Acumen Fund Inc is a 501(c)(3) organization based in New York, New York, registered in 2001, with $46,387,713 in FY2024 revenue. CharityIndex grades it A, and it directs about 77% of spending to programs.
Revenue (FY2024)
$46.4M
▼ 12.8% vs prior year
International median: $227K
Expenses (FY2024)
$34.2M
Net assets
$204.1M
Employees
140
Measures how much of every dollar spent actually reaches programs, plus what it costs to raise $100 of donations. The worse of the two measures sets the letter (85%+ to programs is an A; under $15 to raise $100 is an A), averaged over the three most recent filings. For Acumen Fund Inc: 77% to programs · $8 to raise $100 earns a B+ on this criterion. See the exact thresholds →
Measures whether the organization is built to last: how many months its reserves would cover expenses (3+ months earns an A-range score, but hoarding 5+ years of budget is capped) and whether it runs a surplus or a deficit. For Acumen Fund Inc: 72 mo reserves · +26% margin earns a B+ on this criterion. See the exact thresholds →
Checks how the organization is run, from its own Form 990: an independent board majority, a board of five or more, conflict-of-interest, whistleblower and document-retention policies, and independently audited financials. The share of disclosed checks that pass sets the letter. For Acumen Fund Inc: 6 of 6 checks met earns a A+ on this criterion. See the exact thresholds →
Counts five disclosure signals: a recent filing, a mission statement, program descriptions, a listed website, and the full expense breakdown. More disclosure, better letter. For Acumen Fund Inc: 5 of 5 disclosure signals earns a A+ on this criterion. See the exact thresholds →
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Acumen's mission is to change the way the world tackles poverty by investing in companies, leaders and ideas.acumen is a global force of entrepreneurs, investors, philanthropists, and social innovators working together to build a world based on dignity. we were founded by jacqueline novogratz on the radical idea that business, when cultivated with moral imagination, can break the cycle of poverty. we invest in transformational companies, build sustainable markets, and prepare leaders with the tools they need to create a more just and inclusive future. since 2001, we have scaled companies and shaped markets in some of the hardest-to-reach communities on the planet, impacting over half-a-billion lives.
Insights & impact:the goal of the insights and impact teams at acumen is to support the mission of solving problems poverty through data-driven strategies. we do this by building models, sharing the insights from our work and holding ourselves and our peers accountable. our impact measurement and management framework helps us define and measure our impact, including breadth and depth of impact. through 2024, acumen has reached over 719 million lives impacted through our patient capital and for-profit investments.
Fellows & leadership programs:we prepare leaders with the tools, capital and community they need to build scalable solutions to poverty. our recently launched-learning engagement platform offers a full-service space for entrepreneurs and fellows to engage with each other. acumen academy's has grown to more than 1800 fellows, has awarded 99 early-stage grants to foundry members and facilitated over 1.3 million online course sign-ups. through academy organizations and companies, we have reached 71 million lives impacted.
Revenue grew from $18.7M (FY2014) to $46.4M (FY2024) across 11 reported years.
Financial snapshot
Operating margin
26.2%
Revenue exceeded expenses in the latest fiscal year.
Total assets
$217.5M
Total liabilities
$13.4M
Net assets
$204.1M
Salaries & benefits
$16.5M
48% of expenses
Board members
12
11 independent
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Expenses | Net assets | Total assets | Form |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $46,387,713▼12.8% | $34,228,367▲13.3% | $204,091,351▲4.0% | $217,512,001▲3.2% | 990 |
| 2023 | $53,208,748▼12.9% | $30,214,319▲4.7% | $196,250,739▲11.3% | $210,817,310▲12.6% | 990 |
| 2022 | $61,117,505▲101% | $28,870,332▲26.6% | $176,398,365▲22.2% | $187,205,036▲23.8% | 990 |
| 2021 | $30,454,797▲5.5% | $22,798,953▼19.7% | $144,371,607▲6.1% | $151,257,086▲6.9% | 990 |
| 2020 | $28,858,136▼6.8% | $28,389,297▲6.8% | $136,077,859▲0.1% | $141,486,235▲0.4% | 990 |
| 2019 | $30,966,848▼10.6% | $26,569,877▲17.2% | $135,879,359▲3.2% | $140,919,171▲4.5% | 990 |
| 2018 | $34,621,633▲16.8% | $22,674,343▲3.4% | $131,681,787▲9.9% | $134,799,533▲10.8% | 990 |
| 2017 | $29,642,988▼2.4% | $21,936,798▲12.8% | $119,796,158▲6.8% | $121,695,515▲6.5% | 990 |
| 2016 | $30,363,773▲28.5% | $19,444,682▲12.5% | $112,151,805▲10.6% | $114,223,148▲11.1% | 990 |
| 2015 | $23,628,520▲26.1% | $17,285,498▲2.5% | $101,370,456▲6.4% | $102,771,968▲6.4% | 990 |
| 2014 | $18,731,930 | $16,871,549▲104% | $95,317,398▲8.5% | $96,563,935▲9.3% | 990 |
| 2010 | — | $8,271,911 | $87,813,300 | $88,328,834 | 990 |
Original Form 990 PDFs (the Form column) are served by ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, as filed with the IRS. Create a free account to download the CSV report.
