Skip to content
Plinth

· Private foundation

Trust for Mutual Understanding

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$2.3M
Granted FY2024still arriving
72
Grants FY2024still arriving
18
States reached
$173k
Largest
01What you fund
0196% classified

What you funded, over time

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

Arts & Culture$4.0MEnvironment$1.8MAnimals$589kSocial Science$297kEducation$165kCivil Rights$130kInternational$108kScience & Tech$85kOther$0
02FY2024 · 72 grants

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k7 grants · $45k
  • $10k–50k55 grants · $1.4M
  • $50k–250k10 grants · $884k
$25,000
Median grant
18
States reached
$26M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
THE YOUNG VISUAL ARTISTS AWARD PROGRAM IN 2024$173,000
RESIDENCY UNLIMITED INC$144,000
CEC ARTSLINK INC$115,000
CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL THEATRE DEVELOPMENT INC$90,000
EARTH ISLAND INSTITUTE INC$80,000
CEC ARTSLINK INC$63,800
CEC ARTSLINK INC$62,500
THE OCEAN FOUNDATION$55,555
EARTHCORPS$50,000
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW ALLIANCE WORLDWIDE$50,000
EARTH ISLAND INSTITUTE INC$45,000
MONGOL ECOLOGY CENTER$45,000
EARTH ISLAND INSTITUTE INC$45,000
INTERNATIONAL THEATRE DEVELOPMENT INC$40,000
WILD SALMON CENTER$40,000
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:

Dollar for dollar, your grants (FY17–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 17%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 94% of your dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of your grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%MONGOL ECOLOGY CENTER: $85k → 15%CULTURAL SURVIVAL: $80k → 8%DOUBLE EDGE THEATRE: $71k → 14%BLACKFOOT CHALLENGE: $35k → 16%KNIGHTS OF INDULGENCE THEATRE US: $42k → 9%EARTH ISLAND INSTITUTE INC: $87k → 10%THE LIVING DESERT ZOO AND GARDENS: $40k → 11%WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY: $45k → 28%THE YOUNG VISUAL ARTISTS AWARD PROGRAM IN 2024: $173k → 15%WILD SALMON CENTER: $40k → 12%ENVIRONMENTAL LAW ALLIANCE WORLDWIDE: $50k → 15%EARTHCORPS: $50k → 9%PARTNERSHIPS FOR NATURE: $40k → 10%ALASKA CONSERVATION FOUNDATION: $35k → 10%INTERNATIONAL THEATRE DEVELOPMENT INC: $40k → 19%MONGOL ECOLOGY CENTER: $45k → 15%EARTH ISLAND INSTITUTE INC: $80k → 10%THE LIVING DESERT ZOO AND GARDENS: $40k → 11%FOUNDATION FOR CONTEMPORARY ARTS: $40k → 17%BETH MORRISON PROJECTS INC: $40k → 20%EARTHCORPS: $50k → 9%PARTNERSHIPS FOR NATURE: $40k → 10%EARTH ISLAND INSTITUTE INC: $45k → 10%THE LIVING DESERT ZOO AND GARDENS: $40k → 11%DRAMA LEAGUE OF NEW YORK INC: $40k → 17%CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL THEATRE DEVELOPMENT INC: $95k → 19%EARTH ISLAND INSTITUTE INC: $45k → 10%DRAMA LEAGUE OF NEW YORK INC: $40k → 17%RESIDENCY UNLIMITED INC: $350k → 20%TRANSCAUCASIAN TRAIL ASSOCIATION: $35k → 14%CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL THEATRE DEVELOPMENT INC: $90k → 19%RESIDENCY UNLIMITED INC: $144k → 20%THE OCEAN FOUNDATION: $195k → 14%MID ATLANTIC ARTS FOUNDATION INC: $35k → 19%SEE ATTACHED LIST: $2.2M → 17%THE OCEAN FOUNDATION: $56k → 14%MID ATLANTIC ARTS FOUNDATION INC: $35k → 19%MY BALKANS INC: $35k → 17%LA MAMA ETC: $60k → 17%WINTERHOUSE INSTITUTE INC: $62k → 20%CEC ARTSLINK INC: $389k → 17%CEC ARTSLINK INC: $115k → 17%CEC ARTSLINK INC: $64k → 17%CEC ARTSLINK INC: $63k → 17%SEE ATTACHED LIST: $2.9M → 17%SEE ATTACHED LIST: $2.5M → 17%SEE ATTACHED LIST: $2.2M → 17%SEE ATTACHED LIST: $2.1M → 17%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

AK
WA
MT
IL
WI
NY
MA
OR
PA
CT
CA
CO
VA
MD
DE
AZ
NM
NC
DC
OK
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.

