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Lightsey Family Charitable Trust at a glance

· Private foundation

Lightsey Family Charitable Trust

Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$40k
Granted FY2025still arriving
8
Grants FY2025still arriving
4
States reached
$15k
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, FY2017 to 2025.

Education$89kReligion$57kHuman Services$21kInternational$14kEnvironment$11kAnimals$8kRecreation & Sports$8kArts & Culture$7kOther$0
02FY2025 · 8 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k7 grants · $25k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $15k
$2,500
Median grant
4
States reached
$376k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Sparhawk Academy$15,000
Saint Mary's Parish Shrine$7,500
University of South Carolina$5,000
Ear Community Inc$2,500
Gaithersburg Community Soup Kitchen$2,500
WUMCO$2,500
St Gabriel Project of Montgomery Co$2,500
Barnesville Baptist Church$2,500
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 (FY23–23, $6k) land where the poverty rate runs at 16%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%Refugee and Immigrant Assistance Center: $5k → 16%The Cooperative Ministry: $1k → 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

ME
MA
PA
NJ
CO
VA
MD
SC
DC
GA
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.

35%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$79k · 6 repeat orgs$146k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +226% since the first grant, against +8% for those funded once.

6 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2025, 5 since wound down; 7 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

6
21

Total granted

$79k
$111k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+226%
+8%

Still filing today

67%
52%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 13% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $35k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
EducationHealthAnimalsHuman ServicesFood & NutritionInternationalOther
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

  • TC
    THE CARTER CENTER INC
    3× · 2017–2024 · $14k · revenue +38%
  • TA
    THE ATLANTA BOTANICAL GARDEN INC
    3× · 2017–2024 · $11k · revenue +226%
  • PF
    PATH FOUNDATION INC
    2× · 2020–2024 · $8k · revenue +5%

Funded once

  • FO
    Friends of Ponce Library Inc
    one grant, 2024 · $15k
  • SH
    STILL HOPES EPISCOPAL RETIREMENT COMMUNITY
    one grant, 2018 · $14k
  • CO
    CHURCH OF THE REDEEMER
    one grant, 2017 · $13k
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
Boston Architectural College

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

—
2
Piedmont Hospital Inc

To provide healthcare marked by compassion and sustainable excellence in a progressive environment, guided by physicians, delivered by exceptional professionals, and inspired by the communities we serve.

Health
3
The Pierpont Morgan Library

The Morgan Library & Museum celebrates and shares the history and process of human creativity from antiquity to the present day through the preservation, study, and interpretation of a dynamic and growing collection.

Education
4
The George Washington University

The mission of the george washington university (gw) is to educate individuals in liberal arts, languages, sciences, learned professions, and other courses and subjects of study, and to conduct scholarly research and publish the findings…

Education
5
Wentworth Institute of Technology Inc

Wentworth institute of technology is a nationally recognized private coeducational and residential university of higher education with a mission to empower, inspire and innovate through experiential learning with a core purpose of career…

Education
6
Wilson College

Wilson college empowers students to be confident and critical thinkers, creative visionaries, effective communicators, honorable leaders, and agents of justice.

Education
7
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The mission of mit is to advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century.

Education
8
Morehouse School of Medicine

Leading the creation and advancement of health equity we exist to improve the health and well-being of individuals and communities, increase the diversity of the health professional and scientific workforce, and address primary health care…

Education
9
Fernbank Inc

Fernbank museum of natural history inspires a lifelong learning of natural history through immersive programming and unmatched experiences to encourage a greater appreciation of our planet and its inhabitants. fernbank is dedicated to…

Arts & Culture
10
University of Maryland Physicians 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…

—
11
Fordham University

Fordham university, the jesuit university of new york, is committed to the discovery of wisdom and the transmission of learning, through research and through education of the highest quality. for more information, see schedule o.

Education
12
Atlantic University Inc

Provide post-secondary education of excellence.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Atlanta Fulton County Zoo Inc; the most unlike its peers is Ear Community Inc. 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

18 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

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 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 18 of the 34 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)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
17/18
Grantees still filing
12/18
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA: $40,000 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINASparhawk Academy: $15,000 · OtherSparhawk AcademySTILL HOPES EPISCOPAL RETIREMENT COMMUNITY: $13,500 · OtherSTILL HOPES EPISCOPAL RETIREMENT COMMUNITYCHURCH OF THE REDEEMER: $13,000 · OtherCHURCH OF THE REDEEMERSt James' Espicopal Church Leesburg: $10,000 · OtherSt James' Espicopal Church LeesburgSTONECREST: $10,000 · OtherSTONECRESTSaint Mary's Parish Shrine: $7,500 · Other+17 more: $43,635 · Other+17 moreFriends of Ponce Library Inc: $15,000 · EducationFriends of P…The Trustees of Princeton University: $5,000 · EducationThe Trustees…MONTROSE FOUNDATION INC: $3,000 · EducationMONTROSE FOU…HAMMOND SCHOOL: $1,000 · EducationTHE CARTER CENTER INC: $13,500 · InternationalTHE ATLANTA BOTANICAL GARDEN INC: $10,622 · EnvironmentRESTON STUDY CENTER INC: $10,000 · ReligionPATH FOUNDATION INC: $7,643 · Recreation & SportsREFUGEE & IMMIGRANT ASSISTANCE CENTER: $5,000 · Human ServicesThe Cooperative Ministry: $1,000 · Human Services
Other$152,635Education$24,000International$13,500Environment$10,622Religion$10,000Recreation & Sports$7,643Human Services$6,000

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

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetTHE CARTER CENTER INC: $13,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE ATLANTA BOTANICAL GARDEN INC: $10,622 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetRESTON STUDY CENTER INC: $10,000 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetPATH FOUNDATION INC: $7,643 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetREFUGEE & IMMIGRANT ASSISTANCE CENTER: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetThe Trustees of Princeton University: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMONTROSE FOUNDATION INC: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGEORGIA AQUARIUM INC & SUBSIDIARY: $2,665 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetEAR COMMUNITY INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetGaithersburg Community Soup Kitchen: $2,500 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetGREATER BOSTON FOOD BANK INC: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetATLANTA FULTON COUNTY ZOO INC: $1,250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Cooperative Ministry: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFBN PRODUCTIONS: $1,000 over 1y, 2.5% of budgetHomeless No More Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHAMMOND SCHOOL: $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.

Central Carolina Comm…The Bank of America C…Natl Christian Charit…American Endowment Fo…Vanguard Charitable E…American Online Givin…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Central Carolina Community FoundationSC13.2× affinity4 shared granteesties to 8 of 8Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Central Carolina Community Foundation · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Natl Christian Charitable Fdn Inc · American Endowment Foundation · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving 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 Lightsey Family Charitable Trust funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Lightsey Family Charitable Trust. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%8%15%22%30%share of the org’s income from government →median 11%
  • Greater Boston Food Bank Inc: 22% of income from government
  • The Trustees of Princeton University: 11% of income from government
  • Refugee & Immigrant Assistance Center: 8% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
2get no government money at all
1report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–30%
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 34 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 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

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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