Pennsylvania · Nonprofit
THE CHARACTER LAB INC
THE CHARACTER LAB INC (Pennsylvania) receives grants from 31 organizations whose IRS filings report $21,632,724 to it, the largest being JOHN TEMPLETON FOUNDATION ($7,767,258). 21 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $0
- Funders on record
- 31
- Grants received
- $22M
- Net assets
- $0
What The Character Lab Inc does
Mission
Character lab advances scientific insights that help kids thrive.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Program
On its FY2023 return the organization reported a significant change in how it conducts a program.
All programs ceased june 30, 2024.
Its own explanation, from Schedule O of that return (Part III, line 3).
By connecting researchers with educators, character lab sought to create greater knowledge about the conditions that lead to well-being for young people throughout the country.in 2023-2024, character lab reached the following milestones:-facilitated 503 studies to date-helped researchers publish 53 articles in leading journals-completed production of character building videos with ted-ed, at https://ed.ted.com/build-character-partnered with hopelab and common sense media to co-create a nationwide survey on teenage social media usage and mental health-character lab internship program (clip) supported 150 young people providing youth voice to research
$6,995,721 spentof which $25,000 as grants$35,870 earned by the program100% of program spending
The program described on its FY2023 Form 990. Program spending in total: $6,995,721.
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.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2023 to 2024, from $5.6M to $0 (−100%).
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.
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 5 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.
Board chair
Luis Von Ahn
Chairman (thru 8/31/24)
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 4 funders to 11 funders, grant income rose $251k → $3.3M.
10 of 31 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 11% 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 THE CHARACTER LAB INC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 31 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
THE CHARACTER LAB INC leans on a few funders — its largest provides 36% of grant income and the top three 65%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 70% · 2018 74% · 2019 42% · 2020 52% · 2021 35% · 2022 23% · 2023 41% — 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
38% of THE CHARACTER LAB INC's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 68% 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
THE CHARACTER LAB INC draws 59% of its grant income from funders outside Pennsylvania, across 11 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $2.5M arriving through sponsors registered in 8 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.
Organizations like THE CHARACTER LAB 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 Pennsylvania
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
0% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
29%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 31 states
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for THE CHARACTER LAB 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 THE CHARACTER LAB INC?
- THE CHARACTER LAB INC (Pennsylvania) receives grants from 31 organizations whose IRS filings report $21,632,724 to it, the largest being JOHN TEMPLETON FOUNDATION ($7,767,258). 21 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does THE CHARACTER LAB INC have?
- IRS filings report 31 organizations giving $21,632,724 in grants to THE CHARACTER LAB INC, 21 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of THE CHARACTER LAB INC?
- JOHN TEMPLETON FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $7,767,258 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like THE CHARACTER LAB INC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Pennsylvania. 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 31 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