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The Yelp Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Yelp Foundation

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.

$886k
Granted FY2024still arriving
644
Grants FY2024still arriving
41
States reached
$50k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Education$1.5MPhilanthropy$1.3MCommunity Improvement$1.1MCivil Rights$792kHuman Services$538kCrime & Legal$537kEmployment$483kFood & Nutrition$415kOther$0
02FY2024 · 644 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k629 grants · $256k
  • $10k–50k6 grants · $180k
  • $50k–250k9 grants · $450k
$151
Median grant
41
States reached
$6.2M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Valencia$50,000
LA Cocina Inc$50,000
Individual grant recipient$50,000
Raising A Reader$50,000
Inner City Computer Stars Fdn$50,000
Freedom of The Press Foundation$50,000
Building Pathways Inc$50,000
Local First Arizona Foundation$50,000
Seed Spot$50,000
Girls Garage$30,000
Cards for Hospitalized Kids Inc$30,000
Fresh Start Women's Foundatio$30,000
Nexstar Legacy Foundation Inc$30,000
Washington Area Community Investme$30,000
Hot Bread Kitchen$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 (FY17–24, $957k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 98% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%Omaha Home for Boys: $5k → 12%Emergency Infant Services: $2k → 14%Youth Services of Tulsa: $3k → 15%Children's Home Society of Florida: $3k → 11%St Joseph Academy: $5k → 17%YMCA of the Triangle: $2k → 8%ASIAN AMERICANS ADVANCING JUSTICE ATLANTA INC: $3k → 9%Early Childhood Resource Center: $2k → 13%Downtown Hampton Child Development Center: $3k → 14%ROCK AND ROLL FOR CHILDREN FOUNDATION INC: $2k → 8%INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF BUFFALO INC: $2k → 13%CHOOSE LOVE INC: $3k → 17%Wheels of Success Inc: $3k → 13%Dress for Success Triangle: $3k → 8%Neighborhood House Association: $2k → 8%Family and Children's Place: $5k → 15%WNY Women's Foundation: $2k → 13%CHILD FOUNDATION: $1k → 12%Community for New Direction: $3k → 15%Fresh Start Women's Foundation: $50k → 11%Fresh Start Womens Foundation: $50k → 11%Fresh Start Womens Foundation: $50k → 11%Neighborhood Services Organization: $2k → 16%Hot Bread Kitchen: $50k → 20%Fresh Start Women's Foundatio: $30k → 11%WINGS for kids Inc: $3k → 13%Hot Bread Kitchen: $50k → 17%Hot Bread Kitchen: $50k → 17%Hot Bread Kitchen: $50k → 20%Freedom of the Press Foundation: $50k → 20%Freedom of the Press Foundation: $50k → 20%CENTER ON HALSTED: $2k → 14%Freedom of the Press Foundation: $50k → 10%Chicago Literacy Alliance: $60k → 14%Chicago Literacy Alliance: $50k → 14%SocialWorks: $2k → 14%TURNOUT INC: $5k → 10%Cards for Hospitalized Kids Inc: $30k → 14%TURNOUT INC: $4k → 10%American Red Cross: $4k → 14%Start Small Think Big: $50k → 17%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $2k → 14%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $1k → 14%Fresh Start Womens Foundation: $50k → 11%OneDegree: $50k → 10%ABOUT-FACE: $1k → 10%TMC Development Working Solutions: $3k → 10%RAPHAEL HOUSE OF SAN FRANCISCO INC: $4k → 10%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

AK
ME
VT
NH
WA
ID
MT
MN
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
OR
NV
SD
IA
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CT
RI
CA
UT
CO
NE
MO
KY
WV
VA
MD
DE
AZ
NM
KS
AR
TN
NC
SC
DC
HI
OK
LA
MS
AL
GA
TX
FL
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.

60%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$5.2M · 931 repeat orgs$3.4M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +34% since the first grant, against +27% for those funded once.

