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There is a Light Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

There is a 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.

$697k
Granted FY2024still arriving
70
Grants FY2024still arriving
7
States reached
$250k
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, FY2021 to 2024.

Education$728kInternational$175kEnvironment$121kHealth$116kCrime & Legal$80kFood & Nutrition$45kYouth Development$38kCivil Rights$31kOther$0
02FY2024 · 70 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k57 grants · $182k
  • $10k–50k10 grants · $141k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $125k
  • $250k+1 grant · $250k
$2,995
Median grant
7
States reached
$2.0M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
SOUTHWESTERN LAW SCHOOL$250,000
SOUTHWESTERN LAW SCHOOL$75,000
INNOCENCE OC$50,000
ONEKID ONEWORLD INC$25,000
MUSIC FOR MOVEMENTS INC$25,000
INNOCEANA$20,000
INTERNATIONAL CHILDRENS MEDIA CENTER$10,800
LOS ANGELES REGIONAL FOOD BANK$10,000
A QUARTER BLUE$10,000
EDWARD CHARLES FOUNDATION$10,000
LOS ANGELES REGIONAL FOOD BANK$10,000
SUSAN G KOMEN BREAST CANCER FOUNDATION$10,000
B Ponce$10,000
TIDINGS FOR TEENS$7,500
K Kramer$6,889
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 (FY21–24, $95k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 47% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants spread fairly evenly across need levels.

area typical 11%MURPHSLIFE FOUNDATION: $25k → 8%Dream Machine Tour: $10k → 14%HOPING HEARTS FOUNDATION INC: $5k → 6%MARYAM PARMAN FOUNDATION FOR CHILDREN INC: $5k → 10%GIVE TO GIVE FOUNDATION: $25k → 17%CHILD INTERNATIONAL: $15k → 10%EDWARD CHARLES FOUNDATION: $10k → 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

WA
IL
NY
MA
OH
PA
CA
UT
CO
MO
VA
SC
GA
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.

27%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$388k · 9 repeat orgs$1.0M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +14% since the first grant, against +3% for those funded once.

9 repeat relationships: 7 still active in FY2024, 2 since wound down; 59 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

9
42

Total granted

$388k
$478k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+14%
+3%

Still filing today

89%
55%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 22% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $545k went to new ones.

50%100%’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’21’22’23’24
Human ServicesEducationInternationalCivil RightsHealthCrime & LegalOther
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

  • OK
    ONE KID ONE WORLD
    3× · 2022–2024 · $85k · revenue +14%
  • MF
    MUSIC FOR MOVEMENTS INC DBA BYE BYE PLASTIC USA
    2× · 2023–2024 · $50k · revenue +152% · 32% of their budget
  • LA
    LOS ANGELES REGIONAL FOOD BANK
    2× · 2022–2024 · $45k · revenue +46%

Funded once

  • NT
    N T Hong Nguyen
    one grant, 2021 · $30k
  • AR
    ARMENIAN RELIEF SOCIETY INC
    one grant, 2023 · $25k · revenue -8%
  • GT
    GIVE TO RESEARCHgraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $25k · revenue +40%
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
Los Angeles Innocence Project Inc

The purpose is to exonerate the wrongly convicted, uncover and remedy past misuse of evidence in the courtroom, and improve the dialogue among stakeholders in the criminal legal system to prevent future injustice.

Crime & Legal
2
Ucla Foundation

The ucla foundation is the giving, receiving, and investing arm of the ucla campus. the foundation enables private donors to help build, sustain and advance one of the world's finest academic and research institutions. private philanthropy…

Education
3
Fajr Scientific

To provide multi-specialty surgical care, humanitarian aid and educational support to people in low- and middle-income countries.

Science & Tech
4
The Uc Davis Foundation

The mission of the uc davis foundation is to secure, steward and manage private gifts for uc davis.

Education
5
Iran Human Rights Documentation Center Inc

The mission of the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center is to: Establish a comprehensive and objective historical record of the human rights situation in Iran, and on the basis of this record, establish responsibility for patterns of…

International
6
The California Medical Innovations Institute Inc

The Institute is a scientific research center dedicated to conducting basic and applied research to advance the understanding of human disease and the improvement of human health. The Institute fosters an innovative research environment…

Education
7
Asociacion Interamericana Para La Defensa Del Ambiente

To strenghten people's ability to guarantee their individual and collective right to a healthy environment, via the development, implementation, and effective enforcement of national and international law.

Crime & Legal
8
Citizens Commission On Human Rights

The citizens commission on human rights (cchr) is a non-profit, non-political, non-religious mental health industry watchdog whose mission is to eradicate abuses committed under the guise of mental health. we work to ensure patient and…

International
9
Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation

The samuel waxman cancer research foundation (the "foundation") funds innovative research to bring faster cures to patients. in addition to supporting ongoing collaborative research in specific cancers, our scientists are investigating the…

—
10
California Dental Association Foundation

The foundation's mission is to improve the oral health of all californians by supporting the dental profession and its efforts to meet community needs.

Science & Tech
11
The Union of Concerned Scientists Inc

The union of concerned scientists puts rigorous, independent science into action, developing solutions and advocating for a healthy, safe, and just future.

International
12
Human Rights Watch Inc

Human rights watch ("hrw") defends the rights of people worldwide. we scrupulously investigate abuses, expose the facts widely, and pressure those with power to respect rights and secure justice. human rights watch is an independent,…

International
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Edward Charles Foundation; the most unlike its peers is A Quarter Blue. 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

37 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. 37 of the 111 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.