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.

49%of every dollar goes to organizations you’ve funded before.
$3.6M · 25 repeat orgs$3.7M to everyone else

25 repeat relationships — 25 still active in FY2024, 0 since wound down; 25 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

25
75

Total granted

$3.6M
$2.9M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+9%
+11%

Still filing today

84%
31%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 67% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $771k went to new ones.

50%100%’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’22’23’24
Arts & CultureEnvironmentAnimalsInternationalEducationCivil RightsOther

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

  • RU
    RESIDENCY UNLIMITED INC
    2× · 2023–2024 · $518k · revenue +5% · 38% of their budget
  • MR
    MOVEMENT RESEARCH INC
    2× · 2023–2024 · $321k · revenue +9%
  • Earth Island Institute Inc
    2× · 2023–2024 · $257k · revenue +19%

Funded once

  • CA
    CEC Artslink Inc. (1687)
    one grant, 2022 · $391k
  • TO
    The Ocean Foundation (C7116)
    one grant, 2022 · $242k
  • MR
    Movement Research Inc. (MOVEMENT)
    one grant, 2022 · $165k

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
Kadist Collection Manager Inc
Arts & Culture
2
On the Boards

On the Boards' mission is to invest in leading contemporary performing artists near and far and connect them to a diverse range of communities interested in forward-thinking art and ideas.

3
En Garde Arts Inc

To produce bold theatre experiences that reach across artistic, physical and social boundries. We aim to increase empathy and open-mindedness by illuminating nuanced perspectives and unspoken truths behind the salient issues of our time.…

Arts & Culture
4
International Cultural Arts Network
Arts & Culture
5
Performance Space 122 Inc

See schedule operformance space new york is committed to promoting the arts (including performance, visual and all other contemporary arts), fostering artistic development (including through direct grants), advancing diversity in the field…

Arts & Culture
6
Red Eye Collaboration

Red eye collaboration is a multi-disciplinary creative laboratory that supports the development and production of boundary-breaking performance work.

Arts & Culture
7
Pangea World Theater

Pangea World Theater strives to build a just world by creating multi-disciplinary theater that embodies decolonizing practices of solidarity, sustainability and equity.

Arts & Culture
8
Stages

Stages makes plays and tells stories that invite everyone to live more deeply and love more boldly.

Arts & Culture
9
Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company Inc

To create rousing, visceral, enlightening theatre experiences that galvanize diverse artists and audiences to engage with our world in unexpected and often challenging ways.

Arts & Culture
10
Nature and Culture International

Nature and culture international conserves biologically diverse landscapes in latin america, in concert with local cultures, for the well-being of the planet.

Environment
11
The Living Earth Show

The Living Earth Show's mission is to commission, collaborate, and amplify vital musical creators from a truly diverse range of communities - including crucial artists from those that are often marginalized and overlooked by traditional…

Arts & Culture
12
Site Santa Fe

Guided by artists, rooted in new mexico, site santa fe celebrates contemporary creative expression.

Arts & Culture

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Mid Atlantic Arts Inc and the most unlike its peers is The Center for International Theatre Development. 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 backsteadyEnvironmental Conservation …Community FoundationsCommunity College Foundatio…Local History MuseumsOrchestra and Ensemble Perf…Dance Arts OrganizationsCommunity Arts Centers
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 27 years old; the field is 18. You back the established end — and your money leans older still.

