Skip to content
Plinth

· Private foundation

Thornton Tomasetti Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$168k
Granted FY2024still arriving
16
Grants FY2024still arriving
8
States reached
$40k
Largest
01What you fund
0198% classified

What you funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year — across FY20172024.

Education$510kInternational$309kPublic Safety & Disaster$144kEnvironment$52kPhilanthropy$50kRecreation & Sports$38kEmployment$33kScience & Tech$25kOther$0
02FY2024 · 16 grants

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k8 grants · $38k
  • $10k–50k8 grants · $130k
$10,000
Median grant
8
States reached
$53k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
ENGINEERS IN ACTION$40,000
GEOHAZARDS INTERNATIONAL$20,000
THE URBAN ASSEMBLY$15,000
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY$15,000
THE CITY COLLEGE OF NEW YORK$10,000
UC REGENTS$10,000
THE COOPER UNION$10,000
AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS$10,000
ENGINEERS FOR A SUSTAINABLE WORLD$9,000
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS URBANA CHAMPAIGN$5,000
COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY$5,000
BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS$5,000
PARENT ASSOCIATION OF WEST END SECONDARY SCHOOL$5,000
UT AUSTIN$5,000
TEXAS AM UNIVERSITY$2,500
02The need
03

Do your dollars go where the need is?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, then read against the area’s typical level.

show:

Your human-services grants (FY19–24, $42k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of your grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%ENGINEERS FOR A SUSTAINABLE WORLD: $9k → 11%ENGINEERS FOR A SUSTAINABLE WORLD: $9k → 11%ENGINEERS FOR A SUSTAINABLE WORLD: $9k → 11%ENGINEERS FOR A SUSTAINABLE WORLD: $8k → 11%ENGINEERS FOR A SUSTAINABLE WORLD: $8k → 11%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount

Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty linein the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP; grantee ZIP can differ from where services are delivered.

Which US states your grants reach

MT
IL
NY
MA
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CA
CO
VA
MD
AZ
OK
TX
FL

US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are actually delivered. Need from public data — U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA — shown as context about the area, never attributed to your giving.

04

Where the work is directed

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

About 10% of Thornton Tomasetti Foundation’s grant dollars are earmarked, by their stated purpose, for a different county than the recipient’s own address — money that lands at a nonprofit in one place but is meant to do its work in another.

Thornton Tomasetti Foundationlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address · 5.5% directed abroad (not shown)

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 foundation’s own 990 grant descriptions.

03Your edge
repeat funding

Who you back again

Which organizations you funded more than once, and which you funded a single time. Each grantee is matched to its own filings.

74%of every dollar goes to organizations you’ve funded before.
$818k · 20 repeat orgs$286k to everyone else

And the relationships you keep tend to grow: grantees you re-up on have seen median revenue of +21% since the first grant, against -8% for the ones you funded once.

20 repeat relationships — 9 still active in FY2024, 11 since wound down; 6 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

20
23

Total granted

$818k
$249k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+21%
-8%

Still filing today

70%
30%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 76% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $37k 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 ServicesScience & TechInternationalEmploymentYouth DevelopmentOther

First-time = a grantee’s first year in your filing window; renewed = funded in an earlier year too. As a portfolio matures the renewed share naturally climbs — once funded, an org stays “renewable” — so the signal is the years that buck it (a new-grantee intake wave). 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

  • EI
    ENGINEERS IN ACTION INC
    5× · 2020–2024 · $145k · revenue +84%
  • BC
    BUILD CHANGE
    4× · 2017–2023 · $91k · revenue +37%
  • TU
    THE URBAN ASSEMBLY INC
    7× · 2017–2024 · $75k · revenue +50%

Funded once

  • EI
    ENGINEERS IN ACTION BRIDGE PROGRAM
    one grant, 2019 · $30k
  • IS
    INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR URBAN HEALTH
    one grant, 2023 · $22k · revenue -8%
  • UO
    UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
    one grant, 2020 · $20k

Repeat = funded in two or more distinct years; growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Your field

The map has a center of gravity: the average direction from the rest of the sector toward the organizations the foundation funds — the shape of its giving. Scoring every nonprofit along that direction surfaces the ones that look most like the portfolio. These are the closest matchesthat aren’t grantees — a resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
University of Miami

See Form 990, Part I, Line 1, Description of Organization Mission.

Education
2
Bar Ilan University in Israel Inc

Biu produces students who excel in the sciences, humanities, law, engineering, business & the arts.

3
Illinois Institute of Technology

To provide distinctive and relevant education in an environment of scientific, technological, and professional knowledge creation and innovation.

