The Thomas Skelton Harrison Foundation focuses its giving on Philadelphia-based civic life, supporting organizations that strengthen government accountability, watchdog journalism, and access to legal and civic services for vulnerable residents. It favors local partners that convene civic dialogue, provide legal representation (especially family law and pardon assistance), and create opportunities for low-income youth. The foundation’s grants tend to be purpose-driven and targeted toward improving transparency, civic participation, and direct services within the Philadelphia region.
The Thomas Skelton Harrison Foundation’s recent giving is defined by a small set of Philadelphia institutions that repeatedly receive meaningful operating support. Committee of Seventy, The Philadelphia Citizen, and Philadelphia VIP each appear across multiple years, showing a steady emphasis on civic oversight, watchdog reporting, and legal help for residents facing family-law issues. The foundation also backs work tied to voter information, note-taking at public meetings, pardon hearings, and civic dialogue, which places its grantmaking close to the mechanics of local government and public participation. Across the most recent grants, the foundation supported a mix of journalism, legal services, youth support, and civic infrastructure. Philadelphia Futures and Support for Child Advocates’ older-youth project point to interest in low-income youth transitioning into adulthood, while Free Library of Philadelphia and Resolve Philly reflect support for public convening and community information-sharing. The grant list is concentrated entirely in Philadelphia, with awards often repeated to the same organizations rather than spread broadly across many recipients. That pattern suggests a funder that favors targeted, place-based grants with clear civic or direct-service purposes. The grant descriptions are specific enough to show how each award fits into a larger local strategy: strengthen accountability, improve access to legal remedies, and support organizations that help residents engage with public institutions.
In government accountability and voter information, the foundation gave $50,000 to Committee of Seventy in 2024 and again in 2025, plus $25,000 in 2023, all labeled for voter information. It also supported The Philadelphia Citizen with $50,000 in 2024 and 2025 and $20,000 in 2023 for government misdeeds coverage. For legal access, Philadelphia VIP received $50,000 in 2024 and $10,000 in 2023 for family law, while Philadelphia Lawyers for Social Equity received $10,000 in 2023 for pardon hearings. Esperanza also received $7,500 in 2023 for legal services. Civic infrastructure appears through Resolve Philly’s $50,000 grant in 2025 for note taking at meetings, and the Free Library of Philadelphia’s $10,000 grant in 2023 for civic dialogue. Youth-related giving includes Philadelphia Futures at $10,000 for low income grants and Support for Child Advocates at $10,000 for an older youth project.
$423K
$3.9M
$162K
$164K
Most grants fall between $10K and $31K, with a median of $15K.
25th Percentile
$10K
Median
$15K
75th Percentile
$31K
About 100% of grants go to recipients in PA.
CHANDA MILLER
Sign up for a free Kindora account to access AI-generated insights into this funder's giving patterns, decision-makers, and fit signals.
Get Started FreeFree Kindora accounts unlock side-by-side comparisons with foundations that share this funder's focus areas and giving profile.
Get Started FreeSign up free to see how well your nonprofit fits this funder, get an AI-generated pitch, and unlock similar foundations.
Concentrated, Philadelphia-focused giving with a mix of repeat, multi-year support to a few core civic and media organizations and smaller, one-off grants to direct-service legal and youth programs. The foundation makes a few large gifts that anchor its priorities (two recipients account for the majority of dollars) alongside several modest awards to complementary local providers.
Notable grantees: Committee of Seventy, The Philadelphia Citizen, PHILA VIP (Philadelphia VIP), Resolve Philly, WHYY / PlanPhilly
Typical grant size clusters around a median of $15,000, with a lower quartile of $10,000 and an upper quartile of $31,250. The recent list shows repeated support to the same Philadelphia organizations across 2023, 2024, and 2025, which points to recurring relationships rather than one-time awards. The foundation appears to make straightforward grant support rather than program-related investments, and it does not fund individuals. The pattern is highly concentrated: every listed grant in the current data went to a recipient in Pennsylvania.