THE FIELDby orgYOUR GRANTEESby number19%5%<5yr14%8%5–10yr20%19%10–20yr19%24%20–35yr13%29%35–55yr16%14%55yr+
THE FIELDby orgYOUR MONEYby value19%2%<5yr14%5%5–10yr20%21%10–20yr19%24%20–35yr13%29%35–55yr16%20%55yr+

The field is 19% startups (under 5 years old) — 5% 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 10% of the field you don’t fund.

orgs you fund
0.0%0/66
the rest of the field
10%
11,858/120,694

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.

04the grantee network

64 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. 64 of the 126 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.

10
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
8
Early backer (in before they grew)
63/64
Grantees still filing
35/64
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

CEC Artslink Inc. (1687) — $390,500 · OtherCEC Artslink Inc. (1687)The Ocean Foundation (C7116) — $242,000 · OtherThe Ocean Foundation (C7116)THE YOUNG VISUAL ARTISTS AWARD PROGRAM IN 2024 — $173,000 · OtherMovement Research Inc. (MOVEMENT) — $165,000 · OtherCenter for International Theatre Development, Inc. (CITD) — $155,000 · OtherWildlife Conservation Society (11149) — $145,000 · Other+66 more — $1,979,485 · Other+66 moreRESIDENCY UNLIMITED INC — $517,800 · Arts & CultureRESIDENCY UNLIMITED INCMOVEMENT RESEARCH INC — $321,000 · Arts & CultureMOVEMENT RESEARCH INCTHE CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL THEATRE DEVELOPMENT — $185,000 · Arts & CultureTHE CENTER FOR INTERNATION…MID ATLANTIC ARTS INC — $70,000 · Arts & Culture+24 more — $596,374 · Arts & Culture+24 moreThe Ocean Foundation — $401,817 · EnvironmentThe Ocean Foundati…Earth Island Institute Inc — $257,000 · EnvironmentEarth Island Insti…MONGOL ECOLOGY CENTER — $130,000 · EnvironmentMONGOL ECOLOGY CEN…LIVING DESERT THE — $120,000 · EnvironmentLIVING DESERT THEPARTNERSHIPS FOR NATURE — $80,000 · EnvironmentPARTNERSHIPS FOR N…CLIMATE CONSERVATION DBA CENTER FOR LARGE LANDSCAPE CONSERVATION — $45,000 · Environment+7 more — $163,000 · Environment+7 moreCEC ARTSLINK INC — $644,800 · InternationalCEC ARTSLINK…Earthcorps — $100,000 · InternationalEarthcorpsInclusive Development International — $30,000 · InternationalWildlife Conservation Society — $45,000 · AnimalsWILD SALMON CENTER — $40,000 · AnimalsROCKY MOUNTAIN BUTTERFLY CONSORTIUM — $30,000 · AnimalsWILD SHEEP FOUNDATION — $30,000 · AnimalsINTERNATIONAL SNOW LEOPARD TRUST — $30,000 · AnimalsCOMMONWEALTH ZOOLOGICAL CORPORATION D/B/A ZOO NEW ENGLAND — $20,000 · AnimalsCULTURAL SURVIVAL INC — $105,000 · Civil RightsEMERSON COLLEGE — $30,000 · EducationACADEMY OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA INC — $25,000 · EducationPresident and Fellows of Harvard College — $20,000 · Education
Other$3,249,985Arts & Culture$1,690,174Environment$1,196,817International$774,800Animals$195,000Civil Rights$105,000Education$75,000

