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Starlight Children's Foundation at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

Starlight Children's Foundation

Since 1983, starlight has been delivering happiness to seriously ill children and their families.

$351k
Granted FY2019
9
Grants FY2019
8
States reached
$85k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its 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, FY2017 to 2019.

Health$1.1MHuman Services$70kEducation$29k
02FY2019 · 9 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2019

  • $10k–50k6 grants · $161k
  • $50k–250k3 grants · $190k
$29,025
Median grant
8
States reached
$22M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
FLOATING HOSPITAL FOR CHILDREN AT TUFTS$85,000
ST JOSEPH'S CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL FOUNDATION$55,000
RILEY CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION$50,000
UPSTATE GOLISANO CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL$40,000
THOMAS JEFFERSON UNIVERSITY$29,025
CHILDREN'S MEDICAL CENTER$25,000
BERNARD AND MILLIE DUKER CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL AT ALBANY MEDICAL CENTER$25,000
DIAMOND CHILDREN'S$22,000
DELL CHILDREN'S MEDICAL$20,000
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 (FY19–19, $40k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%UPSTATE GOLISANO CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL: $40k → 14%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

IL
NY
MA
NV
IN
OH
PA
CT
CA
AZ
TN
NC
DC
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 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
Methodist Medical Center

Methodist Medical Center provides quality healthcare, in alignment with Covenant Health's mission to serve the community by improving the quality of life through better health regardless of a patient's ability to pay.

Health
2
Hartford HealthCare Medical Group Specialists Pllc

The Mission of Hartford HealthCare Medical Group Specialists, PLLC is to put the patients first, provide coordinated quality care and value, exceed the expectations of patients, providers, staff and the community that it serves.

Health
3
Banner -University Medical Group

Assist banner health complete its mission to make health care easier so life can be better by providing integrated & coordinated care & population health management.

Health
4
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

The children's hospital of philadelphia, the oldest hospital in the united states dedicated exclusively to pediatrics, strives to be the world leader in the advancement of health care for children by integrating excellent patient care,…

Health
5
Cumberland Medical Center

Cumberland Medical Center provides quality healthcare, in alignment with Covenant Health's mission to serve the community by improving the quality of life through better health, regardless of the patient's ability to pay.

Health
6
Mercy Medical Center

Like the Sisters of Mercy before us, we witness God's healing love for all people by providing excellent clinical services within a community of compassionate care. As an independent Catholic hospital, we pledge to enhance the health of…

Health
7
Humc Medical Observation Pa

To serve as the physician services component of a tax-exempt healthcare delivery network and to thereby promote, support & further the charitable purposes, programs & services of hmh hospitals corp.

—
8
University Hospital & Clinics Inc

The organization provides medical care to improve, maintain, and restore the health of the people in the communities we serve.

Health
9
Hmh Hospitals Corporation

The organization is committed to providing the full spectrum of life-enhancing care and services to create and sustain healthy, vibrant communities. please refer to schedule h, part vi, question 5 for the organization's community benefit…

Health
10
St Martin Hospital Inc

To improve, maintain and restore the health of the people in the communities we serve.

Health
11
Rush University Medical Center

The mission of Rush is to improve the health of the individuals and diverse communities we serve through the integration of outstanding patient care, education, research and community partnerships.

Health
12
Sutter Bay Hospitals

MISSION STATEMENT: MISSION: CARING FOR OUR PATIENTS FIRST AND OUR PEOPLE ALWAYS. VISION: TO BE THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE, INTEGRATED AND CONNECTED HEALTH SYSTEM FOR GETTING AND STAYING WELL. VALUES: EXCELLENCE - We deliver high-quality,…

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Los Angeles General Medical Center Foundation Inc; the most unlike its peers is Thomas Jefferson University. 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 20 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)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
13/13
Grantees still filing
11/13
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

La Rabida Children's Hospital: $200,000 · HealthLa Rabida Children's HospitalTHE CLEVELAND CLINIC FOUNDATION GROUP RETURN: $166,194 · HealthTHE CLEVELAND CLINIC FOUNDATION GROUP RETURNVanderbilt University Medical Center: $55,100 · HealthVanderbilt University Medical CenterST JOSEPH'S HOSPITAL OF TAMPA FOUNDATION INC: $55,000 · HealthST JOSEPH'S HOSPITAL OF TAMPA FOUNDATION INCCONNECTICUT CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION INC: $49,600 · HealthCONNECTICUT CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION INCMOSES H CONE MEMORIAL HOSPITAL OPERATING CORPORATION: $30,200 · HealthBanner Health Foundation: $22,000 · HealthWhite Memorial Medical Center dba Adventist Health White Memorial: $20,000 · HealthLOS ANGELES GENERAL MEDICAL CENTER FOUNDATION INC: $145,000 · OtherLOS ANGELES GENERAL MEDICAL CENTER FOUNDATION INCMASS GENERAL BRIGHAM INCORPORATED: $94,800 · OtherMASS GENERAL BRIGHAM INCORPORATEDTUFTS MEDICAL CENTER PARENT INC: $85,000 · OtherTUFTS MEDICAL CENTER PARENT INCRILEY CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION: $50,000 · OtherRILEY CHILDREN'S FOUNDATIONTHE HSC FOUNDATION: $48,000 · OtherTHE HSC FOUNDATIONCHILDREN'S MEDICAL CENTER: $25,000 · OtherALBANY MED HEALTH SYSTEM: $25,000 · OtherCHILDRENS HEALTHCARE OF ATLANTA INC: $20,305 · OtherDELL CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION: $20,000 · Other+1 more: $13,110 · OtherTHE UPSTATE FOUNDATION INC: $40,000 · Human ServicesTHOMAS JEFFERSON UNIVERSITY: $29,025 · Education
Health$598,094Other$526,215Human Services$40,000Education$29,025

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

25%50%75%100%$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetLa Rabida Children's Hospital: $200,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetTHE CLEVELAND CLINIC FOUNDATION GROUP RETURN: $166,194 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLOS ANGELES GENERAL MEDICAL CENTER FOUNDATION INC: $145,000 over 1y, 12% of budgetVanderbilt University Medical Center: $55,100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetST JOSEPH'S HOSPITAL OF TAMPA FOUNDATION INC: $55,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetCONNECTICUT CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION INC: $49,600 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetTHE HSC FOUNDATION: $48,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetTHE UPSTATE FOUNDATION INC: $40,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetMOSES H CONE MEMORIAL HOSPITAL OPERATING CORPORATION: $30,200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHOMAS JEFFERSON UNIVERSITY: $29,025 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBanner Health Foundation: $22,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetDELL CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION: $20,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetWhite Memorial Medical Center dba Adventist Health White Memorial: $20,000 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.

Charities Aid Foundat…National Philanthropi…Vanguard Charitable E…Donor Advised Charita…American Online Givin…Fidelity Investments …
Charities Aid Foundation AmericaVA9.5× affinity4 shared granteesties to 5 of 5Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Charities Aid Foundation America · National Philanthropic Trust · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund

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 Starlight Children's Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Starlight Children's Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%4%8%11%15%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    2get no government money at all
    4report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–15%
    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 20 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 e-file return for fiscal year 2019, released 2019. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2024) is on record and reports $12M of grant expense, but none of it to a named recipient. On a Form 990 that can mean grants abroad, filed by region only (Schedule F), grants under $5,000, which are not itemized, or a schedule referenced as an attachment the e-file does not carry. The figures above are therefore from FY2019, the most recent year this funder named its grantees.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Starlight Children'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