Atlas Economic Research Foundation
Arlington, VA · EIN 94-2763845. Reported 123 grants totalling $6,379,127 to 68 organizations across tax years 2021-2024, on Form 990 Schedule I.
Does this grantmaker accept applications?
Its tax return does not say, and we will not guess. Private foundations file Form 990-PF, which asks outright whether they fund only organizations they select themselves -- 78% say yes, and that one answer is what lets the rest of this site tell you which foundations are worth approaching. Grantmaking charities like this one file a regular Form 990 instead, and the IRS never puts the question to them. Anyone claiming to know the answer from the filing is inventing it.
Three things in the filing do bear on it:
- What kind of organization it is. For Atlas Economic Research Foundation, the IRS classifies it under social science rather than as a grantmaker (NTEE V22Z) -- it is an operating charity that also makes grants.
- How spread out its giving is. 68 distinct organizations, with 13% of the dollars going to the largest single recipient. That is genuinely spread out -- the mark of a funder making many independent decisions rather than underwriting one institution.
- How much its list changes. 52% of one year's grantees are funded again the next, across 3 year-to-year transitions. That is about the 57% median for grantmaking charities -- noticeably lower than the 67% private foundations manage. Organizations like this one rotate more of their list each year, which is where an opening for a newcomer tends to be.
How big are its grants?
The median reported grant is $35,000. Half of what it reported fell between $22,600 and $60,000; the smallest was $6,234 and the largest $804,812. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong organization.
Every organization it funded
This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Recipients are grouped by the EIN the filer reported, not by name, so an organization that was typed differently in two years appears once rather than twice.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Consumer Choice Education | Arlington, VA | $804,812 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| University of Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh, PA | $405,465 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Beacon Center of Tennessee | Nashville, TN | $290,626 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Commonwealth Foundation for Public Policy Alternatives | Harrisburg, PA | $257,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Georgia Center for Opportunity Inc | Peachtree Cor, GA | $230,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Pacific Legal Foundation | Sacramento, CA | $217,395 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Ideas Beyond Borders Inc | New York, NY | $200,197 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Pelican Institute for Public Policy | New Orleans, LA | $198,323 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Students for Liberty | Mclean, VA | $181,439 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Friends of Ufm Inc | Mclean, VA | $180,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Political Economy Research Center Inc | Bozeman, MT | $175,950 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Students for Liberty Incorporated | Mc Lean, VA | $152,145 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Better Cities Project | Carson City, NV | $143,734 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Libertas Network | Lehi, UT | $136,760 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy Inc | Charleston, WV | $135,329 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Ladies of Liberty Alliance | Washington, DC | $133,730 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Mackinac Center Charitable Foundation | Midland, MI | $117,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| John Locke Foundation Inc | Raleigh, NC | $115,200 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Archbridge Institute | Washington, DC | $115,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Human Rights Foundation Inc | New York, NY | $113,225 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Badger Institute Inc | Milwaukee, WI | $105,521 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Foundation for Economic Education Inc | Atlanta, GA | $100,200 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Fundacion Luis G Fortuno | San Juan, PR | $96,875 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Young Voices | Washington, DC | $90,200 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Becket Fund | Washington, DC | $90,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Illinois Policy Institute | Chicago, IL | $80,150 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Barry Goldwater Institute for Public Policy Research | Phoenix, AZ | $80,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| End It for Good Inc | Ridgeland, MS | $80,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Platte Institute for Economic Research Inc | Omaha, NE | $80,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| American Conservation Coalition Action Inc | Washington, DC | $75,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Economic Fundamentals Initiative Inc | Newark, NJ | $68,175 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Frontier Institute Inc | Helena, MT | $66,488 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Hardwired Incorporated | N Chesterfld, VA | $65,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Grassroot Institute of Hawaii Inc | Honolulu, HI | $60,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Texas Public Policy Foundation | Austin, TX | $60,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Yorktown Foundation for Public Policy | Salem, VA | $58,223 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| The Buckeye Institute | Columbus, OH | $55,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| American Conservation Coalition Inc | Washington, DC | $50,453 