Skip to content
Lucas Foundation for Better Living at a glance

· Private foundation

Lucas Foundation for Better Living

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.

$14k
Granted FY2024still arriving
4
Grants FY2024still arriving
2
States reached
$4k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0197% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Food & Nutrition$109kInternational$19kHousing & Shelter$18kPhilanthropy$17kPublic Safety & Disaster$16kHealth$15kCommunity Improvement$12kHuman Services$11kOther$0
02FY2024 · 4 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$4,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$707
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
GREATER BIRMINGHAM MINISTRIES$4,000
ELEVATE BIRMINGHAM$4,000
MISSISSIPPI FOOD NETWORK$4,000
CATHOLIC CHARITIES$2,400
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 (FY17–24, $17k) land where the poverty rate runs at 16%, against an area that typically sits at 14%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 14%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $4k → 14%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $4k → 14%CHRISTIAN SERVICE MISSION: $1k → 16%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $3k → 14%FIRST LIGHT: $3k → 16%CATHOLIC CHARITIES: $2k → 23%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

NY
IN
MD
AR
SC
DC
HI
MS
AL
GA
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.

61%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$144k · 7 repeat orgs$91k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +74% since the first grant, against +24% for those funded once.

7 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2024, 6 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

7
28

Total granted

$144k
$80k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+74%
+24%

Still filing today

86%
54%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 28% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $10k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
Human ServicesFood & NutritionInternationalHealthHousing & ShelterRecreation & 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

  • MISSISSIPPI FOOD NETWORK INC
    8× · 2017–2024 · $86k · revenue +74%
  • UNITED STATES FUND FOR UNICEF
    3× · 2021–2023 · $13k · revenue +64%
  • AN
    American National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches
    3× · 2017–2021 · $11k · revenue +46%

Funded once

  • SC
    STEWPOT COMMUNITY SERVICES INC
    one grant, 2022 · $7k · revenue -10%
  • CR
    CATHOLIC RELIEF SERVICES
    one grant, 2022 · $5k
  • DO
    DOORS OF HOPE
    one grant, 2021 · $5k
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
Feed the Hunger Inc

Feeding the spiritual and physical hunger, especially in at-risk children.

—
2
Miracle Hill Ministries Inc

Miracle hill ministries is committed to life transformation for children and adults experiencing homelessness. more information and program outcomes may be found at www.miraclehill.org.

Human Services
3
Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank

Our mission is to feed the hungry in baton rouge and the surrounding parishes by providing food and educational outreach through faith-based and other community partners.

—
4
Feeding Texas

To lead a unified effort for a hunger-free texas.

Community Improvement
5
Food Bank of North Alabama Inc

collect warehouse & distribute food to needy organizations

Food & Nutrition
6
United Food Bank

United Food Bank unites communities to alleviate hunger.

Food & Nutrition
7
Alabama Casa Network Inc

The mission of the alabama casa network, inc. is to equip and empower casa programs to advocate for all of alabama's abused and neglected children.

Civil Rights
8
Community Kitchen

Food service for the poor, economically disadvantaged, and elderly.

Food & Nutrition
9
Food Bank of Central New York

Food bank of central new york is a not-for-profit organization: our mission is to lead the effort to eliminate hunger in our region, through partnerships with others in our community, through education, advocacy, and distribution of…

Food & Nutrition
10
Rise Against Hunger Inc

Rise against hunger, inc. is an international hunger relief non-profit organization that is driven by a vision of a world without hunger and a mission to end hunger in our lifetime. rise against hunger distributes food and other…

International
11
Community Kitchens of Birmingham

Assistance to homeless and needy persons.

Food & Nutrition
12
Aid for Starving Children

Aid For Starving Children provides assistance around the world to children and their families by providing food, shelter, clean water, financial assistance, education, and emergency relief to victims of famine, natural disasters, and war.

