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California · Nonprofit

POWERSWITCH ACTION

POWERSWITCH ACTION (California) receives grants from 59 organizations whose IRS filings report $70,352,498 to it, the largest being THE FORD FOUNDATION ($19,318,621). 44 of them have funded it in more than one year.

Revenue FY2025
$9.9M
Funders on record
59
Grants received
$70M
Net assets
$22M
44/59 repeat fundersgrants exceed reported revenue in one year
01What it does

What Powerswitch Action does

Mission

Powerswitch Action is a national network forging collective democracy and economies in our cities and states, together with our 21 grassroots affiliates.

As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.

Programs

  1. Powerswitch Action: provide assistance to organizations building local power for good jobs, thriving communities, a healthy environment, and vibrant democracy.

    $8,471,236 spentof which $4,233,325 as grants$57,356 earned by the program
    89% of program spending
  2. In the public interest: a comprehensive research and policy center committed to promoting the values, vision, and agenda for the common good and democratic control of public goods and services.

    $532,166 spentof which $10,000 as grants$843 earned by the program
    6% of program spending
  3. Green workers alliance: brings together employees in a wide range of green jobs to advocate for policies that both address environmental and resulting social problems and increase the number of good, clean jobs.

    $543,396 spent
    6% of program spending

The 3 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $9,546,798.

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 ($4.7M) Expenses 100 ($4.7M) Net assets 100 ($1.8M)2018 Revenue 112 ($5.2M) Expenses 94 ($4.5M) Net assets 144 ($2.6M)2019 Revenue 138 ($6.5M) Expenses 107 ($5.1M) Net assets 222 ($4.0M)2020 Revenue 286 ($13M) Expenses 137 ($6.5M) Net assets 607 ($11M)2021 Revenue 288 ($13M) Expenses 189 ($8.9M) Net assets 1051 ($19M)2022 Revenue 272 ($13M) Expenses 221 ($10M) Net assets 1177 ($21M)2023 Revenue 265 ($12M) Expenses 240 ($11M) Net assets 1235 ($22M)2024 Revenue 270 ($13M) Expenses 240 ($11M) Net assets 1305 ($23M)2025 Revenue 213 ($9.9M) Expenses 236 ($11M) Net assets 1239 ($22M)
'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24'25
Revenue (213)Expenses (236)Net assets (1239)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 2020 to 2021, from $11M to $19M (+76%).

$2.2M
$2.7M
$4.2M
$11M
$19M
$22M
$23M
$24M
$26M
'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24'25
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
2025
ContributionsProgram revenueInvestmentOther

98% of POWERSWITCH ACTION’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (60% for the typical peer).

This organization
Typical peer · 4,444 orgs

Surplus & reserves

Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 2 of the last 9 reported years ran a deficit.

−$58k
’17
$781k
’18
$1.4M
’19
$6.9M
’20
$4.5M
’21
$2.2M
’22
$1.0M
’23
$1.3M
’24
−$1.2M
’25
22
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

Lauren Jacobs

Executive director

Board chair

Kyra Greene

Chair

As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.

'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24'25
Listed252628363940404239
Joined·+4+6+13+8+7+8+7+3
No longer listed·34556856
03Who funds it

Who funds it, year by year

2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 8 funders to 26 funders, grant income rose $3.8M → $13M.

11 of 59 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 POWERSWITCH ACTION’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 59 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

POWERSWITCH ACTION has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 27% 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

27%
largest funder
61%
top three
~7
effective funders

Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 52% · 2018 44% · 2019 44% · 2020 35% · 2021 33% · 2022 32% · 2023 29% — 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

48% of POWERSWITCH ACTION's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 75% give in more than one year at all.

first grant+1y+2y+3y+4y+5y+6y

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

POWERSWITCH ACTION draws 72% of its grant income from funders outside California, across 8 states in all.

MI
NY
MA
PA
NJ
CA
CO
DC

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

’17
’18
’19
’20
’21
’22
’23
California out of state home

Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $2.2M arriving through sponsors registered in 7 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

POWERSWITCH ACTION holds deeper cash reserves than three-quarters of the 2,299 community improvement nonprofits its size.

Operating margin−12% · bottom quartile
Months of reserve21.6mo · top quartile
Revenue growth (annualized)10% · above the median

this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 2,299 community improvement nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2025

Government funding POWERSWITCH ACTION receives

Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $79 on record.

State$79
Top programs
  • REFUNDS - GENERAL $79

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 POWERSWITCH ACTION

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

86% of spending goes to programs.

Program 86%Management 10%Fundraising 4%

Governance

30
board members
100%
independent
✓Conflict-of-interest policy✓Whistleblower policy✓Document retention✓Board reviewed the 990✓Audited financials

Public support

42%

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

Footprint & structure

Files a return copy in 2 states

NY
CA

Part of a family of 1 related entity

  • Ptnrshp Working Families Action Fd · exempt

Screen this organization

A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for POWERSWITCH ACTION: 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 POWERSWITCH ACTION?
POWERSWITCH ACTION (California) receives grants from 59 organizations whose IRS filings report $70,352,498 to it, the largest being THE FORD FOUNDATION ($19,318,621). 44 of them have funded it in more than one year.
How many funders does POWERSWITCH ACTION have?
IRS filings report 59 organizations giving $70,352,498 in grants to POWERSWITCH ACTION, 44 of which have funded it in more than one year.
Who is the largest funder of POWERSWITCH ACTION?
THE FORD FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $19,318,621 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
How can an organization like POWERSWITCH ACTION 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.

These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 59 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 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing