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The Lightner Sams Foundation Inc at a glance

· Private foundation

The Lightner Sams Foundation Inc

Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$471k
Granted FY2025still arriving
30
Grants FY2025still arriving
2
States reached
$30k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0199% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Health$1.8MEducation$795kHuman Services$686kArts & Culture$225kCivil Rights$170kRecreation & Sports$141kYouth Development$104kAnimals$96kOther$0
02FY2025 · 30 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k3 grants · $21k
  • $10k–50k27 grants · $450k
$15,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$11M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
LEGACY COUNSELING CENTER INC$30,000
JUDIS HOUSE$25,000
NEW HOPE EQUINE ASSISTED THERAPY$25,000
NORTH TEXAS FOOD BANK$25,000
VALLEY ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY CHARTERED MAY 1968$25,000
GENESIS WOMENS SHELTER & SUPPORT$20,000
DALLAS PETS ALIVE$20,000
DALLAS CASA$20,000
RESOURCE CENTER OF DALLAS INC$20,000
MORGAN ADAMS FOUNDATION$20,000
METRO CRISIS SERVICES INC$20,000
Individual grant recipient$15,000
TRANSITION RESOURCE ACTION CENTER$15,000
MENTAL HEALTH AMERICA OF GREATER DALLAS$15,000
SKY RANCHES INC$15,000
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 (FY17–25, $356k) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 48% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants spread fairly evenly across need levels.

area typical 11%PATRIOT PAWS SERVICE DOGS: $55k → 5%ENVISION DALLAS LIGHTHOUSE FOUNDATION: $5k → 16%ONESIGHT: $5k → 6%PATRIOT PAWS SERVICE DOGS: $30k → 5%ENVISION DALLAS LIGHTHOUSE FOUNDATION: $5k → 16%PATRIOT PAWS SERVICE DOGS: $15k → 5%PATRIOT PAWS SERVICE DOGS: $15k → 5%PATRIOT PAWS SERVICE DOGS: $15k → 5%PATRIOT PAWS SERVICE DOGS: $15k → 5%PATRIOT PAWS SERVICE DOGS: $10k → 5%PATRIOT PAWS SERVICE DOGS: $5k → 5%PATRIOT PAWS SERVICE DOGS: $5k → 5%TRANSITION RESOURCE ACTION CENTER: $15k → 14%MEALS ON WHEELS COLLIN COUNTY: $15k → 5%WOMEN IN NEED OF GENEROUS SUPPORT: $15k → 14%WOMEN IN NEED OF GENEROUS SUPPORT: $10k → 14%WOMEN IN NEED OF GENEROUS SUPPORT: $10k → 14%WOMEN IN NEED OF GENEROUS SUPPORT: $8k → 14%ASCEND DALLAS: $10k → 14%ASCEND DALLAS: $10k → 14%CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES COMMUNITY PARTNERS INC: $5k → 14%FAMILY PLACE INC: $10k → 14%LIFE MESSAGE INC: $10k → 14%GENESIS WOMENS SHELTER & SUPPORT: $20k → 14%GENESIS WOMENS SHELTER & SUPPORT: $15k → 14%HOPE SUPPLY CO: $8k → 14%HOPE SUPPLY CO: $5k → 14%HOPE SUPPLY CO: $5k → 14%HOPE SUPPLY CO: $5k → 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

NY
WY
IA
OH
CA
CO
KS
DC
TX
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.

90%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$3.9M · 45 repeat orgs$442k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +52% since the first grant, against +13% for those funded once.

45 repeat relationships: 24 still active in FY2025, 21 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

45
34

Total granted

$3.9M
$382k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+52%
+13%

Still filing today

91%
79%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 87% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $60k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
HealthHuman ServicesEducationArts & CulturePhilanthropyAnimalsOther
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

  • NH
    New Hope Equine Assisted Therapy
    8× · 2018–2025 · $195k · revenue +73%
  • DC
    DALLAS CASA
    8× · 2017–2025 · $170k · revenue +21%
  • PP
    PATRIOT PAWS SERVICE DOGS
    7× · 2017–2025 · $165k · revenue +102%

Funded once

  • GW
    GENESIS WOMEN'S SHELTER
    one grant, 2019 · $25k
  • TT
    TEXPROTECTS-THE TEXAS ASSOCIATION FOR THE PROTECTI
    one grant, 2017 · $20k
  • RD
    RAINBOW DAYS INC
    one grant, 2017 · $20k · revenue +17%
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
Dallas International University

As a christian university, we provide education and research opportunities preparing global leaders to partner with local communities.

Education
2
Leadership Austin

Leadership austin connects and develops leaders to courageously engage and transform our communities.

