Pennsylvania · Nonprofit
CENTER CITY DISTRICT FOUNDATION
CENTER CITY DISTRICT FOUNDATION (Pennsylvania) receives grants from 41 organizations whose IRS filings report $4,697,429 to it, the largest being THE WILLIAM PENN FOUNDATION ($2,175,500). 21 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $3.6M
- Funders on record
- 41
- Grants received
- $4.7M
- Net assets
- $285k
What Center City District Foundation does
Mission
Plant philadelphia, park entertainment, dilworth lawn, dilworth plaza, sister cities, bike patrol, homeless outreach, bench programs-grants and contributions received by ccdf are used to initiate, test, and support public improvement initiatives of the ccd, support fundraising activities relating to parks managed by the ccd, raise funds for ccd's greening initiatives (plant! Philadelphia), and to inform the public about how to reduce homelessness in center city.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Rail park phase ii - is dedicated to the transformation of the defunctant blighted former reading railroad viaduct into a public open green space for the use of by workers, residents, and visitors to the center city philadelphia area. The transformation of the derelect 4.5 acre elevated reading rail road viaduct in philadelphia, running from 11th & vine streets to 9th & fairmount with a western spur at noble st. Into a public amenity and park will have a catalytic impact, creating both temporary and permanent jobs and stimulating new commercial and housing investments in the area immediately adjacent to philadelphia's thriving and expanding downtown.
$291,255 spent26% of program spendingRecovery fund - the worldwide covid pandemic resulted in significant impacts to daily life in center city philadelphia. To enhance the efforts of the city of philadelphia and center city district, the Center City District Foundation (ccdf) focused significant resources on efforts to help the city recover from it's devastating effects. Activities supported by ccdf include: enhanced security patrols throughout center city philadelphia via additional foot patrols and bike patrols to address concerns of businesses and residents regarding safety of the downtown area; services for homeless individuals on the street to assist them with shelter, additional services and the like; marketing efforts to bring workers back to the office including promotions and ads touting the benefits of center city philadelphia; activities to bring people into center city and research to help businesses navigate the return to process, also, ccdf helped fund recovery activities supported by other organizations as well, which focused on safety, security and promoting center city return to work.
$269,752 spent$975 earned by the program24% of program spendingCollins park - is a small park in the heart of center city and owned by the center city foundation at 1707 chestnut street. It provides a calming respite from the daily hustle and bustle of the city and is open daily for everyone. Expenses relate to the operation, maintenance, and security of the park to ensure that it is clean, safe, and beautiful. The park, designed by john collins is characterized by extensive and lush plantings, calming fountains and seating areas and areas for patrons to relax and enjoy a meal. The park is open daily generally from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, and seasonally at various times. Ccdf also programs the park from time to time to showcase arts and artists and the park has been a community gem and favored by residents.
$111,360 spent$32,455 earned by the program10% of program spendingOther program services (described on schedule o)
$437,837 spentof which $337,592 as grants$1,052,037 earned by the program39% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2023 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $1,110,204.
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 2018 to 2019, from $2.2M to $1.2M (−47%).
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.
99% of CENTER CITY DISTRICT FOUNDATION’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (61% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 7 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
Gerard H Sweeney
Chairman
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
The chief executive listed changed between the FY2023 and FY2024 filings.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 7 funders to 20 funders, grant income rose $189k → $264k.
7 of 41 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 13% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
Left out of every figure on this page: $49k from 3 payers (the payer shares this organization's board, largest The Philadelphia Foundation). These are real filings, and they are not money CENTER CITY DISTRICT FOUNDATION raised.
From the IRS filings of CENTER CITY DISTRICT FOUNDATION’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 41 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
CENTER CITY DISTRICT FOUNDATION leans on a few funders — its largest provides 46% of grant income and the top three 68%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 27% · 2018 35% · 2019 26% · 2020 33% · 2021 20% · 2022 34% · 2023 21% — 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
50% of CENTER CITY DISTRICT FOUNDATION's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 51% 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
92% of CENTER CITY DISTRICT FOUNDATION's grant income comes from Pennsylvania funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $591k arriving through sponsors registered in 6 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
CENTER CITY DISTRICT FOUNDATION has grown faster than three-quarters of the 4,203 community improvement nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 4,203 community improvement nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2024
Organizations like CENTER CITY DISTRICT FOUNDATION
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 Pennsylvania
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
99% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
51%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Part of a family of 1 related entity
- Center City District · exempt
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for CENTER CITY DISTRICT FOUNDATION: 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 CENTER CITY DISTRICT FOUNDATION?
- CENTER CITY DISTRICT FOUNDATION (Pennsylvania) receives grants from 41 organizations whose IRS filings report $4,697,429 to it, the largest being THE WILLIAM PENN FOUNDATION ($2,175,500). 21 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does CENTER CITY DISTRICT FOUNDATION have?
- IRS filings report 41 organizations giving $4,697,429 in grants to CENTER CITY DISTRICT FOUNDATION, 21 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of CENTER CITY DISTRICT FOUNDATION?
- THE WILLIAM PENN FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $2,175,500 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like CENTER CITY DISTRICT FOUNDATION find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Pennsylvania. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2017–2024), and the filings of 41 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 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing