Report · The regranting layer
Where grant money flows through
51% of every grant dollar tracked in US filings lands on an organization that also makes grants of its own. This regranting layer, donor-advised funds, community foundations and fiscal sponsors, sits between funders and the charities doing the work, and 35% of what it grants goes to yet another intermediary.
The short version
- 51% of every grant dollar tracked in US filings lands on an organization that also makes grants of its own.
- 2,365 organizations route at least $5M both in and out, the regranting layer between funders and working charities.
- 35% of what an intermediary grants goes to yet another intermediary, money passing through more than one layer before it reaches the work.
- Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund granted $29B on $1.8B of tracked inflow, an amplifier drawing on donor contributions this data does not see, while Gates Foundation took in $20B and granted $6.0B, the accumulator pattern of a large endowed funder.
Conduits, amplifiers, accumulators
Each dot is an organization, placed by what it takes in against what it grants out. On the diagonal, money in matches money out, a pure conduit. Above it, the organization grants more than it receives in tracked grants, the pattern of donor-advised funds drawing on individual donors. Below it, the organization keeps more than it regrants.
The biggest money-routers
Ranked by throughput, with money in, money out, and role. Donor-advised funds show a low money-in figure because contributions from individual donors are not in this data, which inflates their out-to-in ratio.
Three kinds of router
Fidelity Charitable
Granted $29B while receiving $1.8B in tracked grants. Its real inflow is contributions from individual donors, which this data does not see, so it grants far more than it appears to take in.
Gates Foundation
Received $20B in endowment transfers and granted $6.0B. It holds far more than it regrants in a year, the pattern of a large endowed funder.
Mayo Clinic
Drew $5.6B from 1,008 funders and regranted little. Universities and hospitals take from a wide base and keep most of it for their own work.
Questions and answers
- What is an intermediary, or regranter?
- An organization that both receives and makes grants above $5M each way: donor-advised funds, community foundations and fiscal sponsors that sit between funders and the charities doing the work. 2,365 organizations meet that bar in the filings.
- What is the difference between a conduit, an amplifier and an accumulator?
- A conduit grants out roughly what it takes in. An amplifier grants out more than it receives in tracked grants, the pattern of a donor-advised fund drawing on individual donors. An accumulator takes in more than it regrants, the pattern of a large endowed funder or a university.
- Why does a regranter appear to give more than it receives?
- Contributions from individual donors are not in this data. A donor-advised fund's real inflow is the money donors put in, which is invisible here, so it looks as though it grants far more than it takes in.
- Why does it matter that grant money passes through intermediaries?
- Money that lands on a regranter has not yet reached the organization doing the work, and 35% of what intermediaries grant goes to a further intermediary, so a grant can move through more than one layer before it is spent on a program.
More from the funding graph
Read from IRS Form 990 and 990-PF e-file XML for fiscal years 2022 and 2023, the two years with complete filing coverage (charity filings lag 12 to 24 months). An intermediary is an organization that both receives and makes grants above two million dollars each way. Contributions from individual donors are not in this data, so a donor-advised fund's inflow is understated and its ratio reads high. Source: IRS Form 990 downloads.