North Carolina · Nonprofit
FORWARD CITIES INC
FORWARD CITIES INC (North Carolina) receives grants from 32 organizations whose IRS filings report $9,107,927 to it, the largest being EWING MARION KAUFFMAN FOUNDATION ($4,196,621). 15 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $1.7M
- Funders on record
- 32
- Grants received
- $9.1M
- Net assets
- $584k
What Forward Cities Inc does
Mission
To equip community leaders, catalyze narrative change, and measure progress over time, leveraging first-hand ecosystem building experiences across the nation.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
E3 durham county award-as the sba navigator program and pilot funding ended in november 2023, the durham county arpa grant award is an opportunity to leverage the sba's investment in durham county and build on e3 durham's momentum. Recognizing the tremendous value of the many dedicated area business support organizations and service providers who work tirelessly to equip durham county business owners, this program earmarks nearly 50% programmatic funding as pass through to 1) enrolled entrepreneurs to reduce the cost of doing business and 2) service providers to engage their expertise and increase their ability to effectively and sustainably serve the community.combined with the existing strengths of the navigation model, these efforts will allow us to better understand entrepreneurs' needs; prioritize needs by stage, size, sector, and demographics; continue to grow capital readiness and connections; and engage a broader set of support organizations and service providers to level-up support for entrepreneurs who need it most.
$439,919 spentof which $168,434 as grants43% of program spendingThe black wall street forward pilot program launched in 2022 and was modeled on the pillars that made durham's original black wall street successful, with the goal of continuing the legacy of catalyzing black business owners and champions. The transformative program engaged five communities throughout the state of north carolina in a cohort-based learning journey to explore the past and present of black entrepreneurship in those communities and to take collaborative action to build a better collective future.
$301,366 spentof which $4,000 as grants29% of program spendingTulsa ecosystem- forward cities partnered with build in tulsa to create a comprehensive data framework for accelerator and entrepreneurship-support program improvement. Build in tulsa provides entrepreneurs with a network of accelerators, mentoring, education, networking, and direct financial assistance to build community and strategic partnerships.
$140,865 spent14% of program spendingOther program services, not described on the e-filed return.
$148,202 spentof which $1,850 as grants14% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $1,030,352.
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 $791k to $303k (−62%).
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: 2020 12% · 2021 14% · 2022 27% · 2023 41% · 2024 42%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
100% of FORWARD CITIES INC’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. 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.
Chief executive
C Fay Horwitt
President and CEO
Board chair
Pete Carlson
Board chair
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
The chief executive listed changed between the FY2020 and FY2021, and between the FY2021 and FY2022 filings.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base narrowed from 5 funders to 4 funders, grant income fell $385k → $255k.
10 of 32 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.
From the IRS filings of FORWARD CITIES INC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 32 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
FORWARD CITIES INC leans on a few funders — its largest provides 46% of grant income and the top three 63%; 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 78% · 2018 32% · 2019 33% · 2020 60% · 2021 69% · 2022 83% · 2023 98% — growing more concentrated.
“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
14% of FORWARD CITIES INC's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 47% 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
FORWARD CITIES INC draws 98% of its grant income from funders outside North Carolina, across 14 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $1.2M arriving through sponsors registered in 9 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
FORWARD CITIES INC runs a healthier operating margin than half 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
Government funding FORWARD CITIES INC receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $1000k on record — $1000k federal, $75 state.
- Small Business Administration$1000k
- REFUNDS - GENERAL $75
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 FORWARD CITIES 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 North Carolina
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
71% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
52%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for FORWARD CITIES 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 FORWARD CITIES INC?
- FORWARD CITIES INC (North Carolina) receives grants from 32 organizations whose IRS filings report $9,107,927 to it, the largest being EWING MARION KAUFFMAN FOUNDATION ($4,196,621). 15 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does FORWARD CITIES INC have?
- IRS filings report 32 organizations giving $9,107,927 in grants to FORWARD CITIES INC, 15 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of FORWARD CITIES INC?
- EWING MARION KAUFFMAN FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $4,196,621 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like FORWARD CITIES INC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in North Carolina. 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 32 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