Education
4
Boston Architectural College

The bac is committed to provide excellence in design education grounded in practice and accessible to diverse communities.

5
William Marsh Rice University

As a leading research university with a distinctive commitment to undergraduate education, Rice University aspires to path breaking research, unsurpassed teaching, and contributions to the betterment of our world. It seeks to fulfill this…

Education
6
World Learning Inc

Creating a more sustainable, peaceful, and just world through education, development, and exchange since 1932. as both an accredited academic institution and an international ngo, world learning, inc. offers the best of theory and practice…

International
7
Institute for Advanced Study - Louis Bamberger & Mrs Felix Fuld Foundation

The institute for advanced study (the institute) is one of the world's leading centers for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. see schedule o.

Science & Tech
8
Trustees of Boston University

Organization's mission: boston university is an international, comprehensive, private research university, committed to educating students to be reflective, resourceful individuals ready to live, adapt, and lead in an interconnected world.…

9
The George Washington University

The mission of the george washington university (gw) is to educate individuals in liberal arts, languages, sciences, learned professions, and other courses and subjects of study, and to conduct scholarly research and publish the findings…

Education
10
President and Fellows of Harvard College

Undergraduate, graduate, and professional education and research across a broad array of academic domains.

Education
11
University of New Haven

The University of New Haven is a student-centered comprehensive university with an emphasis on excellence in liberal arts and professional education. Our mission is to prepare our students to lead purposeful and fulfilling lives in a…

Education
12
New York University

Nyu is a private university with approximately 60,000 matriculating students in 20 schools and institutes. nyu's primary missions are education, research and scholarship, and patient care.

Education

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Northeastern University and the most unlike its peers is Charity Global Inc. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.

For each theme you fund, this compares how the sector’s money is shifting with how your own giving is shifting.

← shrinkinggrowing →↓ leaning in → pulling backsteadyPublic University Foundatio…School Parent OrganizationsChristian Missionary Organi…Affordable Housing Developm…Faith-Based Liberal Arts Co…
the sector your giving your giving is ahead of the sector the sector’s ahead of you· dot size = how much the theme matters to each side
Ordered by the change in your giving — leaning in on top, pulling back at the bottom. The bar between the two dots is how out of step you are with the sector. Hover any row for detail.

Sector change and giving change are each shown relative to their own range, growing (right) or shrinking (left); both normalized, so inflation isn’t mistaken for growth.

Your grantees are a median of 33 years old; the field is 16. You back the established end — and your money leans older still.

THE FIELDby orgYOUR GRANTEESby number22%4%<5yr14%13%5–10yr19%21%10–20yr16%17%20–35yr13%21%35–55yr16%25%55yr+
THE FIELDby orgYOUR MONEYby value22%2%<5yr14%8%5–10yr19%29%10–20yr16%26%20–35yr13%20%35–55yr16%14%55yr+

The field is 22% startups (under 5 years old) — 4% of your grantees by number, and just 2% of your money.

Closures · last 5 years

The orgs you fund almost never close 0.0% lost their exemption, against 13% of the field you don’t fund.

orgs you fund
0.0%0/28
the rest of the field
13%
240,396/1,819,537

Age = years since IRS exemption (a founding proxy). “Closed” = auto-revocation for 3 years of non-filing — a floor on closure, not proof, and bigger established orgs lapse least. Association, not causation.

05the grantee network

26 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each one resolved to its own IRS returns and tracked year by year — your grant beside their revenue from every source. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

Counted here: distinct organizations you funded across 20172025, not grant rows in a single year — so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 26 of the 53 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile; the rest are funded organizations whose filings we could not track year by year.

2
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
1
Early backer (in before they grew)
26/26
Grantees still filing
15/26
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

