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Underwriters Laboratories Inc

UNDERWRITERS LABORATORIES INC.'s mission is: to advance safety science through research and investigation for the public good; to promote safe living and working environments for people by the application of safety science research and hazard-based safety engineering; to support the research and development of products that are…

$9.3M
Granted FY2024still arriving
48
Grants FY2024still arriving
17
States reached
$2.6M
Largest
01What you fund
01100% classified

What you funded, over time

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

Science & Tech$8.1MEducation$7.9MRecreation & Sports$6.7MPublic Safety & Disaster$1.6MEnvironment$502kArts & Culture$430kInternational$416kPublic Benefit$280kOther$0
02FY2024 · 48 grants

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

The 48 grants below total $8,624,452 — the rows itemised in this filing. The $9,317,877 headline is the total grant expense reported on the return, so the remaining $693,425 is giving the schedule does not break out: grants under the $5,000 itemisation floor, grants to individuals, and grants reported on other schedules. Every figure below describes the itemised rows only.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k3 grants · $20k
  • $10k–50k24 grants · $443k
  • $50k–250k14 grants · $2.0M
  • $250k+7 grants · $6.2M
$25,000
Median grant
17
States reached
$1.1B
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY$2,623,627
DUKE UNIVERSITY$800,605
PURDUE UNIVERSITY$750,267
KINDLING INC$581,762
STATE OF MARYLAND-UNIVERSITY OF MD COLLEGE PARK$576,561
HARVARD UNIVERSITY$560,910
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY$310,148
ASU FOUNDATION FOR A NEW AMERICAN UNIVERSITY$249,995
NASA JOHNSON SPACE CENTER$240,000
BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS$208,243
WEST VIRGINIA UNIV RESEARCH CORPORATION$191,774
UNIV OF MARYLAND CLG PARK FND$170,000
EMORY UNIVERSITY$144,984
NATIONAL ENGINEERS WEEK FDN$133,395
CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY$131,724
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 (FY17–24, $110k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of your grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%THE ILLINOIS ST ANDREW SOCIETY: $10k → 14%THE ILLINOIS ST ANDREW SOCIETY: $10k → 14%CENTER ON HALSTED: $25k → 14%CENTER ON HALSTED: $10k → 14%THE CATHOLIC CHARITIES: $15k → 14%ILLINOIS SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY INSTITUTE: $10k → 14%AMERICAN RED CROSS OF GREATER CHICAGO: $15k → 14%AMERICAN RED CROSS OF GREATER CHICAGO: $15k → 14%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

ME
MT
IL
MI
NY
MA
OR
WY
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CA
WV
VA
MD
DE
AZ
NM
KS
TN
NC
SC
DC
GA
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.

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.

91%of every dollar goes to organizations you’ve funded before.
$23M · 55 repeat orgs$2.2M to everyone else

55 repeat relationships — 30 still active in FY2024, 25 since wound down; 16 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

55
53

Total granted

$23M
$1.5M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+24%
+25%

Still filing today

78%
92%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 91% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $665k 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
EducationArts & CulturePublic Safety & DisasterScience & TechHuman ServicesYouth 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

  • Northwestern University
    3× · 2022–2024 · $5.9M · revenue +4%
  • CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY
    7× · 2017–2024 · $2.9M · revenue +50%
  • DUKE UNIVERSITY
    3× · 2022–2024 · $1.7M · revenue +3%

Funded once

  • TB
    THE BRIDGESPAN GROUP INC
    one grant, 2020 · $160k · revenue -23%
  • FA
    FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INCgraduated
    one grant, 2019 · $100k · revenue +34%
  • TG
    Techbridge Girls
    one grant, 2018 · $100k · revenue -72%

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
United States Naval Institute

Provide an independent forum for those who dare to read, think, speak, and write to advance the professional, literary, and scientific understanding of sea power and other issues critical to global security.

2
American Association for the Advancement of Science

Advance science, engineering, and innovation throughout the world for the benefit of all. the world's largest multidisciplinary scientific society and a leading publisher of cutting-edge research through its science family of journals,…

Science & Tech
3
American Society of Civil Engineers Inc

To provide essential value to our members, their careers, our partners, and the public, asce will: facilitate the advancement of technology; encourage and provide the tools for lifelong learning; promote professionalism and the profession;…

Science & Tech
4
American Geophysical Union

Agu's mission is to advance and support an inclusive community of earth and space scientists and partners dedicated to discovery and solutions to societal challenges. agu seeks to catalyze discovery and solutions to scientific and societal…

Science & Tech
5
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
6
National Opinion Research Center

See schedule onorc at the university of chicago conducts research and data science on critical societal issues to guide decision-making and the development of programs and public policy. our experts identify relationships and trends, and…

Social Science
7
American Gas Association

American gas association's (the association) mission is to develop and advocate for informed, innovative, and durable policy that fulfills our nation's energy needs, environmental aspirations and economic potential. we are committed to…

8
American Astronomical Society

The american astronomical society (aas), established in 1899, is the major organization of professional astronomers in north america. the basic objective of the aas is to promote the advancement of astronomy and closely related branches of…

Science & Tech
9
National Association of College and University Attorneys

To advance the practice of higher education attorneys for the benefit of the institutions they serve.