International
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Action Against Hunger - Usa; the most unlike its peers is Over the Mountain Miracle League. 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

25 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. 25 of the 39 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)
3
Early backer (in before they grew)
25/25
Grantees still filing
18/25
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

MISSISSIPPI FOOD NETWORK INC: $86,400 · Food & NutritionMISSISSIPPI FOOD NETWORK INCCOMMUNITY FOOD BANK OF CENTRAL ALABAMA: $9,500 · Food & NutritionCOMMUNITY FOOD BANK OF CENTRAL ALABAMA+1 more: $2,500 · Food & NutritionCENTER OF SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP: $12,000 · OtherCENTER OF SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIPSTEWPOT COMMUNITY SERVICES INC: $6,500 · OtherSTEWPOT COMMUNITY SERVICES INCCATHOLIC RELIEF SERVICES: $5,000 · OtherCATHOLIC RELIEF SERVICESDOORS OF HOPE: $5,000 · OtherDOORS OF HOPEGreater Birmingham Ministries: $4,000 · OtherELEVATE BIRMINGHAM: $4,000 · OtherCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF GREATER BIRMINGHAM: $3,750 · OtherHEIFER INTERNATIONAL: $3,750 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $3,000 · OtherNAACP: $3,000 · OtherDIABETES FOUNDATION OF MISSISSIPPI INC: $3,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $3,000 · OtherLITTLE LIGHT HOUSE (THE): $3,000 · OtherTHE EXCEPTIONAL FOUNDATION: $4,000 · Other+10 more: $21,200 · Other+10 moreAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $11,000 · Human ServicesFIRST LIGHT INC: $3,000 · Human ServicesCATHOLIC CHARITIES INC: $2,400 · Human ServicesChristian Service Mission Inc: $1,000 · Human ServicesUNITED STATES FUND FOR UNICEF: $13,000 · InternationalACTION AGAINST HUNGER - USA: $3,000 · InternationalKids Alive International Inc: $1,000 · InternationalFOOD & FRIENDS INC: $6,000 · HealthTHE BELL CENTER FOR EARLY INTERVENTION PROGRAMS: $3,000 · HealthGRACE HOUSE INC: $6,000 · Housing & ShelterDOWNTOWN JIMMIE HALE MISSION: $2,500 · Housing & ShelterCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION FOR MISSISSIPPI: $8,000 · Philanthropy
Food & Nutrition$98,400Other$84,200Human Services$17,400International$17,000Health$9,000Housing & Shelter$8,500Philanthropy$8,000

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 budgetMISSISSIPPI FOOD NETWORK INC: $86,400 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetUNITED STATES FUND FOR UNICEF: $13,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $11,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCOMMUNITY FOOD BANK OF CENTRAL ALABAMA: $9,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION FOR MISSISSIPPI: $8,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetSTEWPOT COMMUNITY SERVICES INC: $6,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetFOOD & FRIENDS INC: $6,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetGRACE HOUSE INC: $6,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetGreater Birmingham Ministries: $4,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetTHE EXCEPTIONAL FOUNDATION: $4,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetELEVATE BIRMINGHAM: $4,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetACTION AGAINST HUNGER - USA: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE BELL CENTER FOR EARLY INTERVENTION PROGRAMS: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFAITH HOME INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetDOWNTOWN JIMMIE HALE MISSION: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMAUI FOOD BANK INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCATHOLIC CHARITIES INC: $2,400 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetVOICES for Alabama's Children: $2,400 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetGLOBAL EMPOWERMENT MISSION INC: $2,400 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetKids Alive International Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetOVER THE MOUNTAIN MIRACLE LEAGUE: $1,000 over 1y, 13% of budgetFRENCH CAMP ACADEMY: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetChristian Service Mission Inc: $1,000 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.

The Community Foundat…Navigate Affordable H…The Daniel Foundation…Alabama Power Foundat…Enterprise Holdings F…Selby and Richard McR…The Joseph S Bruno Ch…Orlean & Ralph W Bees…Ergon Foundation IncMike and Gillian Good…Protective Life Found…The Faulkner Family F…
The Community Foundation of Greater BirminghamAL19.4× affinity7 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham · Navigate Affordable Housing Partners Inc · The Daniel Foundation of Alabama · Alabama Power Foundation Inc · Enterprise Holdings Foundation · Selby and Richard McRae Foundation · The Joseph S Bruno Charitable Foundation · Orlean & Ralph W Beeson Fund · Ergon Foundation Inc · Mike and Gillian Goodrich Foundation · Protective Life Foundation · The Faulkner Family 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 Lucas Foundation for Better Living funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Lucas Foundation for Better Living. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%4%8%15%funder's share of their income ↑0%15%30%45%60%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • Global Empowerment Mission Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get 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 · 0–60%
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 Lucas Foundation for Better Living?

Find your warmest path to Lucas Foundation for Better Living 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 39 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 Lucas Foundation for Better Living’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