Grants for unions

860 labor unions received at least $101.8 million in grants for the most recent fiscal year. This includes 311 grants made from 268 grantmaking organizations, with a median grant amount of $1,000. Of these 268 foundations, 91% made just a single grant to unions, and 1% made grants to four or more unions. This analysis is based on grantmakers that e-file their Form 990s, and likely is an undercount of grants.
$101,764,278
Total grant dollars given to unions
311
Number of grants made annually to unions
268
Number of grantmakers funding unions
$1,000
Median grant size to unions

Foundations that support labor unions

Out of all grants made to unions, 77% came from small foundations with less than $10 million in assets. The top 10 grantmakers accounted for 99% of the dollar-value of grants to unions. Foundations funding unions also made grants to colleges, multiservice human service organizations, universities, animal shelters, and cancer organizations.

Foundation size

Foundation sizeNumber of grantmakers
Small
 
209
Medium
 
29
Large
 
30
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
 
3
Private
 
203
Corporate
 
18
Other
 
44

Grants made

Grants made to unionsNumber of grantmakers
1
 
245
2-3
 
19
4-10
 
4
11+
 
0

Top 10 foundations supporting labor unions

GrantmakerStateGeographic focusPercent of grant dollars to unionsNumber of grants made to unionsMedian grant size
National Education Association of the United StatesDCNational41.5%9$4,473,060
American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial OrganizationsDCNational44.0%5$6,813,500
Land O'Lakes FoundationMNNational0.1%5$500
The Ansell Grimm and Aaron FoundationNJMetro2.6%5$300
Midwest Operating Engineers Fringe Benefit FundsILMetro65.9%3$3,330,000
Washington Research Foundation (WRF)WAMetro0.2%3$5,000
Carl M Hansen FoundationWAMetro7.0%3$4,000
Washington Laborers-Employers Cooperation and Education TrustWAMetro22.8%3$3,854
Parkland FoundationTXMetro74.0%2$6,547,623
American Federation of State County and Municipal EmployeesDCNational56.8%2$5,342,119

Labor unions grantees

Unions with more than $5 million in total revenues received 85% of all grant dollars. These larger organizations accounted for 14% of all unions.

Grant amounts

Size of grantNumber of grants
<$10k
 
291
$10k-$25k
 
0
$25k-$100k
 
0
$100k+
 
20

Grant amount by grantee size

Grantee annual revenueMedian grant size
<$100k
 
$1,000
$100k-$500k
 
$500
$500k-$1M
 
$1,500
$1M-$5M
 
$1,250
>$5M
 
$5,000

Grantee states

State of granteeNumber of grants
Massachusetts
 
45
New York
 
43
Washington
 
30
California
 
26
Other
 
167

Grantee metros

Metro area of granteeNumber of grants
New York City
 
43
Boston
 
43
Seattle
 
26
Washington DC
 
18
Other
 
163

Top 25 grants made to unions

GranteeGrant sizePurposeGrantmaker
California Teachers Association$11,793,904Financial AssistanceNational Education Association of the United States
Hotel Restaurant and Club Employees and Bartenders Union$8,083,606FMVNew York Hotel and Motel Trades Council (HTC)
AFL-CIO - Working America$6,813,500Operating Subsidy, Program Support, Office SpaceAmerican Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations
Dallas County Hospital District$6,547,623CashParkland Foundation
Dallas County Hospital District$6,547,623Support To PHHS Capital Projects and Patient ProgramsParkland Foundation
New Jersey Education Association (NJEA)$5,849,383Financial AssistanceNational Education Association of the United States
American Federation of State County & Municipal Employees - C0093ma AFSCME Council 93$5,553,998Contractual AgreementsAmerican Federation of State County and Municipal Employees
American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees$5,130,240AllocationAmerican Federation of State County and Municipal Employees
Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA)$5,045,419Financial AssistanceNational Education Association of the United States
Ohio Education Association$5,027,951Financial AssistanceNational Education Association of the United States
Michigan Education Association$4,473,060Financial AssistanceNational Education Association of the United States
Illinois Education Association$4,354,483Financial AssistanceNational Education Association of the United States
Massachusetts Teachers Association$4,117,932Financial AssistanceNational Education Association of the United States
Washington Education Association$3,453,667Financial AssistanceNational Education Association of the United States
Indiana Illinois and Iowa Foundation for Fair Contracting$3,330,000Monitor Construction ProjectsMidwest Operating Engineers Fringe Benefit Funds
Indiana Illinois and Iowa Foundation for Fair Contracting$3,330,000Midwest Operating Engineers Fringe Benefit Funds
Indiana Illinois and Iowa Foundation for Fair Contracting$3,330,000FMVMidwest Operating Engineers Fringe Benefit Funds
New England Carpenters Labor Management Program$3,000,000Job CreationNorth Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters
AFL-CIO - Fresno-Madera-Tulare-Kings CLC$2,795,605Employment and Training ServicesFresno Area Workforce Investment Corporation
Education Minnesota$2,674,264Financial AssistanceNational Education Association of the United States
Laboratory To Combat Human Trafficking$5,000General Donation To Support Organization Or ProgramThe Colorado Health Foundation
West Side Career and Technology Center Education Association$5,000Program SupportThe Luzerne Foundation
University of Washington / Professional Staff Organization$5,000Joseph Gottstein Lab Gift FundAlhadeff Family Charitable Foundation
AFL-CIO - Chicago Federation of Labor & Indus$5,000LobbyingSee Forward Fund
United Steelworkers - 09367 Local$5,000ContributionInternational Union of Painters and Allied Trades - 35 District Council
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 "Unions" category for this page is determined by the "J40: Labor unions, organizations" National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE) code. Cause IQ determines NTEEs for organizations by its own internally-developed secret-sauce algorithms.