10
University of the Sciences in Philadelphia

University of the sciences prepares students to become leaders, innovators, and skilled practitioners in the sciences, the health professions, and related disciplines. we deliver excellence in teaching, research, and service through a safe…

11
Furman University

The primary mission of furman as a liberal arts institution is to provide a distinctive education in fine arts, humanities, social sciences, mathematics and the sciences, as well as selected professional disciplines.

Education
12
Aacsb International - the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business

Aacsb international provides quality assurance of business school programs, the latest in business education intelligence, thought leadership, and learning and development services.

Education

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Michigan State University Research Foundation and the most unlike its peers is Sweet Water Foundation. 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 backsteadyFaith-Based Liberal Arts Co…Community College Foundatio…Health Access Advocacy and …Youth Sports ProgramsYouth Development CentersOrchestra and Ensemble Perf…Senior Support ServicesDance Arts OrganizationsFaith-Based Social ServicesVolunteer Fire & Ems Servic…Cancer Support ServicesEnvironmental Conservation …Community Foundations
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 39 years old; the field is 16. You back the established end — and your money leans older still.

THE FIELDby orgYOUR GRANTEESby number22%4%<5yr14%3%5–10yr19%14%10–20yr16%25%20–35yr13%17%35–55yr16%38%55yr+
THE FIELDby orgYOUR MONEYby value22%1%<5yr14%4%5–10yr19%10%10–20yr16%10%20–35yr13%15%35–55yr16%60%55yr+

The field is 22% startups (under 5 years old) — 4% of your grantees by number, and just 1% 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%0/129
the rest of the field
13%
240,396/1,819,436

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

109 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. 109 of the 128 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.

5
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
17
Early backer (in before they grew)
109/109
Grantees still filing
76/109
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY — $2,867,557 · EducationCASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITYDUKE UNIVERSITY — $1,662,525 · EducationDUKE UNIVERSITYGEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY RESEARCH FOUNDATION INC — $1,231,100 · EducationGEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY RESEARCH FOUNDATION INCUNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND FOUNDATION INC — $925,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND FOUNDATION INCPresident and Fellows of Harvard College — $855,976 · EducationPresident and Fellows of Harvard CollegeUNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND COLLEGE PARK FOUNDATION INC — $734,758 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND COLLEGE PARK FOUNDATION INCMassachusetts Institute of Technology — $620,296 · EducationARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION FOR A NEW AMERICAN UNIVERSITY — $549,995 · Education+21 more — $2,691,550 · Education+21 moreNorthwestern University — $5,907,843 · Recreation & SportsNorthwestern University+1 more — $15,000 · Recreation & SportsTRUSTEES OF PURDUE UNIVERSITY — $1,228,317 · OtherTRUSTEES OF PURDUE UNIVERS…UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND COLLEGE PARK — $1,178,977 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND COL…UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON — $525,000 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF HOUSTONTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS — $275,286 · OtherNASA JOHNSON SPACE CENTER — $240,000 · Other+59 more — $2,851,132 · Other+59 moreKINDLING INC — $850,000 · Public Safety & DisasterFDNY FOUNDATION INC — $185,000 · Public Safety & DisasterHOME FIRE SPRINKLER COALITION INC — $100,000 · Public Safety & DisasterTHE AMERICAN INDIA FOUNDATION — $47,500 · Public Safety & Disaster+4 more — $71,000 · Public Safety & DisasterNORTHBROOK SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA — $60,000 · Arts & CultureWGBH Educational Foundation — $50,000 · Arts & CultureFLOWER HILL INSTITUTE — $50,000 · Arts & CultureChicago Symphony Orchestra — $45,000 · Arts & CultureRAVINIA FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION — $42,000 · Arts & CultureTHE ADLER PLANETARIUM — $37,500 · Arts & CultureAMERICAN COLLEGE OF OCCUPATIONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL MEDICINE — $25,000 · Arts & CultureTHE KEY WEST HARRY S TRUMAN FOUNDATION INC — $25,000 · Arts & CultureChicago Architecture Foundation — $25,000 · Arts & CultureMUSIC INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO — $20,000 · Arts & CultureEVANSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATION — $20,000 · Arts & CultureNAVY SEAL FOUNDATION INC — $20,000 · Arts & Culture+5 more — $50,169 · Arts & CultureSouthwest Research Institute — $299,600 · Science & TechNORTH AMERICAN ASSOCIATES OF THE STS FORUM — $50,000 · Science & TechThe Electrochemical Society Inc — $15,000 · Science & Tech+2 more — $19,750 · Science & TechCHICAGO HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY — $200,000 · EnvironmentCEC STUYVESANT COVE INC — $50,000 · EnvironmentMONTANA NATURAL HISTORY CENTER — $25,000 · Environment
Education$12,138,757Recreation & Sports$5,922,843Other$6,298,712Public Safety & Disaster$1,253,500Arts & Culture$469,669Science & Tech$384,350Environment$275,000

