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The Urban Charitable Trust at a glance

· Private foundation

The Urban Charitable Trust

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.

$29k
Granted FY2024still arriving
49
Grants FY2024still arriving
15
States reached
$5k
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 2024.

Human Services$25kInternational$25kHealth$11kAnimals$9kFood & Nutrition$8kHousing & Shelter$8kEnvironment$7kPhilanthropy$7kOther$0
02FY2024 · 49 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$200
Median grant
15
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
COVENANT HOUSE$5,000
MERCY SHIPS$5,000
GBH EDUCATIONAL FDNRALPH LOWELL SOCIETY$3,000
SOCIETY FOR PROTECTION OF NH FORESTS$1,500
DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS$1,000
SOCIETY OF ST VINCENT DE PAUL$1,000
ANIMAL RESCUE LEAGUE$1,000
SALVATION ARMY$1,000
NEEDHAM OBSERVER$750
MORGAN MEMORIAL GOODWILL$500
NH PBS$500
GREATER BOSTON FOOD BANK$500
ST FRANCIS HOUSE$500
AMERICAN RED CROSS$500
ST MARGARET'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH$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 (FY20–24, $11k) land where the poverty rate runs at 16%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%BOY'S TOWN: $300 → 12%BOY'S TOWN: $300 → 12%BOY'S TOWN: $300 → 12%BOY'S TOWN: $300 → 12%BOY'S TOWN: $200 → 12%COVENANT HOUSE: $2k → 17%ST FRANCIS HOUSE: $750 → 16%COVENANT HOUSE: $1k → 17%ST FRANCIS HOUSE: $500 → 16%ST FRANCIS HOUSE: $500 → 16%ST FRANCIS HOUSE: $500 → 16%ST FRANCIS HOUSE: $500 → 16%LITTLE BROTHERS - FRIENDS OF THE ELDERLY: $300 → 16%LITTLE BROTHERS - FRIENDS OF THE ELDERLY: $300 → 16%LITTLE BROTHERS - FRIENDS OF THE ELDERLY: $200 → 16%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $500 → 14%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $500 → 14%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $500 → 14%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $500 → 14%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $150 → 14%HOME FOR LITTLE WANDERERS: $300 → 16%HOME FOR LITTLE WANDERERS: $300 → 16%HOME FOR LITTLE WANDERERS: $300 → 16%HOME FOR LITTLE WANDERERS: $200 → 16%HOME FOR LITTLE WANDERERS: $150 → 16%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

NH
IL
MI
NY
MA
OR
PA
NJ
CT
CA
NE
VA
TN
NC
DC
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.

93%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$102k · 63 repeat orgs$8k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +33% since the first grant, against +2% for those funded once.

63 repeat relationships: 45 still active in FY2024, 18 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

63
12

Total granted

$102k
$7k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+33%
+2%

Still filing today

83%
33%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 96% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $1k went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24
InternationalHealthAnimalsHuman ServicesEnvironmentArts & CultureOther
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

  • Mercy Ships International
    4× · 2020–2024 · $11k · revenue +126%
  • TA
    THE ANIMAL RESCUE LEAGUE
    5× · 2020–2024 · $5k · revenue +440%
  • MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC
    4× · 2020–2024 · $5k · revenue +39%

Funded once

  • W
    WGBH
    one grant, 2020 · $3k
  • RL
    RALPH LOWELL SOCIETY
    one grant, 2021 · $3k
  • UO
    UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS- CAREY FUND
    one grant, 2020 · $500
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
Conservation International Foundation

Ci works to spotlight and secure the critical benefits that nature provides to humanity.

Environment
2
Project Drawdown

Project drawdown's mission is to drive meaningful climate action by advancing science-based solutions and strategies. project drawdown's work is focused on three pillars: science - advancing science-based climate solutions and strategies;…

Education
3
Management Sciences for Health Inc

(msh) saves lives and improves the health of the world's poorest (see schedule o) and most vulnerable people by closing the gap between knowledge and action in public health.

International
4
Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Foundation

To engage and catalyze global seafood supply chains in rebuilding depleted fish stocks and reducing the environmental impacts of fishing and fish farming.

Animals
5
Rainforest Alliance Inc

RA works at the intersection of business, agriculture & forests to improve lives & protect nature by transforming how land is used, production of goods & consumer choices.

