Connecticut · Nonprofit
DIGNITY GROWS INC
DIGNITY GROWS INC (Connecticut) receives grants from 43 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,313,096 to it, the largest being ANDREW J & JOYCE D MANDELL FAMILY FOUNDATION INC ($340,000). 13 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $866k
- Funders on record
- 43
- Grants received
- $1.3M
- Net assets
- $398k
What Dignity Grows Inc does
Mission
Dignity Grows is at the forefront of the response to the skyrocketing rate of Period Poverty through groundbreaking national research in partnership with top academic institutions, data-driven social policy change fostered by an extensive collaborative network, and national assemblies of powerhouse philanthropic, industry, and community change-makers. As the nonprofit leader in systemic change to end Period Poverty in the USA, the Dignity Grows model ensures direct hygiene support for tens of thousands of women and girls each year through the Hope in a Bag and Hope in a Backpack programs, powered by a collaborative, curated nexus of 60+ metro-area communities. Dignity Grows is the only national movement supplying menstrual hygiene necessities paired with comprehensive hygiene products for individuals and families to access in their own homes.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Dignity Grows' signature, Hope in a Bag program, reached over 56,000 underserved women and girls in 2024, providing critical menstrual necessities and hygiene care nationwide. Nearly 40% of this impact supported school-aged girls and their families, helping students remain in class and engaged in extracurricular activities without interruption. This work was made possible through dedicated partnerships with 550 community organizations across metro, urban, and rural communities in 30 states. Facilitated through a hometown chapter model, Hope in a Bag, mobilized a national network of 5,300 volunteers to learn about Period Poverty and assemble monthly hygiene kits for routine distribution this year.
$272,086 spentof which $46,743 as grants48% of program spendingIn 2024, Dignity Grows piloted Hope in a Backpack, a new large-scale direct product support program, designed to strengthen entire communities. By addressing menstrual hygiene insecurity across whole zip codes, school districts, healthcare systems, and Indigenous communities, this initiative advances systemic change, ensuring women and girls can pursue their goals free from the disruptive effects of Period Poverty. Hope in a Backpack launched in Petersburg, VA, where it established a collaborative menstrual hygiene support system for every female student in the middle school and high school. Over three-quarters of the families served reported that this hygiene support positively affected the economic stability of their household.
$78,498 spent14% of program spendingDignity Grows launched the Period Poverty Institute of America in 2024, establishing the nation's first clearinghouse for research, educational materials, and action-focused collaboration dedicated to this critical public health issue. The Institute provides a virtual home for evidence-based resources and data-driven strategies, elevating Period Poverty from an often overlooked challenge to a recognized determinant of health and opportunity. Dignity Grows' ongoing National Research Initiative on Period Poverty focuses on the prevalence and lived experience of Period Poverty, in conjunction with the Institute. By fostering innovation and access to menstrual equity education, the Institute positions Dignity Grows at the forefront of systemic solutions to end Period Poverty in America.
$221,665 spent39% of program spendingOther program services, not described on the e-filed return.
$0 spent0% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $572,249.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2020, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2020, 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 2023 to 2024, from $236k to $531k (+125%).
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.
100% of DIGNITY GROWS INC’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (91% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 0 of the last 5 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.
Chief executive
Jessica Zachs
Board Chair/CEO
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2020 → 2023: the base broadened from 2 funders to 16 funders, grant income rose $5k → $307k.
7 of 43 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 21% 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 DIGNITY GROWS INC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 43 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
DIGNITY GROWS INC has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 26% of grant income, and it takes 4 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 4 funders to its left
32% 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 DIGNITY GROWS INC.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2020 50% · 2021 54% · 2022 35% · 2023 33% — 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
40% of DIGNITY GROWS INC's funders are still giving 2 years after their first grant; 30% 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
72% of DIGNITY GROWS INC's grant income comes from Connecticut funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $272k arriving through sponsors registered in 4 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
DIGNITY GROWS INC has grown faster than three-quarters of the 21,648 human services nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 21,648 human services nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2024
Organizations like DIGNITY GROWS 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 Connecticut
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
81% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for DIGNITY GROWS 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 DIGNITY GROWS INC?
- DIGNITY GROWS INC (Connecticut) receives grants from 43 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,313,096 to it, the largest being ANDREW J & JOYCE D MANDELL FAMILY FOUNDATION INC ($340,000). 13 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does DIGNITY GROWS INC have?
- IRS filings report 43 organizations giving $1,313,096 in grants to DIGNITY GROWS INC, 13 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of DIGNITY GROWS INC?
- ANDREW J & JOYCE D MANDELL FAMILY FOUNDATION INC is the largest funder on record, with $340,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like DIGNITY GROWS INC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Connecticut. 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 2020–2024), and the filings of 43 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