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Chiaroscuro Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Chiaroscuro Foundation

Its FY2018 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$1.6M
Granted FY2018
35
Grants FY2018
11
States reached
$160k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0196% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2018.

Religion$1.4MEducation$1.0MHealth$956kPhilanthropy$357kCivil Rights$335kSocial Science$215kInternational$141kArts & Culture$135kOther$0
02FY2018 · 35 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2018

  • Under $10k1 grant · $575
  • $10k–50k22 grants · $492k
  • $50k–250k12 grants · $1.1M
$25,000
Median grant
11
States reached
$147k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CHIAROSCURO INSTITUTE$159,559
BECKET FUND FOR RELIGIOUS LIBERTY$150,000
SOPHIA INSTITUTE$150,000
TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY$100,000
LIFE PERSPECTIVES$100,000
DIETRICH VON HILDEBRAND LEGACY PROJECT$80,000
CCF GIVING INC$80,000
JOHN PAUL II CENTER FOR WOMEN$80,000
WORLD YOUTH ALLIANCE$65,000
AFRICAN MISSION HEALTH FOUNDATION$50,000
REGINA PACIS ACADEMY$50,000
CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF BUSINESS$50,000
THOMAS MORE COLLEGE OF THE LIBERAL ARTS$40,000
OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL CLASSICAL SCHOOL$40,000
THE ELM INSTITUTE$38,000
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Its human-services grants (FY17–18, $108k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 54% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants spread fairly evenly across need levels.

area typical 9%HUMAN COALITION: $50k → 5%THE ELM INSTITUTE: $38k → 12%INSTITUTE FOR AMERICAN VALUES: $20k → 17%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.

Which US states its grants reach

NH
NY
MA
WY
OH
PA
NJ
CT
CA
CO
VA
KS
DC
OK
LA
TX
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

52%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$2.3M · 21 repeat orgs$2.1M to everyone else

21 repeat relationships: 21 still active in FY2018, 0 since wound down; 12 grantees were first funded in FY2018 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

21
25

Total granted

$2.3M
$1.7M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+42%
+114%

Still filing today

29%
48%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2018, 74% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $378k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’17’18
ReligionEducationHuman ServicesSocial ScienceArts & CulturePhilanthropyOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • SI
    SOPHIA INSTITUTE
    2× · 2017–2018 · $300k · revenue +115%
  • LP
    LIFE PERSPECTIVES
    2× · 2017–2018 · $175k · revenue +127%
  • DV
    DIETRICH VON HILDEBRAND LEGACY PROJECT
    2× · 2017–2018 · $130k · revenue +42%

Funded once

  • FF
    FEMM Foundationgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $446k · revenue +284% · 61% of their budget
  • FF
    Foundation For Excellence in Higher Education
    one grant, 2017 · $250k · revenue +22%
  • TC
    THE CATHOLIC GUY INC
    one grant, 2017 · $150k · revenue -54%
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
The Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies

The institute's mission is to conduct research on key issues facing society to help both the church and society deal thoughtfully with the major issues they face globally. the institute also sponsors and conducts research and scholarship…

Religion
2
Center of Theological Inquiry

The Center of Theological Inquiry is an independent research institution with an international visiting scholar program which convenes researchers in an ideal setting for interdisciplinary inquiries where theology casts light on global…

Religion
3
Collegium Institute

Collegium Institute is a Catholic intellectual apostolate that fosters the Catholic intellectual tradition within the University of Pennsylvania community and within the greater region and secular academia. (Continued on Sch. O)

—
4
International Catholic Jurists Forum Inc

The International Catholic Jurists Forum (ICJF) was established to produce, compile, and share resources on fundamental human rights under attack in the regional and international human rights protection systems. It operates as a forum for…

Religion
5
Lumen Christi Institute

To make the catholic intellectual tradition a vital part of the culture of universities. to enrich academic communities at the university of chicago, across the nation, and the world with the insights of catholic thought. to dialogue with…

—
6
Institute for the Study of Western Civilization

To promote the teaching of the Western Tradition, its relationship to other traditions and its importance in the modern era, through educational courses, resources and teacher training.

Education
7
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research

The american enterprise institute is a community of scholars and supporters committed to expanding liberty, increasing individual opportunity, and strengthening free enterprise. aei pursues these ideals through independent thinking and the…

Social Science
8
The Institute for the Psychological Sciences Inc

Divine Mercy University is a Catholic graduate school of psychology and counseling, founded in 1999. The University is dedicated to the scientific study of psychology and counseling with a Catholic understanding of the person, marriage and…

Education
9
Instituto De Estudios Teologicos

Conference

Education
10
Pew Research Center

Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan "fact tank" that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. Pew Research Center generates a foundation of facts that enriches the public dialogue and…

Social Science
11
Christianity Today International

Christianity Today is a global community inspired by evangelical conviction to advance the stories and ideas of the kingdom of God. Our mission is to elevate the storytellers and sages of the global church.

Religion
12
Foundational Questions Institute
Philanthropy
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Ethics and Public Policy Center Inc; the most unlike its peers is John Paul Ii Center for Women. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

31 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 31 of the 60 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

3
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
14
Early backer (in before they grew)
26/31
Grantees still filing
24/31
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

CHIAROSCURO INSTITUTE INC: $359,559 · OtherCHIAROSCURO INSTITUTE INCOUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL CLASSICAL SCHOOL: $130,000 · OtherOUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL CLASSICAL SCHOOLFAMILY MEDICINE EDUCATION CONSORTIUM: $100,000 · OtherCARMEL OF JESUS MARY AND JOSEPH: $100,000 · OtherCARMEL OF THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY: $100,000 · OtherCATHOLIC UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF BUSINESS: $100,000 · OtherAFRICAN MISSION HEALTH FOUNDATION: $100,000 · OtherTHE INSTITUTE ON RELIGION AND PUBLIC LIFE INC: $75,000 · OtherNEW YORK ENCOUNTER: $75,000 · OtherNATIONAL ABSTINENCE EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $75,000 · OtherJohn Paul II Center for Women: $160,000 · OtherJohn Paul II Center for WomenWYA Foundation Inc dba World Youth Alliance: $115,000 · Other+25 more: $751,575 · Other+25 moreSOPHIA INSTITUTE: $300,000 · ReligionSOPHIA INSTITUT…THE CATHOLIC GUY INC: $150,000 · ReligionTHE CATHOLIC GU…DIETRICH VON HILDEBRAND LEGACY PROJECT: $130,000 · ReligionDIETRICH VON HI…THE WILLIAM J SEYMOUR INSTITUTE FOR BLACK CHURCH AND POLICY STUDIES INC: $25,000 · ReligionSpitzer-Magis Center FKA Magis Institute: $25,000 · Religion+1 more: $20,000 · ReligionKNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS CHARITABLE FUND INC: $270,000 · PhilanthropyKNIGHTS OF C…Foundation For Excellence in Higher Education: $250,000 · PhilanthropyFoundation F…FEMM Foundation: $445,500 · Arts & CultureFEMM Found…NATIONAL CENTER ON SEXUAL EXPLOITATION: $25,000 · Arts & CultureTHE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK: $200,000 · EducationTHE TRUSTE…The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts Inc: $100,000 · EducationThe Thomas…Witherspoon Institute Inc: $100,000 · EducationWitherspoo…Augustine Institute Inc: $40,000 · EducationAugustine …+2 more: $20,000 · EducationLIFE PERSPECTIVES: $175,000 · Human ServicesHUMAN COALITION: $50,000 · Human ServicesElm Institute Inc: $38,000 · Human ServicesBraver AngelsInc: $20,000 · Human ServicesThe Becket Fund: $150,000 · Social ScienceENDOW: $50,000 · Social ScienceAtlas Economic Research Foundation: $35,000 · Social Science
Other$2,241,134Religion$650,000Philanthropy$520,000Arts & Culture$470,500Education$460,000Human Services$283,000Social Science$235,000

