Charity & Political Links
Charity & Political Links is a data page on the People & Money desk of Glassbox Auditing. The foundations that banks, funds and companies run and where their grants go, the charity boards their executives sit on, and those leaders' federal political donations, from IRS Form 990s and FEC records. Grants and gifts show which causes, institutions and politicians the most powerful people and firms put money behind.
Last updated: .
What is on this page today?
- JPMorgan Chase Foundation: $164M in grants in tax year 2025, -19% on 2024 — 1,017 grants · corporate foundation (JPMorgan Chase) · $203M in 2024 (IRS Form 990 / 990-PF, 30 Dec 2025) JPM
- The people tied to Council on Foreign Relations sit on 28 other charity and institution boards, the most of the 461 institutions followed — 93 of its people sit on other boards · 222 of the 461 institutions have people on other boards · shared board seats are how institutions stay connected · seats on record through tax year 2025 (IRS Form 990 / 990-PF, 30 Dec 2025)
- Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: $2.16B in grants in tax year 2024, -8% on 2023 — 2,239 grants · co-founder's foundation (Microsoft) · $2.35B in 2023 (IRS Form 990 / 990-PF, 30 Dec 2024)
- Johns Hopkins University: $578M in grants in tax year 2024, +27% on 2023 — 761 grants · $456M in 2023 (IRS Form 990 / 990-PF, 30 Dec 2024)
- Foundation to Promote Open Society: $381M in grants in tax year 2024, -22% on 2023 — 591 grants · founder's foundation (Soros Fund Management) · $487M in 2023 (IRS Form 990 / 990-PF, 30 Dec 2024)
- Harvard University: $245M in grants in tax year 2024, +65% on 2023 — 337 grants · $149M in 2023 (IRS Form 990 / 990-PF, 30 Dec 2024)
- Bank of America Charitable Foundation: $216M in grants in tax year 2024, +59% on 2023 — grants listed in an attachment to the return · corporate foundation (Bank of America) · $136M in 2023 (IRS Form 990 / 990-PF, 30 Dec 2024) BAC
- Columbia University: $198M in grants in tax year 2024, +11% on 2023 — 401 grants · $179M in 2023 (IRS Form 990 / 990-PF, 30 Dec 2024)
- The followed executives, directors and trustees gave $445M in itemised federal donations in the 2023-24 cycle, +5% on the cycle before — $424M in 2021-22 · $295M so far in the 2025-26 cycle, still running · donors counted only when their stated employer is one of the person's institutions (FEC, 30 Dec 2024)
- Paul E. Singer Foundation: $200M in grants in tax year 2023, +63% on 2022 — 50 grants · founder's foundation (Elliott Management) · $123M in 2022 (IRS Form 990 / 990-PF, 30 Dec 2023)
Where does the data come from?
Items on this page come from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF; FEC. Each item links to its own source. All sources, how items are checked.
What does this page lead to?
- Universities (Education): Company and family foundations are among universities' largest donors, so their grants feed endowments, scholarships and research budgets. (moves the same way; 1-3 years; sector scale) Source: IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file data (the IRS's public archives).
- Budget & Spending (Macro): Gifts to charities and foundations are deductible, so large giving lowers donors' income taxes; the charitable deduction is one of the larger tax expenditures in the federal budget. (moves the other way; tax year; economy scale) Source: Congressional Budget Office (budget categories).
- Activism & Safety (Domestic Intelligence): Foundation and corporate grants fund many of the environmental, safety and human-rights groups on Activism & Safety, and the grantors' 990s list each grant. (moves the same way; 1 year; sector scale) Source: IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file data (the IRS's public archives).
- Interest Groups (People & Money): Charities may not campaign, but related 501(c)(4) groups can give to super PACs, so the same donors' money can reach politics through both; 990s and FEC reports together trace it. (either way, depending on the cause; election cycle; economy scale) Source: OpenFEC API (itemised contributions, candidate totals, election dates).
- Company (Companies): A company's own foundation is funded from its profits and its grants are directed by its executives, so its giving shows where the company puts money beyond its business. (either way, depending on the cause; 1 year; company scale) Source: IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file data (the IRS's public archives).
What feeds this page?
- Investment Reports (People & Money): Private foundations must pay out about 5% of their investment assets each year (tax code section 4942), so gains in the foundation holdings reported here raise the grants their next Form 990-PF lists. (moves the same way; 1 year; sector scale) Source: IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file data (the IRS's public archives).