Massachusetts · Nonprofit
The Upward Project
The Upward Project (Massachusetts) receives grants from 14 organizations whose IRS filings report $744,500 to it, the largest being FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ($374,000). 7 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 63% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2024
- $386k
- Funders on record
- 14
- Grants received
- $745k
- Net assets
- $218k
What The Upward Project does
Mission
To provide low income, first generation students who attend selective colleges the skills and resources they need to succeed in college and graduate prepared for careers in competitive and high wage fields. To seek upward mobility for students and work to disrupt the racial equity wealth gap in Boston.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Internship and career development. Includes career aligned summer experience ranging from studying abroad, research programs, internships, co-ops and classes. Provide support for students with upfront costs of participating in the opportunities, which included the cost of the program, transportation, housing, and materials needed to fully engage in the experience.
$28,295 spent16% of program spendingSummer intensive. New scholars (12) participated in the two week-long intensive where they attended workshops, career trips, and actively engaged in career exploration. New scholars to the program get access to a new laptop, a book stipend, and money to buy professional clothing.
$53,025 spent30% of program spendingCollege success & early career counseling. Scholars met with their college success program manager every two weeks. They worked to secure an internship, attend a summer program, or take summer classes that are career aligned.
$54,746 spent31% of program spendingSocial & cultural capital. Scholars accessed funding to enrich their college experiences and help unlock access to programs. The organizaion hosted scholars and their families at multiple local sporting events. Young professional development. Support scholars by reviewing full-time offers and help them onboard to their jobs. Also conduct monthly check-ins to ensure a seamless transition into their first job. Alumni network. The new program includes access to a financial advisor for a year as well as a winter dinner reunion. Students have used their advisor to open up ira accounts, transfer savings to high yield accounts and plan for home ownership. Other programs.
$39,609 spent23% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2023 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $175,675.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2021, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2021, 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 $69k to $252k (+268%).
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 Upward Project’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. 1 of the last 4 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
2021 → 2023: the base broadened from 2 funders to 6 funders, grant income rose $13k → $248k.
5 of 14 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 63% 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 Upward Project’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 Upward Project leans on a few funders — its largest provides 50% of grant income and the top three 74%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
67% 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 Upward Project.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2021 80% · 2022 44% · 2023 52% — 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
63% of The Upward Project's grant income arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors, whose addresses record where the money is held rather than where the donor is. Of the $277k that is directly attributable, 98% of it comes from Massachusetts funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $468k 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 Upward Project has grown faster than three-quarters 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 Upward Project
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 Massachusetts
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
66% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
71%
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 Upward Project: 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 Upward Project?
- The Upward Project (Massachusetts) receives grants from 14 organizations whose IRS filings report $744,500 to it, the largest being FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ($374,000). 7 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 63% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does The Upward Project have?
- IRS filings report 14 organizations giving $744,500 in grants to The Upward Project, 7 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of The Upward Project?
- FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND is the largest funder on record, with $374,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like The Upward Project find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Massachusetts. 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 Upward Project →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2021–2024), and the filings of 14 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