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Perfect Light Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Perfect Light Foundation

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.

$36k
Granted FY2025still arriving
28
Grants FY2025still arriving
12
States reached
$23k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0199% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Religion$186kHuman Services$24kEducation$18kHealth$15kPublic Benefit$12kArts & Culture$9kFood & Nutrition$7kInternational$7kOther$0
02FY2025 · 28 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k27 grants · $13k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $23k
$350
Median grant
12
States reached
$373k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CONCORDIA LUTHERAN CHURCH$23,400
ROOM REDUX$1,500
NEW BRAUNFELS FOOD BANK$1,500
ASSISTANCE LEAGUE OF HOUSTON$1,500
TURNING POINT USA$700
SAMARITAN'S PURSE$700
MD ANDERSON CANCER CENTER$500
MERCY SHIPS$500
FAMILY PROMISE OF GREATER NEW BRAUNFELS$500
CURE RTD FOUNDATION$500
LCMS$500
SALVATION ARMY$500
NEW BRAUNFELS ANGELS$500
TURNING POINT FOR GOD$350
NAVIGATORS$300
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 (FY17–25, $5k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 95% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%KIDS WISH NETWORK: $100 → 12%MERCY CHEFS: $250 → 9%MERCY CHEFS: $500 → 20%KID'S WISH NETWORK: $100 → 12%MERCY CHEFS: $500 → 20%KIDS WISH NETWORK: $50 → 12%MERCY CHEFS: $300 → 20%MERCY CHEFS: $250 → 20%MERCY CHEFS: $200 → 20%NEW BRAUNFELS ANGELS: $1k → 10%NEW BRAUNFELS ANGELS: $500 → 10%VAULT FOSTERING COMMUNITY: $1k → 16%FAMILY PROMISE OF GREATER NEW BRAUNFELS: $300 → 10%CONNECTIONS INDIVIDUAL AND FAMILY SERVICES: $200 → 10%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

WA
MN
MI
NY
MA
IA
OH
CA
CO
MO
KY
VA
MD
AZ
KS
TN
NC
DC
OK
MS
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.

91%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$262k · 43 repeat orgs$26k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +37% since the first grant, against +34% for those funded once.

43 repeat relationships: 21 still active in FY2025, 22 since wound down; 5 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

43
36

Total granted

$262k
$23k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+37%
+34%

Still filing today

58%
44%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 91% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $3k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
Human ServicesHealthArts & CultureInternationalPublic BenefitYouth DevelopmentOther
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

  • AL
    Assistance League of Houston
    8× · 2018–2025 · $8k · revenue +29%
  • SA
    SAN ANTONIO FOOD BANK
    9× · 2017–2025 · $7k · revenue +60%
  • CP
    Crisis Pregnancy Center of New Braunfels
    5× · 2018–2024 · $5k · revenue +22%

Funded once

  • BU
    BIOLA UNIVERSITY ENDOWED SCHOLARSHIP FUND
    one grant, 2020 · $15k
  • VF
    VAULT FOSTERING COMMUNITYgraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $1k · revenue +51%
  • C
    CRU
    one grant, 2023 · $1k
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
Shield of Faith Missions

Sof is called to empower warriors to find purpose, be resilient, and live well. we develop and provide customized treatment plans for veterans through our national network of partners.

Religion
2
United States Naval Institute

Provide an independent forum for those who dare to read, think, speak, and write to advance the professional, literary, and scientific understanding of sea power and other issues critical to global security.

—
3
Air & Space Forces Association

The air & space forces association (afa) is a nonprofit, independent, professional military, and aerospace education association. the association's mission is to promote dominant u.s. air and space forces as the foundation of a strong…

Education
4
Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States Inc

The fsmb serves as the voice for state medical boards, supporting them through education, assessment, research and advocacy while providing services and initiatives that promote patient safety, quality health care and regulatory best…

Health
5
Union Health System

To serve our communities by provding innovative and compassionate healthcare.

Health
6
American Flood Coalition Inc

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

Environment
7
Mercy Health

Mercy Health will provide assistance, support and direction to all of the health care institutions and activities operated and maintained by its Subsidiaries. The mission of Mercy Health in performing these activities shall be to provide a…

—
8
American Foreign Service Association

American foreign service association (afsa) is both the principal advocate for the long-term institutional wellbeing of the professional career foreign service and responsible for safeguarding the interest of afsa members. (continued on…

—
9
National Veterans Legal Services Program Inc

To provide at no cost legal assistance to veterans of the u.s. armed forces and current service members.

—
10
International Aids Vaccine Initiative Inc

A nonprofit scientific research organization that develops vaccines and antibodies for hiv, tuberculosis, and emerging infectious diseases.

International
11
Moral Compass Federation Inc

Moral compass federation facilitates collaboration among multiple veteran-led nonprofit organizations, individuals, and businesses who came together during the fall of kabul, afghanistan to evacuate and resettle afghan allies who were in…

Public Benefit
12
Greater Austin Christian Foundation

Mobilizing resources by inspiring biblical generosity in the greater austin, texas area.

Religion
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Heritage Foundation; the most unlike its peers is San Jose Vietnam War Memorial. 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

50 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. 50 of the 86 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)
7
Early backer (in before they grew)
46/50
Grantees still filing
37/50
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

CONCORDIA LUTHERAN CHURCH: $174,300 · OtherCONCORDIA LUTHERAN CHURCHBIOLA UNIVERSITY ENDOWED SCHOLARSHIP FUND: $15,000 · OtherBIOLA UNIVERSITY ENDOWED SCHOLARSHIP FUND+59 more: $66,934 · Other+59 moreAssistance League of Houston: $8,400 · Community ImprovementMERCY CHEFS INC: $2,000 · Human ServicesTRANSFORMATIONS BY AUSTIN ANGELS: $1,500 · Human ServicesFAMILY PROMISE OF GREATER NEW BRAUNFELS: $1,300 · Human ServicesVAULT FOSTERING COMMUNITY: $1,000 · Human ServicesKIDS WISH NETWORK INC: $250 · Human Services+3 more: $500 · Human ServicesMOTHERS AGAINST CANCER: $3,700 · HealthST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $700 · HealthCure RTD Foundation: $500 · HealthRIVER CITY ADVOCACY: $351 · HealthAssociation for Creatine Deficiencies: $300 · Health+1 more: $100 · HealthTHE HERITAGE FOUNDATION: $4,300 · Public BenefitLeadership Institute: $500 · Public Benefit+1 more: $100 · Public BenefitADMIRAL NIMITZ FOUNDATION: $3,500 · Arts & CultureTHE MOUNT VERNON LADIES' ASSOCIATION OF THE UNION: $700 · Arts & CultureThe Army Historical Foundation Inc: $400 · Arts & CultureVietnam Veterans Memorial Fund Inc: $200 · Arts & Culture+1 more: $100 · Arts & CultureYOUNG LIFE: $3,300 · Youth DevelopmentROOM REDUX: $1,500 · Youth Development
Other$256,234Community Improvement$8,400Human Services$6,550Health$5,651Public Benefit$4,900Arts & Culture$4,900Youth Development$4,800

