New York · Nonprofit
PIONEER WORKS ART FOUNDATION
PIONEER WORKS ART FOUNDATION (New York) receives grants from 111 organizations whose IRS filings report $31,513,384 to it, the largest being THE AUSTIN & GABRIELA HEARST FOUNDATION ($2,952,500). 53 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $10.0M
- Funders on record
- 111
- Grants received
- $32M
- Net assets
- $20M
What Pioneer Works Art Foundation does
Mission
To promote the creation of and participation in the arts and sciences.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Arts programs:despite being closed for most of 2024, pioneer works continued to offer a limited selection of exhibits, performances, concerts, workshops, and book talks, many of which highlighted the intersection of science and technology with art. Programming was adapted to fit the reduced operating schedule.
$2,779,377 spent$412,967 earned by the program48% of program spendingSciences:despite being closed to the public for eight months in 2024, pioneer works continued to deliver science programming through select live events, online broadcasts, publications, and partnerships. Hundreds of people engaged with lectures, hands-on science workshops, and educational content that promoted curiosity, science education, and collaboration.
$1,379,753 spent$59,281 earned by the program24% of program spendingSignature programs:pioneer works continued to host a selection of flagship programs that celebrate the intersection of art, science, and community. These included press play, a weekend fair of books, records, and talks, and second sundays, our monthly open-house event featuring live music and open studios. Select special events and collaborations rounded out the year's programming.
$724,480 spent$115,226 earned by the program12% of program spendingResidency:supporting artists with space, network connections, and a platform to develop and advance their craft in music, art, and technology.community programs:pioneer works prioritized educational and community engagement programs, including k12 school visits and special initiatives designed to connect local audiences with art, science, and technology. Despite limited public access, the organization remained committed to serving its immediate community through accessible, education-focused programming.
$931,674 spentof which $285,540 as grants$68,695 earned by the program16% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $5,815,284.
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 $9.8M to $17M (+76%).
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: 2019 1% · 2020 8% · 2021 10% · 2022 4% · 2023 7% · 2024 1%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
91% of PIONEER WORKS ART FOUNDATION’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (63% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 0 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
Mara Manus
Chief executive officer
Board chair
Austin Hearst
Chair
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
The chief executive listed changed between the FY2022 and FY2023, and between the FY2023 and FY2024 filings.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 18 funders to 32 funders, grant income rose $1.3M → $6.0M.
22 of 111 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 37% 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 PIONEER WORKS ART FOUNDATION’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 111 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
PIONEER WORKS ART FOUNDATION has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 9% of grant income, and it takes 8 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 8 funders to its left
44% 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 PIONEER WORKS ART FOUNDATION.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 28% · 2018 40% · 2019 25% · 2020 22% · 2021 13% · 2022 11% · 2023 17% — 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
39% of PIONEER WORKS ART FOUNDATION's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 48% 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
68% of PIONEER WORKS ART FOUNDATION's grant income comes from New York funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $12M arriving through sponsors registered in 13 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
PIONEER WORKS ART FOUNDATION runs a healthier operating margin than half of the 5,127 arts & culture nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 5,127 arts & culture nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2024
Government funding PIONEER WORKS ART FOUNDATION receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $125k on record.
- National Endowment for the Arts$125k
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 PIONEER WORKS ART FOUNDATION
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
71% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
72%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Part of a family of 2 related entities
- Pioneer & King I LLC · disregarded
- Pioneer & King II LLC · disregarded
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for PIONEER WORKS ART FOUNDATION: 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 PIONEER WORKS ART FOUNDATION?
- PIONEER WORKS ART FOUNDATION (New York) receives grants from 111 organizations whose IRS filings report $31,513,384 to it, the largest being THE AUSTIN & GABRIELA HEARST FOUNDATION ($2,952,500). 53 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does PIONEER WORKS ART FOUNDATION have?
- IRS filings report 111 organizations giving $31,513,384 in grants to PIONEER WORKS ART FOUNDATION, 53 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of PIONEER WORKS ART FOUNDATION?
- THE AUSTIN & GABRIELA HEARST FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $2,952,500 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like PIONEER WORKS ART FOUNDATION 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 111 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