California · Nonprofit
THE INSTITUTE FOR FIGURING
THE INSTITUTE FOR FIGURING (California) receives grants from 3 organizations whose IRS filings report $50,000 to it, the largest being THE OPALINE FUND ($25,000). 2 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $39k
- Funders on record
- 3
- Grants received
- $50k
- Net assets
- $15k
What The Institute for Figuring does
Mission
To educate the public about science, math and technology.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990-EZ.
Programs
Exhibitions program the primary purpose of The Institute for Figuring is to educate the public about subjects in science and mathematics. To this end, the iff creates and participates in exhibitions at the intersection of science and art. In 2023 the organization's crochet coral reef project, which reflects on climate change and the disappearance of coral reefs, as well as mathematics in nature, was exhibited in a major exhibition at schlossmuseum linz in austria in the museum's natural history wing; and at the carnegie museum of art in pittsburgh. In austria, the museum had record attendance with many visitors saying it was their first time ever at the museum. A massive slate of public outreach programming in association with the exhibition engaged over 3,500 people across austria. The exhibition was widely reviewed in magazines and newspapers across austria and was featured on local radio and television programs. In pittsburgh over 300 people participated in the project across the city. These exhibitions were the subject of a feature article in the new york times - science section. Additionally, our work was included in two large- scale exhibitions in germany focused on…
$74,213 spent62% of program spendingPublic programming, events, and workshops program during 2023, the iff worked with two major organizations to create large- scale community science+art projects that engage citizens and students with the subjects of climate change, oceanic plastic trash, and mathematics in nature. The institutions undertaking these projects were the carnegie museum of art (pittsburgh), and schlossmuseum linz (linz, austria). In austria 3,500 people participated in this program from all over the country, including hundreds of children at schools in linz and its environs, plus residents of senior citizen homes and refugee shelters. At the carnegie museum of art, over 300 community members participated. In 2023 iff directors margaret wertheim and christine wertheim both gave lectures and workshops about our work at schlossmuseum linz, austria. Margaret wertheim also delivered the annual pinkel lecture at pomona college in claremont, ca; she gave a public lecture about mathematics in nature for aeon magazine's philosophy series in nyc; and participated in public panel discussions for the brooklyn rail (ny).
$45,907 spent38% of program spendingWebsite program during 2023, the iff extended our website about our crochet coral reef project and its affiliated educational offshoots in mathematics, ecology, and the science of coral reefs. The site contains a great deal of information about the scientific and mathematical topics underlying the project and its network of worldwide programming. This material serves as a valuable educational resource freely available to students, teachers, and educators. See www.crochetcoralreef.org. The organization also continued to support and add to our website for the institute itself www.theiff.org - which contains online exhibits and other educational materials on scientific and mathematical topics such as fractal geometry, mathematical paper folding, and prime numbers.
$300 spent0% of program spendingPublications program in 2023, work was begun on a new book about the institute's crochet coral reef project to be published in conjunction with our two exhibitions at schlossmuseum linz in austria. The book will contain essays about the mathematical, geological, environmental and community dimensions of the project, and will be published during 2024 in a dual english/german edition. In 2023, a major feature article about our work was written for the new york times - science section. (the article appeared in the paper on january 15, 2024). Our exhibition and programming in austria was extensively covered by newspapers, magazines, radio and local tv in austria. Our work was discussed in books and papers by academic writers, including in a new edition of the book the humanities (pearson education, usa), a forthcoming 6-volume encyclopedia a cultural history of craft in the modern age (bloomsbury academic, uk), and the routledge environmental humanities volume the environmental apocalypse; plus the journals chung wai literary quarterly in china and revista de arquitectura in spain.
The 4 programs described on its FY2023 Form 990-EZ. Program spending in total: $120,420.
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. 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 2022 to 2023, from $75k to $29k (−62%).
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.
6% of THE INSTITUTE FOR FIGURING’s revenue is contributions — more earned-revenue than three-quarters of its peers (65% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 5 of the last 8 reported years ran a deficit.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base held at 1 funder, grant income rose $0 → $3k.
From the IRS filings of THE INSTITUTE FOR FIGURING’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 INSTITUTE FOR FIGURING leans on a few funders — its largest provides 50% 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
50% 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 INSTITUTE FOR FIGURING.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2018 100% · 2019 50% · 2022 100% · 2023 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
80% of THE INSTITUTE FOR FIGURING's grant income comes from California funders.
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
THE INSTITUTE FOR FIGURING has grown faster than half of the 21,859 education nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 21,859 education nonprofits under $100k, FY2024
Organizations like THE INSTITUTE FOR FIGURING
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 California
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Public support
100%
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 INSTITUTE FOR FIGURING: 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 INSTITUTE FOR FIGURING?
- THE INSTITUTE FOR FIGURING (California) receives grants from 3 organizations whose IRS filings report $50,000 to it, the largest being THE OPALINE FUND ($25,000). 2 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does THE INSTITUTE FOR FIGURING have?
- IRS filings report 3 organizations giving $50,000 in grants to THE INSTITUTE FOR FIGURING, 2 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of THE INSTITUTE FOR FIGURING?
- THE OPALINE FUND is the largest funder on record, with $25,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like THE INSTITUTE FOR FIGURING find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in California. 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 Institute for Figuring →
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 3 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