CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION FOR RESEARCH IN ASTRONOMY
HI
501(C)(3) organization. Received $50,000 grant in 2024. Purpose: SCIENCE
Tracked direct giving
$0
Tracked donations to candidate
$0
Connections
10
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
$3,375,315
| Grantee | Amount | Tax Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado State University | $33,315 | 2023 | CSU MECHANICAL ENGINEERING SENIOR DESIGN CAPSTONE PROJECT AY 2023-2024 AND PRACTICUM SPONSORSHIP 2025. |
| California Institute of Technology | $489,792 | 2023 | SUB-AWARD UNDER THE HEISING-SIMONS FOUNDATION FUNDED PRIME AWARD DEVELOPMENT AND FABRICATION OF A LASER FREQUENCY COMB; SUBAWARD FOR KCWI MECHANICAL COOLING RETROFIT; AWARD FOR THE UPGRADE OF THE DEIMOS DETECTOR; ASSISTANCE FOR NEW INSTRUMENT DESIGN STUDIES, INSTRUMENT UPGRADE PROPOSALS, AND OTHER PROPOSALS TO IMPROVE THE OBSERVATORYS SCIENTIFIC PRODUCTIVITY. |
| REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT BERKELEY | $553,654 | 2023 | SUB-AWARD UNDER THE FEDERALLY FUNDED AST-1836016 FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF ASTROPHYSICS ENABLED BY KECK ALL SKY PRECISION ADAPTIVE OPTICS; SUBAWARD UNDER THE HEISING-SIMONS FOUNDATION FOR KECK PLANET FINDER PRECISIN IMPROVEMENTS; SUBAWARD FOR KECK PLANET FINDER MECHANICAL COOLING UPGRADE; AWARD FOR UPGRADE OF NIRC2 PRECISION CALIBRATION UNIT. |
| University of California-Santa Cruz | $1,335,164 | 2023 | AWARD FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SLICER COMBINED WITH AN ARRAY OF LENSLETS FOR EXOPLANET SPECTROSCOPY. |
| University of Notre Dame | $690,374 | 2023 | AWARD FOR THE UPGRADE OF THE DEIMOS DETECTOR. |
| University of California-Los Angeles | $96,131 | 2023 | SUB-AWARD UNDER THE HEISING-SIMONS FOUNDATION FUNDED PRIME AWARD DEVELOPMENT AND FABRICATION OF A LASER FREQUENCY COMB; SUB-AWARD UNDER THE FEDERALLY FUNDED AST-1836016 FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF ASTROPHYSICS ENABLED BY KECK ALL SKY PRECISION ADAPTIVE OPTICS. |
| U C SANTA CRUZ FOUNDATION | $140,000 | 2023 | ASSISTANCE FOR NEW INSTRUMENT DESIGN STUDIES, INSTRUMENT UPGRADE PROPOSALS, AND OTHER PROPOSALS TO IMPROVE THE OBSERVATORYS SCIENTIFIC PRODUCTIVITY. |
| University of Hawaii | $36,885 | 2023 | SUB-AWARD UNDER THE FEDERALLY FUNDED AST-1836016 FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF ASTROPHYSICS ENABLED BY KECK ALL SKY PRECISION ADAPTIVE OPTICS. |
IRS 990 Schedule I grants received
$100,000
| Grantor | Amount | Tax Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| AMERICAN ENDOWMENT FOUNDATION | $50,000 | 2024 | SCIENCE |
| AYCO CHARITABLE FOUNDATION | $50,000 | 2023 | EDUCATION |
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
| Type | Connected To | Details | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gave money to | Colorado State University | IRS 990 Schedule I grant of $33,315 (tax year 2023). Purpose: CSU MECHANICAL ENGINEERING SENIOR DESIGN CAPSTONE PROJECT AY 2023-2024 AND PRACTICUM SPONSORSHIP 2025. | Source |
| Gave money to | California Institute of Technology | IRS 990 Schedule I grant of $489,792 (tax year 2023). Purpose: SUB-AWARD UNDER THE HEISING-SIMONS FOUNDATION FUNDED PRIME AWARD DEVELOPMENT AND FABRICATION OF A LASER FREQUENCY COMB; SUBAWARD FOR KCWI MECHANICAL COOLING RETROFIT; AWARD FOR THE UPGRADE OF THE DEIMOS DETECTOR; ASSISTANCE FOR NEW INSTRUMENT DESIGN STUDIES, INSTRUMENT UPGRADE PROPOSALS, AND OTHER PROPOSALS TO IMPROVE THE OBSERVATORYS SCIENTIFIC PRODUCTIVITY. | Source |
| Gave money to | REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT BERKELEY | IRS 990 Schedule I grant of $553,654 (tax year 2023). Purpose: SUB-AWARD UNDER THE FEDERALLY FUNDED AST-1836016 FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF ASTROPHYSICS ENABLED BY KECK ALL SKY PRECISION ADAPTIVE OPTICS; SUBAWARD UNDER THE HEISING-SIMONS FOUNDATION FOR KECK PLANET FINDER PRECISIN IMPROVEMENTS; SUBAWARD FOR KECK PLANET FINDER MECHANICAL COOLING UPGRADE; AWARD FOR UPGRADE OF NIRC2 PRECISION CALIBRATION UNIT. | Source |
| Gave money to | University of California-Santa Cruz | IRS 990 Schedule I grant of $1,335,164 (tax year 2023). Purpose: AWARD FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SLICER COMBINED WITH AN ARRAY OF LENSLETS FOR EXOPLANET SPECTROSCOPY. | Source |
| Gave money to | University of Notre Dame | IRS 990 Schedule I grant of $690,374 (tax year 2023). Purpose: AWARD FOR THE UPGRADE OF THE DEIMOS DETECTOR. | Source |
| Gave money to | University of California-Los Angeles | IRS 990 Schedule I grant of $96,131 (tax year 2023). Purpose: SUB-AWARD UNDER THE HEISING-SIMONS FOUNDATION FUNDED PRIME AWARD DEVELOPMENT AND FABRICATION OF A LASER FREQUENCY COMB; SUB-AWARD UNDER THE FEDERALLY FUNDED AST-1836016 FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF ASTROPHYSICS ENABLED BY KECK ALL SKY PRECISION ADAPTIVE OPTICS. | Source |
| Gave money to | U C SANTA CRUZ FOUNDATION | IRS 990 Schedule I grant of $140,000 (tax year 2023). Purpose: ASSISTANCE FOR NEW INSTRUMENT DESIGN STUDIES, INSTRUMENT UPGRADE PROPOSALS, AND OTHER PROPOSALS TO IMPROVE THE OBSERVATORYS SCIENTIFIC PRODUCTIVITY. | Source |
| Gave money to | University of Hawaii | IRS 990 Schedule I grant of $36,885 (tax year 2023). Purpose: SUB-AWARD UNDER THE FEDERALLY FUNDED AST-1836016 FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF ASTROPHYSICS ENABLED BY KECK ALL SKY PRECISION ADAPTIVE OPTICS. | Source |
| Received money from | AMERICAN ENDOWMENT FOUNDATION | IRS 990 Schedule I grant of $50,000 (tax year 2024). Purpose: SCIENCE | Source |
| Received money from | AYCO CHARITABLE FOUNDATION | IRS 990 Schedule I grant of $50,000 (tax year 2023). Purpose: EDUCATION | Source |