Love In Action

Love In Action is a Colorado Springs-based private foundation holding $93.2 million in assets, funded entirely through the Eugenia W. Weiss Trust rather than ongoing charitable contributions. In its most recent three fiscal years the foundation received zero external donations, operating as a pure endowment vehicle. This structure means grantmaking decisions are entirely internally directed — there is no donor advisory committee, no community input process, and no public grantmaking calendar.

The single most critical fact for any grant seeker: Love In Action's IRS filings explicitly state that the foundation 'only makes contributions to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds.' The Granted database confirms this with a preselected_only flag. There is no application portal, no letter of intent template, no grant cycle, and no RFP. Standard grant-writing workflows simply do not apply.

All funding relationships must be initiated through personal contact with the two named decision-makers: President Leroy Landhuis (uncompensated) and Vice President Dave Cocolin ($90,006 annual compensation as of FY2024). With only one paid staff member, Cocolin is effectively the operational anchor of the foundation. A call to (719) 635-3200 is the primary public access point.

The foundation's mission — 'Collaborative Christian Ministries' — and its grantee record define two parallel funding lanes with sharply different funding levels: (1) domestic Christian media and education organizations in the Reformed and evangelical tradition, which account for over 90% of cumulative giving; and (2) international humanitarian and missions work framed through Christian outreach, which accounts for less than 1% of dollar volume despite the foundation's International NTEE classification.

The grantee profile reveals a specific theological network: Ligonier Ministries (Reformed theology media), Augustine Institute (Catholic evangelization), Focus on the Family (Colorado Springs evangelical family organization), and Global Media Outreach (digital evangelism). New entrants need either a warm introduction from an existing grantee or demonstrated participation in overlapping evangelical networks — Focus on the Family events, Colorado Christian University donors, or national Reformed/evangelical conferences.

Given the 99% collapse in FY2024 giving, direct outreach should be framed as relationship-building for future cycles, not as a current funding request. The foundation's strategic posture is uncertain, and patience is essential.

Love In Action has distributed $42.9 million across 40 grants historically, with a raw average of $1.07 million per grant. This figure is almost entirely distorted by a single grantee: the Destiny & Discernment Fund received $32.97 million across 3 grants (individual grants averaging approximately $10.99 million each), representing 76.8% of all historical disbursements. No other relationship approaches this concentration.

Removing the Destiny & Discernment outlier, the remaining 37 grants total approximately $9.93 million, with an adjusted average of $268,000 per grant. Based on the ranked distribution of individual grant amounts, the estimated median individual grant falls between $100,000 and $150,000 — positions 20 and 21 in the 40-grant ranking correspond to a $150,000 grant to Hope International and a $100,000 grant to Wellspring Castle Rock.

Range: $2,500 (Ministry in the Marketplace, FY2022) to $10.99 million average for Destiny & Discernment individual awards. For organizations entering at the relationship stage, the realistic range for an initial grant is $5,000–$100,000 based on the distribution tail. Repeat grantees at the major partner tier (Ligonier, Augustine, Global Media Outreach, Focus on the Family) received three grants each totaling $1.6M–$1.8M, averaging $530K–$600K per award.

By thematic area (dollar volume): - Christian media and education (Destiny & Discernment, Ligonier, Augustine, Global Media Outreach, Focus on the Family, Stand Together Trust): ~$39.9M (93% of total) - Local Colorado organizations (ACE Colorado Scholarship, First Pres Colorado Springs, Wellspring Castle Rock): ~$750K (1.8%) - International missions and relief (Love Justice International, Morning Star Development, Hope International, Jesus Film/Campus Crusade): ~$340K (0.8%) - Domestic social services (Hope Haven, Teen Challenge AZ, Little Light House, Harvest Bridge): ~$91K (0.2%)

By geography: Colorado grantees represent 16 of 40 grants (40%). Florida accounts for 4 (10%), Kansas and Nebraska each 3 (7.5%), and Texas 3 (7.5%).

Year-over-year giving trend: - FY2024 (ending July 2024): $168,883 — near-cessation - FY2022–23: $15.9M in total giving, $15.75M in grants paid - FY2021: $12.2M total giving, $11.5M in grants paid - FY2020: $4.5M total giving, $4.1M in grants paid

The FY2020–2022 peak followed a $25.3 million Weiss Trust contribution in FY2020, suggesting that large distributions are episodic rather than annualized.