Grantmaking is entirely local and entirely in Pennsylvania. Philadelphia dominates the recipient map, with all listed grants going to Philadelphia-based organizations. The recent grants table shows repeated awards to Philadelphia recipients such as Committee of Seventy, The Philadelphia Citizen, Philadelphia VIP, Resolve Philly, WHYY, and Free Library of Philadelphia. The recipient-country distribution is 100% U.S., with no non-U.S. grants in the provided data.
Its recent grants center on Philadelphia civic life: government accountability, voter information, watchdog journalism, legal services, civic dialogue, and support for low-income youth. Named recipients include Committee of Seventy, The Philadelphia Citizen, Philadelphia VIP, Resolve Philly, and Philadelphia Futures.
The typical grant size is $10,000 at the 25th percentile, $15,000 at the median, and $31,250 at the 75th percentile. Recent awards also include several $50,000 grants, especially to Committee of Seventy, The Philadelphia Citizen, Philadelphia VIP, and Resolve Philly.
Yes. Committee of Seventy appears in 2023, 2024, and 2025; The Philadelphia Citizen appears in 2023, 2024, and 2025; and Philadelphia VIP appears in 2023 and 2024. That pattern suggests ongoing relationships with a small group of Philadelphia partners.
All listed grants go to recipients in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the recipient-country distribution is 100% U.S. The foundation’s giving scope is local, with Philadelphia-based organizations making up the full recent grant list.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RESOLVE PHILLY | PHILADELPHIA, PA | $50,000 | 2025 | NOTE TAKING AT MEETINGS |
| THE PHILA CITIZEN | PHILADELPHIA, PA | $50,000 | 2025 | GOVT MISDEEDS |
| COMMITTEE OF SEVENTY | PHILADELPHIA, PA | $50,000 | 2025 | VOTER INFO |
| PHILA VIP | PHILADELPHIA, PA | $50,000 | 2024 | FAMILY LAW |
| THE PHILA CITIZEN | PHILADELPHIA, PA | $50,000 | 2024 | GOVT MISDEEDS |
| COMMITTEE OF SEVENTY | PHILADELPHIA, PA | $50,000 | 2024 | VOTER INFO |
| COMMITTEE OF SEVENTY | PHILADELPHIA, PA | $25,000 | 2023 | VOTER INFO |
| WHYY | PHILADELPHIA, PA | $20,000 | 2023 | PLANPHILLY |
| THE PHILA CITIZEN | PHILADELPHIA, PA | $20,000 | 2023 | GOVT MISDEEDS |
| SUPPORT FOR CHILD ADV | PHILADELPHIA, PA | $10,000 | 2023 | OLDER YOUTH PROJECT |
| PHILADELPHIA FUTURES | PHILADELPHIA, PA | $10,000 | 2023 | LOW INCOME GRANTS |
| PHILA VIP | PHILADELPHIA, PA | $10,000 | 2023 | FAMILY LAW |
| PHILA LAWYERS FOR SOC EQ | PHILADELPHIA, PA | $10,000 | 2023 | PARDON HEARINGS |
| FREE LIBRARY OF PHILA | PHILADELPHIA, PA | $10,000 | 2023 | CIVIC DIALOGUE |
| ESPERANZA | PHILADELPHIA, PA | $7,500 | 2023 | LEGAL SERVICES |
RESOLVE PHILLY
$50,000NOTE TAKING AT MEETINGS
THE PHILA CITIZEN
$50,000GOVT MISDEEDS
COMMITTEE OF SEVENTY
$50,000VOTER INFO
PHILA VIP
$50,000FAMILY LAW
THE PHILA CITIZEN
$50,000GOVT MISDEEDS
COMMITTEE OF SEVENTY
$50,000VOTER INFO
COMMITTEE OF SEVENTY
VOTER INFO
WHYY
$20,000PLANPHILLY
THE PHILA CITIZEN
$20,000GOVT MISDEEDS
SUPPORT FOR CHILD ADV
$10,000OLDER YOUTH PROJECT
PHILADELPHIA FUTURES
$10,000LOW INCOME GRANTS
PHILA VIP
$10,000FAMILY LAW
PHILA LAWYERS FOR SOC EQ
$10,000PARDON HEARINGS
FREE LIBRARY OF PHILA
$10,000CIVIC DIALOGUE
ESPERANZA
$7,500LEGAL SERVICES