# North Fund Schedule I Grant Recipient Analysis

**Research Date:** 2026-03-12
**Data Source:** North Fund IRS Form 990 (2023-2024), XML e-files via ProPublica
**EIN:** 83-4011547
**Address:** 1828 L Street NW, Suite 300-F, Washington, DC 20036
**Tax Status:** 501(c)(4) — tax-exempt since March 2022

---

## Executive Summary

Analysis of 142 grant recipients across the North Fund's 2023-2024 Schedule I filings found **ZERO grants to any child safety, age verification, digital childhood, or tech policy advocacy organization**. The fund's $59.2M in grants went overwhelmingly to progressive state-level civic engagement, reproductive rights, and voter mobilization organizations. This extends the Arabella network negative finding to three entities.

**Combined Arabella Analysis:** Across **NVF + STF + North Fund**, a total of **3,117 grants** totaling approximately **$1.56 billion** have now been analyzed, with **zero dollars** going to any organization related to child online safety, age verification, or the App Store Accountability Act.

---

## 1. Dataset Overview

| Metric | 2024 | 2023 | Combined |
|--------|------|------|----------|
| Grant recipients | 70 | 72 | 142 |
| Total grants | $33,959,221 | $25,275,795 | $59,235,016 |
| Revenue | $45,031,127 | $59,700,000 | — |
| Total assets | $50,510,009 | — | — |
| Filing format | XML e-file | XML e-file | — |

---

## 2. Target Organization Search — ZERO MATCHES

### 2.1 Direct Organization Name Search

**SEARCHED FOR:** Digital Childhood Alliance, Digital Childhood Institute, ConnectSafely, ICMEC, NCMEC, FOSI, Thorn, Common Sense Media, NCOSE, 5Rights Foundation, FairPlay, CDT, NetChoice, Chamber of Progress, TechNet, EFF, Heritage Foundation, Moms for Liberty, Protect Young Eyes, Institute for Family Studies, Meta, Facebook

**RESULT: ZERO MATCHES** — None of these organizations received North Fund grants in either year.

### 2.2 Keyword Search

**SEARCHED FOR:** child, safety, age, digital, online, internet, cyber, tech, protect, app store, social media, verification, minor, youth, parental, family

**RESULT:** Only false positives:
- "Engage for Common Sense Solutions" ($300K, 2024) — political advocacy, NOT Common Sense Media
- "Rewiring America" ($2.4M, 2024) — clean energy tech, NOT tech policy
- "Coloradans for Protecting Reproductive Freedom" ($200K, 2024) — reproductive rights
- "Oregon Alliance for Gun Safety" ($26K, 2023) — gun safety, not child online safety

**No grants to any organization whose name or purpose suggests child online safety, age verification, or tech policy advocacy.**

---

## 3. Internal Arabella Network Transfers

### 2024

| From | To | Amount | Purpose |
|------|------|--------|---------|
| North Fund | Sixteen Thirty Fund | $5,291,332 | Civil Rights, Social Action, Advocacy |
| North Fund | Windward Fund | $250,000 | Technology and Innovation |
| North Fund | Hopewell Fund | $150,000 | Health |
| **Total internal** | — | **$5,691,332** | — |

### 2023

| From | To | Amount | Purpose |
|------|------|--------|---------|
| North Fund | Sixteen Thirty Fund | $5,425,000 | Civil Rights, Social Action, Advocacy |
| North Fund | Hopewell Fund | $11,565 | — |
| **Total internal** | — | **$5,436,565** | — |

**Key finding:** The North Fund sends ~$5.3-5.4M annually back to the Sixteen Thirty Fund, creating a **circular flow** within the Arabella network: NVF → STF → North Fund → STF. This bidirectional flow further confirms the network operates as a unified financial entity.

### Updated Complete Arabella Transfer Map (2024)

```
NVF ──$121.3M──→ STF ──$6.8M──→ North Fund ──$5.3M──→ STF (circular)
NVF ──$8.8M────→ Hopewell
NVF ──$20.9M───→ North Fund
                                  North Fund ──$250K──→ Windward
STF ──$162K────→ NVF (reverse)    North Fund ──$150K──→ Hopewell
STF ──$1.4M────→ Hopewell
STF ──$6.8M────→ North Fund
```

---

## 4. Largest Grant Recipients (2024)

| Rank | Recipient | Amount | Type | Purpose |
|------|-----------|--------|------|---------|
| 1 | Your Community PAC | $5,700,000 | 527 | Civic engagement |
| 2 | Sixteen Thirty Fund (Arabella) | $5,291,332 | 501(c)(4) | Internal transfer |
| 3 | Rewiring America Inc | $2,400,000 | 501(c)(3) | Clean energy tech |
| 4 | Global Impact Social Welfare Fund | $1,671,484 | 501(c)(4) | Civic advocacy |
| 5 | Advance American Democracy Inc | $1,250,000 | 501(c)(4) | Civic advocacy |
| 6 | Michigan Civic Action Fund | $1,250,000 | 501(c)(4) | State organizing |
| 7 | Run for Something Action Fund | $1,250,000 | 501(c)(4) | Candidate development |
| 8 | Make North Carolina First | $1,245,000 | 501(c)(4) | State organizing |
| 9 | Western Organization Resource Council | $995,000 | 501(c)(4) | Rural organizing |
| 10 | Ohio Progressive Collaborative | $750,000 | 501(c)(4) | State organizing |

