Skip to content
Northern Lights Foundation 009502-005 at a glance

· Private foundation

Northern Lights Foundation 009502-005

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.

$123k
Granted FY2025still arriving
21
Grants FY2025still arriving
6
States reached
$25k
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, FY2020 to 2025.

Health$97kArts & Culture$80kYouth Development$62kInternational$40kEnvironment$30kEducation$28kScience & Tech$20kHuman Services$18kOther$0
02FY2025 · 21 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k15 grants · $48k
  • $10k–50k6 grants · $75k
$4,500
Median grant
6
States reached
$882k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
SKOWHEGAN SCHOOL OF PAINTING$25,000
SALISBURY VOLUNTEER AMBULANCE SERVICE$10,000
TESSA LEE LIBBY TREATMENT CENTER$10,000
ARMAND HAMMER UNITED WORLD$10,000
SAFE HARBOR ALANO CLUB$10,000
MOUNT DESERT ISLAND HOSPITAL$10,000
HEALTHY ACADIA$5,000
SPCA OF HANCOCK COUNTY$5,000
JOHNS ISLAND FOUNDATION$5,000
JOHNS ISLAND COMMUNITY SERVICE$5,000
FLYING DEER NATURE CENTER INC$4,500
MOUNT DESERT LAND AND GARDEN$3,000
FISHERS ISLAND FIRE DEPARTMENT$3,000
HOUSATONIC CHILD CARE CENTER$2,500
CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY OF LINCOLN$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 (FY24–25, $4k) land where the poverty rate runs at 8%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%FISHERS ISLAND COMMUNITY CENTER INC: $1k → 7%HOUSATONIC CHILD CARE CENTER: $3k → 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

ME
NY
MA
NV
PA
CT
VA
MD
NM
TN
LA
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.

78%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$330k · 28 repeat orgs$95k to everyone else

28 repeat relationships: 12 still active in FY2025, 16 since wound down; 9 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

28
14

Total granted

$330k
$45k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+26%
+35%

Still filing today

79%
86%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 59% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $50k went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24’25
HealthEnvironmentArts & CultureEducationPhilanthropyRecreation & 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

  • TP
    The Point Community Development Corporation
    4× · 2020–2023 · $45k · revenue +105%
  • GF
    GRANT FOUNDATION INC
    3× · 2020–2023 · $30k · revenue +258%
  • TB
    THE BOYS' CLUB OF NEW YORK
    4× · 2020–2023 · $13k · revenue +153%

Funded once

  • THE ARMAND HAMMER UNITED WORLD COLLEGE OF THE AMERgraduated
    one grant, 2024 · $10k · revenue +56%
  • GF
    GRANT FOUNDATION HOPITAL ALBERT
    one grant, 2022 · $10k
  • AD
    ATELIER DE LA NATURE
    one grant, 2023 · $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
Governors Island Corporation

The governors island corporation, doing business as the trust for governors island, is the 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization created by the city of new york and charged with the planning, redevelopment and ongoing operations of 150…

Animals
2
Nantucket Conservation Foundation Inc

The nantucket conservation foundation owns, protects, and stewards over 9,000 acres of land and coastal shoreline, conserves nantucket's rare and significant natural resources, and engages in impactful ecological research to inform…

Environment
3
New Canaan Land Conservation Trust Inc

The mission of the new canaan land trust is to foster a connection between the new canaan community and its natural resources through the conservation and sustainable stewardship of our open space.

—
4
New York Botanical Garden

The new york botanical garden is a museum of plants and a scientific research center devoted to the study of plants and their uses. it is the garden's mission to improve public understanding of the natural world, horticulture, and the…

Environment
5
University of New Haven

The University of New Haven is a student-centered comprehensive university with an emphasis on excellence in liberal arts and professional education. Our mission is to prepare our students to lead purposeful and fulfilling lives in a…

Education
6
The New Canaan Historical Society Inc

The new canaan museum & historical society is a cultural institution that focuses on preservation, modernism, education and community. through exhibits, programs, library services and events, we celebrate history and explore its role in…

Arts & Culture
7
Nantucket Historical Association

The nantucket historical association preserves and interprets the history of nantucket through its programs, collections, and properties, in order to promote the island's significance and foster an appreciation of it among all audiences.

Arts & Culture
8
Harbor Day Care Center Inc

The organization provides childcare services to children age 12 weeks to 12 years through infant/toddler, pre-k, before and after school, and summer camp programs.

—
9
Aquidneck Island Planning Commission

Aipc works to preserve and improve the environment, economy and quality of life on aquidneck island to ensure that the island remains a great place to live, work, play and thrive.

Community Improvement
10
Staten Island Institute of Arts and Sciences dba the Staten Island Museum

Founded in 1881 the Staten Island Museum engages visitors with interdisciplinary exhibitions, public programs, and educational activities for all ages. It is the mission of the Staten Island Museum to spark curiosity and generate…

Arts & Culture
11
Stamford Museum & Nature Center Inc

The Stamford Museum & Nature Center is a vital cultural and educational resource for the community, and a focal point for family activity and interaction. (continued on Schedule O)We seek to inspire creativity, foster self-discovery,…

Arts & Culture
12
Nassau County Museum of Art

The Museum's mission is to encourage and promote the appreciation of fine art to people in its surrounding communities and beyond. The Museum is dedicated to fostering a deeper understanding of the arts, with particular emphasis on the…

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Boys and Girls Harbor Inc; the most unlike its peers is Safe Harbor Alano Club. 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

42 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. 42 of the 51 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)
5
Early backer (in before they grew)
41/42
Grantees still filing
22/42
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

SKOWHEGAN SCHOOL OF PAINTING: $50,000 · OtherSKOWHEGAN SCHOOL OF PAINTINGThe Point Community Development Corporation: $45,000 · OtherThe Point Community Development CorporationANCOP FOUNDATION USA INC: $20,000 · OtherANCOP FOUNDATION USA INCSPCA OF HANCOCK COUNTY: $10,000 · OtherMount Desert Land and Garden Preserve: $10,000 · OtherARMAND HAMMER UNITED WORLD: $10,000 · OtherMEMORIAL SLOAN-KETTERING CANCER CENTER: $10,000 · OtherGRANT FOUNDATION HOPITAL ALBERT: $10,000 · OtherAcadia Family Center: $9,000 · OtherCENTRAL PARK CONSERVANCY INC: $10,000 · Other+16 more: $50,500 · Other+16 moreMOUNT DESERT ISLAND HOSPITAL: $15,000 · HealthMOUNT DESERT ISLAND …ST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $13,000 · HealthST JUDE CHILDREN'S R…SALISBURY VOLUNTEER AMBULANCE SERV: $12,000 · HealthSALISBURY VOLUNTEER …SAFE HARBOR ALANO CLUB: $10,000 · HealthSAFE HARBOR ALANO CL…HEALTHY ACADIA: $10,000 · HealthHEALTHY ACADIAJANUS SUPPORTIVE LIVING SVCS INC: $10,000 · HealthJANUS SUPPORTIVE LIV…FOCUSED ULTRASOUND FOUNDATION: $7,500 · HealthFOCUSED ULTRASOUND F…GRANT FOUNDATION INC: $30,000 · InternationalTHE ARMAND HAMMER UNITED WORLD COLLEGE OF THE AMER: $10,000 · EducationTHE NEW CANAAN LIBRARY INC: $8,500 · EducationCHOATE ROSEMARY HALL FOUNDATION INCORPORATED: $5,000 · EducationGROTON SCHOOL: $4,000 · EducationBRONXARTSPACE: $9,000 · Arts & CultureATELIER DE LA NATURE: $5,000 · Arts & CultureNATIONAL DANCE INSTITUTE: $5,000 · Arts & CultureVERO BEACH MUSEUM OF ART INC: $3,000 · Arts & CultureThe Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Inc: $2,500 · Arts & CultureMaine Coast Heritage Trust: $6,500 · EnvironmentFLYING DEER NATURE CENTER: $4,500 · EnvironmentMCKEE BOTANICAL GARDEN INC: $2,500 · EnvironmentNEW CANAAN BEAUTIFICATION LEAGUE INC: $1,000 · EnvironmentWAVENY PARK CONSERVANCY INC: $1,000 · Environment+1 more: $500 · EnvironmentTHE BOYS' CLUB OF NEW YORK: $13,000 · Youth DevelopmentBOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF AMERICA: $1,000 · Youth Development
Other$234,500Health$77,500International$30,000Education$27,500Arts & Culture$24,500Environment$16,000Youth Development$14,000

