Connecticut · Nonprofit
THE DARIEN FOUNDATION INC
THE DARIEN FOUNDATION INC (Connecticut) receives grants from 37 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,223,108 to it, the largest being The Chilton Foundation ($244,400). 21 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $682k
- Funders on record
- 37
- Grants received
- $1.2M
- Net assets
- $3.1M
What The Darien Foundation Inc does
Mission
The darien foundation's mission is to provide grant funding for technology and capital projects that create opportunity for darien's youth, support town safety and security services, enhance the overall quality of life in darien, and otherwise benefit the citizens of darien, connecticut. The goal is to offer a central location for residents and corporate donors who wish to support worthy town projects. The foundation is committed to supporting technology and capital initiatives for the public schools, emergency services, and other local or town organizations. The foundation's broad and diverse board of directors strives to apply a consistent methodology in reviewing grant requests and holding grant recipients accountable. The majority of the foundation's revenues come from contributions from the public.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
The darien library teen/tween center - architectural concept plans funding for the tween & teen library center capital project
$314,185 spentof which $314,185 as grants50% of program spendingMather homestead foundation - for installation of a new high-velocity ducted air conditioning system
$161,600 spentof which $161,600 as grants26% of program spendingThe darien library - for installation of meeting rooms and pods.
$60,815 spentof which $60,815 as grants10% of program spendingAllocated salaries and payroll taxes $40,193 and advertising $6,468. Reduction for the difference of actual grant expenses incurred versus grant amount awarded.
$95,714 spentof which $49,053 as grants15% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $632,314.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2018, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2018, 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 2020 to 2021, from $2.5M to $2.9M (+17%).
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.
76% of THE DARIEN FOUNDATION INC’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (57% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 4 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.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 9 funders to 20 funders, grant income rose $113k → $185k.
7 of 37 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 39% 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 DARIEN FOUNDATION INC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 37 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 DARIEN FOUNDATION INC has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 20% 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
39% 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 THE DARIEN FOUNDATION INC.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 44% · 2018 43% · 2019 29% · 2020 71% · 2021 38% · 2022 39% · 2023 27% — 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
46% of THE DARIEN FOUNDATION INC's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 57% 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
89% of THE DARIEN FOUNDATION INC's grant income comes from Connecticut funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $478k 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.
Against its field
THE DARIEN FOUNDATION INC is better cushioned than half of the 16,849 education nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 16,849 education nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2025
Organizations like THE DARIEN FOUNDATION 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 Connecticut
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
81% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
67%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for THE DARIEN FOUNDATION 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 DARIEN FOUNDATION INC?
- THE DARIEN FOUNDATION INC (Connecticut) receives grants from 37 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,223,108 to it, the largest being The Chilton Foundation ($244,400). 21 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does THE DARIEN FOUNDATION INC have?
- IRS filings report 37 organizations giving $1,223,108 in grants to THE DARIEN FOUNDATION INC, 21 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of THE DARIEN FOUNDATION INC?
- The Chilton Foundation is the largest funder on record, with $244,400 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like THE DARIEN FOUNDATION INC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Connecticut. 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 2018–2025), and the filings of 37 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