How do I find funders for a arts and culture nonprofit in Washington, D.C.?

Start with the funders already giving to arts and culture in Washington, D.C., currently Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund, Npr Foundation, Wem Foundation. Then look at who funds the arts and culture organizations on this page that resemble yours, and add the national funders reaching into Washington, D.C. from out of state.

Who is the largest arts and culture funder in Washington, D.C.?

Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund gives the most to arts and culture organizations in Washington, D.C., $99M across the 2022 and 2023 filings.

How much grant money goes to arts and culture in Washington, D.C.?

$1.2B reached 387 arts and culture organizations in Washington, D.C., from 2,766 funders. 22% came from funders also based in Washington, D.C..

How recent is this data?

It is read from IRS Form 990 and 990-PF e-file filings for fiscal years 2022 and 2023, the two years with complete coverage. US charity filings lag 12 to 24 months.

Funding · Washington, D.C. · Arts and culture

Who funds arts and culture in Washington, D.C.

Most of it comes from outside Washington, D.C.: only 22% is from funders based in the state, so national funders set the agenda here. Washington, D.C.'s arts and culture organizations are comparatively well-backed, averaging 7 funders each.

$1.2B

granted

387

organizations

22%

from in-state

The short version

2,766 funders gave $1.2B to 387 arts and culture organizations in Washington, D.C. across the FY2022 and FY2023 IRS filings.
22% of that came from funders also based in Washington, D.C.; the rest reached in from out of state.
The largest funder of arts and culture in Washington, D.C. is Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund, at $99M.
The arts and culture organization drawing the most is Smithsonian Institution, at $303M.

Largest funders of arts and culture in Washington, D.C.

The funders giving the most to arts and culture organizations in Washington, D.C., in-state and out. Pick one for its dossier.

1Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund$99M 2Npr Foundation$79M 3Wem Foundation$75M 4Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program$55M 5The Andrew W Mellon Foundation$41M 6Corporation for Public Broadcasting$39M 7Ann B & Thomas L Friedman Family Found$36M 8Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc$32M 9The American Independent Foundation$24M 10Ab Foundation$24M

Arts and culture organizations in Washington, D.C. that draw the most

Sized by grant dollars received. Pick one to see exactly who funds it.

377 other arts and culture organizations$441M

Smithsonian Institution$303M National Public Radio Inc$162M The Center for Education Reform$40M John F Kennedy Center for the Performing$36M

How to find arts and culture funders in Washington, D.C.

1
Start with the funders already active in Washington, D.C.
The funders giving the most to arts and culture in Washington, D.C. are Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund, Npr Foundation, Wem Foundation. A funder already writing arts and culture checks in your state is the warmest place to begin.
2
See who funds organizations like yours
Open the arts and culture organizations on this page that resemble yours in size or work, and look at who funds them. Shared funders are the strongest signal of fit.
3
Add the out-of-state funders reaching in
78% of arts and culture money in Washington, D.C. comes from funders elsewhere, so national arts and culture funders are worth approaching even if they are not based in Washington, D.C..

Questions and answers

How do I find funders for a arts and culture nonprofit in Washington, D.C.?: Start with the funders already giving to arts and culture in Washington, D.C., currently Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund, Npr Foundation, Wem Foundation. Then look at who funds the arts and culture organizations on this page that resemble yours, and add the national funders reaching into Washington, D.C. from out of state.
Who is the largest arts and culture funder in Washington, D.C.?: Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund gives the most to arts and culture organizations in Washington, D.C., $99M across the 2022 and 2023 filings.
How much grant money goes to arts and culture in Washington, D.C.?: $1.2B reached 387 arts and culture organizations in Washington, D.C., from 2,766 funders. 22% came from funders also based in Washington, D.C..
How recent is this data?: It is read from IRS Form 990 and 990-PF e-file filings for fiscal years 2022 and 2023, the two years with complete coverage. US charity filings lag 12 to 24 months.

More from the funding graph

The regranting layer

51% of grant dollars pass through an intermediary

The DAF merry-go-round

$9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds

Strange bedfellows

the named clusters of US funding

The camps

funders cluster by geography, not ideology

State money flows

the interactive map of money crossing state lines

Giving abroad

which US foundations fund each country

Cause is the recipient's NTEE classification in the IRS Business Master File; location is the recipient's state on its most recent filing. Grant figures are read from IRS Form 990 and 990-PF e-file XML for fiscal years 2022 and 2023, among recipients resolved by EIN. Source: IRS Form 990 downloads.