931 repeat relationships: 355 still active in FY2024, 576 since wound down; 134 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

931
903

Total granted

$5.2M
$2.9M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+34%
+27%

Still filing today

78%
67%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 42% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $507k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
EducationHuman ServicesHealthArts & CultureAnimalsInternationalOther
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

  • NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE & EDUC FUND INC
    6× · 2018–2024 · $417k · revenue +206%
  • EQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE
    5× · 2018–2023 · $411k · revenue +77%
  • FS
    FRESH START WOMEN'S FOUNDATION
    5× · 2020–2024 · $230k · revenue +87%

Funded once

  • 2G
    2020 Gofundmeorg
    one grant, 2020 · $500k
  • 2B
    2020 Benevity Annual fee
    one grant, 2020 · $94k
  • 2C
    2019 Contest AZ - Fresh Start Women's Foundation
    one grant, 2019 · $60k
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
Marin Humane Society

Improving the lives of animals and people through advocacy, education, and support.

Animals
2
Ucsf Foundation Investment Company

the organization provides professional investment management services for endowed gifts and financial assets entrusted to the UCSF Foundation.

Education
3
Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International

A people-centered approach to the conservation of gorillas and their habitats in Africa

—
4
Global Fund for Children

To advance the rights and opportunities of children and youth worldwide.

Arts & Culture
5
Witness Inc

Witness helps people use video and technology to protect and defend human rights. the organization operates globally. witness' global team designs solutions, provides guidance, and co-develops strategies that enable human rights defenders…

International
6
Women's Foundation of California

Women's foundation of california amplifies the voices and experiences of community leaders, redistributes knowledge, power, and resources, and mobilizes communities and funders to advance justice for all.

—
7
Actionaid Usa

Actionaid is an international network building a just, equitable, and sustainable world in solidarity with communities on the frontlines of poverty and injustice.

Social Science
8
Pathfinder International

Pathfinder builds lasting and trusted local partnerships to strengthen health systems, forging resilient pathways to sexual and reproductive health and rights for all.

International
9
The Humane Society for Seattleking

Animal welfare organization

Animals
10
California Changelawyers

California changelawyers is a statewide foundation whose mission is to build a better justice system for all californians. changelawyers empowers the next generation of lawyers, judges, and activists to create a more diverse legal…

Social Science
11
California Forward

California forward (ca fwd) brings people together across regions to improve government and create resilient growth statewide.

Public Benefit
12
Feeding San Diego

On a mission to connect every person facing hunger with nutritious meals... feeding san diego is on a mission to connect every person facing hunger with nutritious meals by maximizing food rescue. through direct service and community…

Food & Nutrition
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Education Training and Research; the most unlike its peers is Nihonmachi Little Friends. 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

1467 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. 1467 of the 2,000 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)
312
Early backer (in before they grew)
1427/1467
Grantees still filing
1033/1467
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

