New York · Nonprofit
GROUNDWORK USA INC
GROUNDWORK USA INC (New York) receives grants from 31 organizations whose IRS filings report $12,226,010 to it, the largest being FREEDOM TOGETHER FOUNDATION ($5,000,000). 13 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $5.7M
- Funders on record
- 31
- Grants received
- $12M
- Net assets
- $9.5M
What Groundwork USA Inc does
Mission
The mission of groundwork usa (the organization) is to bring about the sustained regeneration, improvement, and management of the physical environment by developing community-based partnerships that empower people, businesses, and organizations to promote environmental, economic, and social well-being. The organization is committed to changing places, changing lives, and changing systems to meet our vision of a world in which everyone can live in a community that is healthy, green, just and resilient.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Growing and strengthening our affiliate network - the organization supports and strengthens an affiliate network of place-based nonprofits, the groundwork network, through regranting programs, coaching, technical assistance, facilitation of knowledge sharing and peer-to-peer learning opportunities, and provision of shared services. In 2024, we launched a new intranet platform, facilitated five peer-to-peer learning cohorts, and provided one-on-one coaching to new executive directors and organizations navigating leadership transitions.
$555,533 spentof which $128,862 as grants$4,500 earned by the program11% of program spendingBuilding thriving and resilient neighborhoods - the organization collaborates with groundwork affiliates to transform neglected land and waterways into community assets that reduce environmental harms, increase community wealth, and create new opportunities for joy and connection outdoors. In 2024, the organization awarded $2,457,200 to support multi-year green space, urban forestry, and stormwater infrastructure projects across the network in addition to supporting place-based programming through coaching, facilitated peer-learning, and data and evaluation services. Through our climate safe neighborhood program, groundwork affiliates engaged over 10,000 residents - including nearly 200 paid resident advisory group members - in the creation of neighborhood climate resilience action plans. Through the land use innovation initiative, we funded five affiliate projects aimed at expanding the role of residents in brownfield transformations. And, through our climate preparedness and land restoration program, we've invested $4.3m in seed funding in 13 projects aimed at addressing the human impacts of extreme heat and flooding. Our recently completed evaluation of these projects showed…
$3,354,767 spentof which $2,105,924 as grants64% of program spendingSupporting the grassroots environmental movement- the organization elevates the learnings from our place-based programming to support the work of more than 1,500 community-based practitioners through webinars, workshops, resource development, and coaching through our epa brownfields technical assistance program and the urban waters learning network (uwln). In 2024, we provided one-on-one assistance to 12 organizations, launched a six-month learning intensive with 8 organizations, and 1,250 practitioners in webinars and workshops.
$600,174 spentof which $110,362 as grants$35,500 earned by the program11% of program spendingCreating pathways to opportunity- the organization collaborates with the groundwork network to create new pathways to economic opportunities through education, training, and skill-building programs that prepare community members for good jobs while simultaneously strengthening the local economy. In 2024, we supported the 700+ youth and young adults employed in the network's paid leadership and workforce development programs, launched a new alumni community, and brought 106 green teamers and 40 groundcorps members from 11 affiliate communities to national parks and historic sites for our national corps programs.
$728,548 spentof which $211,995 as grants14% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $5,239,022.
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 2020 to 2021, from $1.8M to $7.5M (+319%).
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: 2017 56% · 2018 57% · 2019 67% · 2020 37% · 2021 17% · 2022 13% · 2023 32% · 2024 35%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
91% of GROUNDWORK USA INC’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (61% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 4 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
Heather Mcmann
Chief executive officer
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base narrowed from 10 funders to 8 funders, grant income rose $901k → $1.6M.
6 of 31 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 1% 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 GROUNDWORK USA INC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 31 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
GROUNDWORK USA INC leans on a few funders — its largest provides 41% of grant income and the top three 69%; 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 35% · 2018 38% · 2019 40% · 2020 60% · 2021 38% · 2022 47% · 2023 57% — 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
20% of GROUNDWORK USA INC's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 42% 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
GROUNDWORK USA INC draws 54% of its grant income from funders outside New York, across 16 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $131k arriving through sponsors registered in 5 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
GROUNDWORK USA INC has grown faster 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 GROUNDWORK USA INC receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $23.6M on record.
- Department of Agriculture$10.0M
- Department of the Interior$9.5M
- Environmental Protection Agency$4.1M
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 GROUNDWORK USA 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
84% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
64%
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 GROUNDWORK USA 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 GROUNDWORK USA INC?
- GROUNDWORK USA INC (New York) receives grants from 31 organizations whose IRS filings report $12,226,010 to it, the largest being FREEDOM TOGETHER FOUNDATION ($5,000,000). 13 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does GROUNDWORK USA INC have?
- IRS filings report 31 organizations giving $12,226,010 in grants to GROUNDWORK USA INC, 13 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of GROUNDWORK USA INC?
- FREEDOM TOGETHER FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $5,000,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like GROUNDWORK USA 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.
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 31 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