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 budgetAssistance League of Houston: $8,400 over 8y, 0.8% of budgetSAN ANTONIO FOOD BANK: $7,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetCrisis Pregnancy Center of New Braunfels: $4,601 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetTHE HERITAGE FOUNDATION: $4,300 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMOTHERS AGAINST CANCER: $3,700 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetADMIRAL NIMITZ FOUNDATION: $3,500 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetYOUNG LIFE: $3,300 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSAMARITAN'S PURSE: $2,968 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetMercy Ships International: $2,750 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetALLIANCE DEFENDING FREEDOM: $2,570 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetHILLSDALE COLLEGE: $2,550 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetMERCY CHEFS INC: $2,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetTURNING POINT USA INC: $1,650 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetTRANSFORMATIONS BY AUSTIN ANGELS: $1,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFAMILY PROMISE OF GREATER NEW BRAUNFELS: $1,300 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetVAULT FOSTERING COMMUNITY: $1,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetYoung America's Foundation: $750 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetTHE MOUNT VERNON LADIES' ASSOCIATION OF THE UNION: $700 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $700 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSPECIAL OLYMPICS INC: $700 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetCOMAL COUNTY FAMILY VIOLENCE SHELTER: $650 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetMUSEUM OF THE BIBLE: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLeadership Institute: $500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCure RTD Foundation: $500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSAN ANTONIO METROPOLITAN MINISTRIES INC: $450 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $400 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetThe Army Historical Foundation Inc: $400 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetRIVER CITY ADVOCACY: $351 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetAssociation for Creatine Deficiencies: $300 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetALICE LLOYD COLLEGE: $300 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMARINE TOYS FOR TOTS FOUNDATION: $300 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetStudents for Life of America Inc: $260 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSECOND HARVEST FOOD BANK OF THE MAHONING VALLEY: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHOPE FOR HEROES HORSEMANSHIP CENTER: $250 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetKIDS WISH NETWORK INC: $250 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetHOMES FOR OUR TROOPS INC: $200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCONNECTIONS INDIVIDUAL AND FAMILY SERVICES INC: $200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetVietnam Veterans Memorial Fund Inc: $200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSOLDIERS' ANGELS: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican Battlefield Trust: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUnited American Patriots Inc: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Eisenhower Foundation: $50 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMID-AMERICA CHAPTER PARALYZED VETERANS OF AMERICA: $50 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.

  • Who funds Assistance League of Houston ↗
  • Who funds SAN ANTONIO FOOD BANK ↗
  • Who funds Crisis Pregnancy Center of New Braunfels ↗
  • Who funds THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds MOTHERS AGAINST CANCER ↗
  • Who funds ADMIRAL NIMITZ FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds YOUNG LIFE ↗
  • Who funds SAMARITAN'S PURSE ↗
  • Who funds Mercy Ships International ↗
  • Who funds ALLIANCE DEFENDING FREEDOM ↗
  • Who funds HILLSDALE COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds MERCY CHEFS INC ↗
  • Who funds TURNING POINT USA INC ↗
  • Who funds TRANSFORMATIONS BY AUSTIN ANGELS ↗
  • Who funds ROOM REDUX ↗
  • Who funds FAMILY PROMISE OF GREATER NEW BRAUNFELS ↗
  • Who funds VAULT FOSTERING COMMUNITY ↗
  • Who funds Young America's Foundation ↗
  • Who funds THE MOUNT VERNON LADIES' ASSOCIATION OF THE UNION ↗
  • Who funds ST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC ↗
  • Who funds SPECIAL OLYMPICS INC ↗
  • Who funds COMAL COUNTY FAMILY VIOLENCE SHELTER ↗
  • Who funds MUSEUM OF THE BIBLE ↗

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.

San Antonio Area Foun…McKenna FoundationNew Braunfels Area Co…United Way of Comal C…Harvey E Najim Charit…Shell USA Company Fou…Veramendi Charitable …Texas Instruments Fou…Arthur J Gallagher Fo…The Ayco Charitable F…American Endowment Fo…Vanguard Charitable E…
San Antonio Area FoundationTX19× affinity7 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: San Antonio Area Foundation · McKenna Foundation · New Braunfels Area Community Foundation · United Way of Comal County · Harvey E Najim Charitable Foundation · Shell USA Company Foundation · Veramendi Charitable Foundation · Texas Instruments Foundation · Arthur J Gallagher Foundation · The Ayco Charitable Foundation · American Endowment Foundation · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program

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 Perfect Light Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Perfect Light Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 40%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%13%25%38%50%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    4get no government money at all
    9report 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 86 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 Perfect Light’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