Love In Action holds $93.2 million in assets within the International NTEE category (Q33Z), placing it mid-range among asset-matched private foundations. The following table compares this foundation to its five nearest peers by asset size, all classified as International foundations:

Note: Annual giving figures for peers are not publicly disclosed in available data; Love In Action's range reflects FY2022–23 peak versus FY2024 trough.

These asset-matched peers share size but not mission. Surgo Foundation pursues data-driven global health intervention; Guru Krupa Foundation supports Hindu-aligned community development; A Glimmer of Hope focuses on Ethiopia's water, health, and education infrastructure. None operate in the Christian education and media space that defines Love In Action's actual grantmaking. More mission-relevant comparators would be foundations like the Stewardship Foundation (Tacoma, WA) or the Maclellan Foundation (Chattanooga, TN) — private faith-based endowments that fund within defined evangelical institutional networks, similarly operate as preselected-only grantmakers, and concentrate disbursements among a small cohort of trusted national ministry partners.

The most significant recent development at Love In Action is the near-total collapse of grant disbursements in fiscal year 2024 (ending July 2024). The 990-PF filed April 7, 2025 reported $168,883 in total charitable disbursements and $214,494 in total expenses — compared to $15.9 million in total giving the prior year. The foundation retains $93.2 million in assets, indicating this is a deliberate pause rather than financial distress.

This appears to mark the end of a concentrated distribution cycle. From FY2020 through FY2022, the foundation distributed $31.85 million in grants, anchored by the Destiny & Discernment Fund's $32.97 million in cumulative receipts. That relationship has not produced visible IRS-reported grant activity in the most recent filing period.

Leadership has been stable across the available filing period: Leroy Landhuis remains President (uncompensated), Dave Cocolin continues as Vice President at $90,006 annual compensation, and S. Alan Vancil serves as uncompensated Treasurer. No leadership changes were identified during web research.

The foundation's website (https://loveinaction.org/) was entirely unreachable as of April 2026, returning connection timeouts on all pages. No program announcements, RFPs, or press releases were found via web search. The foundation has no active social media presence in publicly available records. This opacity — combined with the FY2024 giving contraction — makes the foundation's current strategic direction impossible to assess from external sources. Monitoring the FY2025 990-PF (expected filing: spring 2026) will be the key indicator of whether a new grantmaking cycle has begun.

The foundational rule for Love In Action is to never submit an unsolicited application. This is not a formality — the IRS filing language is explicit, and the foundation maintains no portal, no deadline calendar, and no formal review process. Organizations that send cold proposals, blind LOIs, or email pitches will not receive responses and may signal to the foundation that they misunderstand its operating model.

The only viable path is relationship cultivation through evangelical and Reformed Christian networks, with particular emphasis on the Colorado Springs ecosystem. Specific tactics:

• Leverage existing grantee networks: Contact program staff at Ligonier Ministries, Focus on the Family, Augustine Institute, or Global Media Outreach. Explain your ministry and ask whether they would be willing to provide a brief introduction or endorsement letter to the Love In Action leadership team. These organizations operate in overlapping conference and donor circles with Leroy Landhuis and Dave Cocolin.

• Frame work in IRS-recognized language: The grant purpose 'to fund the distribution of Christian educational materials' appears verbatim in IRS filings for over 75% of Love In Action's awards. Organizations that frame their mission in terms of education, media, discipleship materials, or gospel content distribution are more likely to resonate with the foundation's internal vocabulary.

• Prioritize Colorado presence: Nearly half of historical grantees are Colorado-based. National organizations with a Colorado Springs office, ministry conference footprint in Denver/Colorado Springs, or donor relationships with First Presbyterian Church Colorado Springs have a structural advantage.

• Make a relationship call, not a funding call: If initiating direct contact via (719) 635-3200, the goal of the first conversation should be introducing your ministry and gauging whether there is theological alignment — not asking for a grant. Mention the specific grantees you share philosophical alignment with (Ligonier, Focus on the Family, etc.).

• Timing: Given the FY2024 near-cessation of giving, do not frame outreach around an active grant cycle. Instead, position it as an introduction ahead of the foundation's next distribution phase. Monitor the spring 2026 990-PF filing (EIN 84-1285975 on ProPublica) for evidence of renewed activity.

• Avoid: Grant portals, email blasts, general 'faith-based' alignment claims without specific theological resonance, and any proposal submitted without a prior introduction from a known grantee.