—
6
Institute for Agriculture & Trade Policy

Iatp works locally and globally at the intersection of policy and practice to ensure fair and sustainable food, farm and trade systems.

Food & Nutrition
7
National Audubon Society Inc

We work towards a future where birds thrive across the americas because audubon is a powerful, diverse, and ever-growing force for conservation. (continued on schedule o).

Environment
8
Target Als Foundation Inc

Our mission is to break down barriers to als research to find effective treatments. by uniting academia, the pharma and biotech industry, government, venture capital, related nonprofits, and the als community, we aim to overcome the…

Education
9
Ocean Conservancy

Ocean conservancy unites science, people, and policy to protect our ocean, today and for generations to come.

Environment
10
Researchamerica

2025 was a turbulent year for the medical and health research community, but our commitment to advocating for science never wavered. from pushing back against funding threats to elevating researchers' voices and equipping advocates, we…

—
11
American Humane Association

Founded in 1877, american humane association, dba american humane society (american humane) is committed to ensuring the safety, welfare and well-being of animals. our leadership programs are first to serve in promoting and nurturing the…

Animals
12
Animal Wellness Action

To prevent cruelty to animals, we promote enacting and enforcing good public policies. enacting good laws depends upon electing good lawmakers, and we remind voters which candidates care about and support animal issues.

Human Services
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Save the Children Federation Inc; the most unlike its peers is The Animal Rescue League. 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

59 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. 59 of the 79 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.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
58/59
Grantees still filing
50/59
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

COVENANT HOUSE: $10,000 · OtherCOVENANT HOUSEGBH EDUCATIONAL FDNRALPH LOWELL SOCIETY: $6,000 · OtherGBH EDUCATIONAL FDNRALPH LOWELL SOCIETYSALVATION ARMY: $4,000 · OtherSALVATION ARMYSOCIETY OF ST VINCENT DE PAUL: $4,000 · OtherSOCIETY OF ST VINCENT DE PAULSOCIETY FOR PROTECTION OF NH FORESTS: $3,200 · OtherSOCIETY FOR PROTECTION OF NH FORESTSWGBH: $2,500 · OtherGREATER BOSTON FOOD BANK INC: $2,500 · OtherRALPH LOWELL SOCIETY: $2,500 · OtherNH PBS: $1,900 · OtherMorgan Memorial Goodwill Industries Inc: $2,500 · OtherFATHER BILL'S & MAINSPRING INC: $1,800 · Other+28 more: $11,655 · Other+28 moreMercy Ships International: $10,900 · InternationalMercy Ships InternationalMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $4,500 · InternationalMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES …FINCA INTERNATIONAL INC: $2,500 · InternationalFINCA INTERNATIONAL INCFEED THE CHILDREN INC: $1,450 · InternationalFEED THE CHILDREN INCCOOPERATIVE FOR ASSISTANCE AND RELIEF EVERYWHERE INC: $1,200 · InternationalMercy Corps: $1,000 · InternationalSave The Children Federation Inc: $1,000 · International+5 more: $2,450 · International+5 moreCOVENANT HOUSE: $3,000 · Human ServicesCOVENANT HO…SAINT FRANCIS HOUSE INC: $2,750 · Human ServicesSAINT FRANC…American National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $2,150 · Human ServicesAmerican Na…Father Flanagan's Boys' Home: $1,400 · Human ServicesFather Flan…THE HOME FOR LITTLE WANDERERS INC: $1,250 · Human ServicesTHE HOME FO…LITTLE BROTHERS FRIENDS OF THE ELDERLY - BOSTON INC: $800 · Human ServicesLITTLE BROT…THE ANIMAL RESCUE LEAGUE: $5,000 · AnimalsTHE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS: $1,150 · AnimalsINTERNATIONAL FUND FOR ANIMAL WELFARE INC: $950 · AnimalsDefenders of Wildlife: $800 · AnimalsMASSACHUSETTS SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS: $500 · AnimalsNATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION: $400 · AnimalsNAMI National: $1,100 · HealthAMERICAN LUNG ASSOCIATION: $950 · HealthAMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS ASSN: $925 · HealthALZHEIMER'S DISEASE & RELATED DISORDERS ASSOCIATION INC: $775 · HealthNATIONAL MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SOCIETY: $700 · HealthARTHRITIS FOUNDATION INC: $550 · HealthAmerican Heart Association Inc: $500 · HealthAMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY INC: $500 · HealthPARTNERS IN HEALTH A NONPROFIT CORPORATION: $400 · HealthMUSCULAR DYSTROPHY ASSOCIATION INC: $350 · HealthAmerican Diabetes Association: $350 · HealthPROJECT BREAD-THE WALK FOR HUNGER INC: $2,500 · Food & NutritionFeeding America: $1,200 · Food & NutritionNEEDHAM OBSERVER: $1,250 · Arts & CultureNATIONAL TRUST FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION IN THE UNITED STATES: $1,050 · Arts & CultureSMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION: $600 · Arts & Culture
Other$52,555International$25,000Human Services$11,350Animals$8,800Health$7,100Food & Nutrition$3,700Arts & Culture$2,900

