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Underwriters Laboratories Inc at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Public charity

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 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.

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

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 48 grants below total $8,624,452, the rows itemized in this filing. The $9,317,877 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $693,425 is giving the schedule does not break out (grants under the $5,000 itemization floor, grants to individuals, grants on other schedules). Every figure below describes the itemized 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

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, $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 its 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%ILLINOIS SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY INSTITUTE: $10k → 14%THE CATHOLIC CHARITIES: $15k → 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
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

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
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.

91%of every dollar goes to organizations it has 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%
+29%

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
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

  • 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%
  • TG
    Techbridge Girls
    one grant, 2018 · $100k · revenue -72%
  • FA
    FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INCgraduated
    one grant, 2019 · $100k · revenue +34%
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
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 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
4
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
5
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
6
National Association of College and University Attorneys

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

—
7
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
8
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…

—
9
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
10
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
11
Society for Neuroscience

Sfn's mission is to: 1. advance the understanding of the brain and the nervous system by bringing together scientists of all segments of neuroscience, by facilitating the integration of research directed at all levels of biological…

Health
12
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…

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Michigan State University Research Foundation; 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.
04the grantee network

109 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. 109 of the 128 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.

5
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
18
Early backer (in before they grew)
109/109
Grantees still filing
77/109
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and 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 & CultureNAVY SEAL FOUNDATION INC: $20,000 · Arts & CultureEVANSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATION: $20,000 · Arts & CultureMUSIC INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO: $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 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 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 budgetTechbridge Girls: $100,000 over 1y, 3.5% of budgetFLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $100,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetHOME FIRE SPRINKLER COALITION INC: $100,000 over 4y, 4.9% 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 budgetSAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetOCEAN DISCOVERY INSTITUTE: $50,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetCEC STUYVESANT COVE INC: $50,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetTHE HURRICANE ISLAND FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 1y, 4.8% of budgetNORTH AMERICAN ASSOCIATES OF THE STS FORUM: $50,000 over 2y, 13% of budgetCALIFORNIA POLYTECHNIC STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetNehemiah Group dba Chicago Eco House: $50,000 over 2y, 43% of budgetWGBH Educational Foundation: $50,000 over 1y, 0.0% 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
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.

Ulse IncMotorola Solutions Fo…The Sidley Austin Fou…John D and Catherine …The Chicago Community…The Ayco Charitable F…Arie and Ida Crown Me…The Negaunee Foundati…Patrick G and Shirley…The Robert Thomas Bob…American Petroleum In…Baxter International …
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

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 Underwriters Laboratories Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Underwriters Laboratories Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 70%5%19%42%75%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 24%
  • Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition Inc: 87% of income from government
  • Sfpe Educational and Scientific Foundation: 69% of income from government
  • The Fire Protection Research Foundation: 50% of income from government
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology: 35% of income from government
  • National Fallen Firefighters Foundation: 24% of income from government
  • President and Fellows of Harvard College: 7% of income from government
  • National Fire Sprinkler Association Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Wgbh Educational Foundation: 1% of income from government
  • The Electrochemical Society Inc: 1% of income from government
  • University of Maryland Foundation Inc: 0% 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, 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 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 from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 128 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 Underwriters Laboratories’ 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