Philanthropic Investment Tool

Impact Areas Definitions

Describes WHAT is being supported – grantmaker areas of focus, primary work of nonprofits and activities being funded.

The development and improvement of biological, renewable food and material resources and the systems that produce them – natural, commercial, and industrial. Included are: agricultural activities that improve management of food production and the health of the land and water on which farms and ranches depend; forestry and forest management activities that support the health and productivity of those resources and regions; fishing and fish farming activities that support the health and productivity of that food resource; and efforts to ensure the security, amount, and appropriateness of the food resources available to communities and other groups.

  • Agriculture
    • Farm viability
      • Agricultural cooperatives
      • Agricultural education
      • Farm bureaus and granges
    • Farmlands
    • Irrigation and water management
    • Livestock and ranching
  • Fishing and aquaculture
    • Fish farms and hatcheries
    • Sustainable fishing
  • Food security
    • Community food systems
    • Food sovereignty
    • Subsistence farming
    • Sustainable agriculture
      • Agrodiversity
      • Agroecology
      • Genetically modified crops
      • Organic farming
  • Forestry
    • Non-timber forestry
    • Sustainable forestry

 

Enjoyment or understanding of the visual, performing, or folk arts or the humanities (history, art history, modern and classical languages, philosophy, ethics); and organizations that promote the appreciation or understanding of historical events, including historical societies and genealogical or heredity-based organizations (e.g., Sons of the Revolution, Daughters of the Confederacy, etc.). Includes museums and halls of fame; historic preservation programs; groups of or services to artists, performers, entertainers, writers, or humanities scholars; programs which promote artistic expression of or within ethnic groups and cultures; and art and performing art schools, centers, and studios. Does not include libraries and reading programs (see Education); botanical gardens, nature centers or zoos (see Environment).

  • Arts services
    • Artists’ services
    • Arts administration
    • Arts councils
    • Arts education
    • Arts exchange
  • Cultural awareness
  • Folk arts
  • Historical activities
  • Humanities
    • Art history
    • History
    • Languages
    • Linguistics
    • Literature and writing
    • Philosophy
  • Museums
    • Art museums
    • Children’s museums
    • Ethnic museums
    • History museums
    • Maritime museums
    • Natural history museums
    • Planetariums
    • Science museums
    • Sport and hobby museums
  • Performing arts
    • Circus arts
    • Dance
      • Ballet
      • Choreography
      • Folk and ethnic dance
      • Jazz and tap dance
      • Modern dance
    • Music
      • Composition
      • Folk and indigenous music
      • Musical ensembles and groups
      • Opera
      • Orchestral music
      • Vocal music
    • Performance art
    • Performing arts education
    • Spoken word
    • Theater
      • Musical theater
      • Playwriting
  • Public arts
  • Visual arts
    • Architecture
    • Art conservation
    • Ceramic arts
    • Design
    • Drawing
    • Painting
    • Photography
    • Printmaking
    • Sculpture
    • Textile arts

Work to strengthen the health and prosperity of communities and increase the capacity of various community organizations to improve the quality of life for all, including community and neighborhood development and improvement services; urban, rural, and sustainable economic development programs; business and financial services and services to improve or develop commercial and industrial enterprises within communities; services to enhance, improve, and protect the workforce and promote employment; efforts to develop and rehabilitate community housing, and organize tenants and homeowners; and community service programs.

  • Business and industry
    • Business promotion
    • Construction
    • Corporate social responsibility
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Manufacturing
    • Mining and resource extraction
    • Real estate
    • Social enterprise
    • Tourism
    • Trade
    • Transport and storage
  • Community improvement
    • Community beautification
      • Gardening
      • Landscaping
    • Community organizing
    • Community service
    • Neighborhood associations
  • Economic development
    • Employment
      • Job benefits
      • Job counseling
      • Job creation and workforce development
      • Job retraining
      • Job training
      • Organized labor
      • Pensions
    • Rural development
    • Urban development
      • Bicycling and pedestrian-oriented development
      • Green building
      • Public transportation
      • Urban planning
      • Urban renewal
      • Urban sprawl
  • Financial services
    • Anti-predatory lending
    • Banking
    • Credit unions
    • Development finance
      • Community development finance
      • Microfinance
      • Sustainable finance
    • Financial counseling
    • Home financing
    • Insurance
    • Investment services
  • Housing development
    • Foreclosure prevention
    • Home ownership
    • Housing loss prevention
    • Housing rehabilitation
    • Public housing
    • Tenants’ organizations
  • Sustainable development