Youth Development
3
Episcopal Foundation of Dallas

The foundation's mission is to strengthen and support faith communities by partnering wise investments with purposeful giving.

Religion
4
Goodwill Industries of Dallas Inc

Goodwill Industries of Dallas, Inc. is a not-for-profit organization with a mission to help people with barriers to employment build skills, find jobs and reach their goals in life so that they can reach their full potential and experience…

Employment
5
Raise Texas

RAISE Texas advances equitable policies and programs that foster financial security and economic mobility for low- and moderate-income Texans. We equip, innovate and advocate to reduce disparities, remove barriers and build opportunities…

Human Services
6
Texas Tribune Inc

The texas tribune promotes civic engagement and public education across the state by producing and sharing for free public data interactives, statewide events and intensive and daily reporting on texas public policy, politics and current…

Education
7
Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council

The mission of the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council is to drive evidence-based improvement in patient care and health equity throughout the region.

—
8
Dallas County Medical Society

The mission of the dallas county medical society is to promote public health and advocate for physicians and their relationship with patients, while upholding professionalism in the practice of medicine.

—
9
Dallas Area Rape Crisis Center

To engage and educate communities to prevent sexual violence and to support survivors and their loved ones as they heal and thrive.

Human Services
10
Glasstire

Glasstire is a website about visual art in Texas. Our mission is to expand the conversation about visual art in Texas.

Arts & Culture
11
Connectability

ConnectAbility's mission is to empower those with life altering disabilities and their caregivers to reach their fullest potential.

Human Services
12
Dcms Foundation

The dcms foundation's mission is to improve the quality and distribution of health services throughout dallas county.

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Dallas Casa; the most unlike its peers is National Museum of Wildlife Art of the United States. 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

76 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. 76 of the 85 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)
20
Early backer (in before they grew)
74/76
Grantees still filing
54/76
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

New Hope Equine Assisted Therapy: $195,000 · HealthNew Hope Equine Assisted TherapyMENTAL HEALTH AMERICA OF GREATER DALLAS: $176,000 · HealthMENTAL HEALTH AMERICA OF GREATER DALLASMETRO CRISIS SERVICES INC: $155,000 · HealthMETRO CRISIS SERVICES INCRESOURCE CENTER OF DALLAS INC: $145,000 · HealthRESOURCE CENTER OF DALLAS INCLEGACY COUNSELING CENTER INC: $145,000 · HealthLEGACY COUNSELING CENTER INCTHE MORGAN ADAMS FOUNDATION: $140,000 · HealthTHE MORGAN ADAMS FOUNDATIONTHE CENTER FOR INTEGRATIVE COUNSELING AND PSYCHOLOGY: $135,000 · HealthTHE CENTER FOR INTEGRATIVE COUNSELING A…BIND- Brain Injury Network of Dallas: $111,000 · HealthBIND- Brain Injury Network of DallasCHILDREN'S MEDICAL CENTER FOUNDATION: $103,000 · HealthCHILDREN'S MEDICAL CENTER FOUNDATIONHEALTH SERVICES OF NORTH TEXAS INC: $84,789 · HealthHEALTH SERVICES OF NORTH TEXAS INCAIDS INTERFAITH NETWORK INC: $63,000 · Health+6 more: $95,000 · Health+6 moreSOLAR CAR CHALLENGE FOUNDATION: $248,750 · EducationSOLAR CAR CHALLENGE FO…JUNE SHELTON SCHOOL AND EVALUATION CENTER: $150,000 · EducationJUNE SHELTON SCHOOL AN…SECOND WIND FUND INC: $110,000 · EducationSECOND WIND FUND INCTHE BROOK HILL SCHOOL INC: $100,000 · EducationTHE BROOK HILL SCHOOL …FOUNTAIN VALLEY SCHOOL OF COLORADO: $88,125 · EducationFOUNTAIN VALLEY SCHOOL…INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF DENVER: $71,500 · EducationINTERNATIONAL SCHOOL O…SMITH COUNTY CHAMPIONS FOR CHILDREN INC: $42,000 · Education+5 more: $59,500 · Education+5 moreSKY RANCHES INC: $75,000 · OtherSKY RANCHES INCNORTH TEXAS FOOD BANK: $59,000 · OtherNORTH TEXAS FOOD BANKWomens Symphony League of Tyler Inc: $45,000 · OtherESSILOR VISION FOUNDATION: $45,000 · OtherSMITH COUNTY CHILDRENS SERVICES: $38,000 · OtherAMERICAN NATIONAL RED CROSS - DALLAS FORTH WORTH M: $35,000 · OtherVALLEY ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $75,000 · OtherVALLEY ZOOLOGICAL SOCIET…MENTORING ALLIANCE: $74,000 · OtherMENTORING ALLIANCEWELL COMMUNITY: $70,000 · OtherWELL COMMUNITYRISE ADVENTURES INC: $65,500 · OtherRISE ADVENTURES INCDALLAS ARBORETUM AND BOTANICAL SOCIETY INC: $62,500 · OtherDALLAS ARBORETUM AND BOT…+21 more: $308,000 · Other+21 morePATRIOT PAWS SERVICE DOGS: $165,000 · Human ServicesPATRIOT PAWS…YMCA OF THE ROCKIES: $115,000 · Human ServicesYMCA OF THE …ASCEND DALLAS: $63,000 · Human ServicesASCEND DALLA…GENESIS WOMENS SHELTER & SUPPORT: $35,000 · Human ServicesGENESIS WOME…HOPE SUPPLY CO: $23,000 · Human Services+9 more: $85,000 · Human Services+9 moreJUDI'S HOUSE INC: $165,000 · PhilanthropyEAST TEXAS COMMUNITIES FOUNDATION: $20,000 · PhilanthropyUNITED WAY OF THE COASTAL BEND INC: $10,000 · Philanthropy+1 more: $3,650 · PhilanthropyCAMILLE PLAYERS INC: $90,000 · Arts & CultureFRONTIERS OF FLIGHT MUSEUM INC: $45,000 · Arts & CultureNATIONAL MUSEUM OF WILDLIFE ART OF THE UNITED STATES: $30,000 · Arts & CultureGRAND TETON MUSIC FESTIVAL INC: $15,000 · Arts & CultureDALLAS CASA: $170,000 · Civil RightsCASA OF TRINITY VALLEY INC: $9,600 · Civil Rights
Health$1,547,789Education$869,875Other$952,000Human Services$486,000Philanthropy$198,650Arts & Culture$180,000Civil Rights$179,600