2
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
3
Early backer (in before they grew)
37/37
Grantees still filing
20/37
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

INNOCEANA: $70,000 · OtherINNOCEANAMUSIC FOR MOVEMENTS INC DBA BYE BYE PLASTIC USA: $50,000 · OtherMUSIC FOR MOVEMENTS INC DBA BYE BYE PLASTIC USALOS ANGELES REGIONAL FOOD BANK: $45,000 · OtherLOS ANGELES REGIONAL FOOD BANKN T Hong Nguyen: $30,000 · OtherTIDINGS FOR TEENS: $27,500 · OtherCOOPERATIVE FOR ASSISTANCE AND RELIEF EVERYWHERE I: $25,000 · OtherTHE LOS ANGELES VALLEY COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $25,000 · OtherGIVE TO RESEARCH: $25,000 · Other+76 more: $310,637 · Other+76 moreSOUTHWESTERN LAW SCHOOL: $325,000 · EducationSOUTHWESTERN LAW SCHOOLONE KID ONE WORLD: $85,000 · EducationONE KID ONE WORLD+4 more: $45,000 · Education+4 moreARMENIAN RELIEF SOCIETY INC: $25,000 · InternationalPALESTINE CHILDREN'S RELIEF FUND: $25,000 · InternationalCAMPAIGN FOR HUMAN RIGHTS INC DBA THE CENTER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS: $25,000 · InternationalMEDICAL MISSIONS FOR CHILDREN INC: $20,000 · InternationalHEROIC HEARTS PROJECT INC: $5,000 · InternationalTHE GIVE TO GIVE FOUNDATION: $25,000 · Human ServicesMURPHSLIFE FOUNDATION: $25,000 · Human ServicesCHILD International: $15,000 · Human ServicesEDWARD CHARLES FOUNDATION: $10,000 · Human ServicesDREAM MACHINE TOUR: $10,000 · Human ServicesHOPING HEARTS FOUNDATION INC: $5,000 · Human ServicesMARYAM PARMAN FOUNDATION FOR CHILDREN INC: $5,000 · Human ServicesINNOCENCE OC: $60,000 · Crime & LegalA QUARTER BLUE: $10,000 · Crime & LegalANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE: $25,000 · Civil RightsTREVOR PROJECT INC: $25,000 · Civil RightsPERSIAN AMERICAN CIVIC ACTION NETWORK: $5,000 · Civil Rights+1 more: $1,000 · Civil RightsVictims of Illicit Drugs Inc: $25,000 · HealthTHE WESTON WAYNES WARRIORS FOUNDATION co Sevy Fisher: $10,000 · Health+1 more: $1,000 · Health
Other$608,137Education$455,000International$100,000Human Services$95,000Crime & Legal$70,000Civil Rights$56,000Health$36,000

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 budgetSOUTHWESTERN LAW SCHOOL: $325,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetONE KID ONE WORLD: $85,000 over 3y, 16% of budgetINNOCEANA: $70,000 over 2y, 6.2% of budgetINNOCENCE OC: $60,000 over 2y, 68% of budgetMUSIC FOR MOVEMENTS INC DBA BYE BYE PLASTIC USA: $50,000 over 2y, 32% of budgetLOS ANGELES REGIONAL FOOD BANK: $45,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetARMENIAN RELIEF SOCIETY INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetGIVE TO RESEARCH: $25,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetTHE GIVE TO GIVE FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMURPHSLIFE FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetVictims of Illicit Drugs Inc: $25,000 over 1y, 14% of budgetPALESTINE CHILDREN'S RELIEF FUND: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCAMPAIGN FOR HUMAN RIGHTS INC DBA THE CENTER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS: $25,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetTREVOR PROJECT INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE LOS ANGELES VALLEY COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetMEDICAL MISSIONS FOR CHILDREN INC: $20,000 over 2y, 2.0% of budgetTHE JONSSON CANCER CENTER FOUNDATION: $15,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetFoundation for Advocacy Inclusion and Resources: $15,000 over 3y, 1.9% of budgetCHILD International: $15,000 over 1y, 3.2% of budgetINTERNATIONAL CHILDRENS MEDIA CENTER: $10,800 over 1y, 6.9% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCONSUMER WATCHDOG: $10,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetEDWARD CHARLES FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE WESTON WAYNES WARRIORS FOUNDATION co Sevy Fisher: $10,000 over 1y, 6.3% of budgetDREAM MACHINE TOUR: $10,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetGREAT KIDS WITH ADHD A TEXAS NON-PROFIT CORPORATION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetA QUARTER BLUE: $10,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetOAKWOOD SCHOOL: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHOPING HEARTS FOUNDATION INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetHEROIC HEARTS PROJECT INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMARYAM PARMAN FOUNDATION FOR CHILDREN INC: $5,000 over 1y, 3.7% of budgetPERSIAN AMERICAN CIVIC ACTION NETWORK: $5,000 over 1y, 7.9% of budgetLOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC ASSOCIATION: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL PSORIASIS FOUNDATION: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSAVE THE POUDRE POUDRE WATERKEEPER: $1,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetAMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION 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.

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.

California Community …American Endowment Fo…The Blackbaud Giving …Gs Donor Advised Phil…National Philanthropi…American Online Givin…Morgan Stanley Global…Network for GoodDonor Advised Charita…The Bank of America C…Vanguard Charitable E…Paypal Charitable Giv…
California Community FoundationCA14× affinity6 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: California Community Foundation · American Endowment Foundation · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · Network for Good · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Paypal Charitable Giving Fund

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 There is a Light Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from There is a Light Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%5%19%42%75%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
    2get no government money at all
    9report 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 111 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 There is a 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