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Light Action Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Light Action Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$23k
Granted FY2024still arriving
8
Grants FY2024still arriving
4
States reached
$5k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
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 2024.

Health$31kArts & Culture$22kEducation$13kPhilanthropy$11kInternational$9kRecreation & Sports$7kSocial Science$7kEnvironment$4kOther$0
02FY2024 · 8 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$2,500
Median grant
4
States reached
$316k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
ANN ARBOR AREA COMMUNITY FNDTN$5,000
SPECIAL OLYMPICS - NEVADA$5,000
MISES INSTITUTE$5,000
HOWARD COUNTY AUTISM SOCIETY$2,500
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN - UNIV DVLPM$2,000
ST MARYS STUDENT PARISH$1,000
HILLSDALE COLLEGE$1,000
WASHTENAW CHORALE$1,000
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY19–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 82% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%CHAMBER MUSIC UNBOUND: $2k → 10%RAINFOREST ACTION NETWORK: $3k → 10%UNIVERSITY OF SANTA MONICA: $2k → 14%WASHTENAW CHORALE: $1k → 14%HILLSDALE COLLEGE: $1k → 14%UNIVERSITY OF DETROIT MERCY: $2k → 21%MISES INSTITUTE: $5k → 15%WALKING WITH ORPHABNS: $4k → 9%FOUNDATION FOR ECONOMIC EDUCATION: $2k → 13%NURSE FAMILY PARTNERSHIP: $5k → 12%NATURE CONSERVANCY - MI: $1k → 7%SPECIAL OLYMPICS - NEVADA: $5k → 13%HOWARD COUNTY AUTISM SOCIETY: $3k → 6%MD THERAPEUTIC RIDING: $2k → 6%PATHFINDERS FOR AUTISM: $2k → 11%UNIVERSITY OF SANTA MONICA: $2k → 14%ANN ARBOR AREA COMMUNITY FNDTN: $5k → 14%UNIV OF DETROIT JESUIT HIGH SCHOOL: $2k → 21%NURSE FAMILY PARTNERSHIP: $2k → 12%SPECIAL OLYMPICS - NEVADA: $2k → 13%MD THERAPEUTIC RIDING: $1k → 6%PATHFINDERS FOR AUTISM: $1k → 11%NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION: $3k → 14%UNIVERSITY OF DETROIT MERCY: $1k → 21%LAS VEGAS ACADEMY OF THE ARTS: $5k → 13%ANN ARBOR AREA COMMUNITY FNDTN: $2k → 14%LAS VEGAS ACADEMY OF THE ARTS: $5k → 13%ST MARYS STUDENT PARISH: $2k → 14%WUNDERLICH FOUNDATION: $2k → 13%ANN ARBOR AREA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $2k → 14%LAS VEGAS ACADEMY OF THE ARTS: $2k → 13%ANN ARBOR AREA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $1k → 14%NOTES WITH A PURPOSE: $2k → 13%ST MARYS STUDENT PARISH: $1k → 14%ST MARY STUDENT PARISH: $1k → 14%ANN ARBOR AREA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $1k → 14%ST MARYS STUDENT PARISH: $500 → 14%UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: $5k → 14%UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: $4k → 14%UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: $3k → 14%UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: $2k → 14%UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN - UNIV DVLPM: $2k → 14%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

MI
NV
CA
CO
VA
MD
AL
GA
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.
04

Where the work is directed

The same grants placed two ways: where each recipient sits, and where its stated purpose sends the money.

About 11% of Light Action Foundation’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address.

Light Action Foundationlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address · 4.6% directed abroad (not shown)
How this is measured
Recipient view: each grant at its grantee’s ZIP, mapped to a county. Directed view: each grant at the county its stated purpose names, falling back to the recipient’s county when the purpose names no place; US grants only. A county shows only if it carries the top 95% of that view’s dollars. Purposes are read from the funder’s own 990 grant descriptions.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

61%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$59k · 10 repeat orgs$38k to everyone else

10 repeat relationships: 2 still active in FY2024, 8 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

10
11

Total granted

$59k
$27k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+4%
+26%

Still filing today

70%
36%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 36% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $11k went to new ones.

50%100%’19’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’19’20’21’22’23’24
HealthEducationArts & CultureAnimalsEnvironmentRecreation & SportsOther
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

  • UO
    University of Michigan
    4× · 2019–2023 · $14k · revenue +140%
  • PF
    PATHFINDERS FOR AUTISM
    2× · 2020–2021 · $3k · revenue +42%
  • UNIVERSITY OF DETROIT MERCY
    2× · 2020–2021 · $3k · revenue +9%

Funded once

  • CA
    CARE AUSTRALIA - VANUATU
    one grant, 2019 · $5k
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2019 · $4k
  • NW
    NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2019 · $3k · revenue +66%
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
University of Maryland Anesthesiology Associates Pa

Under the medical service plan of the university of maryland school of medicine, medical services are rendered by the members of the faculty on behalf of the school of medicine in connection with their duties to provide clinical…

—
2
University of Maryland Neurology Associates Pa

Under the medical service plan of the university of maryland school of medicine, medical services are rendered by the members of the faculty on behalf of the school of medicine in connection with their duties to provide clinical…