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 budgetThe Point Community Development Corporation: $45,000 over 4y, 0.9% of budgetGRANT FOUNDATION INC: $30,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetMOUNT DESERT ISLAND HOSPITAL: $15,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE BOYS' CLUB OF NEW YORK: $13,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $13,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetSALISBURY VOLUNTEER AMBULANCE SERV: $12,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetMount Desert Land and Garden Preserve: $10,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetCENTRAL PARK CONSERVANCY INC: $10,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetSAFE HARBOR ALANO CLUB: $10,000 over 1y, 16% of budgetHEALTHY ACADIA: $10,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTHE ARMAND HAMMER UNITED WORLD COLLEGE OF THE AMER: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBRONXARTSPACE: $9,000 over 4y, 8.6% of budgetAcadia Family Center: $9,000 over 4y, 1.2% of budgetTHE NEW CANAAN LIBRARY INC: $8,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFOCUSED ULTRASOUND FOUNDATION: $7,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE JOHN'S ISLAND FOUNDATION INC: $7,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetMaine Coast Heritage Trust: $6,500 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetCHOATE ROSEMARY HALL FOUNDATION INCORPORATED: $5,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSCAN-HARBOR INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL DANCE INSTITUTE: $5,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFLYING DEER NATURE CENTER: $4,500 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetTOWN PLAYERS OF NEW CANAAN INC: $4,000 over 4y, 1.0% of budgetGROTON SCHOOL: $4,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetVERO BEACH MUSEUM OF ART INC: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMUSIC THEATRE OF CT INC: $2,500 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetFLOAT HOPE OF INDIAN RIVER COUNTY INC: $2,500 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetThe Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Inc: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNEW PORT CLUB OF VERO BEACH INC: $2,500 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetHOUSATONIC CHILD CARE CENTER INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetMCKEE BOTANICAL GARDEN INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetUNITED WAY OF INDIAN RIVER COUNTY INC: $2,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetGRACE FARMS FOUNDATION INC: $1,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNCRINK INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetBOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF AMERICA: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNEW CANAAN BEAUTIFICATION LEAGUE INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetWAVENY PARK CONSERVANCY INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetFISHERS ISLAND COMMUNITY CENTER INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetNew Canaan Nature Center Association Inc: $500 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.

The Morris Family Fou…Maine Community Found…The Fairfield Foundat…New Canaan Community …The Bessemer Giving F…Half Moon FoundationThe Seelert Foundatio…Hobbs Family Charitab…Florence V Burden Fou…Alexander Family Foun…Ibm International Fou…Fairfield County's Co…
The Morris Family FoundationTN17.8× affinity6 shared granteesties to 9 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Morris Family Foundation · Maine Community Foundation Inc · The Fairfield Foundation · New Canaan Community Foundation Inc · The Bessemer Giving Fund · Half Moon Foundation · The Seelert Foundation Inc · Hobbs Family Charitable Trust · Florence V Burden Foundation · Alexander Family Foundation Inc · Ibm International Foundation · Fairfield County's Community Foundation 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 Northern Lights Foundation 009502-005 funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Northern Lights Foundation 009502-005. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 90%1%5%11%20%funder's share of their income ↑0%13%25%38%50%share of the org’s income from government →median 1%
  • Town Players of New Canaan Inc: 2% of income from government
  • United Way of Indian River County Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Choate Rosemary Hall Foundation Incorporated: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
9get no government money at all
13report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–50%
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 51 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

Play a game based on Northern Lights Foundation 009502-005’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