Washington, D.C. · Nonprofit
SPARC Inc
SPARC Inc (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 2 organizations whose IRS filings report $2,000 to it, the largest being THE J & E BERKLEY FOUNDATION ($1,500). 0 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $9.1M
- Funders on record
- 2
- Grants received
- $2k
- Net assets
- $6.5M
What SPARC Inc does
Mission
SPARC supports open systems for research and education that enable everyone, everywhere to access, contribute to and benefit from the knowledge that shapes our world. We consider openness a critical enabling strategy for achieving such systems.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Enabling Systems That Advance Knowledge Sharing - SPARC advances systems that promote open knowledge sharing through targeted work on open business models, content and infrastructure, and community development. SPARC cultivates communities of practice and provides professional development programming for librarians, researchers, university leaders, and the broader public on open research, open education, and related topics through conferences, webinars, and open community forums
$1,326,578 spentof which $67,142 as grants$323,160 earned by the program63% of program spendingSupporting Public Policy and Advocacy - SPARC works to communicate the importance of open research and open education and to support the development and implementation of policies from the institutional to the federal level that advance these areas.
$523,024 spent25% of program spendingRealigning Incentives - SPARC equips high-level organizational decision makers to incentivize the open sharing of research outputs and educational materials at critical decision points.
$242,495 spent12% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $2,092,097.
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
Heather Joseph
Executive Director & Board President
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2019 → 2022: the base held at 1 funder, grant income rose $500 → $2k.
From the IRS filings of SPARC Inc’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
SPARC Inc leans on a few funders — its largest provides 75% of grant income and the top three 100%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
Largest funder’s share by year: 2019 100% · 2022 100% — broadly stable.
“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
SPARC Inc draws 100% of its grant income from funders outside Washington, D.C., across 2 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. 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
SPARC Inc runs a healthier operating margin than three-quarters of the 210 science & tech nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 210 science & tech nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2025
Organizations like SPARC Inc
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 Washington, D.C.
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
81% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for SPARC Inc: 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 SPARC Inc?
- SPARC Inc (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 2 organizations whose IRS filings report $2,000 to it, the largest being THE J & E BERKLEY FOUNDATION ($1,500). 0 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does SPARC Inc have?
- IRS filings report 2 organizations giving $2,000 in grants to SPARC Inc.
- Who is the largest funder of SPARC Inc?
- THE J & E BERKLEY FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $1,500 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like SPARC Inc find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Washington, D.C.. 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 SPARC →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2025–2025), and the filings of 2 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