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

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ your share of their budgetNorthwestern University — $5,907,843 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetCASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY — $2,867,557 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetDUKE UNIVERSITY — $1,662,525 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetGEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY RESEARCH FOUNDATION INC — $1,231,100 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND FOUNDATION INC — $925,000 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetPresident and Fellows of Harvard College — $855,976 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetKINDLING INC — $850,000 over 2y, 75% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND COLLEGE PARK FOUNDATION INC — $734,758 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetMassachusetts Institute of Technology — $620,296 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION FOR A NEW AMERICAN UNIVERSITY — $549,995 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetWilliam Marsh Rice University — $395,565 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetEmory University — $389,697 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY RESEARCH CORPORATION — $380,578 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetSouthwest Research Institute — $299,600 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE FOUNDATION INC — $270,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetUniversity of Chicago — $263,180 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCHICAGO HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY — $200,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetBUSINESS EXECUTIVES FOR NATIONAL SECURITY — $186,435 over 4y, 1.3% of budgetFDNY FOUNDATION INC — $185,000 over 6y, 0.6% of budgetPLAYERS PHILANTHROPY FUND INC — $171,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetTHE BRIDGESPAN GROUP INC — $160,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetNATIONAL CONSUMERS LEAGUE INC — $150,000 over 3y, 2.5% of budgetSFPE Educational and Scientific Foundation — $146,500 over 3y, 33% of budgetNATIONAL ENGINEERS WEEK FOUNDATION — $133,395 over 1y, 4.5% of budgetNATIONAL FALLEN FIREFIGHTERS FOUNDATION — $130,000 over 4y, 0.7% of budgetNATIONAL CONSORTIUM FOR GRADUATE DEGREES FOR MINORITIES IN ENGINEERING & SCIENCE — $125,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetUC SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION — $106,667 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetHOME FIRE SPRINKLER COALITION INC — $100,000 over 4y, 4.9% of budgetFLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC — $100,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetTechbridge Girls — $100,000 over 1y, 3.5% of budgetTHE AMERICAN IRELAND FUND (DBA THE IRELAND FUNDS AMERICA/THE IRELAND FUNDS) — $80,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetUNITED NATIONS FOUNDATION INC — $70,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY RESEARCH FOUNDATION — $65,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetAMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY INC — $60,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSociety of Fire Protection Engineers Inc — $53,850 over 3y, 1.1% of budgetWGBH Educational Foundation — $50,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCEC STUYVESANT COVE INC — $50,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetCALIFORNIA POLYTECHNIC STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION — $50,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetSAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY RESEARCH FOUNDATION — $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE HURRICANE ISLAND FOUNDATION — $50,000 over 1y, 4.8% of budgetOCEAN DISCOVERY INSTITUTE — $50,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetNORTH AMERICAN ASSOCIATES OF THE STS FORUM — $50,000 over 2y, 13% of budgetNehemiah Group dba Chicago Eco House — $50,000 over 2y, 43% of budgetTHE AMERICAN INDIA FOUNDATION — $47,500 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetChicago Symphony Orchestra — $45,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetRAVINIA FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION — $42,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetGOOD SPORTS INC — $40,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetUniversity of Illinois Foundation — $38,060 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.

Ulse IncIL22.1× affinity8 shared granteesties to 9 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Ulse Inc · Motorola Solutions Foundation · The Sidley Austin Foundation · John D and Catherine T Macarthur Foundation · The Chicago Community Trust · The Ayco Charitable Foundation · Arie and Ida Crown Memorial · The Negaunee Foundation · Patrick G and Shirley W Ryan Foundation · The Robert Thomas Bobins Foundation · American Petroleum Institute · Baxter International 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 Underwriters Laboratories Inc 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 · 70%5%19%42%75%your share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from governmentmedian 24%
  • Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition Inc87% of income from government
  • Sfpe Educational and Scientific Foundation69% of income from government
  • The Fire Protection Research Foundation50% of income from government
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology35% of income from government
  • National Fallen Firefighters Foundation24% of income from government
  • President and Fellows of Harvard College7% of income from government
  • National Fire Sprinkler Association Inc2% of income from government
  • Wgbh Educational Foundation1% of income from government
  • The Electrochemical Society Inc1% of income from government
  • University of Maryland Foundation Inc0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
7get no government money at all
11report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
2rely 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 Underwriters Laboratories Inc?

Find your warmest path to Underwriters Laboratories Inc 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 128 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 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