All formally constituted educational institutions (except art and performing art schools) and projects or activities that administer or support those institutions; libraries; organizations whose primary purpose is to provide opportunities for supplementing and continuing education outside the framework of formal education institutions (including English-as-a-second-language programs and literacy and reading programs for children and adults); and organizations that provide educationally related services to students and schools, e.g., educational testing services, scholarship programs, drop-out prevention and programs designed to increase parent participation in the schools.

  • Adult education
    • Basic and remedial instruction
      • Adult literacy
      • Adult numeracy
      • High school equivalency
    • Continuing education
    • ESL and second language acquisition
  • Early childhood education
  • Education services
    • College preparation
    • Computer literacy
    • Cooperative education
    • E-learning
    • Educational exchanges
    • Educational software
    • Educational testing
    • Out-of-school learning
    • Parent-teacher involvement
    • Reading promotion
    • Student retention
    • Tutoring
  • Educational management
  • Elementary and secondary education
  • Equal opportunity in education
  • Graduate and professional education
  • Higher education
  • Student services
  • Vocational education

Preservation and protection of the natural environment: including pollution control and abatement programs; conservation and responsible development of natural resources; biodiversity preservation and wildlife conservation; protection of animals, including domestic pets and animals providing special services; control or elimination of hazardous and toxic substances; solid waste management programs; and environmental education. Does not include programs that focus on the protection or preservation of farmlands or soil and water conservation for agricultural, food production purposes or livestock issues (see Agriculture, Fishing, and Forestry); or programs that focus on recreational parks (see Sports and Recreation).

  • Biodiversity
    • Forest preservation
    • Plant biodiversity
    • Wildlife biodiversity
  • Climate change
  • Domesticated animals
    • Animal training
    • Animal welfare
      • Animal adoptions
      • Animal population control
      • Animal rescue and rehabilitation
      • Humane education
      • Research on animals
      • Vegetarianism
    • Human-animal interactions
    • Veterinary medicine
  • Environmental education
    • Environmental studies
    • Nature education
    • Outdoor education
  • Environmental justice
  • Natural resources
    • Air quality
    • Energy resources
      • Energy efficiency
      • Fossil fuels
      • Nuclear energy
      • Renewable energy
    • Hazardous waste management
      • Radiation control
      • Toxic substance control
    • Land resources
      • Deserts
      • Grasslands
      • Highlands
      • Land degradation
      • Tundra
    • Solid waste management
      • Composting
      • Recycling
    • Water resources
      • Coral reefs
      • Groundwater
      • Oceans and coastal waters
      • Rivers and lakes
      • Water conservation
      • Water pollution
      • Wetlands

Promotion and protection of the physical and mental well-being of people through medical care and treatment; assessment and amelioration of social, environmental, and biomedical factors affecting that well-being; research into various diseases and in various disciplines; and education and prevention activities that increase people’s own efforts at protecting public health.

