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Ciel Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Ciel Foundation

$26k
Granted FY2020
67
Grants FY2020
26
States reached
$9k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01FY2020 · 67 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$200
Median grant
26
States reached
$643
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
First Baptist Church Pleasanton$9,000
Voice of the Martyrs$1,030
Frontline Ministries Inc$1,000
Creation Ministries$800
Samaritans Purse$715
World Vision$692
Thru The Bible Radio$600
Answers In Genesis$500
Go Fund Me Fight For Julie Brill$500
Project Veritas$488
Open Doors USA$420
Turning Point USA$312
Billy Graham Evangelistic Assoc$300
NOM Education Fund$300
Family Research Council$300
02The need
02

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 (FY20–20, $350) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%Family Research Council: $300 → 14%San Antonio Lighthouse Blind: $50 → 16%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
WA
MT
MI
NY
MA
NV
PA
NJ
CA
CO
NE
KY
VA
AZ
NM
TN
NC
SC
DC
OK
LA
MS
GA
TX
FL
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 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
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
2
Dallas International University

As a christian university, we provide education and research opportunities preparing global leaders to partner with local communities.

Education
3
Bibleproject

Bibleproject's mission is to help people experience the bible as a unified story that leads to jesus. this is achieved by creating biblical videos to be regularly released on a newly-created youtube channel. (continued on schedule o.)each…

Religion
4
Freedom in Christ Ministries

To provide resources, training, and continuing support to leaders in the us and around the world in order that they may help others find freedom in christ.

Religion
5
Youth for Christ International Ministries

As part of the body of Christ, to see that every young person in every people group in every nation has the opportunity to make an informed decision to be a follower of Jesus Christ and become a part of the local church.

Religion
6
Jewish Voice Ministries Intl

To proclaim the gospel, grow the messianic jewish community and engage the church concerning israel and the jewish people. this is done through education, evangelism and being a movement leader, all with excellence in order to transform…

—
7
Christian Mission for the United Nations Community

Christian Mission for the United Nations Community is a ministry aimed at leading the head of every nation and other top leaders to faith in Jesus Christ and helping them to walk in dependence upon God as they discharge the…

—
8
Blue Letter Bible

The specific purpose of this corporation is to present a biblical, christian ministry of the gospel, hope, encouragement and strength to as many people as possible. the intent of those who will conduct this corporation's work is to present…

—
9
Global Media Outreach

Leveraging technology to invite all people to know jesus christ as savior and grow in a personal relationship with him.

Religion
10
Global Outreach International Inc

To get the good news to every nation this generation by showing and sharing god's love by providing opportunities and supporting christian missionaries in over fifty seven countries around the world.

International
11
Biglife International Inc

Biglife international inc. empowers believers worldwide to reach and disciple their own people for jesus christ.

Recreation & Sports
12
Evangel University

Evangel is a comprehensive christian university that is committed to excellence in educating and equipping students to become spirit empowered servants of god who will impact the church and society globally.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is World Vision Inc; the most unlike its peers is Samaritan's Purse. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
03the grantee network

30 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. 30 of the 67 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.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
26/30
Grantees still filing
21/30
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

First Baptist Church Pleasanton: $9,000 · OtherFirst Baptist Church PleasantonVOICE OF THE MARTYRS INC: $1,030 · OtherVOICE OF THE MARTYRS INCCreation Ministries: $800 · Other+39 more: $8,161 · Other+39 moreFrontline Ministries Inc: $1,000 · ReligionFrontline Minis…SAMARITAN'S PURSE: $715 · ReligionSAMARITAN'S PUR…ANSWERS IN GENESIS INC: $500 · ReligionANSWERS IN GENE…Open Doors With Brother Andrew Inc: $420 · ReligionOpen Doors With…Cross International Inc: $300 · ReligionCross Internati…TORCH OF CHRIST MINISTRIES: $230 · ReligionTORCH OF CHRIST…AMERICAN FAMILY ASSOCIATION INC: $200 · ReligionAMERICAN FAMILY…+1 more: $100 · ReligionWORLD VISION INC: $692 · InternationalOperation Blessing International Relief and Development Corporation: $300 · InternationalMAP International Inc: $300 · InternationalCompassion International Incorporated: $250 · InternationalFEED THE CHILDREN INC: $200 · InternationalHILLSDALE COLLEGE: $300 · EducationPATRICK HENRY COLLEGE: $300 · EducationTEAMABILITY INC: $200 · EducationPresident and Fellows of Harvard College: $100 · EducationTHE FUTURE OF FREEDOM FOUNDATION: $200 · Civil RightsAMERICAN FREEDOM DEFENSE INITIATIVE: $120 · Civil RightsDALLAS CASA: $50 · Civil RightsFAMILY RESEARCH COUNCIL: $300 · Human ServicesSAN ANTONIO LIGHTHOUSE FOR THE BLIND: $50 · Human ServicesTexas Children's Hospital: $200 · HealthCHILDREN'S ASSOC FOR MAXIMUM POTENTIAL (: $50 · HealthEagle Mount: $100 · Philanthropy
Other$18,991Religion$3,465International$1,742Education$900Civil Rights$370Human Services$350Health$250Philanthropy$100

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 budgetFrontline Ministries Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetSAMARITAN'S PURSE: $715 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWORLD VISION INC: $692 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetANSWERS IN GENESIS INC: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPROJECT VERITAS: $488 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetOpen Doors With Brother Andrew Inc: $420 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTURNING POINT USA INC: $312 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCross International Inc: $300 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHILLSDALE COLLEGE: $300 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCHALCEDON INC: $300 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetOperation Blessing International Relief and Development Corporation: $300 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPATRICK HENRY COLLEGE: $300 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFAMILY RESEARCH COUNCIL: $300 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMAP International Inc: $300 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTORCH OF CHRIST MINISTRIES: $230 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetDAVID HOROWITZ FREEDOM CENTER: $200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTexas Children's Hospital: $200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTEAMABILITY INC: $200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN FAMILY ASSOCIATION INC: $200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFEED THE CHILDREN INC: $200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE FUTURE OF FREEDOM FOUNDATION: $200 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetAMERICAN FREEDOM DEFENSE INITIATIVE: $120 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetBARNABAS FUND INC: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPresident and Fellows of Harvard College: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetEagle Mount: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSAN ANTONIO LIGHTHOUSE FOR THE BLIND: $50 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCHILDREN'S ASSOC FOR MAXIMUM POTENTIAL (: $50 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetDALLAS CASA: $50 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGATEWAYS TO BETTER EDUCATION: $25 over 1y, 0.0% 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.

Natl Christian Charit…Servant FoundationRaymond James Charita…National Philanthropi…Paypal Charitable Giv…Vanguard Charitable E…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …American Online Givin…Amazonsmile Foundation
Natl Christian Charitable Fdn IncGA12× affinity10 shared granteesties to 9 of 9Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Natl Christian Charitable Fdn Inc · Servant Foundation · Raymond James Charitable Endowment Fund · National Philanthropic Trust · Paypal Charitable Giving Fund · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Amazonsmile 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 Ciel Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Ciel Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 7%
  • President and Fellows of Harvard College: 7% of income from government
  • Feed the Children Inc: 1% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get 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
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.

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 67 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 2020, released 2020. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2025) is on record but names no grant recipient in the published copy, so the figures above are from FY2020, the most recent year this funder’s grantee list reached the public record.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Ciel’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