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· Private foundation

The Brighter Days 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.

$156k
Granted FY2024still arriving
11
Grants FY2024still arriving
4
States reached
$101k
Largest
01What it funds
0198% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Religion$1.6MHousing & Shelter$354kHealth$327kRecreation & Sports$326kEducation$177kFood & Nutrition$85kHuman Services$34kPublic Safety & Disaster$30kOther$0
02FY2024 · 11 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k8 grants · $24k
  • $10k–50k2 grants · $31k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $101k
$3,500
Median grant
4
States reached
$505k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Stowe Mission$100,750
James Cancer Hospital$15,750
Blessings in a Backpack Inc$15,000
Bowling Green State University$3,500
Muskingum University$3,500
Ohio State University$3,500
Mount Vernon Nazarene University$3,500
Ohio University$3,500
Ashland University$3,500
Walking for Kids Foundation$2,500
The Gibson Foundation$500
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 (FY17–19, $381k) land where the poverty rate runs at 7%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 3% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%Angelwood Inc: $5k → 14%Lazarus House: $50k → 8%Michael Phelps Foundation: $321k → 7%A Kid Again: $5k → 15%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

ME
IL
OH
CO
KY
MD
TN
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 grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

84%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$2.5M · 16 repeat orgs$485k to everyone else

16 repeat relationships: 10 still active in FY2024, 6 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

16
26

Total granted

$2.5M
$485k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+5%
+39%

Still filing today

38%
46%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $500 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 ServicesEducationPhilanthropyRecreation & SportsAnimalsFood & NutritionOther
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

  • BLESSINGS IN A BACKPACK INC
    5× · 2018–2024 · $80k · revenue +29%
  • MM
    MAGICAL MOMENTS FOUNDATION INC
    2× · 2021–2022 · $10k · revenue +5%
  • MV
    Mount Vernon Nazarene University
    2× · 2023–2024 · $7k · revenue +5%

Funded once

  • TM
    THE MICHAEL PHELPS FOUNDATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $321k · revenue +51% · 32% of their budget
  • LH
    LAZARUS HOUSEgraduated
    one grant, 2018 · $50k · revenue +39%
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2018 · $30k
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
George Fox University

George fox university, a christ centered community, prepares students spiritually, academically, and professionally to think with clarity, act with integrity, and serve with passion.

Education
2
Fielding Graduate University

We provide exemplary interdisciplinary programs for a community of scholar-practitioners within a distributed learning model grounded in student-driven inquiry and leading to enhanced knowledge.

—
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
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
5
Florida Gulf Coast University Foundation Inc

To advance florida gulf coast university and its students by promoting the institution, securing philanthropy to support the needs of the university, managing and administering assets with a long term perspective, and providing resources…

Education
6
University of New Haven

The University of New Haven is a student-centered comprehensive university with an emphasis on excellence in liberal arts and professional education. Our mission is to prepare our students to lead purposeful and fulfilling lives in a…

Education
7
Saint Xavier University

Saint xavier university, a catholic institution inspired by the heritage of the sisters of mercy, educates persons to search for truth, think critically, communicate effectively and serve wisely and compassionately in support of human…

Education
8
Golden Gate University

Golden gate university prepares individuals to lead and serve by providing high quality, practice-based educational programs in law, taxation, business and related professions - as a nonprofit institution - in an innovative and challenging…

Education
9
Wilmington University Inc

Wilmington university is committed to excellence in teaching, relevancy of the curriculum, and individual attention to students. as an institution with admissions policies that provide access for all, it offers opportunity for higher…

Education
10
Linfield University

Linfield university advances a vision of learning, life, and community that promotes intellectual challenge and creativity, values both theoretical and practical knowledge, engages thoughtful dialogue in a climate of mutual respect and…

Education
11
Tiffin University

Educate students by linking knowledge to professional practice.