  • Diseases and conditions
    • Brain and nervous system disorders
    • Cancers
    • Digestive system diseases
    • Ear, nose and throat diseases
    • Endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases
    • Eye diseases
    • Genetic conditions and birth defects
    • Heart and circulatory system diseases
    • Immune system diseases
    • Infectious and parasitic diseases
    • Kidney diseases
    • Mental and behavioral disorders
    • Musculoskeletal diseases
    • Respiratory system diseases
    • Skin conditions
  • Health care access
  • Health care administration and financing
    • Bioethics
    • Electronic health records
    • Health care financing
    • Health care management
    • Health insurance
    • Managed care
    • Medical counseling
    • Patient social services
    • Patient-centered care
    • Patients’ rights
  • Health care quality
  • Holistic medicine
  • In-patient medical care
    • Burn care
    • Community health care
    • Convalescent care
    • Hospital care
  • Medical specialties
    • Biomedicine
    • Cardiology
    • Dermatology
    • Diagnostic imaging
    • Gastroenterology
    • Genetics
    • Geriatrics
    • Hematology
    • Immunology
    • Internal medicine
    • Neurology
    • Obstetrics and gynecology
    • Oncology
    • Ophthalmology
    • Orthopedics
    • Pathology
    • Pediatrics
    • Pharmacology
    • Psychiatry
    • Stem cell therapy
    • Surgery
    • Urology
  • Medical support services
    • Blood banks
    • Emergency medical services
    • Home medical equipment
    • Organ and tissue banks
    • Pharmacies
    • Prosthetics
  • Mental health care
    • Addiction services
    • Community mental health care
    • Crisis intervention
    • Mental health counseling
    • Psychiatric care
    • Residential mental health care
    • Transitional mental health services
  • Nursing care
    • Home health care
    • Hospice care
    • Palliative care
  • Out-patient medical care
    • Dental care
    • E-health
    • Health care clinics
    • Hearing care
    • Preventive care
    • School-based health care
    • Urgent care
    • Vision care
  • Public health
    • Communicable disease control
    • Environmental health
    • Epidemiology
    • Occupational health
    • Physical fitness
    • Sexually transmitted disease control
    • Water access, sanitation and hygiene
  • Rehabilitation
    • Animal therapy
    • Art and music therapy
    • Physical therapy
    • Play therapy
    • Speech and hearing rehabilitation
  • Reproductive health care
    • Abortion
    • Childbirth
    • Family planning
    • Maternal and perinatal health
    • Sexual education
    • Youth pregnancy prevention
  • Traditional medicine and healing

The protection and promotion of the human rights and civil liberties of individuals and communities. This includes protecting equal rights for and fighting discrimination against some categories of people; improving relations between racial, ethnic, and cultural groups; and promoting voting rights. Does not include organizations that focus on or provide legal services (see Legal services); or groups using advocacy as a method to achieve goals in a particular subject area such as food, housing and education. In these cases, select the most appropriate term in the subject area, and a Strategy of Equal access. For animal rights work, see Research on animals and Humane education (in Environment).

  • Antidiscrimination
    • Children’s rights
    • Disabled persons’ rights
    • Ethnic and racial minority rights
    • Immigrants’ rights
    • LGBTQ rights
    • Prisoners’ rights
    • Rights of the aged
    • Women’s rights
  • Diversity and intergroup relations
  • Individual liberties
    • Freedom from slavery
    • Freedom from violence and torture
    • Freedom of association and expression
    • Freedom of religion
    • Reproductive rights
    • Right to die
    • Right to free movement and asylum
    • Right to life
    • Right to privacy
  • Justice rights
    • Capital punishment
    • Due process
  • Social rights
    • Cultural rights
    • Economic justice
    • Environmental and resource rights
    • Freedom of information
    • Labor rights
    • Marriage equality
    • Traditional marriage
    • Voter rights

Promotion and provision of a broad range of social or human services to individuals or families; family services, including shelters and aftercare programs for victims of domestic violence; direct social services to children and adolescents (e.g., adoption and foster care services, child day care, etc.); personal social services, travelers aid, etc.; residential, custodial care facilities and services for individuals unable to live independently due to developmental disabilities, age or physical infirmity; and programs that promote general independent functioning and living of individuals (e.g., retarded citizens associations, guide dog services for people with disabilities, etc.); job assistance programs that help those with significant barriers to employment, including special employment assistance for people who have disabilities or other disadvantages); housing rehabilitation, home improvement, shelters, and other non-recreational temporary housing facilities, and services to assist individuals and families in locating, acquiring, or sustaining clean, safe and adequate housing on a rental or ownership basis; programs that work to build character and develop leadership and social skills among children and youth, including scouting organizations; adult matching programs; business, agricultural, religious and other youth leadership programs; and youth community service clubs; food services for the poor and hungry, including dining facilities, food banks, and food delivery services.