ENGINEERS WITHOUT BORDERS — $100,000 · OtherENGINEERS WITHOUT BORDERSTHE ARCHIVE INSTITUTE A NJ NONPROFIT CORPORATION — $64,207 · OtherTHE ARCHIVE INSTITUTE A NJ NONPROFIT CORPORATIONGEOHAZARDS INTERNATIONAL — $53,000 · OtherGEOHAZARDS INTERNATIONALTHE COOPER UNION — $45,000 · OtherTHE COOPER UNIONUC REGENTS — $40,000 · OtherUC REGENTSBRIDGES TO PROSPERITY — $32,500 · OtherBRIDGES TO PROSPERITYENGINEERS IN ACTION BRIDGE PROGRAM — $30,000 · OtherENGINEERS IN ACTION BRIDGE PROGRAMUNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN — $20,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient — $20,000 · Other+21 more — $152,054 · Other+21 moreENGINEERS IN ACTION INC — $145,000 · EducationENGINEERS IN ACTION INCTHE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK — $40,000 · EducationTHE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY …THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY — $40,000 · EducationTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND …Massachusetts Institute of Technology — $40,000 · EducationMassachusetts Institute of Technolog…HOFSTRA UNIVERSITY — $21,200 · EducationHOFSTRA UNIVERSITYLEHIGH UNIVERSITY — $20,000 · EducationMARCONI SOCIETY INC — $15,000 · EducationFLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC — $15,000 · Education+8 more — $60,500 · Education+8 moreBUILD CHANGE — $90,500 · Science & TechTHE URBAN ASSEMBLY INC — $75,000 · InternationalENGINEERS FOR A SUSTAINABLE WORLD — $41,600 · Human ServicesCHARITY GLOBAL INC — $10,000 · Human ServicesTHOSE AMAZING PROFESSIONS INC — $32,500 · EmploymentINTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR URBAN HEALTH — $22,338 · HealthGEEKS RULE INC — $6,000 · Youth Development
Other$556,761Education$396,700Science & Tech$90,500International$75,000Human Services$51,600Employment$32,500Health$22,338Youth Development$6,000

Each org by its size and your share of it — top-left is where you’re load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ your share of their budgetENGINEERS IN ACTION INC — $145,000 over 5y, 3.2% of budgetBUILD CHANGE — $90,500 over 4y, 0.6% of budgetTHE URBAN ASSEMBLY INC — $75,000 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetTHE ARCHIVE INSTITUTE A NJ NONPROFIT CORPORATION — $64,207 over 3y, 23% of budgetGEOHAZARDS INTERNATIONAL — $53,000 over 3y, 1.4% of budgetENGINEERS FOR A SUSTAINABLE WORLD — $41,600 over 5y, 32% of budgetTHE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK — $40,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY — $40,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMassachusetts Institute of Technology — $40,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHOSE AMAZING PROFESSIONS INC — $32,500 over 3y, 63% of budgetINTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR URBAN HEALTH — $22,338 over 1y, 2.2% of budgetHOFSTRA UNIVERSITY — $21,200 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetLEHIGH UNIVERSITY — $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMARCONI SOCIETY INC — $15,000 over 1y, 2.3% of budgetFLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC — $15,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Trustees of Princeton University — $12,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetManhattan University — $12,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetPARENT ASSOCIATION OF WEST END SECONDARY SCHOOL INCORPORATED — $10,000 over 2y, 2.0% of budgetCHARITY GLOBAL INC — $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS - MD — $10,000 over 1y, 8.6% of budgetUniversity of Notre Dame du Lac — $7,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetGEEKS RULE INC — $6,000 over 1y, 3.5% of budgetNORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY — $5,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCOLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION — $5,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetUniversity of Illinois Foundation — $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budget
Go grantee by grantee — a decade per org, and how each moved after you funded them

A decade per grantee — revenue shaded, your grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

The grantmakers whose grantees overlap with yours far more than size alone predicts. Each orbits closer the stronger the alignment; the arcs between them show where they also fund each other. Here it reads as a tightly interlocked camp — most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Paypal Charitable Giving FundDC7.1× affinity4 shared granteesties to 5 of 5Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Paypal Charitable Giving Fund · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Amazonsmile Foundation

Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. A research starting point: overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

Government reliance of your grantees

Every dot is one organization Thornton Tomasetti Foundation funds. Left–right is the share of its income from government; up–down is the share from you. Bigger dots raise more. Filter to federal, a single department, or state — and drag the year to watch it move.

2024
202122232425
no gov · 40%3%10%23%40%your share of their income ↑0%13%25%38%50%share of the org’s income from governmentmedian 11%
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology35% of income from government
  • The Trustees of Princeton University11% of income from government
  • Northeastern University7% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
4get no government money at all
3report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–50%
typical government reliance, FY2025

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 your grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first — a floor, not 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 12–24 months.

On method. Every financial figure here is read directly from IRS e-file XML — your own 990/990-PF and the multi-year returns of the 53 grantees we resolved across every year we hold, several hundred filings in all (a different count from the grant rows on the cover, which are one fiscal year)— each linked to its source. Grantee achievements and outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III); we read these as association with sustained funding — the foundation is one of several forces — suppress low-confidence name matches rather than guess, and say so where a figure rests on a single grant or filing. Not everything on this page is a filed figure, and the difference matters. Filed is what you reported on your 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. How we build these →

Generated from your IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

More from the funding graph