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Wings for Life USA - Spinal Cord Research Foundation Inc at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Public charity

Wings for Life USA - Spinal Cord Research Foundation Inc

To find a biological cure for spinal cord injuries SCI

$2.0M
Granted FY2025still arriving
17
Grants FY2025still arriving
8
States reached
$500k
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, FY2018 to 2024.

Science & Tech$8.9MHealth$7.9MEducation$1.3MYouth Development$684k
02FY2025 · 17 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • $10k–50k2 grants · $82k
  • $50k–250k11 grants · $1.2M
  • $250k+4 grants · $1.3M
$117,000
Median grant
8
States reached
$19M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
SCI Ventures LLC$500,000
Boston Children's Hospital$281,200
University of Pittsburgh$280,000
Case Western Reserve University$276,000
University of California San Francisco$194,400
Shirley Ryan Ability Lab$186,400
Ohio State University$130,000
University of Massachusetts Medical School$117,000
University of California San Diego$117,000
Cedars Sinai Medical Center$113,100
Texas A&M University$104,400
Shirley Ryan Ability Lab$70,160
University of California San Diego$67,300
Ohio State University$67,050
Boston Children's Hospital$66,400
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.

US giving: 83% of grant dollars ($16M). The need read here covers only this US portion; the 17% that went abroad ($3.2M) is mapped below.

show:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY18–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 88% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%Axonis Therapeutics: $240k → 8%University of MA Medical School: $216k → 11%Boston Children's Hospital: $281k → 16%University of Pittsburgh: $280k → 11%The Regents of UC Irvine: $242k → 10%UC San Diego: $283k → 11%The Regents of UC Los Angeles: $246k → 14%Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai: $199k → 17%University of Texas at Dallas: $735k → 14%Houston Methodist Research Institute Center for Neurogeneration: $220k → 16%Clemson University: $275k → 16%University of South Carolina: $145k → 16%Medical College of Wisconsin: $283k → 17%ReNetX: $1.8M → 12%Ohio State University: $554k → 15%Case Western Reserve University: $276k → 17%University of Washington: $240k → 9%Shirley Ryan Ability Lab: $240k → 14%University of Mississippi Medical Ctr: $225k → 23%SCI Ventures LLC: $500k → 16%Veterans Education and Research Assn of N New England Inc: $240k → 9%University of Kentucky: $208k → 15%Univ of Louisville Research Fndtn Inc: $220k → 15%Boston's Childrens Hospital: $145k → 16%Drexel Univ College of Medicine: $223k → 22%University of California Irvine (UCI): $240k → 10%UC San Francisco (UCSF): $216k → 11%University of CA Los Angeles: $133k → 14%Icahn School of Medicine at Mt Sinai: $225k → 17%ReNetX Bio Inc: $1.7M → 12%The Ohio State University Center for Brain & Spinal Cord Research: $358k → 15%Shirley Ryan Ability Lab: $186k → 14%University of Mississippi Medical Center: $120k → 23%SCI Ventures LLC: $500k → 16%University of Kentucky Physiology SCoBIRC: $132k → 15%University of Louisville KSCIRC Neurological Survey: $220k → 15%Boston Children's Hospital: $142k → 16%Temple University: $240k → 22%The Regents of the University of California: $175k → 11%Cedars Sinai Medical Center: $177k → 14%Ohio State University: $130k → 15%Shirley Ryan Ability Lab: $130k → 14%Boston Children's Hospital: $133k → 16%UC San Diego: $130k → 11%Ohio State University: $130k → 15%Boston Children's Hospital: $130k → 16%The Ohio State University: $122k → 15%Boston University Biomedical Engineering: $220k → 16%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

VT
WA
IL
WI
NY
MA
OH
PA
NJ
CT
CA
KY
SC
MS
TX

Beyond the US: 17% of all-years giving ($3.2M)

1 country, by the recipient’s country on the filing.

grant dollars sentlessmore
Canada$3.2M · 1 grant
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. International giving is mapped by the recipient’s country from the same 990 filings; comparable need data isn’t available at that grain.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

74%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$16M · 22 repeat orgs$5.5M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +29% since the first grant, against +9% for those funded once.

22 repeat relationships: 12 still active in FY2025, 10 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

22
9

Total granted

$16M
$5.5M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+29%
+9%

Still filing today

50%
33%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 98% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $41k went to new ones.

50%100%’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
EducationHealthOther
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

  • CH
    Children's Hospital Corporation
    8× · 2018–2025 · $1.2M · revenue +78%
  • RI
    Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago
    3× · 2021–2025 · $735k · revenue +23%
  • UO
    University of Kentucky Research Foundation
    4× · 2019–2025 · $606k · revenue +45%

Funded once

  • NP
    NervGen Pharma Corp
    one grant, 2023 · $3.2M
  • TU
    THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT DALLAS CENTER FOR BRAINHEALTH
    one grant, 2021 · $735k
  • TM
    THE MEDICAL COLLEGE OF WISCONSIN INC
    one grant, 2024 · $283k · revenue +9%
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
University of Miami

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

Education
2
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
3
Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

We educate the next generation of leaders to improve the health of our society.

Education
4
Rush University Medical Center

The mission of Rush is to improve the health of the individuals and diverse communities we serve through the integration of outstanding patient care, education, research and community partnerships.

