Foundation to Decrease World Suck

Foundation to Decrease World Suck is a grantmaking foundation created by brothers John Green, an author of young-adult fiction books such as The Fault in Our Stars, and Hank Green, a science communicator.

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At-A-Glance

Type: Non-profit, 501(c)(3)
Issue Areas: Multi-Issue Advocacy
Website: fightworldsuck.org
Founders:

John Green

Hank Green

Location: Missoula, MT View on map
Tax ID: 45-3782765
Most Recent Filing: 2023
Budget (2023): Assets: $286,120 Revenue: $2,568,823 Expenses: $2,450,571

Contents

    The Foundation funds many humanitarian groups that provide aid to the needy and invest in health care research, but it also funds many left-of-center nonprofits, environmentalist groups, and activist groups. These include Planned Parenthood, Earthjustice, and Trans Lifeline.

    Background

    Both John and Hank have popular YouTube channels as well as a shared channel called Vlogbrothers and have garnered a large following across multiple social media platforms. They refer to their online community as “Nerdfighteria.” 1 2 1

    Funding

    Foundation to Decrease World Suck claims that it raises most of its funds through the annual Project for Awesome (P4A), a fundraising event where supporters of the Vlogbrothers and their philanthropy contribute funds. 1 Project for Awesome also acts a weekend-long contest during which charities and their supporters upload videos in attempt to garner votes in exchange for possibly receiving grant money from the Foundation. Project for Awesome is a fiscally sponsored project of Foundation to Decrease World Suck. 3

    Operating costs are paid for by the directors of the foundation, including the Green brothers. 1

    Since 2014, Foundation to Decrease World Suck has been giving its largest grant to Save the Children, a humanitarian group. It has also prioritized Last Mile Health, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and Partners in Health. In 2022, the Foundation reported on its website that it gave $520,519 each to Save the Children and Partners in Health. 4

    The Foundation gave over two dozen organizations exactly $27,654 each, earmarked as “operating funds.” These recipients included Against Malaria Foundation, Planned Parenthood Federation, Uplift, US Association of UNHCR, Earthjustice, the Good Food Institute, Trevor Project, Give Directly, Ocean Cleanup North Pacific Foundation, Clean Air Task Force, Ecology Project International, Prison Book Program, Feeding America, Fund for the City of New York, Givewell Maximum Impact Fund, Social Good Fund, the Equal Justice Initiative, the Humane League, Trans Lifeline, Trees for the Future, United Mitochondrial Disease, and Wild Animal Initiative. 5

    In 2020, the Foundation raised $61,354, spent $785,011, and ended the year with $77,466 in net assets. 6

    In 2021, the Foundation raised $1,683,464, spent $1,698,596, and ended the year with $62,334 in net assets. 7

    Leadership

    The Foundation was founded and is run by Hank and John Green. 2 In 2021, John Green was listed as the principal officer of the organization. 8 As of 2023, the board of directors was comprised of John Green, Hank Green, Benny Fine, Valerie Barr, Mike Green, Rosianna Halse Rojas, Marie Ann Fernandez-Silva, Taylor Behnke, and Angela Y. Lin. 9

    Financial Statistics

    Total Assets

    Total Revenue

    Total Expenses

    YearTotal AssetsTotal RevenueTotal ExpensesFiling
    2023 $286,120 $2,568,823 $2,450,571 View
    2022 $129,987 $2,112,980 $2,045,327 View
    2021 $62,334 $1,683,464 $1,698,596 View
    2020 $77,466 $61,354 $785,011
    2019 $801,123 $875,523 $904,288 View

    Prior year filings: 2018, 2017, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012

    Revenue Detail

    Expenses Detail

    Grant Activity

    All-time grants received statistics from Candid dataset:

    • Total Grant Value: $1,424,734
    • Number of Grants: 96
    • Number of Funders: 37

    Selection of highest value grants received from the last seven years:

    AmountYearFunderSubject
    $100,0002024 National Philanthropic TrustPUBLIC, SOCIETAL BENEFIT
    $97,6102024 American Online Giving Foundation IncGENERAL SUPPORT
    $80,0002023 National Philanthropic TrustPUBLIC, SOCIETAL BENEFIT
    $75,0002024 Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management IncMEDICAL / PUBLIC SERVICES
    $66,2112025 American Online Giving Foundation IncGENERAL SUPPORT
    $56,7992023 American Online Giving Foundation IncGENERAL SUPPORT
    $52,5002024 Vanguard CharitableFOR RECIPIENT'S EXEMPT PURPOSE
    $50,0002024 American Endowment FoundationPHILANTHROPY
    $39,9702021 American Online Giving Foundation IncGENERAL SUPPORT
    $39,8002023 Donor Advised Charitable Giving, Inc.PUBLIC, SOCIETAL BENEFIT
    $32,4222023 Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift FundFor grant recipient's exempt purposes
    $30,2502024 Donor Advised Charitable Giving, Inc.PUBLIC, SOCIETAL BENEFIT
    $30,0002023 Vanguard CharitableFOR RECIPIENT'S EXEMPT PURPOSE
    $30,0002022 Vanguard CharitableFor recipient's exempt purpose
    $25,0002024 Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust IncUNRESTRICTED GENERAL SUPPORT
    $25,0002023 Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust IncUNRESTRICTED GENERAL SUPPORT
    $21,5392020 American Online Giving Foundation IncGeneral support
    $15,5502022 Donor Advised Charitable Giving, Inc.PUBLIC, SOCIETAL BENEFIT
    $13,9122022 The Blackbaud Giving FundGENERAL SUPPORT
    $13,6002022 Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift FundFor grant recipient's exempt purposes
    $12,9922024 Charities Aid Foundation of AmericaCHARITABLE DONATION
    $12,9152022 American Online Giving Foundation IncGENERAL SUPPORT
    $11,0022022 Amazonsmile FoundationGENERAL SUPPORT
    $10,0002020 The Annenberg FoundationUnited States operations
    $8,9122023 The Blackbaud Giving FundGENERAL SUPPORT

    All-time grants given statistics from Candid dataset:

    • Total Grant Value: $9,854,135
    • Number of Grants: 198
    • Number of Recipients: 88

    Selection of highest value grants given from the last seven years:

    AmountYearFunderSubject
    $520,5202022 Partners in Health a Nonprofit CorporationOperating Funds
    $520,5202022 Save the Children Federation, Inc.Operating Funds
    $492,9082023 Partners in Health a Nonprofit CorporationOperating Funds
    $492,9082023 Save the Children Federation, Inc.Operating Funds
    $455,5662021 Partners in Health a Nonprofit CorporationOperating Funds
    $410,1252021 Save the Children Federation, Inc.Operating Funds
    $172,0482020 Partners in Health a Nonprofit CorporationOperating Funds
    $172,0482020 Save the Children Federation, Inc.Operating Funds
    $36,9482023 ANIMAL WONDERS INCOperating Funds
    $36,9482023 American Library AssociationOperating Funds
    $36,9482023 Asian Americans United IncOperating Funds
    $36,9482023 Center for Reproductive RightsOperating Funds
    $36,9482023 ECOLOGY PROJECT INTERNATIONALOperating Funds
    $36,9482023 EarthjusticeOperating Funds
    $36,9482023 GendersphereOperating Funds
    $36,9482023 Hear Your Song IncOperating Funds
    $36,9482023 Hp Alliance IncOperating Funds
    $36,9482023 Legacy Youth Leadership InternationalOperating Funds
    $36,9482023 Multiple United Kingdom RecipientsOPERATING FUNDS
    $36,9482023 No Means No WorldwideOperating Funds
    $36,9482023 Not Forgotten IncOperating Funds
    $36,9482023 PRISON BOOK PROGRAMOperating Funds
    $36,9482023 Project Heal IncOperating Funds
    $36,9482023 She's the FirstOperating Funds
    $36,9482023 Support for the Psyche IncOperating Funds

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    Financials, employee compensation, and grant information provided by Candid.

    Mentioned in this Article

    References

    1. “Home.” Foundation to Decrease World Suck. Accessed March 25, 2023. https://fightworldsuck.org/.
    2. “About Hank and John Green.” HankandJohn.com. Accessed March 25, 2023. https://www.hankandjohn.com/who-we-are/.
    3.  “Project for Awesome.” John Green Books. Accessed March 25, 2023. https://www.johngreenbooks.com/project-for-awesome.
    4. “Documents.” Foundation to Decrease World Suck. Accessed March 25, 2023. https://fightworldsuck.org/#Documents.
    5. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Foundation to Decrease World Suck. 2021. Schedule I, Part II – Grants and Other Assistance to Domestic Organizations and Domestic Governments.
    6. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Foundation to Decrease World Suck. 2020. Part I, lines 12, 18, 22.
    7. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Foundation to Decrease World Suck. 2021. Part I, lines 12, 18, 22.
    8. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Foundation to Decrease World Suck. 2021. Section F.
    9. “About.” Foundation to Decrease World Suck. Accessed March 25, 2023. https://fightworldsuck.org/.