Skip to content
The Living Light Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Living Light 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.

$230k
Granted FY2024still arriving
9
Grants FY2024still arriving
3
States reached
$110k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its 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 2024.

Human Services$120kInternational$55kPublic Benefit$55kFood & Nutrition$50kCivil Rights$40kCrime & Legal$35kReligion$30kEnvironment$25kOther$0
02FY2024 · 9 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k2 grants · $10k
  • $10k–50k6 grants · $110k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $110k
$10,453
Median grant
3
States reached
$507k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
GIVEDIRECTLY$110,000
THE BAIL PROJECT$30,000
CAMFED$30,000
FEEDING AMERICA$20,000
UNICEF USA$10,453
GLIDE FOUNDATION$10,000
HEALTH YOUNIVERSITY GROUP$10,000
COUNTERCULTURE MUSEUM$5,000
EVERYONEON$5,000
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 36% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%HEALTH YOUNIVERSITY GROUP: $10k → 8%COUNTERCULTURE MUSEUM: $5k → 10%REASON FOUNDATION: $20k → 14%INNER CIRCLE FOUNDATION: $5k → 16%EVERYONEON: $10k → 14%FEEDING AMERICA: $20k → 14%CANAL ALLIANCE: $10k → 8%UNICEF USA: $10k → 10%REASON FOUNDATION: $5k → 14%YOUNG VOICES: $5k → 14%FEEDING AMERICA: $10k → 14%CANAL ALLIANCE: $10k → 8%GLIDE FOUNDATION: $10k → 10%EVERYONEON: $5k → 14%EVERYONEON: $10k → 14%FEEDING AMERICA: $10k → 14%CANAL ALLIANCE: $10k → 8%GLIDE FOUNDATION: $10k → 10%GLIDE FOUNDATION: $10k → 10%GLIDE FOUNDATION: $10k → 10%SF-MARIN FOOD BANK: $10k → 10%PACHAMAMA ALLIANCE: $25k → 10%PARTNERS FOR CHANGE THE PRESIDIO OF SAN FRANCISCO: $5k → 10%CAMFED: $30k → 10%CAMFED: $10k → 10%KQED: $1k → 10%WIKIPEDIA: $1k → 10%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.

75%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$320k · 7 repeat orgs$107k to everyone else

7 repeat relationships: 5 still active in FY2024, 2 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

7
7

Total granted

$320k
$52k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+47%
+60%

Still filing today

100%
57%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 76% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $55k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’19’20’22’23’24
InternationalReligionEducationHuman ServicesEnvironmentFood & 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

  • GIVEDIRECTLY INC
    2× · 2023–2024 · $120k · revenue +47%
  • GF
    GLIDE FOUNDATION
    4× · 2017–2024 · $40k · revenue +51%
  • Feeding America
    3× · 2020–2024 · $40k · revenue +40%

Funded once

  • TP
    The Pachamama Alliancegraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $25k · revenue +68%
  • SF
    SAN FRANCISCO FOOD BANKgraduated
    one grant, 2019 · $10k · revenue +60%
  • PF
    PARTNERS FOR CHANGE THE PRESIDIO OF SAN FRANCISCO
    one grant, 2020 · $5k
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
Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition

The mission of the global alliance for improved nutrition (gain) is to improve the consumption of healthier diets for all, especially the most vulnerable, by improving the availability, affordability, desirability, and sustainability of…

Food & Nutrition
2
Actionaid Usa

Actionaid is an international network building a just, equitable, and sustainable world in solidarity with communities on the frontlines of poverty and injustice. actionaid usa is the u.s. branch of actionaid international, which works in…

Social Science
3
Open Markets Institute

The open markets institute works to help people relearn how to use competition policy to build stronger democracies, more just and equitable societies, more innovative and sustainable economies, and a more secure and peaceful world.