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 budgetSOLAR CAR CHALLENGE FOUNDATION: $248,750 over 9y, 16% of budgetNew Hope Equine Assisted Therapy: $195,000 over 8y, 13% of budgetMENTAL HEALTH AMERICA OF GREATER DALLAS: $176,000 over 8y, 5.2% of budgetDALLAS CASA: $170,000 over 8y, 0.4% of budgetPATRIOT PAWS SERVICE DOGS: $165,000 over 7y, 2.1% of budgetJUDI'S HOUSE INC: $165,000 over 8y, 0.5% of budgetMETRO CRISIS SERVICES INC: $155,000 over 7y, 0.6% of budgetJUNE SHELTON SCHOOL AND EVALUATION CENTER: $150,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetRESOURCE CENTER OF DALLAS INC: $145,000 over 8y, 0.2% of budgetLEGACY COUNSELING CENTER INC: $145,000 over 9y, 1.9% of budgetTHE MORGAN ADAMS FOUNDATION: $140,000 over 9y, 1.1% of budgetTHE CENTER FOR INTEGRATIVE COUNSELING AND PSYCHOLOGY: $135,000 over 9y, 0.8% of budgetYMCA OF THE ROCKIES: $115,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetBIND- Brain Injury Network of Dallas: $111,000 over 9y, 4.8% of budgetSECOND WIND FUND INC: $110,000 over 7y, 2.6% of budgetCHILDREN'S MEDICAL CENTER FOUNDATION: $103,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetTHE BROOK HILL SCHOOL INC: $100,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetCAMILLE PLAYERS INC: $90,000 over 4y, 15% of budgetFOUNTAIN VALLEY SCHOOL OF COLORADO: $88,125 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetHEALTH SERVICES OF NORTH TEXAS INC: $84,789 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetSKY RANCHES INC: $75,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetVALLEY ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $75,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetMENTORING ALLIANCE: $74,000 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetINTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF DENVER: $71,500 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetWELL COMMUNITY: $70,000 over 9y, 3.2% of budgetRISE ADVENTURES INC: $65,500 over 5y, 5.1% of budgetASCEND DALLAS: $63,000 over 6y, 0.4% of budgetAIDS INTERFAITH NETWORK INC: $63,000 over 5y, 0.6% of budgetDALLAS ARBORETUM AND BOTANICAL SOCIETY INC: $62,500 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetNORTH TEXAS FOOD BANK: $59,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetWomens Symphony League of Tyler Inc: $45,000 over 3y, 14% of budgetESSILOR VISION FOUNDATION: $45,000 over 3y, 1.8% of budgetFRONTIERS OF FLIGHT MUSEUM INC: $45,000 over 3y, 1.2% of budgetSMITH COUNTY CHAMPIONS FOR CHILDREN INC: $42,000 over 6y, 2.4% of budgetGENESIS WOMENS SHELTER & SUPPORT: $35,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetNATIONAL MUSEUM OF WILDLIFE ART OF THE UNITED STATES: $30,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetALZHEIMERS ALLIANCE OF NORTHEAST TEXAS dba ALZHEIMERS ALLIANCE OF SMITH COUNTY: $25,000 over 2y, 2.1% of budgetMOSAIC FAMILY SERVICES INC: $25,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetHOPE SUPPLY CO: $23,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetTHE SUICIDE AND CRISIS CENTER OF NORTH TEXAS: $20,000 over 2y, 2.7% of budgetTHE JUNIOR LEAGUE OF TYLER INC: $20,000 over 2y, 3.0% of budgetRAINBOW DAYS INC: $20,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetEAST TEXAS COMMUNITIES FOUNDATION: $20,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetWoodrow Wilson High School Community Foundation Inc: $20,000 over 1y, 3.8% of budgetTHE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS FOUNDATION INC: $17,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetVISITING NURSE ASSOCIATION OF TEXAS: $15,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMEALS ON WHEELS COLLIN COUNTY: $15,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetGRAND TETON MUSIC FESTIVAL INC: $15,000 over 1y, 0.4% 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 SOLAR CAR CHALLENGE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds New Hope Equine Assisted Therapy ↗
