New York · Nonprofit
ART START INC
ART START INC (New York) receives grants from 45 organizations whose IRS filings report $2,535,977 to it, the largest being THE JIM JACOBS CHARITABLE FOUNDATION ($283,315). 25 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $1.3M
- Funders on record
- 45
- Grants received
- $2.5M
- Net assets
- $477k
What Art Start Inc does
Mission
Art start uses the creative process to nurture the voices, hearts and minds - see schedule o
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
On its FY2025 return the organization reported starting a significant new program.
Our newest initiative within the sector based employment of creative career industry training through art start's pre-employment certification builds on this foundation by providing structured workforce preparation, industry-informed training, and credentialed skill development that supports participants' transition into creative careers and further education. See me because/public exchanges serves as a public platform for the voices and visions of art start participants, engaging broader audiences through exhibitions, publications, and other multimedia works. All of art start's programs are supported by trained, credentialed artist educators, program managers and directors, and a licensed social worker to ensure a holistic, healing-centered approach to youth engagement through the arts
Its own explanation, from Schedule O of that return (Part III, line 2).
Creative collectives provides year-round daily and weekly workshops at partner shelter sites and at Art Start Inc. 's headquarters to expand equitable access to arts education for children, youth, and young adults experiencing housing insecurity. During the 2025 scal year, Art Start Inc. Served more than 1,000 participants, ages 524, in new york, ny and milwaukee, wi. Through structured creative arts instruction and creative career development activities, participants built foundational and advanced artistic skills, increased creative condence, and engaged in consistent learning opportunities that supported personal development and educational continuity. Programming was delivered on an ongoing, year-round basis and emphasized skill-building, mentorship, and exposure to creative career pathways, resulting in sustained participation and meaningful engagement across program sites.
$208,218 spent33% of program spendingCreative connections provides teens and young adults with structured access to professional artistic studios and partner program locations, including the whitney museum, brooklyn academy of music, and 651 arts. The program is designed to expand access to creative arts education and promote workforce readiness within the creative industries for participants who face signicant systemic barriers. During the 2025 scal year, creative connections delivered creative career exploration and skill-building opportunities to more than 100 participants, ages 1624. Program activities included paid artist residencies, paid creative career development internships, and facilitated exposure to creative industry pathways. Participants engaged in hands-on studio practice, mentorship, and professional development experiences intended to build job-readiness skills, increase awareness of viable creative careers, and support successful transitions to education, training, or employment. Programming was delivered across multiple community-based and institutional settings to ensure consistent access to high-quality creative learning and career development opportunities.
$208,217 spent33% of program spendingSee me because / public exchanges serves as a public platform that elevates the voices, perspectives, and creative work of art start participants while providing practical, real-world learning experiences through partnerships with arts, media, and creative industry organizations. Program activities took place across multiple cities, including madison, wi; chicago, il; and new york, ny, and engaged participants in professional exposure opportunities spanning fashion, music, skincare, lm production, record labels, museums, auction houses, and related creative elds.in 2025, the program included the artist statement, a collaborative initiative developed in partnership with este lauder and poet amanda gorman, which centered participant storytelling, artistic expression, and public presentation through creative media.participants developed original works and statements that highlighted personal narratives and artistic identity while gaining experience working with nationally recognized creative partners.
$208,217 spent33% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $624,652.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2022 to 2023, from $438k to $764k (+75%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2022 20% · 2023 20% · 2024 17% · 2025 13%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
100% of ART START INC’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (63% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 3 of the last 8 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Board chair
Marion Tanis
Board president
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 10 funders to 22 funders, grant income rose $95k → $501k.
10 of 45 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 27% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of ART START INC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 45 funders by total. Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
ART START INC has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 11% of grant income, and it takes 7 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 7 funders to its left
41% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund ART START INC.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 31% · 2018 21% · 2019 30% · 2020 27% · 2021 18% · 2022 16% · 2023 17% — diversifying over time.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
41% of ART START INC's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 56% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
63% of ART START INC's grant income comes from New York funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $680k arriving through sponsors registered in 8 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
ART START INC has grown faster than half of the 3,430 arts & culture nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 3,430 arts & culture nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2025
Government funding ART START INC receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $175k on record.
- National Endowment for the Arts$175k
Federal grants vs contracts are distinguished; state line items keep their reported category. Matched by name + geography (the BMF), so coverage is partial and precision-first.
Organizations like ART START INC
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In New York
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
48% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
100%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 2 states
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for ART START INC: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds ART START INC?
- ART START INC (New York) receives grants from 45 organizations whose IRS filings report $2,535,977 to it, the largest being THE JIM JACOBS CHARITABLE FOUNDATION ($283,315). 25 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does ART START INC have?
- IRS filings report 45 organizations giving $2,535,977 in grants to ART START INC, 25 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of ART START INC?
- THE JIM JACOBS CHARITABLE FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $283,315 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like ART START INC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in New York. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
Play a game about who funds Art Start →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 45 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing