Delaware · Nonprofit
THE DESCA FOUNDATION
THE DESCA FOUNDATION (Delaware) receives grants from 1 organization whose IRS filings report $175,000 to it, the largest being LONGWOOD FOUNDATION INC ($175,000). 0 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $541k
- Funders on record
- 1
- Grants received
- $175k
- Net assets
- $445k
What The Desca Foundation does
Mission
The desca programs help innovators and technologists plug into delaware's innovation ecosystem by connecting them to resources, mentors and funding/strategic partners to help speed the commercialization of their products.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Nih-I-red grant 2025-2026---desca partners with insitehub and the university of delaware to deliver the nih-funded insitexccelerator (ix) program across the northeast idea states. Desca leads marketing, outreach, and program enrollment to build awareness and recruit appilcants for both education and pilot tracks. The team also develops educational and commercialization training content that prepares innovators for sbir and sttr success. 2023-2024 represents phase 1 of the program which included development of the program content as well as launching the initial pilot for the program.
$77,126 spent18% of program spendingNih-I-red grant 2024-2025---desca partners with insitehub and the university of delaware to deliver the nih-funded insitexccelerator (ix) program across the northeast idea states. Desca leads marketing, outreach, and program enrollment to build awareness and recruit appilcants for both education and pilot tracks. The team also develops educational and commercialization training content that prepares innovators for sbir and sttr success.
$303,845 spent69% of program spendingCongressional earmark---desca's tech2market program, arranged through a congressional earmark, provides u. S. Small business administration grant funding to accelerate commercialization for early-stage science and technology ventures and raise awareness of innovation in the greater delaware area. Desca develops curriculum, produces educational content, manages outreach and enrollment, and hosts ecosystem events, roundtables, and investor showcases connecting startups to mentor, market data, and strategic partners.
$59,121 spent13% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $440,092.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2020, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2020, 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 2023 to 2024, from $8k to $495k (+5989%).
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: 2024 100%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
100% of THE DESCA FOUNDATION’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (79% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 4 of the last 5 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
Grant support over time, funder by funder — shade shows the grant size each year.
From the IRS filings of THE DESCA FOUNDATION’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.
Where its funders are
100% of THE DESCA FOUNDATION's grant income comes from Delaware funders.
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
THE DESCA FOUNDATION runs a healthier operating margin than three-quarters of the 793 science & tech nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 793 science & tech nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2024
Government funding THE DESCA FOUNDATION receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $250k on record.
- Small Business Administration$250k
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 THE DESCA 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 Delaware
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
82% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
100%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for THE DESCA 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 THE DESCA FOUNDATION?
- THE DESCA FOUNDATION (Delaware) receives grants from 1 organization whose IRS filings report $175,000 to it, the largest being LONGWOOD FOUNDATION INC ($175,000). 0 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does THE DESCA FOUNDATION have?
- IRS filings report 1 organization giving $175,000 in grants to THE DESCA FOUNDATION.
- Who is the largest funder of THE DESCA FOUNDATION?
- LONGWOOD FOUNDATION INC is the largest funder on record, with $175,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like THE DESCA FOUNDATION find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Delaware. 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 Desca →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2020–2024), and the filings of 1 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