2020 Gofundmeorg: $500,000 · Other2020 GofundmeorgWASHINGTON AREA COMMUNITY INVESTMENT FUND INC: $150,050 · Other+115 more: $2,744,235 · Other+115 moreNAACP LEGAL DEFENSE & EDUC FUND INC: $417,371 · Civil RightsNAACP LEGAL DEF…EQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE: $410,552 · Civil RightsEQUAL JUSTICE I…NATIONAL BLACK JUSTICE COALITION INC: $49,972 · Civil RightsPOLICING EQUITY: $43,229 · Civil Rights+5 more: $44,553 · Civil RightsFRESH START WOMEN'S FOUNDATION: $230,000 · Human ServicesFRESH START W…HOT BREAD KITCHEN LTD: $201,030 · Human ServicesHOT BREAD KIT…FREEDOM OF THE PRESS FOUNDATION: $150,050 · Human ServicesFREEDOM OF TH…CHICAGO LITERACY ALLIANCE: $110,000 · Human ServicesCHICAGO LITER…ONE DEGREE: $50,500 · Human ServicesONE DEGREESTART SMALL THINK BIG INC: $50,000 · Human ServicesSTART SMALL T…CARDS FOR HOSPITALIZED KIDS INC: $30,000 · Human Services+8 more: $51,460 · Human Services+8 more826 Valencia: $211,370 · Education826 ValenciaTHE LITERACY LAB: $158,046 · EducationTHE LITERACY…826NYC Inc: $150,000 · Education826NYC IncRaising A Reader: $51,000 · EducationRaising A Re…OPEN BOOKS LTD: $50,000 · EducationOPEN BOOKS L…+29 more: $170,085 · Education+29 moreLA COCINA: $202,080 · Community ImprovementLA COCINASEED SPOT: $150,000 · Community ImprovementSEED SPOTLOCAL FIRST FOR BUSINESS: $150,000 · Community ImprovementLOCAL FIRS…LOCAL FIRST ARIZONA FOUNDATION: $100,100 · Community ImprovementLOCAL FIRS…COMMON FUTURE: $35,779 · Community ImprovementCOMMON FUT…+1 more: $5,000 · Community ImprovementINNER-CITY COMPUTER STARS FOUNDATION: $150,525 · EmploymentBYTE BACK: $125,000 · EmploymentBUILDING PATHWAYS INC: $50,000 · EmploymentAlliance for Global Justice Corp: $52,988 · InternationalGIRLS GARAGE: $30,000 · InternationalPALESTINE CHILDREN'S RELIEF FUND: $28,313 · InternationalDIRECT RELIEF: $28,179 · InternationalISLAMIC RELIEF USA: $21,953 · InternationalWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $17,397 · InternationalMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $15,569 · InternationalUnited States Association for UNHCR: $10,077 · International+8 more: $55,828 · International
Other$3,394,285Civil Rights$965,677Human Services$873,040Education$790,501Community Improvement$642,959Employment$325,525International$260,304

Showing the 200 largest grantees by grant value.

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 budgetNAACP LEGAL DEFENSE & EDUC FUND INC: $417,371 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetEQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE: $410,552 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetFRESH START WOMEN'S FOUNDATION: $230,000 over 5y, 1.6% of budget826 Valencia: $211,370 over 5y, 1.0% of budgetLA COCINA: $202,080 over 5y, 0.8% of budgetHOT BREAD KITCHEN LTD: $201,030 over 5y, 1.8% of budgetTHE LITERACY LAB: $158,046 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetINNER-CITY COMPUTER STARS FOUNDATION: $150,525 over 3y, 1.9% of budgetFREEDOM OF THE PRESS FOUNDATION: $150,050 over 4y, 1.1% of budgetWASHINGTON AREA COMMUNITY INVESTMENT FUND INC: $150,050 over 4y, 0.8% of budgetSEED SPOT: $150,000 over 3y, 4.2% of budget826NYC Inc: $150,000 over 3y, 6.6% of budgetLOCAL FIRST FOR BUSINESS: $150,000 over 3y, 8.9% of budgetBYTE BACK: $125,000 over 3y, 1.8% of budgetCHICAGO LITERACY ALLIANCE: $110,000 over 2y, 1.8% of budgetLOCAL FIRST ARIZONA FOUNDATION: $100,100 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetFREE SPIRIT MEDIA NFP: $91,000 over 3y, 2.4% of budgetTHE BAIL PROJECT INC: $90,786 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetCHINESE PROGRESSIVE ASSOCIATION: $61,392 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetAlliance for Global Justice Corp: $52,988 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetRaising A Reader: $51,000 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetFull Circle Fund: $50,300 over 2y, 4.2% of budgetBUILDING PATHWAYS INC: $50,000 over 1y, 2.9% of budgetOPEN BOOKS LTD: $50,000 over 1y, 2.2% of budgetSTART SMALL THINK BIG INC: $50,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetNATIONAL BLACK JUSTICE COALITION INC: $49,972 over 2y, 2.5% of budgetENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY FOUNDATION: $43,585 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPOLICING EQUITY: $43,229 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCOMMON FUTURE: $35,779 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC: $31,997 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetGIRLS GARAGE: $30,000 over 1y, 2.5% of budgetCARDS FOR HOSPITALIZED KIDS INC: $30,000 over 1y, 24% of budgetPALESTINE CHILDREN'S RELIEF FUND: $28,313 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetDIRECT RELIEF: $28,179 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetTHE CLEAR FUND: $22,353 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetISLAMIC RELIEF USA: $21,953 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetSAN FRANCISCO AIDS FOUNDATION: $19,003 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $17,397 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $15,569 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetTHE CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS INC: $15,502 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetBELMONT-REDWOOD SHORES PUBLIC SCHOOL FOUNDATION: $11,850 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetST MARY'S FOOD BANK ALLIANCE: $11,490 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $11,471 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetChinese for Affirmative Action: $10,959 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetREPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM FOR ALL FOUNDATION: $10,244 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetUnited States Association for UNHCR: $10,077 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $9,955 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetGREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY: $9,910 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.

