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Sparks Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Sparks 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.

$20k
Granted FY2024still arriving
13
Grants FY2024still arriving
2
States reached
$11k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0191% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Religion$38kHealth$20kPhilanthropy$17kYouth Development$14kArts & Culture$6kRecreation & Sports$4kHuman Services$4kAnimals$500Other$0
02FY2024 · 13 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k12 grants · $10k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $11k
$600
Median grant
2
States reached
$113k
Total assets

Anchored by a single position: about 98% of reported assets are held in Jpm.

Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Individual grant recipient$10,600
NEVILLE ALUMNI FRIENDS ASSOCIATION$2,000
Individual grant recipient$1,500
YOUNGLIFE$1,100
TWIN CITY ART FOUNDATION$1,000
CAMP OZARK FOUNDATION$750
Individual grant recipient$600
THE TARVER BRADDOCK FOUNDATION$560
JESUS THE GOOD SHEPHERD CHURCH$500
NEVILLE JR HIGH SCHOOL FOUNDATION$500
WARRIOR FOUNDATION$500
NEVILLE ATHLETIC FOUNDATION$344
CANCER FOUNDATION LEAGUE$250
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 (FY18–24, $7k) land where the poverty rate runs at 23%, 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%WARRIOR FOUNDATION: $100 → 11%PILOTS FOR PATIENTS: $2k → 24%PILOTS FOR PATIENTS: $2k → 24%PILOTS FOR PATIENTS: $1k → 24%PILOTS FOR PATIENTS: $1k → 24%THE TARVER BRADDOCK FOUNDATION: $560 → 24%PILOTS FOR PATIENTS: $500 → 24%PILOTS FOR PATIENTS: $500 → 24%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.
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.

76%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$93k · 14 repeat orgs$30k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +18% since the first grant, against +5% for those funded once.

14 repeat relationships: 6 still active in FY2024, 8 since wound down; 7 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

14
20

Total granted

$93k
$14k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+18%
+5%

Still filing today

43%
25%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 21% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $16k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
Human ServicesArts & CultureYouth DevelopmentRecreation & SportsAnimalsHealthOther
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

  • PF
    PILOTS FOR PATIENTS
    6× · 2018–2023 · $7k · revenue +107%
  • YL
    YOUNG LIFE
    2× · 2022–2024 · $3k · revenue +18%
  • CO
    CAMP OZARK FOUNDATION INC
    2× · 2021–2024 · $1k · revenue +372%

Funded once

  • CO
    CHILDREN'S ORGAN TRANSPLANT ASSOCIA
    one grant, 2022 · $4k
  • FU
    FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
    one grant, 2021 · $2k
  • TR
    THE RENEWAL CENTER
    one grant, 2021 · $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
Orleans Sheriff's Office Foundation
Crime & Legal
2
Lsu Research Foundation
Community Improvement
3
Congenital Heart Foundation of Louisiana

Offer emotional/financial support to families with CHD.

Health
4
Ouachita Mountains Biological Station
Environment
5
Louisiana Pulmonary Disease Camp Inc

Summer camp for children with pulmonary diseases

—
6
Louisiana Cancer Foundation for Research and Education Inc

To improve opportunities for cancer research in Louisiana and enhance educational efforts regarding prevention and control over cancer.

Health
7
International Missionary Fellowship

Christian missionary and medical services to haiti.

International
8
Sauls Light Foundation

Help Louisiana families navigate the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) journey and support them through the trauma of infant loss.

Philanthropy
9
Prison Inmate Chapels of Louisiana Inc

To build chapels to give inmates a place dedicated only to worship and faith-based programs.

—
10
Camp Debbie Lou
—
11
Lamar Lions Club Foundation
Community Improvement
12
Pinnacle Family Health Inc

The mission of pinnacle family health is that we strive to provide affirming and inclusive care that is affordable and comprehensive for children and adults in northeast louisiana.

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Med-Camps of Louisiana Inc; the most unlike its peers is Tarver Braddock 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

13 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. 13 of the 41 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)
12/13
Grantees still filing
7/13
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

GRACE EPISCOPAL CHURCH: $29,900 · OtherGRACE EPISCOPAL CHURCHJOHN CLARKE PERRY FOUNDATION: $16,390 · OtherJOHN CLARKE PERRY FOUNDATIONIndividual grant recipient: $10,600 · OtherIndividual grant recipientNEVILLE JR HIGH BOOSTER FOUNDATION: $9,974 · OtherNEVILLE JR HIGH BOOSTER FOUNDATIONCANCER FOUNDATION LEAGUE: $8,675 · OtherCANCER FOUNDATION LEAGUEJESUS THE GOOD SHEPHERD CHURCH: $5,700 · OtherJESUS THE GOOD SHEPHERD CHURCHCHILDREN'S ORGAN TRANSPLANT ASSOCIA: $4,000 · Other+22 more: $19,948 · Other+22 morePILOTS FOR PATIENTS: $6,500 · Human ServicesTARVER BRADDOCK FOUNDATION: $560 · Human ServicesSHEPHERDS PIE INCORPORATED: $500 · Human Services+1 more: $100 · Human ServicesYOUNG LIFE: $2,600 · Youth DevelopmentCAMP OZARK FOUNDATION INC: $1,250 · Youth DevelopmentTWIN CITY ART FOUNDATION: $2,500 · Arts & CultureNORTHEAST LA CHILDRENS MUSEUM: $1,250 · Arts & CultureMONROE YOUTH BASEBALL ASSOCIATION INC: $600 · Recreation & SportsMED-CAMPS OF LOUISIANA INC: $500 · Recreation & SportsST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $600 · HealthSOS PETS OF OUACHITA: $500 · Animals
Other$105,187Human Services$7,660Youth Development$3,850Arts & Culture$3,750Recreation & Sports$1,100Health$600Animals$500

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetPILOTS FOR PATIENTS: $6,500 over 6y, 0.4% of budgetYOUNG LIFE: $2,600 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTWIN CITY ART FOUNDATION: $2,500 over 2y, 1.4% of budgetCAMP OZARK FOUNDATION INC: $1,250 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetNORTHEAST LA CHILDRENS MUSEUM: $1,250 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetMONROE YOUTH BASEBALL ASSOCIATION INC: $600 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $600 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTARVER BRADDOCK FOUNDATION: $560 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetMED-CAMPS OF LOUISIANA INC: $500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSHEPHERDS PIE INCORPORATED: $500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetWARRIOR FOUNDATION FREEDOM STATION: $100 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 PILOTS FOR PATIENTS ↗
  • Who funds YOUNG LIFE ↗
  • Who funds TWIN CITY ART FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds LOUISIANA BAPTIST CHILDRENS HOME AND FAMILY MINISTRIES ↗
  • Who funds CAMP OZARK FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds NORTHEAST LA CHILDRENS MUSEUM ↗
  • Who funds MONROE YOUTH BASEBALL ASSOCIATION INC ↗
  • Who funds ST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC ↗
  • Who funds TARVER BRADDOCK FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds MED-CAMPS OF LOUISIANA INC ↗
  • Who funds SOS PETS OF OUACHITA ↗
  • Who funds SHEPHERDS PIE INCORPORATED ↗

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.

Hendrick Family Found…The Scott FoundationAmerican Online Givin…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Hendrick Family FoundationLA13.6× affinity4 shared granteesties to 5 of 5Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Hendrick Family Foundation · The Scott Foundation · 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 Sparks Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Sparks Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%3%5%8%10%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get 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 · 0–10%
    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 Sparks Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Sparks Foundation 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 41 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 Sparks’ 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