Charles & Lois Marie Bright
Charles & Lois Marie Bright is a private foundation based in Nacogdoches, Texas. Its 2025 filing reports grants to organizations for purposes including equipment, renovations, scholarships, youth activities, and general operations.
Charles & Lois Marie Bright at a glance
In short: Charles & Lois Marie Bright gave $1.7M across 58 grants in 2025 (avg $30K), mostly in Texas. 26% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $1,726,102
- +13.2% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 58
- +7.4% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $29,760
- +5.4% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $10,000
- Total assets
- $24,715,849
- -2.7% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 26% first-time grantees (13 of 50, 2025)
- Primary geography
- Texas (100% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990-PF, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated October 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to Charles & Lois Marie Bright
- How to Apply
-
The foundation states that it does not restrict giving to preselected organizations. No set application format is required, and the filing lists no restrictions on awards. Contact Wanda Russell.
- Contact
Application contact: Wanda Russell
Mailing address: PO Box 635001, Nacogdoches, TX 75963
Phone: (936) 564-8378
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Charles & Lois Marie Bright funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Libertlooneyville Volunteer Fire ($250K). Together the top 10 received $1.2M.
Organizations only. It also paid 3 individual scholarships ($38,608), which are not listed by name.
Grant Size Distribution
284 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 227 grants of 284 (80%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The 2025 filing reports that 100% of grant dollars went to recipients in Texas.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 58 itemized grants.
Cities
Is Charles & Lois Marie Bright open to new grantees?
26%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 13 of 50 grantees (26%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $19K; repeat grants $40K. How we count
Medians: $14K first-time, $10K repeat.
- 64% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (+4%). Method
- In 2025 it paid out 100% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2020–2025). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $1.3M (2020) to $1.7M (2023). In 2025 it made 58 grants totaling $1.7M.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Libertlooneyville Volunteer Fire Cushing, TX | RADIOS | $250,000 |
| The Village NAC Nacogdoches, TX | Bath/Laundry House Renovation | $200,000 |
| Nacogoches Law Enforcement Nacogdoches, TX | General Operations | $144,795 |
| Nacogdoches ISD Education Nacogdoches, TX | Scholarships | $110,000 |
| Nacogdoches Boys Youth Baseball Nacodoches, TX | Field Restoration | $109,365 |
| Boys and Girls Club of Deep East TX Nacogdoches, TX | Air Conditioner Replacement | $100,000 |
| Nacogdoches County Sheriff's Office Nacogdoches, TX | 2 Ford F-150 Police Package | $80,431 |
| Nacogdoches County Hospital Nacogdoches, TX | Radio Equipment Upgrade | $51,077 |
| Friends of Historic Nacogdoches Nacogdoches, TX | Robertson Photo ETX Research Center | $50,000 |
| Glory Gang Ministries Nacogdoches, TX | Bus Ministries | $50,000 |
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Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Qualifying Distributions | Net Investment Income | Distributable Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $24,715,849 | $1,139,641 | $1,827,599 | $1,726,102 | 58 | $1,736,611 | $953,347 | $1,728,031 |
| 2024 | $25,409,878 | $1,477,536 | $1,637,767 | $1,525,218 | 54 | $1,538,280 | $1,213,717 | $1,676,072 |
| 2023 | $25,564,038 | $1,153,794 | $1,899,742 | $1,744,354 | 62 | $1,758,981 | $774,359 | $1,631,385 |
| 2022 | $26,309,986 | $1,008,228 | $1,755,049 | $1,661,661 | 66 | $1,676,409 | $663,248 | $1,678,191 |
| 2021 | $27,061,477 | $2,038,827 | $1,612,988 | $1,510,995 | 44 | — | $1,825,194 | $1,668,716 |
| 2020 | $26,630,968 | $1,013,924 | $1,368,507 | $1,279,770 | 43 | — | $1,033,238 | $1,520,374 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Charles & Lois Marie Bright reported a distributable amount of $1.7M for 2025 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants include support for education, community services, youth programs, public safety, and local organizations. These examples describe the grantees, not the foundation: The Village Nac says its mission is to create a healing community empowered by God’s unconditional love; the Nacogdoches ISD Education Foundation says it seeks to promote excellence and innovation in education; and Boys & Girls Clubs of an individual recipient says it provides supervised activities, arts, crafts, and recreation for children.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the foundation reported 58 grants totaling $1,726,102. Grant amounts ranged from $52 to $250,000, with a median of $10,000. Among the largest listed awards were $250,000 to Libertlooneyville Volunteer Fire for radios, $200,000 to The Village Nac for a bath and laundry house renovation, $144,795 to Nacogdoches Law Enforcement for general operations, and $110,000 to Nacogdoches ISD Education for scholarships. Other listed awards included $100,000 to Boys and Girls Club of an individual recipient for air conditioner replacement and $80,431 to the Nacogdoches County Sheriff’s Office for two police-package Ford F-150s.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists C Stanley Jones as president; Greg Williams as vice president; John Mast, Kurt Sutton, and Campbell Cox as directors; and Wanda Russell as secretary/treasurer.
Charles & Lois Marie Bright is led by C. Stanley Jones, President on every filing since 2020; none of the 6 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
C. Stanley Jones
President
On filings since 2020
No compensation reported
John Mast
Director
On filings since 2020
No compensation reported
Kurt Sutton
Director
On filings since 2020
No compensation reported
Campbell Cox
Director
On filings since 2024
No compensation reported
Greg Williams
Vice President
On filings since 2020
No compensation reported
Wanda Russell
Secretary
On filings since 2023
No compensation reported
Former officers (1)
- Former: Billy Earley (2020–2023) — Director
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2020–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Frequently asked questions about Charles & Lois Marie Bright
How much does Charles & Lois Marie Bright give each year?
Charles & Lois Marie Bright gave $1.7M across 58 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $1.5M across 54 grants.
What is Charles & Lois Marie Bright's typical grant size?
Charles & Lois Marie Bright's median grant in 2025 was $10,000, and its average grant was $29,760, across 58 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Charles & Lois Marie Bright that year got $19K on average.
Where does Charles & Lois Marie Bright give grants?
Charles & Lois Marie Bright gives mostly in Texas: 100% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The most frequent recipient cities were Nacogdoches, TX (36 grants) and Tyler, TX (3 grants).
Does Charles & Lois Marie Bright give general operating support?
Yes: 19% of Charles & Lois Marie Bright's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (11 of 58) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Recurring purposes include "Scholarships" (15 grants).
Who are Charles & Lois Marie Bright's largest grantees?
Charles & Lois Marie Bright's largest 2025 grantees include Libertlooneyville Volunteer Fire ($250,000), The Village NAC ($202,500 across 2 grants) and Nacogoches Law Enforcement ($144,795), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It also paid 3 individual scholarships ($38,608), which are not listed by name. Together they received 35% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Charles & Lois Marie Bright?
Charles & Lois Marie Bright reported $24.7M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $1.7M in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $1.7M (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does Charles & Lois Marie Bright fund?
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants include support for education, community services, youth programs, public safety, and local organizations. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Charles & Lois Marie Bright?
The foundation states that it does not restrict giving to preselected organizations. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is Charles & Lois Marie Bright's EIN?
Charles & Lois Marie Bright's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 75-2717755. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Data last updated October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Data update history
(7)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS January 21, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS February 15, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS February 15, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS January 24, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS January 23, 2025)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS January 23, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2025
Live grants for the work Charles & Lois Marie Bright funds
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Charles & Lois Marie Bright funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 20, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/charles-and-lois-marie-bright-morg_e00c74dca6b84ed18469877d119c24eb
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_752717755_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Charles \& Lois Marie Bright funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/charles-and-lois-marie-bright-morg_e00c74dca6b84ed18469877d119c24eb},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-20. Data licensed CC BY 4.0}
}The figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0: reuse them with credit to Grantable and a link. Download the data.
Figures come from Charles & Lois Marie Bright's IRS filings (methodology). AI-written summaries, news items and logos are not covered by the open licence. Spot an error? Email hello@grantable.co.
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