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The Morningstar Foundation at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Private foundation

The Morningstar 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.

$13k
Granted FY2024still arriving
1
Grants FY2024still arriving
1
States reached
$13k
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, FY2020 to 2024.

Philanthropy$4.9MEducation$282kPublic Safety & Disaster$150kReligion$105kEnvironment$75kHousing & Shelter$71kAnimals$66kHuman Services$66kOther$0
02FY2024 · 1 grant

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$13,040
Median grant
1
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
BANK OF AMERICA CHARITABLE GIFT$13,040
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 (FY20–22, $48k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 63% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%CANINE COMPANIONS FOR INDEPENDENCE: $1k → 13%WEDGWOOD CHRISTIAN SERVICES: $3k → 11%PROJECT SANTA: $10k → 12%SERVICE DOGS OF VIRGINIA: $5k → 8%FOUNDATION TO FIGHT H-ABC: $10k → 8%PROJECT SANTA: $5k → 12%FOUNDATION TO FIGHT H-ABC: $3k → 8%PROJECT SANTA: $5k → 12%THE REAL WAY FOUNDATION: $3k → 14%LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES: $4k → 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

IL
MI
NY
MA
OR
OH
CT
CA
VA
MD
NC
DC
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.

88%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$3.4M · 35 repeat orgs$445k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +50% since the first grant, against +39% for those funded once.

35 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2024, 34 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

35
43

Total granted

$3.4M
$445k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+50%
+39%

Still filing today

63%
60%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

50%100%’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’20’21’22’23’24
Human ServicesAnimalsHealthArts & CultureEnvironmentPublic Safety & DisasterOther
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

  • CG
    COAST GUARD FOUNDATION INC
    4× · 2020–2023 · $68k · revenue +130%
  • BR
    BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY FOUNDATION
    3× · 2020–2022 · $50k · revenue +94%
  • GP
    GODS PIT CREW INC
    3× · 2020–2022 · $48k · revenue +45%

Funded once

  • UP
    UNC PEMBROKE FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2023 · $100k
  • CN
    CHRISTOPHER NEWPORT UNIVERSITY EDUCATION
    one grant, 2023 · $100k
  • WH
    WEST HAMPTON BAPTIST CHURCH
    one grant, 2023 · $50k
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
Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons Inc

THE ANIMAL RESCUE FUND OF THE HAMPTONS ACTIVELY RESCUES CATS AND DOGS, PROVIDES QUALITY CARE AND OFFERS SANCTUARY UNTIL LOVING HOMES CAN BE FOUND. ARF's work with animals, within our community and throughout the organization is guided by…

Animals
2
Washington Humane Society

The washington humane society protects animals, supports families, and advocates for positive change to create a world where all animals can thrive. we enrich the humanity of our communities by promoting compassion and encouraging people…

Animals
3
Humane Society of Charlotte Inc

Humane Society of Charlotte mission is to champion the wellbeing of companion animals and strengthen their bond with the people who know, love, and need them.

Animals
4
Children's Home Society of North Carolina Inc

The Children's Home Society of North Carolina's mission is to promote the right of every child to a permanent, safe, and loving family.

Human Services
5
Humane Society of Vero Beach and Indian River County Inc

None

Animals
6
The Washington County Humane Society Inc

Rescue and care for stray or unwanted animals.

Animals
7
Western Carolina Rescue Ministries Inc

Provide food, shelter, rehabilitation and christian ministry to the poor and homeless

Housing & Shelter
8
Adams County Pet Rescue

Rescue, care, and find homes for abandoned and/or abused animals.

Animals
9
Portsmouth Humane Society Inc

Provide shelter, care, and treatment to homeless animals in the city of portsmouth community through permanent adoptions, spay/neuter programs, and community education.

Animals
10
Dogs Playing for Life Inc

Dogs playing for life is redefining the meaning and importance of quality of life for all sheltered dogs by improving their experience through playgroups and individualized training, resulting in urgent and responsible livesaving.

Animals
11
Nevada Humane Society

To care for pets, find them homes and save lives.

Animals
12
Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter Inc

Provide shelter for homeless animals and prevent animal cruelty

Animals
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Canine Companions for Independence Inc; the most unlike its peers is Montebello Volunteer Fire Department Inc. 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

51 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. 51 of the 79 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)
16
Early backer (in before they grew)
49/51
Grantees still filing
41/51
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

BANK OF AMERICA CHARITABLE GIFT: $2,733,070 · OtherBANK OF AMERICA CHARITABLE GIFT+54 more: $734,500 · Other+54 moreBANK OF AMERICA CHARITABLE GIFT FD: $2,177,293 · PhilanthropyBANK OF AMERICA CHARITABLE GIFT FD+2 more: $26,000 · PhilanthropyGODS PIT CREW INC: $48,000 · Public Safety & DisasterMontebello Volunteer Fire Department Inc: $18,000 · Public Safety & DisasterDyers Store Volunteer Fire Department Inc: $10,000 · Public Safety & DisasterBLUE RIDGE PARKWAY FOUNDATION: $50,000 · EnvironmentAPPALACHIAN VOICES: $15,000 · EnvironmentBlue Ridge Environmental Defense League: $3,500 · EnvironmentCOAST GUARD FOUNDATION INC: $68,000 · Public BenefitPROJECT SANTA INC: $20,000 · Human ServicesFoundation to Fight H-ABC: $13,000 · Human ServicesSERVICE DOGS OF VIRGINIA INC: $5,000 · Human ServicesALPHA PREGNANCY SUPPORT INC: $5,000 · Human ServicesLUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES NATIONAL CAPITAL AREAINC: $3,500 · Human ServicesTHE REAL WAY FOUNDATION INC: $3,000 · Human ServicesWEDGWOOD CHRISTIAN SERVICES: $2,500 · Human Services+1 more: $1,000 · Human ServicesPEACE RIVER REFUGE & RANCH INC: $25,500 · AnimalsXERCES SOCIETY INC: $15,000 · AnimalsBEAUTY'S HAVEN FARM & EQUINE RESCUE: $5,000 · AnimalsNORFOLK SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS INC: $3,000 · AnimalsWags and Walks: $2,500 · Animals+1 more: $1,500 · Animals
Other$3,467,570Philanthropy$2,203,293Public Safety & Disaster$76,000Environment$68,500Public Benefit$68,000Human Services$53,000Animals$52,500

