Source: OpenTheBooks.com
KEY FINDINGS:
1. The NFA-H granted $441.1 million to 3,163 entities in 2016 including nonprofit organizations, higher education institutions, other government entities and government-labeled "Indian Tribes."
2. Nearly half of all grant dollars – $210 million – went to recipients in just 10 states (FY2016). A total of $6.1 million in grants flowed into U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico ($3 million), Guam ($841,403) and American Samoa ($791,784).
3. A total of 71 "asset-rich" nonprofit organizations – organizations with an asset base greater than $1 billion – received $20.5 million in grants (FY2016).
4. Higher education institutions received $45 million in NFA-H grants (FY2016). These 258 institutions had existing assets totaling $428.3 billion, including their affiliated foundation or endowment.
5. Grants totaling $146.2 million went to 2,099 nonprofit organizations – outside of higher education (FY2016). These organizations control existing assets of $64.2 billion with annual revenue of $20.7 billion.
6. Ballets, operas, orchestras and symphonies received $5.4 million in grants (FY2016) despite holding $5 billion in financial assets. These recipients included the country’s most renowned musical organizations and venues such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the New York City Ballet.
7. Since 2009, world-renowned institutions received grants including the Adler Planetarium in Chicago ($1.7 million); the Art Institute of Chicago ($1.4 million); the Boston Museum of Fine Arts ($2.5 million); the Ford’s Theatre Society in Washington, D.C. ($722,166); the Metropolitan Museum of Art ($1.2 million); and Robert Redford’s Sundance Institute in Park City, UT ($3.3 million).
8. Grants totaling $157.2 million flowed to other government entities (FY2016) – spanning public agencies at the state and local levels nationwide.
9. A total of 432 public employees working for NFA-H earned $41.8 million in salary and bonus annually. The average salary was $96,500 (FY2016) total taxpayer cost, and adding 31 percent (est.) in benefits increased the average cost to $126,415 per employee.
10. NFA-H gave grants in the amount of $4.8 million to 226 government-labeled "Indian tribes" (FY2016). The vast majority of these funds were used for library services and literacy programs.