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Northlight Foundation Inc at a glance

· Private foundation

Northlight Foundation Inc

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.

$7.3M
Granted FY2024still arriving
46
Grants FY2024still arriving
17
States reached
$1.2M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0196% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2018 to 2024.

Environment$15MHealth$12MPhilanthropy$12MEducation$3.5MCivil Rights$1.5MArts & Culture$1.0MHuman Services$426kCommunity Improvement$230kOther$0
02FY2024 · 46 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k14 grants · $30k
  • $10k–50k4 grants · $90k
  • $50k–250k18 grants · $1.7M
  • $250k+10 grants · $5.5M
$75,000
Median grant
17
States reached
$82M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN$1,225,000
THE CONSERVATION FUND$1,050,000
THE NEW SCHOOL$640,000
NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL$485,714
CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS$465,000
OPENMINDS$375,000
TIDES CENTER$333,333
THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND$300,000
MAINE TRUST FOR LOCAL NEWS$300,000
ALASKA WILDERNESS LEAGUE$280,000
MAINE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC$200,000
FRIENDS OF KATAHDIN WOODS AND WATERS$166,666
NATIVE MOVEMENT$150,000
Individual grant recipient$135,000
THE TELLURIDE FOUNDATION$130,000
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 (FY22–24, $792k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%CAMP KESEM: $200 → 14%TIDES CENTER: $383k → 10%TIDES CENTER: $333k → 10%AMERICAN INDIAN COMMUNITY HOUSE: $75k → 17%COVENANT HOUSE: $200 → 17%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

AK
ME
VT
WA
IL
MI
NY
MA
OR
WY
OH
PA
NJ
CT
CA
CO
MO
VA
MD
AZ
NM
DC
HI
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.

90%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$32M · 43 repeat orgs$3.4M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +38% since the first grant, against +37% for those funded once.

43 repeat relationships: 25 still active in FY2024, 18 since wound down; 17 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

43
63

Total granted

$32M
$2.2M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+38%
+37%

Still filing today

81%
71%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 82% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $1.2M went to new ones.

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

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

’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
EnvironmentEducationArts & CultureInternationalHealthCommunity ImprovementOther
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

  • UO
    University of Michigan
    6× · 2018–2024 · $7.9M · revenue +195%
  • AW
    ALASKA WILDERNESS LEAGUE
    7× · 2018–2024 · $4.0M · revenue +13% · 28% of their budget
  • TN
    The New School
    7× · 2018–2024 · $3.2M · revenue +19%

Funded once

  • M
    MOUNTAINFILM
    one grant, 2019 · $250k · revenue -48%
  • CL
    Conservation Lands Foundationgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $152k · revenue +26%
  • RB
    REBUILD BY DESIGN INC
    one grant, 2023 · $150k
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
Environmental Investigation Agency

To establish and promote programs to protect the global climate, forests, wildlife and the natural environment, through research, advocacy, and investigation.

International
2
Native Plant Trust Inc

The organization's mission is to conserve and promote new england's native plants to ensure healthy, biologically diverse landscapes.

Environment
3
The Union of Concerned Scientists Inc

The union of concerned scientists puts rigorous, independent science into action, developing solutions and advocating for a healthy, safe, and just future.

International
4
The Water Research Foundation

The purpose of the water research foundation (wrf) is a definitive research organization to advance the science of all things water to better meet the evolving needs of its subscribers and the water sector. to engage exclusively in…

Environment
5
Eastern National

Eastern national promotes the public's understanding and support of america's national parks and other public trust partners by providing quality educational experiences, products and services.

Recreation & Sports
6
Environment Next Inc

Environment next supports individuals, nonprofits and businesses around the world on solutions to complex climate issues. we provide leadership, outreach and communication support, grants, and investments to empower leaders and their ideas…

Environment
7
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation

To sustain, restore, and enhance the nation's fish, wildlife, plants, and habitats.

Animals
8
World Resources Institute

Wri is committed to creating change that improves people's lives and ensures the natural world can thrive. (see schedule o)wri's bold vision requires a formula for success we call "count it. change it. scale it.":- count it: our work is…

International
9
Rainforest Trust

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

International
10
Asociacion Interamericana Para La Defensa Del Ambiente

To strenghten people's ability to guarantee their individual and collective right to a healthy environment, via the development, implementation, and effective enforcement of national and international law.

