Southern Poverty Law Center Inc
Montgomery, AL · EIN 63-0598743. Reported 89 grants totalling $6,893,350 to 83 organizations across tax years 2020-2024, 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 Southern Poverty Law Center Inc, the IRS classifies it under crime & legal rather than as a grantmaker (NTEE I83Z) -- it is an operating charity that also makes grants.
- How spread out its giving is. 83 distinct organizations, with 29% 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. 12% of one year's grantees are funded again the next, across 4 year-to-year transitions. That is below the 56% median for grantmaking charities, and well below 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 $25,000. Half of what it reported fell between $18,000 and $50,000; the smallest was $5,200 and the largest $2,000,000. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quest Community Development Organization Inc | Atlanta, GA | $2,000,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| American University | Washington, DC | $1,200,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| New Venture Fund | Washington, DC | $550,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Ignite Alabama | Birmingham, AL | $175,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| International Research and Exchanges Board Inc | Washington, DC | $135,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Tougaloo College | Tougaloo, MS | $110,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Alabama Post Conviction Relief Project Inc | Montgomery, AL | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Assets Under Movement | Washington, DC | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Equal Justice Initiative | Montgomery, AL | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Highlander Research & Education Center Inc | New Market, TN | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Institute for Strategic Dialogue US | Washington, DC | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Mississippi Votes | Jackson, MS | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Redemption Earned Inc | Hoover, AL | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Sncc Legacy Project Inc | Washington, DC | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Alabama Childhood Food Solutions Inc | Sylacauga, AL | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Alabama State Missionary Baptist Convention | Pleasant Grove, AL | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama Foundation | Montgomery, AL | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Atlfamilymeal Inc | Atlanta, GA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Center for Responsible Lending | Durham, NC | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Concerned Clergy and Laity Christian Churches Inc | Houma, LA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Feeding Ga Families | Fairburn, GA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Feeding South Florida Inc | Pembroke Park, FL | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Giving Hope Inc | New Orleans, LA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Kikstart Inc | Bessemer, AL | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Montgomery Area Council on Aging | Montgomery, AL | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Project Zion Inc | Birmingham, AL | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Reuben V Anderson Center for Justice | Tougaloo, MS | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Second Helpings Atlanta Inc | Atlanta, GA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Tangi Food Pantry | Hammond, LA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Tuskegee Human and Civil Rights Multicultural Center | Tuskegee, AL | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| We Count Inc | Florida City, FL | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| West Alabama Food Bank Inc | Tuscaloosa, AL | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Tuskegee-Macon County Community Foundation Inc | Tuskegee Inst, AL | $45,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| 8TH Wonder Corporation | Greenville, MS | $40,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Cary Christian Center Inc | Cary, MS | $40,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Re-Creational Community Development Inc | Birmingham, AL | $36,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Community Foundation of Washington County Inc | Greenville, MS | $35,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Clay County District Schools | Orange Park, FL | $25,500 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| The Boston Education Development Foundation Inc | Roxbury, MA | $25,500 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| American Bar Association Fund for Justice and Education | Chicago, IL | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Atlanta Community Food Bank Inc | Atlanta, GA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Board of Education - City of Chicago | Chicago, IL | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Georgia Asylum & Immigration Network Inc | Atlanta, GA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Greater Jackson Arts Council | Jackson, MS | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Human Rights Coalition of Alachua County | Gainesville, FL | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Justice in Motion Inc | Brooklyn, NY | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Mid-South Food Bank | Memphis, TN | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| National Immigration Law Center | Los Angeles, CA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| New Life Interfaith Ministries Inc | Bessemer, AL | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Piney Woods School | Piney Woods, MS | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Project South the Institution for the Elimination Poverty & Genocide | Atlanta, GA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana | New Orleans, LA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Selma-Dallas County Childrens Policy Council Foundation | Selma, AL | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| The Selma Center for Nonviolence Truth & Reconciliation | Selma, AL | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Urban Recipe Inc | Atlanta, GA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Cesar Chavez Academy | Okemos, MI | $22,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Cleveland School District | Cleveland, MS | $20,700 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Metropolitan Region Career and Technical Center | Providence, RI | $20,700 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| John Jay College Foundation Inc | New York, NY | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| National Council of Nonprofits | Washington, DC | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Transformative Justice Coalition | Washington, DC | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Blackstone Academy Inc | Pawtucket, RI | $19,300 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Decatur Education Foundation Inc | Decatur, GA | $19,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Living School Inc | Richmond, VA | $18,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Rosedale Community Youth Center | Rosedale, MS | $18,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Regents of the University of Michigan | Ann Arbor, MI | $16,950 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors Inc | New York, NY | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Virginia Commonwealth University | Richmond, VA | $14,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Westabou Montessori School Inc | Augusta, GA | $11,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice United | Irondale, AL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Black Belt Community Foundation Inc | Selma, AL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Carman-Ainsworth Community Schools | Flint, MI | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Denver Public Schools | Denver, CO | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Fund for Public Schools Inc | New York, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Jackson State University | Jackson, MS | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| One Voice | Jackson, MS | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Plymouth-Canton Community Schools | Plymouth, MI | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Quakertown Community School District | Quakertown, PA | $8,800 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Clarkston Community Center Foundation Inc | Clarkston, GA | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Rev George Lee Museums of African American History Heritage | Belzoni, MS | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Grand Haven Area Public Schools | Grand Haven, MI | $6,900 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Affton Schools District | St Louis, MO | $5,800 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Five Forks Middle School | Lawrenceville, GA | $5,200 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
6 of 83 (7%) 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.
- Quest Community Development Organization Inc
GRANT FOR RESIDENCES AT GROVE PARK - Amalgamated Charitable Foundation
ORGANIZING ACCELERATOR PROJECT - Ignite Alabama
SELMA COMMUNITY REVITALIZATION - Tougaloo College
RUEBEN V. ANDERSON SOCIAL JUSTICE CERTIFICATION PROGRAM AND 1869 FUND - Alabama Childhood Food Solutions Inc
COVID-19 EMERGENCY RESPONSE - Tuskegee Macon County Community Foundation Inc
SAMMY L. YOUNGE JR. LEGACY LEARNING CENTER GRANT
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 56 of 83 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 27 | $1,101,000 | $50,000 |
| 2021 | 8 | $209,450 | $15,475 |
| 2022 | 17 | $2,785,400 | $18,000 |
| 2023 | 19 | $1,785,000 | $20,700 |
| 2024 | 18 | $1,012,500 | $25,000 |
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
33% of its giving went to organizations in Georgia. 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 $25,000 -- 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 Georgia.
- 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 Southern Poverty Law Center Inc's own Form 990 Schedule I filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 5 returns (tax years 2020-2024). 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.
On its most recent return it told the IRS it made grants to 18 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: Po Box 548, Montgomery, AL, 36104.
EIN 63-0598743 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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