  • Basic and emergency aid
    • Food aid
    • Free goods distribution
    • Gift distribution
    • Thrift shops
    • Travelers’ aid
    • Victim aid
  • Family services
    • Adolescent parenting
    • Adult day care
    • Child welfare
    • Family counseling
    • Family disability resources
    • In-home aid and personal assistance
    • Parent education
    • Single parent support
  • Human services information
  • Human services management
  • Job services
    • Sheltered workshops
    • Unemployment compensation
    • Vocational rehabilitation
  • Personal services
    • Adult peer mentoring
    • Cemeteries and burial services
    • Paratransit
    • Self-advocacy
    • Self-help groups
    • Transition planning
  • Shelter and residential care
    • Elder housing
    • Homeless shelters
    • Housing services
    • Supportive housing
    • Temporary accommodations
  • Special population support
    • Developmental disability services
    • Homeless services
    • Immigrant services
    • Independent living for people with disabilities
    • Senior services
    • Women’s services
  • Youth development
    • Agriculture for youth
    • Civics for youth
    • Community service for youth
    • Economics for youth
    • Religion for youth
    • Scouting programs
    • Youth mentoring
    • Youth organizing
    • Youth services

The gathering, storage, organization, manipulation, dissemination, and display of data, information, communication, and narrative. Included are programs that develop or make use of information technology to increase the amount and complexity of data that can be managed; policies that work to insure broad availability of information; programs that gather and broadcast news and information about current events; libraries that store and make available information in a variety of formats; media organizations and programs that broadcast information across a variety of platforms; telecommunications services; and information science and computer applications.

  • Communication media
    • Audio recording
    • Film and video
    • Mobile media
    • Publishing
    • Radio
    • Television
    • Web-based media
  • Information and communications technology
    • Computer security
    • Software applications
      • Assistive software
      • Business applications
      • Cloud computing
      • Content management software
      • Data management software
      • Financial applications
      • Geographic Information Systems
      • Interactive games
      • Media development software
      • Simulation software
      • Web applications
    • Telecommunications
      • Internet
      • Intranets
      • Mobile communications
      • On-line conferencing
  • Libraries
    • Academic libraries
    • Archives and special collections
      • Digital collections
      • Institutional archives
    • Government libraries
    • Public libraries
    • School libraries and media centers
  • Media access and policy
    • Information and media literacy
    • Media democracy
      • Digital divide
      • Internet neutrality
    • Media justice
  • News and public information
    • Journalism
      • Advocacy journalism
      • Citizen journalism
      • Constituency journalism
      • Investigative journalism
      • Photojournalism
    • Open data

Organizations or programs that focus on promoting the effective functioning of government, public administration and public officials; programs that conduct or promote research in multidisciplinary public policy (e.g., Joint Center for Political Studies); programs that support or provide services required for the effective functioning of society (e.g., public works projects, public utilities, public finance, legal and judicial systems, elections, etc.).; programs that promote patriotism, encourage civic participation, and support national security; and organizations that protect the public against the distribution of unsafe goods and products, including product testing and reporting services. Does not include social services organizations that focus on the provision of human services (use terms in Human services); strict political science research (use Political science); or public policy research tied specifically to a major group area (use field-specific coding where possible).

  • Democracy
    • Civic participation
    • Elections
      • Campaign finance
      • Election regulation
      • Political organizations
      • Voter education and registration
    • Public integrity
  • Leadership development
  • National security
    • Counterterrorism
      • Bioterrorism
    • Customs and border control
    • Cyber warfare
    • Immigration and naturalization
    • National defense
  • Public administration
    • Census
    • Government regulation
    • Public assistance
      • Social security
      • Welfare
    • Public finance
    • Public works
  • Public policy
  • Public utilities
    • Electric utilities
    • Oil and gas utilities
    • Sewage utilities
    • Water utilities
  • Public/private ventures

Protection and relief of the public from crime, violence, disaster, accident, and other potential causes of harm. Included are crime, abuse, and violence prevention services; police and other law enforcement agencies; detention and rehabilitation services for offenders and ex-offenders; judicial and administration of justice activities; legal assistance to individuals and organizations, including groups whose primary purpose is to conduct public interest litigation; activities to prevent, predict or control the effects of disasters; educate and prepare individuals to cope with the effects of disasters; provide broad-based disaster relief services to victims; provide relief to victims of accidents caused by human frailty or error (e.g., poisoning, choking, electrical shock, falls); first aid training and services; and many kinds of safety education and promotion. Does not include agencies that provide aftercare services to the victims of crime or abuse and neglect (see Victim services, Domestic violence, Rape victim services, and other terms).

