Grants for international-focused organizations

4,988 international and foreign affairs organizations received at least $1.7 billion in grants for the most recent fiscal year. This includes 11,247 grants made from 5,484 grantmaking organizations, with a median grant amount of $1,000. Of these 5,484 foundations, 67% made just a single grant to global-focused orgs, and 7% made grants to four or more global-focused orgs. This analysis is based on grantmakers that e-file their Form 990s, and likely is an undercount of grants.
$1,674,655,435
Total grant dollars given to international-focused organizations
11,247
Number of grants made annually to international-focused organizations
5,484
Number of grantmakers funding international-focused organizations
$1,000
Median grant size to international-focused organizations

Foundations that support international and foreign affairs organizations

Out of all grants made to international-focused organizations, 85% came from small foundations with less than $10 million in assets. The top 10 grantmakers accounted for 69% of the dollar-value of grants to global-focused orgs. Foundations funding global-focused orgs also made grants to international humanitarian organizations, international development organizations, food banks, multiservice human service organizations, and religious organizations.

Foundation size

Foundation sizeNumber of grantmakers
Small
 
4,677
Medium
 
467
Large
 
335
Small foundations have <$10M in assets. Medium foundations have $10M to $50M in assets. Large foundations have >$50M in assets.

Foundation type

Foundation typeNumber of grantmakers
Community
 
88
Private
 
4,883
Corporate
 
199
Other
 
314

Grants made

Grants made to global-focused orgsNumber of grantmakers
1
 
3,681
2-3
 
1,370
4-10
 
374
11+
 
59

Top 10 foundations supporting international and foreign affairs organizations

GrantmakerStateGeographic focusPercent of grant dollars to global-focused orgsNumber of grants made to global-focused orgsMedian grant size
BaxterILNational1.4%310$100
Abbvie FoundationILNational0.5%198$200
JP Morgan Chase FoundationNYNational0.1%158$442
Chubb Charitable FoundationPANational1.1%154$150
Shell Oil Company FoundationTXNational1.2%152$1,000
Seattle FoundationWAState0.2%134$1,000
Salesforce Com FoundationCANational0.1%109$50
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF)NJNational0.0%77$500
Synchrony FoundationCTNational0.4%64$394
Carmax FoundationVANational0.7%63$480

International and foreign affairs organizations grantees

International-focused organizations with more than $5 million in total revenues received 95% of all grant dollars. These larger organizations accounted for 60% of all global-focused orgs.

Grant amounts

Size of grantNumber of grants
<$10k
 
11,067
$10k-$25k
 
0
$25k-$100k
 
0
$100k+
 
180

Grant amount by grantee size

Grantee annual revenueMedian grant size
<$100k
 
$1,000
$100k-$500k
 
$1,200
$500k-$1M
 
$1,051
$1M-$5M
 
$1,000
>$5M
 
$1,000

Grantee states

State of granteeNumber of grants
New York
 
3,212
California
 
1,122
District of Columbia
 
817
Virginia
 
638
Other
 
5,458

Grantee metros

Metro area of granteeNumber of grants
New York City
 
3,276
Washington DC
 
1,183
Boston
 
410
Chicago
 
387
Other
 
5,742

Top 25 grants made to international-focused organizations

GranteeGrant sizePurposeGrantmaker
Gavi the Vaccine Alliance (GAVI)$315,000,000Vaccine DeliveryBill & Melinda Gates Foundation
The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International$100,000,000PolioBill & Melinda Gates Foundation
National Democratic Institute for International Affairs$49,992,503Democracy AssistanceConsortium For Elections and Political Process Strengthening
Plan International$32,994,317Accrual AcctgPlan International USA
Plan International$32,994,317Prog. SupportPlan International USA
Plan International$32,411,365Pledged AmountPlan International USA
Jasper Ridge Partners$31,882,440General SupportSergey Brin Family Foundation
UNICEF USA Impact Fund for Children$30,920,909Payment in Support of the Unicef Usa Impact Fund for Children Inc Bridge Fund TransactionsUnited States Fund for Unicef
Plan International$23,591,119Invoiced AmountPlan International USA
Children's Healthcare of Atlanta$20,564,682SupportChick-fil-A Peach Bowl
Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations US$20,000,000Vaccine DevelopmentBill & Melinda Gates Foundation
United States Fund for Unicef$19,999,402PolioBill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Hadassah Medical Relief Association$19,227,500Hadassah
Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors (RPA)$18,890,000Conservation and ScienceDavid and Lucile Packard Foundation
American Center for International Labor Solidarity$17,972,804PluralismNational Endowment for Democracy
National Democratic Institute for International Affairs$17,715,789Democratic Governance & Political PartiesNational Endowment for Democracy
United States Fund for Unicef$17,070,086PolioBill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere$15,500,000Delivery of Solutions To Improve Global Health; Global Health and Development Public Awareness and AnalysisBill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Maccabee Task Force Foundation$15,336,449General Charitable PurposesAdelson Family Foundation
Jhpiego Corporation$15,256,093Operational SupportJsi Research and Training Institute
The Carter Center$15,000,000Neglected Tropical DiseasesBill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Gates Philanthropy Partners$15,000,000General Nonprofit SupportSilicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF)
Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos (NPH)$13,202,751Support Orphaned and Disadvantaged ChildrenNph-Usa
United States Fund for Unicef$13,058,659PolioBill & Melinda Gates Foundation
The One Campaign$13,000,000Enteric and Diarrheal Diseases; Global Health and Development Public Awareness and Analysis; Hiv; Nutrition; Pneumonia; Vaccine DeliveryBill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Methodology: To determine grants and grantees, Cause IQ analyzes electronically-filed Form 990, Form 990-EZ, and Form 990-PF financial disclosure documents, matching grantees to specific organizations using EINs and fuzzy matching logic. The "International-focused organizations" category for this page is determined by the "Q00: International, Foreign Affairs, and National Security: General" National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE) code. Cause IQ determines NTEEs for organizations by its own internally-developed secret-sauce algorithms.