Crime & Legal
11
Friends of the Earth

Friends of the earth strives for a more healthy and just world by defendng the environment and human health while advancing social and economic justice by conducting research and education, transforming the economy so it protects the…

Environment
12
American Flood Coalition Inc

To drive transformational adaptation to protect communities across the country from higher seas, stronger storms, and more frequent flooding.

Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Social and Environmental Entrepreneurs (See) Inc; the most unlike its peers is Sierra Health Foundation. 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

100 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. 100 of the 132 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.

2
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
25
Early backer (in before they grew)
100/100
Grantees still filing
69/100
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

University of Michigan: $7,875,000 · OtherUniversity of MichiganALBERT EINSTEIN COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: $2,750,000 · OtherALBERT EINSTEIN COLLEGE OF MEDICINEIndividual grant recipient: $1,801,800 · OtherIndividual grant recipientTELLURIDE FOUNDATION: $750,000 · OtherTIDES CENTER: $716,667 · Other+68 more: $3,275,719 · Other+68 moreALASKA WILDERNESS LEAGUE: $3,964,000 · EnvironmentALASKA WILDERNESS LEAGUENATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC: $2,283,570 · EnvironmentNATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUN…THE CONSERVATION FUND A NONPROFIT CORPORATION: $1,585,000 · EnvironmentTHE CONSERVATION FUND A NONPRO…THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND: $1,550,001 · EnvironmentTHE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LANDNEW VENTURE FUND: $790,000 · EnvironmentNEW VENTURE FUNDGrist Magazine Inc: $700,000 · EnvironmentGrist Magazine Inc+24 more: $1,847,604 · Environment+24 moreAmalgamated Charitable Foundation Inc: $7,345,380 · PhilanthropyAmalgamated Charitable…TIDES FOUNDATION: $1,564,666 · PhilanthropyTIDES FOUNDATION+3 more: $272,500 · PhilanthropyThe New School: $3,235,000 · EducationThe New Sch…Island Institute: $1,200,000 · EducationIsland Inst…+8 more: $247,885 · EducationFriends of Katahdin Woods & Waters: $666,666 · Arts & CultureMOUNTAINFILM: $250,000 · Arts & CultureGWICHIN STEERING COMMITTEE: $150,000 · Arts & CultureBEDFORD PLAYHOUSE INC: $50,000 · Arts & Culture+2 more: $15,000 · Arts & CultureNATIVE MOVEMENT: $475,000 · Community ImprovementWATERFRONT ALLIANCE INC: $450,000 · Community ImprovementVIRGINIA ORGANIZING INC: $115,000 · Community ImprovementMOVEMENT STRATEGY CENTER: $70,000 · Community ImprovementCENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS: $565,000 · Civil RightsNATIVE AMERICAN RIGHTS FUND INC: $150,000 · Civil RightsTHE CHISHOLM LEGACY PROJECT INC: $75,000 · Civil RightsRIGHT TO THE CITY ALLIANCE: $50,000 · Civil Rights
Other$17,169,186Environment$12,720,175Philanthropy$9,182,546Education$4,682,885Arts & Culture$1,131,666Community Improvement$1,110,000Civil Rights$840,000

