New Hampshire · Nonprofit
THE FORWARD FOUNDATION
THE FORWARD FOUNDATION (New Hampshire) receives grants from 10 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,121,945 to it, the largest being New Hampshire Democracy Fund ($574,645). 4 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $424k
- Funders on record
- 10
- Grants received
- $1.1M
- Net assets
- $213k
What The Forward Foundation does
Mission
The Forward Foundation was founded to increase the participation of working-age people in their granite state communities through public policy research, education, and leadership growth. Working-age people are vastly underrepresented as leaders in local elected office, community organizations, and state government in new hampshire. The Forward Foundation seeks to empower this population in their communities by identifying, educating, and supporting them so they will grow as leaders and participate more fully in our democracy.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Community organizing: providing spaces for folks to talk about issues they face in their communities. We talk through these issues and suggest the best way to get involved to speak out about these issues.
$152,326 spent44% of program spendingRecruitment of appointed positions that protect our democracy: The Forward Foundation ran a comprehensive campaign to identify, educate, and activate working-age adults in new hampshire to sign up to serve as volunteer poll workers for new hampshire's city and town elections. Through community outreach, paid digital advertising, training webinars, and relational organizing, The Forward Foundation identified 50 new folks who were interested in poll working, especially in the city elections. This set the groundwork for a smooth presidential election in 2024 as well.
$71,158 spent21% of program spendingIn 2024, The Forward Foundation ran a digital education program in communities with the highest density of same-day voter registration to ensure this community understands their constitutionally-protected right to vote. The Forward Foundation's digital voter education program saw stronger-than-anticipated results, showing that the targeted communities (those with the highest density of same-day voter registration) were interested and engaged in learning about how to register and vote on election day.
$68,946 spent20% of program spendingIssue-based education for elected officials: new hampshire's elected officials are tasked with making decisions on a variety of issues, but unfortunately a legislator cannot be an expert in each of these issues. That is why The Forward Foundation engages in a governance program, to make sure elected officials in towns, cities, and in the state house are educated on issues that matter most to working-age individuals. In 2024, we were able to train 70 additional folks with this program - however, the first set of about 50 folks we trained on housing are continually coming back to interact with our organization, attend more trainings, and help with our other programs.
$54,182 spent16% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2023 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $346,612.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2022, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2022, 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 $279k to $249k (−10%).
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.
100% of THE FORWARD FOUNDATION’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (57% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 2 of the last 3 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.
Chief executive
Molly Lunn Owen
Executive director
Board chair
Elizabeth Wester
Chair
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2022 → 2023: the base broadened from 1 funder to 4 funders, grant income fell $313k → $122k.
6 of 10 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 35% 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 FORWARD 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.
How concentrated its funding is
THE FORWARD FOUNDATION leans on a few funders — its largest provides 51% of grant income and the top three 73%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
93% 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 FORWARD FOUNDATION.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2022 100% · 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.
Where its funders are
79% of THE FORWARD FOUNDATION's grant income comes from New Hampshire funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $396k arriving through sponsors registered in 4 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 FORWARD FOUNDATION is better cushioned than half of the 22,812 education nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 22,812 education nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2024
Organizations like THE FORWARD 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 New Hampshire
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
79% 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 THE FORWARD 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 FORWARD FOUNDATION?
- THE FORWARD FOUNDATION (New Hampshire) receives grants from 10 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,121,945 to it, the largest being New Hampshire Democracy Fund ($574,645). 4 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does THE FORWARD FOUNDATION have?
- IRS filings report 10 organizations giving $1,121,945 in grants to THE FORWARD FOUNDATION, 4 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of THE FORWARD FOUNDATION?
- New Hampshire Democracy Fund is the largest funder on record, with $574,645 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like THE FORWARD FOUNDATION find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in New Hampshire. 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 2022–2024), and the filings of 10 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