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetFEMM Foundation: $445,500 over 1y, 61% of budgetCHIAROSCURO INSTITUTE INC: $359,559 over 2y, 62% of budgetSOPHIA INSTITUTE: $300,000 over 2y, 4.1% of budgetKNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS CHARITABLE FUND INC: $270,000 over 2y, 10% of budgetTHE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK: $200,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetLIFE PERSPECTIVES: $175,000 over 2y, 12% of budgetJohn Paul II Center for Women: $160,000 over 2y, 75% of budgetDIETRICH VON HILDEBRAND LEGACY PROJECT: $130,000 over 2y, 14% of budgetWYA Foundation Inc dba World Youth Alliance: $115,000 over 2y, 5.7% of budgetFAMILY MEDICINE EDUCATION CONSORTIUM: $100,000 over 1y, 9.8% of budgetThe Thomas More College of Liberal Arts Inc: $100,000 over 2y, 1.6% of budgetWitherspoon Institute Inc: $100,000 over 1y, 2.5% of budgetTHE INSTITUTE ON RELIGION AND PUBLIC LIFE INC: $75,000 over 2y, 1.6% of budgetETHICS AND PUBLIC POLICY CENTER INC: $50,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetENDOW: $50,000 over 2y, 4.1% of budgetAugustine Institute Inc: $40,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetElm Institute Inc: $38,000 over 1y, 7.6% of budgetAtlas Economic Research Foundation: $35,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetTHE WILLIAM J SEYMOUR INSTITUTE FOR BLACK CHURCH AND POLICY STUDIES INC: $25,000 over 1y, 6.3% of budgetSpitzer-Magis Center FKA Magis Institute: $25,000 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetNATIONAL CENTER ON SEXUAL EXPLOITATION: $25,000 over 1y, 2.0% of budgetBraver AngelsInc: $20,000 over 1y, 4.4% of budgetTHE INDEPENDENT INSTITUTE: $20,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetHOPE AND PURPOSE MINISTRIES: $20,000 over 1y, 8.4% of budgetNATIONAL BIBLE ASSOCIATION INC: $17,000 over 1y, 8.5% of budgetARCHBRIDGE INSTITUTE: $10,000 over 1y, 4.3% of budgetNETWORK OF ENLIGHTENED WOMEN INC: $10,000 over 1y, 1.9% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

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.

Donors Trust IncConsidine Family Foun…The Lynde and Harry B…Knights of Columbus C…Bradley Impact Fund I…The Community Foundat…Casillas FoundationSarah Scaife Foundati…John Templeton Founda…Servant FoundationThe 85 FundMercy Works Foundation
Donors Trust IncVA20.9× affinity8 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Donors Trust Inc · Considine Family Foundation · The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation Inc · Knights of Columbus Charitable Fund Inc · Bradley Impact Fund Inc · The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta Inc · Casillas Foundation · Sarah Scaife Foundation Incorporated · John Templeton Foundation · Servant Foundation · The 85 Fund · Mercy Works Foundation

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Chiaroscuro Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Chiaroscuro Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 40%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%5%10%15%20%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    4get no government money at all
    3report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–20%
    typical government reliance, FY20–25
    How this is measured
    Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.
    05Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to Chiaroscuro Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Chiaroscuro Foundation 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.

    On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 60 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

    How this is measured
    Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

    Generated from the IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2018, released 2018. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Chiaroscuro’s filings →

    More from the funding graph

    The unnamed billions
    grants reported with no recipient in the public record
    The regranting layer
    51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
    The DAF merry-go-round
    $9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
    The endowment market
    who holds foundation money, and what just moved
    The camps
    funders cluster by geography, not ideology
    By state
    where grant money is based, and what stays home