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New York · Nonprofit

PILNET

PILNET (New York) receives grants from 14 organizations whose IRS filings report $4,275,523 to it, the largest being THE FORD FOUNDATION ($1,250,000). 11 of them have funded it in more than one year.

Revenue FY2024
$1.4M
Funders on record
14
Grants received
$4.3M
Net assets
$2.3M
11/14 repeat funderspeak grant-dependency 84%
01What it does

What Pilnet does

Mission

Pilnet's mission is to partner with legal professionals and civil society organizations globally to protect civic space, address global challenges, and work to build just, equitable, and sustainable societies. Together with its affiliated nonprofits in budapest and hong kong, Pilnet advances this mission by mobilizing a global network of legal professionals to support civil society, equipping public interest champions with innovative tools and strategies, and inspiring and training the next generation of public interest lawyers.

As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.

Programs

  1. Putting new tools in the hands of public interest advocates Pilnet actively pursued its mission to support civil society and advance access to justice across the globe through a diverse range of programs and initiatives:Pilnet was actively engaged in a variety of initiatives aimed at strengthening legal support for civil society organizations (csos) and marginalized communities worldwide. One of their notable achievements was further extension of the legal health check program, initially piloted in hong kong, for use in additional countries. This program helped csos identify and mitigate legal risks, ensuring they could operate more effectively.concurrently, the global nonprofits guide (gng) 2.0 continued to grow, providing a comprehensive resource on nonprofit laws across different jurisdictions. This expansion underscored Pilnet's commitment to equipping csos with the knowledge they needed to navigate complex legal landscapes.in response to emerging challenges, Pilnet focused on the responsible use of ai by csos and developed webinars and a template ai use policy to guide organizations in this rapidly-evolving field. Additionally, recognizing the growing threat of strategic…

    $1,129,685 spentof which $656,396 as grants$13,137 earned by the program
    73% of program spending
  2. Engaging the entire legal profession as a global network with offices in new york, hong kong, and budapest, Pilnet engages private sector and public interest legal professionals worldwide both to meet the specific needs of civil society organizations and communities and to collaborate with civil society in broader efforts to build more just, equitable, and sustainable societies. Acting as a strategic intermediary, Pilnet works with civil society organizations around the world to define their legal needs and obtain free, tailored legal assistance from highly qualified lawyers in its network. Pilnet's clearinghouse is a global pro bono legal service matchmaking platform that connects civil society organizations (csos) with law firms willing to provide free legal assistance. In 2024, Pilnet assisted more than 210 organizations by engaging over 125 law firms and solo practitioners to provide direct legal services valued at approximately $8.3 million. Pilnet also holds strategic convenings to engage and mobilize its networks in support of civil society. At its annual global forum in 2024, which was held in bangkok, Pilnet convened more than 440 civil society and pro bono professionals…

    $418,485 spent$68,365 earned by the program
    27% of program spending

The 2 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $1,548,170.

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 ($3.1M) Expenses 100 ($2.2M) Net assets 100 ($1.9M)2018 Revenue 88 ($2.7M) Expenses 130 ($2.9M) Net assets 92 ($1.7M)2019 Revenue 104 ($3.2M) Expenses 120 ($2.6M) Net assets 121 ($2.3M)2020 Revenue 51 ($1.6M) Expenses 68 ($1.5M) Net assets 99 ($1.9M)2021 Revenue 47 ($1.5M) Expenses 78 ($1.7M) Net assets 88 ($1.7M)2022 Revenue 89 ($2.7M) Expenses 77 ($1.7M) Net assets 144 ($2.7M)2023 Revenue 51 ($1.6M) Expenses 74 ($1.6M) Net assets 141 ($2.7M)2024 Revenue 45 ($1.4M) Expenses 80 ($1.8M) Net assets 122 ($2.3M)
'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24
Revenue (45)Expenses (80)Net assets (122)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 2021 to 2022, from $1.7M to $2.8M (+62%).

$2.4M
$2.1M
$2.4M
$1.9M
$1.7M
$2.8M
$2.8M
$2.4M
'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: 2017 12% · 2018 18% · 2019 16% · 2020 28% · 2021 39% · 2022 7% · 2023 12%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.

94% of PILNET’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (93% for the typical peer).

This organization
Typical peer · 1,392 orgs

Surplus & reserves

Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 4 of the last 8 reported years ran a deficit.

$878k
’17
−$157k
’18
$564k
’19
$77k
’20
−$265k
’21
$1.1M
’22
−$70k
’23
−$359k
’24
12
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.

'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24
Listed1715161619192122
Joined·+0+3+0+3+3+4+3
No longer listed·2200322
03Who funds it

Who funds it, year by year

2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 1 funder to 8 funders, grant income rose $250k → $1.3M.

4 of 14 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 3% 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 PILNET’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

PILNET has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 29% 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

40% 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 PILNET.

29%
largest funder
59%
top three
~6
effective funders

Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 100% · 2018 91% · 2019 100% · 2020 78% · 2021 50% · 2022 33% · 2023 31% — 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

29% of PILNET's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 79% give in more than one year at all.

first grant+1y+2y+3y

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

71% of PILNET's grant income comes from New York funders.

WA
NY
OH
CA
DC

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

’17
’18
’20
’21
’22
’23
New York out of state home

Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $144k 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

PILNET holds deeper cash reserves than three-quarters of the 1,337 crime & legal nonprofits its size.

Operating margin−26% · bottom quartile
Months of reserve11.6mo · top quartile
Revenue growth (annualized)−11% · bottom quartile

this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 1,337 crime & legal nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2024

Organizations like PILNET

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

05Profile & governance

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

Where the money goes

88% of spending goes to programs.

Program 88%Management 10%Fundraising 2%

Governance

18
board members
100%
independent
✓Conflict-of-interest policy✓Whistleblower policy✓Document retention✓Board reviewed the 990✓Audited financials

Public support

66%

Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.

Footprint & structure

Files a return copy in 1 state

NY

Part of a family of 2 related entities

  • Pilnet Hong Kong Limited · exempt
  • Pilnet Foundation · exempt

Screen this organization

A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for PILNET: 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.

A paid feature, included from the $75 plan up. Sign in to download.

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 PILNET?
PILNET (New York) receives grants from 14 organizations whose IRS filings report $4,275,523 to it, the largest being THE FORD FOUNDATION ($1,250,000). 11 of them have funded it in more than one year.
How many funders does PILNET have?
IRS filings report 14 organizations giving $4,275,523 in grants to PILNET, 11 of which have funded it in more than one year.
Who is the largest funder of PILNET?
THE FORD FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $1,250,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
How can an organization like PILNET 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.

Play a game about who funds Pilnet →

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 14 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