Pathnote Foundation concentrates on high-impact social justice and humanitarian work, directing sizable, targeted gifts to organizations engaged in rights advocacy and emergency relief. Their grants favor national advocacy/litigation groups that combat extremism and protect civil rights, and NGOs delivering frontline humanitarian assistance in conflict-affected regions. The foundation makes relatively few but substantial awards and appears to provide repeat support to select partners.
Concentrated funding: a small number of large grants with repeat support to the same organizations rather than many small awards.
Pathnote Foundation Inc C/o John Suby’s recent giving is marked by repeated, sizable support for the same organizations, including two $100,000 program-support grants to Southern Poverty Law Center in 2023. The pattern points to a funder that backs advocacy and relief groups with meaningful, targeted awards rather than many small checks. In the recent-grants list, the foundation also made multiple grants to Preemptive Love Coalition for program support and to Braver Angels for general operations, alongside support for National Public Radio. That mix suggests interest in civil rights advocacy, emergency relief, civic bridge-building, and public-interest information work. The foundation’s grant sizes are substantial for a private funder with a regional scope, and its awards appear concentrated among a small set of recipients rather than spread broadly across many organizations. The recipient locations in the recent list are all in the United States, with Alabama appearing prominently through Southern Poverty Law Center’s Montgomery base. Across the available data, Pathnote Foundation Inc C/o John Suby gives as a focused supporter of organizations working on justice, protection, and humanitarian response.
In civil rights litigation and advocacy, the foundation gave $100,000 to Southern Poverty Law Center for program support, including a second $100,000 grant in the same year. That places rights advocacy near the center of its giving. In humanitarian relief, it gave $50,000 to Preemptive Love Coalition for program support, matching that amount with a second grant to the same organization. The foundation also supported civic dialogue and cross-partisan engagement through $40,000 in general operations funding to Braver Angels. Public-interest media appears as another theme: National Public Radio received program-support grants of $30,000 and $10,000. The recent record shows a portfolio built around organizations that work in advocacy, relief, civic trust, and information access.
Typical grant size sits at $30,000 at the 25th percentile, $40,000 at the median, and $50,000 at the 75th percentile. The recent record also includes larger $100,000 awards, showing that the foundation can scale up for selected partners. Several grantees appear more than once in the 2023 list, including Southern Poverty Law Center, Preemptive Love Coalition, Braver Angels, and National Public Radio, which points to repeat support rather than one-time gifts. The foundation is not described as a family foundation or DAF, and it does not fund individuals or make program-related investments. Grant purposes include program support, general operations, and core-style support.
$460K
$0
$1.1M
$495K
Most grants fall between $30K and $50K, with a median of $40K.
25th Percentile
$30K
Median
$40K
75th Percentile
$50K
About 0% of grants go to recipients in AL.
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Notable grantees: Southern Poverty Law Center, Preemptive Love Coalition
The grant record is fully domestic, with 10 grants to U.S. recipients. Alabama stands out as the top state by grant count, driven by repeated support to Montgomery-based Southern Poverty Law Center. Other recipient cities in the list include Hewitt, Texas; New York, New York; and Baltimore, Maryland. The giving footprint is regional rather than national in distribution terms, but the supported organizations themselves work on issues with broader reach than their local headquarters suggest.
The recent grants point to civil rights advocacy, humanitarian relief, civic bridge-building, and public-interest media. Examples in the record include Southern Poverty Law Center for program support, Preemptive Love Coalition for program support, Braver Angels for general operations, and National Public Radio for program support.
Typical awards cluster around $30,000 to $50,000: the 25th percentile is $30,000, the median is $40,000, and the 75th percentile is $50,000. The recent list also shows larger $100,000 grants for selected recipients.
Yes. The 2023 grants list shows repeated support to the same recipients, including Southern Poverty Law Center, Preemptive Love Coalition, Braver Angels, and National Public Radio. That indicates a pattern of renewing support for select partners.
The listed awards include program support and general operations. Program support appears most often, while Braver Angels received general operations funding. This suggests the foundation uses both project-specific and organizational support.
Grant recipients are all in the United States, and Alabama is the top state by grant count. Montgomery-based Southern Poverty Law Center appears repeatedly in the recent record, which drives that concentration.
2023
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2023.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER | MONTGOMERY, AL | $100,000 | 2023 | PROGRAM SUPPORT |
| SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER | MONTGOMERY, AL | $100,000 | 2023 | PROGRAM SUPPORT |
| PREEMPTIVE LOVE COALITION | HEWITT, TX | $50,000 | 2023 | PROGRAM SUPPORT |
| PREEMPTIVE LOVE COALITION | HEWITT, TX | $50,000 | 2023 | PROGRAM SUPPORT |
| BRAVER ANGELS | NEW YORK, NY | $40,000 | 2023 | GENERAL OPERATIONS |
| BRAVER ANGELS | NEW YORK, NY | $40,000 | 2023 | GENERAL OPERATIONS |
| NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO | BALTIMORE, MD | $30,000 | 2023 | PROGRAM SUPPORT |
| NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO | BALTIMORE, MD | $30,000 | 2023 | PROGRAM SUPPORT |
| NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO | BALTIMORE, MD | $10,000 | 2023 | PROGRAM SUPPORT |
| NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO | BALTIMORE, MD | $10,000 | 2023 | PROGRAM SUPPORT |
SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER
$100,000PROGRAM SUPPORT
SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER
$100,000PROGRAM SUPPORT
PREEMPTIVE LOVE COALITION
$50,000PROGRAM SUPPORT
PREEMPTIVE LOVE COALITION
$50,000PROGRAM SUPPORT
BRAVER ANGELS
$40,000GENERAL OPERATIONS
BRAVER ANGELS
$40,000GENERAL OPERATIONS
NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO
PROGRAM SUPPORT
NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO
$30,000PROGRAM SUPPORT
NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO
$10,000PROGRAM SUPPORT
NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO
$10,000PROGRAM SUPPORT