Trust for Mutual Understanding
New York, NY · EIN 13-3212724. Reported 123 grants totalling $9,799,951 to 76 organizations across tax years 2021-2024. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.
Does this foundation accept applications?
Yes -- on its own tax return. Form 990-PF asks every private foundation whether it makes grants only to organizations it selects itself. Of the 91,758 foundations in our data that made a grant and answered, 78% said yes -- and applying to those is wasted effort. Trust for Mutual Understanding did not check that box on its most recent filing, which puts it in the minority that is at least open to being approached.
How big are its grants?
The median grant is $28,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $15,000 and $40,000; the smallest was $3,500 and the largest $2,642,734. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.
Every organization it funded
This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Years funded is the number of separate tax years in which the organization received money -- more than one means a real relationship rather than a one-off.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| See Attached List | New York, NY | $4,859,909 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Cec Artslink Inc | New York, NY | $644,800 | 5 | 2 | 2024 |
| Residency Unlimited Inc | Brooklyn, NY | $517,800 | 3 | 2 | 2024 |
| The Ocean Foundation | Washington, DC | $401,817 | 8 | 2 | 2024 |
| Movement Research Inc | New York, NY | $321,000 | 6 | 2 | 2024 |
| Earth Island Institute Inc | Berkley, CA | $257,000 | 4 | 2 | 2024 |
| Center for International Theatre Development Inc | Baltimore, MD | $185,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| The Young Visual Artists Award Program in 2024 | Miami, FL | $173,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Mongol Ecology Center | Tucson, AZ | $130,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens | Palm Desert, CA | $120,000 | 3 | 2 | 2024 |
| Cultural Survival | Cambridge, MA | $105,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Double Edge Theatre | Ashfield, MA | $100,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Earthcorps | Seattle, WA | $100,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| La Mama Etc | New York, NY | $85,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Waxfactory | New York, NY | $82,637 | 4 | 2 | 2024 |
| Winterhouse Institute Inc | Brooklyn, NY | $80,300 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Drama League of New York Inc | New York, NY | $80,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Partnerships for Nature | Bainbridge Island, WA | $80,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation Inc | Baltimore, MD | $70,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| International Theatre Development Inc | Baltimore, MD | $52,000 | 2 | 1 | 2024 |
| Clockshop | Los Angeles, CA | $50,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide | Eugene, OR | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Center for Large Landscape Conservation | Bozeman, MT | $45,000 | 2 | 1 | 2024 |
| Wildlife Conservation Society | Bronx, NY | $45,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Knights of Indulgence Theatre US | Santa Rose, CA | $42,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Beth Morrison Projects Inc | Brooklyn, NY | $40,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Foundation for Contemporary Arts | New York, NY | $40,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Wild Salmon Center | Portland, OR | $40,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Alaska Conservation Foundation | Anchorage, AK | $35,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Blackfoot Challenge | Ovando, MT | $35,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Gaspard&dancers Inc | Durham, NC | $35,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Headlands Center for the Arts | Sausalito, CA | $35,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| My Balkans Inc | New York, NY | $35,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Transcaucasian Trail Association | Washington, DC | $35,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Butterfly Pavilion | Westminster, CO | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Elaine Summers Experimental Intermedia Foundation Inc | New York, NY | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Emerson College | Boston, MA | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Friends of Conservation Carpathia in the United States | Durham, NC | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Inclusive Development International | Asheville, NC | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Northeast Document Conservation | Andover, MA | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| The Snow Leopard Trust | Seattle, WA | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Theater Grottesco North America Inc | Santa Fe, NM | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| TRI314 Multidisciplinary Visual Performances Inc | Brooklyn, NY | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| University of Wisconsin | Madison, WI | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Wild Sheep Foundation | Bozeman, MT | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Academy of Bosnia and Herzegovina Inc | Woodside, NY | $25,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Afterimage Public Media Inc | San Francisco, CA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Association of American Geographers | Washington, DC | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Culturehub | New York, NY | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs | Copenhagen, Copenhagen | $24,842 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Performance Zone Inc | New York, NY | $22,490 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Crude Accountability Incorporated | Linden, VA | $22,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| New York Live Arts Inc | New York, NY | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| President and Fellows of Harvard College | Cambridge, MA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Yale University | New Haven, CT | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Zoo New England | Boston, MA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Philadelphia Dance Projects | Philadelphia, PA | $18,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| American Prairie Reserve | Bozeman, MT | $16,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Alma on Dobbin | Brooklyn, NY | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital | Washington, DC | $15,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Foundation Earth | Washington, DC | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Peacedale Global Arts | New York, NY | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| So Percussion | Brooklyn, NY | $14,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Siti Company | New York, NY | $12,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Regents of the University of California Merced | Merced, CA | $10,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| East European Folklife Center Inc | Berkley, CA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Independent Curators International | New York, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Third Coast Percussion Nfp | Chicago, IL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Yuchi Language Project | Sapulpa, OK | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Snowchange Cooperative | Helsinki | $9,982 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Makeway Foundation | Vancouver, Greater Vancouver | $8,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Hudsy Community Project | Kingston, NY | $6,874 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Friends of the Earth | Washington, DC | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| The Chocolate Factory Theater | Long Island City, NY | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Global Urban Development | Rehoboth Beach, DE | $4,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Relationship Performance and Arts Group Inc | New York, NY | $3,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
26 of 76 (34%) received money in more than one year over the 4 years we hold.
Measured the way we measure every foundation -- what share of one year's grantees are funded again the next -- this one retains 51%, across 1 year-to-year transition. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is less consistent than most. A high number means its list is close to settled and a newcomer has to displace someone; a low one means it is still moving money around, which is where an opening is.
What kind of organizations it funds
By the recipient's own IRS classification, for the 88 grants where we could identify the organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1 | $2,217,175 | $2,217,175 |
| 2022 | 1 | $2,642,734 | $2,642,734 |
| 2023 | 49 | $2,613,139 | $30,000 |
| 2024 | 72 | $2,326,903 | $25,000 |
Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- filings arrive about a year late, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a foundation winding down.
Where its money goes
Foundations concentrate geographically far more than their mission statements suggest. 72% of this one's giving went to organizations in New York. If you are outside its footprint, that matters more than how well your programme fits.
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Funders that support the same organizations
These funders gave to organizations this one also funded -- some private foundations, some community foundations and other grantmaking charities. Shared grantees are the strongest available signal 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 foundation
- Check you are its size. The median grant is $28,000. Asking for ten times that is the most common way small organizations waste a submission.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in New York.
- Read the recipient list above for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer, and a cheap one to get.
- Look up the current filing before writing. The 990-PF names the foundation's officers and, where one exists, its application procedure. We link it below.
Related guides
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from Trust for Mutual Understanding's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2021-2024). Nothing here is scraped, inferred, or estimated.
Address of record on the latest return: Co Rcm Po Box 5016, New York, NY, 10185. This is the address the foundation gave the IRS; many small foundations file through an accountant or a bank trust department, so it may not be where post to a programme officer should go.
EIN 13-3212724 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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