Education
12
Xavier University

Xavier is a jesuit catholic university rooted in the liberal arts tradition. our mission is to educate each student intellectually, morally, and spiritually. we create learning opportunities through rigorous academic and professional…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Rising Leaders of North Florida Inc; the most unlike its peers is Gibson Gives Foundation Dba Gibson Gives. 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

21 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. 21 of the 43 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)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
19/21
Grantees still filing
15/21
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Stowe Mission: $1,628,986 · OtherStowe MissionHabitat for Humanity: $304,000 · OtherHabitat for HumanityJames Cancer Hospital: $263,750 · OtherJames Cancer HospitalOhio State University: $84,000 · Other+23 more: $181,040 · Other+23 moreTHE MICHAEL PHELPS FOUNDATION: $321,387 · Human ServicesTHE MICHAEL PHELP…BLESSINGS IN A BACKPACK INC: $79,820 · Human ServicesBLESSINGS IN A BA…LAZARUS HOUSE: $50,000 · Human ServicesLAZARUS HOUSE+2 more: $10,000 · Human ServicesASHLAND UNIVERSITY: $14,000 · EducationMount Vernon Nazarene University: $7,000 · EducationMUSKINGUM UNIVERSITY: $7,000 · EducationCAPITAL UNIVERSITY: $3,500 · EducationHeidelberg University: $2,000 · EducationTHE TOM COUGHLIN JAY FUND FOUNDATION INC: $5,000 · PhilanthropyThe Boselli Foundation: $5,000 · PhilanthropyGIBSON GIVES FOUNDATION DBA GIBSON GIVES: $500 · PhilanthropyMAGICAL MOMENTS FOUNDATION INC: $10,000 · HealthLeaderwithin Inc: $10,000 · ReligionCHILDREN'S HUNGER ALLIANCE: $5,000 · Food & Nutrition
Other$2,461,776Human Services$461,207Education$33,500Philanthropy$10,500Health$10,000Religion$10,000Food & Nutrition$5,000

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 budgetTHE MICHAEL PHELPS FOUNDATION: $321,387 over 1y, 32% of budgetBLESSINGS IN A BACKPACK INC: $79,820 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetLAZARUS HOUSE: $50,000 over 1y, 2.5% of budgetASHLAND UNIVERSITY: $14,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetMAGICAL MOMENTS FOUNDATION INC: $10,000 over 2y, 3.3% of budgetLeaderwithin Inc: $10,000 over 2y, 12% of budgetMount Vernon Nazarene University: $7,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMUSKINGUM UNIVERSITY: $7,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCHILDREN'S HUNGER ALLIANCE: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE TOM COUGHLIN JAY FUND FOUNDATION INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetThe Boselli Foundation: $5,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetTrue Blue Navy Families Benefactors Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 4.3% of budgetANGELWOOD INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetRISING LEADERS OF NORTH FLORIDA INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetNORTH FLORIDA JUNIOR GOLF FOUNDATION INC: $5,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetK9S FOR WARRIORS INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetA KID AGAIN INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetMERCY DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION: $4,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetCAPITAL UNIVERSITY: $3,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHeidelberg University: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGIBSON GIVES FOUNDATION DBA GIBSON GIVES: $500 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 THE MICHAEL PHELPS FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds BLESSINGS IN A BACKPACK INC ↗
  • Who funds LAZARUS HOUSE ↗
  • Who funds ASHLAND UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds MAGICAL MOMENTS FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds Leaderwithin Inc ↗
  • Who funds Mount Vernon Nazarene University ↗
  • Who funds MUSKINGUM UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds CHILDREN'S HUNGER ALLIANCE ↗
  • Who funds THE TOM COUGHLIN JAY FUND FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds The Boselli Foundation ↗
  • Who funds True Blue Navy Families Benefactors Inc ↗
  • Who funds ANGELWOOD INC ↗
  • Who funds RISING LEADERS OF NORTH FLORIDA INC ↗
  • Who funds NORTH FLORIDA JUNIOR GOLF FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds K9S FOR WARRIORS INC ↗
  • Who funds A KID AGAIN INC ↗
  • Who funds MERCY DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds CAPITAL UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds Heidelberg University ↗

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.

Jacksonville Jaguars Foundation IncFL15.6× affinity5 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Jacksonville Jaguars Foundation Inc · Pga Tour Inc · The Jim and Tabitha Furyk Foundation · Columbus Foundation · American Endowment Foundation · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · Natl Christian Charitable Fdn Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · 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 The Brighter Days Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Brighter Days Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 50%1%4%8%15%funder's share of their income ↑0%5%10%15%20%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • K9S for Warriors Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
5get 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 · 0–20%
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 The Brighter Days Foundation?

Find your warmest path to The Brighter Days 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 43 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

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