Aspiration Aspirationtechorg
Aspiration is a San Francisco, California–based public charity, formed in 2001. It connects nonprofits, open-source projects, philanthropic funders, and activists with technology, strategic support, and digital-practice resources to help them pursue their missions.
Key facts about Aspiration Aspirationtechorg
In short: Aspiration Aspirationtechorg gave $1.3M across 13 grants in 2025 (avg $101K), top state Connecticut. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990.
- EIN
- 91-2106274
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990, 2025
- Annual giving (2025)
- $1,318,322
- Grants made (2025)
- 13
- Average grant
- $101,409
- Median grant
- $50,000
- Total assets
- $9,773,621
- Primary geography
- Connecticut (45% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
Data from IRS Form 990, 2025; updated September 2026.
Financial Overview
From 2025 IRS Form 990 · View filing
Total Assets
$9.8M
+43.1% YoY
Annual Giving
$1.3M
+4672.6% YoY
Grant Count
13
+550.0% YoY
Avg Grant Size
$101K
+634.2% YoY
Mission & Focus Areas
Aspiration’s stated mission is to train charitable nonprofits to select and use technology sustainably, convene collaborative nonprofit technology events, and provide advice, strategy support, tools, and resources to charitable projects and foundations.
Its website describes services including technology capacity building; support for stakeholders in civil society and human-rights technology ecosystems; leadership mentoring and professional development; and fiscal sponsorship for technology, data, and digital-rights projects. Its fiscal sponsorship program offers financial and operational administration alongside optional strategic support.
The 2025 grants show support for a range of organizations and projects. For example, Exchange Point Institute describes its purpose as supporting technology serving the public interest in achieving social justice. Connect Humanity says it works to expand digital access in underserved communities, while Open Source Collective describes its mission as sustaining a healthy ecosystem for open-source technology. These are the grantees’ descriptions of their own missions.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2025, Aspiration reported 13 grants totaling $1,318,322. Grant amounts ranged from $25,000 to $595,890, with a median of $50,000. The largest listed grants were $595,890 to Busy Inc and $252,500 to Open Web Advocacy Inc. Other listed awards included $50,000 each to Code for Science and Society, Connect Humanity, Exchange Point Institute, Northwestern University, and UC Santa Cruz; and $46,427 to Open Source Collective.
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Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The 2025 grant dollars were distributed among recipients in several states: Connecticut (45%), New York (23%), California (13%), Oregon (7%), and Kansas (4%). These figures describe the locations of grant recipients.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 13 itemized grants.
Cities
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2022 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $5K (2023) to $1.3M (2025). In 2025 it made 13 grants totaling $1.3M.
Hatched bars: grants paid as reported on the IRS filing, which lists no individual grants for that year.
Grant Insights
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Busy Inc ($596K). Together the top 10 received $1.2M.
Grant Size Distribution
16 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 9 grants of 16 (56%).
Giving History
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Busy Inc Stamford, CT | Programs | $595,890 |
| Open Web Advocacy Inc New York, NY | — | $252,500 |
| Code for Science and Society Portland, OR | — | $50,000 |
| Connect Humanity San Francisco, CA | — | $50,000 |
| Exchange Point Institute Saint Francis, KS | — | $50,000 |
| Northwestern University Evanston, IL | — | $50,000 |
| UC Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA | — | $50,000 |
| Open Source Collective Covina, CA | — | $46,427 |
| Open Environmental Data Inc Dover, DE | Programs | $45,005 |
| Unfurl Futures LLC Portland, OR | — | $45,000 |
Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants reported |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $9,773,621 | $12,569,627 | $9,764,603 | $1,318,322 (13) |
| 2024 | $6,827,972 | $10,590,023 | $9,303,972 | $27,623 (2) |
| 2023 | $5,892,735 | $8,782,014 | $7,742,668 | $5,327 (1) |
| Metric | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Assets | $9,773,621 | $6,827,972 | $5,892,735 |
| Revenue | $12,569,627 | $10,590,023 | $8,782,014 |
| Expenses | $9,764,603 | $9,303,972 | $7,742,668 |
| Net Investment Income | $48,551 | $108,092 | $62,757 |
Data update history
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS August 26, 2026)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS November 14, 2025)
- Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS March 1, 2021)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS March 19, 2022)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS November 15, 2023)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS November 13, 2024)
- Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 11, 2026)
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Sarah West as Managing Director; Allen Gunn, Amba Kak, Arnold Chandler JR, and Joan Donovan as Executive Directors; and Geoffrey MacDougall as Senior Advisor. It lists Deborah Farrell, Jack Aponte, Chaeny Emanavin, and Harlo Holmes as Board Members.
