Grants for trade / professional associations

3,987 trade / professional associations and chambers of commerce received at least $483.9 million in grants for the most recent fiscal year. This includes 2,587 grants made from 1,904 grantmaking organizations, with a median grant amount of $1,250. Of these 1,904 foundations, 84% made just a single grant to trade associations, and 2% made grants to four or more trade associations. This analysis is based on grantmakers that e-file their Form 990s, and likely is an undercount of grants.
$483,913,712
Total grant dollars given to trade / professional associations
2,587
Number of grants made annually to trade / professional associations
1,904
Number of grantmakers funding trade / professional associations
$1,250
Median grant size to trade / professional associations

Foundations that support trade / professional associations and chambers of commerce

Out of all grants made to trade / professional associations, 73% came from small foundations with less than $10 million in assets. The top 10 grantmakers accounted for 66% of the dollar-value of grants to trade associations. Foundations funding trade associations also made grants to colleges, multiservice human service organizations, educational service providers, and food banks.

Foundation size

Foundation sizeNumber of grantmakers
Small
 
1,401
Medium
 
243
Large
 
257
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
 
46
Private
 
1,493
Corporate
 
92
Other
 
273

Grants made

Grants made to trade associationsNumber of grantmakers
1
 
1,618
2-3
 
236
4-10
 
39
11+
 
11

Top 10 foundations supporting trade / professional associations and chambers of commerce

GrantmakerStateGeographic focusPercent of grant dollars to trade associationsNumber of grants made to trade associationsMedian grant size
Baird FoundationWINational0.3%45$15
Abbvie FoundationILNational0.0%40$100
JP Morgan Chase FoundationNYNational1.5%39$200
Shell Oil Company FoundationTXNational0.1%23$500
Chubb Charitable FoundationPANational0.1%19$100
The Columbus FoundationOHState0.0%13$5,000
Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee (CFMT)TNMetro0.0%13$1,000
Community Foundation of North Texas (NTXCF)TXState0.1%12$1,522
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF)NJNational0.0%12$1,125
Home Savings Charitable FoundationOHState1.8%12$675

Trade / professional associations and chambers of commerce grantees

Trade / professional associations with more than $5 million in total revenues received 94% of all grant dollars. These larger organizations accounted for 37% of all trade associations.

Grant amounts

Size of grantNumber of grants
<$10k
 
2,525
$10k-$25k
 
0
$25k-$100k
 
0
$100k+
 
62

Grant amount by grantee size

Grantee annual revenueMedian grant size
<$100k
 
$1,500
$100k-$500k
 
$1,477
$500k-$1M
 
$1,762
$1M-$5M
 
$1,345
>$5M
 
$1,000

Grantee states

State of granteeNumber of grants
New York
 
295
District of Columbia
 
211
California
 
187
Massachusetts
 
139
Other
 
1,755

Grantee metros

Metro area of granteeNumber of grants
Washington DC
 
369
New York City
 
273
Chicago
 
110
Philadelphia
 
109
Other
 
1,561

Top 25 grants made to trade / professional associations

GranteeGrant sizePurposeGrantmaker
Renown Health$129,382,883General LedgerRenown Health
CareSource Georgia Co$55,000,000ActualCareSource
American Association for Cancer Research$29,782,164General Program SupportEntertainment Industry Foundation
Big Twelve Conference$14,755,604Scholarships/grantsNational Collegiate Athletic Association
Dairy Max$12,704,394Advertising ProgramDairy Promotion
Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York$10,000,000To Sustain the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, Which Will Preserve Broad First Amendment Rights in the Digital Age As A Champion of Domestic Free Expression Though Litigation, Research and Scholarship, With the Goals of Producing Significant Legal Victories and Informing Discourse and Debate on These Issues.John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association$8,459,333FMVThe AOPA Foundation
United States Chamber of Commerce (USCC)$7,805,274Actual Salaries & Benefit AllocUS Chamber of Commerce Foundation (USCCF)
United Dairy Association of Michigan (UDIM)$7,389,125Promote the Sale of Milk and Milk Products and Increase Consumer Awareness of Milk Products Through Promotion, Research, and Nutrition Education.Michigan Milk Producers Association (MMPA)
Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association$6,962,688Grow Pilot PopulationThe AOPA Foundation
University of Texas at Austin$6,098,750Basic Research in in the State of TexasRobert A Welch Foundation
Metropolitan Opera Association$5,592,320General SupportThe Bill and Ann Ziff Foundation
Big Twelve Conference$5,250,000To Support the Conference As Part of A Payout for Participating in the Annual Allstate Sugar Bowl.Allstate Sugar Bowl
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG)$5,041,000CostAcog Foundation
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG)$5,041,000See Part VAcog Foundation
College for Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME)$4,918,245FundingCollege of Healthcare Information Management Executives Foundation (CHIME)
American Bar Association (ABA)$4,907,073Supporting Human Rights, Democratic Initiatives And/or Rule of LawFreedom House
College for Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME)$4,900,000College of Healthcare Information Management Executives Foundation (CHIME)
Home Builders Institute (HBI)$4,818,120To Assist Local CharitiesThe Home Depot Foundation and Homer Fund
Illinois Manufacturers Association (IMA)$4,800,000To Help Organization With Their Mission ObjectivesTenth Amendment Project
Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber$4,695,062FMVCincinnati USA Regional Chamber foundation
Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber$4,695,062Grants Used To Fund the Minority Business Accelerator and Economic Development Activities.Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber foundation
Big Twelve Conference$4,511,115See SCH I, Part IvSan Antonio Bowl Association
Uli - The Urban Land Institute$4,506,250Future of WorkersMastercard Impact Fund
American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS)$4,500,000CostAmerican Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS)
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 "Trade / professional associations" category for this page is determined by the "S41: Promotion of Business" National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE) code. Cause IQ determines NTEEs for organizations by its own internally-developed secret-sauce algorithms.