—
3
Harvey Mudd College

HMC seeks to educate engineers, scientists, and mathematicians well versed in all of these areas and in the humanities, social sciences and the arts so that they may assume leadership in their fields with a clear understanding of the…

Education
4
University of New Haven

The University of New Haven is a student-centered comprehensive university with an emphasis on excellence in liberal arts and professional education. Our mission is to prepare our students to lead purposeful and fulfilling lives in a…

Education
5
University of Maryland Neurosurgeryassociates Pa

Under the medical service plan of the university of maryland school of medicine, medical services are rendered by the members of the faculty on behalf of the school of medicine in connection with their duties to provide clinical…

Education
6
University of Maryland Eye Associates Pa

Under the medical service plan of the university of maryland school of medicine, medical services are rendered by the members of the faculty on behalf of the school of medicine in connection with their duties to provide clinical…

Health
7
University of Maryland Oncology Associates Pa

Under the medical service plan of the university of maryland school of medicine, medical services are rendered by the members of the faculty on behalf of the school of medicine in connection with their duties to provide clinical…

Health
8
Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy Inc

Aura provides innovative, open resources to enable discovery and excellence in research, to unify the astrophysics communities, and to promote public understanding of our universe and the benefits of scientific exploration.

Science & Tech
9
University of Maryland Dermatologists Pa

Under the medical service plan of the university of maryland school of medicine, medical services are rendered by the members of the faculty on behalf of the school of medicine in connection with their duties to provide clinical…

Health
10
Boston Architectural College

The bac is committed to provide excellence in design education grounded in practice and accessible to diverse communities.

—
11
University of Virginia Investment Management Company

The university of virginia investment management company (uvimco) is organized to invest funds on behalf of the rector and visitors of the university of virginia (the university or uva) and university-associated organizations (uaos).

Education
12
University of Maryland Surgical Associates Pa

Under the medical service plan of the university of maryland school of medicine, medical services are rendered by the members of the faculty on behalf of the school of medicine in connection with their duties to provide clinical…

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation; the most unlike its peers is National Wildlife Federation. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
05the grantee network

17 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. 17 of the 28 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)
1
Early backer (in before they grew)
16/17
Grantees still filing
10/17
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

University of Michigan: $13,500 · OtherUniversity of MichiganLAS VEGAS ACADEMY OF THE ARTS: $12,000 · OtherLAS VEGAS ACADEMY OF THE ARTSLUDWIG VON MISES INSTITUTE FOR AUSTRIAN ECONOMICS INC: $5,000 · OtherLUDWIG VON MISES INSTITUTE FOR AUSTRIAN ECONOMICS INCCARE AUSTRALIA - VANUATU: $5,000 · OtherCARE AUSTRALIA - VANUATUIndividual grant recipient: $4,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientST MARYS STUDENT PARISH: $3,500 · OtherST MARYS STUDENT PARISHRainforest Action Network: $2,500 · Other+9 more: $15,000 · Other+9 moreNURSE-FAMILY PARTNERSHIP: $7,000 · HealthNURSE-FAMILY PAR…PATHFINDERS FOR AUTISM: $3,000 · HealthPATHFINDERS FOR …MARYLAND THERAPEUTIC RIDING INC: $3,000 · HealthMARYLAND THERAPE…AUTISM SOCIETY OF MARYLAND INC: $2,500 · HealthAUTISM SOCIETY O…ANN ARBOR AREA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $11,000 · PhilanthropyANN ARBOR A…University of Santa Monica: $4,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF DETROIT MERCY: $3,000 · EducationHILLSDALE COLLEGE: $1,000 · EducationSpecial Olympics Nevada: $7,000 · Recreation & SportsTHE PHOENIX ENSEMBLE: $3,000 · Arts & CultureCHAMBER MUSIC UNBOUND: $2,000 · Arts & CultureNATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION: $2,500 · Animals
Other$60,500Health$15,500Philanthropy$11,000Education$8,000Recreation & Sports$7,000Arts & Culture$5,000Animals$2,500

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 budgetUniversity of Michigan: $13,500 over 4y, 1.9% of budgetANN ARBOR AREA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $11,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetSpecial Olympics Nevada: $7,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetNURSE-FAMILY PARTNERSHIP: $7,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetLUDWIG VON MISES INSTITUTE FOR AUSTRIAN ECONOMICS INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUniversity of Santa Monica: $4,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetPATHFINDERS FOR AUTISM: $3,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetTHE PHOENIX ENSEMBLE: $3,000 over 2y, 4.2% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF DETROIT MERCY: $3,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMARYLAND THERAPEUTIC RIDING INC: $3,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetAUTISM SOCIETY OF MARYLAND INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetNATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetRainforest Action Network: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCHAMBER MUSIC UNBOUND: $2,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetFoundation for Economic Education Inc: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHILLSDALE COLLEGE: $1,000 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.

Vanguard Charitable E…National Philanthropi…The Bank of America C…Donor Advised Charita…American Online Givin…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Vanguard Charitable Endowment ProgramPA7.2× affinity5 shared granteesties to 6 of 6Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · National Philanthropic Trust · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · 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 Light Action Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Light Action Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 67%
  • Autism Society of Maryland Inc: 67% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
3report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
1rely 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 28 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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Light Action’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