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Entity DossierThink Tank

DISCOVERY INSTITUTE

WA

501(C)(3) organization. Received $18,250 grant in 2024. Purpose: EDUCATIONAL

Tracked direct giving

$0

Tracked donations to candidate

$0

Connections

18

Dark Money Spending

Election spending by organizations that do not disclose their donors. Dark money flows through 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations, 501(c)(6) trade associations, and similar entities that are not required to reveal their funders. Figures below are never combined with disclosed-donor totals.

IRS 990 Schedule I Grant Chain

Grants between nonprofits reported on IRS Form 990 Schedule I. These inter-organizational transfers are a key pathway in dark money flows — a nonprofit may receive a grant from one entity and then spend that money on election ads.

IRS 990 Schedule I grants given

$639,148

GranteeAmountTax YearPurpose
CHESALON USA$25,0002024SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
Rice University$260,0002024SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
TELLUS1 SCIENTIFIC LLC$31,2522024SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
ARETE GLOBAL CONSULTING LLC$6,0002024RESEARCH
HOPE COLLEGE$5,7202024RESEARCH
CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIV$7,0002024SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
CONTINENTAL ECONOMICS$42,5002024RESEARCH
STONY BROOK FOUNDATION INC$85,6762024RESEARCH
FREED-HARDEMAN UNIVERSITY$7,0002024SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
EDUCATION ACCESS LLC$125,0002024SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
BAYLOR UNIVERSITY$32,0002024SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
MORIO LABS$12,0002024SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

IRS 990 Schedule I grants received

$2,423,793

GrantorAmountTax YearPurpose
AMERICAN ENDOWMENT FOUNDATION$18,2502024EDUCATIONAL
DonorsTrust$1,875,2002024for general operations
COMMUNITIES FOUNDATION OF TEXAS$20,0002023THIS GRANT IS DESIGNATED FOR GENERAL SUPPORT.
Schwab Charitable$180,7052023EDUCATION
DAYTON FOUNDATION$10,0002022ID RESEARCH
Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund$319,6382022For grant recipient's exempt purposes

Source: IRS Form 990 Schedule I (Grants and Other Assistance to Organizations) via ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer and IRS 990 XML e-files. Grant amounts represent the most recent filing year available.

IRS 990 data lags a year or more behind filing. Grants shown are for the stated tax year and do not establish current-cycle funding.

Methodology Disclosure

Dark money figures are derived from FEC Form 5 (independent expenditures by non-committee organizations) and Form 9 (electioneering communications). These filings capture spending on ads and election communications but do not reveal the identity of the organization's donors. QPQ totals may differ from benchmarks like the Brennan Center's estimates because QPQ includes all Form 5 filers, while some benchmarks count only a subset of non-disclosing nonprofits. Grant chain data is from IRS Form 990 Schedule I and may not include all years or all grantee organizations.

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Relationships

TypeConnected ToDetailsSource
Gave money toCHESALON USAIRS 990 Schedule I grant of $25,000 (tax year 2024). Purpose: SCIENTIFIC RESEARCHSource
Gave money toRice UniversityIRS 990 Schedule I grant of $260,000 (tax year 2024). Purpose: SCIENTIFIC RESEARCHSource
Gave money toTELLUS1 SCIENTIFIC LLCIRS 990 Schedule I grant of $31,252 (tax year 2024). Purpose: SCIENTIFIC RESEARCHSource
Gave money toARETE GLOBAL CONSULTING LLCIRS 990 Schedule I grant of $6,000 (tax year 2024). Purpose: RESEARCHSource
Gave money toHOPE COLLEGEIRS 990 Schedule I grant of $5,720 (tax year 2024). Purpose: RESEARCHSource
Gave money toCASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVIRS 990 Schedule I grant of $7,000 (tax year 2024). Purpose: SCIENTIFIC RESEARCHSource
Gave money toCONTINENTAL ECONOMICSIRS 990 Schedule I grant of $42,500 (tax year 2024). Purpose: RESEARCHSource
Gave money toSTONY BROOK FOUNDATION INCIRS 990 Schedule I grant of $85,676 (tax year 2024). Purpose: RESEARCHSource
Gave money toFREED-HARDEMAN UNIVERSITYIRS 990 Schedule I grant of $7,000 (tax year 2024). Purpose: SCIENTIFIC RESEARCHSource
Gave money toEDUCATION ACCESS LLCIRS 990 Schedule I grant of $125,000 (tax year 2024). Purpose: SCIENTIFIC RESEARCHSource
Gave money toBAYLOR UNIVERSITYIRS 990 Schedule I grant of $32,000 (tax year 2024). Purpose: SCIENTIFIC RESEARCHSource
Gave money toMORIO LABSIRS 990 Schedule I grant of $12,000 (tax year 2024). Purpose: SCIENTIFIC RESEARCHSource
Received money fromAMERICAN ENDOWMENT FOUNDATIONIRS 990 Schedule I grant of $18,250 (tax year 2024). Purpose: EDUCATIONALSource
Received money fromCOMMUNITIES FOUNDATION OF TEXASIRS 990 Schedule I grant of $20,000 (tax year 2023). Purpose: THIS GRANT IS DESIGNATED FOR GENERAL SUPPORT.Source
Received money fromDAYTON FOUNDATIONIRS 990 Schedule I grant of $10,000 (tax year 2022). Purpose: ID RESEARCHSource
Received money fromSchwab CharitableIRS 990 Schedule I grant of $180,705 (tax year 2023). Purpose: EDUCATIONSource
Received money fromDonorsTrustIRS 990 Schedule I grant of $1,875,200 (tax year 2024). Purpose: for general operationsSource
Received money fromFidelity Investments Charitable Gift FundIRS 990 Schedule I grant of $319,638 (tax year 2022). Purpose: For grant recipient's exempt purposesSource