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 budgetAmalgamated Charitable Foundation Inc: $7,345,380 over 3y, 1.8% of budgetALASKA WILDERNESS LEAGUE: $3,964,000 over 7y, 28% of budgetThe New School: $3,235,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetNATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC: $2,283,570 over 7y, 0.3% of budgetTHE CONSERVATION FUND A NONPROFIT CORPORATION: $1,585,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetTIDES FOUNDATION: $1,564,666 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetTHE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND: $1,550,001 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetIsland Institute: $1,200,000 over 4y, 6.0% of budgetNEW VENTURE FUND: $790,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetTELLURIDE FOUNDATION: $750,000 over 6y, 3.1% of budgetTIDES CENTER: $716,667 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetGrist Magazine Inc: $700,000 over 4y, 6.0% of budgetFriends of Katahdin Woods & Waters: $666,666 over 4y, 8.6% of budgetCENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS: $565,000 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetNATIVE MOVEMENT: $475,000 over 5y, 9.2% of budgetWATERFRONT ALLIANCE INC: $450,000 over 3y, 12% of budgetPlanned Parenthood of Northern New England Inc: $450,000 over 7y, 0.3% of budgetWINDWARD FUND: $333,334 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetMOUNTAINFILM: $250,000 over 1y, 6.1% of budgetNORTHERN ALASKA ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER: $240,000 over 4y, 12% of budgetMaine Community Foundation Inc: $200,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTRUSTEES FOR ALASKA: $160,000 over 3y, 3.5% of budgetConservation Lands Foundation: $152,000 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetNATIVE AMERICAN RIGHTS FUND INC: $150,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetGWICHIN STEERING COMMITTEE: $150,000 over 3y, 36% of budgetEnvironmental Law Institute: $125,000 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetPOWER SHIFT NETWORK: $124,000 over 4y, 5.2% of budgetVIRGINIA ORGANIZING INC: $115,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCATES NY INC: $110,000 over 1y, 5.9% of budgetSOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENTREPRENEURS (SEE) INC: $110,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetBlue Chip Player Development: $100,000 over 1y, 10% of budgetTHE WILDERNESS SOCIETY: $100,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetSmartmeme DBA Center for Story-based Strategy: $80,000 over 4y, 2.2% of budgetMAINE CONSERVATION ALLIANCE: $80,000 over 1y, 5.8% of budgetSolutions Project Inc: $75,000 over 2y, 2.8% of budgetAMERICAN INDIAN COMMUNITY HOUSEINC: $75,000 over 1y, 7.3% of budgetGEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $75,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE CHISHOLM LEGACY PROJECT INC: $75,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetMOVEMENT STRATEGY CENTER: $70,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetPROGRESSIVE MULTIPLIER FUND: $70,000 over 1y, 2.7% of budgetPHILANTHROPY NEW YORK INC: $65,150 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetTREKKERS INC: $60,000 over 3y, 2.2% of budgetRIVERKEEPER INC: $50,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetRIGHT TO THE CITY ALLIANCE: $50,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetFUND FOR PUBLIC HOUSING INC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetPARTNERSHIP FOR SOUTHERN EQUITY: $50,000 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetSIERRA HEALTH FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetPUBLIC ART FUND INC: $50,000 over 2y, 0.4% 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 University of Michigan ↗
  • Who funds Amalgamated Charitable Foundation Inc ↗
  • Who funds ALASKA WILDERNESS LEAGUE ↗
  • Who funds The New School ↗
  • Who funds NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC ↗
  • Who funds THE CONSERVATION FUND A NONPROFIT CORPORATION ↗
  • Who funds TIDES FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND ↗
  • Who funds Island Institute ↗
  • Who funds NEW VENTURE FUND ↗
  • Who funds TELLURIDE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds TIDES CENTER ↗
  • Who funds Grist Magazine Inc ↗
  • Who funds Friends of Katahdin Woods & Waters ↗
  • Who funds CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS ↗
  • Who funds NATIVE MOVEMENT ↗
  • Who funds WATERFRONT ALLIANCE INC ↗
  • Who funds Planned Parenthood of Northern New England Inc ↗
  • Who funds WINDWARD FUND ↗
  • Who funds MOUNTAINFILM ↗
  • Who funds NORTHERN ALASKA ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER ↗
  • Who funds Maine Community Foundation Inc ↗
  • Who funds TRUSTEES FOR ALASKA ↗
  • Who funds Conservation Lands Foundation ↗
  • Who funds NATIVE AMERICAN RIGHTS FUND INC ↗
  • Who funds GWICHIN STEERING COMMITTEE ↗
  • Who funds Environmental Law Institute ↗
  • Who funds POWER SHIFT NETWORK ↗
  • Who funds VIRGINIA ORGANIZING INC ↗
  • Who funds ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCATES NY INC ↗
  • Who funds SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENTREPRENEURS (SEE) INC ↗
  • Who funds Blue Chip Player Development ↗

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.

Amalgamated Charitabl…PatagoniaorgThe Overbrook Foundat…Freedom Together Foun…The New York Communit…Natural Resources Def…Windward FundUnited States Energy …Tortuga Charitable Fo…The Partnership Proje…Rockefeller Family Fu…Tides Foundation
Amalgamated Charitable Foundation IncDC40.8× affinity23 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Amalgamated Charitable Foundation Inc · Patagoniaorg · The Overbrook Foundation · Freedom Together Foundation · The New York Community Trust · Natural Resources Defense Council Inc · Windward Fund · United States Energy Foundation · Tortuga Charitable Foundation · The Partnership Project Inc · Rockefeller Family Fund Inc · Tides 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 Northlight Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Northlight Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 40%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 2%
  • Feeding America Tampa Bay Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Planned Parenthood of Northern New England Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Hovnanian School Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
4get no government money at all
26report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
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 132 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 Northlight’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