  • Who funds MENTAL HEALTH AMERICA OF GREATER DALLAS ↗
  • Who funds DALLAS CASA ↗
  • Who funds PATRIOT PAWS SERVICE DOGS ↗
  • Who funds JUDI'S HOUSE INC ↗
  • Who funds METRO CRISIS SERVICES INC ↗
  • Who funds JUNE SHELTON SCHOOL AND EVALUATION CENTER ↗
  • Who funds RESOURCE CENTER OF DALLAS INC ↗
  • Who funds LEGACY COUNSELING CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds THE MORGAN ADAMS FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds THE CENTER FOR INTEGRATIVE COUNSELING AND PSYCHOLOGY ↗
  • Who funds YMCA OF THE ROCKIES ↗
  • Who funds BIND- Brain Injury Network of Dallas ↗
  • Who funds SECOND WIND FUND INC ↗
  • Who funds CHILDREN'S MEDICAL CENTER FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds THE BROOK HILL SCHOOL INC ↗
  • Who funds CAMILLE PLAYERS INC ↗
  • Who funds FOUNTAIN VALLEY SCHOOL OF COLORADO ↗
  • Who funds HEALTH SERVICES OF NORTH TEXAS INC ↗
  • Who funds SKY RANCHES INC ↗
  • Who funds VALLEY ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds MENTORING ALLIANCE ↗
  • Who funds INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF DENVER ↗
  • Who funds WELL COMMUNITY ↗
  • Who funds RISE ADVENTURES INC ↗
  • Who funds ASCEND DALLAS ↗
  • Who funds AIDS INTERFAITH NETWORK INC ↗
  • Who funds DALLAS ARBORETUM AND BOTANICAL SOCIETY INC ↗
  • Who funds NORTH TEXAS FOOD BANK ↗
  • Who funds Womens Symphony League of Tyler Inc ↗
  • Who funds ESSILOR VISION FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds FRONTIERS OF FLIGHT MUSEUM INC ↗
  • Who funds SMITH COUNTY CHAMPIONS FOR CHILDREN INC ↗
  • Who funds GENESIS WOMENS SHELTER & SUPPORT ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WILDLIFE ART OF THE UNITED STATES ↗
  • Who funds ALZHEIMERS ALLIANCE OF NORTHEAST TEXAS dba ALZHEIMERS ALLIANCE OF SMITH COUNTY ↗

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.

Communities Foundatio…The Moody FoundationThe Dallas FoundationUnited Way of Metropo…Hillcrest FoundationW P & Bulah Luse Foun…Texas Instruments Fou…Meadows Foundation IncThe Rees-Jones Founda…The Perot FoundationHoblitzelle FoundationRoy and Christine Stu…
Communities Foundation of Texas IncTX53.8× affinity37 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Communities Foundation of Texas Inc · The Moody Foundation · The Dallas Foundation · United Way of Metropolitan Dallas Inc · Hillcrest Foundation · W P & Bulah Luse Foundation · Texas Instruments Foundation · Meadows Foundation Inc · The Rees-Jones Foundation · The Perot Foundation · Hoblitzelle Foundation · Roy and Christine Sturgis Charitable And

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 Lightner Sams Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Lightner Sams Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%5%11%20%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
    29report 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 The Lightner Sams Foundation Inc?

    Find your warmest path to The Lightner Sams Foundation Inc 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 85 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 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Lightner Sams’ 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