Illinois · Public charity
Bright Promise
To strengthen and sustain partner christian schools by generating new sources of revenue so that more families may experience the benefit from urban christian education.
- $295k
- Granted FY2025(still arriving)
- 12
- Grants FY2025
- 13
- Organizations funded FY2024
- 0%
- First-time grantees FY2024
- Median grant, FY2025
- $20,000
- Largest grant, FY2025
- $50,000
- Organizations funded a year
- 7 to 16
- FY2018 to FY2024
- States reached, FY2025
- 1
- Total assets, FY2025
- $5.8M
How open it is to new grantees
In FY2024, 0% of the organizations Bright Promise funded were first-time grantees, receiving 0% of its grant dollars.
New vs renewed · share of each year
In FY2024, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.
Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant
How this is measured
The numbers by year
| Fiscal year | Organizations funded | To those organizations | First-time grantees |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025still arriving | 12 | $291k | 0% |
| FY2024 | 13 | $251k | 0% |
| FY2023 | 7 | $165k | 0% |
| FY2022 | 13 | $249k | 0% |
| FY2021 | 15 | $270k | 7% |
| FY2020 | 15 | $258k | 0% |
| FY2019 | 16 | $278k | 0% |
| FY2018 | 16 | $274k | 56% |
What it funded, over time
Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.
Top grantees
Largest recipients by total granted, FY2017 to FY2025, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.
| Grantee | Total granted | Years | Share of their budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago West Side Christian School Association | $411,054 | 9 | 2% |
| Daystar Education Association | $367,500 | 9 | 1% |
| Pui-Tak Christian School | $357,005 | 9 | n/a |
| Salem Christian School | $209,500 | 5 | n/a |
| The Field School | $186,000 | 9 | 2% |
| Cornerstone Academy co Richard Van der Molen | $128,000 | 9 | 6% |
| Midwestern Christian Academy | $127,000 | 9 | n/a |
| Unity Christian Academy | $73,000 | 7 | 4% |
| Calvin Christian School Foundation | $70,000 | 7 | 20% |
| Southwest Chicago Christian School Foundation | $67,500 | 7 | 4% |
Show all 17 grantees
| Grantee | Total granted | Years | Share of their budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago West Side Christian School Association | $411,054 | 9 | 2% |
| Daystar Education Association | $367,500 | 9 | 1% |
| Pui-Tak Christian School | $357,005 | 9 | n/a |
| Salem Christian School | $209,500 | 5 | n/a |
| The Field School | $186,000 | 9 | 2% |
| Cornerstone Academy co Richard Van der Molen | $128,000 | 9 | 6% |
| Midwestern Christian Academy | $127,000 | 9 | n/a |
| Unity Christian Academy | $73,000 | 7 | 4% |
| Calvin Christian School Foundation | $70,000 | 7 | 20% |
| Southwest Chicago Christian School Foundation | $67,500 | 7 | 4% |
| Calvary Academy Inc | $62,500 | 7 | n/a |
| Lansing Christian School Foundation | $55,000 | 7 | 13% |
| New Life Christian Center | $52,500 | 7 | n/a |
| Cambridge Classical Academy | $44,930 | 4 | 2% |
| Deer Creek Christian School | $25,000 | 4 | 1% |
| Trinity Christian College Association | $23,975 | 2 | 0% |
| Walther Lutheran High School Association Inc | $18,500 | 3 | n/a |
Where it is load-bearing
Each grantee by its size and the share of its budget Bright Promise supplied at peak.
Tap a dot to name the grantee.
How this is measured
Co-funders
Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.
Open a dossier: Barnabas Foundation · Natl Christian Charitable Fdn Inc · Network for Good · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Amazonsmile Foundation
How this is measured
Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus
How do I get to Bright Promise?
Find your warmest path to Bright Promise through trustees and officers whose names appear on both boards. Search for your organization and Plinth traces the shortest route it can evidence.
Each link is a name appearing on two organizations’ public IRS 990 filings, matched on that name and, where the filings support it, on location. A same-state match has geographic support, which is a second matching feature rather than confirmation that the two are one person; a cross-state one is the likeliest to be two people who share a name. Every hop shows its tier, low-confidence and distant paths are held back rather than guessed, and it is worth confirming the person before you use the introduction.
About Bright Promise
- How much does Bright Promise give?
- Bright Promise reported 12 grants totaling $295,435 in its FY2025 IRS filing. It funded between 7 and 16 organizations a year over FY2018 to FY2024.
- What does Bright Promise fund?
- By grant dollars over FY2017 to FY2025, its largest causes are Education (98%), Religion (2%).
- Who are Bright Promise's largest grantees?
- By total granted over FY2017 to FY2025: Chicago West Side Christian School Association ($411k), Daystar Education Association ($368k), Pui-Tak Christian School ($357k).
- Does Bright Promise fund new organizations?
- In FY2024, 0% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
- Which funders back the same organizations as Bright Promise?
- Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include Barnabas Foundation, Natl Christian Charitable Fdn Inc, Network for Good.
- Where is Bright Promise based?
- Bright Promise is based in IL.
Play a game based on Bright Promise’s filings →