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Cato Institute | Washington, DC | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression Inc | Philadelphia, PA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Sutherland Institute | Salt Lake Cty, UT | $40,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Center for Innovative Governance Research | Washington, DC | $37,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Free the People Fight the Power Foundation | Washington, DC | $35,050 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Cosmos Institute Inc | Austin, TX | $35,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| The Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy | Round Hill, VA | $35,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Instituto De Libertad Economica Para Puerto Rico Inc | San Juan, PR | $30,320 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| American Friends of the Institute of Economic Affairs | Arlington, VA | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Conservative Coalition for Climate Solutions | Falls Church, VA | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Future of Free Speech | Nashville, TN | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Georgia Public Policy Foundation Inc | Atlanta, GA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| New England Legal Foundation | Boston, MA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Pioneer Institute Inc | Boston, MA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Tax Foundation | Washington, DC | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| World Liberty Congress Inc | New York, NY | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| International Society for Individual Liberty Inc | Dallas, TX | $22,600 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Center for Economic Accountability | Grosse Pt Wds, MI | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Grace Richardson Fund | Greensboro, NC | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Khama Institute - United States | Los Angeles, CA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Opportunity Arkansas Foundation | Conway, AR | $15,308 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Bitcoin Policy Institute | Nashville, TN | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| New Intellectuals Network | Lopez, PA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Center for Independent Thought Inc | Bala Cynwyd, PA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Caribbean Progress Studies Institute (cpsi) - United States | Huntington Beach, CA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Institute for Justice | Arlington, VA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Let Grow Inc | New York, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| William Marsh Rice University | Houston, TX | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Startup Societies Foundation | Salt Lake Cty, UT | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Competitive Enterprise Institute | Washington, DC | $6,234 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
32 of 68 (47%) received money in more than one year over the 4 years we hold. Remember the $5,000 floor: an organization funded every year at $3,000 shows up here as never funded at all.
What kind of organizations it funds
By each recipient's own IRS classification, for the 58 of 68 recipients we could match to a registered organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses -- Schedule I reports the recipient's EIN, so this is a lookup rather than a name match.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants reported | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 22 | $943,817 | $25,517 |
| 2022 | 28 | $2,434,093 | $55,327 |
| 2023 | 31 | $1,100,160 | $30,000 |
| 2024 | 42 | $1,901,057 | $38,750 |
Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- Form 990 arrives about a year after the year it covers, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a grantmaker winding down.
Where its money goes
24% of its giving went to organizations in Virginia. Community foundations and federated funds are usually the most geographically bounded funders there are -- being outside the footprint is normally disqualifying in a way that a weak programme fit is not.
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Funders that support the same organizations
These grantmakers and private foundations gave to organizations this one also funded. Shared grantees are the strongest signal available that two funders have overlapping priorities -- and a funder already backing your peers is a far warmer prospect than one that merely lists your cause.
How to approach this grantmaker
- Look for a published programme first. Unlike most private foundations, organizations of this kind often do run open, deadlined grant cycles with written guidelines. Its own website is the authority on that; this page is the authority on who it has actually paid.
- Check you are its size. The median reported grant is $35,000 -- and because grants under $5,000 need not be reported, it very likely writes smaller cheques than this page can see.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving concentrates in Virginia.
- Read the recipient list for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer and a cheap one to get.
Related guides
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from Atlas Economic Research Foundation's own Form 990 Schedule I filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2021-2024). Nothing here is scraped, inferred or estimated.
On its most recent return it told the IRS it made grants to 42 section 501(c)(3) organizations and 0 other organizations. That is the filer's own count for one year; the totals above cover every year we hold.
Address of record on the latest return: 4075 Wilson Blvd 310, Arlington, VA, 22203.
EIN 94-2763845 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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