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Third Way at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

Third Way

To research and develop centrist policy ideas.

$1.7M
Granted FY2024still arriving
10
Grants FY2024still arriving
6
States reached
$475k
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, FY2017 to 2024.

Environment$1.7MPublic Benefit$770kCommunity Improvement$766kCivil Rights$485kYouth Development$200kEducation$150kHealth$10k
02FY2024 · 10 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $50k–250k8 grants · $945k
  • $250k+2 grants · $731k
$150,000
Median grant
6
States reached
$66M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
PROTECT OUR FAMILIES INC$475,000
NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE INC$256,000
YOUNG PEOPLE'S ALLIANCE EDUCATION FUND$200,000
CIVIC ATTENTION INC$180,000
FOR FACTS SAKE$150,000
THE WELCOME PARTY INC$125,000
THE NEXT 50 NETWORK LLC$100,000
FOR FACTS SAKE ACTION$75,000
THE NEWDEAL FORUM$65,000
COMMON SENSE COALITION$50,000
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 (FY22–24, $981k) land where the poverty rate runs at 16%, against an area that typically sits at 7%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 7%NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE INC: $256k → 17%NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE INC: $210k → 17%THE NEWDEAL FORUM: $250k → 14%NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE INC: $200k → 17%THE NEWDEAL FORUM: $65k → 14%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
CA
UT
VA
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.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

45%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.8M · 6 repeat orgs$2.2M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +94% since the first grant, against +68% for those funded once.

6 repeat relationships: 2 still active in FY2024, 4 since wound down; 8 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

6
10

Total granted

$1.8M
$883k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+94%
+68%

Still filing today

100%
60%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 19% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $1.4M 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
EnvironmentHuman ServicesEducationPublic BenefitInternationalCivil RightsOther
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

  • NU
    NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE INC
    3× · 2022–2024 · $666k · revenue +4%
  • TN
    THE NEWDEAL FORUM
    2× · 2023–2024 · $315k · revenue +34% · 42% of their budget
  • N
    NEWDEAL
    4× · 2017–2021 · $300k · revenue +94%

Funded once

  • SMART GROWTH AMERICAgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $298k · revenue +30%
  • GV
    GRAND VIEW GROUP CONSULTING
    one grant, 2017 · $175k
  • NW
    NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $100k · revenue +90%
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
Third Way

To research and develop centrist policy ideas.

Civil Rights
2
Advocates for Climate Innovation
Philanthropy
3
Partnership for Policy Integrity

Partnership for Policy Integrity (PFPI) uses data-driven advocacy and litigation to fight for forests, communities and the climate.

Environment
4
Climate Parliament Inc

Researching policy ideas on climate and clean energy in India, engaging legislators and business leaders to discuss those ideas.

International
5
Fresh Energy

Shape and drive bold policy solutions to achieve equitable carbon-neutral economies.

Environment
6
Competitive Enterprise Institute

Competitive enterprise institute (cei) is a non-profit public policy organization dedicated to the principles of free enterprise and limited government. we believe that consumers are best helped not by government regulation but by being…

—
7
Technology Policy Institute
International
8
E3G Third Generation Environmentalism

E3g is a leading international not-for-profit think tank specialising in climate diplomacy harnessing expertise in the politics and economics of climate change.

Environment
9
CarbonPlan

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

Environment
10
National Caucus of Environmental Legislators

The national caucus of environmental legislators empowers a nonpartisan network of legislative champions to protect, conserve, and improve the natural and human environment.

Education
11
Clean Energy Group Inc

Clean energy research and advocacy. Clean Energy Group promotes effective clean energy policies, develops low carbon technology innovation strategies and promotes new financial tools to strengthen the economy and stabilize climate change.

Environment
12
Solar Energy Industries Association

Seia is the driving force behind solar energy and storage, building a stronger solar industry to power america through advocacy and education. representing organizations that promote, manufacture, install and support the development of…

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Newdeal Forum; the most unlike its peers is For Facts Sake. 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

16 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. 16 of the 24 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.