Health
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
Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania

The trustees of the university of pennsylvania (the "university") sees itself as having a public service mission. in such regard, the university aims to provide a rich and diverse educational environment for its students; to pioneer…

Education
7
Cornell University

Education, research, medical services and other public services.

Education
8
University of Southern California

The central mission of the university of southern california is the development of human beings and society as a whole through the cultivation and enrichment of the human mind and spirit. the principal means by which our mission is…

Education
9
University of Minnesota Physicians

University of minnesota physicians serves as the integrated group practice for the university of minnesota medical school full-time faculty to provide the highest quality healthcare to patients and their families.university of minnesota…

Health
10
Thomas Jefferson University

Thomas jefferson university ("tju") is a comprehensive university with preeminence in transdisciplinary, experiential professional education, research and discovery, delivering exceptional value for the 21st century students with…

Education
11
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The mission of mit is to advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century.

Education
12
Trustees of Dartmouth College

Dartmouth College educates the most promising students and prepares them for a lifetime of learning and of responsible leadership, through a faculty dedicated to teaching and the creation of knowledge.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Carnegie Mellon University; the most unlike its peers is Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. 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

17 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. 17 of the 34 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.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
0
Early backer (in before they grew)
17/17
Grantees still filing
16/17
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

ReNetX: $3,487,458 · OtherReNetXNervGen Pharma Corp: $3,182,104 · OtherNervGen Pharma CorpOHIO STATE UNIVERSITY: $1,347,050 · OtherOHIO STATE UNIVERSITYREGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT SAN DIEGO: $1,195,392 · OtherREGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT SAN DIEGOSCI VENTURES LLC: $1,000,000 · OtherSCI VENTURES LLCUNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO: $752,100 · OtherTHE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT DALLAS CENTER FOR BRAINHEALTH: $735,374 · OtherREGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT IRVINE: $700,000 · Other+12 more: $2,966,740 · Other+12 moreUniversity of Kentucky Research Foundation: $606,000 · EducationUniversity of Kentuc…University of Louisville Research Foundation: $548,400 · EducationUniversity of Louisv…ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI: $423,700 · EducationICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDI…CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY: $360,100 · EducationCASE WESTERN RESERVE…UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH: $360,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF PITTSB…UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS FOUNDATION INC: $333,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF MASSAC…DREXEL UNIVERSITY: $289,500 · EducationDREXEL UNIVERSITYTHE MEDICAL COLLEGE OF WISCONSIN INC: $283,000 · EducationTHE MEDICAL COLLEGE …Yale University: $281,000 · EducationYale UniversityTemple University - Of The Commonwealth System of Higher Education: $240,000 · EducationTemple University - …+1 more: $112,120 · EducationChildren's Hospital Corporation: $1,210,400 · HealthChildren's …Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago: $734,560 · HealthRehabilitat…CEDARS-SINAI MEDICAL CENTER: $290,100 · HealthCEDARS-SINA…
Other$15,366,218Education$3,836,820Health$2,235,060

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetChildren's Hospital Corporation: $1,210,400 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetRehabilitation Institute of Chicago: $734,560 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetUniversity of Kentucky Research Foundation: $606,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetUniversity of Louisville Research Foundation: $548,400 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI: $423,700 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY: $360,100 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH: $360,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS FOUNDATION INC: $333,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetTRUSTEES OF BOSTON UNIVERSITY: $328,400 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCEDARS-SINAI MEDICAL CENTER: $290,100 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetDREXEL UNIVERSITY: $289,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE MEDICAL COLLEGE OF WISCONSIN INC: $283,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetYale University: $281,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTemple University - Of The Commonwealth System of Higher Education: $240,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetVETERANS EDUCATION AND RESEARCH ASSOCIATION OF NORTHERN NEW ENGLAND INC: $240,000 over 1y, 7.9% of budgetTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $112,120 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCarnegie Mellon University: $40,800 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.

  • Who funds Children's Hospital Corporation ↗
  • Who funds Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago ↗
  • Who funds University of Kentucky Research Foundation ↗
  • Who funds University of Louisville Research Foundation ↗
  • Who funds ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI ↗
  • Who funds CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH ↗
  • Who funds UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds TRUSTEES OF BOSTON UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds CEDARS-SINAI MEDICAL CENTER ↗
  • Who funds DREXEL UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds THE MEDICAL COLLEGE OF WISCONSIN INC ↗
  • Who funds Yale University ↗
  • Who funds Temple University - Of The Commonwealth System of Higher Education ↗
  • Who funds VETERANS EDUCATION AND RESEARCH ASSOCIATION OF NORTHERN NEW ENGLAND INC ↗
  • Who funds THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds Carnegie Mellon University ↗

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.

Trustees of Boston Un…Vanderbilt University…Washington UniversityThe Trustees of Colum…American Cancer Socie…American Heart Associ…
Trustees of Boston UniversityMA13.7× affinity4 shared granteesties to 5 of 5Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Trustees of Boston University · Vanderbilt University Medical Center · Washington University · The Trustees of Columbia University · American Cancer Society Inc · American Heart Association Inc

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 Wings for Life USA - Spinal Cord Research Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Wings for Life USA - Spinal Cord Research Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 12%
  • Veterans Education and Research Association of Northern New England Inc: 17% of income from government
  • Trustees of Boston University: 12% of income from government
  • Yale University: 12% of income from government
  • Children's Hospital Corporation: 10% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
2report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely 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.

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 34 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 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Wings for Life USA - Spinal Cord Research’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