Skip to content
Lava Mae at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

Lava Mae

Lava Mae is a nonprofit that teaches people around the world to bring mobile showers and other services that promote well-being to people experiencing homelessness.

$140k
Granted FY2022
13
Grants FY2022
9
States reached
$20k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2019 to 2022.

Housing & Shelter$312kEmployment$100kHuman Services$98kEducation$10kReligion$10kYouth Development$7k
02FY2022 · 13 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$10,000
Median grant
9
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Cloud Covered Streets$20,000
Shower Power Inc$10,000
WAVE Project$10,000
Merrimack Valley Dream Center$10,000
Restoration Community Develop$10,000
ShowerUP$10,000
SHARE Community$10,000
Lighter Loads ATX$10,000
Streetside Showers$10,000
Hearts of Rescue$10,000
Humanity ShowersApostolic As$10,000
Street Angels Inc$10,000
Showering Love Inc$10,000
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 (FY19–22, $265k) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 68% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%Cloud Covered Streets: $20k → 11%Merrimack Valley Dream Center: $10k → 10%YouthLink: $7k → 11%SHARE Community: $10k → 9%Shower Power Inc: $10k → 17%Brooklyn Community Services: $15k → 20%Lighter Loads ATX: $15k → 10%Streetside Showers: $15k → 14%Moving Waters: $11k → 16%Showering Love Inc: $10k → 13%WAVE Project: $10k → 10%ShowerUP: $10k → 10%Project Refresh: $10k → 18%The Dignity Project: $10k → 12%SHARE Community: $10k → 9%Shower Power Inc: $12k → 17%Brooklyn Community Services: $11k → 20%Lighter Loads ATX: $10k → 10%Streetside Showers: $10k → 14%Showering Love Inc: $10k → 13%WAVE Project: $10k → 10%Lighter Loads ATX: $10k → 10%Showering Love Inc: $10k → 13%Showering Love Inc: $10k → 13%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

WA
MT
MN
WI
MI
NY
MA
NJ
RI
CA
CO
AZ
NM
TN
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 grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

39%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$208k · 8 repeat orgs$328k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +350% since the first grant, against +144% for those funded once.

8 repeat relationships: 6 still active in FY2022, 2 since wound down; 7 grantees were first funded in FY2022 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

8
14

Total granted

$208k
$248k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+350%
+144%

Still filing today

75%
71%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2022, 43% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $80k went to new ones.

50%100%’19’20’21’22
RenewedFirst-time

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

’19’20’21’22
Human ServicesHousing & ShelterCommunity ImprovementPhilanthropyOther
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

  • SL
    SHOWERING LOVE INC
    4× · 2019–2022 · $40k · revenue +817%
  • LL
    LIGHTER LOADS ATX
    3× · 2019–2022 · $35k · revenue +53%
  • BB
    BROOKLYN BUREAU OF COMMUNITY SERVICE
    2× · 2019–2021 · $26k · revenue +4%

Funded once

  • UA
    URBAN ALCHEMYgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $100k · revenue +901%
  • LT
    LA Trailer #2
    one grant, 2019 · $24k
  • HO
    HOUSE OF HOPE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $15k · revenue +221%
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
PUFF2HO

Covid-19

—
2
Bridge of Light Inc

Bridge of Light, provides critical support through various services, including free hot showers, laundry services, haircuts, and the distribution of underwear and clothing. The primary problem we are addressing is the lack of access to…

Human Services
3
Restoring Dignity Inc

Providing essentials for the homeless

Human Services
4
Home for Homeless Women
—
5
Urban Hands

housing and feeding the homeless

Food & Nutrition
6
Open Doors

Homeless services

—
7
Tracy Community Connections Center Inc

To provide the homeless and those at-risk for homelessness with services, resources and referrals to assist them to regain independence with dignity.

Human Services
8
Refresh Start

Helping the unhoused maintain their dignity by providing a means for personal hygiene so they may focus on a fresh start

Human Services
9
Faithful Servants Ministry

Housing the homeless

Human Services
10
Sunshine for Humanity Inc

Homeless Shelter

Health
11
Right 2 Survive Inc

Teaching & defending rights of homeless

Human Services
12
Peoples Properties Inc

Homeless

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Street Angels Inc; the most unlike its peers is House of Hope. 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

24 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. 24 of the 29 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)
13
Early backer (in before they grew)
21/24
Grantees still filing
19/24
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

