· Private foundation
Lumos Charitable Foundation
Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.
What it funded, over time
Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.
Where the money goes
Grants by size, and the largest recipients.
By grant size · FY2025
- Under $10k8 grants · $18k
- $10k–50k1 grant · $10k
| Recipient | Amount |
|---|---|
| HARVARD COLLEGE FUND | $10,000 |
| UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON | $5,000 |
| UC Berkeley | $5,000 |
| CONCORD REVIEW | $2,500 |
| HARKER SCHOOL | $2,500 |
| National History Day | $1,000 |
| SAN JOSE PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION | $1,000 |
| INTERNET ARCHIVE | $512 |
| The Tech Museum of Innovation | $225 |
Does the money reach high-need areas?
Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.
Its human-services grants (FY20–25, $1k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 7%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.
How this is measured
How this is measured
Who it funds again
Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.
22 repeat relationships: 9 still active in FY2025, 13 since wound down.
How the two cohorts compare
Organizations
Total granted
Still filing today
New vs renewed · share of each year
In FY2025, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.
Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant
How this is measured
Backed again, and grew
- THTHE HARKER SCHOOL7× · 2017–2025 · $48k · revenue +38%
- USUC SANTA CRUZ FOUNDATION3× · 2018–2021 · $12k · revenue +17%
- SJSAN JOSE PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION9× · 2017–2025 · $6k · revenue +819%
Funded once
- ECEL CAMINO HOSPITAL FOUNDATIONone grant, 2020 · $1k
- YKYAPA KIDSone grant, 2021 · $500
- SCSANTA CLARA COUNTY LIBRARone grant, 2022 · $250
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.
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.
The museum's mission statement is: "to discover, interpret, and disseminate - through scientific research and education - knowledge about human cultures, the natural world, and the universe."
Nurture empathy and connection by engaging communities with socially relevant contemporary art
The museum's mission statement is "turn on the science: inspire learning. inform policy. improve lives."
The mission of lowell observatory is to pursue the study of astronomy, especially the study of our solar system and its evolution; to conduct pure research in astronomical phenomena; and to maintain quality public education and outreach…
The institute for advanced study (the institute) is one of the world's leading centers for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. see schedule o.
The nstmf's mission is to build inclusive stem communities across the united states. fundamental to these communities are the significant, inspirational connections we foster between the individuals who have received national recognition…
The san francisco jazz organization (the organization) is a recognized international leader in jazz creation, presentation, and education. the organization explores the full spectrum of jazz, from the music's origins in the african…
Nysci's mission is to nurture generations of passionate learners, critical thinkers, and active citizens through design make play - an approach to learning and engagement that is deeply rooted in research on stem learning and guides the…
The adler planetarium ('adler') is a not-for-profit cultural institution whose mission is to connect people to the universe and each other under the sky we all share. it aspires to be the world's premier center for engaging in astronomy…
Engaging community at the intersection of art, history and education through innovative, locally connected and globally relevant exhibits, programs and experiences.
We are an intl. scientific & educational org. dedicated to advancing art, science & technology.
Children's discovery museum of san jose inspires creativity, curiosity and lifelong learning.
How this is measured
16 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. 16 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.
Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee
Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing
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.
- Who funds THE HARKER SCHOOL ↗
- Who funds FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ↗
- Who funds UC SANTA CRUZ FOUNDATION ↗
- Who funds THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY ↗
- Who funds SAN JOSE PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION ↗
- Who funds The Concord Review Inc ↗
- Who funds VALLEY HEALTH FOUNDATION (VHF) ↗
- Who funds KQED INC ↗
- Who funds WIKIMEDIA FOUNDATION INC ↗
- Who funds National History Day Inc ↗
- Who funds CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES ↗
- Who funds THE TECH INTERACTIVE ↗
- Who funds Internet Archive ↗
- Who funds MONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM FOUNDATION ↗
- Who funds SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART ↗
- Who funds COMPUTER HISTORY MUSEUM ↗
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.
Open a dossier: Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund
How this is measured
How much its grantees rely on government
Each dot is one organization Lumos Charitable Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Lumos Charitable Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.
- National History Day Inc: 13% of income from government
How this is measured
Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus
How do I get to Lumos Charitable Foundation?
Find your warmest path to Lumos Charitable Foundation 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.
Play a game based on Lumos’ filings →