Skip to content
Plinth

· Private foundation

Sparks 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.

$16k
Granted FY2024still arriving
6
Grants FY2024still arriving
1
States reached
$5k
Largest
01What you fund
0187% classified

What you funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year — across FY20172024.

Religion$14kHuman Services$13kAnimals$9kFood & Nutrition$9kEducation$8kCommunity Improvement$1kRecreation & Sports$400Public Benefit$250Other$0
02FY2024 · 6 grants

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

$2,500
Median grant
1
States reached
$82k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
ANIMAL HOUSE PROJECT$5,000
NEW LIFE MENNONITE CHURCH$5,000
PROJECT PURPOSE CORP$2,500
ST THOMAS MORE CHURCH$2,000
OPERATION HOLIDAY$1,000
Individual grant recipient$500
02The need
03

Do your dollars go where the need is?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, then read against the area’s typical level.

show:

Your human-services grants (FY17–24, $10k) land where the poverty rate runs at 7%, against an area that typically sits at 7%. 16% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Your grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 7%PROJECT PURPOSE CORP: $3k → 7%WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT: $500 → 11%PROJECT PURPOSE CORP: $3k → 7%WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT: $500 → 11%PROJECT PURPOSE CORP: $2k → 7%WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT: $500 → 11%PROJECT PURPOSE CORP: $1k → 7%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount

Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty linein the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP; grantee ZIP can differ from where services are delivered.

US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are actually delivered. Need from public data — U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA — shown as context about the area, never attributed to your giving.

04

Where the work is directed

The same grants, placed two ways — where each recipient sits, and where its stated purpose earmarks the money.

About 97% of Sparks Family Foundation’s grant dollars are earmarked, by their stated purpose, for a different county than the recipient’s own address — money that lands at a nonprofit in one place but is meant to do its work in another. Read by recipient address, 77% of the giving stays in PA; read by stated purpose it is 3% — less of the work is directed home than the recipients' locations suggest.

Sparks Family Foundationlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address

Recipient view: each grant at its grantee’s ZIP, mapped to a county. Directed view: each grant at the county its stated purpose names, falling back to the recipient’s county when the purpose names no place; US grants only. A county shows only if it carries the top 95% of that view’s dollars. Purposes are read from the foundation’s own 990 grant descriptions.

03Your edge
repeat funding

Who you back again

Which organizations you funded more than once, and which you funded a single time. Each grantee is matched to its own filings.

75%of every dollar goes to organizations you’ve funded before.
$44k · 10 repeat orgs$15k to everyone else

And the relationships you keep tend to grow: grantees you re-up on have seen median revenue of +70% since the first grant, against +11% for the ones you funded once.

10 repeat relationships — 5 still active in FY2024, 5 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

10
9

Total granted

$44k
$10k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+70%
+11%

Still filing today

50%
44%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 69% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $5k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’19’20’21’22’23’24
AnimalsHuman ServicesEducationPublic BenefitFood & NutritionCommunity ImprovementOther

First-time = a grantee’s first year in your filing window; renewed = funded in an earlier year too. As a portfolio matures the renewed share naturally climbs — once funded, an org stays “renewable” — so the signal is the years that buck it (a new-grantee intake wave). 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

  • AH
    ANIMAL HOUSE PROJECT
    6× · 2019–2024 · $8k · revenue +297%
  • PP
    PROJECT PURPOSE CORPORATION
    4× · 2021–2024 · $8k · revenue +70%
  • STEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION
    3× · 2021–2023 · $7k · revenue +112%

Funded once

  • CF
    COVENTRY FOOD PANTRY
    one grant, 2020 · $3k · revenue +11%
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2019 · $2k
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2022 · $2k

Repeat = funded in two or more distinct years; growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Your field

The map has a center of gravity: the average direction from the rest of the sector toward the organizations the foundation funds — the shape of its giving. Scoring every nonprofit along that direction surfaces the ones that look most like the portfolio. These are the closest matchesthat aren’t grantees — a resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Paws Need People

Paws need people strive to rescue pets from shelters and provide a place they can stay until they are adopted. they provide pets to veterans through its therapy pet program.

2
Florida Pointer Rescue Inc

Rescue pointer dogs and treat back to health and f

Animals
3
Veterans Outreach of Pennsylvania

Vopa's mission is to stand to combat homelessness among veterans by providing support and services needed to promote an empowered life filled with strength and purpose.

Public Benefit
4
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

The aspca's mission, as stated by founder henry bergh in 1866, is "to provide effective means for the prevention of cruelty to animals throughout the united states." the aspca was founded on the belief that animals are entitled to kind and…

Animals
5
Pets Return Home

The organization seeks to reduce the unecessary killing and suffering of healthy adoptable dogs at animal rescue and shelter organizations

Animals
6
Humane Society Silicon Valley

At humane society silicon valley, our mission is to save lives, keep families together, and create a better future for pets and their people.(see schedule o for continuation)

Animals
7
For Veterans Sake Foundation

For veteran's sake foundation is here to provide an alternative solution to dealing with pts (post traumatic stress). we use a combination of a (non-therapeutic) neuro-traumatic resourcing, service dogs and consulting. working with the…

Health
8
Fuzzy Pawz Rescue Llc

Fuzzy Pawz is a small group of dedicated volunteers who open their homes and their hearts to unwanted dogs and cats. Our non-profit rescue does not have a facility but rather places each animal into a private home. We supply all vet care,…

Animals
9
The Pet Compassion Centers

The pet compassion centers (pcc)strengthens the human-pet bond by supporting people, pets and the environment through affordable veterinary care, spay/neuter services, pet resources, education, and workforce pathways in underserved…

Animals
10
Colorado Pet Pantry

The organization temporarily feeds colorado pets, allowing families to increase their ability to care for pets with the goal of keeping them out of shelters and with their families.

