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Plinth

· Private foundation

Sunlight 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.

$414k
Granted FY2024still arriving
22
Grants FY2024still arriving
14
States reached
$150k
Largest
01What you fund
0188% classified

What you funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year — across FY20202024.

Education$786kReligion$326kPhilanthropy$280kInternational$175kEnvironment$97kHealth$90kYouth Development$82kCivil Rights$34kOther$0
02FY2024 · 22 grants

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k14 grants · $78k
  • $10k–50k6 grants · $106k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $230k
$8,400
Median grant
14
States reached
$4.7M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Baylor University$150,000
Schwab Charitable Fund$80,000
Cotton Tree Foundation$31,000
United Methodist World Misssion$20,000
Mexican Indian Training Center$20,000
Youth Serving Christ$15,000
Samaritans Purse$10,000
Moody Aviation$10,000
Individual grant recipient$9,600
Individual grant recipient$8,400
Missionary Flights International$8,400
Coalition for Outreach$8,400
S4CA$6,000
Young Life$6,000
Mission Aviation Fellowship$5,600
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:

Dollar for dollar, your grants (FY20–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 90% of your dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of your grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%Coalition for Outreach: $8k → 11%Baylor University: $150k → 16%Missionary Ventures: $11k → 13%University of Wisconsin Foundation: $6k → 10%Cotton Tree Foundation: $31k → 4%Timber Ridge Environmental Center: $48k → 14%ETSU Foundation: $10k → 14%Samaritans Purse: $10k → 21%TEAM USA: $8k → 10%TEAM USA: $7k → 7%Moody Aviation: $10k → 14%Al Hayat: $10k → 9%Mexican Indian Training Center: $20k → 22%Coalition for Outreach: $8k → 11%Baylor University: $135k → 16%Missionay Ventures: $11k → 13%Cotton Tree Foundation: $30k → 4%Timber Ridge Environmental Ctr: $48k → 14%ETSU Foundation: $10k → 14%TEAM USA: $8k → 10%Moody Aviation: $10k → 14%Al Hayat: $10k → 9%Mexican Indian Training Center: $20k → 22%Coalition for Outreach: $8k → 11%Baylor University: $121k → 16%Missionary Ventures: $11k → 13%Cotton Tree Foundation: $25k → 4%2100 Foundation: $36k → 14%ETSU Foundation: $10k → 14%TEAM USA: $8k → 10%Moody Aviation: $10k → 14%Al Hayat: $7k → 9%Mexican Indian Training Center: $20k → 22%Coalition for Outreach: $8k → 11%Baylor University: $110k → 16%Cotton Tree Foundation: $8k → 4%Woodmont Baptist Church: $22k → 14%ETSU foundation: $10k → 14%TEAM USA: $8k → 10%Moody Aviation: $10k → 14%Mexican Indian Training Center Inc: $20k → 22%Coolition for Christian Outreach: $7k → 11%Baylor University: $110k → 16%Woodmont Baptist Church: $16k → 14%Moody Aviation: $10k → 14%Mexican Indian Training Center: $20k → 22%Woodmont Baptist Church: $15k → 14%Woodmont Baptist Church: $10k → 14%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.

Which US states your grants reach

WA
ID
MN
IL
WI
NY
IN
PA
CA
NE
VA
AZ
AR
TN
NC
LA
TX
FL

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.

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.

92%of every dollar goes to organizations you’ve funded before.
$1.6M · 25 repeat orgs$131k to everyone else

And the relationships you keep tend to grow: grantees you re-up on have seen median revenue of +24% since the first grant, against +16% for the ones you funded once.

25 repeat relationships — 17 still active in FY2024, 8 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

25
10

Total granted

$1.6M
$98k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+24%
+16%

Still filing today

32%
30%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 90% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $34k went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24
EducationInternationalYouth DevelopmentReligionOther

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

  • BAYLOR UNIVERSITY
    5× · 2020–2024 · $626k · revenue +24%
  • MI
    MEXICAN INDIAN TRAINING CENTER INC
    5× · 2020–2024 · $100k · revenue +83%
  • ET
    EAST TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION
    5× · 2020–2024 · $45k · revenue +20%

Funded once

  • 2F
    2100 Foundation
    one grant, 2022 · $36k
  • Vanderbilt Universitygraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $23k · revenue +65%
  • MV
    Missionay Ventures
    one grant, 2022 · $11k

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
Taylor University

The mission of Taylor University is to develop servant-leaders marked with a passion to minister Christ's redemptive love, grace, and truth to a world in need.

Education
2
Southern Wesleyan University

Southern wesleyan university is a christ-centered, student-focused learning community devoted to transforming lives by challenging students to be dedicated scholars and servant-leaders who impact the world for christ.

Education
3
Evangel University

Evangel is a comprehensive christian university that is committed to excellence in educating and equipping students to become spirit empowered servants of god who will impact the church and society globally.

Education
4
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The mission of mit is to advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century.

Education
5
California Baptist University

A private institution of higher education, offering both undergraduate and graduate courses to students.

Education
6
Furman University

The primary mission of furman as a liberal arts institution is to provide a distinctive education in fine arts, humanities, social sciences, mathematics and the sciences, as well as selected professional disciplines.

Education
7
University of Northwestern - St Paul

See schedule o. founded in 1902, university of northwestern - st. paul is a nondenominational christian university that integrates the educational philosophy of "faith, learning and living" through two focuses: higher education and media.…

Education
8
Graceland University

See schedule othe primary mission of graceland university is to be a learning community, where students develop their potential for meaningful and productive lives through intellectual, physical, social and spiritual growth. this mission…

Education
9
Mid-America Reformed Seminary

Mid-america reformed seminary seeks to serve the church by preparing students for gospel ministry as pastors, or those whose service to the church may be enhanced by theological education.

10
Pacific School of Religion

Pacific school of religion prepares a diverse cadre of spiritually rooted leaders with the vision, resilience, and skill to create a world where all can thrive. grounded in the rigorous study and faithful practice of progressive christian…

Education
11
Wisconsin Christian Campus Ministries Inc

Our mission is to advance the gospel of jesus christ through the next generation by engaging the lost and discipling believers on college campuses.

Religion
12
St Mary's University

St. marys university, as a catholic marianist university, fosters the formation of people in faith and educates leaders for the common good through community, integrated liberal arts and professional education, and academic excellence.

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is World Vision Inc and the most unlike its peers is Tree Foundation Inc. 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

15 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. 15 of the 41 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)
1
Early backer (in before they grew)
14/15
Grantees still filing
12/15
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

TIMBER RIDGE ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER — $96,000 · OtherTIMBER RIDGE ENVIRONMENTAL CENTERVanderbilt Medical Center Dev — $90,000 · OtherVanderbilt Medical Center DevWOODMONT BAPTIST CHURCH — $68,000 · OtherWOODMONT BAPTIST CHURCHMISSION AVIATION FELLOWSHIP — $61,000 · OtherMISSION AVIATION FELLOWSHIPMoody Aviation — $50,000 · OtherMoody AviationYouth Serving Christ — $43,000 · OtherYouth Serving ChristIndividual grant recipient — $40,950 · OtherIndividual grant recipientMissionary Flights International — $40,600 · OtherMissionary Flights International2100 Foundation — $36,000 · OtherCoalition for Outreach — $33,600 · OtherMESA GLOBAL — $28,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient — $26,400 · Other+17 more — $136,850 · Other+17 moreBAYLOR UNIVERSITY — $626,025 · EducationBAYLOR UNIVERSITYEAST TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION — $45,000 · EducationEAST TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATI…UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN FOUNDATION — $25,000 · Education+1 more — $23,000 · EducationDONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC — $280,000 · PhilanthropyDONOR ADVISED C…MEXICAN INDIAN TRAINING CENTER INC — $100,000 · InternationalMEXICAN INDI…TREE FOUNDATION INC — $94,000 · InternationalTREE FOUNDAT…S4CA INC — $24,000 · InternationalS4CA INC+1 more — $1,936 · InternationalYOUNG LIFE — $31,500 · Youth DevelopmentLaunch Ministry — $5,000 · Youth DevelopmentSAMARITAN'S PURSE — $10,000 · Religion
Other$750,400Education$719,025Philanthropy$280,000International$219,936Youth Development$36,500Religion$10,000

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 budgetBAYLOR UNIVERSITY — $626,025 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetDONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC — $280,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMEXICAN INDIAN TRAINING CENTER INC — $100,000 over 5y, 4.4% of budgetEAST TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION — $45,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetYOUNG LIFE — $31,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN FOUNDATION — $25,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetS4CA INC — $24,000 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetVanderbilt University — $23,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSAMARITAN'S PURSE — $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMISSION SAFETY INTERNATIONAL INC — $10,000 over 4y, 0.8% of budgetCOALITION FOR CHRISTIAN OUTREACH — $7,350 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetLaunch Ministry — $5,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetWORLD VISION INC — $1,936 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetMERCY MULTIPLIED AMERICA INC — $500 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 BAYLOR UNIVERSITY
  • Who funds DONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC
  • Who funds MEXICAN INDIAN TRAINING CENTER INC
  • Who funds TREE FOUNDATION INC
  • Who funds EAST TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION
  • Who funds YOUNG LIFE
  • Who funds UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN FOUNDATION
  • Who funds S4CA INC
  • Who funds Vanderbilt University
  • Who funds SAMARITAN'S PURSE
  • Who funds MISSION SAFETY INTERNATIONAL INC
  • Who funds COALITION FOR CHRISTIAN OUTREACH
  • Who funds Launch Ministry
  • Who funds WORLD VISION INC
  • Who funds MERCY MULTIPLIED AMERICA INC

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.

Natl Christian Charitable Fdn IncGA10.8× affinity7 shared granteesties to 3 of 3Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Natl Christian Charitable Fdn Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · 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 Sunlight 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 or a single department — and drag the year to watch it move.

2024
202122232425
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%your share of their income ↑0%6%13%19%25%share of the org’s income from government
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    1report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–25%
    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 41 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