Aspiration Aspirationtechorg is led by Allen Gunn, Executive Director on every filing since 2019; 6 of 13 officers listed in 2025 are compensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Allen Gunn
Executive Director
On filings since 2019
50 hrs/week
$148K (2019) → $205K (2025)
Amba Kak
Executive Director
On filings since 2024
40 hrs/week
$194K (2024) → $206K (2025)
Arnold Chandler Jr.
Executive Director
New on the 2025 filing
40 hrs/week
$170K (2025)
Joan Donovan
Executive Director
New on the 2025 filing
40 hrs/week
$150K (2025)
Misty Avila
Board Chair
Board Member → Board Chair, 2020
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Sarah West
Managing Director
On filings since 2022
40 hrs/week
$95K (2022) → $231K (2025)
Geoffrey MacDougall
Senior Advisor
On filings since 2022
40 hrs/week
$118K (2022) → $208K (2025)
Camille Ramani
Treasurer
Board Member → Treasurer, 2020
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Harlo Holmes
Board Member
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Jack Aponte
Board Member
Treasurer → Board Member, 2020
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Aman Ahuja
Secretary
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Chaeny Emanavin
Board Member
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Deborah Farrell
Board Member
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (11)
- Former: Steve Wright (2019–2024) — Board Member
- Former: Julia Angwin (2024) — Executive Director
- Former: Nhadine Leung (2024) — Ops. Director
- Former: Julianne Ancey (2022–2023) — Assistant Director
- Former: Kristina Wilfore (2022) — Consultant
- Former: Adam Hyde (2019–2021) — Program Co-Dir.
- Former: Bill Lester (2020) — Board to
- Former: Jon Peizer (2020) — Chair to
- Former: Jonathan Peizer (2019) — Board Chair
- Former: Kristen Ratan (2019) — Program Codirector
- Former: William Lester (2019) — Board Member
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2019–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Compensation Overview
From 2025 IRS filing
The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $231K, to Sarah West (Managing Director). 6 officers or directors reported compensation on that filing.
Contact
Mailing address: PO Box 880264, San Francisco, CA 94188
Phone: (415) 839-6456
Website: https://aspirationtech.org
Frequently asked questions about Aspiration Aspirationtechorg
How much does Aspiration Aspirationtechorg give each year?
Aspiration Aspirationtechorg gave $1.3M across 13 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. In 2024 it gave $28K across 2 grants.
What is Aspiration Aspirationtechorg's typical grant size?
Aspiration Aspirationtechorg's median grant in 2025 was $50,000, and its average grant was $101,409, across 13 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990.
Where does Aspiration Aspirationtechorg give grants?
Aspiration Aspirationtechorg's top state is Connecticut, with 45% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990. The next largest states were New York (23%) and California (13%). The most frequent recipient cities were New York, NY (3 grants), Portland, OR (2 grants) and San Francisco, CA (2 grants).
Who are Aspiration Aspirationtechorg's largest grantees?
Aspiration Aspirationtechorg's largest 2025 grantees include Busy Inc ($595,890), Open Web Advocacy Inc ($252,500) and Code for Science and Society ($50,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. Together they received 68% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Aspiration Aspirationtechorg?
Aspiration Aspirationtechorg reported $9.8M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Its revenue that year was $12.6M.
What does Aspiration Aspirationtechorg fund?
Aspiration’s stated mission is to train charitable nonprofits to select and use technology sustainably, convene collaborative nonprofit technology events, and provide advice, strategy support, tools, and resources to charitable projects and foundations. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Aspiration Aspirationtechorg?
Aspiration Aspirationtechorg has no public application process in the sources Grantable reviewed. Check aspirationtech.org for current guidelines, or contact the foundation directly before submitting a request.
What is Aspiration Aspirationtechorg's EIN?
Aspiration Aspirationtechorg's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 91-2106274. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990 filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Here's the math on researching Aspiration Aspirationtechorg by hand.
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Aspiration Aspirationtechorg funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 4, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/aspiration-aspirationtechorg-morg_9bc4f06c7f8744a5bbc1f15e01f4b483
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_912106274_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Aspiration Aspirationtechorg funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/aspiration-aspirationtechorg-morg_9bc4f06c7f8744a5bbc1f15e01f4b483},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-04. Data licensed CC BY 4.0}
}The figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0: reuse them with credit to Grantable and a link. Download the data.
Figures come from Aspiration Aspirationtechorg's IRS filings (methodology). AI-written summaries, news items and logos are not covered by the open licence. Spot an error? Email hello@grantable.co.
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