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetMercy Ships International: $10,900 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetTHE ANIMAL RESCUE LEAGUE: $5,000 over 5y, 4.8% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $4,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCOVENANT HOUSE: $3,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSAINT FRANCIS HOUSE INC: $2,750 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetFINCA INTERNATIONAL INC: $2,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetPROJECT BREAD-THE WALK FOR HUNGER INC: $2,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetGREATER BOSTON FOOD BANK INC: $2,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetMorgan Memorial Goodwill Industries Inc: $2,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $2,150 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetFATHER BILL'S & MAINSPRING INC: $1,800 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetUniversity of Illinois Foundation: $1,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetFEED THE CHILDREN INC: $1,450 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetFather Flanagan's Boys' Home: $1,400 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $1,250 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetTHE HOME FOR LITTLE WANDERERS INC: $1,250 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetNEEDHAM OBSERVER: $1,250 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetCOOPERATIVE FOR ASSISTANCE AND RELIEF EVERYWHERE INC: $1,200 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetFeeding America: $1,200 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetTHE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS: $1,150 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetNAMI National: $1,100 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL TRUST FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION IN THE UNITED STATES: $1,050 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetMercy Corps: $1,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetSave The Children Federation Inc: $1,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetINTERNATIONAL FUND FOR ANIMAL WELFARE INC: $950 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN LUNG ASSOCIATION: $950 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetAMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS ASSN: $925 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetLITTLE BROTHERS FRIENDS OF THE ELDERLY - BOSTON INC: $800 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetTECHNOSERVE INC: $800 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetDefenders of Wildlife: $800 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetALZHEIMER'S DISEASE & RELATED DISORDERS ASSOCIATION INC: $775 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetBOSTON RESCUE MISSION INC: $700 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetBread For The World Inc: $700 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SOCIETY: $700 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICARES FOUNDATION INC: $700 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetOPERATION SMILE INC: $650 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetSMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION: $600 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetTHE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND: $565 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetWORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $550 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetARTHRITIS FOUNDATION INC: $550 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetTHE WILDERNESS SOCIETY: $550 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetSAMARITAN'S PURSE: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMASSACHUSETTS SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS: $500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican Heart Association Inc: $500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY INC: $500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetSMILE TRAIN INC: $475 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetTHE TRUSTEES OF RESERVATIONS: $470 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetPARTNERS IN HEALTH A NONPROFIT CORPORATION: $400 over 4y, 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.

Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …
Donor Advised Charitable Giving IncCO5.4× affinity4 shared granteesties to 1 of 1Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund

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 Urban Charitable Trust funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Urban Charitable Trust. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 30%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 18%
  • Mercy Corps: 47% of income from government
  • The Home for Little Wanderers Inc: 38% of income from government
  • Save the Children Federation Inc: 30% of income from government
  • Father Bill's & Mainspring Inc: 24% of income from government
  • Greater Boston Food Bank Inc: 22% of income from government
  • Saint Francis House Inc: 18% of income from government
  • Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries Inc: 17% of income from government
  • The Trustees of Reservations: 2% of income from government
  • Feed the Children Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Americares Foundation Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Partners in Health a Nonprofit Corporation: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
3get 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
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 79 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 Urban’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