Illinois · Nonprofit
PEOPLE'S ACTION INSTITUTE
PEOPLE'S ACTION INSTITUTE (Illinois) receives grants from 114 organizations whose IRS filings report $94,333,100 to it, the largest being THE ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON FOUNDATION ($20,697,866). 63 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $13M
- Funders on record
- 114
- Grants received
- $94M
- Net assets
- $22M
What People's Action Institute does
Mission
The mission of People's Action Institute is to advance a long-term agenda for racial, economic and gender justice by investing in powerful state and local organizations and campaigns that win real change in people's lives
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
See schedule oprogramsPeople's Action Institute is a national organization that also supports affiliated organizations across the country that work at the local, citywide, metro-wide, and statewide levels. Together we invest in the leadership of everyday people to educate and organize their communities to achieve a more fair and free society. Our primary focus is public education and training with a limited focus on public campaigns that make our economy and democracy more inclusive.People's Action Institute's training program held a "training for trainers" (t4t) event in florida that brought together 56 people from 17 member organizations across 15 states. Participants committed to ambitious goals: training 1,480 members in the fundamentals of organizing by the end of the year and 75,000 people over the next decade. Each participating organization developed plans for local training based on People's Action Institute's people-power approach, creating a multiplier effect that extends our training reach far beyond what our national staff can accomplish alone.
$6,286,763 spentof which $2,704,273 as grants$336,485 earned by the program45% of program spendingSee schedule ocampaignsthe care over cost campaign trains everyday people in organizing and empowers them to advocate for healthcare policies that prioritize people and their care over profits at big health insurance companies and in government policies. The campaign supports people to challenge claim denials and exposes the inhumane ways that insurance companies profit from people at their most vulnerable. Our work resulted in victories for individuals fighting care denials and is building toward systemic change.the people and planet first campaign focused on two key areas: utility justice and green and healthy schools. These campaigns addressed practical needs that affect families across the country high energy bills and deteriorating school facilities while also advancing climate resilience goals. Many families struggle to pay for basic needs like electricity and gas, and many public school districts face budget cuts that affect educational quality. Our campaigns offered practical solutions to reduce costs and pollution while increasing community health.our homes guarantee campaign supported member organizations in developing tenant associations, organizing against rent hikes,…
$7,201,076 spentof which $5,686,609 as grants52% of program spendingSee schedule ocenter for health, environment & justicethis project supports a nationwide network of more than 300 local community groups to achieve critical impacts at the local, regional, statewide and national levels on issues relating to toxic chemicals, polluting facilities, and other environmental dangers.
$430,815 spentof which $100,350 as grants3% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $13,918,654.
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 2019 to 2020, from $11M to $23M (+104%).
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: 2021 5%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
94% of PEOPLE'S ACTION INSTITUTE’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
Sulma Arias
Executive director
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 28 funders to 34 funders, grant income rose $7.3M → $22M.
29 of 114 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 18% 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 PEOPLE'S ACTION INSTITUTE’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 114 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
PEOPLE'S ACTION INSTITUTE has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 22% of grant income, and it takes 3 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 3 funders to its left
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 41% · 2018 28% · 2019 34% · 2020 27% · 2021 22% · 2022 28% · 2023 44% — 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
36% of PEOPLE'S ACTION INSTITUTE's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 55% 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
PEOPLE'S ACTION INSTITUTE draws 100% of its grant income from funders outside Illinois, across 19 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $17M arriving through sponsors registered in 11 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
PEOPLE'S ACTION INSTITUTE is better cushioned than half of the 659 community improvement nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 659 community improvement nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2024
Organizations like PEOPLE'S ACTION INSTITUTE
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 Illinois
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
76% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
50%
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 PEOPLE'S ACTION INSTITUTE: 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 PEOPLE'S ACTION INSTITUTE?
- PEOPLE'S ACTION INSTITUTE (Illinois) receives grants from 114 organizations whose IRS filings report $94,333,100 to it, the largest being THE ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON FOUNDATION ($20,697,866). 63 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does PEOPLE'S ACTION INSTITUTE have?
- IRS filings report 114 organizations giving $94,333,100 in grants to PEOPLE'S ACTION INSTITUTE, 63 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of PEOPLE'S ACTION INSTITUTE?
- THE ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $20,697,866 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like PEOPLE'S ACTION INSTITUTE find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Illinois. 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 114 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