Center for Action and Contemplation
Albuquerque, NM · EIN 85-0354965. Reported 123 grants totalling $4,272,338 to 47 organizations across tax years 2021-2025, 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 Center for Action and Contemplation, the IRS classifies it under arts & culture rather than as a grantmaker (NTEE A70) -- it is an operating charity that also makes grants.
- How spread out its giving is. 47 distinct organizations, with 30% 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. 75% of one year's grantees are funded again the next, across 4 year-to-year transitions. That is well above the 56% median for grantmaking charities, and above the 67% median for private foundations. It describes the organizations it already funds, not whether it would consider a new one.
How big are its grants?
The median reported grant is $15,000. Half of what it reported fell between $8,000 and $35,000; the smallest was $7,000 and the largest $500,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong organization.
3 of those grants were non-cash -- goods, property or services worth $68,579 in total. In-kind giving is real support but it is not a cheque.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ayni Institute Inc | Revere, MA | $1,270,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Center for the Working Poor | Milwaukee, WI | $392,500 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| East Valley Bible Church | Gilbert, AZ | $377,500 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Illuman Inc | Sanford, NC | $250,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Center for Spiritual Imagination Inc | Garden City, NY | $215,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Wisdom & Money | Menlo Park, CA | $200,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| The Happy Givers | Vega Alta, PR | $132,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Thresholds Community | San Diego, CA | $132,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Franciscan Action Network | Washington, DC | $110,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Cathedral of the Incarnation | Garden City, NY | $105,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership Nfp | Chicago, IL | $100,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Solidaire Network Inc | Oakland, CA | $100,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Franciscan Media | Cincinatti, OH | $75,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe of the Order of Friars Minor | Albuquerque, NM | $68,579 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Trinity House Catholic Worker | Albuquerque, NM | $56,656 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Community Cooperative | Washington, DC | $55,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| St Felix Pantry Inc | Rio Rancho, NM | $48,603 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation Inc | Washington, DC | $40,500 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Norbertine Community of New Mexico | Albuquerque, NM | $40,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Equal Justice USA Inc | Brooklyn, NY | $37,500 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Red Letter Christians | Philadelphia, PA | $35,500 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Henri Nouwen Society | Saint Louis, MO | $33,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Southwest Organizing Project | Albuquerque, NM | $32,500 | 4 | 2 | 2022 |
| Faith Matters Network Collaborative | Nashville, TN | $25,500 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| New Mexico Interfaith Power and Light | Albuquerque, NM | $25,500 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| La Plaza De Encuentro Gathering Place | Albuquerque, NM | $25,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Nautilus Fund | Bar Harbor, ME | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| One Atta Time | Truckee, CA | $23,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Fractured Atlas Inc | New York, NY | $22,500 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Partnership for Community Action | Albuquerque, NM | $17,500 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Made for Pax Co | Goshen, IN | $16,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Amplify Peace | Mesa, AZ | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Center for Civic Policy | Albuquerque, NM | $15,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Episcopal City Mission | Boston, MA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Jubilee Gift Galaxy Inc | Middletown, NY | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| La Cosecha Community Supported Agriculture | Albuquerque, NM | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Social Good Fund Inc | Richmond, CA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Tides Center | San Francisco, CA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Voices From the Border | Patagonia, AZ | $15,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Albuquerque Interfaith | Albuquerque, NM | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Thousand Currents | San Francisco, CA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Awakenings Inc | Fresno, TX | $8,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Albuquerque Public School-Valle Vista Elementary Community School | Albuquerque, NM | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Catholic Charities | Albuquerque, NM | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Community Purchasing Alliance Cooperative | Washington, DC | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Neo Philanthropy Inc | New York, NY | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| New Mexico Environmental Law Center | Albuquerque, NM | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
31 of 47 (66%) received money in more than one year over the 5 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 the money was for
Taken verbatim from the purpose column of its filings, largest first. This is the closest thing to a statement of what it funds, in its own words.
