Kentucky · Nonprofit
SPARK COMMUNITY CAFE INC
SPARK COMMUNITY CAFE INC (Kentucky) receives grants from 7 organizations whose IRS filings report $114,845 to it, the largest being BLUE GRASS COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC ($53,811). 2 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 69% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2025
- $257k
- Funders on record
- 7
- Grants received
- $115k
- Net assets
- $16k
What Spark Community Cafe Inc does
Mission
College students along with a long list of local supporters were looking to make a difference in their hometown. The idea began in a high school class led by now retired teacher, kyle fannin. After some of the students attended a national conference which focused on food insecurity issues, teacher andy smith suggested visiting an existing facility in danville, ky known as grace cafe, which would serve as a model. From there the spark community cafe was born. In 2020, board chair whitney stepp-gay joined the board of directors for spark community cafe, inc. She, like the other board members, understood the problem of food insecurity and wanted to expand the mission of spark community cafe, inc. After a lot of discussion, the cafe made the move to close its doors in june, but continue moving forward providing meals and advocating for vulnerable members of the community. With new grants and support from local and state partners, Spark Community Cafe Inc, plans on maintaining a storage spa
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Program
The spark community cafe, inc was a "pay-what-you-can" type of restaurant similar to other cafes located across the country known as the "one world-everybody eats initiative. Community leaders, teachers and students discovered that issues such as hunger can be combated with the younger generation. The cafe invited those who could, to pay a meal forward for those who could not. Unfortunately, the doors to spark community cafe's closed at the end of june. However, after a year of discussion, the board members decided to focus on advocating for vulnerable members of the community by preparing and delivering meals from a local church. Per whitney stepp-gay, the chair of spark community cafe, while the cafe crew and community share a love for the gathering space, they are looking ahead. Spark community cafe, inc. Plans on maintaining a storage space, food pantry and freezer for its work. While open, spark community cafe served more than 80,000 meals to people living in woodford county, sometimes for free
$245,150 spent100% of program spending
The program described on its FY2024 Form 990. Program spending in total: $245,150.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2021, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2021, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2023 to 2024, from $62k to $27k (−57%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2021 30% · 2022 24%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
54% of SPARK COMMUNITY CAFE INC’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (94% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 3 of the last 5 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Board chair
Whitney L Stepp
Chair
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2018 → 2023: the base held at 2 funders, grant income rose $7k → $16k.
4 of 7 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 69% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of SPARK COMMUNITY CAFE INC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
SPARK COMMUNITY CAFE INC leans on a few funders — its largest provides 47% of grant income and the top three 85%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
94% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund SPARK COMMUNITY CAFE INC.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2018 75% · 2019 100% · 2020 100% · 2021 71% · 2022 100% · 2023 100% — growing more concentrated.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Where its funders are
69% of SPARK COMMUNITY CAFE INC's grant income arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors, whose addresses record where the money is held rather than where the donor is. Of the $35k that is directly attributable, 95% of it comes from Kentucky funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $79k arriving through sponsors registered in 3 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
SPARK COMMUNITY CAFE INC receives grants from 7 organizations whose IRS filings report $115k to it.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 1,936 food & nutrition nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2025
Organizations like SPARK COMMUNITY CAFE INC
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In Kentucky
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
95% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
96%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for SPARK COMMUNITY CAFE INC: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds SPARK COMMUNITY CAFE INC?
- SPARK COMMUNITY CAFE INC (Kentucky) receives grants from 7 organizations whose IRS filings report $114,845 to it, the largest being BLUE GRASS COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC ($53,811). 2 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 69% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does SPARK COMMUNITY CAFE INC have?
- IRS filings report 7 organizations giving $114,845 in grants to SPARK COMMUNITY CAFE INC, 2 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of SPARK COMMUNITY CAFE INC?
- BLUE GRASS COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC is the largest funder on record, with $53,811 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like SPARK COMMUNITY CAFE INC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Kentucky. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
Play a game about who funds Spark Community Cafe →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2021–2025), and the filings of 7 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing