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The Looper Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Looper 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.

$4.5M
Granted FY2024still arriving
30
Grants FY2024still arriving
10
States reached
$1.1M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0197% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Religion$8.0MPhilanthropy$7.3MYouth Development$3.9MEducation$3.2MInternational$1.6MCommunity Improvement$786kRecreation & Sports$636kHealth$543kOther$0
02FY2024 · 30 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k2 grants · $11k
  • $10k–50k7 grants · $152k
  • $50k–250k16 grants · $1.6M
  • $250k+5 grants · $2.7M
$100,000
Median grant
10
States reached
$46M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Young Life$1,075,000
Fuller Theological Seminary$671,000
Young Life$400,000
Alongside Inc$300,000
Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary Inc$300,000
International Justice Mission$200,000
Living Water International$150,000
Redeemer City to City$135,000
ECO$125,000
ECO$125,000
His Father's Heart Ministries$100,000
Pulse Outreach$100,000
College Of Biblical Studies$100,000
Urban Youth Workers Institute$100,000
Living Water International$100,000
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 (FY20–24, $825k) land where the poverty rate runs at 8%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 6% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%Living Water International: $200k → 8%Living Water International: $150k → 8%Living Water International: $150k → 8%Living Water International: $150k → 8%Living Water International: $100k → 8%Living Water International: $25k → 8%Memorial Assistance Ministries: $25k → 16%Memorial Assistance Ministries: $25k → 16%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

MN
MI
NY
MA
PA
CA
CO
MO
KY
AZ
NC
SC
DC
GA
TX
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.

92%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$23M · 38 repeat orgs$2.2M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +49% since the first grant, against +31% for those funded once.

38 repeat relationships: 16 still active in FY2024, 22 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

38
30

Total granted

$23M
$1.9M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+49%
+31%

Still filing today

63%
43%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 94% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $260k 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
ReligionEducationHuman ServicesYouth DevelopmentInternationalPublic BenefitOther
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

  • YL
    YOUNG LIFE
    4× · 2020–2024 · $3.7M · revenue +62%
  • GT
    Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary Inc
    7× · 2017–2024 · $1.5M · revenue +15%
  • HC
    HOUSTON CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
    3× · 2017–2023 · $1.2M · revenue +84%

Funded once

  • H
    HBU
    one grant, 2018 · $342k
  • 8K
    89.3 KSBJ
    one grant, 2018 · $250k
  • HOPE INTERNATIONALgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $250k · revenue +46%
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
Christianity Today International

Christianity Today is a global community inspired by evangelical conviction to advance the stories and ideas of the kingdom of God. Our mission is to elevate the storytellers and sages of the global church.

Religion
2
Dallas International University

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

Education
3
Biglife International Inc

Biglife international inc. empowers believers worldwide to reach and disciple their own people for jesus christ.

Recreation & Sports
4
Youth for Christ International Ministries

As part of the body of Christ, to see that every young person in every people group in every nation has the opportunity to make an informed decision to be a follower of Jesus Christ and become a part of the local church.

Religion
5
The King's University

The King's University integrates Biblical education and practical ministry to shape Spirit-formed individuals who follow Jesus, serve His Church, and are sent to impact the world.

Education
6
International Leadership Institute

The international leadership institute (ili) changes history by accelerating the spread of the gospel through training and mobilizing leaders of leaders to reach their nations. ili accomplishes this purpose through cutting edge leadership…

Religion
7
Criswell College

The mission of criswell college is to provide ministerial and professional higher education for men and women preparing to serve as christian leaders throughout society, while maintaining an institutional commitment to biblical inerrancy.

Education
8
Christian Mission for the United Nations Community

Christian Mission for the United Nations Community is a ministry aimed at leading the head of every nation and other top leaders to faith in Jesus Christ and helping them to walk in dependence upon God as they discharge the…

—
9
The King's University

The King's University integrates Biblical education and practical ministry to shape Spirit-formed individuals who follow Jesus, serve His Church, and are sent to impact the world.

Education
10
Kingdom Advisors Inc

Kingdom advisors is a discipleship ministry serving christian financial professionals. the organization encourages, educates, and empowers christian financial professionals with biblical wisdom to be effective disciples of jesus christ in…

Religion
11
Charis Bible College Inc

Charis Bible Colleges, Inc. (CBC) was established to train and equip individuals to carry out the Gospel of Jesus Christ through practical application through mentoring, training, and teaching.

Religion
12
Christian Leaders for Africa Inc

Christian leaders from africa promotes christian theological training & education of local leaders in kenya and throughout africa. it invests in undergraduate, masters, and phd scholarships, faculty support for african professors and…

Religion
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Young Life; the most unlike its peers is Covenant House Texas. 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

45 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. 45 of the 73 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)
5
Early backer (in before they grew)
42/45
Grantees still filing
33/45
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

National Christian Foundation: $5,529,500 · OtherNational Christian FoundationCOLLEGE OF BIBLICAL STUDIES - HOUSTON: $1,770,000 · OtherCOLLEGE OF BIBLICAL STUDIES - HOUSTONHOUSTON CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY: $1,241,357 · OtherHOUSTON CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITYGrace Presbyterian Church: $1,091,180 · OtherGrace Presbyterian ChurchECO: $516,700 · Other+32 more: $2,843,905 · Other+32 moreYOUNG LIFE: $3,720,000 · Youth DevelopmentYOUNG LIFECHO-YEH CAMP AND CONFERENCE CENTER INC: $595,833 · Youth DevelopmentCHO-YEH CAMP AND C…+2 more: $140,000 · Youth DevelopmentFULLER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY: $1,752,345 · EducationFULLER THEOLOGIC…Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary Inc: $1,515,000 · EducationGordon-Conwell T…GRACE SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY: $325,000 · EducationGRACE SCHOOL OF …THE CENTER FOR HEARING AND SPEECH: $280,000 · EducationTHE CENTER FOR H…+4 more: $88,500 · EducationAlongside Inc: $525,000 · ReligionPraxis Inc: $500,550 · ReligionPULSE OUTREACH: $300,000 · ReligionKanakuk Ministries: $242,333 · ReligionLIONHEART CHILDREN'S ACADEMY: $150,000 · ReligionRedeemer City To City: $135,000 · ReligionHISPANIC MINISTRY CENTER: $100,000 · Religion+5 more: $217,500 · ReligionNATL CHRISTIAN CHARITABLE FDN INC: $1,750,000 · Philanthropy+2 more: $6,400 · PhilanthropyEdify: $500,000 · InternationalINTERNATIONAL JUSTICE MISSION: $350,000 · InternationalHOPE INTERNATIONAL: $250,000 · InternationalLiving Water International: $775,000 · Human ServicesMemorial Assistance Ministries: $100,000 · Human Services+4 more: $65,000 · Human Services
Other$12,992,642Youth Development$4,455,833Education$3,960,845Religion$2,170,383Philanthropy$1,756,400International$1,100,000Human Services$940,000

