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Two Lights Foundation Inc at a glance

· Private foundation

Two Lights Foundation Inc

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.

$1.3M
Granted FY2024still arriving
23
Grants FY2024still arriving
7
States reached
$618k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0194% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Arts & Culture$7.1MEducation$1.2MRecreation & Sports$882kHealth$723kYouth Development$511kHuman Services$275kPhilanthropy$154kInternational$135kOther$0
02FY2024 · 23 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k14 grants · $20k
  • $10k–50k6 grants · $118k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $58k
  • $250k+2 grants · $1.1M
$2,500
Median grant
7
States reached
$5.6M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
DIA ART FOUNDATION$618,000
CHAUTAUQUA INSTITUTION$500,000
WOMEN'S COACHING ALLIANCE$57,500
SANCTUARY FOR FAMILIES$25,000
RADICAL HOPE INC$25,000
OPEN SPACE INSTITUTE$24,200
BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS OF AMERICA$22,120
REFORMED CHURCH OF BRONXVILLE$12,000
PORTLAND MUSEUM OF ART$10,000
KETCHA OUTDOORS$3,000
KAPLAN JCC ON THE PALISADES$2,500
SESAME WORKSHOP$2,500
Individual grant recipient$2,300
COMMUNITY FUND OF BRONXVILLE EASTCHESTER TUCKAHOE INC$2,000
YOU GOTTA BELIEVE$1,000
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 (FY17–24, $221k) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 86% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%STILL STRONG FOUNDATION: $5k → 7%WE THE PEOPLE OF DETROIT: $25k → 21%THE TANZANIAN CHILDREN'S FUND: $25k → 8%FRANCISCAN CENTER INC: $25k → 19%DESTINATION COLLEGE: $1k → 9%YMCA OF METRO CHICAGO: $25k → 14%GRIDIRON GREATS ASSISTANCE FUND: $100k → 14%THE JOE TORRE SAFE AT HOME FOUNDATION: $10k → 17%PUPPIES BEHIND BARS: $2k → 17%PUPPIES BEHIND BARS: $1k → 17%PUPPIES BEHIND BARS: $1k → 17%YOU GOTTA BELIEVE: $1k → 17%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

ME
NH
WA
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
IA
PA
NJ
CA
MO
VA
MD
NC
SC
DC
OK
LA
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.

87%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$9.9M · 28 repeat orgs$1.4M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +40% since the first grant, against +8% for those funded once.

28 repeat relationships: 15 still active in FY2024, 13 since wound down; 8 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

28
69

Total granted

$9.9M
$1.4M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+40%
+8%

Still filing today

82%
58%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 97% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $35k 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
Human ServicesEducationArts & CulturePhilanthropyHealthRecreation & SportsOther
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

  • DC
    DIA CENTER FOR THE ARTS INC
    8× · 2017–2024 · $4.2M · revenue +150%
  • CI
    CHAUTAUQUA INSTITUTION
    2× · 2023–2024 · $1.0M · revenue +28%
  • CHAUTAUQUA FOUNDATION INC
    2× · 2017–2018 · $800k · revenue +57%

Funded once

  • MS
    MEMORIAL SLOAN KETTERING CANCER CENTER
    one grant, 2018 · $250k
  • GG
    GRIDIRON GREATS ASSISTANCE FUND INC
    one grant, 2019 · $100k · revenue -29%
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2017 · $100k
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
The Baruch College Fund

The baruch college fund is an organization engaged in generating, encouraging and promoting the educational welfare of the students of the bernard m. baruch college of the city university of new york.

Education
2
Npr Foundation

The npr foundation ("foundation") is organized and operated exclusively for the benefit of its sole supported organization, national public radio, inc. ("npr inc."). the foundation supports npr inc. through various activities such as…

—
3
Brooklyn Community Foundation

Spark lasting social justice change, mobilizing people, capital, & expertise for a fair brooklyn.

Philanthropy
4
University of New Haven

The University of New Haven is a student-centered comprehensive university with an emphasis on excellence in liberal arts and professional education. Our mission is to prepare our students to lead purposeful and fulfilling lives in a…

Education
5
United States Naval Institute

Provide an independent forum for those who dare to read, think, speak, and write to advance the professional, literary, and scientific understanding of sea power and other issues critical to global security.

—
6
The Water Research Foundation

The purpose of the water research foundation (wrf) is a definitive research organization to advance the science of all things water to better meet the evolving needs of its subscribers and the water sector. to engage exclusively in…

Environment
7
Furman University

The primary mission of furman as a liberal arts institution is to provide a distinctive education in fine arts, humanities, social sciences, mathematics and the sciences, as well as selected professional disciplines.

Education
8
Atlantic University Inc

Provide post-secondary education of excellence.

Education
9
Northeast College of Health Sciences

Northeast college of health sciences (the college) is committed to academic excellence, leadership, and professional best practices in the health sciences.

Education
10
Stony Brook Internists University Faculty Practice Corporation

Provide clinical instruction to and supervision of medical school students, interns and residents and, incident thereto, rendering professional services.

Health
11
New York University School of Law Foundation

The foundation, a subsidiary of new york university, fosters legal education and research at new york university's school of law by awarding scholarships, making grants for educational purposes related to law, and supporting programs of…

Education
12
New York Road Runners Inc

As a new york city based nonprofit, we're dedicated to transforming the health and well-being of our communities through inclusive and accessible running experiences, empowering all to achieve their potential.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Bob Woodruff Family Foundation Inc; the most unlike its peers is Prouts Neck Historical Society. 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

74 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

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 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 74 of the 109 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)
12
Early backer (in before they grew)
72/74
Grantees still filing
45/74
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

DIA CENTER FOR THE ARTS INC: $4,223,927 · Arts & CultureDIA CENTER FOR THE ARTS INCCHAUTAUQUA INSTITUTION: $1,000,000 · Arts & CultureCHAUTAUQUA INSTITUTION+6 more: $83,200 · Arts & CultureTHE DARTMOUTH INC: $1,000,000 · OtherTHE DARTMOUTH INCBig Brothers Big Sisters Of America: $302,120 · OtherBig Brothers Big Sisters Of…MEMORIAL SLOAN KETTERING CANCER CENTER: $250,000 · OtherMEMORIAL SLOAN KETTERING CA…THE REFORMED CHURCH: $102,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $100,000 · OtherNewYork-PresbyterianLawrence Hospital: $100,000 · OtherMERGING VETS AND PLAYERS: $200,000 · OtherMERGING VETS AND PLAYERSWomens Coaching Alliance: $112,500 · Other+51 more: $644,648 · Other+51 moreTHE ONE LOVE FOUNDATION IN HONOR OF YEARDLEY LOVE INC: $1,015,000 · EducationTHE ONE LOV…TARGET ALS FOUNDATION INC: $50,000 · EducationSHAWN CARTER SCHOLARSHIP FUND: $50,000 · Education+7 more: $45,300 · EducationCHAUTAUQUA FOUNDATION INC: $800,000 · PhilanthropyCHAUTAUQU…COMMUNITY FOUNDATION FOR GREATER BUFFALO INC: $50,000 · PhilanthropyROBIN HOOD FOUNDATION: $37,000 · Philanthropy+8 more: $99,000 · Philanthropy+8 moreNFL FOUNDATION INC: $255,000 · Recreation & SportsNorthwestern University: $200,000 · Recreation & SportsJUSTIN J WATT FOUNDATION INC: $99,000 · Recreation & SportsSANCTUARY FOR FAMILIES INC: $125,000 · Human ServicesGRIDIRON GREATS ASSISTANCE FUND INC: $100,000 · Human ServicesFRANCISCAN CENTER INC: $25,000 · Human ServicesThe YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago: $25,000 · Human ServicesTHE TANZANIAN CHILDRENS FUND INC: $25,000 · Human ServicesWe the People of Detroit: $25,000 · Human Services+6 more: $23,500 · Human ServicesANSWER ALS: $125,000 · HealthRADICAL HOPE INC: $75,000 · HealthBRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATERS INC: $27,000 · HealthACCLIVUS INC: $25,000 · HealthBOB WOODRUFF FAMILY FOUNDATION INC: $19,800 · Health+1 more: $5,000 · Health
Arts & Culture$5,307,127Other$2,811,268Education$1,160,300Philanthropy$986,000Recreation & Sports$554,000Human Services$348,500Health$276,800

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 budgetDIA CENTER FOR THE ARTS INC: $4,223,927 over 8y, 2.8% of budgetTHE ONE LOVE FOUNDATION IN HONOR OF YEARDLEY LOVE INC: $1,015,000 over 6y, 4.1% of budgetTHE DARTMOUTH INC: $1,000,000 over 4y, 54% of budgetCHAUTAUQUA INSTITUTION: $1,000,000 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetCHAUTAUQUA FOUNDATION INC: $800,000 over 2y, 3.9% of budgetBig Brothers Big Sisters Of America: $302,120 over 8y, 0.3% of budgetNFL FOUNDATION INC: $255,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetNorthwestern University: $200,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetMERGING VETS AND PLAYERS: $200,000 over 2y, 11% of budgetANSWER ALS: $125,000 over 2y, 7.3% of budgetSANCTUARY FOR FAMILIES INC: $125,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetWomens Coaching Alliance: $112,500 over 2y, 22% of budgetGRIDIRON GREATS ASSISTANCE FUND INC: $100,000 over 1y, 18% of budgetNewYork-PresbyterianLawrence Hospital: $100,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetJUSTIN J WATT FOUNDATION INC: $99,000 over 1y, 9.0% of budgetRADICAL HOPE INC: $75,000 over 2y, 3.3% of budgetFOUNDATION FOR AFRICAN MEDICINE AND EDUC: $60,000 over 2y, 2.0% of budgetTARGET ALS FOUNDATION INC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE AMERICAN IRELAND FUND (DBA THE IRELAND FUNDS AMERICA/THE IRELAND FUNDS): $50,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION FOR GREATER BUFFALO INC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSHAWN CARTER SCHOLARSHIP FUND: $50,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetOCEAN CONSERVANCY: $45,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetPortland Museum of Art: $40,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetROBIN HOOD FOUNDATION: $37,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATERS INC: $27,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetCITY HARVEST INC: $26,497 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFLORIDA COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetACCLIVUS INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetFRANCISCAN CENTER INC: $25,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetWARRICK DUNN CHARITIES INC: $25,000 over 1y, 2.0% of budgetThe YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNAVY SEAL FOUNDATION INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE TANZANIAN CHILDRENS FUND INC: $25,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetWe the People of Detroit: $25,000 over 1y, 2.5% of budgetICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetINNER CITY SCHOLARSHIP FUND INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE LEARY FIREFIGHTERS FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 1y, 2.6% of budgetOPEN SPACE INSTITUTE INC: $24,200 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetTHOMAS DAVIS DEFENDING DREAMS: $20,000 over 1y, 16% of budgetTHE TOM COUGHLIN JAY FUND FOUNDATION INC: $20,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetBOB WOODRUFF FAMILY FOUNDATION INC: $19,800 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTHE BRONXVILLE SCHOOL FOUNDATION INC: $16,000 over 3y, 2.2% of budgetGOFUNDMEORG: $15,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetNEW YORK CITY POLICE FOUNDATION INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTackle Tomorrow: $10,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetTHE JOE TORRE SAFE AT HOME FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetFDNY FOUNDATION INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetBRIGANCE BRIGADE FOUNDATION INC: $10,000 over 1y, 2.5% 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.

Nfl Foundation IncThe Goldman Sachs Cha…Andrew M Paul Family …The Nagle Family Foun…The Ayco Charitable F…Marilynn and John Hil…The New York Communit…T Rowe Price Program …Community Foundation …National Philanthropi…The Pfizer Foundation…Charities Aid Foundat…
Nfl Foundation IncNY29.7× affinity13 shared granteesties to 8 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Nfl Foundation Inc · The Goldman Sachs Charitable Gift Fund · Andrew M Paul Family Foundation · The Nagle Family Foundation · The Ayco Charitable Foundation · Marilynn and John Hill Foundation Inc · The New York Community Trust · T Rowe Price Program for Charitable Giving Inc · Community Foundation of New Jersey · National Philanthropic Trust · The Pfizer Foundation Inc · Charities Aid Foundation America

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 60%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%15%30%45%60%share of the org’s income from government →median 21%
  • Bridge Over Troubled Waters Inc: 32% of income from government
  • Big Brothers Big Sisters of America: 21% of income from government
  • Florida Community Health Centers Inc: 17% of income from government
  • Franciscan Center Inc: 2% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
6get no government money at all
12report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–60%
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 109 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 Two Lights’ 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