Highest-paid: Jacqueline Novogratz — $393,218 (1.15% of total expenses)
| Name | Title | Hours/week | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jacqueline Novogratz | Ceo & Director | 39.5 | $393,218 |
| Carlyle Singer Jones | President | 39.5 | $352,317 |
| Amrita Bhandari | Chief of Insights & Strategy | 40 | $293,177 |
| Lynn Roland | Board Secretary/general Counsel | 35 | $284,047 |
| Yasmina Zaidman | Chief of Development & Partnerships | 40 | $282,481 |
| Katherine Parker | Chief of Academy | 40 | $269,689 |
| Catherine C Nanda | Director, Acumen America | 0 | $251,547 |
| Jiwoo Choi | Chief of Strategic Initiatives | 40 | $247,230 |
| Jules Samain | Managing Director, H2r | 40 | $231,150 |
| Amon Anderson | Director, Acumen America | 0 | $219,801 |
| Alexandra Gordon | Chief of Communications | 40 | $207,385 |
| Sandra Halilovic | Director of Investments, H2r | 40 | $201,000 |
| Sarah Bieber | Director, Development & Partnerships | 40 | $197,333 |
| Jacqueline Woo | Cfo (thru 8/9/24) | 39.5 | $194,146 |
| Andrea Soros Colombel | Director | 1 | — |
| C Hunter Boll | Director (thru 3/31/24) | 1 | — |
| Cristina Ljungberg | Director | 1 | — |
| Hans Taparia | Director | 1 | — |
| Juan Carlos Mora Uribe | Director (from 10/2/24) | 1 | — |
| Karen Paterson | Director | 1 | — |
| Contractor | Services | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| 60 Decibels Inc | Impact Measurement | $508,512 |
| Dlight Design Inc | Solar Energy and Ultra-effi. Products | $329,000 |
| Rsm Us LLP | Accounting Services | $284,660 |
| 41 Bridge Partners LLC | Recruiting | $237,984 |
| Anna Marie Events Inc | Event Planning | $237,500 |
150 grants to Acumen Fund Inc totaling $77.9M, reported by foundations on their Schedule I filings — showing the 15 most recent.
| Grantmaker | Purpose | Year | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund For Wealth Management Inc | Community & human services | 2024 | $2,021,000 |
| Rf Catalytic Capital Inc | To provide technical assistance | 2024 | $1,875,000 |
| Charities Aid Foundation America | Charitable donation | 2024 | $1,000,000 |
| Impactassets Inc | General support | 2024 | $245,000 |
| Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc | Unrestricted general support | 2024 | $120,000 |
| Silicon Valley Community Foundation | Community development | 2024 | $100,000 |
| Paypal Charitable Giving Fund | General support | 2024 | $53,721 |
| American Endowment Foundation | International | 2024 | $50,000 |
| Columbus Foundation | Advancing philanthropy | 2024 | $46,384 |
| American Online Giving Foundation Inc | General support | 2024 | $13,006 |
| St Louis Community Foundation Incorporated | Unrestricted flexible capital | 2024 | $10,000 |
| The Bessemer Giving Fund | General support | 2024 | $10,000 |
| Silicon Valley Community Foundation | Community development | 2023 | $10,006,500 |
| Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund For Wealth Management Inc | Community & human services | 2023 | $4,650,000 |
| Donor Advised Charitable Giving | International, foreign affairs | 2023 | $4,491,700 |
9 grants totaling $860K in FY2024. All grants made by Acumen Fund Inc →
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Acumen Capital Partners LLC | Technical assistance for portfolio companies | $412,278 |
| Refugee Investment Network Inc | Conduct research, educate and advise on how to build and implement durable refugee-lens investing (rli) strategies worldwide | $333,163 |
| Kaizen Health Inc | Technical assistance for portfolio companies | $25,000 |
| Staten Island Performing Provider System LLC | Technical assistance for portfolio companies | $25,000 |
| City of Samaritans Pbc | Technical assistance for portfolio companies | $25,000 |
| Free From Market | Technical assistance for portfolio companies | $10,000 |
| Farmbox Direct Inc | Technical assistance for portfolio companies | $10,000 |
| Rasa Public Benefit Corporation | Technical assistance for portfolio companies | $10,000 |
| Zeraki Inc | Ta grant - to enable the grant recipient to improve personalized learning for students using zeraki learning by optimizing ai - via ea education facility | $10,000 |
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Data for Acumen Fund Inc (EIN 13-4166228) comes from the IRS Business Master File and e-filed Form 990 returns, via CharityIndex. Figures reflect what the organization reported to the IRS for each fiscal year.