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 budgetYOUNG LIFE: $3,720,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetCOLLEGE OF BIBLICAL STUDIES - HOUSTON: $1,770,000 over 6y, 10% of budgetFULLER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY: $1,752,345 over 3y, 1.2% of budgetNATL CHRISTIAN CHARITABLE FDN INC: $1,750,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetGordon-Conwell Theological Seminary Inc: $1,515,000 over 7y, 1.0% of budgetHOUSTON CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY: $1,241,357 over 3y, 1.1% of budgetLiving Water International: $775,000 over 4y, 1.0% of budgetCHO-YEH CAMP AND CONFERENCE CENTER INC: $595,833 over 3y, 3.9% of budgetAlongside Inc: $525,000 over 3y, 17% of budgetPraxis Inc: $500,550 over 3y, 6.3% of budgetEdify: $500,000 over 2y, 4.1% of budgetINTERNATIONAL JUSTICE MISSION: $350,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetGRACE SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY: $325,000 over 7y, 1.9% of budgetPULSE OUTREACH: $300,000 over 2y, 1.8% of budgetTHE CENTER FOR HEARING AND SPEECH: $280,000 over 2y, 3.5% of budgetHOPE INTERNATIONAL: $250,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetKanakuk Ministries: $242,333 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetCROSSWALK CENTER: $240,000 over 4y, 9.5% of budgetBill Hull Ministries: $152,500 over 2y, 25% of budgetLIONHEART CHILDREN'S ACADEMY: $150,000 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetRedeemer City To City: $135,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetHISPANIC MINISTRY CENTER: $100,000 over 1y, 6.6% of budgetMemorial Assistance Ministries: $100,000 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetYOUTH FOR CHRISTUSA INC: $100,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetCANCARE INC: $55,000 over 2y, 3.3% of budgetINTERFACE SAMARITAN COUNSELING CENTERS: $55,000 over 2y, 3.6% of budgetGENEROUS GIVING INC: $50,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetTHE CENTER FOR FAITHWALK LEADERSHIP: $50,000 over 1y, 6.2% of budgetEast-West Ministries International: $50,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetTHERES STILL HOPE: $50,000 over 1y, 21% of budgetTHE BONHOEFFER PROJECT: $50,000 over 1y, 14% of budgetTexas A&M Foundation: $37,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCATHOLIC CHARITIES OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF GALVESTON - HOUSTON: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetARIZONA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCOVENANT HOUSE TEXAS: $20,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetThe Brookwood Community Inc: $16,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetLeighton Ford Ministries Inc: $12,500 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetBOYS AND GIRLS COUNTRY OF HOUSTON INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetBLESSINGS IN A BACKPACK INC: $10,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetAUSTIN COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE BOOT CAMPAIGN INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetNATIONAL CENTER FOR FAMILY PHILANTHROPY INC: $1,400 over 1y, 0.1% 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 YOUNG LIFE ↗
  • Who funds COLLEGE OF BIBLICAL STUDIES - HOUSTON ↗
  • Who funds FULLER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY ↗
  • Who funds NATL CHRISTIAN CHARITABLE FDN INC ↗
  • Who funds Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary Inc ↗
  • Who funds HOUSTON CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds Living Water International ↗
  • Who funds CHO-YEH CAMP AND CONFERENCE CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds Alongside Inc ↗
  • Who funds Praxis Inc ↗
  • Who funds Edify ↗
  • Who funds INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE MISSION ↗
  • Who funds GRACE SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY ↗
  • Who funds PULSE OUTREACH ↗
  • Who funds THE CENTER FOR HEARING AND SPEECH ↗
  • Who funds HOPE INTERNATIONAL ↗
  • Who funds Kanakuk Ministries ↗
  • Who funds CROSSWALK CENTER ↗
  • Who funds Bill Hull Ministries ↗
  • Who funds LIONHEART CHILDREN'S ACADEMY ↗
  • Who funds Redeemer City To City ↗
  • Who funds HISPANIC MINISTRY CENTER ↗
  • Who funds Memorial Assistance Ministries ↗
  • Who funds YOUTH FOR CHRISTUSA INC ↗
  • Who funds CANCARE INC ↗
  • Who funds INTERFACE SAMARITAN COUNSELING CENTERS ↗

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.

Greater Houston Commu…Christian Community F…Servant FoundationShell USA Company Fou…The Hg Ash FoundationMD Anderson FoundationNatl Christian Charit…Strake FoundationAlbert & Ethel Herzst…Raymond James Charita…The Signatry Charitab…Midway Foundation
Greater Houston Community FoundationTX28.2× affinity15 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Greater Houston Community Foundation · Christian Community Foundation Inc · Servant Foundation · Shell USA Company Foundation · The Hg Ash Foundation · MD Anderson Foundation · Natl Christian Charitable Fdn Inc · Strake Foundation · Albert & Ethel Herzstein Charitable Foundation · Raymond James Charitable Endowment Fund · The Signatry Charitable Trust · Midway 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 Looper Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Looper Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%2%6%14%25%funder's share of their income ↑0%8%15%22%30%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    2get no government money at all
    2report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–30%
    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 Looper Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to The Looper 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 73 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 Looper’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