SHOWERING LOVE INC: $40,000 · Human ServicesSHOWERING LOVE INCLIGHTER LOADS ATX: $35,000 · Human ServicesLIGHTER LOADS ATXBROOKLYN BUREAU OF COMMUNITY SERVICE: $26,000 · Human ServicesBROOKLYN BUREAU OF COMMUNITY SERVICESTREETSIDE SHOWERS INC: $25,000 · Human ServicesSTREETSIDE SHOWERS INCSHOWER POWER INC: $22,000 · Human ServicesSHOWER POWER INCShare Community: $20,000 · Human ServicesShare CommunityCLOUD COVERED STREETS: $20,000 · Human ServicesCLOUD COVERED STREETSWAVE PROJECT: $20,000 · Human ServicesWAVE PROJECTMOVING WATERS: $10,500 · Human ServicesPROJECT REFRESH INC: $10,000 · Human ServicesSTREET ANGELS INC: $10,000 · Human ServicesMERRIMACK VALLEY DREAM CENTER INC: $10,000 · Human ServicesShower Up: $10,000 · Human ServicesDIGNITY PROJECT: $10,000 · Human Services+1 more: $6,500 · Human ServicesLA Trailer #2: $23,577 · OtherLA Trailer #2Support the Soupman Corp: $20,000 · OtherSupport the Soupman CorpProgress Now NM Education Fun: $10,000 · OtherProgress Now NM Educatio…APOSTOLIC ASSEMBLY OF THE FAITH IN CHRIST JESUS INC: $10,000 · OtherAPOSTOLIC ASSEMBLY OF TH…HEARTS OF RESCUE: $10,000 · OtherHEARTS OF RESCUEOPPORTUNITIES FOR HOPE INC: $10,000 · OtherOPPORTUNITIES FOR HOPE I…HOUSE OF HOPE: $10,000 · OtherHOUSE OF HOPELOW INCOME HOUSING INSTITUTE: $10,000 · OtherLOW INCOME HOUSING INSTI…ARCHANGEL RAPHAELS MISSION INC: $10,000 · OtherARCHANGEL RAPHAELS MISSI…URBAN ALCHEMY: $100,000 · Community ImprovementURBAN ALCHEMYHOUSE OF HOPE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $15,000 · Housing & ShelterRED FEATHER DEVELOPMENT GROUP: $12,500 · Housing & ShelterRestoration Community Development Corporation: $10,000 · Housing & ShelterSKID ROW HOUSING TRUST: $10,000 · Philanthropy
Human Services$275,000Other$113,577Community Improvement$100,000Housing & Shelter$37,500Philanthropy$10,000

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 budgetURBAN ALCHEMY: $100,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetSHOWERING LOVE INC: $40,000 over 4y, 12% of budgetLIGHTER LOADS ATX: $35,000 over 3y, 18% of budgetBROOKLYN BUREAU OF COMMUNITY SERVICE: $26,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSTREETSIDE SHOWERS INC: $25,000 over 2y, 9.6% of budgetSHOWER POWER INC: $22,000 over 2y, 5.2% of budgetShare Community: $20,000 over 2y, 20% of budgetCLOUD COVERED STREETS: $20,000 over 1y, 2.6% of budgetWAVE PROJECT: $20,000 over 2y, 14% of budgetSupport the Soupman Corp: $20,000 over 2y, 3.4% of budgetRED FEATHER DEVELOPMENT GROUP: $12,500 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetPROJECT REFRESH INC: $10,000 over 1y, 7.1% of budgetSTREET ANGELS INC: $10,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetSKID ROW HOUSING TRUST: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMERRIMACK VALLEY DREAM CENTER INC: $10,000 over 1y, 4.7% of budgetShower Up: $10,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetOPPORTUNITIES FOR HOPE INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetLOW INCOME HOUSING INSTITUTE: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetDIGNITY PROJECT: $10,000 over 1y, 9.3% of budgetYOUTHLINK: $6,500 over 1y, 0.1% 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.

Morgan Stanley Founda…California Community …Paypal Charitable Giv…Jpmorgan Chase Founda…Local Initiatives Sup…American Online Givin…The Blackbaud Giving …Charities Aid Foundat…American Endowment Fo…The Bank of America C…Network for GoodMorgan Stanley Global…
Morgan Stanley Foundation IncNY12.5× affinity4 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Morgan Stanley Foundation Inc · California Community Foundation · Paypal Charitable Giving Fund · Jpmorgan Chase Foundation · Local Initiatives Support Corporation · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · Charities Aid Foundation America · American Endowment Foundation · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Network for Good · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc

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 Lava Mae funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Lava Mae. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%2%6%14%25%funder's share of their income ↑0%13%25%38%50%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    2get no government money at all
    6report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–50%
    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 Lava Mae?

    Find your warmest path to Lava Mae 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 29 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 e-file return for fiscal year 2022, released 2022. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2024) is on record but names no grant recipient (grants abroad are filed by region only, and grants under $5,000 are not itemized), so the figures above are from FY2022, the most recent year this funder named its grantees.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Lava Mae’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