  • Abuse prevention
    • Bullying
    • Child abuse
    • Domestic violence
    • Elder abuse
    • Sexual abuse
  • Consumer protection
    • Drug safety
    • Food safety
    • Universal design
  • Corrections and penology
    • Offender re-entry
    • Prison alternatives
    • Probation and parole
    • Rehabilitation of offenders
    • Services for offenders
  • Courts
    • Dispute resolution
    • Family courts
    • Juvenile justice
  • Crime prevention
    • Cybercrime
    • Gun control
    • Impaired driving
    • Law enforcement
      • Community policing
      • Police agencies
    • Missing persons
    • Narcotics control
  • Disasters and emergency management
    • Civil protection
    • Disaster preparedness
    • Disaster reconstruction
    • Disaster relief
    • Disasters
      • Droughts
      • Earthquakes
      • Extreme temperatures
      • Famines
      • Floods
      • Mass movements
      • Non-natural disasters
      • Storms, hurricanes and tornadoes
      • Tsunamis
      • Volcanos
      • Wildfires
    • Internal resettlement
    • Search and rescue
  • Fire prevention and control
  • Legal services
    • Child advocacy
    • Guardianship
    • Housing law
    • Immigration law
    • Intellectual property
    • Legal aid
    • Public interest law
  • Safety education
    • First aid training
    • Home safety
    • Poison control
    • Traffic safety

Worship, religious training or study, governance, or administration of organized religions, or the promotion of religious activities. Does not include other services operated under the auspices of specific religious groups such as educational institutions, hospitals, social service agencies, etc. For separately organized graduate schools of theology, use Theology and Graduate and professional education.

  • Baha’i
  • Buddhism
  • Christianity
  • Confucianism
  • Hinduism
  • Interfaith
  • Islam
  • Judaism
  • Shintoism
  • Sikhism
  • Spirituality
  • Theology
  • Tribal and indigenous religions

Efforts to promote or conduct research and study in the physical and life sciences, mathematics, engineering and technology. Does not include medical research; or research institutes and services operating in a single major group area. For these organizations and programs, use the most appropriate subject code, and a research code from either the Organization Type or Support Strategy facets.

  • Biology
    • Biochemistry
    • Botany
    • Ecology
    • Genetic research
    • Human physiology
    • Molecular biology
    • Paleontology
    • Zoology
  • Engineering
    • Aerospace engineering
    • Chemical engineering
    • Civil engineering
    • Electrical engineering
    • Mechanical engineering
  • Forensic science
  • Mathematics
  • Physical and earth sciences
    • Astronomy
    • Atmospheric science
    • Chemistry
    • Geology
    • Hydrology
    • Marine science
    • Physics
  • Technology
    • Assistive technology
    • Biotechnology
    • Computer science
    • Nanotechnology
    • Robotics

The study of, teaching of, or research in one or more of, the social sciences, including economics, psychology, political science and demographics. Also includes interdisciplinary research programs such as black studies and urban studies.

  • Anthropology
    • Archaeology
    • Cultural anthropology
    • Physical anthropology
  • Economics
  • Geography
  • Interdisciplinary studies
    • American studies
    • Ethnic studies
      • Black studies
      • Indigenous studies
      • Latino and Hispanic studies
    • Gender and sexuality studies
      • LGBTQ studies
      • Men’s studies
      • Women’s studies
    • Gerontology
    • International studies
    • Labor studies
    • Poverty studies
    • Rural studies
    • Urban studies
  • Law
  • Paranormal and mystic studies
  • Political science
  • Population studies
  • Psychology and behavioral science
  • Sociology

Services meeting the recreational needs of individuals and communities, including camps and camping programs; physical fitness and other recreational facilities such as parks, playgrounds, etc.; sports training and competition services; and other sports, recreational and social clubs. Does not include programs primarily involved in character building and leadership development for youth such as scouting, even though they may also provide recreational programs (see Youth development); or neighborhood centers, senior centers and other community centers primarily engaged in the provision of social services (see Human Services).

  • Community recreation
    • Camps
    • Clubs
    • Festivals
    • Parks
    • Playgrounds
  • Sports
    • Adaptive sports
    • American football
    • Baseball and softball
    • Basketball
    • Combat sports
    • Cycling
    • Equestrianism
    • European football
    • Golf
    • Gymnastics
    • Olympics
    • Outdoor sports
    • Paralympics
    • Racquet sports
    • Running
    • Special Olympics
    • Sports training
    • Table tennis
    • Track and field
    • Volleyball
    • Water sports
    • Winter sports

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