Virginia · Nonprofit
VIGILANT TORCH FOUNDATION
VIGILANT TORCH FOUNDATION (Virginia) receives grants from 19 organizations whose IRS filings report $733,629 to it, the largest being Special Operations Fund ($255,000). 8 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $1.5M
- Funders on record
- 19
- Grants received
- $734k
- Net assets
- $1.4M
What Vigilant Torch Foundation does
Mission
Founded in 2009, vigilant torch supports a unique subset of the special operations community and their families through holistic well-being initiatives. Our programs, ranging from mentorship and wellness programs to emergency relief and educational opportunities are tailored to address the specific challenges of military life, transition to civilian life, and beyond. We provide personalized resources that empower and uplift, making us a trusted, essential resource for those we serve.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Scholarships: the torch scholarship program is a merit-based program that supports the educational advancement of vigilant torch members and their immediate family members, including grandchildren. Scholarship funds may be applied toward higher education, vocational training, or professional certification programs. Award amounts are determined through a competitive review process and are contingent on available resources and the number of applications. In 2025, we received 80 applications and awarded scholarships to 65 recipients, distributing $151,000 in total. Top scorers in each education category (high school, undergraduate, and graduate) received $10,000, and our highest overall scorer received an additional $5,000 merit award. Since 2015, we have awarded 464 scholarships totaling $830,000, and by reducing financial barriers to education and training, the torch scholarship continues to invest in long-term professional growth and stability across the vigilant torch community.
$192,000 spentof which $192,000 as grants17% of program spendingPhilo project: members of the special operations community face elevated cancer risk due to mission-related environmental exposures. The philo project addresses this by providing eligible high-risk individuals with access to a free, full-body mri. These scans screen for more than 50 types of cancer and over 300 additional medical conditions, many of which are asymptomatic in early stages. Because these scans are not available through department of defense or veterans affairs facilities and are not covered by insurance, this program fills a critical gap. The imaging enables early identification of potential health concerns, leading to informed decisions about follow-up care and improving long-term health outcomes and peace of mind. In 2025, we funded 265 scans, and 20% of those scanned had undetected issues that were identified. Since the program began, 403 scans have been completed, each one a step toward earlier detection and better outcomes for those who have given so much in service to this nation.
$413,979 spent38% of program spendingFamily connectedness: the Vigilant Torch Foundation supports service members and families of our select special operations forces community by funding events and programs that bring them together. In 2025, those efforts reached over 500 families through dedicated family events and programming. We make possible the gatherings, activities, and shared experiences that build lasting bonds and a true sense of belonging among those who carry the unique weight of the sof lifestyle. Because behind every exceptional operator is a family that serves alongside them, and they deserve a community that shows up for them in return.
$414,639 spent38% of program spendingA. Mental wellness program: the program offers resources for care and community connection. While vigilant torch does not provide clinical treatment, the program leverages professional expertise and strategic partnerships to help members access appropriate mental wellness services. A dedicated program director assists members in identifying external resources and, when needed, provides financial support to help offset the cost of care. The program takes a holistic approach to wellness, addressing a broad range of needs, including service dogs, family medical bills, individual and family mental health care, specialty mental health services not covered during active duty, grief support, substance abuse care, financial literacy, employment assistance, disability rating guidance, and specialty medical resources. In 2025, the program served 49 participants, and since its inception, 128 individuals have received support through this vital program.emergency assistance program: vigilant torch provides immediate, compassionate support to individuals and families facing urgent crises, ensuring they have the resources to navigate challenging times with dignity and stability. Whether coping…
$78,990 spent7% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $1,099,608.
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. 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 $228k to $1.2M (+446%).
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.
104% of VIGILANT TORCH FOUNDATION’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (81% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 4 of the last 9 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.
Chief executive
Brian Gellman
Executive director
Board chair
Michael Nagata
Chairman
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2018 → 2023: the base broadened from 1 funder to 6 funders, grant income rose $38k → $86k.
6 of 19 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 25% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
Left out of every figure on this page: $607k from one payer (the payer shares this organization's board, largest Vigilant Torch Association). These are real filings, and they are not money VIGILANT TORCH FOUNDATION raised.
From the IRS filings of VIGILANT TORCH FOUNDATION’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
VIGILANT TORCH FOUNDATION leans on a few funders — its largest provides 35% of grant income and the top three 60%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
74% 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 VIGILANT TORCH FOUNDATION.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2018 100% · 2019 100% · 2020 93% · 2021 46% · 2022 59% · 2023 58% — 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
50% of VIGILANT TORCH FOUNDATION's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 42% 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
52% of VIGILANT TORCH FOUNDATION's grant income comes from Virginia funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $186k arriving through sponsors registered in 5 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
VIGILANT TORCH FOUNDATION has grown faster than three-quarters of the 7,349 human services nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 7,349 human services nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2025
Organizations like VIGILANT TORCH FOUNDATION
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 Virginia
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
68%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Part of a family of 1 related entity
- Vigilant Torch Association · exempt
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for VIGILANT TORCH FOUNDATION: 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 VIGILANT TORCH FOUNDATION?
- VIGILANT TORCH FOUNDATION (Virginia) receives grants from 19 organizations whose IRS filings report $733,629 to it, the largest being Special Operations Fund ($255,000). 8 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does VIGILANT TORCH FOUNDATION have?
- IRS filings report 19 organizations giving $733,629 in grants to VIGILANT TORCH FOUNDATION, 8 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of VIGILANT TORCH FOUNDATION?
- Special Operations Fund is the largest funder on record, with $255,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like VIGILANT TORCH FOUNDATION find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Virginia. 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 Vigilant Torch →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 19 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