Skip to content
Morning Star Foundation Inc at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Private foundation

Morning Star Foundation Inc

Its FY2023 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$15k
Granted FY2023
6
Grants FY2023
3
States reached
$8k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0196% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2019 to 2023.

Arts & Culture$31kHealth$14kRecreation & Sports$8kPublic Safety & Disaster$7kReligion$4kEducation$3kHuman Services$3kPhilanthropy$3kOther$0
02FY2023 · 6 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$1,500
Median grant
3
States reached
$285k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CULTURAL ARTS ALLIANCE$7,500
GRANT PARK CONSERVANCY$2,500
POINT WASHINGTON MEDICAL CENTER$1,500
NORTHSIDE CHURCH$1,250
GRANT PARK PARENTS NETWORK$1,250
THE SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF TEEN SUICIDE$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:

Its human-services grants (FY20–23, $3k) land where the poverty rate runs at 8%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 69% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%RIP MEDICAL DEBT: $1k → 9%THE SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF TEEN SUICIDE: $1k → 6%RIP MEDICAL DEBT: $1k → 9%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

IL
NY
OH
NJ
CA
AL
GA
TX
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.

68%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$60k · 12 repeat orgs$28k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +47% since the first grant, against +25% for those funded once.

12 repeat relationships: 5 still active in FY2023, 7 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2023 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

12
19

Total granted

$60k
$27k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+47%
+25%

Still filing today

50%
53%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2023, 93% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $1k went to new ones.

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

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

’19’20’21’22’23
Recreation & SportsHuman ServicesEnvironmentHealthPhilanthropyHousing & ShelterOther
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

  • GP
    Grant Park Conservancy Inc
    4× · 2020–2023 · $6k · revenue +308%
  • CH
    COVENANT HOUSE GEORGIA INC
    2× · 2019–2021 · $3k · revenue +47%
  • LI
    LALAFOFOFO INC
    2× · 2019–2021 · $2k · revenue +1%

Funded once

  • AR
    AMERICAN RED CROSS GREATER ATLANTA CHAPTER
    one grant, 2020 · $7k
  • GS
    GULF SHORE MANOR POA
    one grant, 2020 · $2k
  • MA
    MOUNTAINFILM ATL INC
    one grant, 2019 · $2k
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
Atlanta Historical Society Inc

Atlanta history center seeks to connect people, history, and culture to build a stronger community. through exhibitions, collections, historic houses, gardens, archives, educational school tours, public programs, and digital and virtual…

Arts & Culture
2
Rainforest Trust

Rainforest trust saves endangered wildlife and protects our planet by creating rainforest reserves through partnerships, community engagement, and donor support.

International
3
Atlanta Humane Society & Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Inc

The mission of the Atlanta Humane Society is to improve animal welfare in the southeastern United States by providing quality animal services including preventative initiatives, education, advocacy and adoption of animals into permanent…

Animals
4
Innovative Solutions for Disadvantage and Disability Inc

Empower, educate, and equip kinship caregivers with tools and resources to provide safe, stable homes and keep children out of foster care

Health
5
Atlanta Land Trust Inc

The mission of the atlanta land trust (alt) is to deliver and steward permanently affordable housing to support inclusive, equitable communities near the atlanta beltline and other targeted areas in the city of atlanta.

Housing & Shelter
6
Park Pride Inc

Park pride believes in the power of parks, and we work to help neighborhood groups create a network of greenspaces that contribute to the overall health and well-being of atlanta.

Recreation & Sports
7
Georgia Innocence Project Inc

Georgia innocence project (gip) is an independent organization that works holistically to free innocent people from georgia prisons, to assist exonerees with rebuilding their lives in freedom, and mitigate the causes and consequences of…

Crime & Legal
8
Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership Inc

To develop, finance, and advocate for affordable housing at scale that promotes racial equity and healthy communities where families thrive.

Housing & Shelter
9
Trees Atlanta Inc

Trees atlanta protects and improves atlanta's urban forest by planting, conserving, and educating the public about the benefits of trees and their importance for the health and well-being of our community. we empower community-based…

Environment
10
Georgia Appleseed Inc

The mission of Georgia Appleseed is to keep children in school and on a path to success by providing legal services and representation, leading law and policy reform, growing a statewide community of advocates, and collaborating with…

Civil Rights
11
Annandale At Suwanee Inc

To perpetuate a village community to provide progressive life assistance to adults with developmental disabilities so that they can maximize their abilities and maintain their independence in the least restrictive environment.

Health
12
Beloved Atlanta Inc

Beloved atlanta is an anti-sex trafficking organization lovingly equipping brave women on their path to freedom. we accomplish this through safe housing, mental health services, thrength based case management, and healthy community.

Human Services
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Atlanta Children's Shelter Incorporated; the most unlike its peers is Mountainfilm Atl 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, 2017–2025.

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. 18 of the 32 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)
17/18
Grantees still filing
14/18
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

CULTURAL ARTS ALLIANCE: $27,500 · OtherCULTURAL ARTS ALLIANCEAMERICAN RED CROSS GREATER ATLANTA CHAPTER: $6,800 · OtherAMERICAN RED CROSS GREATER ATLANTA CHAPTERPOINT WASHINGTON MEDICAL CTR: $5,500 · OtherPOINT WASHINGTON MEDICAL CTRUNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA: $3,500 · OtherNORTHSIDE CHURCH: $3,250 · OtherCOVENANT HOUSE GEORGIA INC: $2,500 · OtherGRANT PARK PARENTS NETWORK INC: $2,250 · Other+14 more: $15,700 · Other+14 moreGrant Park Conservancy Inc: $6,000 · Recreation & SportsMARANNOOK INC: $500 · Recreation & SportsMOUNTAINFILM ATL INC: $2,000 · EnvironmentSOUTHEASTERN TRUST FOR PARKS & LAND INC: $1,500 · EnvironmentMEDICAL DEBT RESOLUTION INC: $2,200 · Human ServicesSOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF TEEN SUICIDE INC: $1,000 · Human ServicesPhilanthropy Southeast Inc: $1,620 · PhilanthropyTHE ATLANTA WOMENS FOUNDATION INC: $1,000 · PhilanthropyTHE ADAPTIVE LEARNING CENTER FOR INFANTS AND CHILDREN INC: $1,500 · HealthALZHEIMER'S DISEASE & RELATED DISORDERS ASSOCIATION INC: $1,000 · HealthATLANTA CHILDREN'S SHELTER INCORPORATED: $1,800 · Housing & Shelter
Other$67,000Recreation & Sports$6,500Environment$3,500Human Services$3,200Philanthropy$2,620Health$2,500Housing & Shelter$1,800

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 budgetGrant Park Conservancy Inc: $6,000 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetCOVENANT HOUSE GEORGIA INC: $2,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMEDICAL DEBT RESOLUTION INC: $2,200 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetATLANTA CHILDREN'S SHELTER INCORPORATED: $1,800 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPhilanthropy Southeast Inc: $1,620 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE ADAPTIVE LEARNING CENTER FOR INFANTS AND CHILDREN INC: $1,500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetLALAFOFOFO INC: $1,500 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetSOUTHEASTERN TRUST FOR PARKS & LAND INC: $1,500 over 2y, 2.9% of budgetALZHEIMER'S DISEASE & RELATED DISORDERS ASSOCIATION INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetEQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE ATLANTA WOMENS FOUNDATION INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetWOODWARD ACADEMY INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF TEEN SUICIDE INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetDog Ranch Rescue Inc: $800 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetGIVE KIDS THE WORLD INC: $800 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetST JOSEPH HOME INC: $800 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMARANNOOK INC: $500 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…Natl Christian Charit…The Bank of America C…American Online Givin…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta IncGA12.8× affinity4 shared granteesties to 6 of 6Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta Inc · Natl Christian Charitable Fdn Inc · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · 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 Morning Star Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Morning Star Foundation Inc. 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%5%10%15%20%share of the org’s 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)
    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 Foundation Inc?

    Find your warmest path to Morning Star Foundation Inc 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 32 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 2023, released 2023. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Morning Star’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