Funding by state · PA
Grantmaking in Pennsylvania
8,081 grantmakers are based in Pennsylvania. Together they granted $10B across the 2022 and 2023 filings, the 8th most of any state, and kept 70% of it in Pennsylvania. Funding here stays close to home, the 27th most in-state of any state.
Pennsylvania's 65,211 nonprofits, by cause, size and age ↓- 8,081
- grantmakers
- $10B
- granted, FY2022 and FY2023
- $386
- given per resident, per year
- 70%
- stays in-state
The short version
- 8,081 grantmakers are based in Pennsylvania, granting $10B across the FY2022 and FY2023 IRS filings, the 8th most of any state.
- 70% of grant dollars from Pennsylvania funders stayed in Pennsylvania; the rest went to organizations in other states.
- Pennsylvania's grantmakers give $386 a year for every resident of the state.
- Pennsylvania is a net exporter of grant money, sending $65M more to other states than its organizations draw in from them.
- Grant money reaching Pennsylvania organizations goes to arts and culture at 1.54× the national rate.
- Pennsylvania has 65,211 organizations registered with the IRS as 501(c)(3)s, 50 for every 10,000 residents; 90% of its public charities that report revenue or file the e-Postcard take in under $1 million a year.
Where Pennsylvania sits among the states
Each dot is a state, sized by its grant dollars. Pennsylvania is in green.
Given per resident, per year
Share that stays in-state
Net flow with other states
Pennsylvania and the other states
Pennsylvania's foundations send $65M more to other states than its organizations draw from them. Switch direction to see who it funds and who funds it.
Donor-advised funds, related-party transfers and regrants through intermediaries are left out, so these ties show where the state's own grantmakers reach.
Largest funders based in Pennsylvania
Grantmakers headquartered in Pennsylvania, sized by total grants made. Pick one for its dossier.
Organizations in Pennsylvania that draw the most
The nonprofits in Pennsylvania that received the most grant money.
Biggest funders reaching in from elsewhere
Out-of-state funders sending the most money to organizations in Pennsylvania.
What draws money in Pennsylvania, against the country
Each cause by how much of the grant money reaching Pennsylvania's organizations it takes, relative to the national rate. Right of the line is overweight, left underweight. Pennsylvania is most overweight on arts and culture, at 1.54× the national rate. Dot size is the cause's share.
Where the money goes by org size
Grant dollars to organizations in Pennsylvania, by the recipient's size, against the national average (the marker). Pennsylvania sends a larger share to $1M to $10M organizations than the country as a whole, and less to $10M to $100M.
Find funders by cause in Pennsylvania
Who funds each cause in Pennsylvania, with the largest funders and how to reach them.
The nonprofit sector · PA
Pennsylvania's nonprofits
Pennsylvania has 65,211 organizations registered with the IRS as 501(c)(3)s: 58,618 public charities, 10,496 of them congregations, and 6,593 private foundations. 90% of the public charities that report revenue or file the e-Postcard take in under $1 million a year, and together they report 2% of the sector's revenue. The largest 1% report 77%.
- 65,211
- registered 501(c)(3)s
- 50
- per 10,000 residents
- $223B
- charity revenue, latest returns
- 30%
- file a full Form 990 or 990-EZ
Registered 501(c)(3)s per 10,000 residents
Each dot is a state, sized by its number of 501(c)(3)s. Pennsylvania is in green.
What they do, by count and by money
Religion is the largest group by number, 22% of Pennsylvania's public charities and 0.5% of their revenue. Health is 7% of the charities and 36% of the revenue. Pennsylvania has 2.26× the national share of disaster and safety charities.
- 22%0.5%
- 11%18%
- 9%6%
- 8%0.3%
- 7%1%
- 7%36%
- 3%0.5%
- 3%0.2%
- 3%0.1%
- 3%Philanthropy12%
- 3%0.2%
- 2%0.9%
- 2%0.2%
- 2%0.2%
- 1%0.4%
- 1%0.2%
- 2%Everything else1%
- 12%Not classified23%
The thin mark on the left is the national share of charities in the same cause.