- Ayni Institute Inc
SUPPORTS DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW SMALL GROUP MODEL COMBINING DEEP CONTEMPLATIVE FORMATION AND SOCIAL ACTION, FILLING A CRITICAL GAP IN THE MOVEMENT, EXPANDING SUPPORT FOR DIVERSE CONSTITUENCIES, AND PROVIDING A MODEL THAT COMPLEMENTS EXISTING CAC PROGRAMMING. - Wisdom and Money
BE PRESENT AND WISDOM & MONEY (THE TRAILBLAZING COLLABORATIVE) HAVE CO-CREATED THE TRAILBLAZING INSTITUTE TO TRAIN TRAILBLAZERS IN A NEW WAY OF BEING THROUGH THE BE PRESENT EMPOWERMENT MODEL, WISDOM SPIRITUAL PRACTICES, AND TRANSFORMATIVE MONEY PRACTICES. THESE TRAININGS WILL PROVIDE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR INNER TRANSFORMATION AND MORE OPEN WAYS TO ENGAGE WITH OTHERS. BE PRESENT IS AN ORGANIZATION WITH A LONG HISTORY (1988) AND MUCH EXPERIENCE IN ENGAGING WITH COMMUNITIES AND BUILDING LEADERS IN MOVEMENT BUILDING. THEIR JOINT ENDEAVOR, THE TRAILBLAZING COLLABORATIVE, CAN POTENTIALLY ENGAGE CACS AUDIENCE MEMBERS IN INVITING THEM TO ENGAGE WITH MONEY AS A DOORWAY TO SPIRITUAL TRANSFORMATION AT THE PERSONAL, COMMUNAL, AND SYSTEMIC LEVELS. WISDOM & MONEY IS A CAC PARTNER AND HAS SUPPORTED CAC IN DEVELOPING ITS FINANCIAL PHILOSOPHY AND THEY CONDUCTED A PARTNER SESSION AT CONSPIRE. THROUGH THEIR PARTICIPATION WITH CONSPIRE AND WITH ROSE FEERICKS ARTICLE IN THE MENDICANT, WISDOM AND MONEY - The Cathedral of the Incarnation-Center for Spiritual Imagination
THE CATHEDRAL OF THE INCARNATION IS A NEW MONASTIC COMMUNITY WHICH EMBODIES AND TEACHES THE ENGAGED CONTEMPLATIVE SPIRITUALITY IN RESPONSE TO WHAT FATHER BEDE GRIFFITHS CALLED 'THE UNIVERSAL CALL TO CONTEMPLATION.' THEIR WORK IS GROUNDED IN THE AFFIRMATION THAT INTIMACY WITH GOD DOES NOT BELONG TO A SPECIAL GROUP OF RELIGIOUS PROFESSIONALS BUT IS AVAILABLE TO ALL. CSI PRACTICE DEMOCRATIZES THE GIFTS OF MONASTIC SPIRITUALITY AND TRANSLATES THEM INTO A FORM THAT CAN BE LIVED IN EVERYDAY LIFE. - The Center for the Working Poor
CENTER FOR THE WORKING POOR IS AN INTERFAITH INTENTIONAL COMMUNITY INSPIRED BY THE THE CATHOLIC WORKER MOVEMENT AND NEW MONASTICISM, WHICH IS COMMITTED TO STRATEGIC NON-VIOLENT SOCIAL CHANGE. - The Surge Network
SURGE EXISTS TO EQUIP LEADERS TO ENGAGE EVERY MEMBER OF THEIR CHURCH AS AN ACTIVE PARTICIPANT OF GOD'S MISSION. SURGE PROVIDES TOOLS AND RELATIONAL PLATFORMS TO STREGTHEN AND ACTIVATE THE ENTIRE BODY OF CHRIST. - Illuman
ILLUMAN EXISTS TO HELP MEN DO THEIR INNER, SPIRITUAL WORK TO BECOME HEALTHIER AND MORE AUTHENTIC HUMAN BEINGS. WE DO THIS WORK THROUGH OUR MROP, COUNCIL CIRCLES, NATIONAL GATHERINGS, AND LOCAL CHAPTER OFFERINGS. FOUND IN 2012 BY THE FRANCISCAN MYSTIC AND TEACHER RICHARD ROHR, WE ARE NON-DENOMINATIONAL, INTERFAITH, AND SPIRITUALLY INCLUSIVE, WELCOMING ALL MALE-IDENTIFIED PERSONS TO OUR WORK WITHOUT REGARD FOR YOUR RELIGION, RACE, ETHNICITY, CLASS, EDUCATION, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, OR ANY OTHER CHARACTERISTIC THAT MIGHT MAKE YOU FEEL EXCLUDED. ILLUMAN IS A SORT OF ARCHETYPE FOR CAC PARTNERSHIPS IN THAT THEIR WORK IS HIGHLY ALIGNED (ALBEIT WITH A LIMITED AUDIENCE AND SCALE) AND IT IS OUT OF THE SCOPE OF CAC'S PROGRAMMING.
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 38 of 47 recipients we could match to a registered organization. The categories are the IRS's, not ours -- 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 | 24 | $880,471 | $12,500 |
| 2022 | 26 | $728,907 | $10,000 |
| 2023 | 19 | $773,460 | $20,000 |
| 2024 | 26 | $849,500 | $15,000 |
| 2025 | 28 | $1,040,000 | $15,000 |
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
30% of its giving went to organizations in Massachusetts. 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 a sign of overlapping priorities and nothing more: they do not show that any of these funders would consider a new organization. Each page says what its filings show.
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 $15,000 -- 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 Massachusetts.
- 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 Center for Action and Contemplation's own Form 990 Schedule I filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 5 returns (tax years 2021-2025). Grant figures are from its returns. Recipient classifications, the concentration and retention figures and the funders that support the same organizations are our own calculations from them, described in how we build this.
Address of record on the latest return: Po Box 12464, Albuquerque, NM, 87195.
EIN 85-0354965 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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