  • Who funds NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE & EDUC FUND INC ↗
  • Who funds EQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE ↗
  • Who funds FRESH START WOMEN'S FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds 826 Valencia ↗
  • Who funds LA COCINA ↗
  • Who funds HOT BREAD KITCHEN LTD ↗
  • Who funds THE LITERACY LAB ↗
  • Who funds INNER-CITY COMPUTER STARS FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds FREEDOM OF THE PRESS FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds WASHINGTON AREA COMMUNITY INVESTMENT FUND INC ↗
  • Who funds SEED SPOT ↗
  • Who funds 826NYC Inc ↗
  • Who funds LOCAL FIRST FOR BUSINESS ↗
  • Who funds BYTE BACK ↗
  • Who funds CHICAGO LITERACY ALLIANCE ↗
  • Who funds LOCAL FIRST ARIZONA FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds FREE SPIRIT MEDIA NFP ↗
  • Who funds THE BAIL PROJECT INC ↗
  • Who funds CHINESE PROGRESSIVE ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds Alliance for Global Justice Corp ↗
  • Who funds Raising A Reader ↗
  • Who funds ONE DEGREE ↗
  • Who funds Full Circle Fund ↗
  • Who funds BUILDING PATHWAYS INC ↗
  • Who funds OPEN BOOKS LTD ↗

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.

Salesforce FoundationThe Intuit FoundationMcNabb FoundationBothin FoundationThunderbirds CharitiesThe San Francisco Fou…Jewish Community Fede…Bright Funds Foundati…The James Irvine Foun…Esb Charitable Founda…United Way of the Bay…The Lazard Charitable…
Salesforce FoundationCA38.2× affinity121 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Salesforce Foundation · The Intuit Foundation · McNabb Foundation · Bothin Foundation · Thunderbirds Charities · The San Francisco Foundation · Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco the Peninsula Marin & Sonoma · Bright Funds Foundation · The James Irvine Foundation · Esb Charitable Foundation · United Way of the Bay Area · The Lazard Charitable 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 Yelp Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Yelp Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 60%2%6%14%25%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 17%
  • Save the Children Federation Inc: 30% of income from government
  • Building Pathways Inc: 23% of income from government
  • National Black Justice Coalition Inc: 17% of income from government
  • Pace Center for Girlsinc: 2% of income from government
  • Rising Tide Capital Inc and Subsidiaries: 2% of income from government
  • Literacy Volunteers of Greater Hartford Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
6get no government money at all
63report 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.
05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to The Yelp Foundation?

Find your warmest path to The Yelp Foundation 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 2000 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 Yelp’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