4
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
5
Early backer (in before they grew)
16/16
Grantees still filing
13/16
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

PROTECT OUR FAMILIES INC: $475,000 · OtherPROTECT OUR FAMILIES INCCIVIC ATTENTION INC: $180,000 · OtherCIVIC ATTENTION INCGRAND VIEW GROUP CONSULTING: $175,000 · OtherGRAND VIEW GROUP CONSULTINGTHE WELCOME PARTY INC: $125,000 · OtherTHE WELCOME PARTY INCTHE NEXT 50 NETWORK LLC: $100,000 · OtherTHE NEXT 50 NETWORK LLCFOR FACTS SAKE ACTION: $75,000 · OtherFOR FACTS SAKE ACTIONNEWDEAL FORUM: $50,000 · OtherCOMMON SENSE COALITION: $50,000 · OtherNATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION: $100,000 · OtherNATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION+3 more: $30,000 · OtherNATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE INC: $666,000 · Human ServicesNATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE INCTHE NEWDEAL FORUM: $315,000 · Human ServicesTHE NEWDEAL FORUMThe Breakthrough Institute: $300,000 · EnvironmentThe Breakthrough Institut…SMART GROWTH AMERICA: $297,683 · EnvironmentSMART GROWTH AMERICATHE ENERGY FOR GROWTH HUB INC: $214,826 · EnvironmentTHE ENERGY FOR GROWTH HUB…BlueGreen Alliance Inc: $100,000 · EnvironmentBlueGreen Alliance IncNEWDEAL: $300,000 · Community ImprovementYOUNG PEOPLES ALLIANCE EDUCATION FUND: $200,000 · Civil RightsFOR FACTS SAKE: $150,000 · EducationCLEAN ENERGY LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE: $20,000 · EducationBIPARTISAN POLICY CENTER INC: $100,000 · Public BenefitCOMMITTEE FOR A RESPONSIBLE FEDERAL BUDGET: $30,000 · Public Benefit
Other$1,360,000Human Services$981,000Environment$912,509Community Improvement$300,000Civil Rights$200,000Education$170,000Public Benefit$130,000

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 budgetNATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE INC: $666,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetTHE NEWDEAL FORUM: $315,000 over 2y, 42% of budgetNEWDEAL: $300,000 over 4y, 17% of budgetThe Breakthrough Institute: $300,000 over 2y, 7.9% of budgetSMART GROWTH AMERICA: $297,683 over 1y, 5.4% of budgetTHE ENERGY FOR GROWTH HUB INC: $214,826 over 2y, 29% of budgetYOUNG PEOPLES ALLIANCE EDUCATION FUND: $200,000 over 1y, 44% of budgetFOR FACTS SAKE: $150,000 over 1y, 38% of budgetTHE WELCOME PARTY INC: $125,000 over 1y, 7.7% of budgetNATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION: $100,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetBlueGreen Alliance Inc: $100,000 over 1y, 4.2% of budgetBIPARTISAN POLICY CENTER INC: $100,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetFOR FACTS SAKE ACTION: $75,000 over 1y, 13% of budgetCOMMITTEE FOR A RESPONSIBLE FEDERAL BUDGET: $30,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetCLEAN ENERGY LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE: $20,000 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetCENTER FOR INNOVATIVE POLICY: $10,000 over 1y, 0.6% 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.

Sixteen Thirty FundThe William & Flora H…American Endowment Fo…National Philanthropi…Fidelity Investments …
Sixteen Thirty FundDC13.2× affinity4 shared granteesties to 4 of 4Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Sixteen Thirty Fund · The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation · American Endowment Foundation · National Philanthropic Trust · 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 Third Way funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Third Way. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%3%13%28%50%funder's share of their income ↑0%15%30%45%60%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    1get no government money at all
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–60%
    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 24 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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Third Way’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