Many small, a few very large
Public charities by the revenue on their latest return. Each band is drawn twice: by its share of the charities on top, and by its share of the revenue underneath.
- Under $50k
64% of charities · under 0.1% of revenue - $50k to $250k
15% of charities · 0.4% of revenue - $250k to $1M
10% of charities · 1% of revenue - $1M to $10M
7% of charities · 5% of revenue - $10M to $100M
2% of charities · 15% of revenue - $100M and up
0.5% of charities · 78% of revenue
What the IRS sees
Only charities filing a Form 990 or 990-EZ report their finances. Financial figures about nonprofits, here and in any study built on 990s, describe 30% of Pennsylvania's public charities.
- 30% file a Form 990 or 990-EZ
17,870 charities · 26% nationally - 51% file only the e-Postcard (990-N)
29,636 charities · 54% nationally - 19% file no return of their own (mostly congregations)
11,112 charities · 20% nationally
How new they are
Half of Pennsylvania's public charities were recognized by the IRS in 2012 or later, and 29% since 2020 (32% nationally). The register lists only organizations still recognized, so the older decades count survivors.
The line across each bar is the national share for that decade. The 2020s are a partial decade.
Pennsylvania's largest charities
By total revenue on each one's latest return. A health system files as several organizations, so one system can appear more than once.
How they are doing
Financial health of the charities that file full returns, against every state.
FY2023 returns from 20,985 Pennsylvania charities filing a Form 990 or 990-EZ and spending $50k or more; cash figures are from the 15,925 full 990 filers among them. The national health report.
Counts, causes, revenue and recognition dates are from the IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, which records recognitions through May 2026. A charity is placed by its mailing address. Causes are NTEE major groups, with health's sub-groups folded in; a congregation the IRS has given no NTEE code counts under religion. Revenue is each organization's own latest return, summed, so payments between related organizations are counted on both sides.
Questions and answers
- What does it mean for grant money to stay in-state?
- It is the share of grants made by funders based in Pennsylvania that reached organizations also located in Pennsylvania, rather than organizations in other states. A high share means local funders mostly back local causes; a low one means the money largely leaves.
- Is Pennsylvania a major grantmaking state?
- Pennsylvania ranks 8th of the 52 states and territories by grant dollars from resident funders. The largest grantmaking states are California and New York; the most outward, where money mostly leaves, are domiciles like Delaware.
- How can a nonprofit find funders in Pennsylvania?
- Start with the largest grantmakers based in Pennsylvania, currently GlaxoSmithKline Patient Access Programs Foundation and The William Penn Foundation. Out-of-state funders also reach in, led by The Big Ten Conference Inc. Grant money reaching Pennsylvania favors arts and culture above the national rate, so funders active there are worth approaching.
- How many nonprofits are there in Pennsylvania?
- 65,211 organizations in Pennsylvania are registered with the IRS as 501(c)(3)s: 58,618 public charities, 10,496 of them congregations, and 6,593 private foundations. Only 30% of the public charities file a full Form 990 or 990-EZ; 51% file only the e-Postcard, for organizations normally taking in $50,000 or less, and the rest, mostly congregations, file no return of their own. The count is from the IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File.
- How recent is this Pennsylvania grant 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, so this is the most recent complete picture.
More from the funding graph
Read from IRS Form 990 and 990-PF e-file XML for fiscal years 2022 and 2023. A funder is placed by the state on its most recent filing. Grants only: payments into and out of donor-advised fund sponsors, transfers to related organizations, regrants through intermediaries, non-philanthropic payments and grants to individuals are left out. In-state share is among grants whose recipient state is known; ties with other states and the net flow count only grants placed at both ends. Residents are Census ACS 5-year estimates (2019 to 2023). Source: IRS Form 990 downloads.