**Top 10 total: $21.8M (64% of all grants)**

---

## 5. Grant Portfolio Characterization

### By Purpose (2024)

| Category | Amount | % |
|----------|--------|---|
| Civil Rights, Social Action, Advocacy | $31,101,721 | 91.6% |
| Technology and Innovation | $2,657,500 | 7.8% |
| Health | $200,000 | 0.6% |

### By IRC Section (2024)

| Type | Amount | Count |
|------|--------|-------|
| 501(c)(4) | $24,259,221 | ~57 |
| Section 527 (PACs) | $6,900,000 | ~4 |
| 501(c)(3) | $2,800,000 | ~3 |

The North Fund grants almost exclusively to **other 501(c)(4)s** — political advocacy organizations that also have no donor disclosure requirements. This creates a chain of opacity: donors give to NVF (c)(3) → NVF transfers to STF (c)(4) → STF transfers to North Fund (c)(4) → North Fund grants to state (c)(4) organizations. At each step, donor identity is further obscured.

### By State (2024, top 10)

| State | Amount | Notable Recipients |
|-------|--------|--------------------|
| DC | $13,558,721 | STF ($5.3M), Rewiring America ($2.4M), national orgs |
| DE | $6,950,000 | Your Community PAC ($5.7M), Advance American Democracy ($1.25M) |
| OH | $2,213,500 | Ohio Progressive Collaborative, Innovation Ohio, Red Wine & Blue |
| MT | $1,995,000 | Western Organization Resource Council, Forward Montana |
| NC | $1,581,000 | Make NC First ($1.245M), Progress NC Action |
| CA | $1,450,000 | New Left Accelerator, Emerge America |
| MI | $1,375,000 | Michigan Civic Action Fund ($1.25M) |
| GA | $900,000 | Georgia Investor Action Fund, Planned Parenthood SE |
| NM | $550,000 | Better Future for NM, Center for Civic Action, others |
| MA | $536,000 | Accelerate Action Inc |

---

## 6. Leadership

| Name | Role | Compensation |
|------|------|-------------|
| Jim Gerstein | President and Chair | — |
| Jessica Floyd | Project Director | $102,331 |
| Susan Hill | General Counsel | $9,041 |
| Melanie Beller | Secretary | — |
| Matthew Slutsky | Treasurer (as of Oct 2024) | — |

---

## 7. Conclusions

### What This Establishes

1. **North Fund does NOT fund** any child safety, age verification, or tech policy organization via Schedule I grants
2. **Combined NVF + STF + North Fund:** 3,117 grants totaling ~$1.56 billion with ZERO child safety funding
3. **Circular Arabella flow confirmed:** North Fund returns ~$5.3M annually to STF, creating NVF → STF → North Fund → STF circular transfer
4. **The Arabella "Technology and Innovation" category** ($2.66M from North Fund) goes to clean energy (Rewiring America $2.4M), conservation (LCV $7.5K), and Windward Fund ($250K) — NOT tech policy or digital safety
5. **Chain of opacity:** North Fund grants primarily to other 501(c)(4)s, extending the donor-concealment chain

### What Remains Unknown

1. **Windward Fund** Schedule I ($311M revenue) — not yet analyzed
2. **Hopewell Fund** Schedule I ($114M grants) — not yet analyzed
3. Whether any Arabella entity operates DCA as a **fiscal sponsorship** (would not appear on any Schedule I)
4. Whether NVF's $36.7M in **lobbying expenditures** (Part IX) fund child safety advocacy

### Ruling Out the Schedule I Pathway

With three of five Arabella entities now analyzed:

| Entity | Type | Grants Analyzed | Child Safety | Status |
|--------|------|----------------|-------------|--------|
| New Venture Fund | 501(c)(3) | 2,669 (~$1.28B) | $0 | **Ruled out** |
| Sixteen Thirty Fund | 501(c)(4) | 306 (~$208M) | $0 | **Ruled out** |
| North Fund | 501(c)(4) | 142 (~$59M) | $0 | **Ruled out** |
| Windward Fund | 501(c)(3) | — | — | Pending |
| Hopewell Fund | 501(c)(3) | — | — | Pending |
| **Total analyzed** | — | **3,117 (~$1.56B)** | **$0** | — |

---

## Sources

- ProPublica North Fund: https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/834011547
- North Fund 2024 990 XML: https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/download-xml?object_id=202543159349306199
- North Fund 2023 990 XML: https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/download-xml?object_id=202443179349308789
- InfluenceWatch North Fund: https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/north-fund/
- Capital Research Center: https://capitalresearch.org/article/what-is-the-north-fund-anyway/