Animals
11
Humane Fort Wayne Inc

Humane fort wayne is a trusted partner providing comprehensive, lifesaving resources to pets and their people.

Animals
12
Indy Neighborhood Cats Inc

To improve the quality of life for unowned neighborhood cats and the community they live in by reducing overpopulation through trap, neuter, return (tnr).

Animals

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Wounded Warrior Project Inc and the most unlike its peers is Paws for Purple Hearts. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.

05the grantee network

9 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each one resolved to its own IRS returns and tracked year by year — your grant beside their revenue from every source. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

Counted here: distinct organizations you funded across 20172025, not grant rows in a single year — so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 9 of the 20 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile; the rest are funded organizations whose filings we could not track year by year.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
9/9
Grantees still filing
8/9
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

ST THOMAS MORE CHURCH — $6,000 · OtherST THOMAS MORE CHURCHNEW LIFE MENNONITE CHURCH — $5,000 · OtherNEW LIFE MENNONITE CHURCHOPERATION HOLIDAY — $4,500 · OtherOPERATION HOLIDAYRYERSS FARM — $3,360 · OtherRYERSS FARMCEDARVILLE METHODIST CHURCH — $3,000 · OtherCEDARVILLE METHODIST CHURCHIndividual grant recipient — $2,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientIndividual grant recipient — $1,750 · OtherIndividual grant recipientIndividual grant recipient — $1,500 · OtherCHESTER COUNTY PET PANTRY — $1,000 · Other+2 more — $650 · OtherPROJECT PURPOSE CORPORATION — $8,160 · Human ServicesPROJECT PURPOSE CO…WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT INC — $1,500 · Human ServicesWOUNDED WARRIOR PR…ANIMAL HOUSE PROJECT — $8,200 · AnimalsANIMAL HOUSE PRO…FORGOTTEN CATS INC — $500 · AnimalsFORGOTTEN CATS I…STEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION — $7,100 · EducationSTEPHEN SILLER …FURMAN UNIVERSITY — $1,000 · EducationFURMAN UNIVERSI…COVENTRY FOOD PANTRY — $2,750 · Food & NutritionTRICOUNTY COMMUNITY NETWORK INC — $1,000 · Community ImprovementPAWS FOR PURPLE HEARTS — $250 · Public Benefit
Other$28,760Human Services$9,660Animals$8,700Education$8,100Food & Nutrition$2,750Community Improvement$1,000Public Benefit$250

Each org by its size and your share of it — top-left is where you’re load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ your share of their budgetANIMAL HOUSE PROJECT — $8,200 over 6y, 0.8% of budgetPROJECT PURPOSE CORPORATION — $8,160 over 4y, 2.2% of budgetSTEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION — $7,100 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetWOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT INC — $1,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetFURMAN UNIVERSITY — $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTRICOUNTY COMMUNITY NETWORK INC — $1,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetFORGOTTEN CATS INC — $500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPAWS FOR PURPLE HEARTS — $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budget
Go grantee by grantee — a decade per org, and how each moved after you funded them

A decade per grantee — revenue shaded, your grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

  • Who funds ANIMAL HOUSE PROJECT
  • Who funds PROJECT PURPOSE CORPORATION
  • Who funds STEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION
  • Who funds COVENTRY FOOD PANTRY
  • Who funds WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT INC
  • Who funds FURMAN UNIVERSITY
  • Who funds TRICOUNTY COMMUNITY NETWORK INC
  • Who funds FORGOTTEN CATS INC
  • Who funds PAWS FOR PURPLE HEARTS

The grantmakers whose grantees overlap with yours far more than size alone predicts. Each orbits closer the stronger the alignment; the arcs between them show where they also fund each other. Here it reads as a tightly interlocked camp — most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

The Pfizer Foundation IncNY11.1× affinity4 shared granteesties to 2 of 2Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Pfizer Foundation Inc · Charities Aid Foundation America · Amazonsmile Foundation

Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. A research starting point: overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

Government reliance of your grantees

Every dot is one organization Sparks Family Foundation funds. Left–right is the share of its income from government; up–down is the share from you. Bigger dots raise more. Filter to federal, a single department, or state — and drag the year to watch it move.

2023
202122232425
no gov · 10%0%1%3%5%your share of their income ↑0%19%38%56%75%share of the org’s income from governmentmedian 0%
  • Forgotten Cats Inc0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
2report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–75%
typical government reliance, FY2025

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 your grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first — a floor, not 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 12–24 months.

On method. Every financial figure here is read directly from IRS e-file XML — your own 990/990-PF and the multi-year returns of the 20 grantees we resolved across every year we hold, several hundred filings in all (a different count from the grant rows on the cover, which are one fiscal year)— each linked to its source. Grantee achievements and outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III); we read these as association with sustained funding — the foundation is one of several forces — suppress low-confidence name matches rather than guess, and say so where a figure rests on a single grant or filing. Not everything on this page is a filed figure, and the difference matters. Filed is what you reported on your 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. How we build these →

Generated from your IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

More from the funding graph