR FOUNDATI…Yale University: $25,000 · EducationYale UniversityMs 297 Parent Teacher Association Inc: $21,160 · EducationMs 297 Parent Teacher A…+4 more: $15,535 · Education+4 moreCENTER FOR RACIAL JUSTICE IN EDUCATION INC: $37,000 · Human ServicesTHE INNOCENCE PROJECT INC: $23,510 · Human ServicesNEW YORK INTERNATIONAL CHILDRENS FILM FESTIVAL INC: $32,800 · Arts & CultureWATERWELL PRODUCTIONS INC: $25,000 · Arts & CultureEXAQUEST CARBON: $50,000 · Science & TechAdvocates for Children of New York: $20,000 · Crime & LegalSTEM ALLIANCE OF LARCHMONT- MAMARONECK INC: $15,000 · Youth DevelopmentThe Center for Investigative Reporting formrly Foundation for National Progress: $12,000 · OtherCITY HARVEST INC: $10,000 · OtherNATURAL HERITAGE TRUST: $5,000 · OtherPS 83 LUIS MUNOZ RIVERA: $4,000 · OtherTHE CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS INC: $5,000 · Other
Environment$557,500Education$211,695Human Services$60,510Arts & Culture$57,800Science & Tech$50,000Crime & Legal$20,000Youth Development$15,000Other$36,000

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 budgetACTIVATE GLOBAL INC: $280,000 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetDIGITAL HARBOR FOUNDATION: $150,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetSpark Climate Solutions: $100,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetNEW VENTURE FUND: $65,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetEXAQUEST CARBON: $50,000 over 1y, 98% of budgetWINDWARD FUND: $50,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCascade Climate Inc: $50,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetCENTER FOR RACIAL JUSTICE IN EDUCATION INC: $37,000 over 3y, 4.6% of budgetNEW YORK INTERNATIONAL CHILDRENS FILM FESTIVAL INC: $32,800 over 2y, 2.1% of budgetWATERWELL PRODUCTIONS INC: $25,000 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetYale University: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE INNOCENCE PROJECT INC: $23,510 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMs 297 Parent Teacher Association Inc: $21,160 over 1y, 38% of budgetAdvocates for Children of New York: $20,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetSTEM ALLIANCE OF LARCHMONT- MAMARONECK INC: $15,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetThe Center for Investigative Reporting formrly Foundation for National Progress: $12,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCITY HARVEST INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe New York Public Library Astor Lenox and Tilden Foundations: $6,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNATURAL HERITAGE TRUST: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSure We Can Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetNATIONAL PARKS CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPROTEUS FUND INC: $3,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWIKIMEDIA FOUNDATION INC: $3,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetKIDS IN NEED FOUNDATION: $2,535 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCanary Media Inc: $2,500 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.

Silicon Valley Commun…The Bank of America C…National Philanthropi…Vanguard Charitable E…Fidelity Investments …Donor Advised Charita…American Online Givin…Amazonsmile Foundation
Silicon Valley Community FoundationCA11.2× affinity4 shared granteesties to 7 of 7Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Silicon Valley Community Foundation · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · American Online Giving Foundation 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 Sky Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Sky Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 12%
  • Yale University: 12% of income from government
  • Digital Harbor Foundation: 2% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
2get no government money at all
7report 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 27 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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Sky’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