Education
4
Friends of the Earth

Friends of the earth strives for a more healthy and just world by defendng the environment and human health while advancing social and economic justice by conducting research and education, transforming the economy so it protects the…

Environment
5
Food Forward Inc

Food forward fights hunger and prevents food waste by rescuing fresh surplus produce, connecting this abundance with people experiencing food insecurity, and inspiring others to do the same.

Food & Nutrition
6
Gavi Alliance

To save lives and protect people's health by increasing equitable and sustainable use of vaccines.

International
7
Feeding San Diego

On a mission to connect every person facing hunger with nutritious meals by maximizing food rescue. through direct service and community partnerships, feeding san diego provides more than 26 million meals each year to children, families,…

Food & Nutrition
8
Waterorg

Water.org's goal is to bring safe water and sanitation to the world through access to small, affordable loans.

International
9
We Are Family Foundation

The we are family foundation celebrates the vision of a global family by creating and supporting programs that inspire and educate people about mutual respect, understanding and appreciation of cultural diversity.

Civil Rights
10
Pact Inc

Pact is a nonprofit organization that builds evidence-based, data-driven, and community-led solutions for human development (continued in schedule o)

International
11
Project Drawdown

Project drawdown's mission is to drive meaningful climate action by advancing science-based solutions and strategies. project drawdown's work is focused on three pillars: science - advancing science-based climate solutions and strategies;…

Education
12
Partners in Food Solutions

Improve the food value chain in developing countries by mobilizing corporate volunteers to share knowledge and expertise with small and growing food processors.

International
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Camfed Usa Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Health Youniveristy Group. 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

14 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. 14 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)
14/14
Grantees still filing
11/14
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

GIVEDIRECTLY INC: $120,000 · Human ServicesGIVEDIRECTLY INCGLIDE FOUNDATION: $40,000 · ReligionGLIDE FOUNDATIONCANAL ALLIANCE: $30,000 · ReligionCANAL ALLIANCECAMFED USA FOUNDATION: $40,000 · InternationalCAMFED USA FO…UNITED STATES FUND FOR UNICEF: $10,453 · InternationalUNITED STATES…Feeding America: $40,000 · Food & NutritionFeeding Am…THE REASON FOUNDATION: $25,000 · EducationTHE REASO…HEALTH YOUNIVERISTY GROUP: $10,000 · EducationHEALTH YO…SAN FRANCISCO FOOD BANK: $10,000 · OtherSAN FRANCISCO FOOD BA…PARTNERS FOR CHANGE THE PRESIDIO OF SAN FRANCISCO: $5,000 · OtherPARTNERS FOR CHANGE T…COUNTERCULTURE MUSEUM: $5,000 · OtherCOUNTERCULTURE MUSEUMINNER CIRCLE FOUNDATION: $5,000 · OtherINNER CIRCLE FOUNDATI…Young Voices: $5,000 · OtherYoung VoicesThe Pachamama Alliance: $25,000 · OtherThe Pachamama Allianc…CONNECT TO COMPETE INC: $25,000 · OtherCONNECT TO COMPETE IN…+2 more: $2,000 · OtherTHE BAIL PROJECT INC: $30,000 · Crime & Legal
Human Services$120,000Religion$70,000International$50,453Food & Nutrition$40,000Education$35,000Other$82,000Crime & Legal$30,000

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 budgetGIVEDIRECTLY INC: $120,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetGLIDE FOUNDATION: $40,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCAMFED USA FOUNDATION: $40,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetFeeding America: $40,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCANAL ALLIANCE: $30,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetTHE BAIL PROJECT INC: $30,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetTHE REASON FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetThe Pachamama Alliance: $25,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetCONNECT TO COMPETE INC: $25,000 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetUNITED STATES FUND FOR UNICEF: $10,453 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHEALTH YOUNIVERISTY GROUP: $10,000 over 1y, 83% of budgetSAN FRANCISCO FOOD BANK: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetYoung Voices: $5,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetKQED INC: $1,000 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.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization The Living Light Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Living Light 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%4%8%11%15%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 · 0–15%
    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 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 Living Light’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