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 budgetCEC ARTSLINK INC — $644,800 over 2y, 49% of budgetRESIDENCY UNLIMITED INC — $517,800 over 2y, 38% of budgetThe Ocean Foundation — $401,817 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetMOVEMENT RESEARCH INC — $321,000 over 2y, 9.3% of budgetEarth Island Institute Inc — $257,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetTHE CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL THEATRE DEVELOPMENT — $185,000 over 2y, 42% of budgetMONGOL ECOLOGY CENTER — $130,000 over 2y, 18% of budgetLIVING DESERT THE — $120,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetCULTURAL SURVIVAL INC — $105,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetDOUBLE EDGE THEATRE PRODUCTIONS INC — $100,500 over 2y, 6.3% of budgetEarthcorps — $100,000 over 2y, 1.5% of budgetWaxfactory Inc — $82,637 over 2y, 22% of budgetPARTNERSHIPS FOR NATURE — $80,000 over 2y, 56% of budgetTHE DRAMA LEAGUE OF NEW YORK INC — $80,000 over 2y, 2.2% of budgetMID ATLANTIC ARTS INC — $70,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetINTERNATIONAL THEATRE DEVELOPMENT INC — $52,000 over 1y, 36% of budgetCLOCKSHOP — $50,000 over 2y, 3.3% of budgetENVIRONMENTAL LAW ALLIANCE WORLDWIDE — $50,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetCLIMATE CONSERVATION DBA CENTER FOR LARGE LANDSCAPE CONSERVATION — $45,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetWildlife Conservation Society — $45,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetKnights of Indulgence Theatre United Sta — $42,000 over 1y, 16% of budgetFOUNDATION FOR CONTEMPORARY ARTS INC — $40,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetWILD SALMON CENTER — $40,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetBETH MORRISON PROJECTS INC — $40,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetALASKA CONSERVATION FOUNDATION — $35,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetTRANSCAUCASIAN TRAIL ASSOCIATION — $35,000 over 1y, 22% of budgetMy Balkans Inc — $35,000 over 1y, 42% of budgetBLACKFOOT CHALLENGE INC — $35,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetHEADLANDS CENTER FOR THE ARTS — $35,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetGASPARD&DANCERS INC — $35,000 over 2y, 15% of budgetTR1314 MULTIDISCIPLINARY VISUAL PERFORMANCES INC — $30,000 over 1y, 3.0% of budgetEMERSON COLLEGE — $30,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetES EXPERIMENTAL INTERMEDIA FOUNDATION — $30,000 over 2y, 30% of budgetTheater Grottesco North America Inc — $30,000 over 1y, 46% of budgetInclusive Development International — $30,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetROCKY MOUNTAIN BUTTERFLY CONSORTIUM — $30,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetWILD SHEEP FOUNDATION — $30,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetINTERNATIONAL SNOW LEOPARD TRUST — $30,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetNORTHEAST DOCUMENT CONSERVATION CENTER INC — $30,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetACADEMY OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA INC — $25,000 over 2y, 59% of budgetAFTERIMAGE PUBLIC MEDIA — $25,000 over 1y, 2.9% of budgetASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN GEOGRAPHERS — $25,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetCULTUREHUB INC — $25,000 over 1y, 3.6% of budgetTHE PERFORMANCE ZONE INC — $22,490 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetCRUDE ACCOUNTABILITY INCORPORATED — $22,000 over 1y, 3.6% of budgetPresident and Fellows of Harvard College — $20,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNEW YORK LIVE ARTS INC — $20,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetCOMMONWEALTH ZOOLOGICAL CORPORATION D/B/A ZOO NEW ENGLAND — $20,000 over 1y, 0.1% 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.

Mid Atlantic Arts IncMD28.4× affinity12 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Mid Atlantic Arts Inc · The Andrew W Mellon Foundation · The Howard Gilman Foundation Inc · The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Inc · The Ford Foundation · Foundation to Promote Open Society · The Aaron Copland Fund for Music Inc Co Alter Kendrick & Baron LLP · Rockefeller Brothers Fund Inc · New England Foundation for the Arts Incorporated · Rsf Social Finance Inc · Gordon E and Betty I Moore Foundation · The Amphion Foundation Inc Co Alter Kendrick & Baron LLP

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 Trust for Mutual Understanding 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 or a single department — and drag the year to watch it move.

2024
202122232425
no gov · 40%4%15%34%60%your share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from governmentmedian 7%
  • Mid Atlantic Arts Inc66% of income from government
  • Wild Salmon Center49% of income from government
  • Northeast Document Conservation Center Inc13% of income from government
  • President and Fellows of Harvard College7% of income from government
  • Commonwealth Zoological Corporation D/B/a Zoo New England2% of income from government
  • Double Edge Theatre Productions Inc2% of income from government
  • Emerson College0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
4get no government money at all
10report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
1rely on government for over half their income
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.

05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Trust for Mutual Understanding?

Find your warmest path to Trust for Mutual Understanding 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 directly from IRS e-file XML — your own 990/990-PF and the multi-year returns of the 126 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