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California · Nonprofit

Institute for the Study of Western Civilization

Institute for the Study of Western Civilization (California) receives grants from 5 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,765,243 to it, the largest being DONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC ($750,200). 4 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 60% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.

Revenue FY2024
$634k
Funders on record
5
Grants received
$1.8M
Net assets
$429k
4/5 repeat funderspeak grant-dependency 58%
01What it does

What Institute for the Study of Western Civilization does

Mission

To promote the teaching of the Western Tradition, its relationship to other traditions and its importance in the modern era, through educational courses, resources and teacher training.

As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.

Program

  1. Educational Programs: The Institutes mission is to promote the teaching and preservation of the Western cultural heritage. Classes, lectures, and resource material on history, art, literature, foreign languages and music provide opportunities for lifelong learning and for teacher training. Discussions of the achievements and problems of Western Culture occur in 30-week courses such as: The History of the USA, England and Renaissance. Other lecture topics included the plays of Shakespeare, anthropology and archaeology, musical composers and virtuosi, and 20th century warfare. Examples of the syllabi for these and other classes are available on the Institute's website: www.westernciv.com. The number of students enrolled at the Institute in classes (in-person or by streaming) was approximately 500. The amount of students enrolled in lectures was approximatley 1500.Scholarship Program: An important part of the Institute's mission is the extension of full tuition scholarships and cash grants to secondary and college instructors who are currently teaching social sciences or humanities (history, literature, philosophy, art and related courses) in Bay Area schools. During 2024, 47…

    $597,874 spentof which $87,290 as grants$343,505 earned by the program
    100% of program spending

The program described on its FY2024 Form 990. Program spending in total: $597,874.

02The organization over time

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.

100 = 20172017 Revenue 100 ($526k) Expenses 100 ($432k) Net assets 100 ($98k)2018 Revenue 127 ($669k) Expenses 114 ($494k) Net assets 278 ($273k)2019 Revenue 85 ($444k) Expenses 136 ($587k) Net assets 133 ($131k)2020 Revenue 144 ($756k) Expenses 133 ($575k) Net assets 316 ($311k)2021 Revenue 145 ($760k) Expenses 137 ($593k) Net assets 487 ($478k)2022 Revenue 129 ($678k) Expenses 137 ($594k) Net assets 572 ($562k)2023 Revenue 113 ($595k) Expenses 150 ($649k) Net assets 517 ($508k)2024 Revenue 121 ($634k) Expenses 165 ($713k) Net assets 436 ($429k)
'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24
Revenue (121)Expenses (165)Net assets (436)Peer revenue range

Balance sheet

Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2019 to 2020, from $216k to $482k (+123%).

$200k
$378k
$216k
$482k
$575k
$619k
$545k
$478k
'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24
Total assetsTotal liabilities

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.

2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
ContributionsProgram revenueInvestmentOther

Government-grant reliance: 2021 10%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.

46% of Institute for the Study of Western Civilization’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (57% for the typical peer).

This organization
Typical peer · 24,946 orgs

Surplus & reserves

Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 3 of the last 8 reported years ran a deficit.

$93k
’17
$175k
’18
−$143k
’19
$180k
’20
$167k
’21
$84k
’22
−$54k
’23
−$79k
’24
6.9
months of
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

William H Fredlund

Pres/Exec Dir

Board chair

Nathaniel Collins

Chairman

As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.

'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24
Listed1212101011101010
Joined·+0+1+0+1+0+1+1
No longer listed·0300111
03Who funds it

Who funds it, year by year

2018 → 2023: the base held at 2 funders, grant income rose $106k → $250k.

4 of 5 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 60% 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 Institute for the Study of Western Civilization’s funders (the co-funder graph). 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

Institute for the Study of Western Civilization leans on a few funders — its largest provides 42% of grant income and the top three 96%; half comes from just 2 funders.

the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left

60% 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 Institute for the Study of Western Civilization.

42%
largest funder
96%
top three
~3
effective funders

Largest funder’s share by year: 2018 95% · 2019 97% · 2020 96% · 2021 95% · 2022 99% · 2023 100% — 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.

Where its funders are

60% of Institute for the Study of Western Civilization's grant income arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors, whose addresses record where the money is held rather than where the donor is. Of the $700k that is directly attributable, 100% of it comes from California funders.

CA

In-state vs out-of-state, by year

’18
’19
’20
California out of state home

Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $1.1M 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.

04Its place in the field

Against its field

Institute for the Study of Western Civilization is better cushioned than half of the 22,812 education nonprofits its size.

Operating margin−13% · bottom quartile
Months of reserve6.9mo · above the median
Revenue growth (annualized)3% · below the median

this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 22,812 education nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2024

Organizations like Institute for the Study of Western Civilization

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 California

Nationally

05Profile & governance

Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.

Where the money goes

84% of spending goes to programs.

Program 84%Management 16%Fundraising 0%

Governance

9
board members
89%
independent
✓Conflict-of-interest policy✓Whistleblower policy✓Document retention✓Board reviewed the 990–Audited financials

Footprint & structure

Files a return copy in 1 state

CA

Screen this organization

A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for Institute for the Study of Western Civilization: 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.

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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 Institute for the Study of Western Civilization?
Institute for the Study of Western Civilization (California) receives grants from 5 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,765,243 to it, the largest being DONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC ($750,200). 4 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 60% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
How many funders does Institute for the Study of Western Civilization have?
IRS filings report 5 organizations giving $1,765,243 in grants to Institute for the Study of Western Civilization, 4 of which have funded it in more than one year.
Who is the largest funder of Institute for the Study of Western Civilization?
DONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC is the largest funder on record, with $750,200 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
How can an organization like Institute for the Study of Western Civilization find more funders?
Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in California. 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 Institute for the Study of Western Civilization →

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 5 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