New York · Nonprofit
THE CHRISTOPHERS INC
THE CHRISTOPHERS INC (New York) receives grants from 17 organizations whose IRS filings report $574,123 to it, the largest being FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ($342,651). 12 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 81% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2024
- $1.2M
- Funders on record
- 17
- Grants received
- $574k
- Net assets
- $4.0M
What The Christophers Inc does
Mission
Grounded in judeo-christian principles, the christophers' mission is to use all forms of media (radio, video, web, print)along with leadership courses, youth contests, and our christopher awards programto encourage individuals of all faiths to put their faith into action, and to remind them of the gospel-based counsel, "do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." motivated by a love of god and humanity, all people can be christophers - or christ-bearers - in the course of their daily lives by seeing problems and working to solve them where they are and as best they can. Christophers see these instances as opportunities to be solution-oriented role models, serving as sources of divine light in the darkness of societal ills and personal challenges. In fact, the christopher approach is best summed up in our motto, "it's better to light one candle than to curse the darkness." since 1945, we have used our literature, broadcasts, awards, prison ministry, and youth contests.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Inspirational literature - the christophers write and publish a wide variety of inspirational and motivational literature throughout the year that reflects the motto chosen by our founder, maryknoll father james keller: "it's better to light one candle than to curse the darkness." this literature calls on adults and teens to put their faith into action. It offers encouragement and practical advice on creating a better society by helping people to live positive, healthy, and peaceful lives, even in the face of the tremendous obstacles they may face. Our christopher news notes are published 10 times a year and are available free to people of all faiths. They share a universal message of god's hope and love, while also offering positive guidance to help individuals or families troubled with the pressing social ills of our time, such as addiction, domestic violence, grief, suicide, mental or physical illness, aging, divorce, anger, self-esteem problems, lack of communication, and intolerance. Two of our christopher news notes "finding hope in christ's resurrection and "follow god's path towards joy" earned first and second prize, respectively, in the catholic media association's 2024…
$525,761 spent$34,386 earned by the program37% of program spendingChristopher awards - the christopher awards were created in 1949 by our founder, father james keller, m.m., because he understood that the arts, media, and popular culture had the power to influence millions of people. He realized that when we're exposed to stories that shine a light on our struggles as well as virtues, such as faith, courage, hope, and love, we can become motivated to become better, more selfless people. Therefore, the christopher awards honor books, films and television programs that affirm the highest values of the human spirit. The goal of our awards is to encourage creative artists to pursue excellence in arenas that have the potential to influence a mass audience in a positive way and to encourage readers and viewers to tap into the better side of their human nature by seeing positive examples presented to them in engaging and entertaining ways. The annual christopher awards ceremony is a high-profile media event regularly hosted by a famous tv personality. Recent winners include actor steve guttenberg, who wrote a memoir about being a caregiver for his dying father; actor jonathan roumie, who executive produced a documentary about boys' town founder father…
$279,203 spentof which $9,355 as grants$2,907 earned by the program20% of program spendingYouth ministry - every year, we invite high school students all across the united states - grades 9 through 12--to create a poster that visually interprets the timeless theme, "you can make a difference." using photographs, hand-drawn pictures or images created with the assistance of computer graphics, these pupils work to artistically convey what making a difference in action means to them. At the christophers, we typically receive over 1,000 entries every year, both through our regular mail and via e-mail. Sarah e. Holinski, our youth coordinator, assists with the review process. The students are first notified of their winnings via e-mail, and later receive official letters with their prizes, delivered directly to their home addresses. Our annual video contest for college students is conducted in a similar manner. In this competition, we look for videos that visually portray the belief that one person, one organization, even one simple act of kindness truly can make a difference. The judging process of the video contest is identical to that of our poster contest. We have first, second and third prize winners and, depending on the quantity of submissions that year, anywhere from…
$202,928 spent14% of program spendingChristopher media: radio/podcast - "christopher closeup" highlights individuals in a wide variety of fields who act as positive influences on people around them in small and extraordinary ways. Subjects covered include spiritual solutions to everyday problems, maintaining hope in the face of hardship, and care for the poor. *recent "christopher closeup" guests include actor, author, and emmy award-winner jonathan jackson, author and television host kathie lee gifford; retired astronaut jose hernandez; broadcast journalist luke russert; cnn correspondent john blake; hallmark channel actress and alzheimer's association spokesperson nikki deloach; "inside edition" correspondent and authr megan alexander; "general hospital" star john j. York; childhood cancer survivor and astronaut hayley arceneaux; actress and singer kristin chenoweth; broadcaster, entrepreneur, and advocate for working mothers paula faris; abc news anchor and christopher award-winning children's book author linsey davis; country music legend dolly parton; singer and humanitarian harry connick jr.; "general hospital" star and mental health advocate maurice benard; new york times best-selling author kate bowler;…
$410,161 spent29% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $1,418,053.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2021 to 2022, from $6.9M to $5.1M (−27%).
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: 2020 11% · 2021 8%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 7 of the last 8 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
Robert V Okulski
Chairman and treasurer
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 6 funders to 10 funders, grant income rose $24k → $118k.
3 of 17 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 81% 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 THE CHRISTOPHERS 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
THE CHRISTOPHERS INC leans on a few funders — its largest provides 60% of grant income and the top three 82%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
81% 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 THE CHRISTOPHERS INC.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 73% · 2018 78% · 2019 85% · 2020 66% · 2021 78% · 2022 69% · 2023 46% — diversifying over time.
“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.
How long its funders stay
64% of THE CHRISTOPHERS INC's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 71% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
81% of THE CHRISTOPHERS 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 $111k that is directly attributable, 100% of it comes from funders outside New York, across 9 states.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $463k 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.
Organizations like THE CHRISTOPHERS 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 New York
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
83% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
90%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for THE CHRISTOPHERS 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 THE CHRISTOPHERS INC?
- THE CHRISTOPHERS INC (New York) receives grants from 17 organizations whose IRS filings report $574,123 to it, the largest being FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ($342,651). 12 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 81% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does THE CHRISTOPHERS INC have?
- IRS filings report 17 organizations giving $574,123 in grants to THE CHRISTOPHERS INC, 12 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of THE CHRISTOPHERS INC?
- FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND is the largest funder on record, with $342,651 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like THE CHRISTOPHERS INC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in New York. 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 Christophers →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2017–2024), and the filings of 17 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 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing