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Sunshine Now Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Sunshine Now Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$607k
Granted FY2024still arriving
9
Grants FY2024still arriving
2
States reached
$100k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0186% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2021 to 2024.

Philanthropy$551kPublic Safety & Disaster$450kHealth$360kFood & Nutrition$350kHousing & Shelter$200kArts & Culture$160kEmployment$130kEnvironment$100kOther$0
02FY2024 · 9 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k1 grant · $6k
  • $50k–250k8 grants · $601k
$80,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$20M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
AMERICAN RED CROSS$100,000
Individual grant recipient$100,000
MANNA FOOD BANK$80,000
BOUNTY & SOUL$80,000
Individual grant recipient$80,000
ARTS FOR LIFE$60,000
SCHWAB CHARITABLE FUND$50,775
INDUSTRIAL COMMONS$50,000
ONLY HOPE WNC$6,000
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 (FY23–24, $11k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 13%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 13%ONLY HOPE WNC: $6k → 12%ONLY HOPE WNC: $5k → 12%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.

46%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.0M · 7 repeat orgs$1.2M to everyone else

7 repeat relationships: 7 still active in FY2024, 0 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

7
9

Total granted

$1.0M
$1.1M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+14%
+20%

Still filing today

71%
67%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 82% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $100k went to new ones.

50%100%’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’21’22’23’24
Arts & CultureFood & NutritionInternationalEmploymentEnvironmentCivil RightsOther
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

  • BS
    Bounty & Soul
    2× · 2023–2024 · $200k · revenue +72%
  • MANNA FOOD BANK INC
    3× · 2021–2024 · $150k · revenue +82%
  • AF
    Arts For Life
    2× · 2023–2024 · $110k · revenue +14%

Funded once

  • WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC
    one grant, 2022 · $250k · revenue -40%
  • FD
    FRAN & DOUG TIEMAN CENTER FOR RESEA
    one grant, 2022 · $250k
  • HF
    HABITAT FOR HUMANITY ASHEVILLE
    one grant, 2023 · $100k
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
Food Bank of Central & Eastern Nc Inc

Nourish people. build solutions. empower communities. no one goes hungry.

Food & Nutrition
2
North Carolina Biotechnology Center

The north carolina biotechnology center aids the biotechnology-related efforts of researchers, businesses, state and federal governments, and other agencies primarily through awards of grants and loans related to specific programs and…

Science & Tech
3
Farmer Foodshare Inc

Our mission is to increase access to fresh, local food for all while supporting the viability of marginalized farmers to create a more equitable food system.

Food & Nutrition
4
NourishNC Inc

NourishNC, Inc.'s goal is to provide healthy food to hungry children, empowering them to succeed in the classroom and in their community

Food & Nutrition
5
Goodwill Industries of North Central Wisconsin Inc

Eliminating barriers to employment by providing pathways for those who are underserved, underrepresented and disadvantaged who have a goal of building skills that lead to sustained employment and improved financial stability.

Human Services
6
Goodwill Industries of Central North Car

Goodwill industries of central north carolina, inc.'s mission is improving lives and enriching communities through the power of work

Employment
7
Wnc Health Network Inc

WNC Health Network, Inc supports people and organizations to improve community health and wellbeing across Western North Carolina.

Health
8
Care Share Health Alliance Inc

Care share health alliance is a north carolina-based nonprofit organization advancing community health and wellbeing through systems change. guided by the mission of collaborating for health and a vision of communities that are healthy and…

Health
9
Feeding the Carolinas

The mission of the Organization is to coordinate, support, and advocate for member Food Banks across the Carolinas to create lasting solutions to address hunger.

Food & Nutrition
10
Goodwill Industries of Northwest North Carolina Inc

Goodwill creates opportunities for people to enhance their lives through training, workforce development services, and collaboration with other community organizations.

Employment
11
Harvest Hope Food Bank

Harvest hope is on a mission to eliminate hunger and food insecurity in south carolina. we rescue nutritious food from stores throughout the state and distribute it to food pantries, shelters, and soup kitchens. we operate programs that…

Food & Nutrition
12
Nc Warn Inc

To tackle the accelerating crisis of climate change by working to transition nc to clean, efficient energy & by watch-dogging utility practices. we pursue this work through grassroots activism, technical analysis, legal challenges and…

Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Industrial Commons; the most unlike its peers is Only Hope Wnc. 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

12 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. 12 of the 18 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.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
12/12
Grantees still filing
8/12
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

FRAN & DOUG TIEMAN CENTER FOR RESEA: $250,000 · OtherFRAN & DOUG TIEMAN CENTER FOR RESEAAMERICAN RED CROSS: $200,000 · OtherAMERICAN RED CROSSIndividual grant recipient: $200,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientHABITAT FOR HUMANITY ASHEVILLE: $100,000 · OtherHABITAT FOR HUMANITY ASHEVILLEIndividual grant recipient: $100,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientLIVABILITY INITIATIVE INC: $100,000 · OtherLIVABILITY INITIATIVE INCBELOVED ASHEVILLE: $100,000 · OtherBELOVED ASHEVILLE+2 more: $16,000 · OtherDONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC: $550,775 · PhilanthropyDONOR ADVISED CHARITAB…Bounty & Soul: $200,000 · Food & NutritionBounty & SoulMANNA FOOD BANK INC: $150,000 · Food & NutritionMANNA FOOD BAN…Arts For Life: $110,000 · Arts & CultureArts For Li…Penland School Of Craft: $100,000 · Arts & CulturePenland Sch…JUNIOR APPALACHIAN MUSICIANS INC: $60,000 · Arts & CultureJUNIOR APPA…WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $250,000 · InternationalWORLD CENT…THE INDUSTRIAL COMMONS: $130,000 · EmploymentSOAR Inc: $100,000 · Environment
Other$1,066,000Philanthropy$550,775Food & Nutrition$350,000Arts & Culture$270,000International$250,000Employment$130,000Environment$100,000

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 budgetDONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC: $550,775 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $250,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetBounty & Soul: $200,000 over 2y, 2.8% of budgetMANNA FOOD BANK INC: $150,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetTHE INDUSTRIAL COMMONS: $130,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetArts For Life: $110,000 over 2y, 12% of budgetPenland School Of Craft: $100,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetSOAR Inc: $100,000 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetLIVABILITY INITIATIVE INC: $100,000 over 1y, 86% of budgetBELOVED ASHEVILLE: $100,000 over 1y, 5.6% of budgetJUNIOR APPALACHIAN MUSICIANS INC: $60,000 over 1y, 16% of budgetONLY HOPE WNC: $11,000 over 2y, 2.7% 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.

Dogwood Health TrustThe Community Foundat…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Dogwood Health TrustNC13.5× affinity4 shared granteesties to 4 of 4Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Dogwood Health Trust · The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina 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 Sunshine Now Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Sunshine Now Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%6%23%51%90%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    3report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    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 Sunshine Now Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Sunshine Now 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 18 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 Sunshine Now’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