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Morning Star Family Foundation at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Private foundation

Morning Star Family 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.

$2.0M
Granted FY2024still arriving
36
Grants FY2024still arriving
3
States reached
$540k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0193% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2019 to 2024.

Housing & Shelter$1.4MReligion$1.3MCommunity Improvement$1.1MHuman Services$700kEducation$520kInternational$253kYouth Development$130kCrime & Legal$100kOther$0
02FY2024 · 36 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k7 grants · $30k
  • $10k–50k23 grants · $397k
  • $50k–250k3 grants · $170k
  • $250k+3 grants · $1.4M
$15,000
Median grant
3
States reached
$2.0M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
DALLAS LEADERSHIP FOUNDATION$540,000
HIGHLAND PARK PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH$520,250
OUR CALLING INC$360,000
ST PHILIP'S SCHOOL$65,250
THE SALVATION ARMY WOMEN'S AUXILIARY FASHION SHOW & LUNCHEON$55,000
ACT - ADVOCATE FOR COMMUNITY TRANSFORMATION$50,000
MERCY STREET MINISTRIES WEST DALLAS$35,000
WILKINSON CENTER$25,000
THE WELL$25,000
WEST DALLAS COMMUNITY SCHOOL$25,000
VOICE OF HOPE$25,000
CAMP JOHN MARC$20,250
AUSTIN STREET CENTER$20,000
Individual grant recipient$20,000
BROTHER BILL'S HELPING HAND$20,000
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 (FY20–24, $1.5M) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%BEHIND EVERY DOOR: $20k → 14%BEHIND EVERY DOOR: $10k → 14%BEHIND EVERY DOOR: $10k → 14%THE MEN OF NEHEMIAH: $10k → 14%THE MEN OF NEHEMIAH: $5k → 14%THE MEN OF NEHEMIAH: $5k → 14%THE MEN OF NEHEMIAH: $5k → 14%THE MEN OF NEHEMIAH: $5k → 14%BEHIND EVERY DOOR: $20k → 14%BEHIND EVERY DOOR: $20k → 14%INTERFAITH FAMILY SERVICE: $15k → 14%INTERFAITH FAMILY SERVICE: $15k → 14%INTERFAITH FAMILY SERVICE: $15k → 14%INTERFAITH FAMILY SERVICE: $10k → 14%CITYSQUARE: $10k → 14%CITYSQUARE: $10k → 14%CITYSQUARE: $10k → 14%CITYSQUARE: $10k → 14%CITYSQUARE: $10k → 14%OASIS CENTER: $20k → 14%OASIS CENTER: $20k → 14%OASIS CENTER: $20k → 14%OASIS CENTER: $20k → 14%OASIS CENTER: $20k → 14%OUR CALLING INC: $360k → 14%OUR CALLING INC: $360k → 14%OUR CALLING INC: $359k → 14%OUR CALLING INC: $25k → 14%OUR CALLING INC: $20k → 14%COUNCIL FOR LIFE: $12k → 14%COUNCIL FOR LIFE: $12k → 14%COUNCIL FOR LIFE: $10k → 14%COUNCIL FOR LIFE: $10k → 14%COUNCIL FOR LIFE: $10k → 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.
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.

99%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$5.8M · 35 repeat orgs$65k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +42% since the first grant, against +33% for those funded once.

35 repeat relationships: 34 still active in FY2024, 1 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

35
6

Total granted

$5.8M
$60k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+42%
+33%

Still filing today

51%
33%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $5k went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24
Human ServicesEducationPublic BenefitReligionYouth DevelopmentRecreation & 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

  • OI
    OURCALLING INC
    5× · 2020–2024 · $1.1M · revenue +140%
  • DL
    DALLAS LEADERSHIP FOUNDATION
    5× · 2020–2024 · $800k · revenue +179%
  • WD
    WEST DALLAS COMMUNITY SCHOOL
    5× · 2020–2024 · $125k · revenue +42%

Funded once

  • SA
    SALVATION ARMY WOMEN'S AUXILIARY
    one grant, 2020 · $25k
  • IH
    INTERFAITH HOUSING COALITION
    one grant, 2020 · $10k
  • WO
    WIPE OUT KIDS' CANCER INCgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $10k · revenue +26%
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
Dallas International University

As a christian university, we provide education and research opportunities preparing global leaders to partner with local communities.

Education
2
Union Gospel Mission of Tarrant County

A local united christian organization and ministry dedicated to providing love, hope, respect and a new beginning for the homeless, offering a holistic care program that leads to true lasting healing.

—
3
Dallas Christian School

Dallas Christian is a college preparatory school committed to Biblical values where students are prepared for Christ-centered lives of purpose, service and leadership.

Education
4
Dallas Mission for Life Doing business as Dallas Life

Dallas life reaches out to the homeless men, women, and children of the metroplex with food, shelter, clothing, education, and long-term drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs.

Housing & Shelter
5
Downtown Dallas Inc

Downtown Dallas, Inc. (DDI), is the champion of a clean and safe Downtown and of the economic development and vibrancy of this community of diverse, unique neighborhoods. DDI: Mobilizes and amplifies the services of public agencies.…

—
6
Dallas Seminary Foundation

To support the mission of Dallas Theological Seminary by offering charitable planned giving and other related services to friends of the Seminary.

Education
7
Dallas Bethlehem Center Inc

Dallas Bethlehem Center supports families living in our South Dallas/Fair Park neighborhood through education, health & wellness programs and technology supports.

—
8
Dallas Christian Women's Job Corps

To provide job readiness and life skills programs to women.

Employment
9
Operation Care International Inc

Operation care international exists to glorify god. in obedience to his will, we connect impoverished children and the homeless to jesus christ providing for their physical needs through god's provision both at home and abroad.

Human Services
10
Goodwill Industries of Dallas Inc

Goodwill Industries of Dallas, Inc. is a not-for-profit organization with a mission to help people with barriers to employment build skills, find jobs and reach their goals in life so that they can reach their full potential and experience…

Employment
11
Hope's Door New Beginning Center

The mission of hope's door new beginning center is to offer intervention and prevention services to individuals and families affected by intimate partner and family violence and to provide education programs that enhance the community's…

Human Services
12
His Story Coaching and Counseling

Christian coaching, counseling, assessment and consulting services to the communities of Tarrant County, Texas.

Human Services
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Brother Bills Helping Hand; the most unlike its peers is Wipe Out Kids' Cancer 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

21 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. 21 of the 43 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)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
21/21
Grantees still filing
16/21
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

HIGHLAND PARK PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH: $840,250 · OtherHIGHLAND PARK PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHST PHILIP'S SCHOOL: $395,250 · OtherST PHILIP'S SCHOOLACT - ADVOCATE FOR COMMUNITY TRANSFORMATION: $310,000 · OtherACT - ADVOCATE FOR COMMUNITY TRANSFORMATIONVOICE OF HOPE: $225,000 · OtherVOICE OF HOPEGENESIS WOMEN'S SHELTER: $139,250 · OtherMERCY STREET MINISTRIES WEST DALLAS: $135,000 · OtherTHE WELL: $125,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $110,000 · OtherTHE SALVATION ARMY WOMEN'S AUXILIARY FASHION SHOW & LUNCHEON: $109,000 · Other+18 more: $699,500 · Other+18 moreOURCALLING INC: $1,124,232 · Human ServicesOURCALLING INCTHE OASIS CENTER: $100,000 · Human ServicesTHE OASIS CENTERBEHIND EVERY DOOR MINISTRIES INC: $80,000 · Human ServicesBEHIND EVERY DOOR MINISTRIES…INTERFAITH FAMILY SERVICES: $55,000 · Human ServicesCOUNCIL FOR LIFE: $52,500 · Human ServicesCITYSQUARE: $50,000 · Human Services+1 more: $30,250 · Human ServicesDALLAS LEADERSHIP FOUNDATION: $800,000 · Public BenefitDALLAS LEADERSH…WEST DALLAS COMMUNITY SCHOOL: $125,000 · EducationWILKINSON CENTER: $122,850 · EducationSOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL FOUNDATION: $40,000 · EducationDallas Theological Seminary: $15,500 · EducationCare Center Ministries Inc: $100,000 · ReligionYOUTH BELIEVING IN CHANGE INC: $50,000 · Youth DevelopmentKERSHAW'S CHALLENGE: $28,400 · PhilanthropyNATIONAL SPORTS CENTER FOR THE DISABLED INC: $5,000 · Recreation & Sports
Other$3,088,250Human Services$1,491,982Public Benefit$800,000Education$303,350Religion$100,000Youth Development$50,000Philanthropy$28,400Recreation & Sports$5,000

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 budgetOURCALLING INC: $1,124,232 over 5y, 4.5% of budgetDALLAS LEADERSHIP FOUNDATION: $800,000 over 5y, 7.3% of budgetWEST DALLAS COMMUNITY SCHOOL: $125,000 over 5y, 0.7% of budgetWILKINSON CENTER: $122,850 over 5y, 0.8% of budgetBROTHER BILLS HELPING HAND: $100,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetCare Center Ministries Inc: $100,000 over 5y, 3.3% of budgetTHE OASIS CENTER: $100,000 over 5y, 11% of budgetAUSTIN STREET CENTER: $89,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetBEHIND EVERY DOOR MINISTRIES INC: $80,000 over 5y, 0.9% of budgetINTERFAITH FAMILY SERVICES: $55,000 over 4y, 0.6% of budgetCOUNCIL FOR LIFE: $52,500 over 5y, 0.8% of budgetYOUTH BELIEVING IN CHANGE INC: $50,000 over 5y, 1.3% of budgetCITYSQUARE: $50,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetSOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL FOUNDATION: $40,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetMEN OF NEHEMIAH INC: $30,250 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetKERSHAW'S CHALLENGE: $28,400 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetDALLAS LIFE INC: $25,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetDallas Theological Seminary: $15,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetWIPE OUT KIDS' CANCER INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetSCHOLARSHOT: $5,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetNATIONAL SPORTS CENTER FOR THE DISABLED INC: $5,000 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.

  • Who funds OURCALLING INC ↗
  • Who funds DALLAS LEADERSHIP FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds WEST DALLAS COMMUNITY SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds WILKINSON CENTER ↗
  • Who funds BROTHER BILLS HELPING HAND ↗
  • Who funds Care Center Ministries Inc ↗
  • Who funds THE OASIS CENTER ↗
  • Who funds AUSTIN STREET CENTER ↗
  • Who funds BEHIND EVERY DOOR MINISTRIES INC ↗
  • Who funds INTERFAITH FAMILY SERVICES ↗
  • Who funds COUNCIL FOR LIFE ↗
  • Who funds YOUTH BELIEVING IN CHANGE INC ↗
  • Who funds CITYSQUARE ↗
  • Who funds SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds MEN OF NEHEMIAH INC ↗
  • Who funds KERSHAW'S CHALLENGE ↗
  • Who funds DALLAS LIFE INC ↗
  • Who funds Dallas Theological Seminary ↗
  • Who funds WIPE OUT KIDS' CANCER INC ↗
  • Who funds SCHOLARSHOT ↗

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.

Communities Foundatio…The Dallas FoundationThe Dan and Martha Lo…Lee Ann and Steven Va…The Rees-Jones Founda…Texas Instruments Fou…W P & Bulah Luse Foun…Raymond James Charita…Rosemary Haggar Vaugh…Prairie Creek Partner…Hillcrest FoundationUnited Way of Metropo…
Communities Foundation of Texas IncTX32.2× affinity15 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Communities Foundation of Texas Inc · The Dallas Foundation · The Dan and Martha Lou Beaird Foundation · Lee Ann and Steven Van Amburgh Foundation · The Rees-Jones Foundation · Texas Instruments Foundation · W P & Bulah Luse Foundation · Raymond James Charitable Endowment Fund · Rosemary Haggar Vaughan Family Foundation · Prairie Creek Partners Charitable Foundation · Hillcrest Foundation · United Way of Metropolitan Dallas 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 Morning Star Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Morning Star Family Foundation. 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%5%10%15%20%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    5report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–20%
    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 Morning Star Family Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Morning Star Family 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.

    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 43 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 Morning Star Family’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