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 budgetBANK OF AMERICA CHARITABLE GIFT FD: $2,177,293 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCOAST GUARD FOUNDATION INC: $68,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetBLUE RIDGE PARKWAY FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetGODS PIT CREW INC: $48,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetFORKIDS INC: $40,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetORPHAN HELPERSINC: $32,000 over 4y, 1.1% of budgetPEACE RIVER REFUGE & RANCH INC: $25,500 over 3y, 3.5% of budgetRODEHEAVER BOYS RANCH INC: $25,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetLot 2540 Incorporated: $20,000 over 1y, 5.9% of budgetHenderson County & Thermal Belt Habitat for Humanity: $19,500 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetMontebello Volunteer Fire Department Inc: $18,000 over 3y, 13% of budgetAPPALACHIAN VOICES: $15,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetAMERICAN UNIVERSITY: $15,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy: $15,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetXERCES SOCIETY INC: $15,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetFoundation to Fight H-ABC: $13,000 over 2y, 7.9% of budgetThe Antelope Valley Boys and Girls Club: $10,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetKIDS KICKING CANCER INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetDyers Store Volunteer Fire Department Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 7.9% of budgetGrace Resource Center Inc: $9,500 over 2y, 0.7% of budget1ST STAGE INC: $9,500 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetJOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: $8,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE FRIENDS OF HOMOSASSA SPRINGS WI: $6,000 over 3y, 3.5% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetVIRGINIA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: $5,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBEAUTY'S HAVEN FARM & EQUINE RESCUE: $5,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetSERVICE DOGS OF VIRGINIA INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetGIFT OF LIFE MARROW REGISTRY INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetVIRGINIA NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY INC: $5,000 over 1y, 4.8% of budgetALPHA PREGNANCY SUPPORT INC: $5,000 over 1y, 5.8% of budgetBlue Ridge Environmental Defense League: $3,500 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetMOTHER SETON HOUSE INC: $3,500 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetLUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES NATIONAL CAPITAL AREAINC: $3,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE SOCIETY OF ST ANDREW INC: $3,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSIGNATURE THEATRE INC: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNORFOLK SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS INC: $3,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetINTERFAITH WORKS: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWEDGWOOD CHRISTIAN SERVICES: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE PAINTED TURTLE: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetWags and Walks: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetINOVA HEALTH SYSTEM FOUNDATION: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SOCIETY: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSAFETY SHELTER OF ST JOHNS COUNTY INC: $2,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetPENINSULA FINE ARTS CENTER INC: $2,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetAMERICAN HIKING SOCIETY: $1,500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetDC STRINGS WORKSHOP INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetCANINE COMPANIONS FOR INDEPENDENCE 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.

  • Who funds BANK OF AMERICA CHARITABLE GIFT FD ↗
  • Who funds COAST GUARD FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds GODS PIT CREW INC ↗
  • Who funds FORKIDS INC ↗
  • Who funds ORPHAN HELPERSINC ↗
  • Who funds PEACE RIVER REFUGE & RANCH INC ↗
  • Who funds RODEHEAVER BOYS RANCH INC ↗
  • Who funds Lot 2540 Incorporated ↗
  • Who funds PROJECT SANTA INC ↗
  • Who funds Henderson County & Thermal Belt Habitat for Humanity ↗
  • Who funds Montebello Volunteer Fire Department Inc ↗
  • Who funds APPALACHIAN VOICES ↗
  • Who funds AMERICAN UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds The Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy ↗
  • Who funds XERCES SOCIETY INC ↗
  • Who funds Foundation to Fight H-ABC ↗
  • Who funds The Antelope Valley Boys and Girls Club ↗
  • Who funds KIDS KICKING CANCER INC ↗
  • Who funds Dyers Store Volunteer Fire Department Inc ↗
  • Who funds Grace Resource Center Inc ↗
  • Who funds 1ST STAGE INC ↗
  • Who funds JOHNS HOPKINS 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.

Hampton Roads Communi…Galena-Yorktown Found…United Way of South H…Greater Washington Co…Enterprise Holdings F…Duke Energy FoundationFoundation for the Ca…Ge Aerospace Foundati…The Ayco Charitable F…Raymond James Charita…Network for GoodShell USA Company Fou…
Hampton Roads Community FoundationVA15× affinity5 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Hampton Roads Community Foundation · Galena-Yorktown Foundation · United Way of South Hampton Roads · Greater Washington Community Foundation · Enterprise Holdings Foundation · Duke Energy Foundation · Foundation for the Carolinas · Ge Aerospace Foundation · The Ayco Charitable Foundation · Raymond James Charitable Endowment Fund · Network for Good · Shell USA Company 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 Morningstar Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Morningstar Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 90%1%4%8%15%funder's share of their income ↑0%13%25%38%50%share of the org’s income from government →median 14%
  • Xerces Society Inc: 22% of income from government
  • American Hiking Society: 14% of income from government
  • Johns Hopkins University: 12% of income from government
  • Interfaith Works: 4% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
9get no government money at all
10report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–50%
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 Morningstar Foundation?

Find your warmest path to The Morningstar 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 79 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 Morningstar’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